Innholdsfortegnelse for 04/01/2022 i Amateur Photographer

One of the joys of working on the world’s oldest weekly photography magazine is our sheer breadth of coverage – we aren’t just limited to writing about digital photography and we actively celebrate older cameras. As you’ll see in our cover feature on bargain cameras under £100, AP team members and readers alike have found some amazing buys covering many periods, with one of them, a Kodak Number 2 Folding Pocket Brownie, dating back to 1911. As well as still taking great pictures, it only cost the lucky owner £20. So, if you are looking for a digital or film bargain yourself, turn to page 35 for inspiration – your wallet will thank you for it. Other highlights of this packed issue include how to maintain your film camera, buyer’s…

LEICA has introduced another special edition of the Leica Q2, the Leica Q2 Reportage. It features Kevlar armour designed to protect the camera, as well as a tough green paint designed to withstand scratches and bumps. The camera itself features a 47MP full-frame CMOS sensor, a 28mm f/1.7 optically stabilised lens, and an ISO range from ISO 50 to ISO 50,000. There’s also a 3.68m-dot OLED viewfinder, a 3in touchscreen and dust- and splash-resistant construction. The Kevlar on this latest special edition is designed to age with the camera, and Leica said this may change in colour over time, with exposure to UV light. The camera has an RRP of £4,950, and it is available now from Leica UK. Last September the company also announced an 007/James Bond special edition.…

TOP US photographer Sally Mann has won the prestigious Prix Pictet prize for photography and sustainability, receiving a cash prize of £82,000. Mann’s winning series Blackwater (2008-2012) explores the devastating wildfires that enveloped the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia, where the first slave ships docked in America. ‘The fires…seemed to epitomise the great fire of racial strife in America – the Civil War, emancipation, the Civil Rights Movement, in which my family was involved, the racial unrest of the late 1960s and most recently the summer of 2020,’ she explained. ‘Something about the deeply flawed American character seems to embrace the apocalyptic as solution.’ The theme of this year’s Prix Pictet was Fire, and the shortlist included top Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi, and South African wildlife specialist Brent Stirton,…

6 January 1996 DO YOU remember the Fujifilm DL Super Mini? There’s a good chance you probably don’t, yet this little gem, once the world’s smallest 35mm AF camera, was one of very few compacts ever to scoop the overall AP Camera of the Year award, at the 1996 Awards. Today it is rarely mentioned and you see very few used ones, but at the time we loved it. ‘Without question this has got to be one of the prettiest cameras ever made,’ we gushed about the aluminium-bodied beauty, and ‘worth every penny of its £300’. Other winners from 1996 included the Mamiya 7 and Agfa Scala 200, but the most influential was the Canon 75-300mm zoom which won Innovation of the Year. ‘Canon’s new 75-300mm zoom is the first…

Rankin’s peak performance Rankin tells us how he put together an exhibition about London’s theatres Britain’s photo heritage Mike Crawford explores the history of The Royal Photographic Society Sigma 24mm F2 DG DN C Joshua Waller tests this I series lens designed for full-frame mirrorless On sale every Tuesday CONTENT FOR NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE MAY BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE…

If you’ve ever been confused by all the different labelling on memory cards, then you’re not alone – it’s almost as if they’re trying to confuse buyers, with multiple different speed ratings and labels all on the same card. Here we dive into the different options available, and help give you a better understanding of different memory card technology. SD memory cards SD memory cards are the most frequently used memory card in digital cameras, so let’s just dive right in and find out what all the labels and logos mean on the front of an SD card. Class and speed ratings explained Unfortunately, there are multiple ways in which companies will tell you how quick an SD card is. Originally it was simple – it was signified with a…

At a glance ● Brand GOMZ/Lomo ● 120mm film ● Manual focus ● Twin lens reflex camera ● Focal length 75mm ● Maximum aperture f/4.5 ● Frame size 6x6cm ● Weighs 541g ● Made from 1954/5 to 1977 THIS little Lubitel (‘amateur’ in Russian) caught my eye during a trip to Notting Hill market in 2020, and I paid a very reasonable £48 for the camera and a case. I’ve previously used medium format cameras, but never got to grips with a TLR, so I was excited to get started with it. The Lubitel 2 is a redesign of the original Lubitel model, an inexpensive Soviet medium format camera. Unlike the first model, the Lubitel 2 has a few improvements, including the introduction of a self-timer and flash synchronisation. The…

There are a great many second-hand lenses still available for the Four Thirds system, all designed and computed specifically for use with a Four Thirds sensor. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority were made by Olympus under the Zuiko Digital name. The Olympus lenses are divided into three grades: standard grade, whose lenses are superb in their own right; high-grade that offer faster maximum apertures; and super-high-grade that have constant maximum apertures over their zoom ranges. Each of the grades is divided into wideangle, standard, telephoto and super-telephoto. They comprise zoom lenses that range in focal length from 7-14mm to 70-300mm, equating to 14mm to 600mm overall in full-frame terms. In the standard and high-grade categories there are also lenses for macro and fish-eye photography. Lenses designed by Leica and built by…

