Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2021 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

Josh says… This essential piece of kit keeps your hands free to operate camera equipment and rifle through your kitbag. Look for a head torch with a red light, as this will illuminate your surroundings while preserving your night vision. Head torches also alert other people to your presence so you don’t startle or bump into them. You’d be surprised how often you meet other people on a night shoot, and for that reason I always shoot with somebody else or as part of a group. If you insist on going it alone, ensure somebody else knows where you’re going and what time you intend to return.…

Josh says… We started the shoot in T-shirts – not surprising since the summer solstice was less than a week away – but even on a warm day it gets cold in the early hours. A by-product of plummeting temperatures is condensation forming on the front element of your lens. To help prevent this I’d recommend investing in a dew heater. This simple device wraps around the lens barrel and emits heat to help prevent the formation of condensation. Cold weather also causes camera batteries to drain faster. A simple tip is to store batteries in an inside pocket so your body heat keeps them warm.…

WHITE BALANCE Josh says… In Lightroom temporarily boost the Vibrance and Saturation sliders to their maximum positive values. This makes it easier for your eye to find a good balance of blues and oranges when adjusting the White Balance slider, and helps reveal the Milky Way’s true colours. SUBTLY DOES IT Josh says… Increase the Contrast and Clarity sliders to bring out details in the Milky Way. Subtlety is key if you’re trying to produce a natural-looking astro image. A good tip when editing is to leave your image and come back later. You’ll find it easier to spot overzealous edits with fresh eyes. MASTER CURVES Josh says… Use the Curves tool to tease out some of the fainter details in your images and further define the Milky Way. I…

The World is Going Upside Down THOMAS VIJAYAN Thomas selected a tree that was in water to get a good reflection of the sky and its leaves. The water formed a mirror, making the image look upside down. Then he climbed up the tree, which orangutans regularly use, and waited… Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5 Exposure: 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO5000 Wave Break JAMES RODDIE James spotted this common shag on the water’s edge from a good distance back and made a slow approach. Waves were lapping at its feet, but then a larger wave approached, enabling James to capture the moment the wave broke over the bird’s head. Camera: Nikon D7100 Lens: 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Exposure: 1/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO800 Dust Bath BENCE MÁTÉ Wild dog pups play in the…

1 WORM’S HEAD Worm’s Head is a narrow, tidal island joined by a causeway on the south side of Rhossili Bay, located on the Gower Peninsula. It gets its name due to its long, slender serpentine shape, ‘wyrm’ being the ancient term for dragon. In the past, Rhossili Bay has been voted the best beach in the UK and in the top 10 beaches in the world, and I can see why, with three miles of pristine beach. Its location is ideal for photographing sunsets whether the tide is in or out. There’s a large car park opposite the Worm’s Head Hotel and restaurant, where you could enjoy dinner and a drink before photographing the sunset. 2 4 WATERFALLS WALK Wales has some stunning scenery, but it’s also infamous for…

“Castles make great photographic subjects and Northumberland has 70 or so for you to explore 13 LATRIGG FELL The Lake District is probably the favourite place for many landscape photographers and, when the leaves start to change, it attracts them like a magnet. I prefer the Keswick area, as there is just so much to photograph there. The mountains surrounding Keswick afford some spectacular views, such as Cat Bells to the west and Wall Crag to the east. Both of these viewpoints require a moderately strenuous climb, but there’s another location that’s a short, easy walk from the car park. Latrigg Fell overlooks Keswick from the north and is reached by a small single-track road behind Underscar Hotel. There’s something to photograph in every direction. The best time is at…

One of the first things we’re taught is to expose for the highlights, because it’s much easier to bring back details in the shadows when editing. But sometimes the highlights are so bright, this method causes the shadows to clip. When that happens, it doesn’t matter how large your Raw files are or how good your editing software is, that data is lost forever. This situation is particularly prevalent when shooting a landscape towards the sun. One way to balance exposures is to use a graduated neutral density filter, but if you don’t own an ND grad or simply don’t have enough time to faff around attaching filters, auto-exposure bracketing might be the answer. This function tells your camera to take a sequence of images, each with varying exposures. How…

