CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Yesterday I posted a quick test to see how fast the memory buffer was in the new X-Pro2 and how fast the camera could shoot with different speeds of SD memory cards I have available. You can see the results on the blog HERE As a comparison I decided to carry out the same test with the same six SD cards in the X-T1 to see what the difference is between it and the newer X-Pro2.  The results were quite an eye opener. Here are the results for the X-T1.   The first column is the number of frames (RAW + JPEG N) the camera shot before the buffer was full and the next column shows the time taken to clear the buffer after the last shot was taken.  The final column is the number of JPEG (F) only images could be taken before the camera buffer was full. And as a comparison here are the results from yesterdays tests using the X-Pro2.  Slot 1 is for the newer SDHC II cards and slot 2 is for the older SDHC I cards.  You can use the type II cards in slot ...

How many images can an X-Series camera shoot before it runs out of steam?  This is a question I hear a lot. The Fujifilm X-Pro2 is the first X-Series camera to incorporate two memory card slots.  The first utilises the new, fast SDHC II cards while the second accepts the slower SDHC I memory.  You can fit a slower SDHC I card in slot 1 and conversely you can put a SDHC II card in the second slot but it will only work at the slower write speeds. I have been using the faster SDHC II cards in my X-T1s since April 2014 as it speeds up the processing of the images and frees up the camera quicker after a continuous burst at 8fps.  I have long known the benefits of using the faster cards for camera operation and last weekend on the Snowman Rally I was shooting with the X-Pro2 on 8fps and the cards I am using certainly enabled me to continuing shooting uninterrupted. Anyway a lot has been written about the faster AF, the faster processing speed etc etc of the X-P...

This was an image I captured while taking landscape shots between Kinlochewe and Torrid in the Highlands of Scotland.  I spotted the lone tree on the ridge and saw a cloud being highlighted by the sunlight drifting quite quickly into the shot.  The dark snow clouds provided a very nice contrasty scene.   With the Fujifilm X-Pro2 fitted with the XF50-140mm f2.8 I only had to wait a few minutes for the cloud to be in the perfect position to capture this image. The final picture was cropped slightly to improve the composition and was converted to mono in Silver EFEX Pro2 after a few tweaks to the contrast and clarity in Photoshop. The exposure was 1/850s @ f11 ISO200 with the focal length at 140mm (210mm equivalent) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping...

Most of the time as a landscape photographer I have to plan my trips carefully, always keeping one eye on the weather forecast to try and optimise my chances of coming back with a few 'keepers'.  Other times I can just get lucky and these images are one of those occasions. The shots were actually taken last September when I was testing the 1.4x converter for Fujifilm along with fellow X Photographer Dirk Bogaerts from Belgium, who was doing a round Scotland trip in his MGB for his new magazine Carburettor .   I had taken a series of shots for the test and these were taken just as the clouds parted to produce this stunning light display over Edinburgh Castle.  I filed the images for processing later and completely forgot about them until yesterday due to other work commitments.  As I said the images were shot on the XF50-140mm f2.8 fitted with the 1.4x converter fitted to the X-T1.  We were standing on Calton Hill looking west towards the castle when t...

Yesterday was the first MacLean Photographic workshop of the 2016 season and after a quick presentation we headed down to the harbour to put into practice what had been discussed indoors. A beautiful sunny day in Dunbar provided the perfect conditions for some photography with the boats, both in and out of the water, providing colourful subject matter. I was on hand to provide one-to-one tuition and don't take that many images when teaching, but I also had my camera handy to take a picture to illustrate a point about exposure or composition. Here are some of the images from the photography workshop, all taken on the Fujifilm X-T1 and 16-55mm f2.8. If you are interested in finding out more about a MacLean Photographic workshop or you would like to book a one-to-one lesson  CLICK HERE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ...

Snow on the mountains and stormy weather in the Highlands of Scotland always make for a dramatic combination.  We headed north on Saturday to cover the aptly named Snowman Rally, round 1 of the Scottish Rally Championship, and because of the snow on the A9, the main route north to Inverness we decided to head straight to the final stage of the day. Because we arrived early for the stage we headed off toward Torridon to capture some landscape images before heading back to Strathpeffer. The storm clouds were coming across the mountains in waves, so we had to dodge the sleet and rain, which meant is was a typical Scottish day weather wise! Using the Fujifilm X-Pro2 and the 50-140mm I captured a set of landscape images which suited a mono conversion in post production using Silver EFEX Pro2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISIT...

X-Pro2 + XF50-140mm - 1/250s @ f2.8 ISO800 Yesterday I decided to attend the Snowman Rally near Inverness with a view to test the X-Pro2 in a motorsport environment.  I knew the forest stages would be a challenge for the X-Pro2's focus system but little did I realise that the weather would throw everything at us - snow, ice, rain and very occasional sunshine; the weather was pretty extreme. Now before I start I feel I need to explain something. The reason for the test was NOT to say the X-Pro2 is the latest all singing-all dancing sports professional camera, the X-Pro2 is NOT aimed at sports photographers.  I wanted to see if the improvements that Fujifilm had made to the AF system would cope with the conditions better than the X-T1 and therefore would point the way to future developments of the X-Series.  I also wanted to prove that while the X-Pro2 wasn't aimed at sports photographers, it is quite capable of taking images in these arenas. Anyway a 90-...