Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

FOCUS AND FRAME Ines says… I use Manual mode or Aperture Priority. I set Focus mode to Single-servo AF and AF-Area mode to Single-point. You need to work quickly when photographing children. Locking focus and re-framing is quicker than moving the focus point with the D-pad. BACK-BUTTON FOCUSING Ines says… I was told about backbutton focusing one day and have never looked back; your camera never hunts when you press the shutter button. I prefer to use AF-S, but with backbutton focusing you can just use AF-C, because when you take your thumb off the AF-ON button it locks focus. APERTURE Ines says… You want everybody in focus when working with groups, so aperture is important. I won’t go below f/3.5 (or ideally f/4). For single subjects I might go…

The Mission Assess your camera’s performance when shooting at high ISOs Time 40 mins Skill level Beginner Kit needed Tripod TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC In digital photography increasing ISO amplifies the electrical signals produced when light hits the camera’s sensor – this allows you to shoot at faster shutter speeds in lesser light. However, the higher the ISO the more the signal has to be amplified and the payoff is an unsightly artefact called ‘noise’. It is possible to reduce noise in post-production and even in-camera (if your device boasts the necessary features). But this will impact the image’s detail, so it’s always best to strive for the best image quality possible first. And to do that, you need to know the limitations of your camera. Unfortunately, some…

The Mission Use a neutral density filter to photograph a minimalist seascape Time 30 minutes Skill level Intermediate Kit needed ND filter Tripod TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC If you regularly forego heading out with your camera on days with grey skies and muted lighting, you may be missing out. Drab weather is ideal for shooting minimalist seascapes and is the perfect chance to brush up on taking long exposures. We braved the wind, cold weather and the occasional shower, and headed to the Philip Lucette Beacon in Shaldon. The lone subject, surrounded by sea and sky, provided us with a fine minimalist composition. We used a 10-stop ND filter to achieve a six-second exposure, which enabled us to smooth out the sea and soften the clouds. Arguably the…

TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC Where to get Nikon Manual Viewer 2 IT’S MADE FOR NIKONS AND IT’S COMPLETELY FREE! – Manual Viewer 2 lets you store digital manuals for Nikon gear on smart devices. It’s available for iOS and Android, and can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play for free. One of your New Year resolutions may have been to master your Nikon’s manual controls instead of leaving it set on Auto. For example, you may need to manually adjust exposure to reveal detail in a bright sky; a backlit subject may need a burst of flash to stop it becoming a silhouette; when shooting in a cathedral you may want to stop the flash from popping up automatically and increase the ISO speed instead.…

MISSION: Use macro photography to express my way of looking at hidden worlds PHOTOGRAPHER: Matteo Trentin LOCATION: Trento, Italy KIT USED: Nikon D7100, Sigma 150mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro, tripod, LED panels, focus rail WEBSITE: www.mtrentin83.wixsite.com/tinyworld www.facebook.com/matteotrentinfoto I started getting interested in macro photography back in 2012. A friend lent me a macro lens, just for fun, but within a few shots I had fallen in love with the genre. I started to document plants at first and soon moved onto insects – the real protagonists of these hidden worlds. I prefer taking images in a single shot. I think focus stacking is only necessary if you want a particularly large depth of field, or are looking to retain as much detail as possible. Timing is fundamental as…

Camkix Lens Cleaning Paper Tissue & Double Sided Cleaning Cloth From £6.20/$7.30 www.amazon.co.uk Tissue paper doesn’t immediately spring to mind when you’re thinking of ways to clean your lenses – but that’s exactly what you get in this kit, along with a 16cm-square microfibre cleaning cloth. The theory goes that you use a sheet of tissue paper to pick up loose dust and lint, then follow up with the microfibre cloth to clean away any excess residue and smears the tissue paper sheet didn’t catch initially. It may seem strange, but the system actually works. The paper sheet does a pretty good job of removing oils even without the cloth for backup, though neither quite leaves the same spotless finish as a wet cleaning system. The combo also consumes more…

