Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

LEVEL HORIZONS Enable the viewfinder grid display (labelled VF Grid Display in the menu) and you can ensure the camera is level by lining up the horizon with the grid lines in the viewfinder. Some cameras, such as the 5D Mark III , also offer an electronic level in the viewfinder via custom functions. Or use a tripod and Live View and press Info until the level appears on your rear LCD. 01 GET ORF MY LAND! Before starting shooting, please be respectful of farmers and their land. Shoot from public footpaths and bridleways around the edges of the rapeseed fields, rather than wading in and damaging their crop. You’ll find the best compositions from these spots at the perimeter and further back anyway. 02 CANON DSLR & LENS We’re…

USE OBJECTS Why not try placing flat objects, such as feathers and leaves, directly on to the Sunprint paper? Flatten your favourite objects between the paper and the acrylic or glass sheet, then follow the same exposing and developing method. The exposure time needed will be much shorter, as the sunlight won’t have to penetrate any paper. 01 GATHER SUPPLIES Fill up a developer container with water and set it to one side. Grab some Sunprint paper, roughly matching its size with your negative. If your kit doesn’t have Perspex, use glass from a cheap photo frame. 02 IN THE SHADE The blue chemicals embedded in Sunprint paper are sensitive to ultra-violet light. It’s important to set up your prints inside or out of direct sunlight, otherwise the paper is…

In this latest instalment of the series, we look at how you can sell your photos as prints in galleries and other venues PhotoPlusEXPERT PETER TRAVERS CANON EXPERT Peter’s been a passionate photographer for well over 20 years. He’s worked on PhotoPlus since the very first issue, back in 2007, and has been the magazine’s editor for the past six years. Even in a digital and online age, there is still a huge market for traditional prints for people to hang on their walls. Pictures give a home a personal touch, an office a human feel. Most people don’t have the technology, or know-how, to make great prints from digital files and will still prefer to buy pictures for their walls ready-made, with or without frames. So, in part three…

It’s not just the number of AF points that contributes to the speed and accuracy of a camera’s autofocus, it’s their sensitivity and precision too. Standard AF points have their sensor arranged either vertically or horizontally and are effective at detecting lines of contrast that ‘break’ the line of the sensor. They can struggle if the lines run parallel with the sensor, and this is one of the reasons that autofocus can fail, with a lens ‘hunting’ back and forth to find an ‘edge’ to bite onto. More advanced ‘cross-type’ AF points combine both horizontal and vertical sensors, while dual cross-type sensors also detect contrast diagonally for greater precision. All EOS DSLRs have at least one cross-type AF point, while the lion’s share of AF points in high-end bodies are…

PhotoPlus EXPERT BRIAN WORLEY CANON PRO Brian is a freelance photographer and photo tutor, based in Oxfordshire. He has unrivalled EOS DSLR knowledge, after working for Canon for over 15 years, and is on hand to answer all your EOS and photographic queries www.p4pictures.com What is difference between the 750D and 760D, apart from the top LCD? John Clark, via email BRIAN SAYS… EOS 750D and EOS 760D are indeed all but a pair of twins – the principal specifications are the same (the only internal difference you may notice is the addition of the electronic level on the EOS 760D). However, the two cameras have differing control layouts. The EOS 750D uses the basic cross keys arrangement on the rear of the camera, while the EOS 760D takes its…

WE’RE spoilt for choice when it comes to carrying camera equipment, but most methods demand you shoulder the burden. So if you travel frequently, far, or simply need to carry some serious gear, put it on wheels and you won’t look back. A rolling camera bag is basically a wheeled suitcase that contains customizable dividers tailored to support cameras and lenses. Not only are they comfier than a backpack, they also tend to be tougher. You can expect a rigid back, base and sides, and exterior scuff protection in vulnerable areas. But if that’s just not rugged enough, cosset your camera in a rolling plastic hard case and it’ll be near-invincible. With wheels taking the strain, it’s tempting to buy the biggest bag you can afford. However, for maximum travel…

