Month: September 2016

Changing the game at Photokina 2016

by Fujifilm EMEA September 21, 2016 Comments1

Photokina 2016 kicked off with something rather special. We held a press conference to tell the world about a little project we’ve been working on for a few years now.

The world’s press gathered in the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany in eager anticipation to see what we were planning to bring to the world of photography.

Toru Takahashi, Senior Vice President of Fujifilm Corporation, was welcomed to the stage to talk about our long history of launching amazing products at Photokina.

Although Photokina started in 1950, Fujifilm’s first appearance was in 1966 and has attended the show, which runs every two years, for every show since.

1968 saw us launch the FUJICA 690 medium format rangefinder.
1978 was the launch of the “FUJINON W Series” of large format lenses.
1988 saw the world’s first digital camera, the DS-1P.
2010 saw the announcement of the X100 – the launch that combined our analogue legacy expertise with our digital future.

We hope that 2016 will be another historical landmark in our Photokina announcement history, as this was the year that we announced our new format – GFX – which will be available from early 2017.

The FUJIFILM X Series is focused on the perfect balance of size, mobility and image quality and has brought back the joy of photography to many people.

GFX, with its large sized sensor, will provide the ultimate image quality, whilst also inheriting a lot of “X DNA”.

These two systems will complement each other perfectly. They are the two answers from Fujifilm for this era of photographic creativity.

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Once the video finished playing, Toshi Iida, General Manager for Sales & Marketing was welcomed up onto the stage to explain more about this new camera format.

G FORMAT

“G Format” – the name comes from Fujifilm’s heritage of Medium Format cameras – the G690, GS645, GX680 etc…

The sensor that will be in the first G Format camera will be a huge 43.8 x 32.9mm in size. It’s 1.7x bigger than a standard 35mm sensor and the first generation sensor will record 51.4 million pixels. This means that if you compare it to a 35mm sensor of the same pixel count, each pixel is 70% larger which allows them to capture a larger amount of light.

Toshi went on to explain that the sensor is completely brand new. It has been designed and customised for the G Format. It has specially shaped micro lenses that will collect light very effectively and the silicon process has also been optimised to maximise resolution and widen dynamic range.

This new sensor will sit behind a newly designed mount called the “G Mount”. This mount will have a 4mm thick plate to ensure it is strong and stiff, and will be equipped with a 12-pin terminal to supply power to support the AF speed.

There is no mirror in the G Format system. One reason for this is mirror shock which affects image quality. Additionally, the mirror constrains lens design. The typical flange-back distance on a Medium Format SLR is about 70mm. This will be approximately 26.7mm which will give us more flexibility to design high quality, small lenses.

The back focus can be as short as 10mm so there is less drop-off on the light’s final part of the journey onto the sensor’s surface.

Toshi then spoke about the shutter. The mount is equipped with a focal plane shutter so the maximum shutter speed will be 1/4000th to allow capture of fast moving subjects or shooting in bright scenes with wide aperture settings.

GF LENSES

Moving onto lenses, Toshi introduced our new range – “GF Lenses”. This large sensor is going to need high quality lenses as without excellent glass, there is no point having such a large sensor.

The lenses should last many decades after launch. To ensure they are future proof they have been designed to confidently operate with sensors of up to 100 megapixels in the future.

We set ourselves new standards that the lenses must meet. Normally, MTF of 35mm lenses is measured at 30 and 10 lines per mm. When converted to 33×44 sensor, this would be the equivalent of measuring at 20 and 7 lines per mm. However, the MTF of GF Lenses will be measured at 40 and 20 lines per mm. All GF Lenses will have to exceed this standard.

All lenses will be designed to be sharp regardless of the aperture setting and thanks to a large sized sensor, the image will hardly be affected by diffraction at all..

Our philosophy for lens design has always been to minimise correction of signal processing. Our XF Lenses for X Series are a good example. This philosophy will be applied to the GF Lenses.

