Why I Love the Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR for Pro Motocross Photography

If you’re like most people, when you think of sports photography equipment and gear the first thing that comes to mind is a huge telephoto lens. You generally aren’t thinking about a sports photographer working with a short wide-angle lens. It just doesn’t look… right? Absolutely there is a big place for big badass lenses in the pro sports photography workspace - they’re a critical tool for getting close to the action from a distance, and the lens compression effects can make shots look (insert chef’s kiss action here!) insane. But for how I work as pro motocross and enduro photographer/photojournalist, the small but incredibly mighty Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR from Fujifilm is more often than not my go-to lens. The bottom line is that it’s tack sharp, it’s durable, and the wide angles it affords allow me to work extremely close to the action while still capturing the context of the scene beyond the bike and rider.

Ryder McNabb in the apex of a corner in Moto 1, final round of the Canadian Triple Series. Fujifilm X-H2 + Fujinon 1-24mm F4 R OIS WR from approximately 2 feet away at 10mm. The wide angle allowed me to highlight the action of the bike through the 10mm accentuating the compression of the front and rear suspension an instant before McNabb fully released the clutch and hit the throttle to exit the corner. McNabb’s body is also elongated by the wide angle, and I was able to capture the context of the scene with the Triple Crown Series and Fox Racing signage, and the roost flying through the air off the wheel of his teammate Kaven Benoit who was just in front of him at this point. Trust me, I was getting showered with that mud, too. while I was taking this shot! As a side note McNabb went on to win this moto, which secured him the Canadian overall series championship in the 250cc class.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media

Before we really get started, though, let’s parse through Fujfilm’s naming convention for lenses to help understand what this lens actually is. The ‘R’ designation in the title tells us that this lens has an Aperture ring. This allows us to select the depth of field we’re shooting at, and aperture is also one of the three sides of the exposure triangle so we can help control how much light is hitting the camera sensor with this. Basically, though, the ring allows for quick manipulation of aperture without having to dive into the settings menus of your camera. Efficiency rules! OIS stands for Optical Image Stabilisation, which is how much the lens can help keep your shot steady if (typically) you’re shooting at really low shutter speeds. For any shot, though, OIS helps you get the sharpest image possible. Sharp is good in sports photography! The WR designation is maybe the most important for me as a motocross/enduro photographer as it lets us know that the lens is weather (and dust) resistant. Look, shooting motocross can be a fiiiiiilllllllthy business. There’s dust, dirt, mud and all kinds of other stuff flying around in the air at races or track sessions. Sometimes even bikes and bodies. But no, WR won’t help us with that, bahahahaha! With a WR lens and camera body, I’m reasonably confident that my gear can stand up to the brutal conditions that I, more often than not, run into when I’m shooting. The only way I’ll ever use a non-WR lens is maybe if I’m shooting BTS/environmental portraits at a race. But even then, probably not. There’s just so much dust in the air at these events, even away from the track. For me it just isn’t worth the stress. All of this to say that this lens is an easy to use and durable beast that helps me produce great images from trackside.

Lexi Pechout (BFD Moto / Husqvarna Canada) at Round 1 of the 2023 Canadian Triple Crown Series in Edmonton, AB. Fujifilm XH-2 + Fujinon 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR (1/160; F4.0; ISO 320; 24mm). I was right up on the edge of the track here, and was hoping that Lexi would take the inside line but she went outside. I was able to make the quick adjustment out to 24mm from 10mm despite having about 1/2 second to make the change. I love the panning action and motion blur as she hits this step-down feature while transitioning from a high-speed straightway.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media

So why do I use this wide-angle lens as one of my main go-to’s for pro motocross photography? I guess there’s lots of reasons, but the main is that for my style of shooting I typically work right on the very edge of the track. Often I’m within 1-3 feet of the riders, and certainly within 5-10 feet most of the time. When I think of motocross and enduro racing I’m immediately thinking of how much energy and chaos there is on track. At the pro motocross level riders are working through layers of watered dirt and negotiating incredibly deep ruts on track. They’re often (literally) banging elbows and bikes with the competition to fight for position and the best race lines. Dirt and mud are almost always flying everywhere. Like I said, chaos! But these athletes are really surgeons working that chaos. It’s a game of inches in terms of line choice and they are working with high levels of precision under the worst possible circumstances to get every performance advantage they can out there on track. I like to use the analogy of these athletes being like the “meatball” surgeons from M.A.S.H (great dramatic comedy about front-line surgeons in the Korean war - look it up!). And this is what I absolutely LOVE about the sport, and what draws me to it as a photographer. Being up close allows me to capture the energy and chaos of it all.

