X-H2: Portraiture x Hidekazu Maiyama

X-H2 Impression

The camera used for this shoot was the X-H2, which is equipped with a newly developed 40-megapixel sensor and offers the highest image quality in the history of the X series. The design was refined, the grip and operability of the camera was improved, and the camera was overall comfortable to use. In addition, the camera was a good match for the new XF56mmF1.2 R WR lens, which has a bright open aperture and high-resolution performance.

I reconsidered the theme of portraiture as a work of art. There are all kinds of “faces” that exists within people. It is difficult to describe in words, but the “faces” I want to bring out from people are always the same. Regardless of who they are, young or old, male or female. Of course, this is only the case when I produce portraits. In my work, I use facial expressions and movements of my subject to express my own understanding of the world.

When the viewfinder renders a beautiful image, it motivates me to click the shutter. The viewfinder diameter and resolution are excellent, and it looks beautiful even when viewed from an angle.

As for camera operation, being able to customize the buttons and separate the use of tracking that follows the focus and face/eye recognition, allows the camera to smoothly reflect my intentions and capture the image.

I have always believed that the beauty of a photograph lies in its framing and timing, and the X-H2’s shutter response did not fail to meet my timing expectations. In addition, the accuracy of the face/eye recognition was a real eye-opener.

I change my shooting position for each shot without using a tripod. The 7.0 stop in-body image stabilization is powerful, so I never had to worry about the image being blurred because I didn’t hold the camera steady during the shoot.

In general, I dislike tone jumps and undesired noise, and prefer data that gives a sense of mellow latitude. Therefore, I shot at ISO 125, which was the standard sensitivity for this project. Despite the high resolution, there was a wide dynamic range and persistent highlights and shadows, and I felt the expressiveness of gentle tones with absolutely zero noise.

I felt that the body was a bit large for an APS-C model, but when the 56mm F1.2 lens, which was announced at the same time, was attached, the balance between the lens and the body, which the size is not unnecessarily large, was good and easy to hold.

Portraiture essentially captures people and records them as they are. The reason why the subject looks different from one photographer to another is because of the influence of the photographer’s uniqueness. The photographer creates his or her own ideal portrait of the subject, which may deviate from the subject’s personality. However, the subject also has a diverse personality, and it is up to the photographer to decide which aspect of the subject to bring out. In the case of my personal work, I only shoot from my own subjective point of view.

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  X-H2 & XF56mmF1.2 R WR, f8, 1/250, ISO125

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  X-H2 & XF56mmF1.2 R WR, f8, 1/250, ISO125

Every time I hold up my camera, I ask myself the question to reconcile the sense of beauty I have within myself. Is it beautiful or not?

Model: Yu Saotome
Hair make: Madoka Takara
Stylist: Erika Yoshida