Innholdsfortegnelse for 10/1/24 i Amateur Photographer

DJI might be best known for its drones, but it’s shaping up as a serious rival to GoPro’s action cameras, too. The recently announced DJI OSMO Action 5 PRO has a new 1/1.3in sensor that promises 13.5 stops of dynamic range, a maximum photo resolution of 40MP and improved low-light performance. The new action camera also offers up to 4K 120fps video recording (at 4:3), and a 155-degree ultra-wide angle lens (9mm equivalent). For those looking to record slow-motion or high-speed video, the camera records 1080p at 240fps and the option of up to 960fps slow-motion capture. It also offers an always-on display so that you can see camera settings with minimal battery drain. The DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro is priced at £329 (standard combo) or £409 (adventure combo),…

£75, GOST, 192 pages, hardback, ISBN: 9781915423405 Sometimes books are simply a compilation of photos on a given subject, project or a portfolio covering a period in a photographer’s life. Other times, a book seems to be a true labour of love, with careful consideration put into ordering, design and layout. Larry Towell’s The History War is one such instance. Inside, we find photographs, collages and the like from his many visits to Ukraine in the past decade or so. It begins with a timeline tracing Ukraine’s evolution from the 5th century and its many years struggling for independence. The book is then divided into six narratives documenting the events and people Towell has come across. His first visit to Ukraine took place during the Maidan Revolution in 2014, where…

Technology moves fast in the camera world. It was whispered by many that the introduction of small cameras packing full-frame sensors, such as the Sony Alpha A7C R, would prove to be the death knell for the Micro Four-Thirds system. But then, somewhat unexpectedly, Panasonic launched the Lumix G9 II in September 2023. As cameras go, it had an identity crisis. Spun as a photo-centric camera by marketing staff, a detailed look at the specifications sheet proved that this was, in fact, more of a hybrid monster. It was not only capable of capturing impressive imagery, but also packed huge video features that would turn the heads of indie movie makers everywhere. I snapped up a G9 II as soon as it launched to sit alongside my other MFT camera,…

AP teamed up with Fujifilm to host an AP x Instax photowalk in London on 27 July. Attendees got to shoot with their own Instax cameras and try a few others. Each person selected one of their shots for our small competition; we selected three winners and shortlisted five. Rebecca Dilg won the top prize with her double-exposure shot taken with an Instax SQ1 she was testing out, while Tatiana Dadukina and Evrim Aytas, who were both trying the new Instax Wide 400, took second and third place. Theatre and film producer Rebecca grew up with film photography and only started using a digital camera around four years ago. She usually uses a Cosina CT-1, a 35mm film SLR. After using the SQ1, she bought an Instax Mini 12 and…

7 daysA week in photography Rafael Fernández Caballero’s stunning image of a Bryde’s whale feeding on a baitball has been named winner of the 2024 Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, organised by Oceanograpic magazine and watchmaker Blancpain. Rafael beats more than 15,000 other ocean photographers from around the world. The first Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition will open at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, on 28 November, followed by additional venues in early 2025 (to be announced). See all the winners at oceanographicmagazine. com/winners-gallery.…

7 days A week in photography Following on from the recent announcement of the Leica M-11D, the company has unveiled the latest addition to its Q range of premium compacts, the Q3 43. It comes with a fixed, optically stabilised APO-Summicron 43 f/2 ASPH lens, the rationale being that the new lens’s 43mm focal length mirrors the natural perception of the human eye. ‘A 43mm focal length may sound odd, but lenses in this range were used on many fixed-lens 35mm film compacts in the past,’ notes AP’s technical editor, Andy Westlake. ‘It’s equal to the diagonal of the full-frame sensor, and offers a very natural-looking perspective to images. Many photographers, myself included, prefer lenses in the 40-45mm range over either 35mm or 50mm.’ The Q3 43 is reasonably…

INTREPID CAMERA’S 10TH ANNIVERSARY Amateur Photographer previously featured Intrepid Camera in 2019. Ailsa McWhinnie’s article reported how the Brighton based business had grown in five years since its founder, Maxim Grew, started with a large-format camera he had produced while studying product design at university. It was a lightweight 4x5 field camera, constructed in parts from plywood and titled the Intrepid Mk1. As a marketing idea, he tried a new method of crowdfunding through Kickstarter. The funding certainly worked, with over £63,000 pledged in 30 days, leaving him with 495 cameras to build. I recently travelled to Brighton to meet Maxim and his team and see how Intrepid are getting on as they approach their tenth anniversary. I was intrigued however, to first hear how he had coped with this…

TestbenchLENS TEST It’s perhaps hard to believe, but the Nikon hasn’t made an f/1.4 prime lens for the Z series range until now, some six year after its debut. Often regarded as a sweet spot between the ability to create beautiful shallow depth-of-field effects and optics which are required to be large, heavy and expensive, it’s perhaps a surprise that it has taken so long. You might naturally assume this new Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.4 supersedes the existing Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 S lens, which was launched as one of three lenses for the Z series’ debut. However, the two will coexist, with the older f/1.8 actually being more expensive (at £899) than its new f/1.4 sibling, which costs £649. That goes against all the usual received wisdom that f/1.4 is…

Paula Wilks Paula is a photographer, artist and Lensbaby Ambassador based in the UK. With a passion for the natural world, Paula enjoys experimenting to give a different view to what the eye sees and most of this manipulation is done in-camera using Lensbaby products to alter the way that light hits the camera sensor. See more at www.paulawilks.com I’ve been using the Lensbaby Omni system for a couple of years now. I’ve used it in many ways, but I’m especially drawn to the effects when I use it for seascapes. My favourite images are based on what could be a nice minimalist composition with a focal point of interest and plenty of space for adding the Omni effects. Examples here include rocks exposed by the receding tide in Devon,…

DxO has announced the latest version of its photo-editing package, PhotoLab 8, featuring DeepPRIME XD2s. This is the new iteration of the company’s acclaimed raw-processing technology, and DxO claims it gives ‘unprecedented levels of noise reduction and detail extraction… photographers can use higher ISO settings with confidence, breathe new life into old shots, and enjoy previously unseen image quality from even the latest cameras.’ Lens softness compensation has also been enhanced via DxO’s Optics Modules, which are mathematical models developed from observing the performance of each lens across the entire field of view and focal range. DxO claims its new lens softness algorithms reveal detail without adding fringing artefacts in high-frequency areas. To help you select individual hues for targeted editing, a new Hue Mask tool gives more options for…

YOUR PICTURES IN PRINT When was the club founded? Western Valley Camera Club, founded in 1954, is based at Cross Keys Rugby Club in the beautiful valleys of south-east Wales. We are part of the Welsh Photographic Federation of clubs (WPF). What does your club offer to new members? New members are very much welcomed. They are allowed to visit the club on three occasions before deciding if they would like to join via our Annual Membership scheme. We aim to provide a varied programme of evening meetings which feature the following broad topic areas – competitions, practical sessions, demonstrations, talks, and presentations from members and quality external speakers. Describe a typical club meeting We meet at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start each Thursday unless we are out and about…