The system will ideally be launched with the following lenses available:

GF63mm F2.8 Prime Standard
GF32-64mm F4 Zoom Standard
GF120mm F4 Macro

And the following lenses will hopefully be available before the end of 2017:

GF45mm F2.8
GF23mm F4
GF110mm F2

GFX DESIGN

G – Fujifilm’s Medium Format heritage
F – Film-look image quality
X – Design and operability of X Series

The first GFX camera body will be the GFX 50S. With the weight of around 800g, it’s incredibly small and light compared to existing Medium Format cameras and even lighter and smaller than most 35mm DSLR cameras. With it’s tilting LCD you will be able to shoot at waist level.

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You can attach the Electronic Viewfinder that is included with the camera to shoot in an SLR style.

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You can even add a tilting adaptor between the EVF and the camera and can shoot in any angle with your eye on the viewfinder which helps with low-angle shooting.

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To allow you to precisely control focusing you can also use an optional external screen.

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Toshi finished his presentation by saying that GFX is here to re-invent Medium Format.

“We will look back on Photokina 2016 in the future and I believe we will say it was a game changing event.” – Toshi Iida, General Manager for Sales & Marketing

Photokina 2016 is on until 25th September 2016 and the GFX camera and GF lenses can be seen behind a glass show case on our booth in Hall 4.2.

Photokina 2016 Microsite
GFX Special Contents

Filed under Be Inspired Blog Photography X-Photographer

X-Thusiast Featured Photographer William Solis: Familiar Can be New

by Leigh Diprose September 19, 2016 Comments1

In continuation from last month, we are happy to announce William Solis as our new X-Thusiasts Featured Photographer for September 2016. In his recent interview, Solis relays his thrill for cinematography and travel through Fujifilm photography.

“Starry Night”, Fujifilm X-T1 + Samyang 12mm F2 @ F2, 30 sec, ISO16000

Let’s start with the basics: Where is home? What are your hobbies? What inspires you from day to day?

Home is Newport in the Northern Beaches NSW. It’s a beautiful place, and I simply enjoy watching the ocean in my spare time. My hobbies other than photography are fitness, cinema and technology. Each hobby has some carryover to the other and ultimately gives me some variety.

My biggest daily inspiration is seeing the incredible shots in places that I’ve been to many times. There have been times where I haven’t gone out shooting because I felt I’ve covered every inch of that location, only to see someone else’s photograph from there; I’ve gained a perspective I had never considered as if I had never seen that place before. It’s really opened my eyes to continually try different shots, so I carry my camera with me everywhere. As I look for those shots, sometimes a great scene shows up, and I’m only able to capture it because I have my camera on me.

How did you develop an interest in photography? How did you learn and develop your craft?

Cinema has always been a big part of my life—even now it is a gigantic inspiration for my photography. I grew up watching movies and the cinematography was a very important aspect to me. The way the scenes were filmed, it was a perspective I had never seen in my day-to-day life. I wanted to capture my life like that. I also really appreciated my childhood photographs and they help me remember moments in my life that would otherwise be a fragment. I also felt they showed the moment better than I could explain it.

“Fireworks in Darling Harbour”, Fujifilm X-T1 + XF23mmF1.4

My parents got me a compact camera when I was about 15. From there, I took photos of anything and everything—at first, I emulated the compositions I liked in the movies without really understanding what made them look so good. Over time, I researched composition guidelines, photography FAQs, beginner guides, etc. I joined photography websites and spent a lot of time analysing shots I liked, matching them up with the composition and post-processing posts I was reading. I would get some constructive criticism from other photographers, but most times I would come back to my earlier shots and see what didn’t work based on the experience I had gained since then. My goal was to understand the thought process and develop my eye in order to take better shots.

Over the years, I have met other photographers who have taught me a lot and I have attended workshops that have taught me things that would have otherwise taken me way longer to learn. I am still developing my vision through experimenting, mixing it up or looking at shots from people who have different viewpoints.

Do you have a particular photographic style? If so, what would you consider that to be?

Travel photography would be the best way I could describe it. I try to see the places I go to as if I was seeing it through the eyes of someone who’s been there for the first time and I like to think if after looking at their shots, how would they have photographed it differently? From the beginning, my goal has always been to photograph to remember the life I have lived.

“Sunset at Barrenjoey Headland”, Fujifilm X-T1 + XF35mmF1.4, shutter 1/5000

What’s your favourite location to shoot in Australia?

