Innholdsfortegnelse for 01-mar-2014 i Amateur Photographer

TAKING a high-resolution, fullframe sensor and putting it in a small and lightweight camera body is certainly a recipe for success, and there are no CSCs that can currently match the resolution of the Alpha 7R. Without the constraints of an anti-aliasing filter in front of its 36.4-million-pixel sensor, the Alpha 7R can resolve a staggering amount of detail. And it is not just the image resolution that is impressive. The camera is comfortable to hold, and its lightweight dust and weather-sealed body make it an ideal travel companion. As for the 2.36-million-dot electronic viewfinder, it is bright and clear and full of detail. With built-in Wi-Fi and Near Field Communication (NFC) connectivity, the Alpha 7R can be controlled remotely via a smartphone or tablet and, of course, images can…

AT A GLANCE ● 20.2-million-pixel, 1in CMOS sensor ● Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-200mm (equivalent) f/2.8 lens ● ISO 125-12,800 (expandable to ISO 80) ● 3in tiltable LCD screen ● Manual aperture ring on lens ● Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity WITH the Cyber-shot DSC-RX10, it is clear that Sony has identified a niche in the market and created an excellent camera to fill it. With an image sensor four times larger than those in most bridge cameras, and an impressively wide dynamic range, images look excellent and are more than a match for the competition. With a polycarbonate body and a top-plate and lens barrel built from magnesium alloy, the RX10 has an extremely solid, robust feel. A host of features are also included for videographers, including 1080p full HD recording…

A Life Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society suddenly resigned, raising suspicions of ‘some skeleton in the Council’s cupboard’ at the RPS. However, the reasons were spelled out to one concerned member, a Mr Rider, who was ‘on the war-path’ at the RPS’s annual general meeting. ‘Did it point to a general exodus of Life Fellows dissatisfied with the Society’s policy and management?’ reported AP. ‘Mr Rider was quickly reassured. This particular Life Fellow was a very old member who for years had been living in the North-West of India, and having long ceased to take any interest in photography, thought it would be a saving to the society if its journals were no longer sent out to him.’ The integrity of Council members was robustly supported by Lord Redesdale,…

CANON has removed the optical viewfinder on the revamped version of its PowerShot G1 X high-end compact, but added a 5x wideangle zoom lens with a f/2 aperture. Photographers will, however, have the chance to add an optional £199 electronic viewfinder to the £750 PowerShot G1 X Mark II when it launches in May. The original G1 X – complete with optical viewfinder – cost around £50 less than its successor when it was announced two years ago. The move came after Canon received negative customer feedback on the optical viewfinder. David Parry, from Canon UK’s Product Intelligence Team, explained that concerns were due to part of the camera’s lens being visible through the viewfinder. This, plus a desire to cut down the size of the new camera, was behind…

WITH A Panasonic G-system camera that had a 4K designation tucked safely away behind glass at the Consumer Electronics Show in the USA earlier this year, the launch of the Lumix DMC-GH4 perhaps comes as no surprise. The ability to shoot 4K video footage is the camera’s key feature, which is impressive given its size. However, this doesn’t mean that the small micro four thirds compact system camera is only for videographers, and Panasonic was keen to tell us more about the GH4’s still-imaging capabilities. KEY FEATURES Although the GH4 has the same 16.05-million-pixel resolution as its predecessor, the Lumix DMC-GH3, it houses a brand-new sensor. According to Panasonic’s technical representatives, new semi-conductor production technology introduced since the GH3’s launch has helped to improve imaging sensors, resulting in less image…

● HARRIS TWEED by Lara Platman, £14.99 In the era of mass production, craftsmanship can feel like something of a relic. It’s a bit of a surprise to see the islanders of the Outer Hebrides still hard at work weaving the material that will become Harris Tweed. Lara Platman spent a year, camera in hand, following the trail of this unique clothing, from its beginnings as sheep’s wool to the tailors at Savile Row. It embodies the unique pleasure of watching someone truly skilled working at his or her craft. ● MASTERING THE NIKON D610 by Darrell Young, £30.99 There were plenty of reasons to be cynical about the Nikon D610; many speculated that it was a rush job designed to cover up some of the bad press regarding oil…

