Innholdsfortegnelse for 04-Feb-2017 i Amateur Photographer

Noise – along with softness, it’s the bane of the modern photographer’s life, as we can now all gaze at our images in excruciating detail on-screen. As the light-sensitivity settings of today’s cameras get higher and higher, is noise just an inevitable price we have to pay, like bigger waistlines after Christmas? Well, yes and no. While it’s true that excessive noise can cripple an otherwise strong image, it’s less and less of an issue as ISO performance improves every year, and it can be removed fairly easily in software. This issue is about ISO and noise, giving you the knowledge and practical skills you need to enjoy the many benefits of higher ISOs, while dealing with noise as and when it arises. We also reveal the best performing cameras…

HARVARD University has recently made its full photography course available for interested parties to take part in online via the ALISON educational platform – free of charge. Featuring 13 distance-learning modules, the Harvard course promises a study into the fundamentals of photography, from exposure and light through to composition and post-processing. A final module provides a full assessment of what students have learned. The course is technically from 2009, so there may be elements that are out of date – particularly when it comes to photo-editing software and techniques. Then again, since attending Harvard costs some $43,000 in tuition fees, it's up to the public whether that's a fair trade-off. Visit alison.com/courses/ digital-photography for more details.…

One of the most common photo projects advocated in magazines and on the net is going out with just a 50mm lens. In some respects it's a seductively attractive idea. Many of us have a 50mm, in part a legacy of them being standard issue with film SLRs back in the day. Even if you don't own one, they're cheap to buy new or second-hand and usually deliver superb optical quality for the money. They're also commonly associated with giving the same natural perspective as the human eye, which adds a further, intriguing element to the exercise. Personally I've never been convinced. For a start there's the issue that most digital cameras use sensors smaller than 35mm film, typically APS-C where a 50mm lens is the equivalent of 75mm or…

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II With a top native ISO speed of 51,200 (expandable to 409,600), this 20.2MP full-frame DSLR is perfectly suited to low-light shooting. Even in auto mode, it can achieve shutter speeds up to 1/8000sec. Nikon D5 Combining a 20.8MP FX-format sensor with Expeed 5 technology, the Nikon D5 has a native ISO of 100-102,400, expandable to ISO 3,280,000. The AF system is designed to perform in near darkness (-4 EV). Sony Alpha 7R II The palm-sized Sony Alpha 7R II has a back-illuminated 42.4MP full-frame sensor, and an ISO range that can be set as high as 102,400. The Bionz X image-processing engine finely tunes data for clearer, more natural images.…

You answered… A Yes, I’d now only buy a 4K-capable camera 12% BYes, but full HD with manual control is 9% enough for me C Not really, I only shoot video clips 19% occasionally in auto mode D No, I don’t shoot video 31% E No, I don’t want video on my camera at all 29% What you said ‘I voted “No I don’t want video”. Many years ago, 8mm or Super 8 home movies were only a few minutes long and expensive to make, so however bad they were the audience didn’t have to suffer for long. But now they are virtually free to make, and can be much longer, but are no more interesting.’ ‘Only if buying a video camera. Personally, I don’t see the point in having…

Under what circumstances do you find yourself working in low-light conditions? It’s something that’s particlarly prevalent in your book Back Garden Safari. My need for low-light shooting depends on whether I am working with a camera trap or find myself at the mercy of the weather during daylight hours. Camera-trap work, for example, often requires taking photos when there is virtually no ambient light in order to capture photos of animals that are very active at night. At the other end of the scale, shooting in heavily overcast daylight, especially at sunrise or sunset, or even in average light but when a high shutter speed is required, can introduce challenges that need to be compensated with aperture, shutter and ISO variations. The desired end result will dictate which…

Street photography is all about finding angles that allow for an interesting composition. Allan Hart's photograph is a good example. The main feature is the man on his phone, overshadowed by a Boris Karloff poster. Ideally, it should have been captured with a tighter crop applied in-camera. But I notice it was shot using a 105mm focal length lens on a Nikon D90, so the only option would have been to get closer. The following steps show how a Guided Upright adjustment plus a tight crop in Camera Raw gives a cleaner composition. 1 Apply Guided Upright adjustments In the Basic panel, I used the Auto button to apply an auto tone adjustment. I selected the Crop tool to crop the image. I used the Transform tool and selected the…

Snow is magical. So is Paris. But the mere trick of photographing Paris in the snow should not be quite this magical. Why does it work so well here, in this shot by Nicolas Jouhet? Of course, superb composition and perfect exposure explain a lot, but in most great pictures these are taken for granted. Content is another matter. This image – of the pyramid by IM Pei in the centre of the Louvre – is famous and beautiful to some, but notorious and ugly to others. I have to admit that I was firmly in two minds until I saw this picture. Then I saw it, both literally and figuratively, in a new light. The pyramid was like a space ship that had landed in the middle of classical…

