Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2016 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

Paul Grogan Editor What’s Paul been up to? He’s been hard at work on N-Photo’s new design, making your magazine even better. paul.grogan@futurenet.com Jason Parnell-Brookes Staff Writer Jason’s work has literally gone to the dogs – he spent a day on location shooting pet portraits with this issue’s Apprentice. jason.parnell-brookes@futurenet.com Ali Jennings Lab Manager He’s still waiting to get his hands on the new Nikon cameras, but our group test of standard zoom lenses kept Ali busy. ali.jennings@futurenet.com Angela Nicholson Head of testing Angela’s already had her hands on the new Nikons, at CES 2016 in Las Vegas. Frankly, we’re amazed she gave them back… angela.nicholson@futurenet.com Our contributors Stuart Adams, Kaitlin Ainslie-King, Ben Andrews, Michael J Brown, George Cairns, Daniel Cheong, Michael H Davies, Brian Hammonds, Geoff Harris, Felix Inden,…

D500: What Nikon did with the D4s, it’s now done with the D500, this time adding one slot for regular SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards and one for the XQD format. This way, users can upgrade from another model, but still use their old SD cards, and migrate to the XQD format later. The use of the XQD format is another indication that Nikon is treating the D500 as a fully professional camera. D5: Like the D4s before it, the D5 has twin card slots. But the D4s offered one XQD card slot and one for CompactFlash as a concession to pros with stocks of expensive, high-capacity CompactFlash cards. With the D5, though, Nikon has bitten the bullet and gone for twin XQD slots… well, almost. It will also be possible to…

The D5 and D500 are the first Nikon D-SLRs to shoot 4K video, and not before time, some might say. Nikon faces increasing competition not just from other D-SLR makers, but mirrorless models like the Sony A7 series cameras and Panasonic’s fast and powerful 4K Micro Four Thirds models. Video is a contentious topic, and many traditional photographers object to its presence in their cameras at all, but for others it’s a professional necessity as clients start to demand not just stills photography in their briefs but video too. Regular stills photographers may be slow to warm to video modes, but videographers are swarming to D-SLRs as a powerful, inexpensive and flexible way to shoot top-quality video for artistic, documentary and commercial projects. The next step 4K represents the next…

Luca Simonetti started out in landscape and architectural photography, but now feels at home with portraiture. He likes to fill his photographs with emotion, but is always looking to develop his technique. I’ve been taking pictures since 2006, and in the past year I’ve really started to shoot with method, with a reason. This is what I love about photography. I see something I want to capture, and I make myself go and get it. When I see a photo I like, I ask myself “Why do I like the result?” or “Why do I want this or that in my picture?” Then I go and try to create my own photo. I’m an introvert by nature, and holding a camera increases my self-confidence. I know I sometimes look stupid…

Only two months left to enter at www.photocrowd.com/challenges We’re winding up this year’s N-Photo Photographer of the Year competition, so with only two more months to go, there are just two more chances to be in with a chance of being declared our overall winner. Every month we choose a different theme, and welcome entries on that theme, with all published entries being eligible for the overall competition. Next month’s theme is ‘Travel’, so why not give it your best shot – quite literally! To enter, and be in with a chance of winning the Judges’ Vote prize of a fantastic Manfrotto 3N1-25 Pro Lite camera bag worth £200, go to www.photocrowd.com/challenges/425-travel/ You could see your photo here next month! HOW TO ENTER ◘ A theme is set each month…

Making your living full-time from taking pictures is many photographers’ dream, and it has to be said that on a good day it can be one of the best jobs in the world, but the dream can be a long way from reality. Establishing yourself as a photographer can take many years of hard work, although if you already have contacts in a particular area and a good marketing strategy it’s also possible to make a viable living in your first year. Even if you make a success of the business initially, this doesn’t mean that you can rest on your laurels. Continuing to make a living, build a successful business and even expand will take plenty of ongoing effort and work. Here we’ll take a look at the nuts…

