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Fujifilm

Make the Switch ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE The cameras and lenses you use can inspire and define you as a photographer, as Colin Toogood discovered when he switched over to the FujifilmX Series

MY EDGY PORTRAIT style has developed thanks to the Fujifilm system, just because the kit is so inspiring. Before, I was using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with a number of L-series lenses. I now have an X-T3 and an X-H1 – both used mostly with battery grips. The great thing is, especially with the X-T3, I can take off the grip. On its own, it is quite a small camera, so ideal for everyday use. Lens-wise, I have primes and two zooms. The zooms are the

XF16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR and the wonderful XF50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR, which are generally useful for everything. I use the latter for people shots, but my main lenses for portraits are the XF23mm f/1.4 R, the XF90mm f/2 R LM WR and the XF56mm f/1.2 R, which is very good, especially for background bokeh. I have recently bought a XF16-80mm f/4 R OIS WR as a take- everywhere, all-round, all-purpose lens, and I’m very impressed.

There is the obvious weight saving, but that is not particularly in the bodies, because the X-H1 is actually quite a substantial camera and not appreciably lighter than the Canon. The big difference is with the size of the lenses. As a former electronics engineer, I understand the physics of mirrorless lenses being closer to the sensor, and the fact that the Fujifilm X Series is APS-C format, too. I’m not worried about the cropped sensor versus full-frame, because in this day

and age, there is far more to image quality than just sensor size. The whole Fujifilm X-Trans technology factor levels the playing field in my view – it is the quality of the pixels that counts, not the quantity. What I also love about Fujifilm cameras is that the JPEG output is absolutely spot on, saving an awful lot of work. In situations where I know there is more of a challenge in the dynamic range, I shoot Raws as well as JPEGs. But I honestly find if I shoot

COLIN TOOGOOD Portrait, event and wedding photographer based in Ludlow, Shropshire. He runs creative portrait workshops, offers club lectures and is a Tenbury Photographic Club member picturegrafix.co.uk

MADE INTHE SHADE Model Marc Key looks pensively from behind the wheel of a 1952 Dodge pickup. Fujifilm X-T3 with XF90mm f/2 R LM WR. Exposure 1/1000sec and f/2, ISO 160

22 Photography News | Issue 89

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