Innholdsfortegnelse for 30-Aug-2014 i Amateur Photographer

IT IS always interesting to see how the same sensor is used in various cameras. Different analogue-to-digital converters and processing systems affect the final look of a digital image, even one that is produced from the same sensor. Then there are the different colour and contrast levels that are applied. Taking all this into consideration, the choice of which camera to buy comes down to more than resolution. On page 46, we look at the Nikon D800E, D810 and Sony Alpha 7R. All three cameras use the 36.3-million-pixel full-frame Sony sensor, but just how different are the images produced by the cameras? Size and weight should be just as much a factor when buying a new camera as resolution. If you don’t get on with a camera, you are not…

I do feel that the world has become ever so slightly too inclined to lust after large sensors. More than any other camera, I hold Canon’s 2008 full-frame EOS 5D Mark II responsible. It’s true that you could use the massive selection of 35mm lenses as they were intended, in lower light than you’d dreamed possible, and with better depth of field effects and more sumptuous colour reproduction than contemporary APS-C sensor cameras. But none of that was revolutionary; its predecessor, and Nikon’s D3 launched the previous year, could do all those marvellous things. What really made it change attitudes was that, for a relatively affordable price tag, you could now shoot feature-film-grade video, too. Suddenly, comparatively big sensors opened up new and exciting possibilities. Its ground-breaking influence was certainly…

Macro lens For best results, you’ll need a true macro lens with a 1:1 magnification. I like to use a Tamron AF 60mm f/2 SP Di II LD Macro paired with my Canon EOS 7D, although I also use a 105mm f/2.8 Macro. Wimberley Plamp One of the most useful accessories I have is the Wimberley Plamp. This easily positioned arm clamps to your tripod, while the other end grasps the stem of a flower to steady it. The plamp is especially useful outdoors when flowers are swaying around in the breeze. Tripod If you’re going to use a tripod, get one that features an adjustable centre column. Being able to shoot horizontally is useful when shooting from above, while it’s important to be able to invert it to shoot…

My first comment is that it is truly diminutive. In size it compares to a compact SLR of the film era, but is lighter. It feels good in the hand; I have handheld a number of shots but mainly I have used it on a tripod where I have been able to assess the lens and general image quality more analytically, using it like a micro-view camera. It is also easy to use lenses from my Nikon and other third-party systems via an adapter, with the camera tripod-mounted. The two new Sony Carl Zeiss prime lenses, 35mm f/2.8 and 55mm f/1.8, really are amazing. They are bitingly sharp at virtually every aperture. In fact, I can see myself taking off the post production capture and output sharpening for print in…

Angela Nelson and Dan Deakin are still holding strong in the top two positions. Due to an error in last month’s scoring, Aaron Bennett’s points have been recalculated and he now finds himself in third place. Thom Corbishley, placed 30th in this round, joins the leader board in tenth. 1 Angela Nelson 135pts 2 Dan Deakin 123pts 3 Aaron Bennett 112pts 4 Mark Helliwell 108pts 5 Sigita Playdon 107pts 6 Jevgenijs Scolokovs 102pts 7 Farid Sani 100pts 8 Gerard Sexton 98pts 9 Bertrand Chombart 90pts 10Thom Corbishley 83pts…

€ 149 (£118) lu.mu At a glance Accurate light meter Elegantly designed app Plugs into iPhone’s headphone jack Included leather case and lanyard ONE OF the many great things to be brought to life thanks to crowd-funding website Kickstarter is the Lumu iPhone lightmeter. Achieving the project goal 12 times over, there is clearly a demand for this product. The Lumu lightmeter plugs into the headphone jack of an iPhone and, via the free iOSs Lumu app, gives users the correct exposure reading for aperture and shutter speed at a given ISO setting, and an illuminance light level reading in lux, foot-candles or EV. It is available in white or black with a leather case reminiscent of one from a Weston Invercone, while the lanyard has a socket for the…

