CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

I was able to borrow a pre production sample of the Fujinon XF50mm f1 telephoto prime lens for the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans for a quick review of Fujifilm's fastest prime lens. I am going to be honest but for the way I work in the pitlane I find the 50mm focal length a bit short, I much prefer the 90mm f2 or 200mm f2, if using a prime, or the 50-140mm f2.8 if I need a bit of flexibility.  With a 50mm you need to get in close and this can cause problems with the pit crews, you don't want to get in their way, or if the subject is at the back of the garage, we've not allowed to cross into the garage due to the Covid-19 protocols - breaking a bubble is the technical term! With that said I wanted to give it go as I was intrigued to see how the 50mm f1 operated, how shallow the depth of field was and how fast the AF was on the X-T4.  I did have a 56mm f1.2 but sold it for the reasons stated above but also because the AF was a bit slow - admittedly this was when I had an X-T2. I f...

Fujifilm X-T4 + XF200mm f2 - 1/40s @ f2 ISO250 The 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans takes place in less than three weeks (19/20 September) and one of the best parts of photographing a 24 hours race is the chance to shoot the track action in the dark.  Because the world's great motor sport event was postponed from its usual mid June date due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the September date, with its earlier sunset and later sunrise times, will provide more opportunities to shoot in the dark   However, shooting under the cover of darkness also presents a few challenges with regards to exposure and focusing but the results are worth the extra effort required.  Last weekend I was at the Circuit Paul Ricard with the European Le Mans Series for the Le Castellet 240, the only ELMS night event on the calendar and a good opportunity to practice my very rusty skills as the last night race I shot was the FIA World Endurance Championship 8 Hours of Bahrain last December. Fujifilm X-T...