Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Editor This issue we bring you 20 top Canon tips and techniques to continue to help improving your photography in 2020. From stunning landscapes and wonderful wildlife, to creative close-ups and beautiful portraits – there’s essential advice for every type of Canon photographer, starting from page 28. Also inside this issue, our plucky Apprentice hits the streets of Soho with Canon professional photographer Alastair Batchelor, to learn how to use neon shop lights at night for creative portraits. See page 8. We also bring you the new Canon EOS-1D X Mark III, a pro-level and advanced hybrid/DSLR – we reveal our early verdict after a thorough testing on the race track, check out page 92 for more details. While in our Super Test we Canon top 10 standard zoom lenses,…

To ensure you continue 2020 on the right track, we’ve shot, created and collated the best 20 Canon tips to help you improve your photography. Whether you use an old DSLR or latest mirrorless EOS camera, these subject-specific skills will help enhance your imagery. We’ve enlisted regular PhotoPlus contributor and Canon pro Drew Buckley to share his secrets to successful shots. He guides you through essential techniques for better landscapes, talking about composition and depth of field as well as advice on focusing and shutter speeds needed for stunning wildlife. We help you capture brighter and better close-up images, with simple techniques using a standard zoom, as well as pro tips for sharper macro pictures. Also Canon portrait pro Alastair Batchelor shows you how to take professional people photos with…

09 Brighter close-ups FOR THE ABOVE close-up shot, we used Manual mode to set the aperture and shutter speed, as we used two off-camera flashguns; one pointing at the purple backdrop, another with a softbox attached to light the yellow gerbera flower. Depth of field is reduced the closer your focus on subjects, so instead of shooting at f/2.8, we used an aperture of f/11 which has ensured the entire flower head is sharp. We used a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens, but sometimes all you need is a telephoto zoom lens that will let you focus close enough for frame-filling flower photos. 10 Utilize Image Stabilisation CAMERA-SHAKE is more pronounced and appears more easily in macro photos because you’re so close to your subject that any tiny…

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Workflow with Canon software Import, organize and edit your photos with EOS Utility and Digital Photo Professional Your EOS camera includes Canon’s EOS Utility and Digital Photo Professional to make it easy to import, organize and edit your images. Being free, many may bypass these applications, missing out on a simple way to work with photos on their computer. There are two key applications for importing, organizing and editing your JPEG or Raws: EOS Utility and Digital Photo Professional (DPP). EOS Utility connects to your camera, and transfers photos to your computer in an ordered manner. Organization is key to being able to find your photos – EOS Utility stores images in folders based on the date they were taken. You may find it easier to use a simpler structure…

Ask Brian! Confused with your Canon DSLR? Email EOSSOS@futurenet.com I will draw a parallel with the past, where many people took photos and loved them, yet few processed their own films and prints. So why don’t you try making certain choices before you press the shutter, shoot in JPEG and your pictures are ready right after being saved. Set your camera to JPEG and you’re done – if only it was that simple. Your choice of camera image processing settings has a big impact on how your photos look. Get them right in-camera and you’ve got great files instantly. There are a few settings to consider, exposure, white balance, Picture Style, noise reduction, lens corrections and compression. As cameras have moved on, metering has got more consistent, and I’m using…

Available to buy separately or as a kit lens option with more up-market APS-C format SLRs, this is the third incarnation of Canon’s EF-S 18-135mm zooms. The first had a basic electric AF motor, the second switched to a stepping motor, and this latest edition boasts a revolutionary Nano USM system, which has since been adopted in both of the RF lenses on test for mirrorless full-frame bodies. Nano USM is based on a drive unit with an ‘elastic metal’ body and a ceramic voltage element. It enables super-fast AF for stills, along with ultra-smooth and near silent AF tracking for film. There are some cosmetic changes, but the optical design remains unchanged from the previous STM edition. As such, it’s based on 16 elements in 12 groups, with a…

Designed for the most demanding enthusiast and pro photographers, the original edition of this lens was launched back in 2002. The Mark II is the result of a major revamp and hit the market 10 years later. The upgraded optical design features three aspherical elements which aim for greater sharpness along with a reduction in distortions, colour fringing and colour blur. The aperture is also more well-rounded for enhanced bokeh when stopping down, based on nine rather than eight blades. The Mark II is more robust and sturdy than the original, and is weather-sealed. As we’re seeing in a growing number of new lenses, fluorine coatings are applied to the front and rear elements, to repel moisture and grease, and to enable easier cleaning. Given that Sigma and Tamron have…

