Innholdsfortegnelse for 20-jun-15 i Amateur Photographer

Last year I planned a weekend away taking photos with two friends: Craig, who’s only been taking photos a short time; and Tim Coleman, former technical writer at AP. We drove to the Peak District, stopping at as many locations as possible, with the trip planned so we were at each spot when the light was at its best. We even went onto the moors at night, hoping to shoot star trails. However, at 2am the god of clear skies wasn’t shining upon us, so we improvised and did some light painting of the tors. After sunrise, sleep and a coffee (or two) we were off to more locations. It was a great weekend – good company, great views, great photographs and, most importantly, we all learnt a lot from…

Soldiers and Suffragettes Regarded as the UK’s first female press photographer, Christina Broom’s intrepid curiosity and spirit saw her capture thousands of images of the streets of London at the turn of the century. Re-live her works at the Docklands. 19 June-1 November, www.museumof  london.org.uk City of London Festival A little culture comes to the City of London, with a festival of music, dance, performance, comedy, tours and more taking over its buildings and outdoor spaces. Whatever your tastes, there’s sure to be plenty to absorb and even more to photograph. 22 June-10 July, www.colf.org For Ever Amber The Amber Film & Photography Collective is a Newcastle-based group specialising in social documentary, and this exhibition features more than 40 years of its work documenting cultural, political…

LETTER OF THE WEEK Light work We see so few programmes about photography on TV that last month's Sky Arts documentary Looking For Light about the brilliant Jane Bown, was more than a little welcome. Despite her rather disruptive and troubled childhood, this petite and determined lady achieved legendary status through her amazing mono portraits. Even viewing them within the confines of the programme they looked superb. I've not had the pleasure of a ‘live' viewing of Jane's work but hope to one day. In these digital times it seems amazing that Jane's simple and no-clutter approach to shooting portraits could yield such fine results. And despite the documentary's title, the only light Jane sought for her pictures was from the nearest window. No flash units, meters or brollies; just…

Hassan Abba, London Hassan first picked up a camera in 2003, when his daughter was born. At the time, he was using a simple point-and-shoot model, but he soon upgraded to a DSLR and has been collecting a variety of lenses ever since. Hassan's primary subjects include his family and wildlife. However, he has recently developed a keen interest in candid photography. This is an interest that has gone hand-in-hand with his attempts to master the Sony Alpha 7 and getting to grips with the genre of documentary photography. All the images here were taken in Zanzibar. Fisherman 1 Hassan has achieved a nice mirroring of form here by waiting for the second boat in the background to drift into the optimum position Sony Alpha 7 II, 70-210mm, 1/4000sec at…

Amateur Photographer Our cameras and lenses are tested using the industry-standard Image Engineering IQ-Analyser software. Visit www.image-engineering.de for more details THE 24.2MP sensor in the 750D and 760D brings both models into line with their closest rival, namely the Nikon D5500, which also features a 24.2MP chip. The move away from an18MP sensor to a 24.2MP sensor sees a jump in the output image size, too – up from 5184 x 3456-pixels on the 700D to 6000 x 4000-pixels on the 750D and 760D. However, unlike the Nikon D5500 and some other recent high-resolution APS-C sensors, the 750D and 760D continue to feature an anti-aliasing filter. With this in place it doesn't resolve quite the same super-fine level of detail. The 750D's dynamic range (see lab results below) is still…

Resolution The chart below shows the performance of the lens, at f/8, in the centre and at the edge at three different focal lengths. As you can see, at f/8 there is virtually no difference between centre and edge sharpness at any focal length. At f/2.8 there is a much greater difference between the centre and edge, especially at 200mm, but the sharpness in the centre at 70mm is still good. Shading As you would expect, the 70-200mm lens shows very little in terms of vignetting. Obviously on a camera with an APS-C sensor the very corners of the frame won’t be used, so the vignetting is even less of an issue. You may notice some shading shooting wide open, but it isn’t a problem. Curvilinear distortion With the APS-C…

