Photography News Issue 35

Photography News | Issue 35 | absolutephoto.com

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and most scenes I photographed had plenty of contrast or bold detail to latch onto, so I’d need more time to say for certain if the AF system is better in demanding situations. Its ability to track moving subjects is definitely superior to the X-T1, though, and this has been helped with custom preset modes for continuous AF shooting. The latter are akin to the case studies top-end Canon DSLRs offer. In each mode, the parameters of tracking sensitivity, speed tracking sensitivity and zone area switching are tailored to the situation. For tracking cars on a track I stuck with the Preset 1 Basic mode and that seemed to work fine – when it didn’t it was more user than camera error. Another big benefit of the X-T2 is apparent as soon as you put the camera up to the eye. The EVF is so much brighter than its predecessor – Fujifilm claims it’s twice as bright and that’s one f/stop. A side-by-side

comparison showed the difference to be significant and impressive. Using the X-T2 in continuous shooting mode showed another massive benefit, the minimal blackout between shots made tracking a moving subject much, much easier and more accurate. This was with the basic camera that can shoot at eight frames-per- second but the X-T2 has the option of attaching the VPB-XT2 grip for even better performance. This grip accepts two batteries so counting the one in the camera means you have shooting capacity of 1000 or more shots. There is the option of using Boost mode to shoot continuously at 11fps with the mechanical shutter – you get 14fps with the electronic shutter even without the grip. Boost mode also reduces blackout time from 0.19sec to 0.17sec, and shutter release lag. It also doubles as a charger and can fully charge two cells in two hours.

Left Extensive depth-of-field was needed for this shot so the ISOwas set to 1600 to allow 1/150sec and f/20 to be used Below left By contrast, a very shallow depth-of-field was required here so it was exposed at 1/640sec at f/2.8 and ISO 200 Above The X-T2’s autofocus system has been configured with fast-moving subjects in mind and here, with the 50-140mm f/2.8 zoom, it certainly kept up with the action

I had three fully charged batteries at the beginning of the day and 1200 shots and 12 hours later, one cell was flat and showing red but the other two still had plenty of charge. Even with one cell flat, you still get the better performance. In DSLR-style, several key controls, including the AF joystick, are replicated on the grip for convenient vertical-format shooting. Personally I found the position of the shutter release wasn’t ideal for me. The release is on the top of the grip while my forefinger naturally rested on the grip’s slanting front. Action photographers will benefit from the grip but for many users the maximum shooting rate of eight frames-per-second will be enough and it does make the X-T2 significantly bigger so it might not suit street shooters.