Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-Mar-2020 i Amateur Photographer

Be it ‘sunny 16’ or narrowing down even further for greater depth of field in landscapes, there are a lot of old chestnuts when it comes to aperture. Newer camera technology, however, means that some of this received wisdom is no longer quite so helpful. So this issue, we share some more up-to-date tips for aperture choice, helping you to get the best possible pictures. Other highlights include an exclusive interview with Canon Japan about the new EOS R5, and a full test of Fujifilm’s latest 16-80mm zoom lens for X-mount. Another highlight is Peter Dench’s hard-headed look at Flickr, a once-dominant photo-sharing platform now facing stiff competition. Is it time for serious photographers to get back on there? Contribute to Amateur Photographer If you’d like to see your words…

#appicoftheweek Aarburg Castle by Elena Wymann Nikon D7500, 18mm, 1/20sec at f/13, ISO 100 Elena Wymann is originally from Russia and has lived in Switzerland since 2011, near to Solothurn in the north west of the country. She says about this shot, ‘I love this castle with its reflection in the River Aare. I took this in the evening as the sun was setting, using a tripod.' See more of her work at www.flickr.com/ photos/133139901@N04 and on Instagram @elenawymann5589. Elena uploaded this picture to Flickr using the hashtag #appicoftheweek. Chosen by Nigel Atherton, Editor Win!  Each week we choose our favourite picture on Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter or the reader gallery using #appicoftheweek. PermaJet proudly supports the online picture of the week winner, who will receive a top-quality print of…

I have a battery tip that some readers might find useful. Whenever I charge a camera battery, I cover the terminals with a piece of masking tape and write on it the date of charging. This means that when I fish for a fresh battery in my camera bag I can find one straight away. The masking tape peels off very quickly and the date lets me keep tabs on the charge state of my batteries. There's a big attendant benefit: the masking tape keeps the batteries safe for travel by air. The terminals are protected and won't accidentally discharge or, more importantly, short circuit in transit with potential disastrous consequences. The last time I travelled by air on a photography trip the security guard at Heathrow looked in my…

X-series users who've been waiting for a versatile zoom that can shoot wider and longer than the XF 18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS, but also want a lens that's cheaper than the XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR, will be very tempted by the XF 16-80mm F4 R OIS WR. It's a very likeable general-purpose lens that's ideal for travelling where you can see yourself wanting to shoot wideangle one minute and at mid-telephoto the next, but don't always have time or the inclination to swap between different lenses. It's not quite as sharp as some might hope for towards the edge, which is where the optically stellar XF 16-55mm F2.8 R LM WR presents an advantage. In summary, this zoom puts in a performance that reflects its price. The…

The aluminium metal frames that surround all of PolarPro’s Summit filters protect the edge of the filter from chips and knocks during use. To help prevent the surface of the filter from scratches and damage during transportation, PolarPro supplies all of its filters with well-padded protective cases. When you’ve finished using the filter it’s recommended you use the supplied padded filter case for ultimate protection. All of PolarPro’s cases are clearly labelled too so you can easily identify one filter from another with minimal fuss.…

Egyptian Painters by Fox Photos Decorators at work in the Egyptian Gallery at Crystal Palace, Sydenham, London. Originally built in Hyde Park to house the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Crystal Palace relocated to Sydenham after the exhibition closed. It stood there from June 1854 until it was destroyed by fire in 1936, while the nearby area was renamed Crystal Palace after the landmark. This image shows the portico from the Memnonium, Thebes. The statues represent the god Osiris and are from a temple which was part of a large complex built by Rameses II. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins to the founding of the London Stereoscopic Company in 1854, today it houses over 80 million images spanning the…

EXHIBITION Colin Jones: The Who Collection Until 30 April, Aperture Leica, London. Entrance free. Open Monday-Saturday 11/12-7pm LEICA IS presenting its first photographic exhibition at its Riding House showroom, and The Who Collection by Colin Jones is sure to appeal to fans of classic rock and classic portraiture. One of the most important photographers and photojournalists in post-war Britain, Colin Jones followed The Who in 1966 as they began their career playing in music halls and clubs. In doing so he took early performance shots as well as candid pictures of the band members' daily routines. His photographs captured young Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon just as the band were on the cusp of global stardom – on the eve of their first number one single…

Claire Gillo Claire Gillo is a photographer and writer living in Devon. She writes articles for a number of photography publications including Amateur Photographer and Digital Camera. Find out more at www.clairegillo.com or follow her on Instagram @clairegillophotography. 1 The basics Aperture derives from the Latin word apertura, and is defined as a hole or a gap. It controls how much light you let through your lens to the camera's sensor. The amount of light that enters is measured through a system called f stops. By increasing or decreasing the size of the aperture diaphragm it will affect the depth of field in your image. The depth of field is how much of the image is sharp in front of and behind the selected focus point. Other factors contribute to…

