2018-05-25

The X-T2 v4 firmware upgrade was released couple days before I photographed the 2018 HSBC Women's World Rugby Sevens in Langford. Ok, I know what happened… I want to share that the improved AF performance from v4 was not the root cause for roll back. I packed the X100F, X-T2 and X-H1, EF-X500 flash, XF14mm, XF16-55mm and my workhorse lens in sports XF100-400mm in the new Mindshift BackLight® 18L backpack. It allows me to access my gears without taking off the backpack so I can grab my second camera and snap some quick photos simply by rotating the bag to the front of my body while the waist belt is still secured. It is very useful while shooting on the sideline.

The women’s series was held at Westhills Stadium that is an open field without rooftop not like BC Place in Vancouver. I cannot ask for more about the weather as I was toasting the whole day. The good thing is you can shooting with low ISO all day long.

How did the X-T2 and X-H1 performed? I started with the X-H1 for the first couple matches and it worked well as expected. I can tell the X-T2 AF performance was improved quite a lot once put it in action. The AF initial acquiring is snappy and it locks and holds on to the subject well. I know what had happened after couple days later. I do know what to expect once Fujifilm engineers fixed the hiccups. Note: I did not roll back my X-T2 as those bugs do not bothering my works but this is only my personal decision.

For the technically minded, the X-H1 and X-T2 fitted with the XF100-400mm lens and XF16-55mm lens. I rotated this combination from time to time. All of the photos are slightly edited in Lightroom very minimum adjustment.

The technical note about the following images.

Camera: Fujifilm X-T2 and X-H1

Lens: XF16-55mm and XF100-400mm

Film simulation: Velvia

ISO: 200-2500

WB: Auto

Shutter speed: 1/750-1/3000