Barrenjoey headland at Palm Beach; not only is it beautiful but there are so many ways that it can be photographed. I find it’s a playground, an open-air studio that I am free to enjoy.

Consider your favourite or most memorable Fujifilm photograph. Where was it taken, how was it shot and what does this photo mean to you?

That is not easy to answer! Most memorable for me would be a rain cloud I photographed from Newport beach in the morning. I went down to the beach despite it being a cloudy morning. I did not think I was going to get anything special but I went anyway. I just wanted to photograph.

I reached the beach and saw this wonderful view of a rain cloud over the ocean and the sun behind it. I wanted to give some context and sand wasn’t working so I walked past the ocean pool and onto the rocks. There was a rock that the waves kept crashing against and I saw a shot in my head. I squatted down, tilted the screen up on my X-T1 and composed the rock in the foreground and the rain cloud in the background. I simply waited for it to appear in front of my camera. I was listening to Simon and Garfunkel during the shoot and I know that influenced my shot.

The shot represents a couple of things to me: To go out even if it doesn’t look ideal and that you don’t always know what you’re going to get, so put yourself out there.

“Good morning, Newport”, Fujifilm X-T1 + XF23mmF1.4

What’s your favourite X Series camera? Why do you prefer that particular model?

X-T1 without a doubt. Specifically the EVF, flip-up screen and design. I’ve used a variety of cameras in my life but there has always been something that has hindered me or been not as enjoyable to use. The X-T1 is easily the most enjoyable—it is just right in the places that I need and almost feels tailored to me. It’s like the makers had a wishlist for a camera that they would use themselves and made it. I’m just glad that it exists! I refer to my X-T1 as my electronic eye because it feels like an extension of me and the closest I can get to saving the moments I see with my own eyes.

Which Fujinon lens(es) do you prefer?

The 23mm F1.4 is my main lens. It enables me to get the shots I am after. I do not feel hindered by it, especially in low light. There are many shots I would not have been able to get if I did not have that lens. I also use the 35mm F1.4 for subjects farther away and the Samyang 12mm F2 if I want to go wider.

Could you describe your photographic workflow? Do you prefer any third-party, post-processing software, camera accessories or community networks to develop and share your work?

My in-camera settings are Pro Neg Std and Colour +2. I shoot in RAW but the look of that film simulation works for me as a base idea. I use Lightroom predominantly and Nik Collection for sharpening as I find it does a better job. I import my photos with VSCO 06 400H+1 + because it gives me a feel of what I’m after and starts the process of connecting the photograph I have in my head to the final image. Usually, I get the colours first then highlights/shadows/curves and then finish off with colour afterwards. Sometimes the missing piece is changing the colour hue, usually blue and yellow. Sometimes I edit a bunch of images and by the last one, I have found the look I am after and apply it to the previous shots.

I upload to Flickr and share it to Instagram. I also back up my exported images to an external hard drive. Sometimes I feel I don’t need to go to Lightroom and instead convert in-camera to the look I’m after and send it to my phone. I then edit in Snapseed and upload from there.

Do you have any additional final thoughts regarding Fujifilm X Series? Do you have any tips or advice you’d like to share with other photographers out there pursuing their craft?

Firstly, I am very interested in the X-T2—especially for the video and AF—so I will be checking that out when I can. I highly appreciate the firmware updates and Fujifilm listening to feedback (any video-centric firmware updates for the X-T1 would be greatly appreciated).

I often get asked what camera I recommend and I would love for Fujifilm to make a 1″ sensor successor to the X30. I have a feeling that it will fill a gap for many people and would be an excellent introduction to Fujifilm. On a similar note, I would really like Fujifilm to host more events because it would allow people to try out the gear in real-life scenarios. I would definitely like to be involved or attend such events.

My advice for photographers would be to never stop learning and be open to new ideas, different compositions and styles because it may open you up to take photographs that you would have never considered.

“Sunset on St. Leonards, NSW”, Fujifilm X-T1 + XF23mmF1.4

To see more of Will’s work, you can follow him on Instagram at @willsolis1.

If you, or someone you know, is interested in joining our X-Thusiast community, check out the full X-Thusiast Gallery and Submission details here.

