Will Fujifilm fix the autofocus issues with the upcoming firmware update?

Unexpected Fujifilm October announcement

On October the 3^rd Fujifilm surprised us with a new video on their YouTube channel with three new things that we can look forward from Fuji in the upcoming months. The most interesting part was the announcement of a new firmware update for X-H2s, XH2 and GFX 100II to fix the auto focus issues these cameras have been having.

Yuji Igarashi, the Divisional Manager of Fujifilm’s Professional Imaging Group made the following statement regarding the video autofocus fixes:

“We strive to enhance our products by making improvements and adding new features through firmware updates guided by the feedback we receive from our users. Recently we’ve received comments especially on autofocus to improve the performance – in response we are developing a new firmware for X-H2s, XH2 and GFX 100II this update enhances subject tracking stability when shooting video.”

He also added that and the addition of two new functions for these camera models:

“The improvements by firmware upgrades are not limited to autofocus we will add two new functions for video shooting: it’s F-Log 2C which has a wide color gamut and time code synchronization by ambient locket devices through wire connection. As GFX 100II and X-H2s became more popular in video production we have received many requests for these functions. Adding them to our cameras will provide reliability and convenience in professional video production even further.”

He concluded this segment by hinting to other possible improvements/functions: “We’re currently considering further enhancements so please stay tuned.”

Let’s FOCUS on the Autofocus

Let’s analyze Yuji’s statement and the choice of his words: “Recently, we’ve received comments especially on autofocus to improve the performance – in response we are developing a new firmware for X-H2s, XH2 and GFX 100II this update enhances subject tracking stability when shooting video.”

Recently –really Fuji? The problems with autofocus have been reported at least since April 2024, when Edward made a controversial (at that time) video, that pointed out the autofocus issues in the X-H2s (6.00 version of the firmware).With his follow-up videos, he confirmed that the AF-C mode was not working correctly, no matter what settings or lenses he used. Firmware 7.00 didn’t solve the problems, it might have added some new ones and other users were also noticing the same issues, not only on the X-H2s but other models – specifically the X-H2, X-S20 and X-T5 cameras.

we’ve received comments especially on autofocus – I find it strange that they needed comments from users to figure out there was something wrong with the autofocus. Nobody at Fujifilm noticed these issues? If we look at the notes form the last H-2S firmware updates, we can see that they tried to address the AF issues:

• Ver. 5.03 – AF accuracy is improved with the following focus settings and shooting conditions.
• Ver. 6.00 – AF performance is improved as follows.
• Ver. 7.00 – The camera focuses on different subject in the face frame even though AF is detecting the pupil.

But the reality was that with each firmware update the AF issues were still present or got worse. I find it difficult to believe that nobody at Fujifilm noticed these issues and that they waited for months until acknowledging that something needed to be done.

 in response we are developing a new firmware for X-H2s, XH2 and GFX 100II– what about the X-S20 and X-T5? Owners of these two cameras felt betrayed, as Fujifilm focused on the flagship models and completely ignored these “lower tier” cameras. As you can imagine, there was an uproar in the comments, which forced Fuji to add a pinned comment addressing this mistake:

“Dear Customers, Thank you for your feedback and comments on our AF system performance. We’ve been working on X-T5, X-S20 and other models as well, to release the firmware within this year for improved user experience. We will communicate the details as soon as we have more information. We appreciate your understanding. “

this update enhances subject tracking stability when shooting video – what about photos? Autofocus problems are not exclusive to video mode and many still shooters have been complaining that while in AF-C mode, the hit rate is very low making it unreliable for professional work. Hopefully the enhancements made for video will translate also to stills.

Too little too late?

I fear that Fuji’s late response and lack of communication with its consumers has already had a profound effect – if we only look at the comments in some of these videos, we can see how many people already switched to another system (mainly Sony and Nikon) and sold off their Fuji cameras and lenses.

I do hope that this November update proves to be the one that finally fixes the autofocus issues and that in the future, Fujifilm will do a better job in communicating with its users. It does seem that the pro camera users have been neglected of late, maybe due to the fact that Fuji seems to put more attention to the non-pro crowd, with the booming sales of the Instax series as well as their new entry level vlogging X-series camera – the X-M5.

As an owner of both the X-H2s and the X-S20 I do hope that they fix these issues, as both are great cameras with amazing potential. As Omar mentioned in a recent video wouldn’t it be great if the upcoming firmware updates actually put Fuji autofocus on the same level as Sony? That would be a game changer for sure, as currently Fuji is in the lowest tier of autofocus reliability compared to the big 3 (Canon, Sony, Nikon) with Panasonic also being ahead in this area.