BlackRapid Binoc Breathe Strap WHILE it’s billed as a strap for binoculars, this neck strap will attach to a camera equally easily. Its unique feature is a breathable, stretchy and very flexible neck pad. It also folds small and can be detached quickly, but the price still seems high next to the Matin strap. Matin Neoprene Comfort Strap MATIN’S thick and highly-flexible neoprene neck pad is designed to stretch slightly to better suspend a heavy load like your Canon DSLR and a telephoto zoom lens. A textured rubber coating on the underside adds comfort and is easily cleaned. Two quick-release clips mounted close to your camera leave unobtrusively short sections of strap attached if the neck piece is removed, and these can be joined to form a compact hand strap.…

To test real-world performance, we use lenses in all sorts of lighting conditions. We check for good build quality and handling, smooth and precise operation of all controls, and we test the speed and accuracy of autofocus. We test full-frame compatible lenses on a range of full-frame and APS-C format bodies, whereas lenses designed specifically for APS-C format bodies are tested on cameras like the 7D Mk II. In-camera corrections for chromatic aberrations and peripheral illumination (where available) are disabled throughout all testing, to better reveal the true performance of each lens. We also run a full range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master and DxO Analyser suites. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zoom settings (where available), then analysed…

£350/ $500 Sigma’s popular 17-70mm OS lens has received a revamp for entry into the Contemporary section of the company’s lineup of lenses. It’s the only lens in the group that has a variable rather than constant aperture rating, shrinking from f/2.8 to f/4 as you extend through the zoom range. The zoom range itself is bigger than in any of the other APS-C format lenses on test, reaching a generous 112mm ‘effective’ focal length at the long end. Sigma’s Contemporary line of lenses aim to be compact, and the 17-70mm is no exception. At 79x82mm and 465g, it’s smaller and lighter than any other lens on test, and has a smaller 72mm filter thread than the 77mm thread of Sigma’s constant-aperture 17-50mm f/2.8 lens. Similarities between the two lenses…

£1900/$1700 The standard zoom of choice for pro photographers, Canon’s original 24-70mm f/2.8L was something of a classic. Even so, some said that build quality could have better, and it was criticised in some quarters for ‘field curvature’, which caused the centre and edges of the frame to focus at different distances. The Mk II edition has an even more robust construction, with a full set of weather-seals, and redesigned optics that include no less than three complex aspherical elements. As you’d expect from Canon’s range-topping standard zoom, autofocus comes courtesy of a fast and whisper-quiet ring-type ultrasonic system. There’s an increase to nine diaphragm blades, ensuring a betterrounded aperture when stopping down from f/2.8. Fluorine coatings have also been added to the front and rear elements, to repel muck…

£800/$1300 Just as with the Sigma 24-105mm, the difference in price between this Tamron and Canon’s own 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is much greater in the UK than in the USA. In Britain, the Canon is nearly 2.5x more expensive but, in the USA, it’s less than 1.5x pricier. Whichever side of the pond you’re on, one indisputable fact is that the Tamron lens features highly effective optical stabilization, whereas the Canon has none. The Tamron is well built with a rock-solid feel and great handling. The zoom and focus rings operate with silky smoothness and, when launched, it was Tamron’s first weather-sealed lens. Highquality glass includes three LD (Low Dispersion) elements and two XR (Extra Refractive index) elements. It doesn’t feature Tamron’s more recently introduced nanostructure coatings but the lens…

• We’re the only photo magazine in the newsagent that’s 100% dedicated to Canon EO S DSLR Owners so we’re 100% relevant to your needs. • W e’re 100% independent which means we’re free to publish what we feel is best for every Canon DSLR photographer from beginners to enthusiasts to professionals. • We’re Canon enthusiasts and, with our contributors, we can offer years of expert photography experience. We’re always excited to pass on what we’ve learned. • We’re more than just a print mag; you can buy PhotoPl us for any digital device worl dwide via Apple iTunes, Google Play, Zinio, Magzter, Amazon Kindle, B&N Nook, PocketMags or PressReader. • Our Video Disc has the very best DSLR technique & Photoshop video GUIDEs , which can also be viewed…

FAYE’S COMMENT Clare showed me how to use a tripod and two-second timer delay to ensure I got really sharp shots, with no shake on the camera. This was the first time I had ever used a tripod, so Clare’s tips for positioning it were really helpful. We also used Live View to ensure that the image was as sharp as possible, and that all of the detail in the middle of the flower could be seen. TOP GEAR #2 Knee pads You often have to get down and (literally) dirty to reach interesting perspectives. Clare uses knee pads to stay comfortable when she spends long days photographing at the farm. “I try to get down to the level of the flowers, especially with recognizable shapes, such as Tulips," she…