Resolution By photographing a resolution chart of converging lines, we can test the resolving power of a camera. We mark the point where the camera can still resolve all the lines of the chart. The value given is in l/ph (lines per picture height). Dynamic range To test the dynamic range, we photograph a backlit chart consisting of a series of semi-opaque, neutral patches. Software then reveals precise dynamic range at each ISO sensitivity, based on how many of the patches can be seen. Noise To study the noise produced, we set the camera’s metering to spot and photograph a grey card. Shooting the range of ISO settings reveals how noise is handled for both in-camera JPEG and raw files. Images are shown at 300dpi at 100% magnification. Amateur photographer…

Email your questions to: apanswers@ipcmedia.com, via Twitter @AP_Magazine and #AskAP, or Facebook. Or write to Technical Support, Amateur Photographer Magazine, IPC Media, Blue Fin Building, 110 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SU Lens choice QI have recently bought three lenses – a Canon 28-90mm, a Canon 55-250mm and a Sigma 70-300mm – at a knock-down price. I have always used an 18-55mm Canon kit lens, so could you tell me which lenses to keep and which to offload? Two of the lenses are no different to the 18-55mm, and with all this new ‘glass’ in my oversized bag there’s not much room for anything else. Alternatively, I could just keep the lot and carry the bag as if I know what I’m doing. Please don’t go all ‘deep and techno’ with…

David Noton is an award-winning travel and landscape photographer. He set up his photography business in 1985, and has worked around the world. His first book, Waiting for the Light, was published in 2007 and his latest is The Vision: The Art of Photography from Idea to Exposure, which is available from his website at www.davidnoton.com. 1980 Olympus OM10 The OM10 was my first SLR, bought as I was about to leave the Merchant Navy. This camera changed my life as the photography bug bit deep and the resolve to forge a career as a professional hardened. By the time I was at college studying photography a few years later, I had an OM-1 N . The OM system was compact, light and with excellent glass. It’s a pity Olympus…

A WALKING stick with a built-in camera attachment has been unveiled by Manfrotto as part of its new ‘Off-road’ collection. Photographers can convert the walking stick into a monopod by removing the top cap and screwing their camera to the pole. The walking stick/monopod (pictured left) is built to carry gear weighing up to 2.5kg and has a maximum height of 132.5cm. When closed, it measures 59.5cm. The walking sticks come as a pair, priced £79.95, one of which features the camera attachment. The range also includes a new £120 tripod, the lightest in Manfrotto’s line-up at 650g. The Off-road range is aimed at those in search of ‘compact and lightweight’ gear for use outdoors.…

COLOUR has an effect on our perception of a scene. We tend to think of reds, oranges and yellows as warm colours that are lively and energetic, while blues, greens and lilacs are cool colours that evoke a feeling of calm and restfulness. Whether we are using strong or subtle colour, making good use of it will enhance the story being told in the photograph, and learning to recognise colour as it relates to mood and composition is a valuable lesson. We like to see colours working sympathetically together, with the visual experience pleasing to the eye, rather than using lots of colours that clash so they look unsettling and confusing. Similar tones I felt that the well-defined shape and the natural elegance and grace of these yellow tulips (left)…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Salgado so special I was interested to read the Editor’s Viewpoint article about Sebastião Salgado (AP 19 July). I particularly enjoyed the more personal perspective conveying why Salgado’s work is special to him. I, too, regard Salgado’s work as among the most powerful I have seen. As well as being a UNICEF Special Representative, he is also the founder of the Instituto Terra, which is dedicated to reforesting a section of the former Amazon jungle, and has so far planted more than a million trees. Simon Boyd, West Yorkshire As landscapes are the bread and butter of many amateur photographers, I think we should all be responsible in making sure that we do our bit to preserve them for future generations to enjoy, and photograph, as…

