CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

While at an FIA World Endurance Championship race weekend I organise at least three press conferences and two other media activities where the drivers meet the journalists for interviews.  This weekend in Bahrain has been no different from other meetings, but with seven championship titles still to be won there is plenty of interest from the specialist and local media in getting that  special quote from the driver of choice. Here are some the images I took yesterday on the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and the Fujinon 23mm f1.4 lens that I was able to borrow for a couple of hours to test. More on this lens later this week. 2013 World Endurance Champion and nine times 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen (Audi) 2013 FIA World Endurance Champion Allan McNish (Audi) 2012 World Champion Andre Lotterer (Audi) talks with the only lady driver on the FIA WEC grid Keiko Ihara (Oak Racing) Australian race winner John Martin of G-Drive Racing Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro

For the past three days I have been putting the Fujinon XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 telephoto zoom through its paces to assess whether I will add one to my growing Fujifilm collection.  Firstly I need to say I didn't set out to buy a zoom lens when I opted for the Fujifilm X-Pro1, I liked the idea of fast prime lenses and bought four (14mm, 18mm, 35mm and 60mm) for the camera. However I soon discovered that I needed a longer focal length than the superb 60mm offered.  I bought a Fotodiox adapter to fit my Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D to the X-Pro1 ( CLICK HERE ) but this solution has a couple of drawbacks - there is no AF, so it is manual focus only and it is quite a big lens on the Fuji.  The Fujinon XF 55-200mm f3.5-4.8 offers full automation, a very fast AF and optical stabalisation, which is superb (but more about that later). I was able to get my hands on a 55-200 for a three day test at the Bahrain International Circuit where I was working on the final round of the FIA World

This weekend in Bahrain I have the Fujifilm XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS telephoto zoom on test and I have been walking around the paddock taking some test shots for a review I am preparing to be published on this blog next week. As part of this review I headed out this evening to take some shots trackside as the sun was setting.  I have to say I am impressed how the camera and lens combination handled the difficult conditions.  The AF was snappy and, with the camera set to aperture priority, the exposures were excellent.  I had to push the ISO to 800 to get a fast enough shutter with the slower maximum aperture but the X-Pro1 handles this relatively low ISO extremely well. Here are four of the shots I took this evening. Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujifilm XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE

Nothing says 'desert' more than palm trees and there are plenty here at the Bahrain International Circuit.  The paddock is lined with trees which have been strung with party lights and in the evening the whole area becomes a party area.  This evening we have our paddock welcome party for all the teams, drivers and officials and the trees will provide the perfect setting for the party in the dessert. All images takens on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 14mm f2.8 lens ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGR

I arrived in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the early hours of this morning and after a few hours sleep I went to the Bahrain International Circuit to sort out some things ahead of the FIA World Endurance Championship finale on Saturday.  One of my jobs as the Media Delegate is to have a look at the photographer positions around the track and while out and about I took the opportunity to grab some images for the official website and Facebook page. Here are some of the brightly coloured kerb stones here at the BIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL

Two days ago I posted a review of the Fotodiox adapter so that Nikon F mount lenses can be fitted to the Fujifilm X-Pro1.  My first test was with the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D ( HERE ) and yesterday I got to try out the Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D on the X-Pro1 during the Christmas Lights Switch On celebrations in Edinburgh. The Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-D fitted to the Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the Fotodiox Adapter The Nikkor 50mm f1.4 is another stunningly sharp lens from Nikon and like the 80-200mm it is a 'D' lens, which means it has an aperture ring to set the f stop manually.  This is important for use with the Fotodiox adapter as the newer 'G' type Nikon lenses wont work because they don't have the aperture ring. Because the X-Pro1 is an APS-C sensor the 50mm becomes an effective 75mm f1.4 when fitted to the Fuji.  The Japanese manufacturer is launching a Fujinon 56mm f1.2 next spring so the Nikon is almost a perfect match for the new X-Series lens, which I am lookin

This afternoon we went to Edinburgh to see the switching on of the Christmas Lights in George Street by cycling's multiple Olympic gold medalist Sir Chris Hoy.  The event was crowded with thousands of people attending the event that saw 850 artists performing across 10 different stages and got everyone in a festive mood. Here are some of the shots taken on the Fuji X-Pro1 and a variety of lenses including my Nikon 50mm f1.4 AF-D (more on this lens test tomorrow) The Ferris wheel in Princes Street Some of the lights in George Street Sir Chris Hoy on stage outside the Assembly Rooms The lights are switched on to a massive firework display on the roof of the Assembly Rooms Edinburgh Castle This post is the 500th since starting this blog in February 2011.  At the start of 2013 I planned to post at least 365 times before the 31st December and this is the 333rd so far this year.  I am on course to hit my goal on the 26th December. Images taken on a Fuji

I've been using the Fujifilm X-Pro1 for the past month and I haven't enjoyed my photography so much since I bought the Fuji X100 12 months earlier.  The only issue I have with the X-Pro1 is the lack of a long telephoto lens.  The longest lens I have is the 60mm f2.4, which is the equivalent of a 90mm telephoto; it's a great lens but I sometimes wish my Fuji system had a bit more pulling power.   Fuji have provided the X system with a telephoto zoom, the 55-200mm f3.5 / f4.8 R LM OIS and I will be testing this lens next week for three days. I will be showing the results on this blog. However my Nikon kit has one of the best short telephoto zooms in the world, the Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D.  I bought this lens brand new in 1996 for £1600.00 and it has been a faithful companion ever since. I've bought and sold plenty of SLRs / DSLRs in the past 18 years but I've never felt the need to upgrade the 80-200mm because it is still optically the best lens I own and it ha