Fuji Can a Fuji X100x be set up for hyperfocal distance?

Jock Elliott

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A classic technique from non-autofocus photojournalism was to set the camera up with a certain film speed, a certain aperture, a certain shutter speed, and manual focus set at a distance so that basically everything from close distance X to far distance Y would be in focus. Even today, you can find online hyperfocal distance calculators. Set up thus, you don't have to wait to focus your camera, you just point, compose, and shoot. When properly set up, it's fast and effective. It seems to me that, even with today's' marvelous autofocus cameras, no focus delay beats the fastest autofocus system, so for certain situations, hyperfocal distance would be the way to go.

My little Canon G12 can store a bunch of stuff in one of its custom (C) settings, including focal length, whether the camera is in manual focus mode, and the distance at which the manual focus is set. So it can "do" hyperfocal distance.

But I have long admired the Fuji X100 series.

So a question: can any of the Fuji X100 series be similarly set up so that the camera powers-up with everything preset, including focusing distance? If I recall correctly, some cameras can be set to power-up in manual focus mode, but they will not remember the focusing distance.

Cheers, Jock
 
I just went to check to see if it will work like you want it to, but I the battery is dead and I can't find the charger. :dash2:

But if you have the camera set to MF, I can't imagine that turning the camera off and then back on again would change your hyperfocal distance.

And the white bar that shows the area (and distance) that is in focus (either in the EVF or on the rear LCD) is very helpful. If you're comfortable shooting in that manner and you're using a small enough aperture to have a decent sized DOF, it's pretty easy to get what you need in focus.

Now if I can find that charger, maybe I can make a little video and show you how it works.
 
The original X100 does hold the focused distance during a power off and on cycle.

Keep in mind that feature may be a lot less useful on the larger APS-C sensor because of the shallower DOF. At around 5-7 feet away, the area that is in focus even at f8 is not much more than 1 foot. To have infinity in focus, the nearest object that will be in focus would be around 16 feet away.

Of course, in certain situations it would be perfectly fine. I'm thinking of something like a bike race where the bikes will be passing you at roughly the same distance every time. Set your distance and fire as they pass. Certainly my ancient X100 would never grab focus fast enough using the AF in that situation.
 
I seem to recall that the latest x100 (the F I think) was one which wouldn’t retain it’s previous focus distance after a power off, but MAYBE fuji redacted that with a FW release... so that’s maybe

As Luke says, setting a dof will vary greatly on what you set.. f8 and a focal point some meters away will be more forgiving

The scale shown in the VF is pixel level, so it’s quite accurate
 
I seem to recall that the latest x100 (the F I think) was one which wouldn’t retain it’s previous focus distance after a power off, but MAYBE fuji redacted that with a FW release... so that’s maybe

It would seem odd to me that that the "F" would be different. To be clear, the X100 needs to have the switch on the body set to M for Manual focus to retain the focus distance. It may very well retain the focus distance in Auto, but there is no focus distance scale in the VF in auto so I can neither confirm nor deny that aspect.
 
It would seem odd to me that that the "F" would be different. To be clear, the X100 needs to have the switch on the body set to M for Manual focus to retain the focus distance. It may very well retain the focus distance in Auto, but there is no focus distance scale in the VF in auto so I can neither confirm nor deny that aspect.

I think it had something to do with when people add a filter or maybe the lens cap and then turn the camera on and it interferres with the lens and gives an error message

DPR thread about it

X100f Manual Focus: Fujifilm X System / SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review

And fuji fixing it in a fw update

Firmware for X100F | Fujifilm Global

The firmware update Ver.1.01 from Ver.1.00 incorporates the following issues:

  • 1.The phenomenon is fixed that ISO cannot be changed by the command dial when ISO is set to AUTO by Camera Remote via WiFi connection to a smartphone or a tablet.
  • 2.When a camera turns on in MF mode, the focus position comes to the original position where a camera turned off.
  • 3.The phenomenon is fixed that in MF mode, a focus can shift in a specified condition (ex. repeated CL shooting).
  • 4.Improvement of operability for the command dials.
 
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