Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2017 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

DSLR • £3500/$3300 (BODY ONLY) • WWW.NIKON.CO.UK Specifications Sensor 45.7Mp FX-format CMOS (35.9x23.9mm) Crop factor 1x Memory 1x XQD, 1x SD/SDHC/ SDXC (UHS-II) Viewfinder Eye-level pentaprism, 100% coverage Video resolution Full-frame 4K UHD 3840x2160 at 30/25/24p ISO range 64-25,600 (expandable to 32-102,400) Autofocus 153-point phasedetection AF, 99 cross-type Max burst rate 7fps (9fps with grip) Screen 3.2-inch touchscreen, 2359k dots Shutter speeds 1/8000 sec to 30 sec, bulb, time Weight 915g Dimensions 146x124x78.5mm Power supply EN-EL15a Li-ion battery, 1840 shots For a long time, professional photographers have faced a hard choice. You can get a camera with great resolution, such as the D810, but no real speed; or you can get a high-speed specialist like the D5, but you then have to compromise on resolution. You could even end up…

The ability for a new model of DSLR to shoot 4K UHD video (3840x2160) is now almost taken for granted, and in that sense the Nikon D850 is no different. However, most DSLRs don’t actually use the full sensor area when recording 4K video, cropping into the centre of the frame instead, as represented by the rectangle in the image above. This changes the effective focal length of the lens being used, and can cause a real headache when it comes to calculating crop factors and the like. The D850, though, uses the full sensor area: shooting with any given lens, the field of view for 4K video will be exactly the same as the field of view for a still image.…

One of Frans’s most celebrated images, Twilight of the Giants was made in the Chobe National Park in northern Botswana in 1989. Frans captured the shot during a year-long assignment to document life in the Okavango Delta, and this image became the cover for his book, Okavango: Africa’s Last Eden. “What you see is a gathering of bull elephants at a waterhole at twilight,” explains Frans. “The colour in the image is caused by a dusty sunset. It’s the end of the dry season and all the dust creates the kind of atmospherics that turn the sky a pinkpurple, which the water reflects as well. “What makes it really magical to me is that there’s a full moon rising. I’d worked that waterhole for a while, so I’d seen these…

The vast gathering of flamingos at Lake Nakuru in Kenya is one of nature’s great events. “The flamingos move up and down the Rift Valley, depending on where the conditions are best. When I was there a number of years ago, I learned that the concentrations of birds were exceptional at Nakuru, so I went there and it was extraordinary. Half the birds were standing or resting, and the other half were feeding on shrimp. That gave me the idea to do a long exposure, to create an image where the stationary birds are relatively sharply defined and the feeding birds are very blurry. It worked out quite well here with a shutter speed that was probably about half a second.” Frans created this image in the days of film,…

The mission • Create a variety of backgrounds to simulate different bokeh effects Time • 30 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Computer screen, TV or tablet • Image file • Reflective acrylic sheet Bokeh is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens.’ The way the glass in the lens disperses light produces different blurred areas, so too does the focal length of a lens, but the main factor determining bokeh shape is the diaphragm that forms the aperture. Small blades converge to open up (f/2.8) or stop down (f/16) the aperture, and generally the greater the number of blades, the ‘creamier’ the quality of the…

The mission • Use filters to create an interesting painterly look Time • 20 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Photoshop CC W ith this tutorial we’ll show you how to transform your photos into paintings, complete with brush strokes and watercolour borders. We’ll begin by using a neat trick with Photoshop CC’s Camera Raw filter to smooth out the detail of the original image, then use other filters the complete the effect. If you have an earlier version of Photoshop, open the image in Camera Raw via Bridge to apply the settings in step one. First, open the file called paint_before in Photoshop. Go to the Layers panel (Window>Layers) and press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate the ‘Background’ layer. Rename the layer ‘Camera Raw filter’.…

Mission: To take wild photos of African animals on safari Photographer: Richie Willis Age: 44 Location : Salisbury, UK Kit: D700, Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR, 1.4x teleconverter As a graphic designer I’m used to dealing with photographs, but it’s only recently that I started to dabble in photography, mainly concentrating on aviation. In issue 50 (September 2016) I entered the N-Photo competition in association with CNP Safaris, on the back page of The Apprentice. A few months later, when I received an email to say I’d won the competition, it certainly came as a bolt out of the blue! Jump forward to June 2017 and I meet Lou Coetzer of CNP Safaris at Johannesburg airport, who will be my host for the week’s safari on the Chobe…