Filed under Interviews X-Photographer

Tips for Handheld Macro Photography

by Fujifilm X Series US September 19, 2016 Comments9

By Nicole S. YoungMacro photography is an fascinating way to get a close-up look at everyday items. Photographers will oftentimes use a tripod to create their photos, but in some cases it is necessary, and also more convenient, to hand-hold the camera to create these images. However with hand-held macro photography you will also face certain challenges along the way. Here are some tips to help get you started creating your own beautiful macro photographs.

Camera gear used in this article:

FUJIFILM X-T1 Camera
FUJIFILM X-T2 Camera
FUJINON XF60mmF2.4 R Macro Lens
Neewer CN-216 Dimmable LED Panel

Add More Light

I like to photograph macro images in the shade or on cloudy days so that I have a nice even light spread across the scene. However, sometimes the existing light is not quite enough for the camera settings required to get a good image (a high shutter speed and lower ISO). To compensate, I will oftentimes use a simple and inexpensive LED light that can either be attached to the hot-shoe of the camera, or held off to the side. This not only adds a good amount of fill light, but it also will help add catchlights to whatever you are photographing.

01_nicolesy_macro_light — **The Neewer CN-216 Dimmable LED Panel adds a nice fill-light to a macro photo without being too harsh.**

Focus Manually

When photographing something that is moving, just like I did with these images of bees, it was very difficult to use auto-focus. The bees were moving to quickly and positioned themselves out of focus before I could even press the shutter. To work around this challenge, I decided to pre-focus the lens and moved the camera back-and-forth until I could see the bee in focus, and then I pressed the shutter and fire off several consecutive frames. You will end up with a lot of throwaway images with this technique, but you will also have a higher chance of getting one of the images from that set in focus.

Here’s a step-by-step on how I performed this technique:

First, I pre-focused the lens so that the focus point was an appropriate distance from the lens for the subject (in this case, a bee on a flower).
Next, I set my drive mode to “continuous high”.
Once I found a good subject (a bee on a flower), I moved the camera back and forth on the bee until I could see it come into focus on the preview on the back of my camera. As I saw it pop into focus, I pressed the shutter and created several images (with the hopes that one of them is in focus).

Focus on the Eyes

If photographing a bug or small animal, it’s important that you focus on the eyes. Small bugs can move around quickly, and so it can be tempting to feel like you are getting a good photo if the creature is facing away from you. While it won’t hurt anything to fire off a few photos (pixel are cheap, after all), a photo of the eyes of a bee, for example, is much more compelling than a bee butt. Have some patience and position yourself so that you can create the best creature portrait as possible.

02_nicolesy_macro_butt — **This photo is in focus, but it’s also the wrong end of the bee! (FUJIFILM X-T2, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/680 sec at F2.4, ISO 400)**

03_nicolesy_macro_eyes — Your best bet is to position yourself so that you can photograph the eyes of your subject. This image shows just how detailed the eyes of a bumblebee can be when zoomed in close. (FUJIFILM X-T1, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/1000 sec at F5, ISO 3200)

Find a Clean Background

Creatively speaking, the composition of your photo is going to be one of the most important aspects. You might have a “technically perfect” photo, but if it does not look good compositionally then it it loses its appeal. I find that one of the easiest ways to get a good composition is to angle myself so that the background is clean and not busy. There are a few different ways you can accomplish this:

Move your camera (or yourself) lower to position the frame at eye-level (instead of shooting down). This will help create a blurred background to separate the subject from its surroundings.
Find a subject that has contrasting elements behind it so that it stands out.
Use a wide aperture to add more blur to the background.

04_nicolesy_macro_composition1 — **The bee in this photo is on a very distracting background, and makes the image less pleasing. (FUJIFILM X-T2, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/420 sec at F2.4, ISO 400)**

To get a better photo, I waited for the bee to move and positioned myself so that the background behind the bee was less busy. (FUJIFILM X-T2, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/320 sec at F2.4, ISO 400)

Use a Fast Shutter Speed

With hand-held photography it’s important to make sure that the shutter speed is set fast enough to prevent camera shake. A good rule of thumb is to set the speed to at least the same number as the focal length of your lens. For example, I was using a XF60mm lens for these photos, so I would want to be sure that the shutter speed was set to no slower than 1/60th of a second to make sure that I don’t add motion blur to the photos. However I also needed to make sure that the shutter speed was fast enough to freeze the action of the bees as they moved around. For these photos I found that a shutter speed of 1/250 (and typically higher) was a safe setting.

