Mr Bingo 2022 Advent Calendar

I shot some bits for Mr Bingo recently. His latest Advent Calendar is now available at his online store. A fun afternoon working with Mr Bingo & our hand models. Really interesting to hear about this calendar is created.

Go grab yourself some affordable art this Christmas.

Geek Corner - Fujifilm XH2S Thoughts

Fujfilm UK were kind enough to loan me the XH2S for the weekend.

I wasn’t able to do any extensive testing with this system as I was just too busy with other things, but there are plenty of credible sources that have documented this cameras ability.

30/40 frames a second drive mode in electronic shutter is absurd! There is little to no rolling shutter at all. The amount of request for GIFS on jobs is exhausting. The GFX 100 burst mode of 5 isn’t even an option when shooting stills that are wishing to be converted into motion. This would be a viable option even just swapping cameras for these particular requests.

Image Quality

The image quality is very much the same to the XT3/4, which is a disappointment. I’m longing for a higher res X system, something I’ve stated several times across these blogs. 26mp is still fine for most situations but it can’t touch the latest released from full frame systems, let alone the GFX.

I read about a photographer who sold all his Fuji X equipment as he felt the images from the XH2S were ‘muddy’, after various tests at higher ISO, I can see no real difference at all. No Idea what that’s all about.

hardly an inspiring image, but didn’t have much time with this system.

Pros

  • 40 Frames a second [Electronic Shutter] with little to no rolling shutter, insane!

  • 6.2k Open gate footage

  • 6.2K Footage is super clean and sharp

  • 4k 120P

  • CF Express

  • The grip Chefs Kiss

  • EVF is super clear 5.76m dots, the best I’ve ever seen

  • Good Battery life

  • Fast Read out

  • Hinged port doors

  • Full Size HDMI

  • Superior AF in video & Stills

  • Cats can be detected via an AF algorithm

  • IBIS is really good from what I tested

Cons

  • No 3 way tilt, I’m not a Youtuber so don’t need a flippy screen. The 3 way tilt is far superior system.

  • 30-40 frames no roll out is great, but I can see myself over shooting in this mode…

  • Same image quality as the XT3/4, still good, but the R will hopefully surpass this.

  • Lack of dials, changing ISO and shutter just feels nicer on a physical wheel.

  • Why not a Stills > Video switch that’s on the 100s & 50sII?

  • Back wheel not clickable, not sure what this is about.

  • M, CF, SF switch to a button. I guess it’s another customisable button, but I prefer the switch.

  • Older Machines [Non M1?] laptops will struggle with 6.2k Playback, well mine definitely did.

  • The shutter button is too soft, I would be shooting stils/video and not even realise.

Would i buy this camera?

At this time no. Reason being, that Fujifilm have announced a higher resolution camera and I have said countless times that the resolution of these sensors need to greatly increase to keep up with the competition, let alone be considered pro/prosumer cameras.

I don’t need a stacked sensor with ridiculously high read out, nor do I need 30-40 frames a second.

The video on this system is the best I’ve seen out of a Fujifilm camera. I was really impressed with the XT3 4k footage I shot recently, but the sharpness of the 6.2k open gate footage is sharper and has more clarity.

With all that said, I’m actually renting this system for an upcoming shoot, the open gate 6.2K really sold me.

My only concern is that there is talks that the XH2R & XT5 will have 8K & higher image quality. Does this mean this system will go the similar route of the XH1?

Geek Corner - Fujifilm XH2S & XH2R

So this is interesting. I mentioned in a few posts that I didn’t know how I felt about APSC for some aspects of professional work, mainly still life & food [within reason]. I’ve been considering trading in my X system for another GFX, as quality isn’t comparable, though the performance specs are far superior on the smaller sensor, Focus, Image Burst & Video.

With the XH2S recently announced, and the specs looking like a serious upgrade, especially over my 2018 XT3, and upgrade is really worth considering if I was shooting a lot of video.

With that said the sensor is the same megapixel output as my XT3, and this is where I really would like to have seen an improvement with the X series, resolution. It’s been rumoured for sometime that there will be two cameras, one 26mp and one 40mp and the latter is what I’m most interested in.

The jump from 26mp to 40mp will be huge for stills, If the current line of lenses and resolve such resolution. I do feel like we won’t see a much higher MP in APSC going forward, It’s pretty well documented that the sensor size is at it’s limits. 26MP is more than enough for most projects but I do feel more drawn to the 40MP sensor.

I can’t wait to try the XH2S, maybe it is more than enough. But September is going to be really telling for the future of APSC.

The Movement Movement

Finally the first edition of the Movement Movement has been released and I shot the cover story last summer. The piece is about a English professional rugby player Poppy Cleall . What a jokes shoot, we didn’t havePoppy for long but we made sure we got the shots we needed and had a laugh doing it. 

Running backwards whilst Poppy is charging towards me is challenging definitely took some skill not to fall over and to stop everyone from laughing. 

Just watching xxx train with her fellow team mates had me in awe, you could see the skill and dominance she has, she really looked like she was on another level. she’d put me on my arse in a match I’m sure of it. An absolute pleasure to work with Poppy and Ellie on this piece. 

Be sure to grab yourself the first copy of the Movement a movement Here.

Also, the magazine features a piece on The Southwark Stars Woman’s team. Now this was a great day. Anyone who knows me and my work, know that I have worked closely with Southwark Stars FC over the last two years. 

Seeing the team being represented again and this time in print really does make it all very rewarding. Such a sweet bunch & their manager Louis is an absolute legend. 

We shot this piece during the hight of summer, probably on the hottest day of the year. It was the first time the woman’s team had played a competitive match. It wasn’t the easiest day for them, the lack of female players in the disability league was telling this day. With the team coming up against very well drilled and physically big and stronger players, I think the pictures tell this story. 

Saying that, the women held their own and scored a few goals, even getting a win in one of their matches. 

We really captured some beautiful images that day and everyone had a laugh, ending the day meeting MC Harvey from So Solid Crew. LOL!

Head over to the People & Places section to see more images from this day. 

Jack Williams - Backyard BBQ & Grilling Book

I recently shot my first cook book with TV chef Jack Williams. It’l was a real pleasure working with Jack over several days, both on location and his home kitchen. 

It’s funny when you turn on the TV & see the book and supporting images being broadcasted.

Jacks a top bloke and look forward to producing more work with him in the near future. 

Head over to the Food section to see more images & click Here to order the book. 

Thanks again to Jack, Gyles & Sarah at The Riverside 

Ecoligi - Offsetting our business

I’ve thought about this for sometimes, how can I make the business more sustainable and eco friendly? I try and recycle as much as I can on shoots, bringing my own water bottle, coffee cups, cutlery etc… but I want to do more.

So I’m happy to announce that I have signed up to Ecoligi

It’s a small start, but hope that it’s the start of something good. I’ll also be looking at local events benefiting the local environment, such as local clean ups of areas in and around London.