Photographing goannas (giant wild lizards), at Mungo Brush National Park, whilst testing out the Fujifilm X-T1 with zoom lens.
I was recently given the Fujifilm X-T1 camera for testing, so I decided to take it on a trip to a picturesque little place near my home, called Mungo Brush National Park. The park is a great place on the north coast of New South Wales, perfect for fishing, walking and kayaking.
Nothing like on-location testing!
I love outdoor adventures and so I thought it would be the ideal place to bring along my newest mirror-less camera loaned by Fujifilm Australia.
Watch the video here.
Highlights of this video:
0:10 Details about the depth of field and lens used
1:27 Various shots of Goannas
Wild Goanna’s in the Bush
In the park, I spotted some wild Goannas in nearby vegetation. These reptiles are fascinating creatures of considerable size and deceptively slow speed – because they really know how to move when they want to!
Autofocus problems?
So after a failed morning shooting surfers with the Fuji camera, I decided to pull out the X-T1 once again, using the 140mm F2.8 zoom lens, to test the capability and quality of the zoom.
In general, mirror-less cameras continually “hunt” for a focus point when shooting moving objects. So the back and forth “hunting” was definitely working overtime whilst shooting the fast moving surfers on the water. I was disappointed, the shots were not up to standard and certainly not ideal for fast paced sports photography as a genre.
However, for the less rapid Goannas, it was much easier to select a focus point and the natural foliage of the surrounding forest area, provided a great frame for the overall shot.
How I tested Fujifilm X-T1 camera.
With the animal walking fairly slowly…
- I was able to open the aperture right up, with the shallowest depth of field available at F2.8, still with the 50-140mm lens.
- This allowed for an easy detectable focus on the eye of the Goanna, whilst the rest of the background blurred off and became less distracting to the shot.
- I was really impressed with the zoom and the X-T1’s capability to find the well hidden reptile amongst all the greenery, leaving me with some quite satisfiable images.
New firmware released
Since my last adventure to Mungo Brush with the Goannas, Fujifilm has released an additional update to the firmware – so I would love to try to the camera again! Who knows, maybe I’ll have more luck with the surfers the second time round!
I need your feedback
Do you shoot with a mirror less camera or been thinking about investing into one for your kit?
I’d love to know your thoughts on the good, the bad and the ugly of mirror-less, plus what you’ve found to be the best use of the zoom lens with these bodies.
Get in touch and leave your comments below!
Cheers, Brent.
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