Images taken in the great outdoors make up the vast majority of the images we see in AP throughout the year. Any keen landscape, wildlife or travel photographer will tell you that nothing beats getting outside and watching nature reveal its majesty. With this in mind, we find ourselves in the company of one of the category winners of Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2016. The overall winner of will be announced at the Photography Show at Birmingham's NEC on 18 March. He or she will be sent on a photography assignment to cover the epic Fjällräven Polar dog sled expedition. Here we see the winner of the ‘Live the Adventure' category. The image was taken by Kirsten Quist, who found this nicely composed and adventurous scene in Edmonton, Alberta…

LORD SNOWDON, famed for his photographs of royalty, society life and celebrities, has died at his home aged 86. After a number of years working as a successful fashion photographer, Snowdon's marriage in 1960 to Princess Margaret, and subsequent divorce, thrust him into the public eye. Having become a member of the royal family, he soon became, ultimately, the highest-profile photographer of 1960s high society. After starting to work for Vogue magazine in 1956, Snowdon became the fashion magazine's longest-serving photographer, shooting an incredible number of portraits of public figures over the course of six decades, from David Bowie and Maggie Smith to JRR Tolkein and Sir Tom Stoppard. Commenting on Snowdon's career with the magazine, British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman said: ‘Tony Snowdon was one of the great photographers…

Remember film The AP of my distant youth has understandably ‘gone digital' (and rather high-end at that), but I am pleased to see that you still take a sideways glance at film, such as the Blast from the past articles and the contributions from Roger Hicks. I, and I am sure others, still enjoy using film, in my case especially for black & white. Could you possibly do a bit more by including a regular, say monthly, feature for film users alongside your digital content? More coverage of the less expensive digital world would also be appreciated. Ian Newton, Surrey As we mentioned above in reply to Andrew Redding's letter, more on film is planned shortly – watch this space! Geoff Harris, deputy editor Giving mobile users a chance Will…

Modern cameras are excellent performers when it comes to high ISO sensitivities, and it's common to be able to shoot as high as ISO1600 without noise being a problem. These days, ISO1600 is roughly equivalent to ISO 400, in terms of noise, in cameras from ten years ago, so for most images you can often get away with not needing to use noise reduction. However, there are times when the ISO you need is so high that noise is inevitable. The most common reason for needing high ISO settings is to enable you get usable shots in low light by keeping the shutter speed fast enough to avoid camera shake. You also need high ISOs when shooting sports – where the shutter speed needs not to only support the focal…

Nikon 200mm f/4 AF macro lens 1 Reputed to be Nikon’s sharpest ever macro lens, the long focal length of the 200mm f/4 AF allows a greater working distance when photographing small, skittish subjects and the narrow angle of view is perfect for controlling backgrounds and isolating subjects. Gitzo G1548 carbon-fibre tripod with Sachtler DV 8 fluid head 2 This combo is well able to support any of my long heavy Nikon lenses, including the 200mm f/2, 200-400mm f/4 and 500mm f/4. The Sachtler head should last a lifetime and is wonderfully smooth with the option to adjust the drag when panning. Nikon D3X 3 I bought the D3X in 2010, and it’s not common for such an old DSLR to still be in constant use. Built like a tank,…

TO celebrate its 300th anniversary, Liverpool's Bluecoat contemporary arts centre is hosting a special exhibition called Public View. On show from 4 February to 23 April, it features 100 of the Bluecoat's alumni artists, covering disciplines from music and dance to literature and, of course, photography. Originally founded as a charity school in 1717, the building has played host to a huge variety of artists over the years. Over the next 300 days, the centre will show the work of internationally recognised names such as John Akomfrah, Yoko Ono and Sonia Boyce, as well as Merseyside-born and younger artists. Artistic director Bryan Biggs, who has curated the exhibition, said: ‘Even with 100 artists, this is but a small, though significant, sample of the thousands of artists who have shown here.…

Tim Daly Tim is a photographer, teacher and author. He has written numerous books on digital production, printing and the creation of photo books, and currently teaches photography at the University of Chester, and for the RPS in Bath. To find out more, visit www.timdaly.com. Noise is an unwanted by-product of digital photography and usually shows itself as speckled pixels of an unexpected colour or brightness. It’s a disruption to the smooth gradations of colour that we have come to expect from our digital images. We generally encounter two types of noise: shot noise, which is created by fundamental variations in light; and electronic noise, which is the result of our camera’s internal processing. Regardless of the kit you use and the subjects you shoot, noise forms part of everyone’s…