WHERE TO GET CAPTURE NX-D It’s made for Nikons, and it’s free! Capture NX-D is available as a free download from Nikon at http://nikonimglib.com/ncnxd As new Nikons are introduced, Capture NX-D should be the first software to support them. Getting your photographs looking sharp can be a challenge. What looks as if it’s in focus on your Nikon’s LCD screen may turn out to be soft when viewed on your PC’s bigger display. If you shoot with a wide aperture such as f/2.8, key details may become blurred due to the resulting shallow depth of field. Shooting small subjects up close (such as our pollinating bee) can cause the background to become very soft, even when using a narrower aperture such as f/7.1. Fortunately, Capture NX-D’s sharpening tools are designed…

LARGE PHOTO PRINTS Canon PIXMA Pro-10S Vs Whitewall Initial cost: £505 (In the US: Pro-10, $380) Cost per 19x13-inch print: £3/$4 Postage cost per order: Nil Delivered print speed: 5-12 minutes Maximum print size: 19x13 inches Dim ensions: 689x385x215mm Weight: 20kg Mounting options: No Frami ng options: No Initial cost: Nil Cost per 19x13-inch print: £11/$17 Postage cost per order: £6/$8 Delivered print speed: 6-8 working days Maximum print size: 59x118 inches dim ensions: n/a Weight: n/a Mounting options: Yes Frami ng options: Yes web: www.whitewall.com Cost Factoring in price and performance, the Pro-10S is currently our favourite A3+ inkjet printer. It costs £505 to buy, or $380 for the Pro-10 in the USA. Running costs per 19x13-inch photo print (A3+) work out around £3/$4, using Canon ink and paper.…

The contenders DX Format Nikon AF-P DX 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR £330/$310 Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD £580/$500 Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM £600/$700 Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED £730/$900 FX Format Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD £929/$1200 Nikon AF-S 16-35mm f/4G ED VR £900/$1100 Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM | A £1400/$1600 Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED £1449/$1900 The 1.5x crop factor of Nikon’s DX (APS-C) format cameras is great for extending the effective reach of telephoto lenses, as reviewed in last month’s Big Test. The flip side is that you’ll need very small focal lengths for wide-angle shooting. Most DX format wide-angle zooms have a range that starts at 10mm, equating to using a 15mm lens on an FX body. This gives a really…

Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 DC HSM £600/$700 MEET THE WORLD’S WIDEST DX-FORM AT LENS A couple of millimetres might not sound like much but a reduction in focal length from 10mm to 8mm makes a striking difference in viewing angle. This class-leading Sigma delivers a real wow factor when you put your eye to the viewfinder, and it’s compatible with all DX-format DSLRs. Quality glass includes four top-performance FLD (Fluoritegrade Low Dispersion) elements, to boost sharpness and contrast while minimizing colour fringing. Downsides include the omission of weather seals and an optical stabilizer. It’s also the only DX-format lens in the group with a built-in hood. However, you can fit 72mm filters to the barrel section of the two-part lens cap, for use at the long end of the zoom range.…

Wings of Winter Imre Potyo, Hungary To capture both this male winter moth’s rapid flight as well as the starlit forest (the trees to the right are silhouetted by light from a nearby village), I used an in-camera double exposure, freezing the moth’s movement across the frame with multiple bursts from a stroboscopic flash, then firing the shutter again with the focus on the stars. It took multiple attempts to create this image. Nikon D90, double exposure 50mm f/1.8, 1/15 sec, f/13, ISO1250 plus 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5, 60 sec, f/3.5, ISO1250 Picky Eaters Daniel Rosengren, Sweden Marabou storks rely on other scavengers to prepare their meals. Their tweezer?like beaks are not designed for ripping flesh but are excellent for picking up morsels – and also, when the opportunity arises, for catching…

Skeletal trees framed against the fiery dunes of the Namib desert. Frans really put the place on the map when this image, taken at Deadvlei, Sossusvlei in the Namib-Naukluft National Park, appeared in National Geographic. “It’s quite a well-known site, and lots of photographers have been there,” he points out, “but I wanted to do something a little bit different. I always look for a personal point of view. The light changes quite quickly early in the morning, so I like to put time and effort into scouting locations and I do visual sketches. Then I take some time to reflect on things and usually come up with a more definitive concept. “I call the image Ghost Trees, because they’re ghosts of their former selves. What makes that image special…

