Innholdsfortegnelse for 02/01/2021 i Amateur Photographer

TAMRON has announced a premium standard zoom for Sony APS-C mirrorless cameras, which combines a 4.1x zoom range, constant f/2.8 maximum aperture and built-in optical stabilisation. The Tamron 17-70mm F/2.8 Di III-A VC RXD provides a 25.5-105mm equivalent range and features a new dedicated processor to control the image stabilisation system and optimise its operation for different shooting situations. There are 16 elements in 12 groups, including two glass-moulded aspherical and one hybrid aspherical elements to maintain high resolution from centre to corner. Two low-dispersion glass elements are also included to suppress chromatic aberration, and the lens supports in-camera corrections for distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting. Despite its extended zoom range, the 17-70mm is only fractionally larger than the firm’s 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III RXD for full frame. It measures…

Every season brings with it a long list of opportunities, and none is arguably as potentially transformative as winter. Long gone are the rich, warm tones of autumn, and with the verdant foliage of spring a distant forecast, winter can sometimes feel like a lifeless and dark time of year. But it’s not all bad for photography; there are many advantages for landscape and outdoor photographers, not least beautiful frosty mornings, the potential for snow that magically transforms scenes and, of course, the fact that golden hour occurs at more civilised times of the day than in summer, for instance. Civilised golden hour One of the best aspects of deepest winter, especially if you shoot landscapes year-round, is that sunrise is around 8am and sunset is around 4pm, which means…

Many of us unfortunately live in areas where snow and heavy frosts are uncommon, which means that to experience the best of these conditions we need to travel. Day trips can work well within a three-hour drive, which results in a long day if shooting sunrise and sunset. As a result, the best way to fully immerse yourself in an area is to spend two or more days there. Staying in a hotel or B&B is a cost-effective option, but if you’d like to stay closer to the locations you intend to shoot, hiring a campervan is the best option by far, and with diesel heaters they’re as warm and cosy as any hotel room while offering a wealth of convenience to photographers.…

HDR, or high-dynamic-range photography, is a shooting and editing technique that can be used to capture detail throughout high-contrast scenes that are outside of the camera’s ability to record in a single image. By taking three or five bracketed exposures, two stops apart, to capture detail from the deepest shadows to the brightest highlights, you can maintain detail throughout the scene without the need for ND grad filters, which are extremely problematic in snow and rain. Make sure the camera is mounted on a tripod, because the exposures to capture shadow detail are often too slow to handhold the camera, plus you want no movement of the camera between shots. You must also make sure that focus, aperture and ISO remain fixed for each of the bracketed exposures, and that…

Cost of Leicas Having read letters about the cost of Leicas recently I thought I’d add my own story. I previously owned a Canon EOS 5D Mark III plus two L series lenses – a successful camera generally held in high esteem. The introduction of the Leica SL2 attracted my interest and, after doing many hours of research, I traded in my Canon system for one with an APO-Summicron-SL 50mm f/2 ASPH lens. Having owned it for six months now I am absolutely delighted with it and personally believe it to be so much better than my previous camera. Sadly I feel the photographic press don’t give Leica the appreciation it deserves, letting the initial cost cloud their judgement. However, taking my own example, an initial cost of £10,000 over…

Leica is indelibly associated with black & white photography. Its unique position within the market, making low-volume, high-priced cameras, also allows it to deliver concepts that mainstream makers simply couldn’t contemplate. Put the two together, and it’s no surprise that it’s the only company to have produced full-frame cameras dedicated to shooting in black & white. Indeed, its third-generation M10 Monochrom, which arrived earlier this year, is very special indeed. With the new Q2 Monochrom (which, for the sake of brevity, I’ll call the Q2M from now on), the firm has transposed the idea to a different type of camera. Based on last year’s Q2, it employs a 28mm f/1.7 optically stabilised lens that’s fixed rather than interchangeable. It also uses a new version of the Q2’s 47.3MP full-frame CMOS…

Filter manufacturer H&Y is known for its innovation when it comes to designing and developing products. Two years ago, we reviewed the company’s quick-release filter system that’s based around magnetic frames for fast attachment and removal of filters in the field. We were impressed and awarded the genuinely useful filter accessory our recommended award. Earlier this year, we briefly reported on H&Y’s latest concept – the RevoRing, which is touted as the world’s most advanced step ring adapter. So how exactly does it work? The RevoRing has been designed as a solution to the problem that not all screw-in filters fit every lens and that having to use step rings to adapt them can be time-consuming and a bit of a faff. The idea of the RevoRing is that it…

SIGMA has announced three primes for full-frame mirrorless cameras, to be available in Sony E and Leica L mounts. These 24mm F3.5, 35mm F2 and 65mm F2 optics share features and design philosophy with the firm’s 45mm F2.8 DG DN, with which they form a new ‘I series’. They’re designed to deliver superb image quality on a par with the firm’s highly regarded Art-series optics. First up, the Sigma I series 24mm F3.5 DG DN | C is a compact wideangle that measures 64mm in diameter and 48.8mm in length, while weighing 225g. It employs 10 elements in 8 groups, including one SLD element and three aspherical elements to suppress optical aberrations. A stepping motor is used for autofocus, with an impressive minimum focus distance of just 10.8cm providing half…