£329/$297 A real lightweight, in a good way Tipping the scales at just 135g and measuring a mere 32mm when retracted, the new kit lens for the Z 50 looks and feels tiny. Indeed, the optical path is dwarfed by the enormous diameter of the Z-mount flange. Even when extended for use, the overall length is only 55-60mm, depending on zoom setting. The only minus point is the f/6.3 aperture rating at long zoom settings. The design includes four aspherical elements and one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element. New-generation optical VR has 4.5-stop effectiveness, beating that of every other stabilized Nikon standard zoom. Build quality feels good and, although the mounting plate is plastic, it’s pretty durable. Performance Sharpness is excellent, even when shooting wide-open at the shortest zoom setting, beating…

£719/$997 For a kit lens, it’s a high-quality item Although it has a retractable design, this full-frame Z-mount is much larger than the DX Z 16-50mm. It has a similar actual rather than ‘effective’ zoom range, but a faster aperture rating that remains constant throughout the zoom range. When extended, it’s about the same length as the 24-120mm f/4 lens for SLRs, despite the latter’s extended zoom. The up-market build includes an aspherical ED element, three further aspherical elements and one additional ED element. A Nano Crystal Coat is employed to fend off ghosting and flare, and there’s a fluorine coating on the front element to repel moisture and grease. The stepping motor AF system works with speedy precision in almost complete silence, and the customizable focus ring is a…

£1819/$1997 Long live the new king There’s a lot to be said for using the compact Z 24-70mm f/4 lens on a slim-line mirrorless, but this up-market f/2.8 zoom is hard to resist. The optical design includes four aspherical elements, two ED elements, plus dual Nano Crystal and ARNEO coatings, which virtually banish ghosting and flare. Keep-clean fluorine coatings are added front and back, there’s an electromagnetically controlled diaphragm, and even multiple AF actuators to boost speed and accuracy. Customizable extras include an additional control ring, an L-Fn (Lens Function) button and an OLED display. The last of these can show aperture setting, zoom position or focus distance, complete with depth of field indication. Suffice it to say, handling is a dream, and the lens is lighter than the equivalent…

Photography is all about recording the light that strikes your camera’s sensor, so it makes sense to ensure that the quality of illumination is sublime in the first place. To that end, outdoors photographer Nigel Forster explains how to anticipate great light in this issue’s lead feature, and how you can make the most of it when the conditions aren’t so hot. Our Apprentice learns to make their own light for a family portrait shoot in the studio and outdoors, complete with toddlers and pets. Most likely, you bought your Nikon with a kit lens – we compare these against standard zoom upgrades, and ask whether it’s worth splashing out the extra for your lens you use everyday. We also review the landmark Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, and are…

Light is a landscape photographer’s greatest asset and also our greatest challenge. It transforms landscapes from the ordinary, often not even provoking a second glance, to a fantastic display. In an instant it can make us want to reach for our camera in the hope of capturing that elusive, once-in-a-lifetime shot we’ve been waiting for – whether it’s a potential competition winner, top score in the local camera club or simply for your personal satisfaction! This article explores the factors which give rise to differing lighting conditions, the type of lighting you may experience, and the technical skills and creative understanding you’ll need to go home with great images. We see many images captured in different lighting conditions, whether it’s dawn or dusk, the golden or blue hours, in our…

TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC The Mission Photograph and edit a figure in a landscape Time One hour Skill level Intermediate Kit needed 35mm lens or similar Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop Adding human interest to a landscape is a fantastic way to introduce a subject to a flat scene. It also affords you a little bit more control over your composition. Social media is teeming with figure-in-alandscape photos and we’re going to show you just how effective this technique can be. We shot our sunrise image at Windermere in the Lake District. With no interesting subject, and the lake and sky dominating the frame, we would have struggled to take a traditional landscape. With our model positioned on a partially submerged rock we were able to create a…