As Frans points out, mountain gorillas are very rare. “They occur only in one area in Africa, where Rwanda and Uganda and The Congo connect, and there are small populations of gorillas in all three countries. But the ones in Rwanda have received the most attention from researchers. “It’s an extraordinary experience to be eye to eye with mountain gorillas, but technically speaking it’s difficult, because they’re black and typically under a tree canopy. Here, where it was pouring with rain, the light levels were very low. “I decided to make a very tight portrait of this gorilla. He was sitting there hunched, not moving and just letting the rain come over him, and there was something almost melancholic about his stare. “The highlights – the reflective parts of his…

The mission • Get dramatic portraits with a flashgun-mounted honeycomb grid Time • 30 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Flashgun • Honeycomb grid attachment Flash might seem daunting when it comes to shooting portraits, but when used in the right way it can create spectacular results. Modifying the flash needn’t be a complex task, either. Honeycomb grids, such as the ones we’re using, control the direction of the light by shaping it into a narrow beam. These grids are ideal for dramatic lighting setups when you desire a contrasty photo with no light spill. We’re using the Lastolite Strobo Kit, which comes with a variety of interchangeable flashgun modifiers to shape and colour the light, but any kit with a honeycomb grid will…

SURREAL COMPOSITE The mission • Build a surreal scene using a mirror and Photoshop compositing techniques Time • 3 hours Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Wireless release • Tripod • Circular mirror • Bucket and spade • Remote release We photographers love a good reflection, don’t we? Whether it’s a mirror-like lake, a perfect puddle or a fleeting moment caught in a window, reflections are ripe material for all kinds of dynamic photographs. As a visual device, reflections also lend themselves well to surreal or conceptual photographs. So in this project we’re going to use reflections in a slightly unusual way, by creating an endless landscape of mirrorlike pools – and all we need for this is a single circular mirror. Of course, we…

SEASCAPES Introduction On the East Sussex coast, in Rye Harbour nature reserve, Alan and Michael met up to start their seascapes masterclass, but the weather was not in their favour. It was early morning and there was bright, direct sun, with no cloud. Their luck changed in the afternoon when thunderstorms built up over the land and soon spread across the sea for some dramatic images. Technique assessment FULLY MANUAL MODE Michael says... Alan started shooting in Aperture Priority mode. However, when shooting images with stark contrast between highlights and shadows, you need to push the shadows a bit brighter, which means you also have to engage exposure compensation. I recommend using Manual mode instead for full control over exposure, without having to worry about exposure compensation. APERTURE AND ISO…

SEASCAPES Pro’s killer kit Cotton handkerchief Michael says… Use a cotton handkerchief to wipe down sea spray on your filters or lenses. In my experience, microfibre cloths smear the glass and leave streaks. A cotton handkerchief is more absorbent and so removes the heavier sprays from the glass. Just remember not to blow your nose on it! Loupe A loupe is a device that fits snugly over the rear LCD on the back of the camera and magnifies the image on the screen, which is viewed through an eyepiece that shields out ambient light to provide a crystal-clear, glare-free view of the display. Using a loupe out in the field is absolutely crucial when you need to be able to make informed decisions about such things as white balance, exposure…

YOUR PROJECTS CRITIQUED WANT YOUR PORTFOLIO REVIEWED? EMAIL YOUR SHOTS TO mail@nphotomag.com My photographs of Yosemite are designed to represent winter in the national park. It’s a magical time of year. The storms make the weather unpredictable and at times frustrating, but when conditions line up just right, the foggy mood mixed with the snow-capped peaks make for some amazing photos. I only had one weekend in the park so I had to move quickly to capture everything I wanted. Light on Yosemite Valley [1] was shot while waiting for the famous Firefall event, when the setting sun hits Horsetail Fall at just the right angle to illuminate the upper reaches of the waterfall. The sun was casting some amazing shadows across the valley floor, so I hiked above the…

Colourist thinking can solve problems in planned photography, or simply bring enhancement. Most planned photography is in the studio, where colouring parts of the set through lighting is a standard technique, such as adding a tungsten warmth to a daylight-balanced main light, or the popular teal-orange used in colour grading in movies (and making its way into stills shooting too). Those are calculated decisions, and useful enough, but more interesting and less predictable is what I call borrowing colour in an impromptu location shoot. One of the most typical situations is searching for a setting and backdrop against which to arrange still-life subjects or a person. In a normal way, the setting would become a part of the image, but the colourist approach is to take from it just its…

