Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2015 i PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

Your Canon DSLR is a highly evolved machine, but is it really clever enough to beat a man (or woman) when it comes to photography? This issue we’ve created a great Canon challenge; a man using only manual modes versus a DSLR’s automatic settings. From shooting modes to exposures, we reveal when it’s best to control your camera manually and when you can safely rely on auto settings – see page 32. Down in delightful Dorset, this month’s Apprentice gets expert Canon tuition learning how to take beautiful photographs of the Great British countryside, from rural village scenes to country manors, all while dealing with typical UK summer weather; there was sun, clouds, heavy rain showers, and even a hailstorm! See page 8. Also inside your bigger, better PhotoPlus: The…

VIDEO also online http://bit.ly/pp_102_1 THE MISSION Shoot and stitch together a panoramic landscape image Time needed One hour Skill level Beginner Kit needed Tripod • ND grad filters • Photoshop CS5 or above Panoramas are always a big hit with landscape enthusiasts. They’re the perfect way to capture a sprawling vista, without an ultra-wide lens, and in this project we’re going to show you just how easy it is to shoot and create stunning panoramic scenes. To capture a panorama you first need to shoot a sequence of images, moving or rotating the camera between each shot, and then merge them together in post-production. You’ll need to use a sturdy tripod, and ensure that it’s perfectly level. For the best results shoot in portrait orientation, turning the tripod head a…

VIDEO also online http://bit.ly/pp_102_4 THE MISSION Convey a sense of movement in an action sports shot Time needed 30 minutes Skill level Intermediate Kit needed Flashgun Shooting high-speed sports can be something of a challenge – just how do you convey a dynamic sense of movement in a static image? Using a fast shutter speed to freeze the subject can result in a lifeless-looking shot, while a slower shutter speed would normally result in a blurred subject. The answer is to ‘pan’ the camera in conjunction with a slow shutter speed, following the subject as they move through the scene. Done correctly, this will blur the background into streak that portrays movement while keeping the subject sharp. Pairing a flash with this technique not only adds vibrance and contrast, but…

VIDEO ALSO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_102_7 THE MISSION Give a photo a hand-sketched look Time needed Half an hour Skill level Advanced Kit needed Photoshop CS5 or above DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM: http://downloads.photoplusmag.com/pp102.zip Photoshop is as beloved by artists as it is by photographers, and in this project we are going to combine art forms, giving a portrait a handdrawn, hand-painted effect – complete with the artist’s arm ‘sketching’ their masterpiece for a 3D look. You will need a portrait plus a photo of a hand holding a pencil or brush; we have provided both for this project, but if you want to shoot your own, using a simple portrait with a plain background works best for a convincinglooking drawing. For the hand, position the subject’s arm on a…

The importance of aperture Take control of your apertures to reach new heights with your creative photography ANDREW JAMES PHOTO EXPERT Andrew James has combined photography with writing for over 25 years. He uses a Canon EOS 5D Mk III and 1D X, teaches on photography holidays and workshops, runs online photo community FotoBuzz – and now is your tutor at Canon School. Aperture control is one of the basics of photography. As we touched on in the first Canon School (issue 100), the aperture is simply the hole that light passes through in order to capture an image on the camera’s sensor. This hole is actually in the lens, rather than the camera body. A ring of blades in the lens close up to form this hole, and its…

£635/$900 Despite being an L-series lens, the build quality of this 100mm doesn’t feel quite as solid as some of Canon’s other premium professional lenses. At least it has a weather seal ring on its mounting plate, matched only by the Tamron 90mm VC USD lens in this group. A lens hood is included, but the tripod mount collar is only available as an optional extra. The focus limiter switch goes one better than that of Canon’s cheaper 100mm, as it enables you to lock autofocus to either the short or long end of the range. One of this lens’s selling points is that it features a ‘hybrid’ stabilizer. Canon claims it can more effectively correct ‘lens shift’ movement as well as the usual angular vibration. In our tests, though,…

£1180/$1700 Unique amongst macro lenses, this Sigma combines a long focal length with a wide aperture, and the combination doesn’t come cheap, in terms of build, size or price. It’s a big lens measuring 95x204mm, and is more than twice the weight of the Sigma 105mm at 1640g. It’s also about three times the price. To enable sufficient light transmittance for its f/2.8 rating, the front element is large and the filter thread is an oversized 86mm. Minimum focus distance is stretched further than with any other lens in the group, to 47cm. That’s 9cm more than with the Sigma 150mm lens, but the distance between the front of the lens and the target only increases by 4cm, to 23cm. The simple reason for this is that the lens itself…

