Video shooting
| Fujifilm X-Pro2 Video Specifications |
|---|
|
Video hasn't been one of Fujifilm's strong points. The X-Trans filter design's main appeal comes from the fact it doesn't repeat as frequently as the conventional Bayer design, so is less prone to moiré. The downside of this is that it's harder to take small chunks out of its output and still make sense of it (the sub-sampling process often used for video). The X-Pro2 is a huge leap forward in that respect, producing a level of detail far beyond what previous X-Trans models have been capable of.
Our guess would be that Fujifilm is capturing and demosaicing the full resolution of the video region, then downscaling it, rather than trying to sub-sample. The result is footage with a good level of detail - as you can see in comparison with a well performing camera, such as the Sony DSC RX10. There's some moiré still occurring but it's nothing like as significant as it was for its predecessors. The sharpening is a little heavy-handed, too (note the stair-stepping on the red paintbrush) - sadly there's no way of reducing this sharpening, which limits the level of control you have in post processing. Overall an impressive result.
Handling
The X-Pro2 isn't the ideal form-factor for shooting video but setting the front function button to act as REC is quite effective in terms of making sure you don't accidentally rotate the camera as you press it. There's a 2.5mm mic socket (so expect to use a 2.5mm-3.5mm adapter), but no headphone socket for monitoring. The camera lets you set the audio recording volume (in four steps) before you start recording.
| By default the Fn1 button on front right of the camera's top plate is used to initiate recording. We'd suggest trying the Fn2 button on the camera's front plate instead (set amidst the viewfinder switch in this image) |
Focus
The X-Pro2 has two focus options while shooting video: continuous autofocus or manual focus. Continuous autofocus is reasonably effective but can be somewhat prone to refocusing, mid-clip (Autofocus Lock isn't available to prevent this). As a result, manual focus is often a safer option. The X-Pro2 offers focus peaking to help set initial focus but this is unavailable as soon as you start shooting - so using the AF-L button to perform a single focus acquisition before you hit REC is usually faster and more accurate.
Exposure
The X-Pro2 allows you to control as much or as little of your video exposure as you wish. The more control you take, the more consistent your footage is likely to be. If you are going to allow the camera any control, we'd recommend specifying your shutter speed and aperture, then letting Auto ISO handle any exposure adjustments. You can use exposure compensation to specify the desired brightness and its changes are much more smooth than the camera's aperture changes, which are large jumps that are easily noticed in the footage.
Sample Video
This video was shot using a mixture of Auto ISO and Shutter Priority shooting, with a mixture of autofocus and manual focus.
Comments