Innholdsfortegnelse for 13-Jun-2020 i Amateur Photographer

Geraint Radford Geraint is an Olympus ambassador with a love for macro photography. He hopes that his images may inspire others to care for insects. He regularly posts videos and tips on Instagram. Find him at @geraintradfordmacro, www. instagram.com/geraintradfordmacro Macro photography lets us explore the magical world of mini beasts, flora and fauna. I love to photograph live wild insects, yet discourage the use of any practices that could harm these tiny important beings. When working close to our subjects, the depth of field reduces considerably. The smaller apertures needed to achieve extra depth of field can impact picture quality through diffraction and reduce the faster shutter speeds we need to maintain image sharpness. Focus stacking is a great solution to this dilemma. Using this technique, we can shoot a…

When was the club founded? The club was formed in 1952 and called the Uckfield Amateur Photographic Society. It was a place for people interested in photography to share ideas, knowledge and tips and to enjoy talking about cameras and photography in a social context. We now have several professional photographers in the club so we changed the name, and also benefit from their expertise and help. What does your club offer to new members? We welcome anyone interested in photography, whatever their level of experience. We especially welcome ‘newbies'. We are a friendly, small but growing club with a pretty diverse membership with various levels of expertise. There is a wide range of styles and genres represented in the club from portraiture, street, landscapes or wildlife photography through to…

NIKON hit the ground running with its entry into the mirrorless market, launching two fabulous full-frame cameras in 2018 with the Z 6 and Z 7, which both went on to pick our coveted Gold Award in their respective reviews. In the space of two years, Nikon has broadened its lineup of Z-mount lenses beyond the two primes (Z 35mm f/1.8 S and Z 50mm f/1.8 S) and one standard zoom (Z 24-70mm f/4 S) it launched alongside its pair of Z-series cameras. While the Z mount is still in its infancy, with 11 full-frame lenses released thus far, Nikon has already created some remarkable optics for the serious enthusiast and professional alike. One such lens that excelled on test was the Z 14-30mm f4 S. Wideangle zooms can be…

OLYMPUS has been building up its Micro Four Thirds range for well over a decade, and it now offers a decent selection of 24 lenses, including 10 in the premium Pro line. It also makes a couple of inexpensive ‘body cap' lenses, a set of adapter optics for its 14-42mm kit zoom, and a pair of teleconverters for its high-end telephotos. Naturally, Olympus camera owners can also use Panasonic lenses, along with third-party options from the likes of Sigma, Tamron, Samyang and Laowa. While the relatively small Four Thirds sensor brings some disadvantages with respect to image quality, in return it provides real benefits in terms of optical design. Most obviously, lenses can be made extremely small and light. But it's also possible to build larger lenses with truly superb…

Single Interfit Honey Badger Unleashed heads are priced at £299, while the 2-Light Softbox Kit (pictured opposite) that includes two heads with a battery pack and charger each, as well as two 60cm pop-up softboxes and a large bag to carry everything in, is priced at £649. Available separately are additional Unleashed batteries at £59.99, Interfit TTL wireless remotes at £79.99 and a universal manual remote at £39.99. All studio heads and kits are available from Interfit direct (www.interfitphoto. co.uk) as well as all good online retailers and camera stockists.…

SAMYANG has revealed a Canon RF-mount version of its autofocus 85mm f/1.4, along with ‘Mark II' versions of two of its most popular manual-focus primes. Firstly, the Samyang AF 85mm F1.4 RF is a variant of the firm's short-telephoto portrait lens that's currently available for Sony full-frame mirrorless models, but now for Canon's EOS R cameras. It promises high sharpness, dreamy bokeh, and weather-sealed construction. Expect to pay £599 when it appears in late June. Updated manual primes Meanwhile, the MF 14mm F2.8 Mk II and MF 85mm F1.4 Mk II are upgraded versions of two existing lenses for full-frame DSLRs. Both now feature an aperture ring that can be de-clicked for video work, along with weather-sealing around the mount. The 14mm additionally gains a focus lock switch to prevent…

The depth of field is very shallow in this image and we need more to show this beautiful creature in all its glory. With two sets of extension tubes attached to my 60mm (120mm full-frame equivalent) macro lens, an aperture of f/5.6 is the limit before diffraction sets in. Focusing is achieved manually by composing the shot and then moving the camera towards the subject. Make small adjustments to ensure each image overlaps properly. Using the rule of thirds grid in our viewfinder helps visual alignment. Use them as crosshairs to make sure the focal point remains the same in each picture. There is a good choice of dedicated focus-stacking software available, but Zerene Stacker and Helicon Focus are very popular. Adobe Photoshop does a good job for small image…

The modern slide show One aspect of digital photography that seems to have been largely ignored is the sheer convenience of looking at your photos on your television. Like most people now, I own a quite large 4K TV. Together with a full-frame camera, the results are stunning, believe me! Extremely easy too: just plug a card reader into the USB socket on your TV, then use the remote to scroll through your pictures. It's certainly more ‘sociable' than keeping your pictures on your computer or, worse, remaining in your camera. No printing costs either. It reminds me of the ‘good old days' of projected Kodachrome slides, but without the hassle of projector, screen and darkened room. Try it and you'll be converted. There's no need to use your computer…

