Field-testing the X-E5 + Sigma 18-50 in the mountains. My review & AF-C complain.
Hey everyone!
Looking for a better portability I changed my EDC setup. Sold my Canon R8 + 28-70mm f/2.8 (kept my R5 with primes and a 70-200mm for heavy lifting) and put together the lightest and compact EDC kit of Fujifilm X-E5 + Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8.
I just got back from a trip in the mountains, where I actively put it through its paces. Just wanted to share some quick impressions and ask for your advice on one major pain point.
What I absolutely loved:
* Size. I literally carried the camera on my backpack strap using a Peak Design Capture Clip. With the Canon, I’d think twice before taking it out on the slopes, but here the camera was always at hand. The EDC concept worked 100%.
* Image quality from the Sigma 18-50mm. This little lens is an absolute beast for the price. The sharpness is great, f/2.8 gives a nice depth, and the size balances perfectly on the flat X-E5 body + grip + thumb rest.
* Fuji colors. It’s a classic, but the ability to just drop ready-to-use JPEGs straight to my phone without editing in the mountains is pure joy. Editing RAF files is also a breeze (I know this because I shot Sony for many years before).
What could be better:
* Weather Sealing. After falling into the snow, some of it occasionally got onto the camera. Ideally, this body would have weather sealing, but then it would step into X-Pro territory, which I don't think Fujifilm will ever allow. (yet there is no x-pro 4).
And now, the pain point:
With static subjects and AF-S, there are zero issues, even eye and subject detection works well now. But AF-C...
This is where my experience after Canon and Sony cracked. When shooting action (a snowboarder riding towards me or diagonally), the continuous autofocus turned out to be not reliable.
I tried a ton of settings: played with AF-C Custom Settings (tweaked Tracking Sensitivity and Speed Tracking), used Zone AF and Wide/Tracking. But at best, my hit-rate (percentage of sharp shots in a burst) was around 50-60%. The camera often seemed to "stick" to the background or just couldn't keep up with the snowboarder's movement.
1. Is this related to third-party glass? How much does the Sigma 18-50mm (with its stepping motor) limit the potential of Fuji's AF in dynamic scenes? Would a native Fuji lens with a Linear Motor (LM) give a drastically different result, or is this just the general ceiling of Fuji's AF algorithms?
2. Which Custom AF settings (Settings 1-6) and which zones (Zone AF box size) do you use for fast, unpredictable sports?
I’d appreciate any advice. I absolutely love this setup for its size and image quality, and it's a fantastic camera for EDC and travel, but I want to squeeze the absolute maximum out of its autofocus!
