2014 Shell Advance Malaysian MotoGP with Olympus mZD 40-150mm f2.8 PRO lens

I had the generous opportunity from Olympus Malaysia in loaning me the latest set up of choice for sports photography in the m43 world, an E-M1 + MC-14 + mZD 40-150mm f2.8 PRO lens. Thanks to Mr. Tang and Olympus Malaysia!

With that combination, off I go to 2014 Shell Advance Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang International Circuit for the free practise session to test them out. Panning was the dreaded archilles heel that have put me off of m43 for the time being but it seems that it is no longer true.

There was one thing though is still plaguing m43 systems, which is the battery life. It seems that Pro lenses, like the 4/3 counterparts, suck battery quite a bit. Even with the grip, I managed to capture about 300 shots with a bit of chimping and photo deletion included. Maybe one of my mistake was not to turn off live view on the LCD from the start. I only did that about 1/3 way through the shoot. Depending on the usage, it should only last about one full race. Spare batteries are highly recommended.

The size of the set up is no longer small but is equivalent to an entry level competitor dSLR with a standard telephoto lens attached. The weight too is not feather light. However, compared to its 4/3 equivalent of an E-5 + EC-14 + 35-100mm f2, the m43 combo is feather light. For a motorsports event, having trained arms would be a real added advantage.

On the performance of this combo, AF speed was excellent and was able to focus on the moving bikes without fail. Even the C-AF Tracking did what it's supposed to do. The sharpness produced from the lens was great and it also produces nice bokeh for protraiture. For MotoGP, the MC-14 was a real advantage as 150mm seems to be not enough reach for closer shot photos.

It took some practise to get the panning right. With my limited skills, I have tried the new Panning Scene mode, with and without IS-AUTO, C-AF with tracking and with multiple shutter speeds. What worked for me was S Mode set to 1/200s with IS OFF, S-AF and ISO 200. Old habits die hard as that is the set up I usually use for panning with my E-3 and ZD 50-200mm F2.8-3.5. 1/200s is considered fast but with limited time on the combo, that would suffice with my old and shaky hands.

Another thing which I have set beforehand was the high frame rate for the EVF. The LCD cannot be relied on heavily for panning as using the EVF would provide the best stability and follow up needed. I have noticed that there is a very slight blackout period in the EVF when the shutter is pressed.

Am I impressed with the new m43 sports photography combo? Hell yeah! With more practise, I'm very confident that panning at slower shutter speeds can be readily achieved. With its light weight and weather proofing capabilities, it is ready for anything. However, the main problem is, where to get the funds?

All photos are captured using Olympus E-M1 body with MC-14 teleconverter and mZD 40-150mm f2.8 Pro lens. The rest of the photos can be viewed here.

Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show (KLIMS) 2010 - The Show Part 1

I was fortunate enough to have a chance to attend this event. It was supposed to be held last year but somehow its frequency was changed from 3 years to 4 years. The last event was on 2009, which I had also attended. Luckily, the ticket price remained the same. However, this year's show seems to lack quite a number of continental manufacturers such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes Benz to name a few.

The highlight of this motor show were a real size replica of Bumblebee from the Transformers movie and also the Tumbler batmobile from the Dark Knight movie. However, the batmobile was a HUGE disappointment as it's a FAKE, not even a replica. Those to purposely went to the show for it had been duped big time!

The exhibition starts at Hall 1 & 2 after a long walk from the ticketing booth and across a river. There, you will not miss Perodua's booth on the right with the display of its concept car code named Bezza.

Sharing the same location with Perodua is Proton, which I think had the biggest booth area of this year's KLIMS. Proton showcased existing, rally, upcoming as well as concept cars. Inside Proton's area is also its subsidiary, Lotus which showcased its latest sports cars.

Proton Saga EV's engine compartment

Proton Lekir

Proton Tuah

Proton Jebat

Proton EMAS

Proton Kasturi

Proton Saga EV

Lotus Esprit

It is quite a fair performance from Proton by showing off the most number of new cars in this event. Kudos to them and the design of their booth is also well done. More will be shown in the next installment of this series as I don't want to bog down the bandwidth with too many pictures in a single blog entry.

All images taken using Olympus E-3 with ZD 14-54 f2.8-3.5 Mk II and ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 Mk I lens with FL-50 external flash.

Japan Super GT Round 4 @ Sepang International Circuit

I like fast cars. I enjoy cars going at high speeds. I love everyday sports cars being on a proper race track, all modded and roaring to go. That is why I enjoy attending the Japan Super GT Round 4 at Sepang International Circuit. It is the only round outside of Japan. I've been to the event in 2008 and 2009. In 2008, it was the introduction of the Nissan GT-R (R35) while 2009 saw the last season for the Honda NSX.

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

2008

2009

The rest for 2008 can be found here and for 2009 can be found here. All images taken using Olympus E-510 with ZD 50-200 f2.8-3.5 lens.