06_nicolesy_macro_slow — At 1/30th of a second, the shutter speed is WAY too slow to both hand-hold the bee and photograph it without moving. As a result, there is a significant amount of motion blur in this image. (FUJIFILM X-T2, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/30 sec at F4, ISO 200)

Using a faster shutter speed, such as 1/500th of a second, gives you a better chance of getting a photo without any movement. (FUJIFILM X-T1, FUJINON XF60mm Lens, 1/500 sec at F4, ISO 640)

The intensity of the light in the environment you are photographing will determine if this is going to be an issue. If there is a lot of sunshine or it is very bright (even in a shaded area), then you may be in the clear. However if you do need to increase the shutter speed, here are some tips to help you add more light to the scene:

Try adding an additional light source (similar to what I mentioned at the beginning of the article).
Increase the ISO setting, or set it to “auto” and let the camera decide for you.
Use a wide aperture, such as ƒ/2.8 or wider. Doing this will allow more light to the sensor, but it will also increase the blur and narrow your depth of field (the area that is in focus), so it may be more difficult to get an in-focus photograph.

About the AuthorNicole S. Young is a full-time photography educator living in Portland, Oregon. She owns and operates the Nicolesy Store where she creates and sells photography training, presets, and textures for photographers of all levels. Nicole has also been a stock photographer for over 10 years and licenses her work primarily through Stocksy United.

Filed under Be Inspired Tutorials X-Photographer

The potential of magnetic tape

by Fujifilm EMEA September 13, 2016 Comments0

The Information Age needs a good way to archive information. Something that has very high capacity, that can be stored for a very long time and that can be retrieved easily. Optical discs are not as long-lasting as they would seem, but good old magnetic tape has a lot of potential.

Fujifilm has boosted magnetic tape into something much better. Its new dternity tape uses barium ferrite instead of conventional metal particles to get extremely high information density without oxidation when exposed to air. This is combined with a new coating process that is one-tenth the thickness of magnetic tape. The result is a medium that lasts for decades and has the capacity for today’s immense data volumes – one cartridge can hold as much as 50,000 DVDs.

Read more.

Filed under Spotlight

Idi Probak – A traditional Basque rural sport

by Guest Blogger September 13, 2016 Comments1

By Danny Fernandez

The Basque Country is an area spanning both Spain and France on the Atlantic coast.

In the past few years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit this unique Spanish region (what most people are referring to when they talk about the Basque Country) several times and have been able to learn a little about the culture, traditions and food; all of which are extremely rich.

On my last visit, I was able to join in the yearly celebration of ‘San Pedro’ (or ‘San Pedroko Jaiak’ in Basque). This is celebrated all over Spain, but this festival is especially important to the village of Boroa. Boroa is made up of 15th Century farmhouses, rolling hills of farmland and dense forests, but also has a pioneering industrial centre. Interestingly, Boroa has it’s own Michelin starred restaurant.

The Basque Country is a place with many rich, rural traditions (many dating back centuries), and they celebrate their heritage by keeping these traditions alive during special events throughout the year.

The climax of the Boroa’s San Pedroko Jaiak celebration is a traditional rural sport named ‘Idi Probak’ (which can be loosely translated to ‘Oxen Tests’) and takes place in Boroa’s village centre.

There are a few variations of this game (depending on the region in which it is held) but I will briefly describe the one which I saw.

The game involves two oxen dragging a rock (in this case, a 1800kg concrete slab) along the length of a cobbled track (named ‘proba toki’ – the length of this is typically from 22m – 28m). The oxen are guided by an ox-herder and a goader, whose job it is to steer both the oxen, and the rock along the track. They have 30 minutes to do as many lengths as possible, dragging the 1800 kgs behind them. The spectators bet on how many lengths the Oxen can carry the weight in 30 mins.

I heard that in the past, it wasn’t uncommon for the competitors to bet their harvest, their houses and even their land during this event!