The Mission – Use the White Balance, Colour Balance and Curves tools in Affinity to boost colour Time – 10 minutes Skill level – Beginner Kit needed – Affinity Photo TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC Affinity Photo offers an array of excellent colour correcting tools. In this tutorial we’ll look at some of the best options, from simple white balance adjustments to powerful selective colour tweaks. Along the way we’ll encounter many of the most useful colour tools and settings in Affinity Photo. Whether you have a photo with a colour cast, a portrait with unnatural skin tones, or a colour temperature mismatch, the techniques described here are sure to help. We’ll use adjustment layers to make a series of colour tweaks. These allow us to make our changes…

TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC The Mission – Shoot a cinematic head shot with a Speedlight and long lens Time – One hour Skill level – Advanced Kit needed – Fast telephoto lens, such as 70-200mm f/2.8 – Speedlight – Umbrella/softbox – Wireless flash trigger – Reflector – Light stand If you want your headshot portraits to have a vibrant, more polished look then why not try shooting in a cinematic style? With a few simple camera skills we can get the look of a film still and transform our subjects into would-be movie stars. As with most great portraits, this has a lot to do with lighting, but it’s also about knowing how to get a lovely soft background. Combine these techniques and you’ll be able to craft…

MISSION: Learn about wildlife conservation while observing and photographing animals in their natural environment PHOTOGRAPHER: Paul Ray LOCATION: Kendal, Cumbria KIT USED: Nikon D4S, Nikon D5, Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR WEBSITE: www.wildworldimages.co.uk INSTAGRAM: @wildworldimages I have always enjoyed viewing wildlife, but only recently have I been able to dedicate the time and effort needed to research photography subjects. My interest in photographing wild animals really started to develop back in 2015. I embarked on a trip to Finland to see bears, wolves, eagles and wolverines, and I wanted to have some memories to look back on. Photography seemed like the perfect way to record my trip. Bears and eagles have always been my passion. In September 2016 a cancellation afforded me the opportunity to take a trip…

Specifications Mount Nikon Z Equiv focal length (DX) 87mm Minimum aperture f/16 Maximum aperture f/0.95 Construction 17 elements in 10 groups (including 4 ED elements, 3 aspherical elements, 1 element with Nano Crystal Coat, 1 element with ARNEO Coat, 1 fluorine-coated front lens element) Angle of view FX: 40° 50’, DX: 27° 20’ Focusing Front focusing system Min focus distance 0.5m Diaphragm blades 11 (rounded) Filter size 82mm Size 102x153mm Weight 2000g £8299/$7996 The Nikon Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct is designed to show what is possible with the Nikon Z mount – and it does this brilliantly The Z 58mm f/0.95 S has always been the poster boy for the Nikon mirrorless system and for the Nikon Z lens roadmap. In many ways it has been a proof-of-concept lens…

A big zoom range is always tempting, as it gives more versatility without the need to swap the lens mounted on the camera. The trade-off is that greater zoom ranges can often compromise a lens’s image quality. Aperture ratings also tend to be narrower at the long end. As a guide, this sequence of shots demonstrates the effect of popular cut-off points for the range of DX format standard zooms, along with the ‘effective’ focal lengths in full-frame terms.…

£539/$497 The top DX dog for telephoto reach By far the largest of Nikon’s kit zooms for DX cameras, this one is also 2.5x to 3.5x the weight, at 490g. The main contributing factor is its supersized zoom, which stretches from 27-210mm in full-frame terms. Two concentric inner barrels stretch the length of the lens to achieve this, although focusing is done internally. Autofocus is driven by a conventional ring-type ultrasonic system, featuring the usual full-time manual override. Switches are on hand for auto/manual focusing and for VR on/off, and the aperture is controlled via a mechanical lever. This makes the lens Nikon’s only DX format standard ‘kit’ zoom that’s fully compatible with the whole back catalogue of digital SLRs. It’s also the only one that has a weather-sealed metal…