File formats and NR reduction Like all other on-board camera settings, noise-reduction settings affect only JPEGs and are not embedded into raw files. Post-processing noise in raw files If you use your DSLR's propriety raw file processor, such as Nikon Capture NX-D, this will make full use of the data embedded in the raw file to trigger a more sympathetic noise reduction than a third-party post-production application such as Photoshop or Lightroom. The third-party application won't differentiate between different NR reduction settings the camera has used. Noise and heat Higher than usual sensor temperatures can also cause unexpected noise to appear in your images, even at low ISO values. Shooting with live view for extended periods of time can cause the camera's internal temperature to rise, for example, so it's…

Nikon D500 The standard ISO range of the Nikon D500 (100-51,200) can be lowered to 50 or expanded to 1,640,000 (equivalent). The smaller sibling of the D5, this APS-C DSLR is not afraid of the dark, and handles highlights well. Fujifilm X-T2 The Fujifilm X-T2 features a 24.3MP X-Trans CMOS III sensor with no low-pass filter, delivering superb image quality. The native ISO range stretches from 200-12,800 and can be expanded to 51,200. Sony Alpha 6500 The Bionz X image-processing engine in the Sony Alpha 6500 enhances picture clarity, while minimising noise. It boasts a 24.2MP sensor in a tough, palm-sized body, and an ISO range that can be expanded to 51,200.…

Why do some camera manufacturers have a ‘film-simulation' mode on their digital cameras when people can take shots with an actual film camera? I regularly use any old film camera I have to hand and put in a roll of film to create the look that you can't get with a digital camera. The results are then scanned to become digital images. Not only does this look different to the sterile digital image, but it also ensures that commercial film labs have enough business to keep open. As the saying goes, use them or lose them. Andrew S Redding Your point is well made, but some film-emulation presets built into cameras and for Lightroom (particularly those from Mastin Labs and VSCO) are now very good indeed. Many people today want…

What kind of preparation do you do for a typical live shoot? I normally get to the venue around 4pm, although that can sometimes be as early as midday if I’m setting up remote cameras for the shoot. Once in the venue, I set up a secure production office backstage for my computer and camera equipment. If I’m setting up remote cameras within the lighting rig, I have to be at the venue while all the trusses are down. I put all batteries on charge, format cards and clean the sensors. I then connect to the Wi-Fi and start my computer, uploading any outstanding shots. I then grab a camera and scope out the venue. While on tour, the stage set remains the same, but depending on venue sizes, the…

Paul Crowley, Hertford Paul first started exploring photography seriously as an art student where he developed his own film and prints. He enjoyed the quality of the medium and soon found he was hooked for life. His favourite subjects to shoot are people and the urban environment, subjects that are obviously particularly prevalent in the field of street photography. In the future he hopes to travel to places such as Naples that will offer something new for his photographic portfolio. Visit www.demographik.co.uk. 1 King’s Cross The driver of the scooter creates a great foreground subject that leads us through into the busy King’s Cross scene beyond Ricoh GR Mark 1, 18.3mm, 1/400sec at f/3.5, ISO 400 2 Homeless Here Paul has taken an opportunity to shoot from the hip and…

‘The Mikroma looks like a miniature 35mm model’ The Mikroma is a little gem of a camera that was first made in the Meopta factory in Czechoslovakia in1949. In addition to cameras, Meopta made a range of optical equipment. I remember our school darkroom had one of its enlargers. Reasonable quality photographic equipment from behind the Iron Curtain was commonplace in school and club darkrooms in the1970s. I like a bargain, and most of the cameras that I've accumulated over the past four decades have been from jumble sales, junk shops, charity shops and car-boot sales, but occasionally I've set my heart on a particular model, and with no real expectation of stumbling upon one in my usual haunts, resorted to going online to satisfy my craving. I paid around…

Cameras Interchangeable-lens cameras come in two types: DSLRs with optical viewfinders, and mirrorless models with electronic viewing Handgrip DSLRs traditionally have relatively large handgrips, while many mirrorless models have much smaller grips to keep size down. However some can accept accessory grips to improve handling with larger lenses. Lens mount Each camera brand uses its own lens mount, and mirrorless cameras use different lenses to DSLRs even from the same brand. However mirrorless models can often use DSLR lenses via a mount adapter. Controls Entry-level cameras tend to have simple, easy-to-understand controls, while more expensive models add lots of buttons and dials to give quick access to settings. Viewfinder The biggest difference between DSLRs and mirrorless cameras is that the latter use electronic, rather than optical viewfinders. They’re more power…