THE SETUP for this technique isn’t an overly complicated one, but like any still life shoot there are a few basic things to bear in mind. Because we’re using a completely flash-free technique to freeze movement, it does mean that you’re reliant on having enough ambient light in your chosen environment. You need to reach shutter speeds that are fast enough to capture the splashes in mid-air, so ideally you should try to stay around 1/1000 sec or higher. Set up outside, where you can harness daylight. This also means you’ll have more space to work with, and will be able to keep any mess away from a home environment. Shoot on days where there’s little wind and plenty of light! QUICK TIP! Use a wireless remote release to fire…

GO VERTICAL Rather than in the classic ‘landscape in landscape’ format, also try shooting vertically for a more creative composition. You’ll need to consider which section of your scene you focus on, and how you position clouds in the sky to fit the vertical shape frame. Experiment and you will be rewarded. 01 AVOID CENTRAL HORIZONS Think about where to position the horizon for more creative shots. Rather than simply putting the horizon in the centre of the frame as here, for our main image, on the previous page, we’ve used the rule of thirds to position the horizon. The improvement is instant. 02 GET IN CLOSE Getting closer to the edge of the flowers and shooting with a wide-angle focal length (24mm in our example) captures a different perspective,…

One of the great things about photography is being able to share your view of the world. We head to the Anglo-Welsh border to photograph wildlife, and prove you don’t need high-end kit for great shoots of motorsports… We want your photos and stories! For your chance to show off your images in PhotoPlus, send three to five high-resolution JPEGs, along with a brief synopsis – explain why you took the shots, the location, whether they’re part of an ongoing project or a one-off shoot, and anything else unusual or interesting. Also include Canon DSLR, lens and exposure details. Email photoplus@futurenet.com Online www.facebook.com/photoplusmag www.twitter.com/photoplusmag Post PhotoPlus: The Canon Mag Future, The Ambury Bath BA1 1UA, UK…

Henrik Spranz Like many others, I got started with photography by buying a camera to document my travels. This happened in 2006, and a lot has changed since then. Though I’m still a software developer, photography consumes my spare time and I’m roaming in nature every weekend. I’ve submitted images to competitions such as Outdoor Photographer of the Year, International Garden Photographer of the Year, World Photography Awards and many others. Some of my images have been awarded or commended. www.spranz.org www.fotomat.500px.com…

“I HAVE been very fortunate over the past 25 years to have made a good living from what has always been a deep passion of mine: our landscape. I sell my work from a stall and online – mainly fine art prints, but also greetings cards and a book. I also produce a largeformat panoramic calendar of British landscapes each year. To be successful you have to know your market. If your art is conceptual or has an intellectual base then art galleries are the answer. In my case I sell to the general public so it has to be accessible; people have to be able to connect with it. The most successful images are those that create atmosphere, a sense of place and have a depth and character that…

Cameras that support ’f/8 autofocus’ are wise investments for sport and wildlife photography. This type of work often requires 500mm and 600mm f/4 supertelephotos fitted with 2x teleconverters in order to get frame-filling shots of distant subjects. But this combination results in an effective maximum aperture of f/8. The same thing happens when a 1.4x teleconverter is added to a slower telephoto lens, such as Canon’s 400mm f/5.6. A maximum aperture of f/8 is too slow for effective autofocus, as there won’t be enough light available for the majority of AF points. But increasingly, high-end EOS cameras are including focusing sensors that do work at f/8. The 5D Mark IV has 21 f/8 cross-type points, for instance. The feature was even added later to the 5D Mark III via a…

Why does my EOS 5D Mk IV only have a one-shot buffer when set to Raw? Jane Wilson, Jedburgh BRIAN SAYS… The speed of memory cards affects the size of the buffer, however there are some in-camera settings that have a drastic effect. I suspect you have digital lens optimizer (DLO) turned on; this reduces the buffer to a single shot on my camera, regardless of the card size or speed. What’s the point of adding a battery grip on the EOS 750D? Alicia King, Leicester BRIAN SAYS… Battery grips, like the BG-E18, have an additional shutter release and Main dial, which is more comfortable for shooting portraits. I find that the balance of the camera is improved by the addition of a battery grip, especially when the camera is…