01 Learn how to shoot action in snowy conditions 02 Create abstract landscape images by panning 03 Set up and shoot an ever-changing still life 04 Master the use of an intervalometer 05 Use Lightroom to fix lens-created distortions 06 Create a playful creature caricature in Photoshop 07 Shoot a sequence to create a stunning moonstack 08 Reveal detail in shadows without blowing highlights Watch all our videos online! bit.ly/NPhoto56…

Nikon’s previous pro autofocus sensor, the Multi-CAM 3500, had been around for so long and gone through so many updates and improvements, it had become part of the scenery on Nikon’s top-end D-SLRs. But rumours about a new 153-point AF system, improbable as they sounded, proved to be true. The new Multi-CAM 20K autofocus sensor offers the same autofocus modes Nikon users will be accustomed to, but with improved accuracy. The total number of autofocus points is three times greater than before, but there are improvements in their type and quality, too. Of these 153 AF points, 99 are more accurate cross-type sensors. Regular AF points check focus only along one axis, but cross-type sensors check two axes at right angles to each other (hence ‘cross’-type). All 153 AF points…

New sensor designs and more powerful Expeed 5 processors have allowed Nikon to push its new cameras’ ISO settings higher than ever before. The improvements to the standard ISO ranges, however, are fairly modest. The D5 improves on the D4s by two stops, with a maximum of ISO102400 compared to ISO25600 on the older model. The D500 improves on its nearest predecessor, the D7200, by just one stop, with a maximum standard rating of ISO51200, compared to ISO25600 on the D7200. Outside this standardised ISO range are ‘expanded’ ISO settings. These do not necessarily comply with ISO regulations about speed measurement and image quality parameters, but can offer equivalent exposures. Both the D5 and D500 have five expanded ISO settings, numbered Hi 1, Hi 2, Hi 3, Hi 4 and…

1 | Explore basic metering and exposure What you’ll learn How predominantly light or dark scenes will affect your Nikon’s metering, and so the exposure of your shots, and then how to use exposure compensation to correct it. What you’ll need White, grey and black card or thick paper (one sheet of each), plus a small subject, such as a flower, to place in front of it. 30 mins With your camera set to aperturepriority exposure mode and matrix metering, and an aperture of around f/5.6, start by filling the frame with the grey card, then switch your Nikon to manual focus and take a shot. Repeat this with the white and black cards. You will see that all three images your camera produces are grey, rather than grey, white…

8 | Changing focal length What you’ll learn How changing your zoom setting affects your images – and what it doesn’t affect at all. What you’ll need For this simple exercise all you need is your standard zoom, along with a suitable subject. 10 mins Put your subject in position, then choose a viewpoint where you can frame them through the whole range of focal lengths available on your standard zoom. So, start at the widest setting and find a viewpoint that includes most of the subject, then set your Nikon to aperturepriority exposure mode and select an aperture of f/5.6. Without moving towards or away from them, take a series of images at the widest, middle and longest focal lengths available. When you come to review the results you…

Welcome to our new-look ‘Over to You’ section! We’ve got the same great mix of features, but with a cleaner style that’ll really show off the photographs you send to us. This issue Kaitlin Ainslie-King has fun shooting pet portraits, Michael J Brown talks about the challenges facing photographers with disabilities, while Stuart Adams shares his fantastic motorsports pictures. Why not email us or write in to tell us your story? N-Photo Magazine, Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, UK, BA1 IUA mail@nphotomag.com…

Mission: To continue to take images now I am disabled, and to raise awareness of disabled photography Photographer: Michael J Brown Age: 62 Location: Lancashire, England Kit: Nikon D810, Nikon AF 50mm f/1.4D, Nikon AF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6D, Nikon AF 70-210mm f/4-5.6, Nikon SB-600, Opteka GPS, Manfrotto 055 tripod I became interested in photography at around the age of eight. My first camera was a VP twin 127 film camera, and then I moved on to the Agilux one, which had a built-in light meter. I gradually acquired better kit over the years, but it wasn’t until I became a professional photographer that I bought my first Nikon. Nikon cameras were something I aspired to work with as soon as I knew they existed. They embodied quality and robustness, and that…

