Fuji X-T2 "Wide Tracking" Focus Capability Tested

Click to enlarge all of these images

I continue to experiment with my Fuji X-T2, using it to fully understand its capabilities. As I've written in the past, to achieve the images you want, you have to fully understand your gear, what it does well and the things it won't do very well.

Since I had what I would call a successful series of preliminary tests utilizing the Fuji X-T2's Zone Focusing tracking capability, I decided to try the other kind of tracking available in the X-T2—Wide Tracking, as Fuji calls it.

Again, in a very short, down and dirty test, not the be all to end all, and since I was near the railroad mainline, I thought I would try it on one of the local Amtrak passenger trains as it came into town at 79 mph (127 kph).

I set my camera to my standard settings for this type of photography: 1/1600th sec. @ f/8 to fully stop the motion of the front of the locomotive.  I mounted my 16-55mm f/2.8 lens on the X-T2.  I set the burst speed to 5 fps, which is my normal setting for photographing trains.  Since the day was heavily overcast I knew I would have to use a relatively high ISO.  In this case, ISO 2500.  The focal length was set to about 35mm (35.3mm), or about 50mm equivalent for a 35mm camera.  In other words, a pretty normal perspective.  

(As an aside, at ISO 2500, I was very pleased with the image quality and the lack of digital noise.)

I set the menu settings for single point, continuous and to wide tracking.  I had the tracking custom setting set to #1, which is the auto mode.  As I waited for the train, I drew the camera to my eye to determine composition, then I moved the single focusing point to the right side of the frame, where the train would come into the frame.  I waited.

As the train approached, I raised the camera, placed the single point on the front of the locomotive (remember the engine has at least 2,  and in this case 4, very bright headlights, which can really fool an autofocusing system) and squeezed my shutter button.  The camera fired off 6 frames before the train passed.  As the train moved across my viewfinder, the focusing mechanism tracked it perfectly across until the train passed out the left side of the frame.

Upon looking at the frames in Lightroom at 100%, every frame is perfectly focused and what I would call tack sharp.  Perfect!  I love it!

This is only one test.  But it is not an easy test.  Again, this Fuji X-T2 has amazed me with its focusing and tracking capabilities.  More in the future.

Here are the images in sequence.

Thank you Fuji! It just gets better and better!

Thanks for looking. Enjoy!

Dennis A. Mook 

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