Compositing is one of the tasks that Serif’s Affinity Photo does best. With a few straightforward skills, we can cut out our subject and transport them anywhere we like. But there are a few important factors to consider for a successful composite. The first is your initial subject selection. We begin by making a precise cut-out using selection tools. The best place to start is usually Affinity Photo’s Selection Brush, which has a handy ‘Snap to Edges’ setting that lets us quickly isolate a person. It helps enormously if the subject is photographed against a plain backdrop like a wall, sheet or any other surface that contrasts with the subject, as this makes it easier for the tool to snap onto the edges. Once done, we can enhance the selection…

1 Tripod In order to paint a scene with our flash we need to take a series of photographs that are in perfect alignment, so a tripod is absolutely essential to keep the camera fixed throughout. We positioned ours so that we could create a frame-within-a-frame and see the sky through the gap in the stones. 2 Flash We need to light our outdoor subject in segments with a flash. A Speedlight or outdoor flash unit like the Godox AD300Pro is ideal. The flash is triggered wirelessly from the on-camera transmitter. If using a Speedlight, you can use a wireless trigger, or set it to optical remote and trigger with your camera’s pop-up flash. 3 Camera settings We need a consistent exposure throughout our series of shots, so use Manual…

I crafted my vision for Celestial Bodies by using models submerged underwater in deftly designed scenarios, photographed in my native home of Hawaii. This connection between water and space is explored in a way that shows the beauty, freedom and, conversely, the struggle and complexity of the human condition (a recurring motif in my work). The two vast expanses are juxtaposed, their order and chaos, and one’s feeling of being infinitesimal, yet feeling the wonder of being a part of the universe at large. These emotions caused the ancient Greeks and other past civilizations to look for answers in the majesty of the stars. The Celestial Bodies collection explores the human condition and spirit through the gravitationally bound structures of the universe. I’m exploring the idea of the two opposing…

MISSION: Arrange and photograph toys to create realistic scenes and convey playful narratives PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark Phillips LOCATION: Leicester, United Kingdom KIT USED: Nikon D3500, Nikon D750, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro, Benro tripod INSTAGRAM: @frame_the_toys I started photography two years ago. My main objective was to take better pictures of the kids, but when I held my Nikon D3500 for the first time, I knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship. I soon realized that I would be using it for much more than capturing a few family snaps. However, just as I started to get to grips with my passion, lockdown hit… I wanted to continue learning photography skills, so I looked around the home for subjects to photograph. That’s when I first dived…

Diffraction occurs when you shoot at high f-numbers and makes your images appear less sharp. It is caused by the way the light travels through the aperture diaphragm before it reaches the sensor. When you shoot at very narrow apertures, such as f/22, the wave pattern of the light hitting the sensor spreads out and, instead of covering just one pixel on the sensor, falls across many pixels, making the whole image look softer. So even though your depth of field is increased at apertures like f/22, the overall image becomes less sharp. It’s more noticeable on higher-resolution sensors, and can be an issue on cameras with smaller DX sensors, where you should avoid apertures higher than f/11 or f/14.…

Q I’m interested in buying the Tamron 10-24mm lens that you reviewed very favourably in a Big Test a year ago. Is it fully compatible with my D7200 camera? Leslie George A The Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD is fully compatible with Nikon DX format DSLRs and you can also use it on full-frame cameras in DX crop mode. With the latter, however, you naturally wouldn’t be able to use the whole area of the image sensor. It would be my first choice of wide-angle zoom for a DX format DSLR, as it has outperformed all competing lenses on the market in our tests. The VC HLD edition is a major upgrade over Tamron’s original 10-24mm zoom, boasting an HLD (High/Low toque-modulated Drive) autofocus system, which is faster…