With the coronavirus running amok and millions self-isolating at home with a year's supply of toilet rolls, let's look back to another time when folk found themselves stuck indoors for long periods: the Blitz. How can photographers get their creative fix when they aren't even allowed to turn the lights on? This week's issue presents a solution: photos by candlelight. The cover shot, Interlude in the Air Raid Shelter , conveys a stoicism and determination to carry on taking pictures (and playing draughts) that even the Luftwaffe couldn't stop. The accompanying feature by Bernard Alfieri shows the infinite variety of pictorial possibilities that candles present: playing cards by candlelight, reading, more card playing, holding a candle, the candlestick on its own and, er... did we already mention playing cards? It…

What draws you particularly towards documentary photography? It’s quite simple, really. I love documenting things, as well as having the power and the ability to document a unique moment in time, something that potentially won’t ever be recreated again. Tell us more about your photographic training. I am studying for a BA (Hons) Photography at Leeds Arts University. I’m in my final year, with also the potential to do a masters. In the first year we learned the basics of using studios, lights, film cameras and the darkroom. Second-year modules were harder and included essay writing, looking at ethical issues, and videography. In the third year, it’s a bit more independent. It includes a dissertation of 5,000 words. I wrote about the ethics relating to photographing people with disabilities and…

Resolution Corner sharpness lags some way behind that of centre sharpness at the wide end of the zoom. Edge sharpness improves as you zoom in, with better figures recorded at 35mm between f/5.6 and f/8. Sharpness drops off a touch at the long end, but remains respectable for a general-purpose lens. You’ll notice diffraction starts to affect overall sharpness when stopping down to f/16 and f/22. Shading Our tests tell us that the corners appear just 0.3EV and 0.4EV darker than the centre when the aperture is set wide open at 16mm and 80mm respectively. The vignetting correction that’s built into the raw file metadata does an excellent job of correcting corner shading when files are processed through Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom. Curvilinear distortion With Fujifilm’s baked-in automated distortion…

Fujifilm GFX 50S with GF 63mm f/2.8 R WR 1 My digital workflow includes the Fujifilm GFX 50S and GF 63mm f/2.8 although I am currently looking with great interest at the Leica M10 Monochrom. Average used price £2,899 (body) £899 (lens) Viewfinder 2 The EVF is fitted with the tilt adapter for low-angle shooting. Gitzo Series 2 Tripod with Kirk BH-3 Ball Head 3 I have a Series 2 and 3 Gitzo Tripod paired with the Kirk BH-1 and BH-3 Ball Heads. I prefer to use a tripod without a centre column for added stability and the Kirk Ball Heads are simple and solid. Leica M-A 4 My 35mm film camera of choice. Simple and well built. Average used price £3,200 Leica 50mm Summilux 5 A beautiful lens, and…

Having spent a decade working my way through my camera collection at a steady and uninterrupted rate of one per week, this year I'm relaxing the pace, and revisiting all the cameras that I used for taking photographs, as opposed to collecting and displaying. I'm planning to do it in chronological order, using a different one each month. The first camera that I ever owned was part of the ‘Secret Sam' spy outfit, made by Topper Toys in the 1960s. The outfit consisted of an attaché case with all the things a modern spy needed, including a machine gun, a camera and a periscope. Both the gun and the camera could be fired while the case was closed, making it ideal for covert operations. The camera is an ultra-simple 127…

Picture the scenario. You've arrived into a country you've longed to photograph and are about to set off on an epic adventure to capture images you've always wanted to take. As you rearrange your hand luggage and sling your camera and lens over your shoulder, your strap system unexpectedly fails and both plummet to the floor. Everyone around you turns and winces at the damage caused by that sickening sound of glass hitting concrete. I couldn't have had more sympathy for the person to whom this happened at Reykjavik airport recently. The gentleman's unfortunate mishap must have felt like his trip had finished before it had even started. Thankfully, there weren't any tears and he didn't seem too concerned. Hopefully he had insurance, a backup body and other lenses in…

Why no Samsung? Andy Westlake makes on-target points in his Viewpoint (AP 22 February) when he talks about where bargains are to be found ‘...not with the shiny new releases, but with older designs, which are often still very capable indeed.' We know some brands have come and gone in recent years, and so too apparently, have their mentions in adverts for second-hand kit. Samsung, for example, is still a common name away from cameras, yet a quick search draws a blank among dealers even showing the brand in used listings. While its cameras struggled to find buyers in big numbers, there's no doubt it created an interesting range of cameras. When you look at auction sites, in contrast, there are plentiful numbers available at price ranges worthy of a…

● £153 ● www.polarprofilters.com A FEW weeks ago we reviewed the PolarPro Summit landscape kit (AP 7 March) – an ingeniously engineered filter system that'll appeal to serious landscape photographers looking for a well-thought-through, easy to use and robust way of working with filters in the field. In our review we made a brief mention to some of the other filters PolarPro makes for its Summit system, however we only tested the filters that were supplied with the landscape kit. Since then we've taken delivery of PolarPro's long exposure ND1000 filter, which effectively cuts 10-stops of light reaching the sensor and is capable of turning a 1/60sec exposure into one that lasts 15 seconds. Made from fused Quartz glass with 16 layers of coatings, the filter features a fixed aluminium…