Kaylie Kayer (Kiwi Racing / Husqvarna Canada) at the 2023 TransCan Grand National Championship, Walton Raceway, Walton ON. Fujifilm X-H2 + Fujinon 10-24mm ROIS WR. 1/400; F7.1; ISO 125 at 115.9mm. Kaylie is one of the fastest women in Canada, no question.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media

The Fujinon XF 1-24mm F4 allows me to capture great wide angles even when I’m extremely close to the racers and the racing line. With the lens at 10mm I can still capture the bike, the rider, and plenty of background for story context. The wide angle also allows me to show the action of the bikes and riders as they move past me. It does a great job of elongating the bike in motion, and it can really accentuate the motion dynamics of the suspension. These elongated shots do an incredibly job of conveying the energy and chaos that’s happening in the race. It speaks so strongly to speed and motion, especially when I’m panning at low shutter speeds in corners or as riders come off the lip of a jump. The just seems to be moving, even in a still shot, which helps so much in telling the story of the race.

Will Riordan (FMF RPM KTM Racing) working through a corner at the 2023 BFD Moto Fall Super Series in Calgary, AB. This shot does a pretty good job of elongating both Will and the bike to accentuate action, even at 24mm. Fuji X-H2 + Fujinon 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR. 1/3200; F4.0; ISO 320; 24mm.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media

This lens has been through the wars with me in terms of shooting conditions. Pouring rain, wind, dust, mud - no problem. The weather sealing of this thing is impeccable. In working as close to the track as I like to, I’m constantly getting hit with the roost coming off the bikes’ rear tires. Roost can be in the form of sand, water, mud, rocks, and who knows what else. To get the shots I want I’ll put myself into the worst positions for getting hit by that stuff. I got hit on the side of my knee by a rock bigger than a softball working inches from the track off the start at one of the Canadian Triple Crown Series (our national pro motocross series) that the impact caused me to lose feeling in the bottom half of my quad for weeks. That’s the kind of crap I deal with shooting my style. I tell people that if I’m not getting hit/covered by roost I’m not in the right spot. There’s many races where I’ve literally been scraping chunks of mud off of this lens and my Fujifilm X-H2 body, and they haven’t faltered once. No joke, CHUNKS of mud. This lens is durable as hell, and that’s a huge factor for me. (Hot tip: ALWAYS have a clear filter screwed onto the front of your lens if you’re going to shoot this stuff!)

Tanner Scott (MVP Racing) with the look-back position check at the 2023 TransCan Grand National Championship, Walton Raceway, Walton ON. Fujifilm X-H2 + Fujinon 10-24mm R OIS WR. 1/500; F7.1; iSO 125 at 24mm.
© Noel Flatters / Superfine Media

The aperture ring is a huge factor in my ability to shoot outdoors in widely varying conditions. My personal choice is shoot manual probably 99% of the time. It’s not for bragging rights or anything, I just like having the ability to quickly make adjustments on the fly without giving up control to the camera. I make very deliberate choices about shutter speed and depth of field from moment to moment in order to get the shot types I want out there. I try to leave ISO alone whenever possible, but ultimately I want quick access to all three components of the exposure triangle without having to dive into menu systems. I work hard to put myself into the right spots at the right time on track, and don’t want to miss a critical moment by having my face down working my way through menu settings when I should’ve had my eyes up to catch the moment. As importantly, I want to have my eyes up all the time when I’m shooting close to the track for safety. Things go wrong out there very quickly and often at very high speed. The last I want is to get hit by a 200+ pound bike that’s ejecting from the track at any speed. Safety is critical out there, especially working close. That’s why the aperture ring is important to me. In combination with having command dials set for shutter speed and ISO, I can change my settings without ever having to put my eyes down. I don’t shoot any lenses at the track that I can’t access all exposure setting without looking at a menu. Ever.

Keylan Meston (JC Powersports / Yamaha Canada) working over a feature at Wild Rose MX, Calgary AB, ahead of Round 3 of the Canadian Triple Crown Series. Shot on the Fuji X-H2 and Fujinon XF 10-24mm F4 R OIS WR. Cool wide angle dynamics!
© Noel Flatters / Super Fine Media

The only knock on the Fujinon 10-24mm is that it isn’t a super ‘fast’ lens. F4 isn’t terrible, but it’s my only zoom that isn’t F2.8. My primes are all F1.4 with the exception of my Fujinon 50mm F1.0 (I’ll talk about how great this portrait lens is for sports photography in another post. Trust me, it’s pretty amazing). On overcast/rainy days I have to compensate by cranking up my ISO, which of course adds digital noise to images. But I’ve found that with the X-H2’s ability to handle higher ISO, in combination with the widely available and excellent denoise tools available in post-production software, this has become a fairly minor issue. I’m going to be shooting some Arenacross (indoor) races soon, and the 10-24mm is still going be getting some good use, even in that darker environment.