£1045/$1097 A high-quality kit lens for the D750 Building on the success of Nikon’s original AF-S 24-120mm VR, this second edition has a constant rather than variable aperture rating and an upgraded stabilizer. Even so, it’s been on sale for a decade now, and the 3.5-stop stabilizer is less effective than in most newer Nikon lenses. Available at a hefty discount with the D750, build quality is amazing for a kit lens. As with the newer Z-mount 24-70mm f/4, it comes complete with weather-seals and a hood. Quality glass includes three aspherical elements and two ED elements, along with Nano Crystal Coat. Conventional internals include mechanical control for the diaphragm and a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system. As such, there are no incompatibility issues with older Nikon SLRs. Performance Sharpness holds…

West Midlands’ Wild Poppies SIMON LEA Part of a portfolio of images, the displays of wild poppies are always abundant in the West Midlands. Simon says he was lucky in that, though the locations of the fields change year-on-year, you can guarantee a poppy field will pop up close by. Moss Force Autumn STUART MCGLENNON On a stormy afternoon in autumn at Newlands Pass, Stuart captured this dramatic landscape of Moss Force waterfalls. He says that this view is the most pleasing viewpoint, but was also one of the most difficult to compose. A Spider’s Path CARLO CINTHI For such a tiny spider in the garden, every raindrop can become a giant obstacle! This mini trooper continued its journey along this blade of grass as Carlo carefully captured this sublime…

Rough edit in Camera Raw Begin with a rough edit in Adobe Camera Raw. We lifted the Shadows and then decreased the Highlights significantly for a more dramatic sky. A little Dehaze boosted the trees in the background, and Vibrance and Saturation increased the colours. Finally, a bit of Clarity was used to add punch to the image. Remove detracting details We opened our image in Adobe Photoshop CC and removed anything that detracted from the scene: branches in the top-right of the frame, buoys, and buildings on the shoreline. Use the Patch Tool to draw around an item to select it. Click the selection and drag your cursor to the area you want to use as the patch. Golden light We wanted to increase the warmth of the image.…

The Mission – Boost overly dark or bright details to balance the tones in a landscape Time – 15 minutes Skill level – Beginner Kit needed – Photoshop CC or Lightroom TAP TO VIEW YOUR VIRTUAL DISC Have you ever shot a landscape under glorious conditions then rushed home to look at the results only to find they are slightly underwhelming? It’s happened to me more than once. This doesn’t necessarily mean you did something wrong, it might simply be that the image needs a little coaxing into life. Often the challenge with landscapes is in recording detail in both the brightest and darkest parts of the scene. When the sun is low in the sky this can be doubly difficult, as the highlights will be strong and the shadows…

Q I’m a bit confused about the ‘bokeh fringing’ that was mentioned in issue 105’s Big Test of portrait lenses. What does it look like in actual images? Jim Monger A When people talk about colour fringing, they’re usually referring to lateral chromatic aberration. This shows up mostly towards the edges and corners of the image frame around highcontrast transitions, for example dark branches and leaves on trees against a bright sky. Longitudinal chromatic aberration, also called ‘axial’ or ‘bokeh’ fringing occurs when a lens fails to focus all colours of the spectrum at the same point in the path along which the light is travelling. It’s mostly a problem when using ‘fast’ lenses that have a wide aperture rating. It can occur across the entire image frame, noticeable as…

Mark Seymour Profile ● Based in Windsor, Mark Seymour has enjoyed an award-winning career as a wedding photographer for over 30 years.● His awards include European Wedding Photographer of the Year and the brides’ choice as MPA UK Wedding Photographer of the Year.● A Nikon ambassador, Mark was the first UK photographer to be awarded a double fellowship for documentary photography.● He is an experienced travel and street photography tutor, leading photo workshops throughout Asia as well as the UK and parts of Europe. www.markseymourphotography.co.uk When I listen to Mark Seymour on the phone, he doesn’t sound like someone who returned home less than a week ago after 75 days away travelling across Asia. There’s no sign of jet lag or fatigue as he speaks, even though he spent most…