1. Field of Dreams BY GARYCPHOTOGRAPHY This month’s winner is an astrophotography and landscape photography masterclass. The night sky is beautifully defined and the Milky Way is centred, hanging directly above the lone tree in the foreground. Tractor lines in the wheat field lead the eye directly towards the tree, which stands out as the only foreground object to protrude above the horizon. Truly an image that’s out of this world! Camera: Nikon D810 Lens: 15-30mm f/2.8 Exposure: 20 secs, f/2.8, ISO3200 2. Star Trails BY VIKASCHANDER This mesmerizing spiral of star trails was captured in Jordan’s Wadi Rum. Few photography techniques require more dedication and it took five hours and a whopping 576 images to form this incredible composite. If that wasn’t enough, plane trails were painstakingly removed in…

Run out of storage on your laptop or desktop computer? Or do you just need an easy, cost-effective way to backup your files? An external hard drive (HD) is the perfect solution. They offer the most storage capacity for the lowest cost and are easy to use. If you’re planning on using your external storage when you’re on the go, we’d suggest a portable hard drive or SSD instead, as they’re smaller and don’t require a power supply. But for at-home desktop use, the drives on this list are the way to go. Several forms of external hard drives are available right now: External desktop drives An external HD offers loads of storage space, and are great for most users. Even the lowest-capacity desktop drives now typically offer at least…

Spectator sports are finally back on track, and with actual spectators in tow. It’s time to rediscover the joy of nailing the action and capturing definitive sporting moments with your Nikon camera. Or maybe you’re trying something completely new if you’ve never been into sports photography before. Pretty much any Nikon DSLR or mirrorless body will suffice but, when it comes to a suitable lens, it pays to choose wisely and do some shopping around. One thing that practically always holds true is that, if you’re not fortunate enough to have a media pass, you’ll be shooting sport from a spectators’ enclosure and probably won’t be able to get as close to the action as you might like. To really cover the distance, super-telephoto lenses are the order of the…

With the best will in the world, it’s hard to justify spending big bucks on the two most expensive lenses in this test if you’re only an occasional sports photographer. Indeed, the Nikon AF-S 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR and Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM | S primes cost a card-crunching £3249/$3597 and £4699/$5999 respectively. But purchase isn’t the only option. There’s a lot to be said for avoiding the cost of ownership, and simply hiring a lens for a special sporting occasion. Companies like Hire A Camera specialize in this and offer both of these Nikon and Sigma 500mm primes in their range. The price per weekday or for a whole weekend is £90 for the Nikon and £118.80 for the Sigma, including VAT. Similar outfits in the…

£1249/$1400 It’s not often you find an own-brand Nikon that’s packed with sophisticated, late-gen technology for about the same price as competitors. Sturdily built with a weather-seal ring on its mounting plate and supplied with tripod mounting ring, this Nikon has a lot going for it. Optical highlights include three ED elements. The ring-type AF system is typically quick and quiet, and the dual-mode VR (Vibration Reduction) system is rated at 4.5-stops. Normal mode includes automatic panning detection, whereas Sport mode applies stabilization only during exposures. This leaves the viewfinder image untouched, making it easier to track erratically moving sporty action. Like the Sigma and Tamron lenses on test, the aperture is electromagnetically controlled. Performance Sharpness and contrast remain good, even when shooting wide-open, across the zoom range. AF is…

W hat does the Rolex Submariner, Fiat 500, Triumph Bonneville and Fender Stratocaster all have in common? They all started production in the 1950s and their iconic designs are still prevalent today. And now you can add 1959’s Nikon F to that list, thanks to the new Nikon Z fc. Camera connoisseurs will point out Nikon’s latest Z camera is actually modelled after 1982’s Nikon FM2, but arguably every Nikon SLR harks back to the fantastic Nikon F. Modern classics I can’t help but think of the Nikon Z fc as the spiritual successor to the Nikon Df (2013). In both instances the ‘f’ stands for ‘fusion’, and they’re both retro-looking cameras, but the similarities end there. The Nikon Df is a full-frame DSLR and was built around the same…

For many of us, uncertainty around travel will keep us firmly within our own shores this year. But our fair isles boast some of the world’s most stunning scenery, and travel and landscape pro Tom Mackie shares his top 20 favourite places to shoot in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – along with shooting tips to get the most from these locations. Our Apprentice, on the other hand, isn’t even limited to the confines of planet Earth, as he shoots the Milky Way – and beyond – with the help of astrophotographer extraordinaire Josh Dury. The Euros may be a fading (and painful) memory, but the Olympic Games are in full swing, and so we put a selection of monster sporty telephoto zooms and primes through their paces. We also…

