Thank you very much Seth You sparked my interest now and I have to try the TCL converters
The XT2 is a superb camera. The AF is fast, very accurate and I love the Fuji ergonomics. That said I have D810 and D750 as my FF system and the dynamic AF is still in another league compared to the XT2 and also compared to the Sony A7rII. The other aspect is the Nikon creative lighting system is truly excellent and I would imagine this would be very important for your theatre shots.
I feel for theatre work the D810/D600 as a system are still the best work horses. This is no way takes away from the XT2 or the X100F.
Thank you very much Seth You sparked my interest now and I have to try the TCL converters
The XT2 is a superb camera. The AF is fast, very accurate and I love the Fuji ergonomics. That said I have D810 and D750 as my FF system and the dynamic AF is still in another league compared to the XT2 and also compared to the Sony A7rII. The other aspect is the Nikon creative lighting system is truly excellent and I would imagine this would be very important for your theatre shots.
I feel for theatre work the D810/D600 as a system are still the best work horses. This is no way takes away from the XT2 or the X100F.
Thanks Charles - that angel with the red hair will look wonderful with the TCL ;-) I have a red-haired grandson aged 15, and I know what I'm talking about! seriously, for headshots the 50mm (equivalent) TCL is the way to go - the distortion gets too much otherwise. I have just done a few shots with the TCL on the X100s at f2.0 and I'll post them tomorrow. The rendering and focus accuracy is first class.
RedzDead wrote:
can yall please label the photos with the camera used, its ort of defeats the purpose without it
People generally do? Everything on the last 3 pages certainly does. I'm sure someone would be willing to help if you have something specific you were wondering about.
"Thank you very much Seth You sparked my interest now and I have to try the TCL converters
The XT2 is a superb camera. The AF is fast, very accurate and I love the Fuji ergonomics. That said I have D810 and D750 as my FF system and the dynamic AF is still in another league compared to the XT2 and also compared to the Sony A7rII. The other aspect is the Nikon creative lighting system is truly excellent and I would imagine this would be very important for your theatre shots.
I feel for theatre work the D810/D600 as a system are still the best work horses. This is no way takes away from the XT2 or the X100F".
Hi Charles - it's taken me a while. And I'm thinking what a dummy I've been.
My wife Annie has the lead role of “Ida” in Kander & Webb's "70, Girls, 70" which opens at GCLT on the Coast tomorrow night. I've taken all the portraits and rehearsal shots to date with the D810 and D600. Finally, at the Preview night on Wednesday this week, I forced myself to throw away my security blanket, and I took only the X100s with the TCL.
I set if for RAF only, with auto ISO up to 6400. Made sure that the TCL was activated. Set WB on Auto, aperture fixed at f2.8 - and I varied the shutter from 1/200 to 1/250 (it's a stage musical - movement blur is the bane of my life). Metering? I set it to Spot. I always use spot in theatre. Maybe other people prefer centre or matrix. I wouldn't argue the point. The light determines the issue.
Only used the EVF. And it was a Godsend; with the Nikons I usually spot meter and set the focus point (with a bit of quick finger work) on the forehead or cheek; with the X100s I could sometimes see in advance - via the EVF - that if I moved the focus/metering point to the chest or throat the exposure would be better. The reason I use Spot metering is to avoid blown highlights. The EVF saved my bacon in that respect. With the D810 I have found that the ‘highlight protection’ Spot metering cuts the exposure down too much - I rarely use it.
After some chimping with the X100s I was gobsmacked. We had production lights running. The exposures were coming in at ISOs in the hundreds, and maybe up to 1600, but not often beyond that.
I think it’s to do with the Spot metering allied with the EVF. I could adjust on the fly, simply by moving the point of focus/spot metering.
Depth of field problems with that? No. At f2.8 the X100s crop sensor is giving me ample DOF. Chest or throat focus gives good eyes and a lot more for neighbouring actors. I reckon that with the Nikons I had to use at least f4.0 or f5.0 to get an equivalent zone of sharpness. Yeah, I know what the tables say about comparative DOF with crop sensor or FX. I’m talking about what I see.
