The right choice

[Marshall photography]

I am a wedding photographer and thinking on switching over to fujifilm T4 from the nikon D850. But not sure if I am making the right choice. I just love the colours on fujifilm camera . 

[Olaf W.]

Welcome to our forum!

[Marshall photography]

To tell you the truth I am finding the nikon D850 with a selection of full frame lenses quite heavy. 

A days shooting at a wedding with 2 nikons are quite heavy.  

Also the colours of the fujifilm x series are attracting me . Changing from full frame to crop frame will be  a bit of a shock.  

So does anyone have any positive and negative suggestions.  ?

[jerryy]

Rent one for a full week and try it in various situations. Depending on which software you currently use to process your images, there is a good likelihood it already is able to handle the Fujifilm RAF (raw — similar to NEF) files so that you can see how much latitude you have. Or, you can download one of Fujifilm’s raw file convertors, for free, and use that to lightly edit the files and export them as TIFF files for further editing in your software or as JPEG files for ready to go images. Various third party editors do have support for the Fujifilm simulations and of course, the Fujifilm software lets you apply the simulations to the raw files.

As far as changing crop sizes go, what is on the screen is what you get whether it is a full frame with a 1.4 teleconverter attached to the lens, or a APC camera. If you really, really lean back towards the full frame, remember Fujifilm also makes very well liked medium format cameras, though they are larger than the X-T4.

[steveparry]

You can use a Focal reducer to mount full-frame lenses and then no shock. You might need a more expensive reducer to get auto focussing.

[Herco]

Remember that the 'Fuji colors' only apply when you use the jpegs straight-out-of-camera. The Fuji film simulations can be compared to Nikon's picture profiles. You can even add Nikon Picture Profiles that are based on film stock, rather than the basic ones that Nikon delivers. When your workflow is raw-based the possibilities of color grading are defined by the raw processing software rather than the camera. I personally use Capture One with some predefined Styles and in my experience NEF-files are a bit easier to grade than the RAF-files (esp. in shadow tones).

In 2014 I switched from Canon 5D to Fuji for the exact same reason as you're mentioning, even though I don't carry my cameras for a full wedding day 😉. In 2021 I switched back for professional work to full-frame (Nikon Z) for a number of reasons:

• I ran into a few reliability issues with Fuji cameras and lenses;
• the IQ of full-frame is still a bit better than APS-C (and in case of Nikon the Nikkor Z lenses are superb);
• the magazines I work for (I'm in fashion photography) nowadays demand larger files (often min. 7000 pixels on the long end).

Comparing a D850 and an X-T4 is a bit tricky. When you look for straight-forward IQ it's a bit unfair. The D850 is one of the best full-frame cameras ever, so you will notice some drop in IQ. However, the D850 is also big and heavy compared to the X-T4 and so are the F-mount lenses. In all honesty however, you need to compare the cameras with the battery grip attached to the X-T4 as the D850 can easily last 1800 shots on one battery.

Comparing the X-T4 to a full-frame mirrorless camera is perhaps a better comparison. The Z7II (that I use) is approx. the same size and weight as the X-T4. Full-frame lenses are obviously a bit bigger and heavier, although the Z-mount lenses are generally more compact and lighter than the F-mount equivalents. The Z7II has a similar IQ as the D850 (I think it's even the same or a very similar sensor).

Whether the IQ of an X-T4 is sufficient for your wedding reportages is something only you can decide. You can make decent large prints from an APS-C camera, if needed, but dynamic range and how the camera handles complex textures of e.g. fabrics is a bit 'less'. I would rent/loan a camera before switching in order to decide whether its good enough for you. I wouldn't recommend adapting lenses. Esp. in wedding photography you can't run the risk of reliability issues with adapters. Next to that you actually forfeit on the advantages of the smaller APS-C lenses when you opt for adapted full-frame lenses.

Moving to medium format is another option mentioned above. We use Hasselblad H6Ds in our studio, but I wouldn't recommend those for wedding photography. The Fuji GFX cameras have approx. the size of a full-frame DSLR (like the 5D or D850), but the lenses are considerably larger and heavier due to the larger image circle. It would actually move you away from your goal of a lighter, more portable kit. Although the GFX50SII and the GFX100S are quite 'snappy' for medium format cameras, compared to a D850 or an X-T4 they're slow to respond. It will certainly force you to slow down your workflow when shooting weddings.

All of the above may change when you also do video work with the same camera. In that case the X-T4 or the Z6II are great choices and well-above a DSLR like the D850 or any GFX camera.

Today I'm using my remaining X-Pro2 for personal work. For that the IQ is sufficient and portability is key. Besides that, I love the form factor and the jpegs are of great quality for Instagram.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Herco