Wildlife Photography with the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm Lens | Review + Test + Sample Pictures
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- Опубликовано: 18 янв 2018
- In this video I take the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 for a spin on my Fujifilm X-T2. I review and test the lens under real world conditions to do some wildlife and landscape photography in the nature reserve of Han-sur-Lesse in the East of Belgium. I talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the lens and I also provide some sample pictures to show you the quality of the images.
I filmed this video a couple of months ago, but I only just recently found the time to finish the editing.
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Here is some of the gear I use.
Please note that these are Amazon affiliate links. For every purchase, I get a small percentage from Amazon at no further cost to you.
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Fujifilm X-T2 - amzn.to/2A23RUo
Fujifilm XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS - amzn.to/2z70KfZ
Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS - amzn.to/2xEn6SA
Fujifilm XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS - amzn.to/2xDlmJ7
Fujifilm XF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR - amzn.to/2iNo4ta
Fujifilm Fujinon 23mm F2.0 XF R WR Black - amzn.to/2xCmE7d
Canon 5D Mark III - amzn.to/2A1ZGrL
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Music: Epidemic 
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Nice review, Christophe. So honest, relaxed and useful. I love your style ❤️
Hi Christophe! Thank you for reviewing this lens! I enjoyed watching the video and thought you broke it down very simply for us! Keep up the great work! Cheers from Boston!
Thank you Christophe, great video! This is the lens I want for Christmas! :) Loving my X-T3 and now would love this lens! :)
I have one, and really happy with the results. Thanks you for a good review.
Thanks for the perspective. Very helpful! Photo of the pony - impressive sharpness and detail!
Great video! Thanks. Looking forward to many more.
Great work mate! Keep these videos coming!
Excellent video, nicely explained and up-to-the point!
You took some really amazing pictures! I feel as I’m in that park as well:) thank you for sharing your wonderful work.
Glad I found this video. Just got my copy, and yes, it works great as long as you know to expect the increased limitations of lack of light.
wow really enjoyed the video, good work!
Thanks for your thoughtful effort.
Hi Christophe !! I realy enjoy your vídeos. I found you on youtube few weeks ago. Keep on do it !! Cheers from Uruguay!
Nice video. I used the 50-140 on tiger safari in India last month and it was fantastic but I kept wishing for a longer lens. Was on the fence about getting this, worried about speed and noise but it looks really good. Will take a closer look, thank you!
Thanks for doing this. I just ordered the Sony 100-400 GM to test on my A6500 and A7R2 and compare with my Olympus EM1II and Panasonic Leica 100-400 but your combo you tested was definitely in the mix. It'll be interesting to see your results on a day with better light. I think some of that noise was due to atmospheric conditions/haze. Thanks again.
Enjoyed this video as I recently bought the xt-2 kit plus the 400mm lens. (Always had Canon cameras before this - DSLR, bridge, and compact.) I'm an average sized older lady with arthritis and do find the camera + lens heavy, but I love the results I get with it, although am still learning and a lot of pics get deleted! I am gradually understanding about ISO, S/S etc. with the help of books and videos, and trial and error. So far not brill at flying birds but got some nice perching ones. I live in UK and my best shots so far are of a kingfisher sitting on a branch.
Thank you for the review.
The cons you mentioned just happen to be one of the reasons why I went a different route. I need more practice with wildlife type photography but for a $1,900 lens I needed to find a more affordable way to go. I went with a used DSLR camera and lens; fortunately, the combo is an old semi-pro set-up and is weather resistant at a considerable cost savings. One of the first things I noticed is the other con you talked about - the balance of this old combo set-up just works better for me.
Another bonus is that I can use my Fuji equipment for the shorter focal lengths.
Maybe after years of practice with this current set-up, I can decide if the XF 100-400 will finally warrant the purchase. Or even maybe a much more expensive lens - the forthcoming 200 f/2 with a 2x TC. :)
Thanks for the review of the lens. I have XT1 and am planning to buy this lens soon for wildlife photography in Southern Alberta. I wish I had the lens when I was in Australia as the wildlife there are less afraid of humans.
Great video all around!, just subscribed!
I did enjoy this video. I am subscribing for sure.