INCREASE THE ISO Josh says… You need full control of your camera so Manual mode is a must, and shooting wide open will allow you to get as much light into the body as possible. We started at ISO800 and topped out at ISO5000 as the night got darker. The shutter speed must be fast enough to prevent star trails. FOCUS ON THE STARS Josh says… Manual focus is the best way to focus on the stars. It doesn’t matter what star you focus on, but it’s best to zoom into Live View and find a bright example to work with. The infinity marker is a good starting point, but trial and error is often needed to find each lens’s sweet spot. REMOTE CONTROL Josh says… The slightest movement when…

Josh says… Brian owns the Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i Wi-Fi Pro Pack, a great tool for anyone who wants to push their astro shots to the next level. If you shoot an exposure that’s too long you’ll end up with blurry stars (or short star trails), this is because enough time has elapsed to move your camera’s framing due to the Earth’s rotation. A star tracker moves in sync with the Earth’s rotation, allowing you to capture much longer exposures without blurring the stars. You’ll end up with the same shot whether or not you use a star tracker, but the ability to shoot longer exposures allows you to use lower ISOs and boost image quality.…

Great reasons to subscribe now! Vanguard Veo Range 32 messenger bag The Vanguard Veo Range 32 messenger bag will fit your camera with lens attached, 1-2 additional lenses, a flash and accessories along with a 13-inch tablet and a travel tripod Great savings Subscribe for 12 months and get your issues delivered to your door, plus this great Vanguard messenger bag worth £70! Free online videos Each issue, you’ll receive access to our fantastic photo project videos Option 1 Quarterly digital subscription (no gift) £50 • 13 issues of N-Photo digital edition• Apple Newsstand edition for iOS devices• Pocketmags edition for Android users• Receive the same videos, project files and ebook editions that come with the print mag Option 2 Annual print subscription £54 • 13 issues of N-Photo print…

5 OLD MAN OF STORR The view from the Old Man of Storr is probably the best in the UK, in my opinion. These ancient pinnacles, situated along the Trotternish ridge, overlook the Isle of Skye coastline to the Scottish mainland. It is a must-do location whenever I run workshops on the Isle of Skye. We would start the hike in the dark to reach the viewpoint before sunrise. The hike is on the steep side, especially towards the top, and takes about an hour to complete. There is a small car park off the A855, but it’s wise to get there early as it fills up quickly and the trail gets as crowded as the M25. I strongly recommend good outdoor clothing and hiking boots as conditions can change…

17 WIN GREEN HILL There are some beautiful landscapes in Wiltshire and Win Green Hill is a gem – though not so much a hidden one as it commands the highest point over Cranborne Chase at 909 feet. The copse of beech trees make for a wonderful subject, as you can photograph them from any angle to suit different lighting and cloud formations. Apart from the trees, the views over the surrounding countryside are stunning. I would especially recommend going at sunrise, in the hope of getting mist in the valleys, or at sunset, as I did here in this image. I was fortunate to capture mammatus storm clouds on one side of the trees in a 10-vertical-image stitched panoramic. There’s a car park a short distance from the trees.…

As conventional wisdom has it, you’ve got to avoid moving your camera at all costs, lest your shots suffer from camera shake. The usual solution is to shoot at a high enough shutter speed so that the involuntary movements we all make go unrecorded. The ‘one over’ rule dictates using a shutter speed least as fast as your lens’s focal length, so 1/50 sec on a 50mm lens. If you can’t shoot at a high enough shutter speed, then you need to pop your camera on a tripod, and for those times when you need to shoot handheld at slower shutter speeds, Nikon has developed Vibration Reduction tech, as well as in-body image stabilization for its mirrorless Z-series cameras. But in this project we’re ignoring all that and are going…

