Changing Gear

If art reflects life, it does so with special mirrors —Bertolt Brecht

By Dog Willing Publications

July 15^th, 2018

I make my living photographing and writing about sporting dogs. Over the last 20+ years, I've used everything from 35mm Leica's to 8x10 inch Sinars, but my main cameras have always been Canons. Until recently, my go-to rigs for dogs-in-action shots were a Canon 7DMK2 and a 5DMK3 with either a 70-200 2.8 or 70-300L lens. After much practice, and some tweaking of the focus settings and micro adjustments on the lenses, my keeper rate for in-focus shots of galloping dogs is around 75-80%. And I'm OK with that. After all, no matter how sophisticated a camera system, it will never capture 100% of the shots you want. In any case, the weakest link in any imaging chain is usually not the camera. In my case, it's my middle-aged eyes and reflexes.

Lately however, I've been hearing a lot about mirrorless cameras. I knew there were typically lighter than DSLRs — a welcome advantage when you travel a lot and spend days in the field following dogs — but I was curious to find out if they offered anything more. Specifically, I wondered if the absence of a mirror mechanism slapping about inside the camera during rapid bursts could help me improve my keeper rate.

So I contacted my friend at a local camera store last month to ask if there was anything laying around the shop that I could borrow just to quench my curiosity. I didn't really care what brand it was, any current model of Fuji or Sony would be fine. After all, I was absolutely not in the market for a new camera. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity.

Here's what happened next:

Friday: Camera guy: "I have a great new mirrorless camera in stock. Take it for the weekend, see if you like it, no charge, no obligation....moowaahhaahaaa!! "

Me: "Well, OK, I'll just take a few shots with it at a lure-coursing trial tomorrow. I'll bring it back Monday. I'm not really looking for a new camera and besides, I can't afford it."

Saturday, 3 minutes into the shoot: Me: "OH. MY. GAWD. This freakin' camera! It tracks running dogs like a dream.....my credit card is soooo f**ked!"

Monday: Camera guy: "So? How did you like it?"

Me: "Shut up and take my money, you sneaky bastard."

First Frames

These are the very first photos I took with the borrowed camera. The shot of the Afghan Hound above was taken in the parking lot as I stepped out of my truck upon arrival. The shots of the Samoyed below were snapped a few minutes later.

As the day went on, I realized that the camera was able to track light-coloured and dark-coloured dogs equally well, and it didn't matter if the dog was running across the scene, away from the camera or towards it. An astounding 85-90% of my shots were in-focus!

In the end, I took over 1000 images that day. Big dogs, small dogs, close up or far away, it didn't seem to matter. The camera and lens combo stuck to them like glue.

Workouts

A few weeks later, with my credit card on life support, I was the proud new owner of a Fujifilm XH1 and 50-140mm 2.8 lens, the same camera-and-lens combo I had borrowed earlier.

But this time, instead of using the kit straight away, I spent a couple of days reading the manual, going over the camera's incredibly complex settings, and taking test shots of my dog Léo in the backyard. When I was finally ready to put the camera through its paces, I headed to a local pelican rookery.

My next stop was at a local fair where canine performance group Wild Dogs was putting on a show. The brutal mid-day sunlight and volcanic temperatures offered a perfect situation to see how well the camera's focusing system could handle tracking dogs in a hot, contrasty, busy scene.

I was really impressed by the camera's ability to pick moving subjects out of cluttered backgrounds and foregrounds. Dialling in the focus settings to stick to the subject and ignore things passing in front really did the trick!

Final thoughts

Did my keeper rate improve? Yes. After shooting 2000+ frames of running, jumping, playing dogs and flying birds, I am happy to say that my keeper rate increased significantly. I am now averaging over 90%.

So the Fuji XH1 must have a superior focusing system, right? The focusing system on the XH1 is truly excellent. However, technically, the 7DMK2 may actually focus faster and more accurately. And I am certain that any top-of-the-line Canon, Nikon or Sony camera designed for sports photography has an even better focusing system.

The main reason I am getting more keepers with the XH1 is the fact that it has a mirrorless, electronic viewfinder. You see, when using a DSLR, I sometimes lose track of rapidly moving subjects due to the disorienting phenomena known as "viewfinder blackout" caused by the camera's mirror slapping up and down 8 or more times per second. And even when I do manage to stick to the subject, I sometimes feel a certain amount of mirror 'slap' which can contribute to losing track of the subject as I twist and turn to keep up.

With the XH1's electronic viewfinder, black-out is far less noticeable. I can actually keep my eye — and the focus points in the viewfinder — glued to a dog no matter how fast it runs. In addition, the remarkably quiet shutter mechanism on the XH1 is silky smooth, producing virtually no vibration or 'slap'.

Check out this video of a side by side comparison of the blackout seen in an electronic viewfinder and in a DSLR viewfinder, both shooting at 8 frames per second. Note how the blackout on the DSLR is longer and how the image is briefly distorted by the mirror moving out of the way. It is especially noticeable in the slow motion portion of the video and may be the reason I find viewfinder blackout in a DSLR so disorienting.

Bottom line: my new camera has a great focusing system, but it's the mirrorless viewfinder that is key to a higher keeper rate since it helps my own built-in focusing system — good old fashioned hand-eye coordination — do a better job at tracking moving objects.

Are there other things about the camera that impressed you? Yes! Not only is the electronic view finder fantastic for taking photos, but being able to review images and zoom in on them in bright sunlight is amazing! I also love the ability to map just about any camera function to just about any button or dial on the camera. A bit of arthritis in my fingers can present certain challenges with some of my other cameras, but with the Fuji, I am able to customize the interface to suit my own requirements. Perhaps best of all are the amazing jpegs I get straight out of the camera. The colours are wonderful and working with jpegs should mean less time at the computer tweaking raw files in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Any downsides? Yes. The XH1 had a voracious appetite for batteries, and that means always carrying spares. Fortunately the batteries are light and relatively inexpensive. The camera can also get fairly warm when shooting in burst mode. It is not uncomfortable, but when I photographed the Wild Dogs event, in direct sunlight, with a black camera, a black lens and temperatures in the mid 30s, it was certainly noticeable.

What about video? For now, I want to focus on still images with my XH1 and adjust my workflow and my post-processing routines. But I will definitely dig into its video capabilities in the near future. Stay tuned!

So are you switching systems? Not really. I got into the Fujifilm system a few years ago when I picked up an X100 and an XPro1. The addition of an XH1 just means that I can now sell off my biggest and heaviest pieces of Canon gear since my back, shoulders and neck have been telling me for years to lighten the load I typically carry into the field. If/when Canon introduces a pro-level mirrorless camera, I will certainly give it a close look. But for now, when I am out there chasing dogs, I will probably have a Fujifilm camera in hand.

UPDATE: I've now added a Fujifilm XT3 to my kit and it is even better in terms of auto focus speed and tracking. It is now my main body for action shots of dogs. Of course I still use my XH1, but more for video or for when I need in-body-stabilization in lower light. And yes, my Xpro 1 and X100 are still going strong. They are perfect, everyday walk-around cameras for when I am not in the field trying to keep up with speedy dogs. So the answer to the above question "are you switching systems?" is now YES. I've sold off all my canon gear and shoot exclusively with fujifilm cameras and lenses now.