If you are thinking about buying and using a Four Thirds camera, you need to accept that you are dealing with a system that is at least 12 years old and possibly close to 20. There’s no point comparing specifications with modern mirrorless cameras because you are not comparing like with like. Of course a Four Thirds camera will have nowhere near the number of whistles and bells found on a modern camera. But it will be nowhere near the price either. So what if it takes a few seconds to start up, or if there is a slight shutter lag? And who needs all those megapixels when 5MP produces acceptable images and 10MP is perfectly adequate for most subjects? Weigh up the pros and cons and you might reach…

Salvador Dali by Charles Hewitt Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali (1904-1989) clutches an ornate clock at his home in Cadaques on the Costa Brava, Spain, 8 January 1955. This image appeared in the Picture Post story ‘A Day With Salvador Dali.’ The photographer Charles Hewitt visited Dali and his wife (who was also his muse) Gala at their home. During the day, the artist took every opportunity to pose in the quirky and surreal fashion that embodied the spirit of his art works. 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 birth of photography to the digital age. Explore it at www.gettyimages.com.…

ADOBE has announced that its Spark software – used to create web pages, short videos and social media graphics – has become Adobe Creative Cloud Express. The updated tool is free, giving you access to thousands of unique templates, design assets, and Adobe fonts. A paid version, for £10.10 per month, gives additional content including millions of royalty-free photos plus 20,000 Adobe fonts. There’s also basic editing and photo effects built-in, including remove background, and animate. This lets you create content on both the web and on mobile. You can access it directly at adobe.com/express.…

It is sometimes suggested that there are no ‘objective standards’ for assessing art. But it could equally be argued that there are no objective standards supporting the view there are no objective standards for assessing art. It is just an opinion, unsupported and insupportable. Eric Gill’s opinion seems more valid: ‘Art is skill, that is the first meaning of the word’. This opinion would recognise Picasso’s work as art, but reject an unmade bed or pile of bricks – it would also reject the notion that the higher the price, the better the art! No ‘objective standards’ means ‘if someone likes something enough to put it on their wall then it’s art’ – and that dispenses with ‘art’ as a recognisable category. If I fix a thermostat to the wall,…

Selling to eBay I read with interest the letter from Mr Eric Beaton, regarding the selling fees from eBay following his sale of a Fujifilm X-Pro 2. He comments that he would rather give away his old equipment to someone who would use it and asks what other readers think. I think if he needs to find a new home for old equipment I’ll happily take it from him! Jocularity aside, I too have been caught out by selling fees so I now sell gear to an online dealer that often advertises and features in your magazine. Jonathan Saull Picture Post Thank you for the article about Picture Post (4 December). It rekindled a pang of nostalgia, as from the age of four it was my window on the big…

Henrik Spranz’s glorious image clinched the number one spot in the final round of APOY 2021, Close-Ups. And what a stunningly beautiful image to end on! Henrik’s winning shot was taken at the end of September somewhere near Vienna which also happens to be one of his favourite locations to shoot butterflies. ‘The image shows two clouded yellow butterflies,’ explains Henrik, who adds, ‘Clouded yellows are the most common butterflies you will find at this time of the year in that area.’ This photo is a part of an ongoing series that Henrik has been working on over years. ‘I try to put insects and flowers on a glamorous stage,’ he reveals. ‘I use a special bokeh technique which involves using a few electric torches and reflective material to get…

At a glance ● 35mm, phase-detection AF SLR ● Takes Minolta A-mount AF lenses ● PASM exposure modes, including Program Shift ● TTL multi-pattern metering ● TTL flash metering ● Automatic film transport system ● Optional ‘Creative Expansion’ cards ● Weighs 590g ● Made from 1988 to 1993 WHAT does £25 buy the modern photographer? A couple of memory cards, a photography T-shirt, a cheap reflector… crikey, even a posh chocolate camera sets you back £35. I, however, snaffled the following for twenty-five of your British pounds: a minty Minolta Dynax 7000i SLR complete with original paperwork, a Minolta 3200i flashgun and a 35-80mm kit lens. Oh, and a nice shoulder bag. It just goes to show that you can still get a very usable film SLR and accessories for…

At a glance ● Compact transmitter and receiver ● Comes with clip-on Lavalier microphone ● Audio cables for cameras and Android phones ● Range up to 100 metres ● £197 ● deitymic.com IF YOU shoot video you’ll know that sound quality is crucial, and an external microphone will often do a better job than the one built into your camera. The market leader here is Rode, but relative newcomer Deity wants to carve out its own share by offering well-featured products at tempting prices. Its Pocket Wireless kit is a direct alternative to the Rode Wireless Go, but with the advantage that a small clip-on Lavalier mic is included in the box. From Rode, that’s a £60 extra. To understand why this matters, we need to consider why you’d use…