IT ALL started when I contacted the TV crew who were filming Foxes Live for Channel 4. I was living in Norwich, Norfolk, at the time, and they’d sent one of their cameramen out there to have a look at the fox dens, which I knew a fair bit about since I’d been photographing them. As I was showing the cameraman around, we got chatting and he asked me if I’d ever photographed urban fallow deer. My ears suddenly pricked up. He offered to show me where they were, so I followed him to London and things started moving. However, there was a problem. I was employed at the time as a painter and decorator. My job for the next three weeks was working in Leicester, where I was also…

SINCE AP’s Amateur Photographer of the Year competition was launched in its present format in 1997, it has gone from strength to strength. In those days, the overall prize was a Mamiya 645 Pro TL medium-format camera, worth £2,395. This year we’re offering £5,000 worth of Olympus equipment for the 2014 winner. We receive thousands of entries from all around the world, and last year saw a very high standard of submissions. However, over the ten rounds one person emerged as the clear winner, with Danica Paripovic from Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming 2013’s Amateur Photographer of the Year. APOY 2014 follows a similar format to last year, with ten monthly rounds from March until December (for details of the rounds, see pages 36-37). The competition is open to all amateur…

Bjørn Jørgensen Norway Bjørn is no stranger to the pages of AP, as we featured some of his superb northern lights photographs almost four years ago. And he is still creating superb, unforgettable images of the one of the world’s most dazzling phenomena. ‘Photography makes me more aware of my surroundings, it increases my perception and helps me see instead of look,’ he says. Although Bjørn fully embraced digital imaging back in 2002, he does miss film a little. ‘Photoshop does not have the same magic as the darkroom,’ he says. To see more of Bjørn’s images, visit his website at www.arcticphoto.no. Mountainside 1 The shapes of the mountains make the perfect backdrop for this aurora borealis Nikon D800, 14-24mm, 10secs at f/2.8, ISO 1600, tripod Valley 2 Bjørn has…

Danny Houghton City view Canon PowerShot SX220 HS, 45mm (250mm equivalent), 1/2000sec at f/5.6, ISO 100 DANNY’S view of two iconic London domes (found atop The Old Bailey and St Paul’s Cathedral) is a prime example of why carrying a camera with you at all times – or as often as is practical – can pay dividends. The shot was taken while Danny was attending a conference on the 12th floor of a building in the City of London. He spotted a balcony and decided to photograph through the morning haze using the compact camera he tries to carry with him wherever he goes. The combination of atmospheric haze and the far-reaching zoom on his SX220 HS has allowed Danny to create a simple graphic image that renders the domes…

WI-FI PRINTER Q It is often said that a lot of people never print their pictures, but for me it is the most pleasurable part of digital photography. I have been more than satisfied with my Canon Pixma iP4300 printer, which is still working well after about three years and thousands of A4 prints. It produces prints with excellent sharpness, contrast and depth of colour, despite it being a low-to-midrange printer. But things do not last for ever and I would quite like Wi-Fi. The trouble is, the world is now dominated by ‘all-in-ones’ and I wonder whether they produce the same photo quality. My wife’s allin-one Epson, for example, is very acceptable, but I’ve printed the same . le through the same software at A4 on both it and…

AT A GLANCE ● 20.2-millionpixel, 1in CMOS sensor ● Carl Zeiss 28-100mm f/1.8-4.9 lens ● ISO 100-12,800 ● NFC and Wi-Fi connectivity ● 1.23-million-dot articulated screen WITH the Cyber-shot DSCRX100 II, Sony has taken an already successful, highperformance camera and made it better by improving the design of the sensor. Among other additions are a tiltable LCD screen and a multiinterface hotshoe. These new features, plus Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, unlock a huge amount of potential from an already brilliant camera. With its larger than standard sensor, it produces impressive images for what is a truly pocketable camera.…

AT THE beginning of every year for almost four decades, our technical team has trawled through all the reviews of all the products tested during the previous 12 months. The objective is to pick out the best photographic products in the market – which is a very difficult task given that there is no real consensus on what constitutes ‘the best’. Naturally, different photographers have different needs, and while I would consider it relatively straightforward to list the cameras and photo products on my wish list, they would not necessarily be the ones others would choose. Deciding on which camera, lens or accessory to buy remains a personal decision with features that are essential to some not always being required by others. One thing every AP reader has in common…