THE EYES HAVE IT Focus on models should always fall to the eyes first (unless it’s a sales shot for a product, for example). You demonstrate good ability to focus precisely on the eyes and still come away with beautifully soft backgrounds. LEAD THE WAY Structure within a photo is just as important as the mood created, or the technical skill displayed. Pay as much attention to the background as the foreground, and keep an eye out for leading lines, even with portraits. COLOUR TEST Don’t be afraid to experiment with colour. It doesn’t have to look natural as your style is arty anyway. You could juxtapose complementary colours, say, or introduce a splash of colour in an otherwise moody image. BRIGHT IDEA A shot like the first one could…

Our globetrotting Contributor at Large, renowned photographer and prolific author Michael Freeman, presents a monthly masterclass that’s exclusive to N-Photo. Michael has published dozens of books on photography, including the bestselling Perfect Exposure. When human beings become the main focus of a shot, the opportunities and the ideal moments take a very specific shift. We’re dealing here with the most interesting class of subject for photography on the planet – potentially. There’s automatically a dual response from viewers: on the one hand we’re all interested in what other people might be up to, but on the other hand we’re all very, very familiar with ordinary life and tend to pass it over in favour of the different. Almost without exception, people in front of the camera become interesting and worthwhile…

Repeated physical action, as with this sculptor using a hammer and chisel, gives you the opportunity to quickly analyse the details of a gesture, decide on the perfect moment for you, and work to capture it. In this case, the special moment looked for was the spurt of stone dust as the hammer struck the end of the chisel, which I was able to isolate using selective focusing. A refinement of camera position meant that I could get the end of the chisel and the sculptor’s glasses in the same plane of focus (final image). The questions to ask yourself are: which moment gives the viewer the most information? Which is the clearest visually? Which moment has the most energy? Which is the most interesting or unusual?…

1 TRY AN EV PRESET Open our start image, shadow_start.NEF, and click on the Exposure Compensation icon in the Edit panel. Next, click on the dropdown icon. Here you can simulate the effect of opening or closing the lens aperture by up to a stop in eight plus or minus increments. Leave it on the +0.0 EV preset for the moment. 2 MAKE A MANUAL ADJUSTMENT Instead of using the limited collection of EV presets, you can make a unique user-defined exposure adjustment using the Exposure Compensation slider. This enables you to brighten or darken the image by up to five stops, or produce a more subtle exposure tweak that won’t over-expose a shot’s correctly exposed highlights. 3 REGISTER THE ADJUSTMENT Click on the Exposure Compensation dropdown menu and pick…

Lensmaster Gimbal RH2 TYPE Gimbal MAIN MATERIAL Aluminium RELEASE PLATE Arca-Swiss style HEIGHT 250mm LATERAL TILT None PANNING LOCK Yes WEIGHT 1.2kg MAX LOAD RATING 45kg PRICE £148/$220 VS Manfrotto 468MGRC3 Ball Head TYPE Ball MAIN MATERIAL Magnesium alloy RELEASE PLATE Arca-Swiss style HEIGHT 120mm LATERAL TILT +/-90 degrees PANNING LOCK Yes WEIGHT 0.7kg MAX LOAD RATING 16kg PRICE £174/$320 Design Built from multiple, adjustable brackets connected via clamps and roller bearings, the Gimbal RH2 enables you to keep the weight of a camera and heavy lens centralised, even during panning and vertical tilting. This makes it ideal for tracking subjects like birds. A ball and socket head is a more conventional support for cameras and lenses. However, this one is less conventional than most. It has an internal chamber…

1“Don’t take people for granted – ever. There are people out there who have helped you, so be sure to make clear you are grateful. Help them back, make friends, and be open to helping other people too. 2 “Understand your failures and move forwards. Get used to failing publicly, as well; you might put out a less-than-perfect image and in this social-media-led world, people are going to tell you this. 3 “Handle social media with care. I wrote an article for Hungry Eye magazine called ‘The importance of being Social’. It was a look at how a photographer can navigate the minefield that is social media – you can find it at www.ideasandimages.co.uk/importance-implicationssocial-media/ 4 “Understand that there is always going to be someone better, or someone with more resources,…