Whilst I was doing my duty in the Finnish marines, I was chosen as a photographer for a magazine that was published by fellow marines. This was surprising to me as I’d only spent two weeks at design and art school! Turns out, I just so happened to be the closest they could get to a photographer at that moment in time… After just a few months of shooting, I realized that photographs do not necessarily have to just be taken, but they can also be created. This was the real turning point for me, it was when I knew that I wanted to become a photographer! When I finished my duty in 2009 I sold my car and bought my first full-frame DSLR kit. It was a Nikon D700…

A standard zoom lens covers most eventualities for day-to-day shooting, so it pays to have a good one. You can buy the vast majority of Nikon SLRs and mirrorless cameras as a complete kit, which includes a standard zoom, and maybe a telephoto zoom as well. In the DX format SLR camp, standard options include the compact, lightweight and fairly unassuming AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, and the AF-S DX 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 ED VR. The hot new contender on the block is the Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR for the Z 50. For full-frame SLR and mirrorless bodies, there’s the AF-S 24-120mm f/4 ED VR and the Z 24-70mm f/4 S respectively. All of these ‘kit’ zoom lenses are solid performers, combining quick and whisper-quiet or virtually silent autofocus systems.…

£209/$247 It’s a little lens with a big heart Available as a kit lens with or without VR, the stabilized version is definitely the one to go for. Unlike the previous AF-S editions, the AF-P models use a ‘Pulse’ (stepping motor) to drive autofocus, as featured in Z-mount lenses. It’s good for stills and great for movie capture, delivering smooth autofocus transitions and virtually silent operation. Handling is also enhanced because, unlike in the AF-S 18-55mm, the focus ring remains stationery during autofocusing. The retractable design enables a small carrying size of 65x63mm, although even that looks a bit thick compared with the new Z DX 16-50mm. There’s no VR on/off switch, so you’re reliant on an in-camera option to turn it off, which is unavailable in some older SLRs.…

£989/$1067 Currently the top DX format standard zoom New meets old in this lens. It combines an effective yet conventional ring-type ultrasonic AF system with a new-generation electromagnetically controlled diaphragm. This helps to maintain accurate exposures in continuous drive mode, especially when using speedy bodies. The zoom range is an ‘effective’ 24-120mm in full-frame terms, which works out the same as with Nikon’s kit lens for the D750. However, while that one has a constant-aperture rating of f/4, the DX lens is up to a full f-stop faster at short zoom settings. High-spec glass includes four ED elements, along with Nano Crystal Coat for minimizing ghosting and flare. Like current kit lenses for DX format SLRs, it has a seven-blade diaphragm, which is well-rounded, and a 4-stop stabilizer. Performance Levels…

£1669/$2396 A hulking brute of a standard zoom Measuring 155mm in length, this is one of the biggest standard zoom lenses on the market, and it weighs over a kilogram. You’d be forgiven for assuming it had an internal zoom, but it extends even further at both ends of the zoom range. Completely redesigned a few years ago, this latest edition adds 4-stop stabilization whereas the previous incarnation had none. It also gains a new optical design, incorporating four ED elements, an HRI (High Refractive Index) element, Nano Crystal Coat, plus fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements of the lens. The 9-blade diaphragm is also upgraded with electromagnetic control. Performance The lens is capable of magnificent results but proved uninspiring in our lab-tests. It loses out to the…

This issue we got our hands on Nikon’s Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct (see page 104). It came in the beastly CT-101 Lens Case, which looks like something John Wick might use to carry his personal effects. And that’s no bad thing: if I owned an £8k lens I’d want to protect all of that lovely glass, and by all accounts it really is lovely. While nobody in their right mind is questioning the quality of what is arguably the niftiest nifty fifty (ish) in existence, the price point and indeed timing (in Z mount’s infancy) of the release has left a few forum regulars scratching their heads. Here’s what I think. Yes, £8k is a lot of money. But the Noct is far from being Nikon’s priciest piece of…