Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Oct-2019 i Amateur Photographer

No company has dedicated as much of its history to the art of camera miniaturisation as Olympus. This obsession has given birth to a long line of iconic cameras: the Pen series, the OM-1 and its successors, the Trip 35, the XA, the Mju and now the OM-D range. The phrase ‘small but perfectly formed’ could have been coined with Olympus in mind. This week we celebrate its centenary. We also reflect on the dazzling career of Fleet Street legend John Downing, and get our hands on Nikon’s latest entry into the mirrorless market – a technology co-invented by, you guessed it, Olympus. Finally, if you lower your eyes you’ll notice that we start a new weekly series this issue, showcasing great images from the incredible Hulton Archive. I hope…

TO COINCIDE with the launch of the Z 50, Nikon has announced its first DX-format Z-mount lenses. The Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR is a compact retracting zoom equivalent to 24-75mm in 35mm terms. It features a Vibration Reduction lens unit in its construction to help eliminate handshake and allows users to shoot up to 4.5 stops slower than otherwise possible. It has a minimum focus distance of 20cm and features a silent control ring. The construction is made up of 9 glass elements, including one extra-low dispersion (ED) element to correct aberrations and provide excellent sharpness and contrast. To keep the lens as light as possible (135g), Nikon has used a plastic lens mount at the rear. The second zoom – the Nikkor Z DX 50-250mm f/4.5-6.3 VR…

There are some images you look at and you think, yes this is great I LOVE it. It's easy to know why, as you're instantly connected to the subject, and visually the image ticks all the boxes, with the technical expertise being blindingly obvious. There are other times when you think: I don't get it, I'm not sure about this, and what's the big deal? Why has this person won this prestigious competition? Or why do people speak so greatly of this image that is blurry and technically flawed? Not blown away Earlier this year I was looking through the Sony World Photography Awards 2019 winners, and I came to a portrait taken by the overall winner, Federico Borella. I hate to say it but my first impressions were, ‘pffffffttt…

Puffin by Jayne Bond Canon EOS-1D X Mark II, Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, 1/2500sec at f/8, ISO 1250 THIS photo was uploaded to our Instagram page by photographer Jayne Bond using the Hashtag #appicoftheweek. She tells us, ‘I took this image on Skomer Island, just off the Pembrokeshire coast, home to thousands of puffins during the breeding season. The shot was taken at approximately 6.30pm and, as the sun was getting lower, the sea sparkled liked diamonds. The puffin had just landed with a mouth full of sand eels, briefly resting on the cliff edge, which meant I was able to focus directly on the puffin, with the sparkle of the sea in the distance creating the bokeh effect I was aiming for.' Picked by Claire Gillo,…

IN ADDITION TO its awards for the best photographic products of the year (which we featured in our 31 August issue) the Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA), runs its own pan-European photography competition, open to both amateur and professional photographers. Called EISA Maestro, the competition revolves around a different theme each year. The theme for 2019-20 was ‘Power’. The winning entries from each of the 15 participating EISA countries were judged together in June and the final winners received their awards at the EISA Gala in Berlin, Germany, on 6 September. This year’s overall winner is Markku Pajunen from Finland, who takes home t 1,500 and the EISA Photo Maestro 2019 Gold Trophy for this stunning portfolio. Cletus Nwadike of Sweden was second and wins t 1,000 and a…

● £90 ● www.benroeu.com Battery The 3XS Lite is powered by a 2,000mAh battery, which can last for up to 24 hours on a single charge. Charging USB charging is supported via a USB Type-C port. A green LED blinks below the joystick when it’s charging. Mounting The underside has a ¼in-20 threaded hole for mounting the stabiliser to a tripod or other support accessory. In the box Along with the 3-axis smartphone gimbal, you get a small tripod stand, pouch and USB-C cable. IF YOU use your smartphone to capture video but feel the quality of your handheld footage is let down by your shaky hands, a smartphone gimbal stabiliser could be the answer. The Benro X Series 3XS Lite slots into the company's range of motorised gimbal stabilisers…

Regular AP readers will be aware that since 1January 2010, I have been using a different film camera each and every week. This is now the tenth year, and I haven't missed a week so far. I plan to carry on until the end of year ten, using 520 cameras in total. I recently passed the week-500 mark, and thought I'd make a special effort to use the camera which probably sowed the seed of the project nearly 30 years back. I've been collecting old cameras since my childhood, but by the time I was 30 and adulthood responsibilities started to take over, I was mainly using my little Pentax Auto 110 camera for family and holiday photographs. One day, on a regular trawl of the local junk shops –…

My first camera was a second-hand Pentax ME Super. I don’t remember the adverts for Pentax cameras; I remember the adverts for Olympus cameras, the ones with photographer David Bailey. I wanted to be Bailey. Part of me still does. He was cool and hung out with rock stars, models and gangsters. The television commercials from the late 1970s and ’80s, screened during the soap opera Coronation Street and sporting spectacles such as the FA Cup final, reached millions, turning Bailey into a household name and Olympus into a household brand – except in my house. ‘Who do you think you are? David Bailey?’ would be levelled at anyone pointing a camera at a birthday party, wedding, in a pub, street, office, park or playground. The bold, brilliant and often…