Thanks and welcome to the channel.
Thank you, Christophe. Great information.
Wow great lense.
Wow!! For wildlife, should I stick with the 50-140 Fuji, or get the 100-400??
Nice video!
Nice Video. I am using the XT-2 100-400mm with 1.4 teleconverter for bird photography. I do not notice any loss in image quality with the teleconverter.
have you tried shooting full moon with it?
Guess Fuji still isn't a good switch from my NX1. That they have a long lens is a big advantage (the NX 300mm f/2.8 never ended up being released) but this confirms my initial impressions of trying this lens on an X-T2 in store. Tried the 50-140 as well, I still prefer the NX 50-150.
Hi Chris, Richard here, in England, this is the first time I've caught your channel, I'm an XT2 shooter and I've been using the 100-400 for a couple of years now and I was very interested to see the settings you are using, what I understand is that the lens is a bit soft at F5.6, much better at F11, but much worse is the image degradation at high Iso, the noise is bad enough but the hidden danger is the massive loss of dynamic range, this just leaves shutter speed and the amazing lens stabilization to fall back on. Accordingly I can take good pictures at as little as 1 20th of a second hand held, if I'm very careful and well balanced. This does allow me to use F11, and never more than Iso 800. The major drawback is that at that sort of shutter speed I can't get clear shots of moving wildlife. I am hoping that the new 200mm F2 prime will give me a chance, if it is well sharp wide open!. So far all my best pics are of stationary birds, flowers and insects, and some are very good indeed!, the trouble is I only want really good quality pics of really interesting subjects, the better they get the harder it becomes, but I love the system and the challenge!. So good to see you getting on so well with Fuji. Cheers Richard.
Is that really widely agreed upon that the lens isn't sharp until f/11? That seems improbable to me coming from fuji, but if that's the case then this is a very unusual (and expensive) lemon from fuji! You should look into the new Steelsring Canon to Fuji XF smart adapter-then you could adapt Sigma/Canon Tele lenses instead of waiting (and paying an insane price) for the 200 f/2.
Your video is pretty cool! Excellent photos!!! Recently, I purchased this lens and found it a challenge. At 400mm the sharpness isn't there like I want. I'm not using a tripod, so that will make a difference. However, it should be able to bring sharper photos while being hand-held. I would appreciate any suggestions you may have. Thanks!!!
Thank u! Could u send the raf files to play with them?
Hi Chris, great video, as usual, thank you for it. I am curious what was your stabilizer setting when using a tripod with your stabilized lens?
Hi Balazs. I used my tripod more like a monopod, so I left the OS on since I was moving constantly.
thanks video
Would like to see these images converted with Iridient X-Transformer 1.0
Great review, keep them coming, have the Fujinon XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 OIS not as heavy fantastic Lens
Thank you. I use the 55-200 for my landscape photography. I agree, it's a much lighter lens and has great image quality.
Amazing, where did you go? Thanks
Hi Christophe! Great video, as usual! Just curious: Did you turn off the IOS on the lens for the tripod shots? I could see it ON on the first footage (on the tripod).
Hi Pavlos. I actually kept it on because the tripod was never quite immobile. I used it more like a monopod, so I was moving constantly. I think in that case OS is fine, but maybe I am wrong. I honestly don't use OS a lot for my landscape photography. ;-)
Mooie video. Sinds kort de xt3 in bezit met 18-55 kitlens. Wie weet komt er ooit een 100-400 op.
I bought my copy of the 100-400mm lens last year. It really is a very sharp lens. At the start of 2020 I was in Antarctica and the images I took with my X-T2 and this lens were amazing. I compared my pictures with a Nikon D850 that were taken by a professional photographer on board and the only noticeable difference is the depth of field that is (considerably) better with the Nikon. Regarding sharpness I saw no difference whatsoever and the better resolution of the Nikon pictures was negligible.
The only major drawback is the price of 1800 euro which is a hefty price tag for a lens most people will use only a few times. I purchased mine with a cashback of 350 euro when the lens was 1600 euro so in the end I only paid 1250 euro which is imho a more correct price for this lens.