Reveal the photographer in you – follow in the footsteps of legendary photographers with the chance to carry out a photography brief using the iconic Leica M-System, and see your photographs published in AP. Send us your best street-photography shot and you could receive the prize that starts with personal tuition on how to use the inspiring Leica M and receive advice on how to create your own ‘decisive moment’ from a Leica Akademie tutor. Leica and Amateur Photographer have teamed up to offer three readers an exclusive afternoon at the Leica Akademie in London, on Monday 22 September. Readers will attend the Leica photography workshop, receiving personal tuition from a Leica Akademie tutor. They will then be given a photography brief – along with the loan of a Leica…

How to saturate the colour According to T Swaroop, this photograph was taken at the Hindu Holi festival of colours. Celebrated throughout India, revellers play with powdered paints – daubing it on their friends and relatives. This is a great photograph that captures the moment perfectly, using a good shooting angle combined with good timing and composition. The original was slightly dark, but after a few modifications revealed a vibrant, lively image. 1 Lighten the photo I cropped the image to focus attention on the man and the young woman. Then I warmed the colour temperature slightly and increased the Exposure to lighten the image, dragging the Shadows slider to the right to bring out more detail. You will notice that I also boosted the Contrast and Vibrance to increase…

CyberLink PhotoDirector Android app Free www.cyberlink.com AVAILABLE for free from the Google Play Store, PhotoDirector is a relatively comprehensive photo editing and management software for Android devices, and includes a host of filters and common editing features. Using its intuitive interface, it’s easy to make fine adjustments to settings such as image saturation, sharpness, tone and exposure. Correcting white balance using PhotoDirector produces more accurate results than I’ve found on many other apps, as you can use the Eyedropper tool to select a white area in the image. Some of the fancier features include smart object removal and selective skin smoothing, which can help you to produce far more realistic results than automatic options you’ll see with features such as ‘beauty shot’. If you want to get rid of the…

Get more out of your camera Live view in the D810 When you press the i (info) button when using live view on the Nikon D810, you can change the live view in various ways, including having a split-screen display. Rather usefully, you can also select whether you want to use the electronic front/ first-curtain shutter mode. How to use Myset Myset (called Custom Reset on earlier cameras) is a way of saving the configuration state of the camera for instant access and reuse later when you need it. Save, for example, action photography settings and assign the Myset mode to a function button or choose that Myset mode from a menu. It’s a powerful feature just waiting to be mastered. HDR Auto Align HDR shooting is not new to…

Recently, Sony announced that it had developed a curved sensor. The technique by which the company did this derives from wafer-thinning – the technology used to make backside-illuminated sensors. By etching away the back of the semiconductor wafer on which the sensor is formed, the backside of the photodiodes is exposed, resulting in greater sensitivity. As a by-product, the wafer becomes very thin and flexible, and needs to be bonded to a further, rigid substrate to be sufficiently mechanically robust. In essence, Sony has made this substrate concave, so that the sensor itself takes on a similar form. The main advantage of a concave sensor is that it provides some correction of field curvature – one of the most common optical aberrations suffered by lenses. This is where the lens…

Nikon sales drop Global sales of Nikon interchangeable-lens digital cameras dropped 31% in the three months to 30 June 2014, according Japan’s Camera & Imaging Products Association. The firm blamed ‘sluggish markets in Europe and Americas’, although it added that cost cuts boosted the profit margin over the same quarter last year. Nikon sold 1.1 million interchangeable-lens cameras, compared to 1.59m a year earlier. Showtime Talks and seminars are set to form part of the Digital Imaging Show in Birmingham on 4-6 October. Open to all, organisers have lined up more than 20 speakers for the event, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel. For details, visit www.thedigitalimagingshow.co.uk. iPad ban Manchester United football fans have effectively been banned from taking pictures at home match days using iPads, as part of new…

CANON and Nikon photographers will be the first to get their hands on a new flashgun from Metz, the 64 AF-1. Claimed to deliver ‘more power than any other TTL hotshoe flash’, the Metz 64 AF-1 has a guide number of 64m £ ISO 100 (at 200mm) and a 24-200mm zoom head. Priced £375, the Metz 64 AF-1 is initially available in Canon and Nikon fits, with Sony, Pentax and Olympus/Panasonic versions expected to follow. A new Rapid mode aims to provide ‘very fast’ flash recycling times, when needed. A second flash tube has been built into the body, to add direct lighting to portraits, for example. Future updates will be available via the USB.…