Starting a business, any type of business, is hard. Even when you think you have everything planned, little things crop up! Little might be an understatement as far as data goes. Using a 24MP D7100 I create an incredible amount of data, so storage is important. Just before Christmas two partitions in my Drobo S drive had a meltdown, and I couldn’t access the data – my archive – or add more to the drive. The easiest way to fix this was to reformat the partition… but that would delete all the data. So there I was with about six terabytes of images which I couldn’t access, and even if I could I had nowhere to copy them to. Oh, and I was still working, and creating loads more data!…

Profile HIS WORK IN FRONT OF A CAMERA HAS MADE HIM FAMOUS, BUT CHRIS PACKHAM IS ALSO A DAB HAND BEHIND THE LENS ● Chris Packham is a household name in the UK thanks to his appearances on hit television shows such as The Really Wild Show and Springwatch/Autumnwatch. ● He studied Zoology at university, and worked as a film cameraman before moving into TV and writing. ● Photography has been one of his passions since he was a student. His books include 100 Things that Caught My Eye and Back Garden Nature Reserve. He also leads photography tours and workshops. British nature lovers will be familiar with Chris Packham’s television work, but the fact that he is also an award-winning photographer is less well-known. Nonetheless, he has a passion…

THERE’S NOT A LOT TO A CAMERA CLIP OR HOLSTER BAG, BUT IT’S STILL WORTH CONSIDERING THESE THINGS BEFORE YOU BUY Speed Camera clips are all about speed and simplicity. A fiddly release system just won’t do, and neither will a mounting plate that doesn’t slip easily into place. Protection Holster bags offer portability with protection, but with zips, flaps and even a rain cover between you and your camera, missing a fleeting shot is a real risk. Comfort Unless you employ a butler to carry your camera, it’ll always be a small burden. However, it’ll be most comfortable when hung from a dedicated photography belt. Security If you don’t fancy your camera falling into the wrong hands, don’t dangle it by your side in busy cities, as neither camera…

To test real-world performance, we use lenses in wide-ranging lighting conditions on a variety of different camera bodies. We check for good build quality and handling, smooth and precise operation of zoom and focus rings, and test the speed and accuracy of autofocus, and the effectiveness of optical stabilisation (where featured). We also run a full range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master software. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and focal lengths and analysed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberration (colour fringing). A summary of these results is shown with each review, but we also take data from a wider range of settings into consideration. Finally, we combine the lab tests and real-world shooting results to give overall ratings.…

Rod Lawton PAGE 8 Rod’s returned to N-Photo this issue to preview Nikon’s two new cameras, the D5 and D500. Both are fully professional, all you have to decide is: DX or FX? Chris Rutter PAGE 24 Still using a lot of your D-SLR’s automatic functions? You need Chris’s guide to mastering your Nikon in a weekend – 11 simple steps to taking total control. Adrian Baughan PAGE 66 The ability to capture action and understand light on a landscape – Adrian shows this issue’s Apprentice the serious skills needed to photograph dogs. Michael Freeman PAGE 94 Michael explores capturing gesture and expression in your images, and explains how they can be used to bring your people pictures to life. Jeremy Walker PAGE 112 He was already an established pro…

There are several big technological advances in the D5 and D500, but one of the biggest is the continuous shooting performance, and not just in terms of the maximum frame rate. The buffer capacity is even more impressive. The D5 boasts the highest frame rate of any Nikon yet, with a maximum continuous shooting speed of 12 frames per second. That might sound like a modest increase over the D4s (11 frames per second), but at this level every improvement is important. That extra one frame per second could make the difference between an everyday image for the sports section and a shot that makes the front pages of the newspapers. The D5 can go faster still if you shoot with the mirror locked up, achieving an amazing 14 frames…

