LOOK WHO HAS JOINED THE FAMILY – Lood Goosen
My move to Fujifilm wasn’t done on a whim and a fancy. I’ve been looking at the system for some time and actually shot a wedding with a borrowed X-T1. Unfortunately, at that stage it had too many limitations when compared to the setup I owned. Things like battery life and image quality weren’t up to scratch and a move seemed unlikely.
But something about the system stayed with me, and when fellow photographer Trompie van der Berg dragged me to the Fujifilm stand at the Photo Plus Africa event, I knew I was in trouble! I loved the new X-T3 and knew the time had come.
The main reason I started looking at alternative systems was because of weight. I had a serious accident a couple of years ago and came to a point where I could not justify my current gear with the amount of recovery time I needed after each wedding. It was just too heavy.
After shooting with the Fujifilm X-T3, there’s just no comparison. As expected, the weight of the body and lenses are truly amazing, while the focussing and colour reproduction are top notch and is a match for anything else on the market. I really feel that when it comes to the X-T3, you really are getting way more value than what you pay for. Plus, my insurance is now a quarter cheaper – who wouldn’t be happy with that?
When switching over, the menu system took a bit of time to get used to and I find the front dial is very close to the on/off button, which made me switch off the camera a few times. But this is basically teething problems and like anything else in life, in a couple of weeks you will not know what the fuss was about. Ergonomically the X-T3 is a delight, especially since I customise all the dials and buttons to my own preference.
For me, size does matter and smaller is better. As a wedding and event photographer, you have to work from the shadows and stay unnoticed. I like shooting from low but bending down and getting up really gets to you after you shot the 95th award. That’s where a smaller, lightweight camera such as the X-T3 really comes as a saving grace. It’s the perfect size for travel and it doesn’t feel like a chore to take your camera with you wherever you go.
I switched to a more affordable system and are still able to produce the same quality if not better to my clients. I’m definitely happy!
Website: www.lwgphoto.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lodewykw.goosenphotography
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lwg_photo/