If you’re a fan of doodling, then this project will be perfect for you. We’ll look at how to transform a portrait into a piece of scribble art. It might look like a complicated effect, but it’s actually rather simple to pull off, all you need is Photoshop. We’ll begin here by cutting out our subject (using automated selection tools to speed things up), then we just hide the portrait behind a mask, grab a brush and start scribbling on the picture. Scribbling is best done with a stylus and graphics tablet, as this way you can make use of pressure and tilt to vary your strokes. But if you only have access to a mouse then it is still relatively easy to create the scribbles, as we can use…

Underexpose ambient light Before turning on the flash, we first worked out an ambient exposure that would result in a dramatic sky. As we were shooting into the setting sun, this left most of our scene in deep shade. But that’s fine, as we could use our flash to lift the areas of our choosing and leave out what’s not important. Set the flash power Turn on the flash and set it to manual, then take test shots to find the right output. To overpower the daylight we usually need the flash to be at or near to full power, especially if you’re using a modifier like an umbrella. The closer we bring the flash, the stronger the light will be. Paint the scene Move around your subject, holding the…

80 Nikon Academy This month, master depth of field in your images 84 Nikon Software Turn down the noise in your Raw files with NX Studio 86 Ask Matthew Our Nikon trouble-shooter goes above and beyond to help Aperture control Neil is Training Manager at Nikon School, the official tutoring programme operated by Nikon UK, and runs a range of online and on-location courses to help you master your DSLR or mirrorless Nikon: https://nikonschool.co.uk…

Get to the point With any camera, a specific point on a subject is only seen by the camera’s sensor as a point if the lens is correctly focused at the right distance. Otherwise the point will be recorded by the camera as a diffused circle, and not a point, which makes the image less sharp. This circle is known as a ‘circle of confusion’ and they are present in every image you take. Degrees of confusion Areas of your image can range from being slightly unsharp (a small circle of confusion) to being completely blurred (a large circle of confusion). These degrees of sharpness in an image will define how much of your image is perceived as acceptably sharp. The larger the depth of field, the more subtle the…

Q I’m very taken with the retro styling of the new Nikon Z fc. Did Nikon ever make a similarly styled DSLR? Julian Graves A Matthew recommends… The closest DSLR to the DX-format Z fc mirrorless camera is the full-frame Df. Stock of new models is very thin on the ground, but it makes a great secondhand buy Nikon Df THE DF HAS RETRO CHIC STYLING, MODELLED ON CLASSIC 35MM FILM CAMERAS LIKE THE NIKON FE RELEASED: 2013 PRICE NEW: £2339/$2749 ‘Excellent’ £1250/$1500 ‘Good’ £1000/$1300 Most Nikon DSLRs have a fairly minimalist interface, keeping the number of buttons and dials to a rather modest level. The Df follows a more time-honoured tradition. As such, it’s rich in mechanical dials that give a much more tactile and ‘hands-on’ feel to digital…

FIRST LOOK 96 Nikon Z fc Nikon’s newest camera is old-school, but packed with mirrorless tech REVIEWS 100 Z macro lenses Two new mirrorless macros! Z MC 50mm f/2.8 vs Z MC 105mm f/2.8 HELP ME BUY… 98 Desktop drives Running out of storage? No more with these external HDs BIG TEST 104 Sports lenses Don’t miss a moment with these breathtaking super-tele lenses Lab tests explained Sharpness A chart with multiple sharp boundaries is photographed, the extent of blur at the centre, mid and edges showing how many line widths per picture height the lens can resolve. Simply put, the bigger the numbers the sharper the lens. Fringing Chromatic aberration is visible as purple or green fringing around high-contrast boundaries, caused by different wavelengths being focused on different areas…

£649/$649 It’s been a long wait for an own-brand Nikon Z-mount macro lens and then, like buses, two come along at once. This one is less than half the physical length and weight of the more pro-grade Nikon Z MC 105mm f/2.8 VR S, and a shade under two-thirds of the overall price. With a 50mm focal length and f/2.8 aperture rating, it makes a very convenient standard prime for general shooting. Indeed, at just 75x66mm and 260g, it won’t take up much room in your kit bag or add much to your load. It’s certainly lighter than the Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S, which weighs in at 415g, while adding full 1.0x macro capabilities, whereas the bigger lens only manages 0.15x magnification at its shortest focus distance. The MC…

