Last Updated on 04/09/2017 by Anthony Thurston
When moving over to a new camera, especially when moving from a completely different system, there is always a bit of a learning curve while you figure out the menu and discover how you work best with the camera. Fujifilm has been hot lately with many transplants from other systems picking up new X Pro2, [amazon_textlink asin=’B01I3LNMAM’ text=’X-T2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’bd657981-1a4c-11e7-82f5-f916e12a9809′], and [amazon_textlink asin=’B01N10DKLK’ text=’X-T20′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c24e3012-1a4c-11e7-87a2-e70fcb0f0c10′] cameras for the first time.
In this post, we are going to give you our top tips for getting the most out of your [amazon_textlink asin=’B01A8DUR74′ text=’Fujifilm X-Pro2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b8c8e6ed-1a4c-11e7-a8c2-0bdd9228705b’] (with many of these tips also applying to the X-T2 and X-T20) so you can minimize that adjustment period and get right into rocking your shoots.
Update To The Latest Firmware
This is not something that many modern camera owners are completely used to, but when you sign on to the Fujifilm system that means you sign on for consistent updates to your gear. Fujifilm’s history of taking user feedback, fixing issues and adding new functionality is well known, and a key to getting the most out of any Fujifilm camera – the X-Pro2 included – is making sure that you have the latest update.
At the time of this publication, Fujifilm just released the X-Pro2 version 3 firmware update, which added a multitude of features and fixes to the camera. Among them was improved AF algorithms, improved Face Detection, and more. If you are an X-Pro2 owner who has not upgraded yet, you can get the latest firmware update here.
Enable High Performance Mode
Sure, this will eat through your batteries a little bit faster than usual. But in our experience, the battery life is still more than efficient for a multi-hour session. The benefits of this high-performance mode are faster/more accurate AF performance and overall increased responsiveness that ensures that the camera will not be in your way while you are capturing your amazing images.
Setting Your ‘My Menu’
Quick access to menu settings that you may wish to change more often than others is an important thing in a fast paced shooting environment. As with many cameras, the X-Pro2 offers a custom ‘My Menu’ section where you can place your most commonly changed settings to make them quick to access and modify as needed. This will be different for everyone, as everyone has different desires in terms of what settings they want to change quickly. But we definitely recommend setting this up as soon as you can.
Use Compressed RAW
If you want to get the most out of your SD cards then we recommend shooting with the compressed RAW function. This greatly reduces the size of your RAW files without any diminished quality. The only thing you need to be worried about is your RAW converter being compatible with the compressed RAW files. Lightroom can process them with no problem, but Capture One does not support the compressed RAF files at this point (well apparently it looks like the latest beta release will address this, so that is good news). So make sure and check your RAW processor of choice before deciding to go this route.
Setting Up Your Function Buttons
The X-Pro2 has many buttons that you can customize and set to do whatever you want them to do. The most obvious is the Fn button just to the right of the shutter button. By default, this is set as the video recording button on the X-Pro2, but as stated, you can modify this to have it change a setting that you are more likely to use if you don’t shoot a lot of videos. Some popular replacement functions for this button that we have seen is the Metering Mode and Face Detection.
Additionally, another button that we recommend setting to something custom is the Fn2 button, which is the unmarked button on the front of the camera that is part of the EVF switch. Again, you can choose from a variety of functions to set it to, we have it set to our picture profiles, so we can change quickly from black and white to color.
Setting Your Auto ISO
One thing that things that many users new to the X-Pro2 struggle to adjust to is the ISO Dial. One way to work around constantly changing your ISO, for those who do that, is to set up the camera’s Auto ISO with limits that you are comfy with (for example much of the time when we use Auto ISO we have ours set to cap at 1600) and then use the exposure compensation dial to adjust your exposure as needed.
So there you have it, some things that one should really look at in order to get the most out of an [amazon_textlink asin=’B01A8DUR74′ text=’X-Pro2′ template=’ProductLink’ store=’thephobl-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8387fcf8-1a51-11e7-934b-c5d5df176b8f’]. Hopefully, this has been helpful for those of you new to the Fuji system that have been looking to shorten that adjustment period.