After already receiving the latest Fujifilm X-T2 in May this year, Fujifilm X-Photographer Peter Delaney has had ample opportunity to test out this new flagship, also taking it to Etosha in Namibia to shoot wildlife. We chatted to him about the camera at a recent launch event in the Pilansberg National Park. Click on the Soundcloud link below for the full interview. 

TechSmart: How did Fujifilm improve the performance of the X-T2 compared to the X-T1?

Peter Delaney: What I love about Fujifilm is that they connect with their photographers, particularly those of us that are X-Photographers. They basically come to ask, when we bring out the next camera, what are the improvements you would like to see. These were better autofocussing, a better battery grip, a slightly bigger camera, we wanted a joystick - very important for wildlife photography - and then autofocus custom modes as well.

Fujifilm did a lot of improvements on the X-T2’s continuous autofocus. How did this benefit you while shooting?

I was amazed, I really did not expect this from Fujifilm, their engineers went beyond the call of duty for this. When I received the camera I found that there were five presets plus one custom preset. The preset that I particularly liked was the “Ignore obstacles”. For wildlife photography that’s fantastic, because what happens in that mode is that you lock onto the subject, as it moves, and no matter what moves in front of it, your camera keeps focussing on that subject.

There’s also an improvement in the amount of megapixels.

That’s very important for me, because I specialise in fine art print photography. The 24.3 megapixel that the X-T2 is, is fantastic, since I can print bigger sizes now - A0 and up. It doesn’t mean that there’s too much for storage and editing. For me 24.3 megapixels is the sweet spot.

What we really liked is the joystick that’s been added, it makes focusing on specific points a lot easier. Do you agree?

Yes. The X-T1 had a D-pad, and the majority of the action and wildlife photographers didn’t like it because the pad didn’t protrude enough and was quite flat, so it was difficult to move your autofocus point around. The joystick is fantastic, you put your thumb on it and you have 91 autofocus points that you can move around very easily.

You mentioned that you shoot with Fuji’s film simulation modes to improve your workflow.

This is one of the big selling points of the Fujifilm cameras. I shoot RAW+Jpeg. What I tend to do is, if I feel that the subject of the scene is something I would print in black and white, I will put on one of the film simulations into black and white, so therefor, I am looking through the electronic viewfinder and viewing it in black and white. Once I press the shutter for the photograph, I am saving two images – the RAW which is in colour, and a JPEG that is in black and white.

Many X-T1 photographers will ask, is it worthwhile upgrading to the X-T2?

Definitely. To my mind the X-T2 is going to be a game changer for a lot of photographers. Especially if you are into action or wildlife photography, you’ve been waiting for this camera from Fuji for a long time. So definitely, it is worthwhile, I will recommend upgrading to the X-T2.

Find more of Peter Delaney on his website, blog, Facebook and Twitter.