Single-point AF Not all of the 153 AF points can be selected individually. You can select 55, including 35 cross-type and nine f/8 sensors. 25-point Dynamic Area AF Akin to nine-point Dynamic Area AF, but in between the selectable points are 16 non-selectable ones. 72-point Dynamic Area AF 25 selectable AF points with non-selectable AF points in between – these are used to help track movement. 153-point Dynamic Area AF Uses the full autofocus area, including all 153 AF points. Use this for subjects moving around erratically. Group Area AF Four points acting as one replace the single point used as the basis for the Dynamic Area AF mode. It helps with small, erratic subjects. f/8-compatible focus points If you’re using a lens or a lens/teleconverter with a widest aperture…

3 | Explore basic metering & exposure What you’ll learn How the shutter speed that you use affects how you capture movement in your images, enabling you to freeze or blur motion for creative effects. What you’ll need A continuously moving subject, such as flowing water (ideally a waterfall), and a tripod to keep your camera steady. It’s best to try this project late in the day, and in overcast conditions if possible, to allow you to use slow shutter speeds. 30 mins For this you need flowing water – a stream or fountain is fine. Fix your Nikon to a tripod and select shutterpriority exposure mode. Because the range of shutter speeds available is greater than the range of apertures, you should also select Auto ISO, as this will…

THE PRO… Name Adrian Baughan Camera Nikon D3s During his photography career Adrian has undertaken various forms of scientific photography, all using Nikon. But after a short career break he settled down into the business of dog photography in Oxfordshire. He works with clients all over the UK and has photographed every breed, from Weimaraners to Jack Russells. He went digital with Nikon, initially moving from the F4 to the D90, and has never looked back. For more info, visit oxforddogphotography.co.uk THE APPRENTICE… Name Kaitlin Ainslie-King Camera Nikon D300s At just 14 years old, Kaitlin was encouraged to try photography at school. Since then she’s been hooked, taking photos of her own dog at home. She shoots on a D60, with an 18-55mm kit lens, though we lent her our…

Mission: To capture the ‘power, speed and glory’ of historic motor racing Photographer: Stuart Adams Age: 61 Location: Orpington, England Kit: Nikon D810, Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II, Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II, Nikon AF 35mm f/2D, Nikon AF 50mm f/1.4 Website: www.stuartfadams.com Photography as a creative outlet has been a passion all my life. With my father being a professional photographer, I have never been far from a camera, and I spent many hours in traditional blackand-white darkrooms learning about contrast, dodging and burning. I trained as a commercial artist and spent the last 44 years in graphic design, running my own design agency for the last 30 years. I retired in 2014. Retirement allows me all the time I need to focus…

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the mag and all things photographic! So email us at mail@nphotomag.com. You can also write to us at N-Photo Magazine, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, UK, BA1 1UA. We reserve the right to edit any queries for clarity or brevity. LETTER OF THE MONTH Recapturing enthusiasm Like most people, I have owned a camera for most of my adult life. It is only in the last 18 months that I have taken a keener interest, upgrading from my Nikon D40 to a Nikon D7000. During this last 18 months, I have enjoyed the odd day away with my father, together with our cameras. Sadly, he passed away on 1st May this year due to cancer. I lost a little of my enthusiasm afterwards,…

Gesture usually involves arms and hands, but sometimes also the upper body, and as social animals we’re always looking for meaning in it. This, despite the fact that one major class of gesture is essentially practical, such as in manual labour, with movements involved in lifting, turning, opening, manipulating or whatever (see ‘Refining repetitive action’, page 96). But when it comes to communication, there are two classes of gesture: one is to do with indicating – simply getting some information across to other people – and that’s what is going on in this scene in Kolkata (left); the other, which is covered in ‘Getting all emotional’ on page 99, is emotional. In any situation you’re likely to find one moment of a gesture more interesting or visually attractive than another.…

While it’s almost a given that in portraiture the subject looks directly into the camera, with just occasional exceptions, in the world of street photography, and documentary reportage in general, eye contact is often seen as the moment of failure – the point at which suddenly the photographer lost that carefully won fly-on-thewall observer status and was spotted by his or her subject. This tends to be the default judgment for street photography, and once you’ve been spotted you regretfully move on. But it’s not always a mark of failure, and it depends very much on the look on your subject’s face, and its intensity. Both of the images here share a direct look that is neither challenging, nor quite accepting, and in both cases I judged them better than…

