Fuji XF 18-55mm ƒ2.8-4 and XF 55-200mm ƒ/3.5-4.8 at the Chick-fil-A Bowl game

[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/2.8, 1/60]

I am not entirely comfortable enough to shoot an assignment with the camera alone. The reason is nut the camera’s capabilities but my knowledge of how to use it. Shooting with the Nikon D4 is second nature.

I must get to this point with the camera where I am not hunting for the control to change something on the camera.

[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/5.6, 1/105]

I set the camera to shoot on Auto ISO RAW. So the lowest ISO would be 200, and the highest is 6400. I also set the shutter speed to 1/60 and would change that to 1/250 and 1/1000, depending on the situation.

[Fujifilm X E2, 18-55mm, ISO 640, ƒ/4.5, 1/220]

For every camera I have owned, the autofocus has so many options that if you choose the proper setup for a situation, you get incredible results. Autofocus issues are why most pros ask other pros if they are having trouble with a similar camera. Then if they are not, they ask them what settings they are using for a situation.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

Mostly, all these photos were custom white balanced using the ExpoDisc.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.2, 1/500]

I like the skin tones with the Fuji X E2. I also think their lenses are super sharp and have great dynamic range and color.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

All the images I processed using Adobe Lightroom 5.3.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 4000, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

I had just bought the new Fuji 55-200mm, my first time using it.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 2500, ƒ/3.6, 1/500]

I loved how the lens felt in my hands. It was well balanced and well built.

[Fujifilm X E2, 55-200mm, ISO 6400, ƒ/4.8, 1/500]

Shooting the coin up close with the 55-200mm and shooting from the press box were two extremes where the image stabilization showed how good it worked. In addition, I was pleased with the results of handheld photos in both of those situations.

The reason I am so excited about the Fuji is its weight. My wife took a photo of me in the press box shooting.

Photo by Dorie Griggs

I was carrying all this on me using the backpack, and the ThinkTank modular belt system from 1:00 pm to 1:30 am.

  • 2 – Nikon D4 cameras
  • Nikon 14-24mm ƒ/2.8
  • Nikon 28-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6
  • Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8
  • Sigma 1.4 converter
  • Shure Wireless lavalier microphone system
  • Nikon SB900 with spare batteries
  • 2 – Spare batteries for the Nikon D4
  • 10 – CF, XQR, and SD cards
  • Fujifilm X E2
  • Fujifilm XF 18-55mm
  • Fujifilm XF 55-200mm
  • Manfrotto MonoPod
I could cut this down to 20% of what I was carrying if I just added one more Fuji X E2 and let go of all the Nikon gear.
I will keep my Nikon system until I can comfortably shoot sports and videos with the Fuji system as I can now with the Nikon D4. There is a chance that some of this is just my ability to use the Fuji X system.
I can tell you I will be shooting a lot more with the Fuji system.