£849/$899 This Contemporary lens goes the full distance, stretching to a 600mm focal length, yet it massively undercuts direct competitors for price. It’s also easier on your back than the Sigma Sports zooms on test, being around a kilogram lighter. Posh glass includes one top-grade FLD element and three SLD elements. Despite the price drop from Sports line lenses, you still get the full range of dual AF and stabilization modes, an AF range limiter and two custom setup modes. It’s not as extensively weather-sealed but still has a rubber gasket on the mounting plate, along with fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. The zoom lock switch can be engaged at any zoom setting that has a marked focal length. Performance All aspects of performance are very respectable,…

£1329/$1849 From the Sports sector of Sigma’s Global Vision line-up, this lens aims for all-out performance, with no concessions to compactness. It’s nearly a kilogram heavier than the Contemporary edition, weighing in at 2860g. As with all other Sigma lenses on test, it has the full range of dual AF modes, dual stabilization modes, a two-position AF range limiter switch and two custom modes. With these, you can alter AF speed, the amount of stabilization that’s visible in the viewfinder, and more besides. More robust than the Contemporary lens, this one has a metal barrel and hood, and is comprehensively weathersealed. There are four extra elements in the optical path, including largerdiameter elements and two top-grade FLD elements rather than just one. Performance Sharpness and contrast proved top throughout our…

£1999/$2297 Nikon’s original 80-400mm VR lens, announced back in January 2000, had one of the slowest AF systems we’ve ever seen and relatively ineffective VR. This 2013 revamp addresses those issues, with typically fast ring-type ultrasonic autofocus and later-generation stabilization. The AF system has switchable modes for giving priority to AF or manual override, as featured in the Sigma lenses. VR has Nikon’s more conventional Normal and Active modes, the latter designed to cope with severe vibrations. Optical highlights include four ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and one Super ED element, along with Nano Crystal Coat. The build feels solid and dependable, with a rubber weather-seal on the mounting plate. Performance Although AF is much faster than in the original lens, which lacked a built-in motor, it’s still a bit slower…

Josh says… When it comes to astrophotography, and capturing the Milky Way in particular, the two things to look for in a lens are a wide angle of view and a fast maximum aperture. The wider the lens, the larger a slice of the heavens you’ll be able to capture, and they don’t get any wider than this manual-focus, full-frame 10mm prime – it’s the widest non-fisheye lens available. You’ll get the most out of it on a full-frame camera, but even on Brian’s crop-sensor Nikon, it still offers a pretty expansive 15mm field of view. You also want to capture as much light as possible, and its f/3.5 aperture is reasonably fast too; and while you can get wide-angle lenses with f/2.8 apertures or faster, they aren’t as wide…

It seems like a majority of the country will be planning a staycation this year and, looking at the news reports, travelling abroad seems to involve more hassle and stress than it’s worth. With so much to offer here in the UK and Ireland, it makes sense to explore what’s on our doorstep. I’ve spent much of my career travelling the length and breadth of the British Isles looking for stunning landscape locations to photograph. In the days before the Internet, I would spend countless hours scouring through books and magazines looking for possible locations. Then spend even more time travelling thousands of miles searching out these locations, some classic and some hidden gems. Now with social media platforms full of information, locations are easy to find. But to make it…

“I always tell my groups to take great care when walking along the cliff and rocks, then I slipped and cracked a rib myself! 9 GIANT’S CAUSEWAY Giant’s Causeway was formed by cooling lava 50-60 million years ago and has become Northern Ireland’s most visited attraction, with over a million visitors per year. You won’t have to share space with that many people if you go at sunset or sunrise, though. It’s located near Bushmills and became Northern Ireland’s first and only UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986. There’s a pay-and-display car park at the top of the hill next to the information centre, but is free to National Trust members. 10 FANAD LIGHTHOUSE Fanad Head Lighthouse is one of the more popular locations in County Donegal, and rightly so.…

