Football with the X-T2 and 55-200 zoom

My kids are notourious sports freaks – I have written about this before. I find my self watching at least one game of football or floorball every weekend and of course I always bring my camera. It can be a challenge to be creative when you shoot sports. It is a variety of the same pictures that are taken over and over again.

When I shoot sports for the kids, the thing is not so much to be creative with new angels or cuts – as to have shots from the latest game. To get a good flow, shooting sports, I created an Instagram account for each team I shoot for. The followers of the accounts are friends and family of the players. Some of them saw the game in real life and some didn’t. Not to forget the players them self. They often love to see pictures from the game afterwards. Hopefully I managed to get some good frozen moments, that can make a good memory from even the worst game.

Floorball with the X-T2 and 56/1,2

Today I use the X-T2 (as I have written i earlier posts) as my sports camera. I recently bought a batterygrip and a Fujinon 56/1,2 just for the purpose of shooting sports (this was where some of the money from my Leica Q sale went…). I had a 56/1,2 some years ago, but I sold it – which I later regret. I have found the 56/1,2 to be the perfect floorball lens. It is a little slow in the AF – but still fast enough to nail focus 80% of the time. The lens is razor sharp even wide open, and gives beautiful shots in bad lighting – as is often the case when I am shooting floorball. 56mm has proven to be perfect for the distances to the players in floorball. I have tried som different lenses (my zoom lenses are too slow for this), but I always come back to the 56/1,2.

When I shoot fotball I use my 55-200 zoom on the X-T2. I think the 55-200 is a great lens. Is is not the fastest, but it is sharp, well stabilized and can be bought for a decent price. I must say that the pictures from this lens are phenomenal. From what I can see in comparasions with the more expensive Funinon 50-140/2,8, the 55-200 is not far behind. Of course the 2,8 aperture would be nice – but it’s a lot of money, and I also loose 50mm in focal length. I am pretty sure I will stay with the 55-200.

The batterygrip is perfect to get a firm grip on the camera, aspecially when shooting with the 55-200. The main advantage is of course the extended battery life. Instead of one battery I now have three. The camera makes a short stop, as it changes between the batteries, but it’s a much shorter stop than than manual way. The batteries can be charged inside the grip – but the battery in the camera must be charged separatly. The grip also makes it easier to shoot vertical – but this is a feature I don’t use very often.

All in all, my Fujifilm set up is the best setup I have ever had, for this kind of photography. It gives me great quality for a good amount of money. There are of course other great cameras and lenses for sports – but I really like the Fujifilm concept.