Innholdsfortegnelse for 13-Oct-2018 i Amateur Photographer

When Technical Editor Andy Westlake finished his test of the Nikon Z7 (page 38) I asked what he thought. ‘The only reason I’m giving it five stars,’ he said, ‘is because I can’t give it six.’ High praise indeed, from someone who is more difficult to please than Goldilocks. It seems Nikon has produced a winner, but its field of full-frame mirrorless competitors is looking crowded, with Canon’s EOS R drawing crowds at Photokina, and Panasonic, Leica and Sigma announcing plans to enter that market (see page 6). But enough about the future, we also go back 3,300 years with the story behind the epic task of rephotographing Tutankhamun’s treasures. With practical guides on filters, photographing oystercatchers, and getting the best from Lightroom we’ve got something for everyone.…

AMERICAN artist William Wegman is best known for his photographs, videos and paintings of his lifelong muses, his Weimaraners. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the world and this month a series of unique 20x24 Polaroids will be exhibited at Huxley-Parlour Gallery in London (26 September to 20 October 2018). In 1970, William got a Weimaraner and named him Man Ray. It was the start of a long and successful collaboration as Man Ray quickly became a central figure in William's black & white photographs and videos. In 1979, Polaroid Corporation invited William to use its newly developed 20x24 Polaroid camera. William was inspired by this new medium and started producing his first colour photographs of Man Ray. Sadly, May Ray died in 1982. In 1986,…

When we look at a portrait, who is it we are actually seeing? Our first instinct is to suggest that the answer is obvious: we are seeing a person. But the real question is, which version of that person are we seeing? Are we truly seeing an honest depiction of an individual or are we witnessing an individual who has been moulded by the subjective gaze of the photographer? Perhaps we are seeing them through the gaze of an artist who has staged and controlled a character as they see it. Add to that the gaze of each individual who then sees that image – all of whom will carry their own preconceived notions – and we're left with a subject that, in the end, bears little or no resemblance…

Huddersfield Photo Imaging Club Town Road, Kirkheaton When was the club founded? In 2004, it was a merger of two clubs – Huddersfield Photographic Society and Huddersfield Camera Circle. What does your club offer new members? We welcome new members of all skill levels. Our syllabus includes opportunities for club members to show their work, as well as workshops on learning techniques. We offer mentoring on a one-to-one basis on specific topics if required. Back-to-basics sessions are run as needed. Describe a typical club meeting We assemble from 7.30pm and set out the room for a prompt start. Some members go to the licensed bar downstairs to get a drink. Members tick an attendance sheet on the way in so we can keep tabs on who's attending. Committee members look…

There are two main types of filters available and the option you pick usually depends on your budget. Screw-in filters, as the name suggests, screw on to the front of lenses and are small, lightweight and generally less expensive than the drop-in type. Their disadvantages, however, are that you have to buy them in the right thread size for each of your lenses, so you can end up with two or more of the same filter type. Drop-in filters drop into a holder that attaches to the front of lenses via an adapter ring, and to use them on different lenses you simply need the appropriate size adapter ring for each lens. The main advantage here is that you only need one set of filters for all lenses, and filters…

Variable NDs are very convenient when it comes to controlling the amount of light entering the lens. They are always the screw-in type and can range in density from as much as 1 to 8 stops, essentially offering the flexibility of eight individual filters. So how do they work? Once attached to your lens a variable ND is rotated until the desired density is reached using a scale on the side of the filter. They're made of two sheets of polarising glass that darken as they are rotated. These filters are great if you're on a budget or want to keep kit to a minimum, but this also comes at a small cost. Many variable NDs suffer from a large X that appears in the frame when close to, or…

A problem with some drop-in filter systems, particularly those that require polarisers to be attached to the front of the holder, is that vignetting can occur when shooting with a lens wider than 20mm. This can be frustrating if you've just forked out on a 16-35mm lens, but you can take steps to avoid it. If you have a filter system with front attaching polariser, with some you can remove the third filter slot so you only have two slots available. This is ample for most but may be problematic if you often find yourself using three drop-in filters alongside a polariser. If this is the case, look for a holder where the polariser attaches behind the sheet filters.…

Pete Sharpe, Surrey, UK Pete is no stranger to photography and camera equipment. In fact, he has spent his whole working life surrounded by all things photographic. As a manager of Jessops, Pete has worked across many of the London stores. But it didn't start there. At the age of 16 Pete was given a Cosina CT1G film SLR by his uncle and when he turned 18, he studied an Art Foundation course in Southampton. He's been hooked on photography ever since! 1 Three’s a crowd Pete has made the most of the golden light and misty conditions in Richmond Park at sunrise. His exposure is spot on as he’s retained detail in the deer. Sony Alpha 57, 18-250mm, 1/250sec at f/5.6, ISO 250 2 Strike a pose This is…

