Innholdsfortegnelse for 31-Jan-2015 i Amateur Photographer

When I first started photography, I would avoid using a flashgun like the plague. The only help available when using it was a confusing array of different-coloured lines and numbers on the rear of the flash. Thankfully, advancements in technology, and the help of excellent articles and guides, have made flash easier to use. Intelligent TTL metering, combined with the more advanced metering in our cameras, means that it is relatively easy to get a nicely exposed image, whether you are pointing the flash directly or bouncing it off a ceiling or wall. One area that is still daunting for many is wireless flash control. However, the basics are quite straightforward and the potential to produce better images is fantastic. Read Phil Hall’s guide to off-camera flash on page 14…

As we reported in News last week, Sony has announced six new Imaging Ambassadors, with each specialising in a particular genre. The ambassadors are: portrait photographer and film-maker Gavin Evans; landscape photographer Joe Cornish; social documentary photographer Michael Wayne Plant; fashion and sport photographer Nick Webster; Dominic Fraser, a photographer and videographer specialising in automobiles; and travel/wildlife photographer Andrew Scriven. Here we take look at an image by Gavin Evans, a photographer we interviewed in AP14 June 2014. This image comes from his nocturnal project Nightscapes, a series of images that found the photographer exploring the streets of India at night. Words & numbers It’s not enough to have talent, you also have to be Hungarian Robert Capa Hungarian photojournalist 1913-1954 1.98 million…

NIKON has urged D750 users to return their cameras for free inspection and repair if they have ‘unnaturally shaped flare’ appearing in their photographs. However, the firm insists that its request for customers to return their cameras does not represent a product recall. Earlier this month, US photography website Petapixel suggested that a ‘quiet recall is underway’, adding that the D750 is ‘disappearing from stores’ shelves’. A Nikon spokesperson told AP: ‘We are not recalling the Nikon D750. ‘Some customers have experienced the issue and to ensure good customer satisfaction we have requested that those affected return the product to Nikon for inspection and fix. ‘We will inspect and repair light-shielding components, and adjust the AF sensor position at no cost to users.’ Nikon confirmed that ‘cameras stocked in retail’…

This has probably happened to you: something interesting is developing and you’re trying to document it, but the biggest challenge is not getting another photographer in your shot. There are many events – such as the Santa Run or the Mermaid Walk – where it’s almost impossible not to get a good picture. The trouble is, as an event’s popularity increases, so does the number of photographers in attendance. And photographers really can ruin photography. Fortunately, as a professional photographer, I can obtain access to events that would otherwise be difficult to shoot. It’s rather like having a licence to be a nosy parker. When a client hires a photographer, they tend to be really helpful and go the extra mile in order to get the pictures they want. I’ve…

The ability to unshackle your flashgun from your camera’s hotshoe and fire it remotely from another position can transform a shot, resulting in an image with a more sculptured and striking lighting effect compared to simply directing the flash face-on to your subject. There are a couple of ways to trigger a flashgun remotely, but the method that requires the least outlay to get started is infrared. This approach uses your camera’s built-in flash to trigger the compatible flashgun, with the latter’s output controlled via the camera’s dedicated interface, so you don’t have to change the settings on the flashgun itself. With most camera systems now offering some form of off-camera wireless flash control, it’s never been easier to have a go. Most systems are clever enough to offer sophisticated…

Ferdinand von Korff from Co Wicklow in Ireland is the winner of round 10, Building Blocks, of APOY 2014. Ferdinand will receive an Olympus OM-D E-M10 with a 14-42mm EZ Pancake zoom, a 45mm f/1.8 portrait lens, a 40-150mm zoom, a 9mm fisheye lens, a macro adapter and a street case in which to carry it all. That’s a total retail price of £1,200. The E-M10 has a 16.1-millionpixel, four thirds-sized CMOS sensor and a TruePic VII image-processing system, while the 1.44-million-dot EVF displays a 100% field of view and has a 120fps refresh rate. The 14-42mm EZ Pancake zoom lens is a slim and compact optic that is equivalent to a 28-84mm lens in the 35mm format. The 45mm f/1.8 portrait optic is ideal for low-light people shots without…

Jupio Compact Universal Charger ● £29.99 ● www.jupio.co.uk Andy Westlake tests a charger for all your batteries At a glance ● Charges AA, AAA and Li-ion batteries ● Low-power 0.5A USB output ● Four plug adaptors supplied ● 12V car adaptor included IF YOU own several cameras that use different batteries, and are fed up carrying around chargers for each, then a universal unit may be just what you need. The Jupio Compact Universal Charger (LUC0055) claims to be capable of recharging almost any 3.6V or 7.2V Li-ion power pack, using a pair of prongs that slide to align with the battery’s contacts. Alternatively, one or two AA or AAA-sized NiCd and NiMH batteries can be charged. It also has a USB socket with 0.5A output, suitable for topping up…