? Do I need any special filters, and are there any safety warnings I should be aware of, when shooting a time-lapse sequence of a solar eclipse? Don Bearwolb, via email JASON SAYS... It’s vital to fit a solar filter to your lens when viewing or shooting partial phases of a solar eclipse. Not doing so can result in serious damage to your eyes, as well as to your camera. Solar filters are available as either screw-in filters or to fit into a square filter holder. Bear in mind that even with an almost total solar eclipse, the tiny crescent of the sun that’s still visible will be extremely bright. To get rough exposure settings, fit the filter and experiment ahead of time by shooting the sun directly with various…

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✓ Do… Concentrate on the business side of things as much as the photography, as acting like a professional is the key to making going pro a success. Remember that you’ll need to shoot images that appeal to clients and customers, not necessarily ones that you like. Spend plenty of time researching the competition in your chosen field, and try to offer something unique or different from other photographers. ✗ Don’t… Under-estimate the costs involved with starting out on your own, and also the ongoing costs of running a business. Expect to make a fortune, particularly in your first year or two, as it will take time to recoup your costs and expenses – you might not even make much of a profit in your first year. Expect to be…

Jeremy Walker is one of the UK’s most-sought after location photographers, with a client list that includes British Airways, Mercedes and Vogue. He is a brand ambassador for Nikon UK, and he also runs photography workshops. To see more of his superb images visit www.jeremywalker.co.uk AUGUST, 2013 • DUNNOTTAR CASTLE, SC OTLAND • NIKON DF In a career spanning more than 20 years, Jeremy Walker has worked with some of the biggest brands in advertising, but one job ranks above all the others as a milestone, and it was one he didn’t even pitch for. “I just got an email from an ad agency in Tokyo that I’d never heard of, saying that they had this brochure project, they’d been given my name by Nikon, and would I be interested?”…

Conventional camera bags are great, but there isn’t much point in lugging a big backpack or shoulder bag around if you’ve pared your gear down to a single body and lens. Here a holster bag is just the ticket, providing snug storage for just such a set-up, while offering better protection than a sling or neck strap. Holster bags usually come with a carrying strap, but to really lift a weight off your shoulders try mounting one to your belt instead. That’ll work a treat if you’ve got a fairly light camera, although heavier kit will give your jeans a sinking feeling that’s far from comfortable. Thankfully many manufacturers offer dedicated photo belts that not only increase comfort, but are also designed to carry multiple accessories. However, if you’d rather…

1 MIND YOUR FINGERS In all the lenses except those with ring-type ultrasonic systems (see table, page 134), the focus ring rotates during autofocus. 2 FASTER MEAN S BIGGER Standard zooms with a relatively wide constant f/2.8 maximum aperture tend to be bigger and heavier. 3 GOING LONG There can be a big difference in the amount of telephoto reach on offer – from 50mm to 105mm (75mm to 157.5mm effective). 4 GOING WIDE The Nikon 16-80mm and 16-85mm rule the roost when it comes to delivering a really wide maximum viewing angle. 5 EXTENDING BARRELS Unlike many constantaperture zoom lenses, all of the lenses in this test physically extend at the longer end (or sometimes both ends) of the zoom range. 6 INTERNAL FOCUSING All of the lenses in…

WWW.JOEMCNALLY.COM It is a task as endless as the desert. The Burj Khalifa soars out of the Dubai sands like an elegant needle, seemingly designed to pop the blue balloon of sky overhead. It is a magnet for the eye, and hence the camera. Courtesy of the gracious folks at Burj Khalifa, and the Emaar Group, I was allowed to climb to the top a couple of years ago, and made a snap of some very battered shoes (below right). This time, with the training given to me by the Grako Corporation, and the intrepid duo of Mike Flamson and Pieter van der Walt, who are top-rated industrial climbers and safety experts, I went over the side of the tower with a crew of wonderful window washers. These guys… geez.…