The oxen are trained throughout the year in preparation of this competition, and are regularly taken for long walks in the hills and mountains as well as trained by dragging rocks.

During the evening of the event, the locals (and also those from neighbouring villages) come to watch the spectacle, socialise and end the night with traditional music and dancing.

The Basque country is a very unique place, full of natural and untamed beauty. The people are proud, the food is incredible and the landscapes are stunning.

‘The moment this man won a bet, correctly guessing how many lengths the oxen could drag the weight in 30 minutes’.

All photos taken on a Fujifilm X-T10 using XF16 / XF23 / XF56 lenses.

To see more of Danny’s work, click here.

Filed under Be Inspired Photography Reportage Travel

Drew Gardner shoots the USA Womens 8 Olympic Team with the X-T2

by Fujifilm EMEA September 8, 2016 Comments0

By Drew Gardner

I was assigned by ‘Sports Illustrated’ to shoot a multimedia project of The USA Olympic Team Womens 8 before they travelled to Rio where they would be in the running for another Gold medal. And having recently been greatly inspired by Google’s Excellent ‘Inside Abbey Road’ I came up with the idea of shooting a 360 project with video content within it.

There is often too much emphasis on equipment but on this occasion having exactly the right tool for the job, something small, light, with superb still image quality, 4K video capable and user friendly.

Enter the brand new Fuji X-T2, the successor to the highly popular and delightful Fuji X-T1

Small, light with 4K video capability and VERY user friendly.

There are many really good camera’s out there but in my opinion none have the special ‘instantly at home’ feel for someone coming from a DSLR as Fuji does with its ‘X’ series cameras.

I am baffled as to why Fuji is alone amongst digital camera manufacturer has managed to successfully take the ‘soul’ from a film camera and transplant it in a digital offering (incidentally this is not an opinion I have reached overnight, but a view I have held for some years now.

I’m delighted to say that Fuji have been successful in carrying on this tradition with the Fuji X-T2, combining a truly intuitive user experience with superb performance on all fronts.

24.3mp X-Trans CMOS sensor which feature which debuted on the Fuji X-Pro2 is quite a step forward over the X-T1

The X-T2 is a camera with heaps of performance and is ready to shoot when you are, you can feel from the moment you pick the camera that it has massive processing power – dubbed the X Processor Pro. Aside from the sensor this is one of the key areas I look for as it is pointless having a great sensor if the camera does not have the processing power to handle it.

A powerful processor opens the gateway to all sorts of high performance feature in a camera, such as 14 frames a second (should you need it), 325 autofocus points and 4k video at up to 30fps (more of this later)

Ok so it is incredibly responsive and easy to use but what about the image quality?

I am happy to report that the image quality in terms of resolution is handy step forward over the X-T1 delivering more detail and the dynamic range, though I have not had chance to test this back to back it seems to be better.

The X-T2 viewfinder is clearer and brighter than the X-T1 and I found it easy to manually focus.

So how did it work out?

First shot of the day was the team portrait in the lake, this was carefully worked out to coincide with Sunrise (a time so early that it is actually difficult to get yourself to believe it will ever get light)

The still shot was actually way more difficult than it might first appear as there was only a limited area of hard standing in the water after that you hit deep mud…which also smelled pretty bad.

Taylor Ballentyne who shot behind the scenes of the project was kind enough to stand in so we could establish where it would be safe to stand.

Then there was the lighting.

Let me rewind a little – I hired the Profoto B1 lights along with all other kit from one of the coolest rental houses in New York City – Scheimpflug (to quote Wikipedia it takes its name from the Scheimpflug principle which is a geometric rule that describes the orientation of the plane of focus of an optical system when the lens plane is not parallel to the image plane)

The guys at Scheimpflug were super helpful and highly professional and were more than happy to let me come along a couple of days before the shoot so I could test the gear and ensure it worked as it should (this might seem a bit extreme but this shoot was super special and I wanted to make sure I made no mistakes). These guys are highly recommended.

Why Profoto B1 lights? Well right now my opinion they are the simplest, most reliable location light out there in with not a cable in sight, this gives you unparalleled flexibility – it is a photographers license to put a light just about anywhere.

