p.2 #1 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Nice. And, uh, "real world." Which is nice.
About the 55-200. I got one back when I got my XE1 something like three years ago. It is optically decent and it covers a lot of long stuff in a single lens. (Everything else I shoot on Fuji is a prime.) I haven't tried it on my XPro2 yet, but it sometimes has issues AF'ing in low contrast, low light situations. It is also the one Fujifilm lens I own that basically broke. About a year ago I had to send it in to Fuji for repairs.
p.2 #5 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
MRomine wrote:
You are one sick puppy! Thanks for taking your valuable time to post this, very insightful.
Now I feel like I went in the wrong direction with my Sony. It sounds like you like these better than your Sony?
X-T2 vs XPro2?
I really like the XPro2. Maybe that came across in the novel. I'm not as keen on the XT1. It's good but it has competition. I also like Fuji's colours when pointing them at skin. For everything except weddings the A7R2 is my moneymaker.
In the mini DSLR style the best body on the market is the A7R2, IMHO. They just need that 85mm to hit the market.
p.2 #7 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Sorbet wrote:
Gordon, will you not be using the Leica SL for weddings?
Maybe I should write the first honest review on the SL. Leica would never talk to me again
I might except for three things. Fuji's system is way smaller and cheaper. There's exactly ONE AF lens for the system (two by next month, which actually will be enough for me). And the TTL flash system is broken like a base jumper with a faulty parachute.
When Leica fix the TTL flash system then I'd love to get the SL into my working rotation. But for now it gets used a play toy only. I have been in communication with Germany via Leica Australia and I am assured it'll be fixed. I might not be alive at that point and my kids will probably be parents by then.
Without a flash on the hotshoe though it's a sweet sweet ride.
p.2 #8 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Thanks for this great write-up! Funny and interesting, well written.
I am not in the market for a X-Pro2 (I think), but the X-T2 will be very interesting, especially for low light AF.
p.2 #9 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Really that many batteries? I did a 6 hour shoot the other day with the xpro 2 and only used 2. What power setting did you use? I was on the middle setting.
p.2 #10 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
paparazzinick wrote:
Really that many batteries? I did a 6 hour shoot the other day with the xpro 2 and only used 2. What power setting did you use? I was on the middle setting.
I actually used less batteries on the first day which was 12 hours. Plus a mix of original and third party batteries, newer and older. Also that's how many i put in the cameras they weren't always completely exhausted and the last two were only partially used.
I'm not stressed about battery life really. i change well before the cameras shut down and I'll always have double what i need, just in case. I turned up with a dozen fully charged batteries each day and used half. I can charge 4 at a time. maybe I could stretch it a bit each day if I let them run dry but that's not how it's done during a wedding. Regular changes knowing you won't get caught out is vital.
It's more for those coming from a DSLR that does 2K shots on a charge to realise that mirrorless draws more power and uses smaller batteries, rather than an exact shot count.
p.2 #12 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
I hope they address the battery capacity on the X-T2. I believe the EVF will be an even higher refresh rate and be denser which will drain the battery more. Plus having a bit more grip wouldn't really do any harm. But will see.
p.2 #15 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
flash wrote:
I really like the XPro2. Maybe that came across in the novel. I'm not as keen on the XT1. It's good but it has competition. I also like Fuji's colours when pointing them at skin. For everything except weddings the A7R2 is my moneymaker.
In the mini DSLR style the best body on the market is the A7R2, IMHO. They just need that 85mm to hit the market.
Gordon
Best non review I've ever read.
What makes the A7rII your everything except weddings camera? I love the AF tracking and the IBIS of the A7rII, but the size of the recent Sony releases has me rethinking FF as a whole - especially with Fuji's lineup of primes covering almost all the standard FL's and the impressive f/2.8 & f/4 zooms. I'm fine with 24mp instead of 42mp and I can get good video elsewhere, at this point IBIS and the awesome AF tracking is all that's keeping me from parting with the A7rII.
A bag with the 10-24/4, 16/1.4, 23/1.4, 56/1.2, 90/2 covers pretty much everything for me - and the 16-55 & 50-140/2.8's is near perfect for photo journalism purposes. If the 16-55 were stabilized they would be a perfect pair for me.
Any more thoughts on shooting with the A7rII vs the Xpro2 are appreciated. If the FE 24-70/4 were better (or if Sony's APS-c lineup had a great standard zoom) I don't think I'd be looking elsewhere, and I don't want the giant GM zooms.
p.2 #16 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
paparazzinick wrote:
Really that many batteries? I did a 6 hour shoot the other day with the xpro 2 and only used 2. What power setting did you use? I was on the middle setting.
It (apparently) matters a lot which display (OVF or EVF) you use and how much time you spend looking at them, plus the power/speed settings.