Defence by Louisa Pollard Nikon D700, 16-35mm, 1/309sec at f/11, ISO 200 This beautiful seascape captured at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex was uploaded to our Flickr pool by Louisa Pollard. ‘I'm a big fan of seascapes in general, and the quirkiness of this sea defence appealed to me,' she says. ‘Less appealing, however, were the soggy feet I ended up with as a large wave took me by surprise while I stood peering through the shutter, oblivious to anything else! I was happy with the result, though, and it was worth having soggy feet for a day.' Win! Each week we choose our favourite picture on Facebook, Flickr or the reader gallery using #appicoftheweek. PermaJet proudly supports the online picture of the week winner, who will receive a top-quality print…

World’s largest panorama A Canon EOS 70D was used to create the world’s ‘highest resolution panorama’ – a 365-gigapixel image of Mont Blanc. Led by photographer Filippo Blengini, a team used the Canon EOS 70D with a 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens and 2x converter for the ‘in2white’ project, comprising 7.5 million digital files, captured over 35 hours at a height of 3,500m. Visit www.in2white.com. Digital Director Photographers and videographers are promised an enhanced camera control interface with the new Manfrotto Digital Director, which turns a connected iPad Air into an external monitor. It is due out on 15 June, priced £399.95. To pre-order, visit www.manfrotto.co.uk XF 80MP camera Phase One has announced the XF medium-format Camera System, which boasts a resolution of up to 80 million pixels, 14-stop…

I am in my mid-fifties now, but even so it's not unusual for me to use a camera that is older than I am. More rare is the opportunity to use a film that is older than I am. The oldest film I've used so far was made in1944, but the roll of Ilford FP3 that I used recently expired in1957. At almost 60 years old, it's the same vintage as the camera – a Kodak Brownie Six-20 Model F. Kodak made over 200 variants under the Brownie name, and as Brownies go, this is one of the more stylish models, with its light-brown leather-cloth covering and an Art Deco-inspired tan-and-cream coloured faceplate, complete with brass trim. It's a simple camera with a fixed-focus meniscus lens, but there are some…

A Yes, it added something to the image 40% B No, I like my images to be clear 37% C No, I can add effects with software afterwards 9% D Yes, but I didn’t like the result 7% E Yes, it wasn’t deliberate, but I did like the effect 4% F Yes, it wasn’t deliberate, but I didn’t like the effect 3% What you said ‘Yes: paper, glasses, bottles, mesh, speaker grills, CD cases, server doors, inside microwaves and myriad other things’ ‘I’ve tried the old “Vaseline on the lens” trick to give a soft focus effect, and various filters, but none of the results were ever that successful’ ‘I once used a broken bottle (broken on purpose) over my lens so I could have a view of a wine…

Intensifying tone and colour THE MOST striking thing about this image from Adam Crudge is the symmetrical composition and the way the feathers' angle leads the eye into the centre of the image. This is therefore a perfect illustration of how a peacock's plumage is designed to attract a mate. I suspect the JPEG original image I was given to work with had already been pre-processed. I say this because the peacock's body appears to be much lighter than the rest of its feathers. In any case, the overall image could do with being made a bit darker to intensify the colours. I used the Basic panel and Tone Curve adjustments in Camera Raw to do this and an HSL adjustment to selectively darken the blues more. I like the…

THERE'S a lot the Canon EOS 750D shares with the 760D with regard to its innards, but on the outside it's clear that the 750D's ergonomics are better tailored for beginners who want a DSLR they can pick up and feel comfortable with straight away. Splashing out an extra £50 to get an LCD panel on the top-plate, an extra dial at the rear, as well as few other features might seem like a no-brainer, but unless you're an enthusiast who has already invested in the EOS system, the extras the 760D brings to the table aren't absolutely essential and there's a lot to like about the 750D's simple layout and controls. Although the detail the sensor resolves doesn't surpass that of the Nikon D5500, there are more than enough…

Data file Price £1,850 Filter diameter 77mm Lens elements 16 Groups 19 Diaphragm blades 9 Aperture f2.8-22 Minimum focus 1.2m Length 203mm Diameter 91.5mm Weight 1,755g Lens mount Pentax K THE HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm f/2.8ED DC AW lens will be core to those waiting for the full-frame DSLR, but for those with APS-C cameras it is just as interesting. It's a premium piece of kit, being weather sealed, with internal focusing, which makes it great for wildlife photographers – particularly with the 300mm equivalent focal length. Image-quality-wise, the lens performs well. It could be a little sharper at f/2.8, but I was happy with the shots that I took wide open, and stopped down it displays excellent centre sharpness. With no full-frame Pentax DSLR on which to test this…