SONY has unveiled the Alpha 6000, featuring an AF speed of ‘0.06sec’ that is trumpeted as the ‘world’s fastest’ for cameras with an APS-C-sized imaging sensor. Revealed at the recent CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show in Japan, features include 179 phase-detection AF points and 11 frames per second shooting, with a new multipoint algorithm for AF tracking borrowed from the Alpha 7. Due in April, the Alpha 6000 incorporates a 24.3-million-pixel, APS-Csized imaging sensor with a ‘gapless’ design – featuring the same on-chip lens structure as the Alpha 7R, plus lock-on AF. Key to the new E-mount camera is a new generation RGB colour filter, which, for example, aims to cut ‘dark noise’ levels by 15% and boost ‘saturation signal volume’ by the same amount. In an interview with…

AN ORIGINAL 1894 prison photograph of famed fugitive Butch Cassidy is set to raise up to $30,000 at a New York auction. The ‘Wanted’ image was issued by the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which had pursued the legendary American train and bank robber, eventually forcing him to flee to South America with his fellow outlaw who was known as the Sundance Kid. The ‘extremely rare’ mugshot of Cassidy, whose real name was Robert Leroy Parker, is expected to fetch $20,000-$30,000 at Bonhams in New York on 7 April. ‘This photograph, in which Cassidy looks handsome but undeniably shifty, was taken after his first arrest, in Wyoming for stealing horses,’ states the auction catalogue. ‘Within months of his release, he formed the Wild Bunch, joining up with the “Sundance Kid”, and…

REPLACING the NEX-6 and NEX-7, the Sony Alpha 6000 borrows some of the best technology from Sony’s latest models and squeezes them into a compact body, which will no doubt attract a lot of attention from discerning hobbyists and advanced enthusiasts looking for a highly portable solution that packs a premium punch. Physically, there are very few differences between the Alpha 6000 and the NEX-7, which will be a good thing for the many loyal users of the NEX brand. One of the factors that makes the Alpha 6000 stand out among the mirrorless camera class is its shape – it instantly looks like a high-end piece of kit. Despite sharing many similarities with its predecessors, the Alpha 6000 is unmistakably modern and will likely pique the interest of many…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Wins a great shockproof, waterproof and dustproof 5-Proof Technology 16GB Samsung SDHC Plus memory card offering up to 48MB/sec transfer speed. www.samsung.com/memorycard THE LOVE OF TAKING PHOTOS Reading Chris Mitchell’s letter in AP 8 February, I was sad to see the old ‘arts vs sciences’ chestnut being roasted again! Chris’s letter amused me, but the line, ‘Historians despise trade, science, art and technology, as do most of the “arts” world,’ made me sit up. Wow, that’s a broad brush stroke! With a load of “arts” exams – maths and biology O-level were where the science stopped, and my grade C in maths was the hardest thing I’ve ever worked for – I love the science and technology in history. How could I understand how people thought…

THERE is a film by the French film director François Truffaut called La Nuit Américaine (the English version is titled Night for Day). It’s a movie based around the use of a special photographic filter designed to make daylight footage resemble a moonlit night scene. When creating an effect such as this in Photoshop, it’s important to consider what exactly it is that will make a daytime scene look like it has been shot at night. There is more to this than simply dimming down the exposure. First, you have to take into account the way human vision is compromised in low-light conditions. Our eyes are less able to gauge colours and we therefore perceive everything as being more monochrome. We tend to think of moonlight as being blue in…

The theme for the opening round of this year’s Amateur Photographer of the Year is Street Life – pictures of people going about their everyday life in the cities, towns and villages where they live. Street photography is as popular as it ever was and is easily accessible to all photographers. Even if we don’t live in a street alongside other people, we almost certainly travel to, and work in, places where the rich tapestry of street life chugs on like a well-oiled machine. All you have to do is photograph it, and show the rest of the world what happens in that location. There can be a great temptation to head to the biggest, most bustling place you can, but you don’t need to. Street pictures can be shot…

ANTONIO Zazueta Olmos’s book The Landscape of Murder is all about context. To the uninitiated, some of his pictures might look rather unimpressive, even pedestrian. There are shots of unassuming streets in London, ordinary housing estates, a threadbare park. It’s only in the context of the book that we learn the true nature of these places – every one of the 210 photographs in The Landscape of Murder depicts the site of a murder that took place in London over a two-year period. Armed with this knowledge, the book transforms: suddenly, every image is a testament to how quickly violence can be passed by and forgotten about, how ephemeral the mementos to a murder can be. It’s a book that, intentionally, invites more questions than it answers, and we were…

