It is still very rare for any wedding couple to ask us what equipment we use, and to be honest we are pleased about that. The reasons are many fold, but mainly it’s because creating and capturing images is about technique, flair, experience and an artistic eye. Not so much about the camera and lenses you are using. Try telling that to your average wedding photographer though! One well know photographer when asked which camera he used would reply: “a black one.” David Bailey has said that in the UK many think the camera does the work, while abroad he’s found there is more sense that it is the person behind the viewfinder that makes the difference. Having said that we have invested heavily over time in Canon’s top of the range camera bodies and all their best lenses to help do justice to our couple’s once only wedding days.
So where is all this leading? Well David in particular still loves cameras as an object of beauty too and not just a tool, but when we are on holiday or just out and about with our kids he does not (and nor do I – Joanna) want to lug around any of our wedding DSLR’s and a bunch of lenses. So for the past two and a half years our companion in family times has been firstly the fixed lens Fuji X100, and then its upgraded successor the Fuji X100s. There are a million and one reviews and posts about this little gem on the internet so that’s not the purpose of this post. Would we use the Fuji on a wedding day? Yes and no! For us the DSLR and it’s lenses are still first choice, but for discretion around a reception perhaps – where the little camera does not intimidate it can be very useful, especially in cramped conditions. We would usually use a long zoom like the 70 – 200 to shoot from afar or perhaps the 85 1.2.
We tried it out for a while along with our other cameras at the Goring hotel in London where Kate Middleton stayed before the Royal weddding. We used it for some of our corridor shots with the lovely bride and chief bridesmaid, and also for discretion and silence in some shots from afar (cropped in now) of the couple looking at their wedding cake in situ for the first time. Can the sensor handle it? Yes, but un surpringingly considering the price difference and spec – not in the same league as the Canon 5D mark 3’s that we use. Having said that, in completely subjective terms – this camera has a certain indescribable something. That’s why it travels with us.
So what’s it like for holiday snaps? Well you need to think like a prime shooter not a zoom freak. And as far as we are concerned that is fine because the quality of the fixed lens at f2 is so great and the resolution so good you can crop in later if needs be. The other thing too for our taste is that we are only really interested in shots that involve people. So for enviromental portraits etc it is excellent, and with the two new screw on lens adapters , closer portraits or wider shots are no worries. We will be investing in these very soon!
Here’s a couple of recent holiday snaps, one of Joanna (added edge blur) one of our youngest son Rory. We don’t bring Rory to a wedding, but we cetainly keep the Fuji in the camera bag, just in case!
Our related blog post can be found here: Goring Hotel wedding photographers
A great resource for finding about all things Fuji is: Fuji Rumors
And the official Fuji site can be found here: Fujifilm
By David Green