CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

This week I am going to look at the new Fujifilm X-T4, which Fujifilm started shipping to customers who had pre ordered their cameras last week. I have owned every edition of the X-T line up since the X-T1 was launched in 2014 and I still have an X-T2 and X-T3.  So, what makes the X-T4 worth buying? Pre Production Testing My X-T4 arrived a couple of days ago but, as a Fujifilm X-Photographer, I did get to test a pre-production sample in February for a few hours while I was working at the FIA World Endurance Championship event in Texas.  I was supposed to have an X-T4 for a four-day test in March at the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida, but, like many things recently, the Covid19 pandemic put the kybosh on that.  So, I am now playing catch up. What I found with my short time with the camera in Texas was the layout of the buttons and dials is almost identical to the previous generation X-T models, which is a good thing. This made shooting ...

The pre race grid walk ahead of the 6 Hours of The Circuit of The Americas was a good opportunity to put the Fujinon XF16mm f1.4 through its paces for a few portraits.  The shallow depth of field on the 24mm equivalent field of view makes the subject jump of the screen. I fitted a polariser filter to the 16mm to give the colours a little more punch and to take a couple of stops off the exposure to allow me to shoot wide open in the bright and sunny conditions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND C...

Richard Lietz - no91 Porsche 911 RSR  Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm f4.5/5.6 (zoom 400mm) - 1/2000s @ f5.6 ISO200 Today is race day here at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas, which is hosting round 6 of the FIA World Endurance Championship.  The race will begin at 12h00 local time, which is 18h00 in the UK. The most iconic landmark on the circuit is the observation tower, which stands 251 feet / 77 metres above the track and gives a panoramic view of the circuit and the Texas countryside.  At Turn 10 on the track the cars crest a small rise in the track and by moving down the fenceline you can place the top of the tower in the shot behind the car.   The image at the top of the page was taken during Free Practice 3 at 10h30 on Friday morning, while the shot below was taken at the same point but at 17h15 on Thursday afternoon during Free Practice 2.   no51 AF Corse Ferrari 488 GTE - Alessandro Pier Guidi / no36 Signatech Alpin...

Welcome to the first day of the FIA World Endurance Championship in Texas. The colourful run off areas are painted in the national colours of the United States and Texas. Today is the first of three days of track activity with the WEC cars on track for two 90-minute Free Practice sessions starting at 12:00 CT / 18:00 BST. This shot was taken during my track inspection yesterday morning on the Fujifilm X-T2 and the XF16-55mm f2.8 lens ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES (UNLESS INDICATED) ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE...

Reigning FIA World Endurance Champion Mark Webber being interviewed during the event in Texas In November 2014 I had the opportunity to test the Fujifilm X100T alongside my original X100 Black Limited Edition ( CLICK HERE to see the blog).  At the time I thought the X100T was a big step up from the X100 and that I might be persuaded to upgrade from the camera that started my X Series journey. However I never did.  Not because the X100T wasn't the leap forward that I eluded to in my test, it was just that funds needed to be spent on my X-T1s and XF lenses for my work and I couldn't justify the expense when the X100 was still a great camera to use (it still is!). Anyway, nearly two years later I have finally got an X100T and it is still superb.  The small body, the build quality, the 16mp X-Trans sensor and that sublime Fujinon 23mm f2 lens all go together to make the photographic experience a joy.   Yes, compared to my X-Pro2 and X-T2 the AF is a lot slowe...

Fujifilm X-T2 + XF100-400mm  0.5s @ f22 ISO100 As regular readers of this blog will know I love pushing the boundaries with the performance of my equipment and also the exposure.  A good motorsport image will portray the sense of speed and the slower the shutter speed used the more the sense of speed is enhanced. While working trackside on Saturday evening at the Circuit of The Americas in Texas while the sun was setting to the west of the track, I decided to push the shutter speed from the usual 1/30th second to 0.5 seconds for a few laps.  The sun had just set and the sky was a vibrant orange.  The light reflecting off the red, white and blue stripes at the edge of the circuit and the metal barriers provided the framing for the cars speeding away from me across the frame. With the cars traveling at over 150mph at this point of the circuit, the intention was to get a lot of movement in the car, to almost get an impressionists view of a race car tr...