ONE OF Olympus's most successful early digital designs, this took the C-2000 advanced-compact body and added an image-stabilised 38-380mm equivalent zoom, along with an eye-level electronic viewfinder. This was seriously impressive technology for 2000, and the ‘Uzi', as it was affectionately known, became the long-zoom camera to buy for wildlife enthusiasts. The ‘ultra-zoom' UZ range continued for another 12 years, while Olympus's last bridge-type camera, the Stylus SP-100, sported a huge 24-1200mm equivalent zoom in 2014.…

TREASURES FROM THE HULTON ARCHIVE Midnight Vigil by Thurston Hopkins 13 OCTOBER 1951: Published in the Picture Post, this image shows a night-time vigil taking place outside Buckingham Palace. King George VI had his left lung removed in September 1951 after a malignant tumour was found. That year, the King's Christmas speech was recorded in segments and later edited together. Early the next year, the King would accompany his daughter and her husband to the airport to see them off on their tour of Australia via Kenya. On 6 February 1952, he was discovered dead in his room at Sandringham House, Norfolk, having died from a coronary thrombosis. His daughter returned to the UK as Queen Elizabeth II, and she would be crowned the next year. This photograph was taken…

EARLIER THIS year, we revealed Fujifilm's plans to open a new ‘concept experience centre' in Covent Garden, and the name has now been confirmed as Fujifilm House of Photography. The centre, which is spread over three floors, will open presumably in time for Christmas, but the date is to be confirmed. As well as the chance to try out and buy the company's X, GFX and Instax cameras and Instax printers, visitors can drop by the Wonder Photo Shop, where they are encouraged to create photo books and gifts from their own images. Film products and processing services will also be available. At the Midnight Studio & Social Studios, visitors can test cameras and lenses and compare the image quality against their smartphones. There will also be a gallery and…

You may not have heard of Vincent Peters, and unless you read Vogue, Glamour, GQ or one of Europe's other high-end fashion magazines, you probably haven't seen many of his pictures before, either. But you'll certainly recognise many of his celebrity subjects. German-born Vincent Peters shoots fashion, beauty and portraiture in black & white and now, at the age of 50, a selection of his highlights has been brought together in this ‘greatest hits' volume, and what an exquisite book it is. ‘Instead of Bergman and Bacall we have their modern equivalents like Charlize Theron and Scarlett Johansson’ Peters shows a mastery of light, composition and styling that suggests he has studied the work of illustrious predecessors such as Herb Ritts, Jeanloup Sieff and, further back, the likes of Avedon…

Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S Michael Topham tests Nikon’s first professional zoom for the Z mount Firecrest 85mm starter kit Andy Westlake puts Formatt Hitech’s 85mm ND filter system to the test Scanner art Top tips and tricks for making a digital image with the use of a flatbed scanner…

I read with interest Phil Taylor's letter regarding the term ‘mirrorless' (Inbox, 21 September) and your plea to hear of photographic jargon irritants. The problem is the industry's reliance on historic references that, with time, become increasingly irrelevant. ‘Mirrorless' leaves those new to photography to work out that differentiates these cameras from DSLRs. But as we witness the last DSLR bastions crumbling, the knowledge that DSLRs had mirrors will become meaningless. The industry missed a trick with mirrorless – Interchangeable Lens Electronic Viewfinder (ILEV) would have been factual and have no historic baggage. But it is no surprise that this description, unfortunately sequenced as ‘EVIL', didn't catch on! As for sensor sizes, we have medium format, full frame/35mm, APS-C, Four Thirds and the ‘inch type' series. None of these terms…

The 3XS Lite features multiple customisable buttons. Users can easily select and control their desired functions with each button by heading into the settings of the companion smartphone app. The handle also includes a trigger button that’s easily controlled using your index finger. This allows for the use of either the Universal Follow Mode (default) or Locked-down mode (trigger depressed). For advanced smartphone camera control, the user can directly operate the photo shutter/focus, video record, and zoom, making handheld video recordings hassle free.…

Zanele Muholi was born in South Africa in 1972. She challenges hetero-patriarchal ideologies and representations, presenting her sitters as confident and beautiful individuals, existing in the face of prejudice, intolerance and violence. These portraits led her to a series of self-portraits, Somnyama Ngonyama: Hail the Dark Lioness. Using her body as a canvas, she portrays the politics of race and representation, asking questions about justice, human rights and the contested image of the black body. Some portraits use objects of domesticity and servitude like scouring pads, others invoke the brutality women in South Africa have endured. This picture, shows Zanele as ZaKi and was made in Kyoto, Japan. Muholi says about this work, ‘In April 2017, when I was in Japan, after seeing a lot of women wearing kimonos and…