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Canon releases firmware to fix the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L’s focusing issues Corrective firmware for the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L’s minimum focusing distance issues is now available. For more information go to DigitalCameraWorld.com via our quick link bit.ly/dcw_rf CES 2020: all the new cameras and imaging tech at the super show The world’s premier technology show is playing host to all manner of new cameras and imaging kit. More information on CES in Vegas at DigitalCameraWorld.com via this quick link bit.ly/dcw_ces There are over 100 updates on the new Canon EOS-1D X Mark III camera The 102 updates in the Canon EOS-1D X Mk III show just how much has been upgraded in Canon’s new flagship camera. More news on our site at DigitalCameraWorld.com via our quick link bit.ly/dcw_1dx3 INSTAGRAM…

CANON PRO NAME: ALASTAIR BATCHELOR CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D Mk III ALASTAIR’S photographic journey began in London at 19 when he would shooting the city’s abandoned architecture. He loves portraiture, and shooting headshots for actors, promo work for bands and artists, or for editorial purposes. He’s built up an ace collection of locations around London, including neon signs in Soho that make for amazing low light portraits. For more info visit www.alastairbatchelor.com APPRENTICE NAME: SHANA-ROCHELLE GRAVILLIS CAMERA: CANON EOS 5D Mk III SHANA-ROCHELLE graduated last year from University of East London in Photography and has a passion for people portraits. After a fall that damaged a tendon in her leg she’s been bound to crutches for at least a year. But she’s determined to not let this stand in the…

01 Use a tripod ONE OF the most important pieces of photographic equipment is a sturdy tripod that can be relied upon in all weathers and conditions. Not only does it stabilize the camera to combat any camera shake when using slower shutter speeds, or in windy weather, it also helps slow down your photography and force you into thinking more about your compositions. It’s a good idea to splash out on a carbon fibre model for lightness and strength. Go for one that has a weight rating higher than your equipment for extra stability. 02 Think about the foreground WHEN composing a scene, I generally start with a background focal point and then look for interesting foreground elements to link the two – preferably diagonally across the frame using…

13 Focus on closest eye WHEN shooting portraits with a shallow depth of field, it’s important for us to focus on the closest eye to the camera. But why is that exactly? A lot of the time when we create an image it’s easy to forget how our brains work when we view a photograph. The human eye is often drawn to elements within the foreground of an image first, so for these to be in focus makes sense to our brain. A person’s eyes are also a natural point of focus when we engage in a conversation and interact with people in daily life, so it’s important to keep them as a focal point if we want to create an engaging portrait of someone. 14 Invest in a prime…

St Louis, Senegal. 17:57pm. 8 December 2019. It won’t be light for another hour and a half, but the wailing that is the morning call to prayer has been under way for an hour or so already. In Dakar my hotel was right next to a mosque; it seemed the tannoy used to summon the faithful was virtually in my room, but at least it was brief. Here the chanting is continuous, and coming from a few mosques on the island, but it’s evocative, almost musical, leaving no doubt in my semi-consciousness as to where I am. What with the mosquito which is now buzzing around, trying to find the holes in the moth-eaten net draped over my bed sleep seems an unlikely prospect, so I might as well catch…

STORY BEHIND THE SHOT IT’S RAINING CONFETTI These wedding guests were about to climb the stairs for dinner when they were taken by surprise… This photo was taken at the Institution of Civil Engineers, in London. I had just taken a large group photo from the upper balcony, looking down on all the guests, and everyone was turning around ready to head up the staircase to dinner. At that moment, one of the staff members from the venue, who was on the balcony across from me, tipped a basket of confetti over the guests! I was shooting with the 24-70mm f/2.8 and had taken the group shot wide to get everyone in. As soon as the confetti started to rain down, I zoomed in to 70mm and focused on the…

01 DOLOMITES, ITALY For this shot Sumith found a beautiful spot to capture the Italian mountain range with the Milky Way in the frame too Lens Samyang 135mm f/2 Exposure 4 mins, f/9, ISO800 As an avid traveller my love for photography has taken me to all sorts of places. I am grateful that I’ve been able to combine both of my hobbies together, all while capturing the beauty of the planet in the process. My first stint shooting the Northern Lights opened up the whole world of night and low-light photography and to this day was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It was my good friend Alex, who I visited in the Swiss Alps, that introduced me to astrophotography. All of my images in this…