The UK supports up to 45% of Europe’s population of oystercatchers in the winter, making it an internationally important location for them. • Location Can be found along the UK coastline all year round. Some birds breed inland, particularly in East Anglia and northern parts of England and Scotland. • Size Length 40-45cm; wingspan 80-86cm • Nest 2-4 cryptic eggs are laid in a bare scrape on pebbles, on the coast or on gravel islands. • Diet On the coast, mainly mussels and cockles; inland, primarily worms. • Population 110,000 UK breeding pairs; increases to 340,000 birds in winter.…

Power The EN-EL15b battery promises 330 shots per charge, and can be replenished in-camera through the USB port. Older EN-EL15 batteries can also be used, but need to be charged externally. Lens roadmap Six more Z-mount lenses are due next year: a 58mm f/0.95 Noct, 20mm f/1.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, 85mm f/1.8, 70-200mm f/2.8 and 14-30mm f/4. In 2020 Nikon is promising a 50mm f/1.2, 24mm f/1.8 and 12-24mm f/2.8. Z mount The large-diameter mount uses four prongs rather than three; Nikon’s engineers say that this is to maintain robustness and to make lens changes quicker. Connectors Headphone and microphone sockets are found behind one rubberised cover on the side of the camera, with cable release, HDMI and USB-C connections protected by a second. Connectivity Built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth allow connection…

LUTS are a comparatively new phenomenon in stills photography, but a very exciting one, and a compelling alternative to presets. So which should you use? They work in very different ways and there are pros and cons to both. Essentially, LUTs are a ‘take it or leave it' effect. They apply a base look to your image which you can add to with the host software's own tools, but you can't modify directly. It's just like choosing the ‘Velvia' film simulation on a Fujifilm camera, or the ‘Vivid' profile when editing a raw file from a Nikon. LUTs used for creative effect, however, apply stronger shifts and greater corrections than camera profiles, so if you do go on to make further manual adjustments it's important to remember you're processing an…

Loss of light confusion Q Could you explain to me the correlation, if any, between the crop factor on a sensor and the aperture on any given lens? Is there any actual loss of light if using anything smaller than full frame, or is it purely academic as some of the explanations seem to suggest? I have read a few articles that appear to be contradictory and it's very confusing. David Richards A The aperture of a lens is the focal length of the lens divided by the diameter of the ‘entrance pupil’ – basically the lens iris diameter. The camera sensor or frame size is irrelevant to this formula. The best way to regard exposure in relation to aperture and frame/sensor size is that given the same scene and…

JUST as many journalists were heading home, Zeiss pulled another surprise out of the hat: a full-frame ZX1 compact camera, featuring a new Distagon 35mm f/2 lens and 37.4MP full-frame sensor, with Lightroom CC built-in. It's a fixed-lens compact in the same class as the Sony Cyber-shot RX1R II and Leica Q, and has traditional analogue controls, with top-plate shutter speed and ISO dials complemented by aperture and focus rings around the lens. Composition is via an OLED viewfinder, and the back is dominated by a 4.3in multi-touch screen. The big news, though, is that the touchscreen can be used to operate the integrated Lightroom CC. The ZX1 comes out early 2019, so head to www.zeiss.com/zx1 for updates. For the latest news visit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk…

NEUTRAL density filters, or NDs, are filters that reduce the amount of light entering the lens allowing you to shoot with slower shutter speeds or wider apertures than you could without. This is ideal if you would like to blur movement, such as clouds or water, in the scene or to shoot with a wider aperture for a shallow depth-of-field. As the name suggests NDs are neutral, so in the majority of cases they won’t add a colour cast to images. Quality plays a role, so cheaper non-branded NDs may produce colour casts. Standard NDs are available in light-reducing densities of 1, 2, 3 and 4 stops. Extreme NDs are available in 6, 10 and 15 stops, but these will typically alter colour in images which will need to be…

IF THERE was only one filter on the planet you could ever own, it would have to be a polarising filter because of all the things it can be used for – it’s a filter that can be used for four different effects. Is that even possible? You’ve probably already guessed that it is, and it’s this versatility that makes polarisers essential for all types of photographers. For landscapes, however, you should never leave home without one, especially when shooting water. Polarising filters are mainly used to reduce surface reflections and glare on water and glass, alongside their ability to deepen blue skies. But they also reduce glare and increase saturation. Moreover, their ability to reduce exposure by up to 1.5 stops means they can be used as a low-strength…

What a fantastic issue AP 29 September is. I have been an AP junkie for years as every week you produce wonderful surprises. I am addicted to my weekly fix. But this week I have been treated to an exceptionally high dose of my medication with all those great environmental portraits in your Round Five Persons of Interest APOY. My favourite genre in photography is environmental portraits, which is very hard to do well and explains why most photographers avoid this speciality. I love the adrenalin rush of working with people, and loved every image in this APOY round and appreciate the skills of each photographer. Also this latest offering by Harry Borden of Hillary Clinton together with his story was masterful. Harry certainly knows his game and I am…