When we were young: Memories of growing up in Britain £18.95, Hoxton Mini Press, hardback, 208 pages, ISBN: 9781910566879 Compiled by Lee Shulman, creator of The Anonymous Project, these unknown yet strangely familiar photographs provide a unique window into past lives. Each image, shot on colour slide film in Britain between the ’40s and ’70s, shows us a world of forgotten memories that will be instantly recognisable to anybody who grew up at the same time. Lee Shulman’s mission to save and restore found but forgotten captures means he has now reached almost 800,000 individual slides. The images in this book represent just the UK ones. As he says in the introduction, ‘Amateur photography has an incredible truth to it. The relationship between the photographer and subject is almost always…

1 Merge to HDR Locate your bracketed exposures in Lightroom, left mouse click on the first, hold down Shift and left mouse click on the third or fifth exposure so that all are selected. Next, right mouse click on the selected images and go to Photo Merge>HDR when the menu appears. Make sure Auto Align, Show Deghost Overlay and Create Stack are checked before trying different Deghost Amounts starting with High and working down as low as you can go using the red overlay as a guide. 2 Apply adjustments Apply all the adjustments you normally would, such as White Balance, Exposure, Contrast and Lens Corrections etc. Once you’re happy with the basic look of the image, use the Shadows and Highlights sliders to recover detail in the respective tonal…

Chris Killip Documentary photographer and educator (1946-2020) ALTHOUGH born in Douglas on the Isle of Man, Chris Killip became best known for his depictions of the people and the de-industrialisation in the North East of England. Killip started off as a freelance commercial photographer in the 1960s, before turning to documentary photography. His first major body of work became his seminal series, In Flagrante, which he shot on a 5x4in camera in the North East between 1973 and 1985. A photo book of the same name was published in 1988 and Killip commented, ‘History is what’s written, my pictures are what happened.’ Killip was never afraid to tell hard-hitting yet deeply human stories. His friend Martin Parr commented, ‘Chris is without a doubt one of the key players in post-war…

Filters Coloured filters can be used for controlling the image contrast and tonality, just as when shooting black & white film, via a standard 49mm thread. Hood The supplied metal hood screws on to its own, separate thread. It’s very effective at shielding the lens, but completely blocks access to the filter thread, so has to be removed when you want to add or remove one. Battery Power is provided by the same BP-SCL4 battery as the Q2 and Leica SL2, which is rated for 350 shots. The battery fits flush with the baseplate, rather than behind a door, and is released using a separate lever. It can only be charged externally. Card The SD card slot is found behind a neatly designed baseplate door, and accepts high-speed UHS-II type…

DSLR 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…

ACCORDING to a survey by Currys PC World and Canon, nearly a fifth of photographers are considering a change of career due to a loss of income in 2020. The sectors hit the hardest are baby, family and wedding photography, mainly as a result of the pandemic and the lockdowns. The report reveals there are over 8,000 photography businesses in the UK, with the average salary being £42,212 (wedding photographers charge the highest day-rate, averaging £600 a day). Instagram’s most hashtagged type of photography is #travelphotography, followed by #foodphotography and #portraitphotography. On a brighter note, the report reckons the market is expected to recover and reach $41 billion (around £31 billion) in 2023. Read the in-depth report in full at bit.ly/canoncurrys.…

If wintry conditions favourable to photography, such as frost or snow, aren’t forecast and the landscape is looking drab, a trip to the coast could be a good bet. Many coastal locations look the same year-round, they just need good light to look their best, and the more civilised golden hour times mean you can comfortably drive to the coast for sunrise or sunset. Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire is the furthest point in the UK from the coast at just 70 miles, so we’re all within a reasonable distance of the beach. The image here was shot in January, but the warm and colourful sky belies the actual temperature and gives it a warm summery look and feel.…

When was the club founded? Paisley Colour Photographic Club was started in 1955 by photographers who wanted to explore the then emerging medium of colour photography. The club has continued to meet regularly since, initially in Paisley and now in nearby Renfrew. What does your club offer to new members? In addition to the regular meetings and teaching sessions, experienced members of the club are always happy to advise new members and to offer informal and more formal mentoring. People interested in joining the club are welcome to come along to meetings before committing to join. Image critiques are a regular part of our teach-in sessions, when members of all levels bring along images to receive friendly feedback. Describe a typical club meeting. We often have visiting speakers, speakers from…

IN A WAY, it’s almost pointless trying to assess a £5,000 camera with a fixed 28mm lens that can only shoot in black & white. It’s such a niche concept that the vast majority of photographers will never even remotely contemplate buying it. But for those who can afford it and are confident it will fit their artistic vision, the Leica Q2 Monochrom is a truly lovely camera. First of all, it’s clearly been designed by people who intimately understand how a camera should work. Leica has included intuitive physical controls for everything you need to change on a shot-by-shot basis, with quick access to secondary settings provided by the onscreen status/control panel. The firm has also provided just enough customisation to allow you to tweak the camera for your…

The RevoRing VND+CP filter is a multi-purpose camera accessory. As well as being used by photographers to create long exposures with different lenses, it allows videographers to shoot wide open to create an attractive shallow depth of field while maintaining a video-friendly shutter speed of around 1/50sec. Similarly, the variable ND enables photographers who’d like to shoot wide open with fast lenses in bright conditions to do so. The way the RevoRing VND+CP filter can be quickly attached and removed from lenses with different filter threads will also be of great benefit to photographers and videographers who work with multiple lenses under pressure. Shooting at weddings, or on a live set are good examples, where it’s not practical to faff around with step rings and you want to mount a…