I love that first composition with the Faun-lovely shot! It just goes to show how great even a really noisy photo can be if it's compelling composition and subject matter!
Any reason why you chose the settings you did once it got a little lighter? Most were shot wide open (or close to it). 1/640, 5.6, and 6400? Couldn't you get a few stops of either ISO or shoot at f/6.3 or f/8 and improve the sharpness of the lens by shooting at 1/100-1/250 (still stopping motion)? These seem like strange settings to me... And don't really test the sweet spot of the lens (unless this was done for minimizing DOF.
Thank you Sid.
There was very little light most of the morning, so stopping down would have forced to keep using a very high ISO. And when the light finally came out it was almost time to go back home. But the lens is pretty sharp even wide open. So with enough light, stopped down at 8 or 11, it's probably even sharper.
Thumbs up but I'm sure on some of those shots you could have used a much lower shutter speed in order to get a lower ISO
hi Chris, I own the XF100-400 with a T2 and a T20 and did some really nice shots of birds on the moselle last fall. but I always noticed that the lens was a bit loose and wiggly in the bayonet of my T2, with the T20 this was less of an issue. it ended up in picture blackouts when working freehand and zooming back&forth. For the moment the combo is on the way to fuji to get this fixed. Did you notice anything similar? (I always use these big lenses on the T2 with the battery grip, without the freehand handling is not very comfortable)
Hi. I did not experience any wiggling with my combo. Fujifilm will probably fix it for you. Cheers
You mentioned the trinity of Fuji lenses. What lenses are included in your trinity of lenses?
8-16, 16-55, 50-140.
Hi Chris, yesterday I order this lense and I‘m more happy, when I see your video...😄😄😄
Thank you Chris!👍🏻😄😄😄🍀
(Sorry, I’m from Germany and my English is very bad....😅)
Schön, dass das Video dir gefällt. Kein Problem. Ich schreibe auch gerne auf Deutsch. ;-)
Ohhh, das freut mich😄😄😄
Ich habe erst sehr kurz die Fuji XT2 und meine reservierte SonyAIII storniert.... Ich bin leider immer noch unsicher, ob ich das richtig gemacht habe...🤔🤔🤔
Ich auch :D (Same)
Lara Porrmann
Wirklich eine schwierige Entscheidung..... Habe mittlerweile die XT4 und die SonyAIII und kann mich immer nicht entscheiden, welche ich mitnehmen soll.....😅😅😅
What lens hood to you have on the Fuji? Any pros or cons to the one you use? Any recommendations would be helpful. Thanks!
Hi Ozzie. I am using the default lens hood that comes with the lens when you purchase it. Cheers
Would really like to see Fuji come out with a new 100-400, 400mm or something like that... I'm using a Canon 400mm right now with my X-T2 and with focus peaking it works just fine.
They are currently making a fuji 200mm f2 prime. Will be compatible with teleconverters too. Should be an amazing lens.
I haven't used the 100-400 from Fuji, I currently still use my Canon 400mm on my X-T2 and manual focus which works well for setting up shots, but not for having action wildlife shots...takes to long to focus.
If you need auto focus you can try the frenger adapter. I heard good things about it, but still nothing like having a native lens on the body it’s made for.
I've got this lens and camera combo from past July, and I have to agree on your comments. One of the best combos in the aps-c world for outdoor sports and wildlife, not very cheap though. Very nice review, one of the few independent ones on this lens in youtube.
wormtail is that u??
Not a fuji shooter but found it interesting :)
very nice photos you took.. Where is this?
Thanks for sharing.
Hi James. The pictures were taken in Han-sur-Lesse in Belgium.
Christophe Van Biesen Cool, would be great to visit one day
You can get very good telephoto landscape shots with this lens. So keep it. I'm not sponsored by Fuji either.
What is your recommendation for straps while using xt2?
I'm using the Peak Design Lite strap.
„a large bus with no windows“
Thought of something like a prisontransporter :-D
same here. I thought " whats the point of driving around in it then?"
5:31 Rolling shutter
No photographer that has done something only a few times should be doing a review on that subject. You just don't have the experience. Not trying to be harsh, this is just simple fact. Thank you for mentioning any relationship status with Fuji. I am wanting to know that info for any reviews I now watch. So I know if I am watching an advertisement.