THE CONTENDERS APS-C Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM £214/$106 Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM £449/$399 Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM £690/$799 Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM £790/$549 FULL-FRAME Canon EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM £579/$599 Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM £998/$1099 Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM £800/$849 Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM £1740/$1599 Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM £1029/$899 Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM £2329/$2299 A standard zoom lens covers most eventualities for day-to-day shooting, so it pays to have a good one. You can buy the vast majority of Canon DSLRs and mirrorless cameras as a complete kit, which includes a standard zoom. In the APS-C format DSLR camp, these include the compact, lightweight and fairly unassuming EF-S 18-55mm…

If you prefer maximizing your viewing angle and are not so fussed about telephoto reach, you’ll find this lens a better fit for you than the EF-S 18-135mm. In full-frame terms, it delivers a class-leading 24mm ‘effective’ wide-angle focal for APS-C format DSLRs at the short end, while still stretching to an equivalent 136mm of telephoto reach. As such, it beats the EF-S 18-55mm and 17-55mm lenses at both ends of the zoom. The lens looks and feels comparatively old-school, which isn’t surprising as it was launched 10 years ago. Up-market attractions include a ring-type ultrasonic AF system with mechanically coupled full-time override. It’s quick, but not as near-silent as in most lenses that use stepping motors. Another plus for the traditional ring-type USM system is that the lens features…

Launched back in 2005, the original version of this lens was available as part of a kit with the first three editions of the EOS 5D, as well as the 6D. But it wasn’t sharp enough to make it onto the approved list of lenses for use with the high-resolution 5DS and 5DS R, and this revamped Mark II edition of the lens was launched in 2016. Top of the agenda for the Mark II was a redesigned optical path, which also gains high-tech ‘Air Sphere Coating’ for keeping ghosting and flare to a minimum. Keep-clean fluorine coatings are added to the front and rear elements, and the build-quality has been enhanced for greater resistance to vibration and shock. The image stabilizer is also improved, rising from 2.5-stop to 4-stop…

Available in kit form with EOS R and RP bodies, this lens takes advantage of the RF mount’s wide flange and close proximity to the image sensor, compared with EF lenses for SLRs. It’s shorter and lighter than the EF 24-105mm f/4L, at 84x107mm and 700g, making it an ideal match for a sleek mirrorless. Typical of L-series rather than more modest ‘kit’ zooms, it has excellent build with extensive weather-seals and comes with a hood. Highlights include aspherical and UD elements, a 9-blade diaphragm and fluorine coatings. As in the RF 24-70mm lens, there’s a 5-stop image stabilizer that outperforms anything in Canon’s range of standard zooms for SLRs. Like the EF-S 18-135mm, this lens has Nano USM AF, which is rapid for stills and enables super-smooth focus for…

01 SKI IS LIFE BY SANDI BERTONCELJ Sandi captured the perfect moment when a freeride skier jumped between these perfectly spaced trees and into the sunlight. Shot in Zauchensee, Austria, the landscape is covered with fresh snow which can throw off exposures, but not Sandi. He opened the aperture of his lens all the way to f/2.8 for a fast shutter speed of 1/6400 sec which has frozen the skier mid-jump. He’s pin-sharp and virtually pops out of the frame – it almost looks 3D! Lens 1/6400 sec, f/2.8, ISO100 Exposure Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Photocrowd This month’s Inspirations features our ‘Let it Snow!’ Photocrowd competition. Our favourite image wins a Manfrotto Pro Light RedBee-310 backpack (worth £160), and a selection from our top ten choices get published. The…

05 Use AI Servo FOR MOVING subjects, you’ll need a responsive autofocus setting. Switching the autofocus setting to AI Servo is the key to capturing sharp, action-packed images. AI Servo is Canon’s continuous autofocusing mode, meaning when the focus is activated by half-pressing the shutter button (or with AF-ON) the focusing system will fire into life and will continually refocus on your active AF point. This happens for as long as you’re half-pressing the button. It’s the best setting to use for birds in flight, motorsports, athletic events and anything where you need to track a moving subject while shooting a sequence of action images on high speed drive mode. 06 Setup your autofocus DIFFERENT moving subjects require a different autofocus approach and that’s where Canon’s great autofocus scenarios come…