Unlike the Sony Alpha 7R, the Alpha 7 II sticks with a more conventional sensor design that sees the inclusion of an optical low-pass filter to reduce and control the effects of aliasing. Looking at both raw and JPEG files, the Alpha 7 II performs well when compared with similar files from other 24-million-pixel DSLRs, such as the Nikon D750. To be more precise, ISO 3200 and 6400 are both usable, and despite luminance noise being evident at these settings there is a fine grain-like structure. Our dynamic range results are up there with some of the best we’ve ever recorded, being fractionally higher than the Alpha 7R and competing full-frame DSLRs. Users can expect to pull back a good amount of shadow and highlight detail from raw files provided…

360° rotational camera CHOOSING the lens for this camera was not too difficult, since I decided that as well as 360° horizontal coverage, I also wanted a decent vertical coverage to avoid an exaggerated ‘letterbox’ effect – the perfect compromise was a 28mm lens. All 35mm SLR lenses are designed to cover a 43mm circle and in this camera the exposure is made through a1mm slit covering the 24mm height of the film. This means you do not need an expensive lens with100lpmm at the corners; a lower-cost optic will do the job. The next problem was how to pull the film past the exposure slot. The length for a 360° scan is simply 2 x pi x focal length (in this case176mm) and may be obtained by winding the…

Roger Hicks considers… In 1997, Gary Barat and his wife Chandri founded the Barat Foundation to help disadvantaged children through art. They define ‘art’ widely, including writing, cookery, painting, sculpture and photography. And fun: an art in itself. Visit baratfoundation.org to see the sort of things they do. So far, so worthy. But I knew none of this when I first saw Gary’s photography at (yes, once again) Arles in France. It made me smile, and sometimes even laugh out loud. This is one of my favourites. The intriguing story is how it was made. The Barats live and work in Newark, New Jersey – a city that is quite touchy about its proximity to New York. One of the many things that the two cities have in common, however,…

Compact camera trio Nikon has launched three sub-£100 compacts. Due in February is the £99.99 Coolpix S3700 (pictured), with 20 million pixels and 8x optical zoom NFC. Due now is the 16-million-pixel, 5x optical zoom. plus built-in Wi-Fi and Coolpix L31 (£79.99) and the 20-million-pixel Coolpix S2900, also with a 5x zoom, which is on sale only at Argos (£99.99). GoPro share crash GoPro shares tumbled after technology giant Apple was granted a patent for a wearable action camera. The Financial Times reported that GoPro shares fell by 2% on 13 January. The patent describes a digital camera system that includes a wireless connection and the capacity to be operated remotely. Park run Park Cameras staff will take turns on a treadmill in a bid to run the distance between…

THE ROYAL Photographic Society (RPS) has joined the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in condemning a campaign they fear will lead to a draconian ban on publishing photographs of children without parental consent. The organisations warn that any change in the law would pose a serious threat to street photographers and press freedom. The furore follows a campaign by musician Paul Weller and his wife Hannah, who won a High Court battle against the Daily Mail after its website published unpixelated photos of the Wellers’ children captured by a freelance photographer at a shopping centre in Los Angeles, USA, in October 2012. The Wellers won a reported £10,000 in damages. Their campaign has reached the House of Lords, where peers have been urged to change the law to protect children’s…

SONY has showcased the prototypes of its latest FE macro, wideangle, travel zoom and adapter lenses for its full-frame Alpha 7-series cameras. AP witnessed five new FE-mount lenses inside a display case at CES in Las Vegas, USA, earlier this month. The prototypes included a Sony FE 28mm f/2. Photographers who want to go even wider will also have the choice of a wideangle or fisheye adapter. We believe that the adapter will be compatible with the 28mm f/2 lens. Also showcased were the Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 G OSS, a Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA, FE 35mm f/2.8 and a 24-240mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS travel zoom. For the latest news visit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk…

Paris: City of Light by Christopher Thomas, Prestel, £40, hardback, 80 pages, ISBN 978-3-79134-964-0 IT’S RARE to see such a bustling cosmopolitan city as Paris devoid of human presence. However, this is exactly what Christopher Thomas has achieved through his use of large format photography, long exposures and night-time shooting. Looking through the images is not unlike experiencing a dream where you explore a long-forgotten city. With no people to act as a point of reference, the landscapes and buildings take on a magical quality. Each image was shot using the last of Thomas’s Type 55 Polaroid film. As a result, we have a series of hauntingly beautiful images framed by ragged and imperfect edges. The photographs are printed on heavy paper and are bound within a linen cover –…