12800 ISO on a morning that your background sky is clipping? how come?
I confirm that there is no clipping in any of the 7 pictures. You can have a look at the histogram in the video for each shot. The high ISO was necessary in the dark forest in order to get a sharp picture.
I own the Fuji X-T2. And this lens is not bad. But sorry, if your focus is Wildlife then Fuji is the wrong camera system. I own beside the X-T2 also a Nikon D500 and D4s and nothing goes over this combo with a Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 or the stellar Nikkor 600mm f/4. Especially the Nikkor 600mm f/4 is worth every penny.
Stefan1968ful while you’re probably technically correct that’s not who this lens is being sold to. Not to people who are already professional wildlife photographers especially if they have other systems.
This lens is being marketed to fuji shooters. People who love the smaller size of the x series for professional work like weddings but may want to dabble in wildlife photography on the side for a hobby. It fulfills a niche in fujis ecosystem and there aren’t a lot of options currently for telephoto work (55-200, 50-140, 80 + teleconverters and the upcoming 200. Sadly the 90 doesn’t have quite enough reach for a lot of wildlife like birds and deer unless you get lucky)
Yes, I was actually also struggling if I should give the Fuji 100-400mm a try. But I compared it with the Nikkor 100-500mm and well, it's simply not better than this Nikkor but significantly more expensive.
Actually that lens is pretty cheap if you compare it to the 200mm F2
so you can only use it on a bright day....
i mean not necessarily, and most telephotos like that are variable aperture f4.0-5.6
Like any other long lens. Unless you want a tank gun with glass in it that costs and weighs as much as a tank..
If you want to see more wildlife photos with the Fuji 100-400mm visit my website: www.dirkbeckers.be any comments are welcome!
why da fuck do you need dast shuter speeds on a tripod????????
Elk. Their elk.
@Slide Slide oh. Thanks you kind sir. I'm not English
*They're
In my opinion the Sony A7III + Sony 100-400 would have given you sharper and cleaner images. The FF would give give it a better pop and separation as well.
No and no. Better pop and separation lol. And 400mm on APS-C is 600mm on FF, so this has 200mm extra reach.
This lense is a joke for its price, really soft above 300 even at 4000 ss
I didn't like pictures to be honest.. I'm not willing to pay that much on a lense to get that poor performance.. I noticed also that you are using Lightroom for processing RAF files and this is a big mistake.. Lightroom CANNOT handle x trans sensor raw files.. I'm always using ON1 with my RAF files and this software gives me a much better rendering for my files
Poor performance? Did you watch the same video that I did? Also, try Capture One.
bought this lens and the xt2 for wildlife after watching this and reading that it is great....its NOT! trust me i had about 10 keepers from over 2000 photos taken on it. it cant follow birds in flight, it just cant keep up with them. the focus on a still bird is ok but always misses the eyes. save your money and buy a canon 7d mk2 with a 400mm .6 canon lens and you will be amazing at your keeper rate for less money
Think you need to check your focus settings. I have this setup and have a fairly good success rate. The setting of the focus af-c is crucial on any camera as it gives options for different styles. I reckon on something like 70% hit rate in flight, not terribly sure where you are hitting 0.5% are you riding a horse at the time? All this is hand held btw. I have no doubt the canon lens is very good but then again it is a fixed focal length and should be!!
I remember reading somewhere that the lens needs some fiddling with, smoothing to do with the OIS settings in the camera menus, some option the screws with the OIS. Think it needs to be set to only active when taking the shot.
But the video clearly shows the lens is great in use and nice and sharp with good rendering. From my experience comments like this come down to user error not the equipment.
@@gaza4543 Look at Theoria Apophasis vids for the full explanation of OIS. In fact this one ruclips.net/video/Puq6-wyAn0k/видео.html. tellsyo u all you need to know.
Your ISO is very high. Don't shot more than ISO100-200 if you wont the high quality and sharp images with best dynamic range. You got tripod right? So never shoot handheld is my advise. Make one photo per day but make it right. But with the high ISO you loose a lot of details!
You sound out of your depth while talking about wildlife photography!