Relatively short (buy DSLR standards) battery life is the reality with mirrorless cameras in general.
I've written before that I would be happy if the companies made batteries that were at last 50% larger for these cameras. The resulting modest increase in size would not bother me (YMMV), and I'd be happy (again, YMMV) to get more shots per battery. Meanwhile, I carry lots of batteries — and at least they are quite small and fast to swap.
p.2 #17 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
joychris wrote:
Best non review I've ever read.
What makes the A7rII your everything except weddings camera? I love the AF tracking and the IBIS of the A7rII, but the size of the recent Sony releases has me rethinking FF as a whole - especially with Fuji's lineup of primes covering almost all the standard FL's and the impressive f/2.8 & f/4 zooms. I'm fine with 24mp instead of 42mp and I can get good video elsewhere, at this point IBIS and the awesome AF tracking is all that's keeping me from parting with the A7rII.
A bag with the 10-24/4, 16/1.4, 23/1.4, 56/1.2, 90/2 covers pretty much everything for me - and the 16-55 & 50-140/2.8's is near perfect for photo journalism purposes. If the 16-55 were stabilized they would be a perfect pair for me.
Any more thoughts on shooting with the A7rII vs the Xpro2 are appreciated. If the FE 24-70/4 were better (or if Sony's APS-c lineup had a great standard zoom) I don't think I'd be looking elsewhere, and I don't want the giant GM zooms.
Simply put they're both fine cameras. I have the luxury of being able to run multiple systems, so I do. I don't have a boat, plane, play golf, race motor cars or have a gambling problem. And being a smart-arse isn't an expensive hobby.
There ain't no *best* camera. They all have enough compromises to make you drool for the next incarnation. And people are different and they shoot different stuff. Choice is good. I'm the lucky prick who get to be able to choose *my* best camera for the job depending on what I want from that job. That could be Sony, Fuji or Leica. As brilliant as m43 can be I don't like the 4:3 frame ratio. Plus their model names are longer than nuclear launch codes.
The cameras I'm drawn toward have analogue controls and the viewfinder on the left. If I pick up a camera for fun it'll be a Leica M or an XPro. I chase my kids with an a6000. That's just how I like to roll.
Choosing between an XPro2 and A7R2 (or A72) isn't difficult. Go to a shop and pick them up. You'll know in seconds which you prefer. I happen to be in a tiny demographic that thinks the XPro style of cameras are natural and the way cameras should be.
But I also work off a tripod for a lot of my work. And the Fuji/Leica thing works against you there, a bit. No flippy screen is the big one. And I can use T/S lenses. The extra DR is useful for exposure blends (I shoot a lot of interior's during the week) and I do actually use the resolution for some of my commercial clients. Not because they need it. They don't. Because they want it and I'm the little engine that can. There's no doubt Sony has the best exposure implementation. Shutter, Aperture and ISO are all directly available. And the grip is the best available in a mirrorless camera. Plus without any available grip the XPro2 isn't the best studio camera in the world.
Plus I work out of a car during the week. Carrying gear isn't a priority like it is for a 12 hour wedding.
This is going to more difficult for many when the XT2 comes out. That's the natural competition to the A72. Personally I found the XT-1 to be a good camera functionally but I didn't enjoy using it. They need to make the grips bigger so you can have good handling AND the vertical grip. They need to unlock the ISO dial. They've got the XT-10 as a small camera.
I know Sony tried. But they look like they've realised, like Leica, that 35mm mirrorless isn't going to be super small. The A7R2 is a bigger camera than the A7R and it's a better camera for it. The lenses can be brilliant because they've got a clean slate. But they're going to be large. They make small primes but so do Canikon. Smaller system means smaller sensor, except if you get a real Leica. and that's a choice we'll all have to make for ourselves.
p.2 #18 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Gordon, the size of the Sonly AF primes is what's kept me out of the system. Smaller ƒ2 or thereabouts, or even a tad slower, optimised for WO use, would be perfect for me. I used to shoot dance and theatre for a living, with two Nikon F2A bodies and three lenses: 35/2, 50/2 and 85/2, all MF and all sharp WO. Now, of course, we were printing 10 x 8s mostly, and those bodies weren't lightweight, but the lenses were all smaller than the current Sony equivalents.
And if optimised for wide open and about half the size of the current lenses, then the A7 bodies would really start to make sense, for me. Then Sony digital would be about the same size/weight as the old OM bodies and lenses.
p.2 #19 · My experiences with the XPro2 shooting weddings
Pure delight to read - facts in a whimsical way to communicate (your definition of) truth - excellent! Now, contact me in a couple of weeks - I have a few more things for you to review!!!
Thanks for taking your valuable time to post this, very insightful.