Email amateurphotographer@timeinc.comand include your full postal address Write to Inbox, Amateur Photographer, Time Inc. (UK), Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU LETTER OF THE WEEK Lens-hood confusion For many years, I was a troubleshooter for photographers who were not getting the sharpness and contrast they would expect out of pro-spec lenses. They would show me pictures that looked slightly blurred and had soft contrast in the dark areas of the image. I would offer to take some pictures myself to locate the problem. To start, I would remove the lens cap and fit the lens hood in the correct position. The customer would then say: ‘I didn’t know that came off!’ I would ask them what they were referring to and they would reply, ‘The plastic bit…

Lifting the shadows I LIKE this classic composition from Carla Maue. Note how the stone wall leads the eye in from the left and meanders through the valley, with the flow continued by a line of trees stretching further into the distance. Obviously it was necessary to remove the sensor marks that can be seen here. However, I also needed to lighten the foreground without overexposing the sky. This is where graduated filter adjustments come into use. Most landscape images will benefit from these because, while our eyes interpret a scene by compensating for the difference in brightness between the ground and the sky, the camera records everything as it is. A soft-edged darkening vignette can help balance out this difference without it appearing unnatural. 1 Camera Raw spotting I…

At a glance ● 24.3-million-pixel, full-frame CMOS sensor ● 1,200-zone metering system ● ISO 50-25,600 (extended) ● 0.5in, 2.4-million-dot EVF ● 117 AF points (phase-detection), 25 AF points (contrast-detection) ● 3in, 1.23-million-dot LCD screen ● £1,499 (body only) For and against The first full-frame CSC to feature 5-axis in-camera image stabilisation Inherits the high resolution OLED EVF from the Alpha 7 Redesigned handgrip and control layout enhances operation and handling Loud shutter with no dampening or silent shooting mode. Control wheel at the rear is small and fiddly to use Movie-record button could be better positioned Where in the range Sony Alpha 7 Price £999 (body only) The Alpha 7 will continue in the Alpha range, sitting just below the Alpha 7 II. At the time of writing, it costs…

At a glance ● 16 lens elements in 10 groups ● 0.7m minimum focus distance ● 9 aperture blades ● 72mm filter thread ● Dimensions 79.4 x 160mm ● Weight 760g ● Price £1,299 When Olympus took the wraps off the OM-D E-M1 back in September 2013, the manufacturer also revealed that there would be a pair of top-line, pro-spec lenses arriving to support it. The first of these – the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 – arrived at the time the OM-D E-M1 was released, but we’ve had to wait a little more patiently for the M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro to be unveiled. Following Olympus’s promise of a release date in the latter half of 2014, the first production samples of the 40-150mm f/2.8 have finally started…

Retina IIIC LAUNCHED 1957 PRICE AT LAUNCH £69 15s in 1960 (£69.75) GUIDE PRICE TODAY £150-£250 THE MUCH-LOVED Retina range of folding cameras, made in the former Nagel factory in Stuttgart, Germany, was first announced in 1934 and continued through many models and variants until 1960. The Retina IIIC (big ‘C’) differed from the previous Retina IIIc (small ‘c’) in several ways, but principally in having larger, equally sized rangefinder and viewfinder windows, and having brightline viewfi nder frames for 35mm, 50mm and 85mm lenses in the viewfinder, so no accessory viewfinders were necessary. The lens was a front-elementinterchangeable 50mm f/2 Schneider Xenon (or, in some cases, Rodenstock Heligon) of very high performance, and the shutter a ten-speed Synchro Compur. Focusing was by coupled rangefinder. What’s good Great reliability, excellent…

Winter details While trees and bushes are looking perhaps their worst at this time of year, with most devoid of any foliage to cover their branches, there is still plenty of photographic potential to be had if you look at little closer with your camera. Plants such as cow parsley, which have been left to whither in these cold and dark months, and are devoid of leaves, seeds and flowers, take on a different kind of beauty that is a far cry from the rich colours that are on show in spring and summer. You may have to work a little harder to get a successful shot, but the rewards will be worth it. Also, you won’t have to travel far, either, as there are bound to be plenty of…

FUJIFILM has unveiled the X-A2 compact system camera boasting a 175° tilting LCD screen. Rotation of the X-A2’s screen triggers the operation of the new eye-detection AF (designed to automatically focus on a subject’s eyes), in a bid to make it easier for users to shoot self-portraits. The 3in display has a resolution of 920,000 dots. The X-A2 carries a 16.3-million-pixel, APS-C-sized imaging sensor and EXR Processor II engine, plus an ISO that extends to 25,600. Features also include Fuji’s Classic Chrome film-simulation mode, which aims to produce deeper colours and richer tones. The X-A2 is due out in March, priced £449.99 with a16-50mm lens Visit amateurphotographersubs.co.uk/15E…