Welcome... This month’s highlight has to be Tamron’s 70-200mm f/2.8 telephoto zoom, which proves that you don’t have to pay a fortune for first-rate optical quality. Our standard zoom upgrades Super Test makes for some fascinating reading too, and if you’re nursing a sore back from carrying your collection of kit, take a look at our trolley bags mini-test – perfect for the frequent traveller. HOW WE TEST TESTS & AWARDS When IT comes to testing Canon DSLRs, lenses, photo gear and services in PhotoPlus, we tell it like it is. We’re 100% independent and we use our in-depth lab tests to find out how kit really performs and compares. Here are our main awards……

01 Flight friendly A bag measuring 55x35x23cm or smaller will see you through most airline check-in desks, but travel light, as many airlines won’t allow more than 10kg of carry-on luggage. 02 Divide and conquer Most bags contain a three column layout, so overall interior width is critical when packing larger-diameter lenses. Well designed dividers can adapt to super-telephoto lenses, or even video lighting. 03 Built to last Roller bags can take a lot of abuse. Quality, userreplaceable wheels should roll with the punches, while reinforced outer corners and toughened undersides add extra longevity. 04 The complete package Carrying cameras and lenses is just the start. Look out for bags that boast a laptop slot and tripod attachment system. Easy-access outer pockets are a bonus, as is a removable main…

£330/$370 A part from its slightly shorter telephoto reach, this Sigma lens appears to offer most of the same advantages as its Canon counterpart, but at less than half the price. Sure enough, it features optical stabilization, this time rated at four rather than three stops, and has an aperture rating of f/2.8 that remains constant throughout the zoom range. It’s a little smaller and lighter, and doesn’t feel quite as robust, but the main difference lies beneath the skin. Whereas both of the Canon and Sigma lenses have ultrasonic autofocus systems, the Canon’s is ring-type, whereas the Sigma’s relies on a small motor. On the plus side, this helps to enable a more compact construction, but the autofocus system isn’t as near-silent and lacks full-time manual override. Instead, you…

£650/$800 Most standard full-frame zooms have generous wide-angle coverage at 24mm. APS-C format standard zooms give a more limited viewing angle, equating to 27mm on a full-frame body. This lens redresses the balance, with a 24-136mm equivalent range. £220/$250 I deal for use with compact DSLRs like the 100D and 1300D, this new edition of the 18-55mm IS STM lens is even smaller and lighter than its predecessor, at just 67x62mm and 215g. The widest available aperture of f/4 is a third of a stop slower than in the previous edition. £380/$400 Sold as a ‘kit’ lens with upmarket APS-C format camera bodies, this also makes a worthy upgrade option. It gives much more telephoto reach than a 18-55mm lens, equivalent to 216mm focal length on a full-frame camera. The…

£800/$900 Canon’s range-topping EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM standard zoom is very expensive and lacks image stabilization. If you’re willing to settle for a widest aperture an f-stop slower, this lens is half the price, more compact and lightweight, and offers fabulous image quality, with four-stop stabilization. £380/$600 Canon’s latest 24-105mm L-series lens will set you back £1065/$1000. The IS STM edition is much less expensive. It has a variable aperture rating, shrinking to f/5.6 at the long end of the range, and lacks weatherseals. But it’s relatively lightweight at 525g and still delivers impressively sharp image quality.…

£600/$900 One of Sigma’s first ‘Art’ line lenses, this one is built for quality and goes toe-to-toe with Canon’s 24-105mm lens in both zoom range and aperture rating. Similarly, it features optical stabilization and high-end build quality, as well as upmarket glass, in this case including FLD (Fluorite-grade Low Dispersion), SLD (Special Low Dispersion) and aspherical elements. The Sigma is larger and heavier than its Canon counterpart, and has a bigger filter thread of 82mm compared with the Canon’s 77mm. In our tests, vignetting was a little less evident when shooting wide-open but, being a Sigma rather than Canon lens, automatic corrections aren’t available in-camera or via Canon’s DPP software. The construction of the Sigma lens feels similarly solid to the Canon, but doesn’t feature weather-seals. Like the 17-70mm ‘Contemporary’…