The Nikon AF-S 600mm f/4E FL ED VR is razor-sharp, super-fast and built like a tank. It also costs well over 10K… Fortunately for us photography mortals there’s a cheaper alternative. Sure, it won’t match the ultra-high-end performance of a premium super-telephoto prime, but it’ll get you in the right ballpark. By pairing the Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR with the AF-S Teleconverter TC-20E III we were able to shoot at 600mm with an aperture of f/8. At the time of writing this combo still totalled £2278, but depending on the lens you choose (and if you’re prepared to shop secondhand) this could be a lot cheaper. Teleconverters boost magnification and come in a variety of strengths. Nikon’s current range of F-mount converters are available in 1.4x, 1.7x…

We hear portrait photographers talk about underexposing the ambient light then using a flash to pick out the subject. It’s a skill that can result in atmospheric portraits with bold skies. So why not use the same method to create a bold landscape? This way, we can underexpose the scene for a dramatic evening sky, then pick out parts of our scene with the flash. The problem is – like the neolithic burial chamber here – subjects in landscape photos tend to be larger than people, so a single flash may not be big enough or strong enough to light the entire thing. Thankfully, there’s no need to bring along an arsenal of flashes. One of the advantages to landscape photography is that – apart from the movement of clouds…

1 Combine and align Highlight the images in Adobe Bridge that you want to blend together, then go to Tools>Photoshop>Load Files into Photoshop Layers. Next, go to the Layers panel and shift-click between the top and bottom layers to highlight them. Go to Edit>Auto-Align Layers, choose Reposition and hit OK. 2 Mask and reveal Hide all but the bottom layer, then reveal and highlight the layer above it. Hold Alt and click the Add Mask icon in the Layers panel to add a full black mask, then grab the brush tool. Choose a soft-edged brush tip and paint with white to reveal the part of the hidden layer that you want to use. 3 Blend the light Carry on working your way up the layers (change the layer order, if…

MISSION: Capture evocative images of aviation at air events and museums across the UK PHOTOGRAPHER: Nigel Wood LOCATION: Worcestershire, United Kingdom KIT USED: Nikon D7200, Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD, Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary INSTAGRAM: @n1gelwood ETSY: www.etsy.me/3AJJ3QR I got into aviation when I joined the Air Training Corps at 13 and soon visited my first air show. My dad was into photography, so I borrowed his camera and my journey into film stills started. I still have his Nikon F60 and AF 35-80mm f/4-5.6D (that still works well on my D7200). I took a long pause between 1995 and 2016, but redundancy gave me the opportunity to invest in my first DSLR, a Nikon D3200 with the AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR and AF-S DX…

Optical viewfinder Looking through the viewfinder the lens is at its widest aperture, so depth of field is at a minimum. You don’t see what the final image will look like. PV button Some DSLRs have a PV button. Holding this closes down the aperture blades to show the depth of field at the selected aperture, darkening the view. Live View Live View is better for judging depth of field than PV. Use the magnify button to zoom into the image and review depth of field prior to firing the shutter. Electronic viewfinders On a Z-series mirrorless, the lens aperture blades reflect the aperture setting as you change it, so the image you see shows depth of field in real time. Focusing peaking Focus peaking gives a graphical view of…

£899/$957 body only (£1039/$1097 with lens) The Nikon Z fc is Nikon’s new retro-styled APS-C format mirrorless camera, a stablemate to the Nikon Z 50 that’s now been revealed at last after weeks of rumours. Despite technical parity with the Nikon Z 50, at first glance you’d be forgiven for thinking that the new Nikon Z fc might have been retrieved from a drawer at the back of a pre-loved camera retailer. And indeed, Nikon freely admits that its latest Z-series camera has been inspired by the iconic Nikon FM2 SLR film camera released in the early ’80s, with other design details including the adoption of a circular eyepiece for the electronic viewfinder (EVF), and an inscribed Nikon logo. It’s not the first time that Nikon has been inspired by…

