OttossonPhoto - Shooting Sport and Outdoor Fashion with Fujifilm XPro2

Shooting Sport and Outdoor Fashion with Fujifilm XPro2

Publicerad i Fototips

07 jun
2016

I have photographed with Fujifilm for 1.5 years. Today, I have two XT-1 cameras and a X100T. I photograph mostly weddings, portraits, and advertising. However, I have not photographed many fast-moving subjects.

Once a year, I usually shoot for the Swedish brand Swedemount, which makes sports and outdoor clothing. The creator's dream was to get the clothes on the Mount Everest peak. And it was achieved some years ago.

The last time I photographed for Swedemount, I was using my old Nikon equipment. This time, I definitely wanted to shoot with Fujifilm. Fujifilm Nordic was kind and let me borrow a XPro2. The problem was that I did not really know if the cameras were quick enough for moving subjects. According to Fujifilm, the XPro2 has a 30% faster autofocus than my XT-1.

The photo shoot was done at Västerålen/Lofoten in northern Norway, a magically beautiful place. Our main model was the Danish trail runner Kenn Løkkegard. We photographed over three days, and here are some thoughts and sample images.

But First, a Bit about Why I Love Fujifilm

I want things to be simple to use and fun to use, too. My way to Fujifilm began with Andreas, my son, who bought an X100, which I was not very fond of. Then, he bought a X100S and XPro1 and said very positive things about them. I was a bit more curious. They felt fun to shoot with, and I was at a stage where I needed some new inspiration. I also had some problems with my Nikon cameras. I have nothing against Nikon cameras, and my D700 is probably the best camera I have worked with. But I have had problems with certain Nikon cameras. So this also contributed to my curiosity about other brands. There were also great photographers who spoke warmly about Fujifilm, such as Zack Arias and Damien Lovegrove.

So Why Do I Love My Fuji Cameras?

Advantages

1. I see the exposure before taking the picture whether I look at the screen or in the viewfinder. It has saved me many test exposures at a wedding or advertising photography.

2. They are small, lightweight, and very easy and pleasant to work with. Everything takes much less space in my camera bag. I now use a smaller camera bag than when I was using a Nikon camera.

3. Most lenses are wonderfully sharp and good.

4. It has built-in film simulation that settles on the JPG version of the image. It’s nice to have this when I send the images to my iPhone and iPad with the Fujifilm app.

5. It also has an electronic shutter that allows me to use shutter speeds of, for example, 1/26000 second, which is awesome when I want to work with a shallow depth of field in bright sunshine.

6. The cameras can be completely soundless, which is great inside a quiet church. With Nikon cameras, I sometimes felt like a thresher :-)

7. I have a feeling (no science) that the auto white balance is fantastic. At a couple of weddings I have photographed, I have not touched the white balance in Lightroom.

8. In dark environments, I can choose not to see the exposure (which, of course, is often pitch black if I'm shooting with the flash), but the camera gives me a brighter picture so that I can see what I focus on.

My Lenses and Flashes

Speedlights

I use Cactus speedlight and transmitter. It works fine, and with the version I have, the receiver is built in the speedlight. From the transmitter, I can adjust the flash output. I use YONGNUO as a slave speedlight. The speedlight was used for shooting mountain bike fashion for Swedemount.

My Lenses

56 mm / f1.2

90 mm / f2

10-24 mm / f4

50-140 mm / f2.8

My Thoughts about the Lenses

Often, I use a 50-140 mm lens, and the 70-200 mm lens was my absolute favorite lens on a Nikon camera. The Fujifilm 50-140 mm lens is also said to have a fantastic stabilizer. I’m sure that the 56 mm / f1.2 lens is also very nice.

Important Settings with Moving Subjects

Put the camera in high-performance mode. High-performance mode makes everything work better. The negative is that it consumes more battery. But if you have plenty of battery life, this is not a problem.

Put the camera in continuous focus. It worked very well for me when I photographed trail running.

Lenses for Moving Subjects

If you want to get good results when shooting fast-moving subjects with your XPro2, you must also have a fast and good lens. In my opinion, the best lens for this purpose is Fujinon 50-140mm / 2.8. It also gives me a variety of compositions without running back and forth. It allows me to quickly get a good variety in my pictures.

Conclusion

I had no problem capturing fast-moving subjects with the Fujifilm XPro2. The camera and lens worked exactly as I had hoped. And as always with Fujifilm cameras, I think they are very pleasant to work with. The only thing I sometimes lacked was the fold-out display I have on my XT-1s when I needed a low angle. I also appreciate having two slots. I ran RAW on both cards to have a backup, which is important in this type of photography, as it would be very expensive to redo.