Once in Lightroom, I was again taken aback. Using camera calibration on the RAF files was a doddle - in association with WB adjustment I was at a satisfactory colour balance/tonality in a jiffy.
And here’s the rub: my wife looked at the pics on Facebook today and said “Gee, the colours are lovely”. It was as if she saw something different about them. I did too. That indefinable Fuji magic.
Downsides? well, it was the X100s - not the XT2 - I had to anticipate focus points and peak action (I was set to AF with AFS - AFC on the X100s is useless in this kind of work). It reminded me of shooting with my film cameras. It was a cultural shock not being able to use back-button focus as on the Nikons. But, once into the swing of it, I enjoyed the challenge.
The future: I am convinced that the Fuji sensor is superb for this type of work (most of the shots I’ve posted below are substantially cropped - sometimes to a 100mm Field of View, or more! - and this is not the latest sensor!). For reasons I haven’t had time to work out yet, the results are more satisfying overall than the Nikons. And if I can get this sort of focus and exposure under such tricky conditions with a mere X100s … I can see myself switching … if, and it’s a big if, the AF in Continuous is up to it when the chips are down. I might even be prepared to renege on that statement … the results impressed me, technically, so much.
regards
Dan
p.s. just looked at these - they have come up via Photobucket - don't know if you will see them as I do - on my Mac retina display they are cracking clear.
Great shots Dan
The XT2 would have worked really well in all of the shooting sequences. The X100F would have also. You are right the Fuji colors are very special and natural looking. I have always love Fuji film colors from way back Truth is probably would have been fine with using OOC Jpegs.
The lighting was very good with ISO's in the 100's, so AF and noise would not have been an issue.
I'm really enjoying my X100F. And I find that the thumbsup helps prevent me from constantly hitting the Q menu button and the exposure compensation like I was before, just carrying the camera (not when actually shooting). I probably would not bother with a thumb grip if not for that, as the camera is so light that I don't find grip to be a problem. I still turn the camera on inadvertently from time to time as I have with all previous iterations of the X100. Seems like they should have firmed up the on/off switch and exposure comp dial long ago!
My question: Is there a way to tell in EFIX if a photo was taken in crop mode? As with the other dials, I keep finding myself hitting the digital zoom by moving the focus ring inadvertently.
Frank Scallo wrote:
Grabbed a X100F over the weekend. I had owned the original and decided it was time to compliment my FF gear with another X100 series cam. So far I'm loving it but also getting used to it all over again. Took it out to the boardwalk last night with family and got a good feel for it. This will primarily be my 'fun' camera for family stuff and messing around but I will definitely take it with me for wedding work. Looking to eventually pick up the TCL and possibly the wide converter as well. Bringing along a couple small speedlights and a trigger will make for quite the small and capable kit.
Great set and exactly my reasoning why I picked up one and getting it delivered on Wednesday. I have a FF setup in the Sony a9, 24-70GM, and 85 1.8. I was researching 35mm options A few weeks ago and between the huge 1.4 and the tiny 2.8, couldn't decide. Then took the setup with me up to Newport, RI for the 4th of July and spent more time with lenses, carrying heavy gear, and had moments where I spent too much time obsessing about gear that I didn't enjoy a day out with my family. Going to Disney World in December and I fear that I would do the same thing. So I'm giving the F a try and see if it'll cut it as a single camera option. I'm not expecting the world and I know there will be some shots where I want wider or some shots where I want a telephoto option. But I'm hoping it'll free me up to enjoy time with my family. I just want to wear it around my neck and take the occasional shot here or there. Not have to carry a bag full of 10 lbs of gear and not have to carry a 3lb setup of FF camera and 24-70 2.8.
I end up sharing on social media and just posting SOOC jpegs a good majority of the time now because of lack of time, though I have like 3-4 years of raw files which I haven't touched.
You sparked my interest now and I have to try the TCL converters 