‘THERE is something about the small but perfectly formed Olympus system that suits my ethos. I don’t want photography to be a chore, and my body is grateful for the lightness of the kit. What’s more, the bonkers image stabilisation allows me to be mobile by ditching the tripod. An important element that many seem to forget is that the gear is also fun to use! Being predominantly a wildlife photographer, I often find myself knee-deep in water, or rolling around on rocks, and the reduced weight and reliability of the kit add a sense of trust and practicality. I don’t have the biggest hands (hence why I can’t play piano very well!) and I find my Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II feels just right. For a large percentage of…

Fancy finding out whether Olympus's Micro Four Thirds system cameras might be for you? Olympus UK's ‘Test and Wow' scheme allows photographers to borrow selected cameras and lenses for 24 hours, absolutely free: visit wow.olympus.eu to arrange a loan. Meanwhile, professional photographers interested in downsizing their kit bags can request a two-week trial at www. olympusimagespace.co.uk/test-drive. Olympus UK also offers a wide range of events spread around the country that provide unusual photographic opportunities along with the chance to learn more about how to use your kit. See www. olympusimagespace.co.uk/whats-on/ for full details of upcoming events.…

SONY HAS announced the Alpha 9 II full-frame mirrorless camera, which, while not being a major upgrade of the sports-oriented Alpha 9, adds some useful new features. The new camera retains the same 24MP sensor as the A9, but Sony says the BIONZ X image processor is now faster. As with the A9, the new camera has a 693-point on-sensor AF system, but subject tracking is also quicker, Sony claims. The burst speed of the mechanical shutter has risen to 10fps, while the camera is still able to shoot at 20 fps with no blackout using the electronic shutter. A new anti-flicker system for the mechanical shutter makes it easier to use in indoor sports halls, which will please the camera's target market. Build quality is also beefed up, with…

AT THE TIME OF WRITING we'd only spent a few hours with the Z 50; however this was long enough to establish that Nikon is onto something with its latest release. The Z 50 successfully manages to preserve the look, styling and excellent handling characteristics of the Z 6 and Z 7 in a lighter and more compact body. It goes without saying that the way a camera handles and operates is hugely important, and the Z 50 feels extremely comfortable to pickup while not being too fiddly to operate. It gives us a good clue as to where Nikon's DX-format line up is headed and how future models, whether they're more or less advanced, might look. Although Nikon hasn't officially said so, we sense this could be the beginning…

Warm light by Sam Binding Canon EOS 80D, 55-250mm, 1/160sec at f/5, ISO 200 SAM UPLOADED his warm light image onto our Twitter page and we were drawn to the warm colours and tones of the iconic Bristol industrial scene. Sam shares with us, ‘This was taken near the M Shed museum, down at the harbour in Bristol. I take my dog (and camera) for a walk most mornings, and try to coincide this with sunrise. Early morning down by the water is hard to beat.' Picked by Tracy Calder, Acting Technique Editor Rain drops by Louise Elizabeth Shephard Nikon D7200, 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6, 1/180sec at f/5.6, ISO 400 PHOTOGRAPHER Louise Elizabeth Shepard's image caught our attention on Twitter. Louise tells us ‘This photograph is part of an ongoing project I…

1 Double back up Back up all your work and then back it up again! Yes it's tedious and more expensive to do it this way; however you'll be grateful if your hard drive fails or your computer crashes. 2 Wear sensible footwear Slippery rocks, uneven ground. Up your chances of staying upright by wearing sensible shoes that grip. 3 Secure your camera bag Lenses falling out and smashing to the ground are things we've heard of a lot of times. Spend a moment checking that the zips on your camera bag are secure and making sure everything is back in the right place. 4 Tripod maintenance Lots of trust and expensive kit ends up on your tripod. Every couple of months give it a good check over to make…

To judge by this issue's cover, the team accidentally wandered into a Cologne nudist expo instead of the 1976 Photokina camera show. Putting the nudes on the back burner (ouch), there is an interesting viewpoint on the development of auto exposure. As pundit Roger Darker FRPS observes, ‘The photographer's pipe dream of having a camera that automatically selects the correct exposure seems to be nearing reality with the introduction of ever-increasingly sensitive light sensors, coupled to even more delicate shutter and aperture selectors.' He goes on to discuss how to work around the shortcomings of his automatic compact, and probably hadn't the faintest inkling that just over 40 years on, even phones would offer the sophisticated auto exposure he dreamt about. Other highlights include an in-depth Photokina report, as well…

• From £63 (250GB) • www.samsung.com IF YOU frequently move files, or want a portable hard drive you can take with you anywhere, Samsung's Portable SSD T5 is an excellent example that comes highly recommended. While you can buy more storage space for less money by choosing a hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drives (SSDs) have many benefits – they are more durable than HDDs and less prone to damage or failure because they don't contain moving parts. Without spinning disks, or platters, to read and write data, SSDs can be made smaller and thinner, and can withstand harsh environments and accidental drops. In all the years I've been using hard drives to store my images, I've had a couple of HDDs fail on me, but never an SSD.…