The Reader Portfolio winner chosen will receive a Manfrotto PIXI EVO tripod worth £44.95. Visit www.manfrotto.co.uk Lightweight and portable, the Manfrotto PIXI EVO boasts two different leg angles with a sliding selector enabling you to shoot ground-level images. It’s adjustable, with two-section legs featuring five different steps that adapt the footprint to uneven surfaces. With a payload of 2.5kg, you can tilt the camera 90° to capture incredible images. Submit your images Please see the ‘Send us your pictures’ section on page 3 for details or visit www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/portfolio NOTE: PRIZE APPLIES TO UK AND EU RESIDENTS ONLY…

Excellent sensor provides stunning image quality under any lighting conditions Superb viewfinder gives a truly accurate preview of your shots Effective 5-axis image stabilisation keeps your images sharp Fast, silent autofocus is unerringly accurate with subjects anywhere in the frame Works with almost any F-mount SLR lens via FTZ adapter Continuous AF and subject tracking not quite as capable as the best of its peers Single card slot only accepts expensive XQD media Screen only tilts in one direction ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICES…

PANASONIC is launching two full-frame mirrorless cameras early next year as part of the L-mount alliance – the 47MP Lumix S1R and the lower resolution 24MP Lumix S1. While full specifications are yet to be released, both cameras will feature a new Venus imaging engine and in a first for full-frame mirrorless device, a Dual Image Stabilizer system, combining in-body and lens stabilisation. Both cameras will support 4K 60p/50p video recording and offer an SD as well as an XQD card slot. Three L-mount lenses have also been announced for the new cameras, a 50mm f/1.4, a 25-105mm standard zoom and a 70-200mm telephoto zoom.…

ADMITTEDLY, it's a pretty tough time for magazines at the moment, but here at AP we would never sink so low as to try to entice readers with a cute-looking kitten on the front, would we? Well, we did in 1955, turning heads with a come-hither feline in a bag and a laboured strap-line about ‘bagging a perfect picture'. The cat is out of the bag, geddit? Oh please yourself... Other highlights of this packed issue include a rather long but still ‘illuminating' (groan) editorial on the history of flash. The early flash bulbs were hairy-sounding affairs involving flash-powder and sparks, so it makes you realise how lucky we are today with seamless and powerful TTL flashguns available for most cameras at a great price. Going off on a rather…

‘Next time I’m on a shoot I’m going to push it that bit further... Just think of the reward’ Hands up how many of you reading this article own a camera. Yes? Well it's a pretty easy question given you're reading a photography magazine, but even if I went and asked this question on the street the majority of people would answer yes. We live in an age where we can shoot hundreds, even thousands, of images if you're trigger happy, on a daily basis. Click, click, click, click, click, and we don't even need to worry about cost. Mobile phones have greatly changed the course of the medium, and on a global scale we collectively shoot trillions – that's right, trillions – of digital photographs every year. Mobile phones…

There are two schools of thought in photography: one that endeavours to get everything right in-camera, and another that aims to capture all the required elements that will then be compiled into a single image during post-processing. Both approaches have their pros and cons, and sometimes you need to combine the two. But in most situations using filters to get things right in-camera will save you time, allow you to see a more complete image on the LCD, and most importantly, in some cases, will allow you to create effects that are impossible to replicate using editing software.…

Sometimes you'll need to use several filters at once, and with screw-in filters you really only want to use a maximum of two because vignetting will become an issue at wider focal lengths. Also, the more of any type of filter you stack means there's a greater risk of dust and fingerprints. Drop-in filters are better for filter stacking, but you must make sure the filters are clean. Lenspen and filter companies offer a variety of easy-to-use filter cleaning products designed for both larger and smaller screw-in filters.…

‘When I got in to photograph his gloves, which I found fascinating, I did a very straightforward shot. I remember a gallery owner saying to me, “Oh, you know, Irving Penn did a shot of a glove.” I said, “Yeah, but you know, if you really think that I did that shot because I saw Irving Penn's shot of a gardening glove, you've missed the whole point.” I shot these gloves in a straightforward passport picture type of way because it's not so much about the photograph, it's the fact that in front of you is Tutankhamun's glove and that's something you've never seen before. I guarantee that 99.99% of people that saw my shot of Tutankhamun's glove had never seen it before. Irving Penn's shot of the garden glove…

Michael Topham's excellent news item introducing the Canon EOS R system (7days, 22 September) was spoiled for me by the first sentence. Canon could not have responded to Nikon's Z system in four weeks because it takes as many years to introduce a new product as complex as a camera. Canon has had four years of watching the steady improvement of the A7 series, why would they be responding to the Z7? Nothing from Nikon could have worried them as much as the way that the A7 and A9 have eroded their market. No, they have both taken four years and are bringing out their respective systems for Photokina. Bar-room experts and forum members have been wondering why Canon and Nikon had not yet brought out a full-frame mirrorless and…