1 Olympus OM-D E-M1 I chose the E-M1 for its lightness and superb viewfinder, but it has a fussy menu and buttons that are easy to press accidentally. Switching almost everything off and the liberal use of Sugru self-setting rubber makes it usable. 2 Panasonic lenses Panasonic’s 14mm f/2.5 and 20mm f/1.7 pancake lenses benefit from the E-M1’s built-in stabilisation and work well on E-M1 bodies. Where present, I switch off lens stabilisation as I feel the E-M1 in-body system is superior. 3 Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 The Panasonic GX7 is for when I’m not taking life too seriously, but am still hoping I might trip over a masterpiece. It’s even more unobtrusive than the E-M1 and is blessed with a silent electronic shutter. 4 Kindle Fire HD tablet I use…

LAUNCHED 1959 PRICE (with 50mm f/2.8) £218 11s GUIDE PRICE TODAY £450-£750 IN 1959, Voigtländer launched both the Bessamatic camera and the remarkable 36-82mm f/2.8 Zoomar, the world's first zoom lens for a still camera. Important as the Bessamatic was, the Zoomar was the big news. The Bessamatic had a quality four-element 50mm lens and a behind-lens Synchro Compur leaf shutter, and the reliability, engineering quality and handling were better than its peers. An excellent range of lenses from 35mm to 350mm was available, but anything longer than135mm is difficult to find these days. What’s good Exceptionally high build quality, excellent lenses and image quality – even from the Zoomar. What’s bad The exposure counter is difficult to set (improved on later versions). It is also heavy, even for its…

One of the characteristic differences between digital cameras and their film-based predecessors is the fact that digital cameras inevitably produce heat as they operate. The heat derives directly from the operation of the camera's electronic circuitry. Electronics generally work by modulation of an electrical property called ‘resistance' – that is, the degree of obstruction that an electronic component offers to the flow of electrical current. The theory is encapsulated in the well-known Ohm's law, which states that the current through a resistive element is given by the potential (voltage) applied across it divided by the element's ‘resistance, measured in Ohms. Thus, an element with a small resistance will allow a large current to flow, while one with a large resistance will allow only a small current. The second electrical rule…

With blustery conditions at Walberswick and with the tide receding to reveal the remnants of the old pier, it was the perfect opportunity to shoot a long exposure. Let's look at how to set up and shoot with a 10-stop neutral density filter. 1 Compose and focus your shot before taking a meter reading without the filter in place. The Lee Big Stopper comes with a handy exposure guide, so you can easily work out the adjusted exposure once the filter is in place. 2 With your camera in manual mode, dial the adjusted shutter speed into the camera, then cover the eyepiece to avoid any light leaks. A remote trigger is often necessary to avoid any unwanted camera shake – if you've got a smartphone, then look at Triggertrap…

Wi-Fi/NFC functionality The 750D’s Wi-Fi/NFC connectivity is enabled through the main menu, and once switched on a blue flashing LED blinks on the top-plate. Turning the camera off instantly disables the Wi-Fi to preserve battery life. Autofocus The AF modes are toggled through using the AF mode selection button. Hitting the AF point selection button on the corner of the body allows the AF point to be repositioned using the touchscreen or the D-pad. Companion app The Canon EOS companion app reveals how to get the most from the 750D. It’s available to download via iTunes and the Google Play store. Connectors Microphone, HDMI, remote-release and A/V out ports are found at the side of the body beneath two rubberised doors that sit flush when none of the interface ports…

What makes this picture so frightening? Indeed, is it frightening to anyone who is not old enough to remember the Vietnam War? The way it dominated the news, the memories of friends who fought and died there. The longer you look at it, the more brilliant it becomes. You immediately clock the nearest soldier, with his steel helmet and backpack, and the one behind him carrying what appears to be a tripod mortar. A fraction of a second later, your eye is drawn to the helicopters in the sky: helicopters in extraordinary numbers. There are at least 14, or 15 if the dot behind the rearmost soldier is, as seems likely, another. These staggeringly expensive weapons of war seem to come from a different world to the proverbial PBI, the…