Deciding which photographic kit should win the Amateur Photographer Awards is no easy task. Each year, the AP technical department tests around 250 different products, from cameras and lenses to tripods and waterproof jackets, and everything in between. When a member of the technical department tests a product, they place themselves in the position of the reader. They think about how that person will be using the product. They then test its capabilities, and make a decision about whether that camera, lens or accessory is going to meet the demands of the enthusiast photographer. Every year many products pass through the hands of the AP technical department that don’t quite come up to scratch. Whether it is a camera, printer, lens or accessory, you can rest assured that the products…

Some people refer to it as ‘keystoning’, while others use the term ‘converging verticals’, but they both refer to the same thing: parallel lines in an image that appear to converge. It is caused simply by tilting the camera up or down, the classic example being a building that appears to be ‘leaning backwards’ as you look up at it. However, it is not restricted to wideangle focal lengths, as some people assume – any lens can introduce the convergence. As Robert Finch notes in this week’s Ask AP, it can be countered through the use of a specialist perspective-control (tilt-and-shift) lens and corrected using software. These are not the only solutions, though. As it is caused by tilting the camera (often tilting it upwards to get the top of…

AT A GLANCE ● 24.3-millionpixel, full-frame CMOS sensor ● Fixed Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2 lens ● ISO 50-25,600 ● Optional EVF ● 3in, 1.23-milliondot LCD screen YOU CANNOT fail to be impressed with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1 and RX1R. The small and lightweight camera body is fitted with a 24.3-million-pixel full-frame sensor, which is an achievement in itself, but making it easy to handle with such a highquality finish is even more of a feat. The sensor performs as well as that of a DSLR, and the images produced are excellent For anyone in the market for a high-quality compact camera, the RX1 is a great choice.…

“Removing elements from a photograph is entirely unacceptable” CANON has unveiled a new entry-level DSLR, the EOS 1200D, boasting the ‘premium’ look and feel of the EOS 700D. Replacing the EOS 1100D, the EOS 1200D is an 18-million-pixel model with an APS-C-sized sensor and a Digic 4 image processor. It will cost around £350 body only and is due on sale in March. To coincide with the launch, Canon has announced an online ‘companion app’ to guide users on how to operate the camera and to give photography technique tips via their mobile device. The ‘learn, explore and inspire’ app – primarily designed for photography newcomers – is compatible with Android and iOS operating systems. AP asked why Canon did not make such internet-based tutorial information available in-camera, through an…

BACUP CAMERA CLUB The club has recently moved to a new venue. Members now meet up each Wednesday at 7.30pm at St Mary’s Parish Centre, Dale Street, Bacup, Rossendale, Lancashire OL13 8AP. For details visit www.bacupcameraclub.org.uk or call 01706 853 791. FUJI HALVES IMAGING BUSINESS LOSSES STRONG sales of the X-E2 and X100S cameras have helped Fujifilm reduce its imaging division losses by more than 60%. Fuji’s Imaging Solutions business cut its losses to 1.5 billion yen (£8.8m) for the last three months of 2013, from 3.9 billion yen for the same period a year earlier. In a statement, issued shortly after Fuji announced its X-T1, the firm said: ‘Fujifilm is working to expand and strengthen the product line-up in the X series of premium cameras that leverage Fujifilm’s exclusive…

NIKON D3300 We subject Nikon’s entry-level, DX-format 24.2MP DSLR with built-in Wi-Fi and GPS to a rigorous test PREVIEW CANON EOS 1200D AP gets hands-on with Canon’s sub-£500 APS-Cformat, entry-level DSLR LPOTY GOING STATESIDE As Landscape Photographer of the Year launches in the USA, Charlie Waite goes in search of the country’s vast vistas SIX OF THE BEST LIGHTMETERS The best exposure meters now available TECHNIQUE MASTERCLASS Six readers visit Newmarket for a masterclass with sports photographer Mark Pain…