23 FEBRUARY, 2014 • SOCHI, RUSS IA • NIKON D4 Born in 1985, Joel Marklund is the chief photographer of Bildbyrån, Sweden’s leading sports photo agency. Based in New York and Stockholm, he has covered numerous international sports events, including five Olympic Games and the recent IAAF World Athletics Championships in London. Visit www.joelmarklund.com The men’s ice hockey final is one of the highlights of the Winter Olympics, and Joel Marklund was determined not to miss a shot. “I had five remote cameras during this particular game, at different angles of course, to cover everything that can happen,” he recalls. One of those cameras was positioned in the ceiling above the ice rink, covering the goal mouth at one end. Choosing to place a camera in the ceiling was a…

Jargon buster E-TYPE COMPATIBILITY Lenses with electromagnetically controlled diaphragms are incompatible with the D1, D2, D40, D40s, D60, D70, D70s, D80, D90, D100, D200, D3000 and D5000. HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE Dependent on focal length and aperture, this is the shortest focus setting at which a scene is rendered sharply, right out to an infinite distance. BUILT-IN HOOD Ultra-wide lenses tend to have a built-in lens hood, and this can make it difficult or impossible to attach filters, without an additional specialist filter system. ZOOM RANGe For wide-angle zoom lenses, the minimum focal length is usually a greater consideration than the size of the zoom range. APERTURE RATING A wider aperture rating enables faster shutter speeds in low-light photography, but generally results in a larger, heavier construction. OPTICAL STABILIZATION Stabilization is less…

Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD £929/$1200 ALMOST AS WIDE AS THE BIG NIKON An imposing FX-format lens, the Tamron has the same diameter as the Nikon 14-24mm, but is slightly longer and heavier. It has a larger overall zoom range but the maximum viewing angle is marginally less, at 110 degrees compared with the Nikon’s 114 degrees. It’s also only about two thirds of the price, making it one of the least expensive FX-format lenses in the group. It matches the Nikon’s fast f/2.8 aperture rating but adds optical stabilization, with roughly a 2.5-stop effect according to our tests. Highgrade construction incorporates a large XGM (eXpanded Glass Moulded Aspherical) element in the front group, nano-structure coatings, weather seals and a fluorine protective coating on the front element. Performance…

Available now Excerpted with permission from Into Africa by Frans Lanting (Earth Aware Editions, 2017, available at bookshops everywhere). An exclusive Collector’s Edition of Into Africa is also available from the Lanting Studio: gallery@lanting.com. Frans Lanting is the wildlife photographers’ wildlife photographer. He pioneered a less literal, more conceptual approach to capturing images of nature, and his efforts have been rewarded by awards and acclaim throughout his career at National Geographic and beyond. Frans and his wife, Christine Eckstrom, are prolific authors, too, and their latest book, Into Africa, is a celebration of the diverse landscapes and wildlife that make up the continent – and a showcase for Frans’s skill with a Nikon camera. Following his landmark Into Africa exhibition, produced as a partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of…

Frans captured this shot of two wild dogs circling each other and literally nipping at each other’s heels in the Luangwa Valley. “It could potentially be lethal behaviour if they were serious, because nipping at the heel of prey is what helps to bring it down, but here it’s just play. What I like about the image is that it’s hard to make heads or tails of it.” Although it might not at first appear as technically demanding a shot as, say, capturing a cheetah with legs splayed wide mid-sprint, there’s a lot going on here. Timing the shot to get that perfect central positioning and freezing the peak moment of behaviour is a challenge, compounded by the fact that Frans was having to follow the action through a very…

The mission • Capture the feeling of speed from a moving car Time • One hour Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Wide-angle lens • Monopod The trick with these shots is to get the camera as stable as possible inside the car to take advantage of the car’s suspension With a combination of the right shutter speed and a clever camera setup, it’s possible to unearth a hidden speedy shot without breaking the speed limit. Shooting from the passenger seat of a car, we’ll see how using a slower shutter speed will help turn the passing surroundings into a blur to capture the feeling of zooming down country lanes. We’ve hired a convertible BMW car for this shoot so we can position our Nikon…

The mission • Use colour profiles and Lightroom’s Print settings to make your printouts better Time • 15 minutes Skill level • Beginner • Intermediate • Advanced Kit needed • Lightroom CC When you print out one of your digital photos, do you get frustrated when it doesn’t look the way it did on-screen? This is because your screen and your printer each produce a different range of colours, so the same photo can end up looking very different in each medium. One of the ways to address this is to take more care in the way you print your photos. It’s always worth using a colour profile for your printer: this is a reference file that describes which colours your specific printer model is capable of producing, so that…