Mandy Disher Mandy Disher lives in Cambridgeshire and has built up an extensive portfolio since her interest in floral photography began about nine years ago. Her images have been published in books and magazines around the world, while this year sees one of her images sold worldwide in IKEA stores. www.MandyDisher.com With their colours, textures, structures and patterns, flowers offer enormous scope for the photographer – and especially so for the macro enthusiast. Readily available, flowers are all around us, making them a convenient and easy choice as a photographic subject. While most of my flower images are shot at home, I love to go for long walks in the countryside, in the meadows and woodlands where many of our wildflowers are found. I feel very fortunate to own quite…

There were some wonderful images for APOY round 5. We reveal the top 30 for Landscapes at Dawn & Dusk Stephen Coyne, from Scholar Green in Cheshire, is the winner of round 5, Landscapes at Dawn & Dusk, of APOY 2014. Stephen 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 161-million-pixel, four thirds-sized CMOS sensor and a TruePic VII image-processing system. 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…

BOTH techniques described here made use of a Radial Filter adjustment to focus attention. The Radial Filter is a new feature for Camera Raw 8 and Lightroom 5, and allows you to apply radial adjustments similar to the way you could previously apply graduated filter adjustments in Camera Raw. One of the great advantages of this new tool is the way you can apply graduated vignette-type adjustments that aren’t centred in an image. You have lots of sliders to play with and can also choose to apply the adjustment inside or outside the radial adjustment area. Martin Evening is a noted expert in both photography and digital imaging. He is well known in London for his fashion and beauty work, for which he has won several awards. Martin has worked…

ALTHOUGH I have my issues with the Nikon 1 J4, there are things to like about it, particularly if you’re completely new to photography. It’s aesthetically beautiful and feels like a premium camera. Then, of course, there’s the J4’s impressive continuous autofocus and shooting capability, which is ideal for shooting fast and unpredictable subjects. Once you get used to the J4’s operational quirks and lack of image-capturing feedback, you’ll be hard-pressed to miss a shot. I’d definitely recommend investing in a better lens, though, as the kit option doesn’t do the camera any favours. The J4 currently stands out from the crowd thanks to its speedy capturing and processing abilities, but it’s not perfect and also not a huge step up from the 15 continuous frames per second offered by…

LAUNCHED 1966 PRICE IN 1968 £109 19s 6d (£109.97) with 38mm f/1.4 Zuiko, discounted to £89 19s 6d (£89.97) GUIDE PRICE TODAY £180 (with f/1.8 lens) or £350 (with f/1.4 lens) THE PEN FT was launched because enthusiasm for half-frame SLR photography created by the 1964 Pen F was fading. This was because low-cost high-street processing mini-labs could not easily print 18x24mm negatives. The Pen FT was essentially a single-stroke winding Pen F with added TTL metering, using a unique system of exposure values set manually on the diaphragm ring. What’s good It’s a small, pocketable SLR with sideways flipping mirror, so no visible prism ‘hump’. Its superb, small, high-contrast Zuiko lenses are designed for the small image size. It has an excellent rotary focal-plane shutter and focusing is easy…

Part of the purpose of a policeman’s uniform is to project authority. In an authoritarian regime – this is Fascist Italy – this is still further emphasised: the helmet, the Sam Brown belt, the jackboots and, of course, the staff in his hand ready for use. He may have been a perfectly charming, gentle family man, but as Hoppé has portrayed him, it is all too easy to imagine him knocking you down, kicking you in the ribs, beating you with his staff. The picture is full of confirmations and echoes of our first impressions and expectations. The hard stones and the harsh dagger of light are uncompromising: the door to the right looks like the entrance to a church, bringing to mind the authoritarianism of the Catholic church in…