Capturing Star Images with the Fuji X-T2
A couple of weeks ago I headed out to the west coast of Portugal to try and shoot a time-lapse of the Milky Way with the new Fujifilm X-T2. I really wanted to see how well the camera would deal with shooting at a high ISO and as I was shooting a time-lapse I thought it would be interesting to try and make a video about the shoot.
I checked the position of the stars using the Sky Guide app on my iPad and also made sure there was no moon in the sky while I was shooting. This meant the stars would be at their brightest, and according to Sky Guide the milky way would be visible West Southwest an hour or so after sunset. I headed out to Praia do Ouriçal, a beach at Portugal’s most westerly point, Cabo da Roca. It’s quite tricky to escape light pollution anywhere in Portugal, and shooting out over the ocean is your best bet of getting a darker sky. Ouriçal is one of my favourite beaches, it’s quite difficult to access which means it’s always quiet at sunset, and with lots of sea stacks a little away from the beach there are plenty of options for compositions.
The rest of what happened you can see in the video I shot while out shooting as things didn’t quite go according to plan and there was a fair amount of improvisation.
Editor’s note:
Exactly in this beach, part of the film “At The Edge Of The Sea” was recorded, but focused on Seascape Photography. For more informations, click HERE.
Overall, I was really impressed with the X-T2s quality at high ISO, which doesn’t surprise me, I’ve been impressed by pretty much every aspect of the X-T2 since I started using it. I’m looking forward to getting out again and doing some more stars shots with it.
As for the video, well it’s a brand new thing for me and something I’m eager to learn more about. Video on the X-T2 is excellent (it was pretty disappointing on the X-T1) so it’s relatively straightforward to add something like a GoPro with a GorillaPod tripod or a DJI Osmo stabilized camera to my bag and have a kit for shooting landscape photos as well as videos and timelapse that’s still very small and lightweight.
What I didn’t have at the time was a decent directional microphone, and with the noise of the ocean at the location the sound is a little poor at times.
Still, I had a lot of fun making the film and learned a lot. If you’re interested, I’ll be putting my movies up on my YouTube channel.
Landscape Photography Workshop: Lisbon’s Wild Coast
Would you like to make great images on Portugal’s wild coast while with expert tuition and guidance from Andy?
Our workshops offer a fantastic opportunity to improve your photography technique in this stunning area as well as learning post processing techniques in a packed workshop shooting some of the most beautiful beaches in Europe.
Dates 24 – 27 October.
For more information, download the brochure here or send us an email.
SUBSCRIBE THE FUJI X PASSION VIRTUAL MAGAZINE FOR ONLY €20/YEAR!
Andy Mumford is a Lisbon based landscape, travel and fine art photographer. A lover of nature and travel. Having made the transition from DSLR to Fuji X cameras, currently he is an official Fuji ambassador, a Fuji X Photographer.