I did not use the Profoto modifiers – I instead reverted to my softbox of choice the Chimera medium softbox (with a white interior).

I have been using the soft but highly directional Chimera modifiers exclusively for 20 ish years, they give me exactly the look I want and you can do so many clever things with them – they are versatility personified.

If the team were on a limited small hard(ish) standing area where could I put the lights?

I was restricted to putting the key lights at the edge of Lake Carnegie, which as you will see from my drawing, has all sorts of creatures swimming in it.

I needed a little more power and I ‘only’ had 4 lights – which sounds like a lot but when you are shooting a large group on location and you are aiming for F11 or F8 to ensure everyone is in focus it really is not a great deal of light.

I was going to put a light in the water as a back light but as the sun was a great celestial back light it freed up one more Profoto B1 head.

To get a little more ‘oomph’ to my key light bank of lights I put two heads in one softbox by slightly unconventional means (though I believe you can get a speed ring which takes two heads for the Chimera soft box)

So it was three Profoto B1 lights off to camera left, which worked very well but I needed a little fill head on so I used my last Profoto B1 in a brolly – the lights were set.

The team entered the water and I had a very short period of time with them – think around 10 – 15 mins in the water before they went training.

Even though time was short I mounted the Fuji X-T2 on my Gitzo tripod as if needed to undertake any extensive post production (which I didn’t) it was going to be much easier – remember the tripod is your friend…..

The second shot was the 360 stills panorama where I needed to have clickable hotspots which would link to short video interviews with the team members.

Have a look at the 360 shot with videos here.

I really did not want to switch between multiple cameras so the Fuji X-T2’s enhanced video capability came into play.

Though we did not output the video in in 4K(we downsampled the footage to 720p so the final file would be less ‘heavy’) we did shoot the videos in 4K as being in the throes of another major project everything HAS to be shot in 4K it seems like ‘short change’ to shoot in 1080p but perhaps more importantly it gives me the capability to crop into the video. As we were shooting with ‘just’ one camera this could be a useful feature to have to say the very least.

While I am talking video I shot in the standard 4K setting as Fuji’s F-Log, which ensures you get the maximum from a file as you shoot in a ‘flat’ profile was not yet available when I shot the project.

Even with the standard profile available to me on the day I was very pleased with the video output

Some of the enhanced video features that were available to me on the day, the ability to monitor audio via the headphone jack and the extended recording time (30 mins of 4K) came to me courtesy of the new VG-XT2 hand grip which takes two batteries in addition to the standard camera battery.

The 360 stills shot itself was shot on the Fuji X-T2 with the excellent Zeiss Touit 12mm lens which I find to be a dream for 360 panoramas and I used the Seitz Roundshot VR drive which I have come to rely on to deliver the goods day in day out without missing a beat. Ever.

When you are using a motorised VR head – sometimes with quite big lenses and battery packs the weight does add up so I use the Gitzo GT5562LTS which is a serious pro tripod which you can fit in your carry on luggage. For the still 360(and the stills team shot in the lake) I used the Gitzo 5381SQR which is perfect for panoramas and landscapes – it is however worthy of note as this tripod does take a full on video head too – one tripod which really does do it all.

Speaking of something that does it all it seems like a good place to round up with my thoughts on the Fuji X-T2.

If you use a an X-T1 and you are expecting a camera which completely different from your current camera then think again – the X-T2 is more about evolution than revolution and it is all the better for it, with tweaks and enhancements which makes it the most complete mirrorless camera to date that Fuji has yet produced

For me this is the camera which takes the ‘X’ series into everyday pro territory for the first time. Until now, for me at least, the X cameras which I love with their charm and wonderful image quality have been been my ‘fun’ cameras and I have walked out the door to shoot the ‘big’ jobs on something else.

The mixed still/360 still and 4k video nature of this assignment was a serious challenge and one that X-T2 rose to without any fuss or drama – excelling in every area WITHOUT making my brain melt.

Whisper it. Fuji might, just might have, produced the best mirrorless camera to date one that combines charm, image quality, capability and is a joy to use.

See the full Sports Illustrated article here
See more of Drew’s work at www.gardnercreative.co.uk

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