Nikon School photography workshops cater for every level of photographic ability, whether you are new to taking photographs, a keen amateur or a professional. Nikon School offers a wide range of workshops suited to individuals wanting to learn more about photography or expand their creative horizons. Courses will help you improve your skills, develop your eye for a photo and learn to take control of your camera. Workshops are a mix of easy-to-understand theory and practical assignments. They’re attended by small groups of up to 12 delegates to ensure that everyone can benefit from the expert knowledge of tutors. From understanding your Nikon DSLR and lenses to image editing; from street shots to inspiring landscapes; the school’s workshops cover a variety of skills and subjects. Workshops take place at either…

Our Apprentice says… For my next shot, Michael suggested I use a hard graduated neutral density filter to darken the sky above the horizon line. This meant I could expose for the sea without overexposing my highlights in the sky. I switched to the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto lens and zoomed in to 92mm to isolate a few stanchions (uprights) in the water. Michael explained that I shouldn’t allow the stanchions to ‘kiss’ the horizon, and they should either sit proudly above the horizon or down below it. I liked the look of placing the uprights below the horizon, because it felt more inclusive. Expert insight Use two hands Michael says… You should always use two hands when positioning your filters in the filter holder. This is especially useful when…

Expert insight Spikes Michael says… Long spiked feet on tripods are great for just about any outdoor situation, because they make the tripod more stable. They sink down into soft mud and sand to create a stable footing, or slip into fissures in rocks. Contrary to what you might assume, rubber feet can slip on moss-clad rocks or muddy areas, but the spikes won’t do that, making them a much better choice. Be our next Apprentice If you’d like a chance to be the next N-Photo Apprentice,please email mail@nphotomag.com with Apprentice as the subject line, or fill in this form. Return this form to… The Apprentice, N-Photo Magazine, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA, UK Our Apprentice says… Heavy thunderstorms had rolled over the sun, creating soft shadows across…

LETTER OF THE MONTH Hawkeye I gave up reading photo magazines some time ago – but earlier this year I went to The Photography Show, where I came across N-Photo. I was immediately hooked again. Not only was it a good read, but it was so informative about the cameras that I have. I took out a 12-month subscription there and then – and lo and behold, they gave me a free camera bag, too! Since then I have been out and about with my Nikon. While on my regular morning walk, I could not believe what was coming towards me: a man with a hawk on each arm. He told me he was taking his birds for a walk. So I used my D800 and 28-300mm lens to snap…

Profile • Since 2013, Emanuele Biggi has co-presented the popular prime-time TV programme Geo on Italy’s Rai 3 network. • He specializes in macro photography, particularly the exotic species of insects, reptiles, amphibians and arachnids that inhabit the varied jungles of Borneo and Madagascar. • Emanuele has a degree in natural sciences and a PhD in environmental sciences. • His photographs have been published in some of the world’s leading nature magazines, including BBC Wildlife, Focus, Geo, Ranger Rick and Science Illustrated. Comacchio, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, is home to the Asferico international nature photography competition and festival. It’s spring and I’m sitting down in Comacchio with one of the keynote speakers, photographer and TV presenter Emanuele Biggi. He may not be well-known outside of his home country, but in…

Nikon AF-P DX 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR £330/$310 NIKON’S NEW LIGHTWEIGHT CONTENDER ADDS VR This new wide-angle zoom is less than half the price of Nikon’s more upmarket and well established 10-24mm lens, also on test. It’s only half the weight as well, with a smaller, lightweight construction that features a plastic rather than metal mounting plate. The zoom range and widest available apertures are smaller, but it matches the older lens for maximum viewing angle. It’s Nikon’s first and only DXformat wide zoom to feature VR (Vibration Reduction), with roughly 3.5-stop effectiveness. It also has a virtually silent AF-P stepping motor autofocus system, although this makes the lens incompatible with a large number of DSLRs – see left. It’s the only lens in the entire group to lack a focus…

Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HS M | A £1400/$1600 SIGMA GOES TO EXTR EMELY SHORT LENGTHS The Mk II edition of Sigma’s 12-24mm has long been renowned for its whopping maximum viewing angle, equalling that of the 8-16mm lens in the DX camp. The ‘Art’ edition is a newer, more upmarket edition with a constant-aperture design. It’s considerably bigger and heavier, but is still only about the same weight as the Tamron 15-30mm and Nikon 14-24mm lenses. Improvements over the Mk II edition include upgraded optics with an extra-large diameter aspherical element at the front and five FLD elements. Fluorine coatings are applied to the front and rear element, and the mounting plate gains a weather seal. As with both Tamron lenses on test, the lens is compatible with an…