So-called ‘superzoom’ lenses have become highly popular for APS-C format DSLRs, offering an extended zoom range without the need to swap lenses on your camera body. This makes them an attractive option for travel photography, as well as for shooting in dusty conditions where you’re less than keen to remove the lens that’s on your camera. Canon’s own EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens is somewhat long in the tooth, has a basic and outdated autofocus system, and delivers an outright zoom range that’s a little less than ‘super’. Our current favourites are the Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM C (£370/£500) and the Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro (£430/£630). Both are impressively compact and lightweight for superzoom lenses, and deliver good all-round performance, although the Tamron…

What to look for Canon EOS DSLRs Canon splits its EOS lineup into entry-level, enthusiast and professional ranges, and the fewer digits the more upmarket the camera; so the new 1300D is the most basic, the 750D/760D for intermediates, while the 80D is for more advanced enthusiasts. Expect greater ease of use (with thumboperated scrollwheels replacing cumbersome cursor keys), more robust build quality (with weather-sealing and tough magnesiumalloy shells), more advanced functionality, and full-frame (rather than smaller APS-C) image sensors with more expensive EOS models.…

Peter Travers Editor • 5D Mark III peter.travers@futurenet.com “I feel more alive when by the sea, and love any excuse to shoot slow-motion seascapes – just like Mark Bauer’s inspirational seaside scenes.” Page 30 Lauren Scott Staff writer • 7D Mark II lauren.scott@futurenet.com “I love roaming around flower beds with my Canon camera, and it’s even more enjoyable when there’s an Apprentice and several farm pets in tow!” Page 8 Rod Lawton Head of testing • 6D rod.lawton@futurenet.com “Don’t settle for a so-so kit lens! We spend most of our time shooting with a standard zoom, so this month we pick eight of the best kit lens upgrades!” Page 106 Adam Waring Operations editor • 7D adam.waring@futurenet.com “My Canon is a real pain in the neck – add a hefty…

01 DSLR settings FIRST things first, setting up your Canon EOS DSLR. You’ll need to take a certain amount of control when shooting seascapes. Set Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual mode, so that you, rather than the camera, choose the aperture and are therefore in control of depth of field to ensure the whole scene is sharp. Auto white balance usually works well, but at sunset and sunrise, using the Cloudy setting can enhance the natural warmth of the light for a more colourful shot. 02 Kit tips A STURDY tripod and head will help keep things steady in difficult conditions, as well as allowing you to fine-tune compositions by making small adjustments. Graduated filters are useful for toning down bright skies and neutral density filters let you extend exposure…

Welcome... HOWDY! In this issue we’re encouraging you to soak up some sunshine, whatever the subject. Start by heading outside to try our splash without flash project. It’s fascinating fun to freeze liquids in motion with rapid shutter speeds – not to mention make a huge mess! Capture a quintessential spring scene by roaming around golden floral fields. Or why not take things at a slower pace and bask by developing a Sunprint? We also show you how you can experiment with bolder compositions and leave negative space around your main subjects. Heading over the editing side of things, discover how to conjure up a glowing lightsaber in Photoshop. It’s a great project to try with family and friends. If you’ve got a penchant for portraits, find out how the…

LENS CHOICE The lens we used here was the Canon EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS , which has a minimum focusing distance of 0.45m. We were able to zoom in to the container and photograph the splashes, but because we were using a longer focal length the camera remained splash-free… 01 THE BIG SETUP Place one poster board underneath a container and one directly behind it. Fill the container all the way to the top with your chosen liquid, along with any food colourings. Tripod-mount a DSLR at container height. 02 FOCUS YOUR FRAME Choose a lens and arrange the composition, making sure your splash will fill the frame. Switch the lens to manual focus. Hold the object or a finger in the spot where the object will hit the liquid,…

When farmers’ fields are full of yellow rapeseed flowers in full blossom, they offer a great photographic opportunity, especially when contrasting brilliantly against bright blue skies. Let’s take a look at the best techniques to help you capture some great results. As we’re shooting in bright daylight, we can shoot handheld as our shutter speeds are fairly quick. Just make sure your shutter speed is faster than your effective focal length to overcome potential camera shake issues: so if you’re using a focal length of 60mm, your shutter speed needs to be faster than 1/60 sec (1/100 sec on a crop-sensor Canon due to the 1.6x focal length multiplier). As we’re exposing for the brighter flowers in the field, lit by the midday sun, this automatically ensures the sky appears…

