TIMOTHY GRIESEL – Wildlife Photography with the FujiFilm X-T2
Wildlife Photography with the FujiFilm X-T2
by Timothy Griesel
Now as some of you may be aware, I am a Canon Shooter and have been for a number of years but with the release of the FujiFilm X-T2 as well as the much anticipated Fujinon XF 100-400mm, FujiFilm have sparked my interest.
And last week I was lucky enough to take both the body and the lens for a test drive.
Now what do I think of the Fuji?
Positives
SIZE
The size of the FujiFilm is incredible. The small size makes the camera appealing especially when travelling as your equipment takes up half the amount of space of conventional DSLR kit.
PORTABILITY
Now I am not one to generally worry about my personal appearance and image so the smaller size of the FujiFilm didn’t bother me. When I walked into a bird hide and matched myself against the much bigger and more “impressive” looking Canon and Nikon Kit I noticed something that they couldn’t do, which i managed with ease, and this was to access tighter angles and spaces that would have simply been impossible with larger kit.
SHARPNESS
I wont lie, at first I struggled to find focus and ensure that my images where sharp but as I got the hang of the FujiFilm focussing system, my image sharpness improved and for the most part, any blurred images are purely a result of user error and not a result of the camera. This is evident in the image of the right, when everything worked in my favour, the images where tack-sharp, crisp and beautiful.
EVF
Now we all know, not everyone is happy with an electronic viewfinder, but I seriously enjoyed seeing exactly what my final image would look like as and when I was composing.
ISO
Probably one of the most impressive things about the Fuji is its ISO range, for example, the image above was shot in the last available light in the evening at an ISO of 1600 and it is still sharp and pretty clean. The Fuji handled ISO far better then my DSLR kit would have.
BATTERY
This has also been an issue with the FujiFilm systems but with the battery grip attached to the FujiFilm X-T2 (which houses 2 additional batteries), I was able to get just less then a week’s worth of Wildlife Photography without having to charge the batteries once.
Negatives (not too many)
MINIMUM APERTURE
When shooting with the 100-400 and the 1.4x Convertor, your minimum aperture is limited to f/8 which at times was limiting as it forced me to photograph at higher ISO values in the very low light conditions, something that I am not too comfortable with.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would recommend the FujiFilm X-T2 with the 100-400mm for any wildlife photographer looking for kit that is easier to handle, smaller in size and still gives you stunning results.
Timothy Griesel (NextGen Creative Media)
Facebook: @TimothyGrieselPhotography | Instagram: @TimothyGriesel | Twitter: @TimothyGriesel
DISCLAIMER: The images you see where all shot on either a combination of the FujiFilm X-T2 with the Fujinon XF 100-400mm (with or without the little 1.4x converter attached) or with a combination of the FujiFilm X-E1 with the Fujinon XF 50-140mm (which is a lens I thoroughly enjoyed).
