HAP-1 to HAP-2 vs Autofocus Calibration

Digital Transitions, Phase One Dealer of the Year 2017

The difference between HAP-2 Upgrade and Auto Focus Calibration

Last week, Phase One announced the HAP-2 autofocusing sensor hardware upgrade. It is a revolutionary method to upgrade your camera with a new AF sensor without committing to a new camera body. However, within that announcement, there is another service that has the same or even more impact on the XF autofocus improvement: AutoFocus Calibration.

With the news of Phase One’s XF autofocus improvements – HAP-1 to HAP-2 and AF Calibration – many will be wondering what is the difference and which method of improvement can benefit them the most. This post will help explain the specific hardware and calibration improvements.  Based on your shooting style, you can then decide which service is better suited for upgrading your XF’s autofocus.

• HAP-1 to HAP-2
  • The HAP-2 sensor has higher dynamic range and is able to detect low contrast and low light scenes better than HAP-1, finding the focus point faster. So if you come across these lower lighting scenarios often in your shooting, this upgrade will be a great benefit for you.
  • If XF’s with HAP-1 and HAP-2 are both focusing on a scene that is well lit, there will not be much different in that aspect.
• AutoFocus Calibration
  • Enhancement for the internal autofocusing calibration.
  • This will increase the autofocus precision for both HAP-1 and HAP-2.

Examples:

Scenario 1 – You are a landscape photographer who only photographs during the daytime and never has an issue with auto focus locking; but you are would like more precise accuracy of the focus. This scenario will benefit from AF Calibration service and not necessarily from the HAP-2 hardware upgrade.

Scenario 2 – You are a landscape photographer who photographs during dawn, dusk and night time and the autofocus is having difficulty finding the focus because of the low light situation. This scenario can benefit from the HAP-2 upgrade.

Scenario 3 – You are a studio photographer who does product/still-life. You have plenty of light and contrast on the scene but you would like better precision on the accuracy of focus. You will benefit from the autofocus calibration, but not the HAP-2 upgrade.

Scenario 4 – You are a studio photographer who uses strobes without a modeling light and is having trouble locking the focus on the subject in the low light situation. This shooter will benefit from the HAP-2 hardware upgrade.

Therefore, not all users will need the improved low light/low contrast capabilities (HAP-1 to HAP-2), but ALL XF users will be able to benefit from the new calibration if your XF camera body does not have it already.

Do I already have the latest AF Calibration?

If you want to find out whether the calibration on your XF is done by the newest method. Press the lower silver button on the XF camera body, scroll down to “About” and check your “AFcal”.  If the date is after “01.08.2017”(date, month, year), that means the calibration on that camera body is current. 

If you have any further questions in regard to the hardware upgrade or AF calibration, please do not hesitate to contact us at support@digitaltransitions.com or (877) 367-8537 and we will be happy to help you.