Monday, April 18, 2016

Fuji X-E2 the camera system for Live Theater

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 1600, ƒ/4.8, 1/100
For the last performance of Into The Woods I shot with my Fuji X-E2. I was shooting with the electronic shutter mode, so it was completely silent. I had also learned from earlier tests that I needed to shoot below 1/100 with this stage lighting to avoid blurring of the image.

Now this is a pretty tricky lighting, but I could tweak the image before I shot it. I was seeing the results I would be getting and in theater the lighting changes so much that this is a blessing to shoot with the mirrorless Fuji X-E2.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 1250, ƒ/4.2, 1/100
I dialed in the best white balance using the Kelvin settings. I knew from past custom white balance that the Kelvin was around 2900º K so I just dialed that in.

I had confirmation because I could see the results before shooting in the viewfinder.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/100

Silence Your Phones & No Texting


During theater productions just texting will light up your face to everyone around you. To avoid this problem with the camera's LCD I turned that off and just used the EVF and had it set to only work when my eye was at the viewfinder.

Now since I had done the latest firmware upgrade for the Fuji X-E2 I now had the electronic shutter which allows for me to shoot in total silence.

I also put a small piece of gaffer's tape over the light that shows the files being written on the SD card.

I wanted to not draw any attention to me shooting the performance.

Fujifilm X-E2, FUJINON XF 55-200mm, ISO 5000, ƒ/4.8, 1/100
I am convinced that I can shoot this setup in any theater and also due to fully silent use this on movie sets in the future. There is no need to use a Blimp to put your DSLR in to remain silent.

The Fuji X-E2 is my go to camera for live theater.

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