17 Add colour with gels WHETHER you’re using a single flashgun or multiple light sources, a fantastic way to add extra interest and depth to your portraits is with colour gels. This can involve adding a subtle bounce of coloured flash within an ambient light portrait for a hint of extra colour, or using a gel on your main light (also called a key light) for your subject on a location or studio shoot. You can purchase colour acrylic gels pre-cut for use on flashguns, or fashion your own from sheets of coloured acrylic and they cost just a few pounds so it’s well worth investing in a set. 18 Modify the flash THERE are an abundance of different types of modifiers that can be used with both flashguns and…

dan.mold@futurenet.com NO DISC DRIVE? LINKS TO VIEW VIDEOS ONLINE ON THE PAGE! Welcome… CANON CAMERAS are fantastically versatile tools that are great for capturing a whole raft of photographic genres. So this month we want to show you how to shoot different subjects to get the most out of your kit. If you’d like 2020 to be the year you lend your hand to portraits, then be sure to check out our big project on page 46 – and discover the easy way to create classy, cinematic headshots. Or take a look at the lens hacks project, on page 52, for four budget ways to modify your lenses to inject arty flare in to your people pictures. Using a long lens for wildlife shots doesn’t have to break the bank,…

Photo essays from PhotoPlus readers and professional photographers alike 01 HEIR TO THE THRONE Adrien catches the moment a lion cub looks back over its shoulder towards him Lens Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Exposure 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO3200 I used to live in Africa, Ghana and later South Africa, but this was my first time going to Tanzania and Botswana. Really it was the definition of a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve been interested in photography and videography for the last five years and often rent better cameras for my more important shoots. I’m also completely self-taught. The capture of the lion cub in deep grass was taken in the Okavango Delta, Botswana [1]. His mother and grandmother were only a few feet away, with five…

Professional photographers reveal their top six tools of the trade they couldn’t shoot without One night my friend showed me Jupiter through his telescope and from that moment I was hooked! Living in Norfolk gives me access to some superb dark skies. This enables me to capture those faint and fuzzy deep space phenomena or wide sweeping Milky Way panoramas, without the horrible orange glow of light pollution. My passion is for shooting deep space nebula and galaxies; those distant objects Astronomers spend their lives trying to see. To achieve the best, most detailed results I usually build up exposure time of around nine hours; created by stacking 15-minute exposures from a specialist cooled mono camera with filters, attached to a telescope on a tracking mount. Shooting in unsociable hours…

THE NEW Canon EOS-1D X Mark III comes equipped with an all-new DIGIC X processor. When ultimate precision tracking is required, shooting in Live View enables the camera to capture a ferocious 20 frames per second (using either the mechanical or electronic shutter), powered by the brand new DIGIC X processor using the full 20.1 million-pixel readout of the image sensor, combined with an enormous 3869 Dual Pixel CMOS AF points. In Live View, the 1D X Mark III is capable of full eye detect autofocus, using the same tech as the Canon EOS R’s latest firmware update. This all means that the 1D X Mark III’s new DIGIC X processor is a whopping 380 times faster in terms of computational processing and 3.1 times faster at image processing than…

Pro photographers generally opt for a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens as their go-to standard zoom. However, these lenses are typically big and hefty, often weighing in at around a kilogram. The f/4 aperture of this lens enables a smaller, more lightweight build but, at 600g, it’s still 75g heavier than the EF 24-105mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM. L-series trappings include weather-seals and a supplied petal-shaped hood. The ring-type ultrasonic AF system is typically quick and whisper-quiet, and features the usual full-time manual override and focus distance scale beneath a viewing window. Build quality feels very good and fluorine coatings are on hand. A lesser-known attraction is that the zoom lock switch has an extra push-action position that unlocks an extended range for macro shooting. This boosts the max magnification factor to an…

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 DSLRs, but crop-sensor lenses aren’t compatible with full-frame cameras. KEY: ● BEST VALUE AWARD ● BEST ON TEST AWARD Contacts Canon www.canon.co.uk Peleng www.digitaltoyshop.co.uk Samyang www.samyang-lens.co.uk Schneider www.linhofstudio.com Sigma www.sigma-imaging-uk.com Tamron www.tamron.co.uk Tokina www.tokinalens.com Voigtlander www.robertwhite.co.uk Zeiss www.zeiss.co.uk…

Letter of the Month I think I slightly disagree with John Stinchcombe (Focuspoint, issue 160). I don’t think the Canon EOS 70D is long in the tooth at all. Mine still performs as well today as it did when I bought it in 2015. It did not become a worse camera when the 80D and 90D were released. Would the extra couple of frames per second, faster autofocus and processor, and higher pixel count improve my composition skills, my use of light and eye for a picture? Would locations become more picturesque, models more beautiful and the weather better? While my 70D lives I don’t feel the need to replace it. Graham Easby, Pudsey, West Yorkshire Thanks for getting in touch, Graham, and we like your response. There’s a lot…