£999/$999 Building on the success of Nikon’s AF-S VR Micro 105mm f/2.8G macro lens for F-mount DSLRs, this new Z-mount lens takes everything to a new level. While it delivers the same full 1.0x macro magnification at its closest focus distance of 0.29m, it has an uprated optical VR system that boosts effectiveness from 3-stops to 4.5-stops. It also adds a feast of handling finery, as well as delivering a mighty upgrade in image quality. The lens costs about 50 per cent more to buy than the Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8, which was launched at the same time, but the 105mm is a properly pro-grade lens, more than worthy of its place in the S-line stable. Key features Nikon has packed a wealth of features into this lens, which…

£1099/$1199 Tamron’s first 150-600mm lens was a good buy at the price but the G2 (Gen 2) edition is better in every way. The optical path has been redesigned and now features three LD (Low Dispersion) elements. A new mix of coatings features both regular and nano-structure variants, and a fluorine coating is added to the front element. The G2 also features more extensive weather-seals and better overall build quality. An innovative zoom lock mechanism enables you to lock the zoom ring at any desired focal length. The AF system is faster and more accurate, and the VC system is more effective, with a 4.5-stop rating and three operating modes, compared with just one in the original lens. These now include static, panning and ‘exposure only’ modes. Performance While the…

£1699/$1999 With its unique 10x zoom range, this Sigma enables you to shoot at everything from a fairly standard focal length to extreme telephoto, without having to change lenses. As such, it follows in the footsteps of the ‘Bigma’ 50-500mm but is even larger and 40 per cent heavier, at 2700g. The optical path includes three top-grade FLD (‘Fluorite’ Low Dispersion) elements and one SLD (Special Low Dispersion) element. As with other Sigma lenses on test, dual AF modes include an ‘MO’ (Manual Override) setting, in which you can override AF even when using the camera’s continuous AF mode. The dual-mode switchable stabilizer only has static and panning modes, but custom modes enable you to increase or decrease the appearance of stabilization in the viewfinder. Performance Autofocus is fast, stabilization…

£3249/$3597 This Nikon 500mm prime lens is an f-stop slower than its Sigma counterpart so you’d expect it to be smaller. As it turns out, the Nikon is much shorter, slimmer and less than half the weight, tipping the scales at just 1460g. A major factor in the downsizing is Nikon’s use of a PF (Phase Fresnel) element in the optical path. More usually featured in lighthouse and theatre stage light projection lenses, the ridged element not only enables a much more compact design, but also helps to minimize chromatic aberrations. Comparatively mainstream Nikon attractions include three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, VR with dual switchable Normal and Sport modes, and an electromagnetically controlled aperture diaphragm. Performance It’s definitely a high-performance lens, with additional AF-lock and AF-ON finery, complete with optional…

£4699/$5999 Sigma’s flagship super-telephoto Sports lens is a direct competitor to the Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4E FL ED VR, which costs £9199/$10,297, so the Sigma undercuts the Nikon for price. There’s no denying it’s a similarly weighty beast, at more than 3kg but, if you want a faster 500mm prime than Nikon’s f/5.6 PF, you won’t find any compact, lightweight options. Sigma has packed a smorgasbord of features into this lens. It has all of the handling exotica and trick modes of the other Sigma lenses on test, plus AF-ON, AF-lock and Focus recall functions with optional beep, the last with a Set button for presetting the focus distance. It all comes in a magnesium alloy barrel, and the lens comes with a carbon fibre hood. The top-grade optical path…

Everybody loves the versatility of a zoom lens, but sometimes a prime is closer to perfection. As the flagship lens in Sigma’s Sports stable, the 500mm f/4 is a magnificent beast and delivers the most scintillating performance of any lens in the group. However, there’s no denying it’s big, heavy and expensive to buy. Our second choice for all-round performance is the Sigma 150-600mm Sports although, again, it’s very weighty. The Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary and Tamron 150-600mm G2 lenses are rather more manageable, the Sigma edging ahead for features and image quality, while the Tamron is more extensively weather-sealed. The Nikon 80-400mm is smaller and lighter than any of the 150-600mm lenses and, while it doesn’t give such powerful telephoto reach, it delivers impressive image quality. Even so, the newer…