WAIT FOR THE SUN As clouds block the sun this can leave strong lines across the fields. Time it right and you can take a winning shot like this! Embrace the changing weather and make the most of it for cool results. EMPHASIZE THE FIELDS Include more flower fields than sky in the shot, so instead of filling your frame with two-thirds sky/ one-third flowers, try the reverse. This works well if the sky isn’t that inspiring on the day. EMBRACE THE BLUR Scenic shots don’t always have to be shot on a wide lens at narrow apertures for frontto- back sharpness. We shot this at f/2.8 on a 100mm macro lens, blurring the foreground and background nicely.…

SETUP WHAT YOU’LL NEED This low-cost project only requires a few simple bits and bobs. As we mentioned above, you’ll need a digital photo to transfer and a printer for the negative. Once this stage is complete, grab a bowl or tray filled with water, some sticky tape, your Sunprint paper and a piece of glass or Perspex (the bigger Sunprint kits come with this included). You’ll probably find the hardest thing to come by is a sunny day! When the clouds do part, grab your Sunprint paper and follow the easy exposing method over the page.…

Which will you choose – the dark side or the light side? With this quick Photoshop tutorial you can choose either. The first step is to take a photo of someone mid-pose with a toy lightsaber. This is a great project to get the kids involved with. Next, you’ll learn how to add the perfect glow effect with the Brush tool and a few layers and filters in Photoshop. It’s not just the weapon that we’re going to recreate here. To make the effect more realistic, you’ll need to think about how the light from the imaginary weapon will react with the rest of the scene. Having an idea of how the light will contour the ’saber holder’s face and hands is important. To get this spot-on, try holding a…

This issue we look take a closer look at AF points and how to customize the way they’re selected for faster focusing PhotoPlus EXPERT MARCUS HAWKINS PHOTO EXPERT Marcus has been passionate about photography for more than 25 years. A former editor of our sister publication Digital Camera, he has written about photography and cameras for a wide range of clients, including Canon and Jessops, and uses a Canon EOS 5D Mk III. Your EOS DSLR’s three autofocus (AF) modes control how the camera focuses – whether it locks on or continuously adjusts the lens when it detects movement – but the AF points determine where the camera focuses, and how precise it is too. As you might expect, the greater the number of AF points there are and the wider they’re…

Advanced EOS DSL Rs that have a large number of AF points, such the 7D Mk II (65 points) and 5D Mk IV (61 points), can make it easier to track small and fast subjects in AI Servo mode, with the AF point array acting like a net across the scene when all the AF points are active. The potential pitfall with such a wide spread is that the AF system might lock onto another part of the scene, especially if it’s more detailed than the subject or closer to the camera. You can, of course, override the automatic AF selection and manually choose a single AF point instead, but trying to keep one of the small squares trained on a tiny subject moving erratically can be, well, trying. To…

BURIED in the AF menu or custom function options of some EOS DSLRs, including the 80D and 5D Mark IV, is a setting called Orientation linked AF point. By default, the active AF point stays in the same position whether you’re holding the camera horizontally or vertically, but with Orientation Linked AF Point activated you can have the AF point jump to a preselected position when you rotate the camera. You can even have the AF area change too, such as switching from Zone AF for a horizontal shot to single-point AF for a vertical one. The camera remembers the last setting used for each orientation, so there’s no faffing around with menus. It’s handy for when you’re shooting wildlife or an event such as a wedding, as you can…

£750/$800 This is the closest thing to a pro-grade, L-series ‘EF-S’ lens for APS-C cameras that Canon has ever built. It’s been around for a long time, originally announced 11 years ago back at the beginning of 2006. Yet it’s a cut above the Sigma and Tamron APS-C lenses on test for robust build quality, and a little bigger and heavier. Upmarket attractions lacking in the competing lenses include ring-type ultrasonic autofocus and a focus distance scale beneath a viewing panel. It doesn’t feature weatherseals like most Canon L-series lenses, however, and the EW-83J lens hood is sold as an optional extra (£29/$49). Unlike Canon’s f/2.8 standard zooms for full-frame cameras, this one features an image stabilizer. Yet it’s an old version of the technology and only gives three, rather…