BOOK David Lynch: The Factory Photographs By Petra Giloy-Hirtz Prestel, £40, hardback, 220 pages, ISBN 978-3-791-35333-3 DAVID Lynch is one of cinema’s true auteurs, a director with a singular vision that is immediately identifiable to those familiar with his output. Not content with using celluloid (and digital video) to realise his vision, Lynch has also turned his hand to animation, painting and photography. It’s the photography that’s the focus of this beautifully produced volume, and it will come as no surprise that his numerous images of factories and industrial landscapes are a dark and brooding affair. Shot in locations including Germany, Poland, the USA and England, Lynch’s monochromatic industrial cathedrals seem to beg for a narrative to unfold within their walls. His images seem to have been drawn in charcoal,…

THERE has been an outbreak of nostalgia recently for the developing and printing processes we used before digital cameras and computers. For those readers who feel they have missed a magical experience, I offer this step-by-step guide to recreating the Genuine Fifties Printing Experience. 1 Let’s assume that you have developed the film (that is, loaded it into developing tank in darkness, probably in the cupboard under the stairs, developed, fixed, washed and dried it). 2 Choose a moonless night. This is not superstition; it is to ensure that any light leaking in around the cardboard taped to the bathroom window will only come from streetlights. 3 Cut a large piece of chipboard to fit it over your bath. This should be large enough to hold your developing, fixing, stop…

LAUNCHED in 2007, the International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) has time and again demonstrated that gardens are more than just unkempt landscapes in which to dump your broken bicycle. Gardens can provide food, living space for insects, animals and plants, and can, of course be an ideal space in which to take some truly stunning photographs. Entries to the seventh competition were very strong. There were some familiar names (Magdalena Wasiczek was once again prominent in the competition), as well as a host of first-time entrants. As in previous years, the most inspiring element of the competition didn’t so much lie in the technical and aesthetic nature of the images, but in the fact that images like these can be taken on your own doorstep. Visiting national parks…

DIFFERENT ANGLES About 98% of pictures are taken by a photographer holding a camera at about head height and giving us all a very ordinary view of the world. Make your pictures stand out! Shooting from waist-level is a good start, and for a more dramatic angle you could place the camera close to the ground – I use the end of my shoe for stability and so the camera doesn’t have to graze the pavement. Those couple of inches off the deck give enough lift that the paving doesn’t have to start right in front of the lens. From low down, people suddenly become taller than the buildings around them, and we can introduce a mild air of fantasy and wonder, even though what you have included in the…

EUGÈNE Atget’s fame as a photographer has been almost entirely posthumous. The little recognition he received in the final two years of his life was due to fellow photographers Man Ray and Berenice Abbott, who, between them, encouraged the appreciation of his work and saved it from obscurity. As a result, Atget’s photographs of Parisian buildings, parks and people became rightly regarded as not simply documents, but as his own creative interpretation of a now-vanished world. As his work became more widely known, its influence spread. It is now regarded as an important step in photography’s development as an art form. Although Atget’s name is now closely associated with photography, it was, for him, a second choice of career. He was born in 1857 and, after leaving school, temporarily joined…

Faith Speedlight Stand £49.99 www.faithtripods.com MEASURING 180cm in height when fully extended, the Faith Speedlight Stand features a coldshoe attachment that can be easily removed to reveal a standard tripod screw thread on a head, which in turn can be panned and tilted. To the side is an umbrella holder, which is a nice addition. The emphasis is very much on quick set-up; the light stand takes a moment to deploy and adjust with the no-lock pull-release system for the central column. This makes things a little precarious, though. The manufacturer recommends a maximum load of 2.5kg and you wouldn’t want to push it any higher. My real concern is stability. As with other Faith products, the aluminium and plastic build makes the 0.54kg Speedlight Stand a breeze to carry,…

THE ELJY cameras come from the auspiciously named Lumière Company in France. The firm’s founders, the Lumière brothers, were pioneers of early cinema, although the Eljy range came several decades later. Reading a description of the camera, and seeing that it makes 24x36mm negatives, might lead you to assume that it takes 35mm . lm. These are, after all, the dimensions of a standard full-frame 35mm negative. When you actually see the cameras, and appreciate how small they are, it comes as no surprise to discover that the . lm is a proprietary paperbacked roll 30mm in width – much smaller than a regular 35mm cassette (see comparison photo above right). Although Lumière made the Eljy models from 1939-1951, they were eventually superseded by 35mm versions and the dedicated .…