On coasts, waders will often work their way in one direction along the shoreline. This means that with a bit of planning, images can be obtained without disturbing the birds. Watch from a distance to see which way they are going, then move ahead of them and position yourself so they are coming towards you. I've often found that if you are lying prostrate on the ground, birds are much less bothered than when you are standing up. Looking at tide times is also important when shooting at the coast. I always like to photograph wildlife from their level, and it's no different with waders. The resulting images are far more intimate. Diffuse foregrounds and backgrounds mean the subject really stands out. Oystercatchers will provide a range of different images,…

For organising an image library, LR Classic wins hands down. Besides the Albums feature, LR CC offers minimal control and you can't even rename your images; however CC does have its amazing Search bar. When it comes to editing images, both Classic and CC are equally good: Classic offers more advanced workflow options, but CC is slicker, and you can edit video. Of course, CC is designed for a different audience to those of us who've been using Lightroom for years. The features that aren't there, aren't there for a reason – things like Smart Collections, Import options, Range Masking, Soft Proofing, which are tools that the casual user doesn't need. As such, for professional and advanced photographers and those familiar with Lightroom already, Classic is still the best choice.…

Sensor 45.7 MP back-illuminated full-frame CMOS Output size 8256 x 5504 Focal length mag 1x Lens mount Nikon Z Shutter speeds 1/8000sec – 30sec Sensitivity ISO 64-25,600 standard, ISO 32-102,400 extended Exposure modes PASM, Auto, 3x User Metering Matrix, Centre-weighted, Spot, Highlight Exposure comp +/-5 EV in 0.3EV steps Continuous shooting Up to 9fps Screen 2.1m-dot 3.2in tilting touchscreen Viewfinder 3.69m-dot OLED, 100x coverage, 0.8x magnification AF points 493 Video 3840 x 2106, 30p External mic 3.5mm stereo Memory card 1x XQD Power EN-EL15b Li-ion Battery life 330 shots Dimensions 134x100.5x67.5mm Weight 675g inc battery and card…

Our cameras and lenses are tested using the industry-standard Image Engineering IQ-Analyser software. Visit www.image-engineering.de for more details The Z 7 obviously uses a sensor that's very closely related to that in the D850, which we found to offer class-leading performance matched only by Sony's 42.4MP sensor. As a result the image quality is superb; indeed the only way to get better than this is to step up to medium format. Image files include a vast amount of detail that's faithfully recorded across a huge dynamic range from the highlights to the deepest shadows, while high-ISO noise is kept impressively low. Resolution Looking at NEF files processed using Adobe Camera Raw, it’s evident that the Z 7 captures essentially as much detail as could possibly be expected from its 45.7MP…

Grab handle A simple, lightly padded handle on the lid provides an alternative to the shoulder strap. Tenba badge About the only cosmetic flourish is a metal name-badge, which is silver-coloured on black bags, and blue on grey ones. End pockets Expandable, elasticated mesh pockets on each end will hold small accessories or personal items such as sunglasses. Front pocket The full-width, slimline front pocket is ideal for holding accessories such as filters. • £55 • www.tenba.com/uk TENBA may not be the first name that trips off photographers' tongues when it comes to camera bags, but the firm produces an array of high-quality shoulder bags and backpacks. Over the past few years we've been hugely impressed by its Cooper and DNA Messenger ranges, along with its useful Tenba Tools cases…

One of the most commented on features of the new Nikon Z-series cameras is the large lens mount diameter. In fact, it's not as large as the rumour mill would have had it before the full details were known. At 55mm, it possesses a bare one millimetre larger in throat diameter than the Canon EF lens mount, which is also the diameter chosen by Canon for its new RF mirrorless mount. Nonetheless, it raises the question, what is the advantage of the larger lens mount, given that the competitive Sony E mount is a full10mm smaller and appears to function perfectly satisfactorily. If you do a web search on the benefits of a large diameter mount, most of the pages found will talk about the ability to support large aperture…

In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Joachim Hildebrand made a protracted and dissected ‘road trip’ through seven states of the American Southwest, concentrating on the way that the ‘wild west’ of popular imagination has been supplanted by urbanisation, representation, nostalgia and downright falsehood. The results can be seen in Kehrer Verlag’s superb Wild West. Many of the pictures are of reconstructions and even murals. These are interesting enough, but where he really plays games with our heads is with shots like this, where you are never quite sure what you are seeing. The desert butte is almost certainly real, but the way that the legs of the three tourists are chopped off by the wall plays spectacular tricks with perspective and perception. Even when the sun is high in the sky…