£380/$650 aunched in 2009, this updated version of Tamron’s constantaperture f/2.8 lens for APS-C format cameras adds the company’s proprietary tri-axial optical stabilizer or ‘VC’ (Vibration Compensation) system. It’s effective to about four stops, beating the stabilizer in the competing Canon 17-55mm lens. When it comes to autofocus, though, it looks comparatively old-fashioned, with a system designed around a basic electric motor. Autofocus is noisier than in any other lens on test, although it’s slightly faster than the ultrasonic system in the Sigma 17-50mm lens. Again, handling is adversely affected by the focus ring spinning during autofocus, so you have to be careful where you put your fingers. There’s also no facility for tweaking autofocus results with manual override, unless you switch to the fully manual focus mode. The lens…

£1065/$1000 Canon’s original 24-105mm IS USM didn’t make it onto the hit list of approved lenses for the high-res 5DS and 5DS R. The new Mk II has been redesigned to be tougher and more resistant to shock and vibration, as well as featuring fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. More importantly, the optics have been revamped, with the aim of improving sharpness across the whole image frame, throughout the zoom range. A new-generation image stabilizer gives four-stop performance, which is a big step up from the 2.5-stop stabilizer of the original lens. High-tech ‘Air Sphere Coatings’ are also applied for maximum resistance against ghosting and flare. Pro-grade build quality combines excellent handling with a weather-sealed construction. Despite the relatively big zoom range, the lens is barely any…

We’ve been highly impressed by Sigma’s ‘Art’ line of lenses that form part of the company’s Global Vision lineup. Whereas ‘Contemporary’ class lenses aim for a compact, lightweight build and ‘Sport’ lenses are geared to capturing action shots, ‘Art’ lenses concentrate on maximizing creative potential. As such, they feature wide aperture ratings to enable tight depths of field, and premium quality components. The Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM A was announced back in February, although pricing is yet to be confirmed. Impressive build quality includes a metal barrel and weather-seals, and Sigma promises outstanding image quality. Like the Tamron 24-70mm lens but unlike its Canon competitor, the Sigma combines a fast f/2.8 constant aperture rating with built-in optical image stabilization.…

AP S-C: Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Full -frame: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Canon’s EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 is the top APS-C lens, while the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 wins for full-frame bodies. Both give class-leading performance and image quality, and especially in the APS-C arena, where the Canon has a much more pro-grade feel than its competitors. Even so, the Sigma 17-70mm is a great value buy, despite it being the only lens in the entire group to have a variable, rather than constant, aperture rating. Even though the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 wins out for image quality, the competing Tamron’s addition of optical stabilization can be enormously helpful in getting sharp shots in dull lighting conditions, and it’s a bargain, at least in the UK. If you want…

Choosing lenses Key factors to watch out for The main factors to consider in a lens are its focal length, maximum aperture, and whether or not it’s full-frame compatible. We’ve categorized lenses by focal length range – from wide-angle to telephoto. The larger a lens’s maximum aperture, the ‘faster’ it’s considered to be – allowing you to control depth of field more, and offering better options in low light. Zooms are more flexible than primes, but tend not to have such fast maximum apertures. Full-frame lenses will also work with ‘crop-sensor’ EOS D-SLRs, but crop-sensor lenses aren’t compatible with full-frame cameras.…

Get more from your Canon To help you get to the grips with your EOS, here are 49 essential Canon DSLR tips and tricks specifically for getting more efficient use from your Canon. http://bit.ly/49eostips from www.techradar.com Canon 300mm f/1.8 lens! This is the Canon 300mm f/1.8. That’s right: f/1.8. This is one of the rarest Canon lenses in existence. It’s an extremely huge and heavy lens, and so few exist that you’ll probably never come across one in real life. http://bit.ly/300mm_lens via PhotoPlus Facebook page Coffee break tutorials Brush up on your editing skills with Adobe’s Lightroom Coffee Breaks. Watch the series for their greatest tips http://bit.ly/2pMS5r7 via Digital Camera World’s Facebook page Follow us on... Facebook www.facebook.com/PhotoPlusMag Twitt er www.twitter.com/PhotoPlusMag Digital camera world www.digitalcameraworld.com…