There is a great misconception about the mirrorless cameras like my Fuji, in that they are only good for travel because of their small convenient size and their low weight. Nothing could be further from the truth as I have been shooting with this camera in my studio for some time, getting results comparable with my DSLR. In fact, I am finding that this Fuji is all I need in my studio, which consigns my DSLR to mainly outdoors use where the more challenging lighting conditions are more apparent, and I need my faster lenses in lower light situations.
Allow me to show you how I use my Fuji in my studio and how I get great results every time. With my model, Alex, I used my Fuji in conjunction of some simple lenses and lighting.


I mainly used a prime lens, a 35mm, f/1.4 lens that gives me a shallow depth of field, perfect for this type of photography. Since the Fuji has a crop factor of 1.5, it makes this lens the equivalent of a 52mm lens on a full frame DSLR. One other lens I use frequently is the Fuji XF 18-55mm F2.8 – F4 kit lens, which is the equivalent of 27 – 82mm on a fullframe DSLR camera. This covers everything from full wide angle to portrait focal length, meaning I have all the lens range required for studio photography.

For my lighting system, I use the Cactus V6 radio transceiver on camera. It’s a multi group radio transceiver, which allows me to dial the strength of each group separately. It works with all the lights I have including my Mitros flashes on this receiver. I also use my Cactus RF60 speedlight with its built in radio receiver. I don’t use the onboard flash on the Fuji camera, and I don’t use any other Fuji flashes either. This set up has served the purpose perfectly, and is very simple and effective.

Something else I don’t use is the built in wifi on the camera because it doesn’t send my images in the background as I believe it should. This hampers my workflow, so I use an EyeFi SD Mobi Card and then I am able to transfer the JPG images to Lightroom for preview just as I would with my normal DSLR. This means I am not missing anything in the studio when I am working with my Fuji.

Of course, the Fuji does mean that it cannot compete with a DSLR in many ways. For example, it doesn’t have do high speed sync, there’s no TTL capable radio controller, no fast tele zoom lenses, no low or high ISO settings, and the lighter, smaller camera does introduce a little bit more camera shake. Although nice to have, they are elements that are not really affecting my workflow within the studio. They really matter outside in direct sunlight, or at weddings in darker environments like churches where flash photography is not allowed.

Whatever camera and equipment you shoot with, I wish you Good Light!
Michael