‘This image has the feel of a postcard, each element carefully placed’ In 2002 I was on assignment in Belarus reporting on male longevity. The men were dying 11 years before the women and I was in the country to try to discover why. The fallout from Chernobyl wasn’t helping but that affected both men and women. It wasn’t the safest trip and I regretted eating a mushroom stroganoff in one of the most radioactive areas. Part of me was relieved to be departing for the flight home. The only people waiting to board the plane, other than myself and the journalist, were a group of children and their carers. The children were victims of the fallout from Chernobyl and were suffering devastating consequences. They were on a charitable trip…

AP picture of the week The Last Oasis by Abigail Winkle Canon 4000D, Canon 18-55mm, 2.5 seconds at f/18, ISO 100 ‘Walking through my local village taking long exposures of the traffic one evening, I began to notice the puddles which led me to look for reflections. I’ve seen some really cool reflections recently in the photography world and I was keen to try to capture my own,’ says Abigail. ‘I love night-time photography and this photograph is of a takeaway based in Chesterton, Staffordshire. With my trusty tripod in place over a rather large puddle, I began to line up the reflection with the lines in the building and took a few shots. I edited and started to bring out some of the colours using Lightroom but it wasn’t…

MORE lenses have been announced by Nikon. First up is the full-frame Nikkor Z 28-75mm f/2.8 zoom lens for Z-mount cameras. Key features include a f/2.8 maximum aperture across the zoom range, a minimum focus distance of just 0.19m at 28mm and 0.39m at 75mm, and suppressed focus breathing for video. The firm also claims that it will give natural-looking bokeh, facilitated by the large Z mount and rounded 9-blade aperture. It’s available in January for £949. The company has also announced the development of the Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S, a super-telephoto prime for its full-frame mirrorless Z range (the ‘S’ designation signifies that this is part of Nikon’s premium lens line-up). It’s a PF (Phase Fresnel) lens, the first time this technology has been used in…

Drummies by Alice Mann £40, GOST Books, hardback, 128 pages, ISBN: 9781910401668 Alice Mann’s long-term Taylor Wessing-winning project looking at the culture of drum majorettes in South Africa has finally been published in a new book, to coincide with an exhibition of the work in Rotterdam. The sport of drum majorettes has a long history in South Africa, beoming particularly popular in the early 80s. Since then, participation has dropped, but in marginalised communities across the country it is still taken very seriously and is highly competitive. For the young girls and women involved, being a ‘drummie’ is a privileged position, indicating success both on and off the field. Alice started working on the project in 2017, and it has won numerous awards. Even if you have no interest in…

Keep dry Dry your camera properly in an open dry area. Do not leave in your camera bag especially if it’s been wet and or cold. Fungus really kicks off in dark and airless conditions such as a bag, and dampness from the condensation feeds the spores. By leaving your camera in the bag you’re essentially creating the perfect fungus-growing conditions. Brush off Use a make-up brush such as a soft blush brush to gently remove heavy dust and sand so it doesn’t scratch the lens. A blower brush can be useful for this too. Don’t be tempted to blow with your mouth as spit can easily end up on the camera or lens, causing damage. Make-up brushes are widely available and don’t cost much. Strap up Sounds obvious, but…

At a glance £675 Used condition at mpb.com ● Construction: 19 elements in 14 groups ● Diaphragm blades: 9 blades ● Stabilisation: Yes ● Weight: 1,640g ● Max aperture: f/2.8 ● Minimum focusing distance: 47cm Wasps, bees, flies and butterflies have reaction times many times faster than humans, so trying to get close to these insects is often an exercise in frustration for nature photographers. However, help is at hand in the form of Sigma’s 180mm f/2.8 APO Macro EX DG OS HSM, a high-speed macro lens offering a magnification ratio of 1:1. What we said ‘Optically, the lens is excellent, resolving a lot of detail with a high level of contrast. For those serious about macro images, this is a great lens.’ ‘The maximum f/2.8 aperture should ensure the…

As its name suggests, the Trilogy 3D1000 camera was intended to make stereo photographs, in the form of lenticular prints. These are those ridged plastic images in which animated birds or animals appear quite convincingly when the print is tilted slightly. The idea of stereo photography dates back to Victorian times, and while it’s been in and out of fashion, the technique has never really gone away. I remember it being popular with camera clubs in the 1970s. Perhaps the best known lenticular camera is the Nimslo, which has four lenses and a moderately sophisticated exposure system. The Trilogy 3D is firmly at the budget end of the scale, having only three lenses and a fixed shutter and aperture. A number of similar basic models were available, often rebranded versions…