Conflict, Time, Photography The Tate’s startlingly good exhibition on the passage of time as it relates to worldwide conflict is still running for another month. Images are ordered by how long after the event they are taken, including horrific world-changing events such as the bombings of Nagasaki and Dresden. Essential. Until 15 March, www.tate.org.uk Landscapes of Innocence and Experience The Verey Gallery is exhibiting a selection of works from Simon Roberts, who specialises in large-format images that speak about our relationship to the landscape in the UK. 28 January-24 April, simonc roberts.com/news/events/exhibitions Enter Astronomy Photographer of the Year The renowned astrophotography competition returns with a host of new categories. One special prize is reserved for newcomers to the discipline, so it’s a great way to get started shooting the stars!…

Joe McNally is an internationally acclaimed photographer whose career has spanned 30 years. He has been a contract photographer for Sports Illustrated, a staff photographer at Life, and is currently an ongoing 23-year contributor to National Geographic, shooting numerous cover stories for those publications. Joemcnally.com Shooting for the likes of National Geographic and Sports Illustrated for more than 30 years, as well as commercial clients such as Nikon and FedEx, Joe McNally has been voted one of the most influential photographers of the past decade. To many he’s known as a wizard of flash photography, with his books and workshops in high demand. Late last year, AP hosted one of Joe’s workshops at our offices in conjunction with the Nikon School. Shortly before taking to the stage, we sat down…

The distinctive landscape work of Lake Districtbased Mark Littlejohn has been gaining popularity and plaudits since he first picked up a compact camera with nothing more than a wish to record what he saw on his regular countryside jaunts. In fact, we featured Mark in AP only 18 months ago and discovered how his eye-catching, moody style was taking shape. We pride ourselves on bringing new photographic talent to your attention and the fact that Mark has just won the Take a view Landscape Photographer of the Year competition gives us the perfect excuse to pick up our conversation with him again. For those readers who missed the original interview, let’s recap. Mark is a 50-plus latecomer to photography, who merged a love of the great outdoors with a creative…

Dan Deakin has entered an image into every single round of our Amateur Photographer of the Year competition for the past five years. He was second in 2010, fifth in 2011, first in 2012, second in 2013 and now, once again, first in 2014, for which he wins £5,000 worth of Olympus kit. Let there be no doubt – discipline and hard graft pay off. ‘I didn’t think I’d won!’ Dan says from his home in Nottingham, where he sits atop a makeshift throne of prize cameras and vouchers (probably). ‘I’d been in the lead for most of APOY 2014, but I didn’t score in three rounds this year.’ The last of these was round nine, which Dan admits shook his confidence a little. ‘I thought, “Oh damn! I haven’t…

Battery life The rechargeable NP-FW50 holds enough juice for 270 shots taken using the EVF (with stabilisation on or off), or up to 350 shots using the LCD (stabilisation off). The camera supports USB battery charging. Customisation The Alpha 7 II offers superb customisation, allowing you to set up the camera’s buttons and wheels as you’d like them. These changes are made via the custom key settings, located via the main menu. Sweep panorama Use the front scroll dial to set up the direction of the pan, and then simply pan the camera from left to right, up or down. The Alpha 7 II automatically stitches the panorama and reveals the result on the screen in seconds. Flash There’s no built-in pop-up flash, but the Alpha 7 II’s hotshoe allows…

Image stabilisation QI have been reading about so-called ‘5-axis’ image stabilisation systems, and as an avid macro shooter I’m interested in how they’re supposed to give extra help for close-ups. But one thing puzzles me: if these extra dimensions are needed, how come Canon, Nikon and Sigma all make optically stabilised macro lenses? Do they have 5-axis stabilisation too? Marco Vicino A That’s a very perceptive question, and the answer is that while these lenses – the Canon 100mm f/2.8 IS, Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR and Sigma 105mm f/2.8 OS – all have built-in stabilisation, only the Canon specifically claims to be able to correct for the horizontal and vertical movements of the camera that are important when shooting close-ups (Canon calls this system ‘Hybrid IS’). Both the Nikon and…

With the advent of mirrorless interchangeablelens cameras, there has been the development of a new accessory, the ‘speed booster’, which apparently increases the ‘speed’ of a lens to which it is fitted. To understand how the speed of a lens can be ‘boosted’, we need to look at how these devices work. First, we should note that ‘speed booster’ is a rather misleading name; a more descriptive term would be ‘wide converter’, which would make it clear that these devices are acting in a similar way to a teleconverter, which they are. A teleconverter increases the focal length of a lens by placing a negative lens combination behind that lens (see image, below left). The power (the reciprocal of the focal length) of a combination of lenses is approximately equal…