It's one of the oldest camera Wi-Fi apps still to be used under its original name, and the Olympus Image Share app had a rather unusual start to life. Announced alongside a number of Olympus cameras at Photokina in 2012, the original Olympus Image Share required the use of a FlashAir card. Manufactured by Toshiba, these cards are the same size as standard SD cards, but as well as offering data storage, they also contain a small Wi-Fi chip that could be utilised by compatible cameras. Much like the Eye-Fi cards that appeared around the same time, FlashAir cards weren't exclusive to Olympus cameras; they could in fact be used by many cameras to make them Wi-Fi compatible. What Olympus added with its partnership with Toshiba was some image-transfer functionality…

If you've recently bought into a mirrorless system, or are perhaps on the verge of investing in your first mirrorless camera, you might find yourself in a quandary as to what lenses to buy and knowing where your money is best spent. There's a lot to consider when it comes to building up a selection of lenses that are well suited to your style of photography, and if you happen to be a photographer making the switch from DSLR to mirrorless, it's crucial you study your options carefully, as there's often a lot of money at stake. For many, the natural route into a new camera system is to sell or trade in any existing kit and start out by purchasing the zoom lens that's sold as part of a…

SONY has been building its full-frame mirrorless system for longer than any other manufacturer, and its considerable head start over the likes of Canon and Nikon translates to a much wider lens range. Not only does it offer 30 full-frame lenses of its own, but its early decision to open up the E mount to third-party manufacturers means that plenty of excellent alternatives are available from the likes of Tamron, Samyang, Sigma, Voigtländer and Zeiss. Overall, there's such an embarrassment of riches that narrowing it down to three lenses has been particularly difficult. This is especially the case when it comes to picking a standard zoom, where Sigma's 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art looks like a strong contender, while the Sony FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM is superb, but huge and…

IT'S TEMPTING to view the entire Micro Four Thirds lens range as one homogenous whole, but while you can happily use Olympus lenses on Panasonic cameras and vice versa, you'll often get the best performance by sticking with one brand. This is especially true with Panasonic, as its Depth from Defocus autofocus technology works most reliably with its home-grown lenses. Many of its lenses also boast optical stabilisation, which works in concert with the in-body stabilisation found in its more recent cameras for enhanced effect. Panasonic offers an even wider choice than Olympus, with 30 different lenses. The set we've chosen showcases Micro Four Thirds' ability to offer a vast focal-length range with high image quality, via three superb zooms. Together, they cover a staggering 16-800mm equivalent range, while weighing…

AT THE time of going to press, controversy was still swirling about the devastating effect Covid-19 was having on care homes and their especially vulnerable residents. This image by Tom Maddick is particularly poignant – many care home staff have also succumbed to the virus – but positive and uplifting at the same time. The image is being used by the National Portrait Gallery to promote Hold Still, an ambitious project to create a unique photographic record of the UK as it continues to deal with the outbreak (the project is also spearheaded by the Duchess of Cambridge). You can still submit images until 18 June, and they should be based on the themes of Helpers and Heroes, Your New Normal and Acts of Kindness. One hundred shortlisted portraits will…

CANON was a latecomer to the full-frame mirrorless market, but since the arrival of its first two full-frame cameras, we've seen the selection of RF-mount lenses for the EOS R system grow steadily beyond the four lenses that were initially announced alongside the Canon EOS R. It'll take years, decades even, before the number of RF lenses exceeds the vast selection of EF-mount lenses Canon has produced for its DSLRs since 1987, but already we've seen some superb examples. With the company's most advanced mirrorless camera – the EOS R5 – apparently days away from its official release, Canon has clearly set its sights on making sure it has a strong lineup of fast, premium lenses waiting in the wings. Three of Canon's finest RF lenses form what the manufacturer…

WITH a good head start on some of the latecomers to the mirrorless market, Fujifilm isn't short of lenses for its popular X series. If you head to Fujifilm's website and study the range of X-mount lenses, you'll find no fewer than 17 primes covering focal lengths between 14mm and 200mm, with 12 zooms covering a range of 8mm to 400mm. The number of third-party options is somewhat limited due to Fujifilm's hesitancy to share how its sensor and AF systems work with the likes of Tamron and Sigma, but manufacturers like Samyang produce excellent manual-focus lenses for Fuji X-series cameras and Zeiss Touit lenses have an advantage in that they support autofocus. Picking three lenses wasn't an easy task, but if we had to head out with any we'd…

Named after one of nature's most fearless mammals, Interfit's original mains-powered Honey Badger stood out from the entry-level studio head market with its well-rounded specifications, competitive price tag, and garish yellow colour scheme. With its compact size, it was pleasingly portable, but its use was restricted to places where a power outlet was available. With on-location portraiture extremely popular, especially among students and enthusiasts who don't have regular access to a studio, it was only a matter of time before a wirelessly powered variant was developed – enter the Honey Badger Unleashed. This battery-powered head promises to go toe-to-toe with other wireless entry-level options from the likes of Godox and Phottix. But have the changes made in its evolution been a welcome sacrifice for flexibility, or endangered its sibling's success?…

Lenses Interchangeable lenses come in a huge array of types for shooting different kinds of subjects IN GENERAL, the easiest way to expand the kinds of pictures you can take is by buying different types of lenses. For example, telephoto lenses let you zoom in on distant subjects, while macro lenses enable close-ups of small objects. Large-aperture lenses allow you to isolate subjects against blurred backgrounds, or shoot in low light without having to raise the ISO too high. Meanwhile, all-in-one superzooms cover a wide range of subjects, but usually with rather lower optical quality. Lens mounts Each manufacturer has its own lens mount and most aren’t compatible with one another. For example, a Canon DSLR can’t use Nikon lenses, although you can use independent brands if you get them…