£380/$750 Don’t imagine that this new Tamron 90mm lens is just a revised version of the one reviewed on the previous page. Everything about it is comparatively state-of-the-art, including Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) stabilization system, which is very effective, and ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, which is super-fast. Other improvements include internal focusing, which means the lens doesn’t physically extend at shorter focusing distances. As such, at the minimum focus distance there’s 14cm of clearance between the front end of the lens and your subject, rather than 10cm. Tamron’s new ‘eBand’ nano coating is applied to reduce ghosting and flare, and another flourish is a weather seal on the mounting plate, as in the Canon 100mm L-series lens. Up at the front end, the manual focus ring is large and has…

NEXT MONTH DON’ T MISS OUR NEXT ISSUE, ON SALE 21 JULY 01 Which groundbreaking digital camera celebrates its tenth birthday this year? A EOS 5D B EOS 300D (aka Digital Rebel) C EOS 10D D EOS 7D 02 How much larger is the sensor on a full-frame SLR (such as the EOS 6D) compared to an APS-C SLR (such as the EOS 70D)? A 1.5x B 1.6x C 2x D 2.6x 03 In the film Pecker, the lead character, played by Edward Furlong, uses this ’60s Canon rangefinder camera to shoot his portraits. What model is it? A Canonet 28 B Coronet Cadet C Ixus II D Powershot G1 04 If a flashgun has a Guide Number of 32 (m/ISO100). What is the textbook aperture if it was used…

Peter Travers Editor • 5D Mark III peter.travers@futurenet.com Peter enjoyed photographing the Great British countryside and rural scenes around Dorset, along with our Canon expert and Apprentice. PAGE 8 Hollie Latham Technique editor • 60D hollie.latham@futurenet.com Hollie has a sweet tooth and enjoyed chomping through several punnets of strawberries while shooting her Harris shutter effect project. PAGE 58 Angela Nicholson Head of testing • 5D Mk III angela.nicholson@futurenet.com Nature nut Angela enjoyed our macro lens Super Test. PAGE 116 Plus she was excited about Hähnel Captur, which sets up infrared traps. PAGE 108 Adam Waring Operations editor • 7D adam.waring@futurenet.com Adam has a soft spot for ballet and was thrilled when he saw this issue’s Photo Stories, so much so, he came to work in his pink, sparkly leotard. PAGE…

VIDEO ALSO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_102_5 THE MISSION Emulate the Harris shutter effect for colourful results Time needed Half a day Skill level Advanced Kit needed Tripod, flashgun, shutter release cable, reflector, black material, Photoshop Elements or CC A digital colour image is made up of hundreds of thousands, and often many millions, of pixels. The colour of each pixel is defined using the RGB colour model – that is, by the brightness levels of the red, green and blue colour channels. Understanding colour channels is important when it comes to editing your images – for example when you’re correcting a colour cast. Channels themselves are an advanced feature of image-editing applications such as Photoshop, which enable you to manipulate the RGB content of your images both to correct colours, and also…

VIDEO ALSO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_102_8 THE MISSION Add GPS data to your DSLR images Time needed 10 minutes Skill level Beginner Kit needed Lightroom 5 or above If you’re the type of person who loves keeping photos organized, keyworded and categorized, then you’ll love the Map module. This allows you to tag and group images by location. It’s easy to use, and even if you’re less of a stickler for organisation, there are plenty of benefits to keeping track of where your images were taken. Say, for example, you come across an amazing scene but only have your camera phone to hand. Take a quick snap and the GPS coordinates will be embedded in the image metadata. When you import the image into Lightroom the location will automatically show up in…

Take control of tonal range Rein in overexposed highlights and unexposed shadows in Digital Photo Professional 4 EXPERT GEORGE CAIRNS IMAGING EXPERT George Cairns has been writing image-editing tutorials for PhotoPlus since our first very issue, back in 2007. He uses a Canon EOS 650D and 70D, and writes for the Canon Professional Network – a newsletter for Canon pro kit users. Capturing detail in a location’s shadows, midtones and highlights can be a challenge for your Canon camera. When set to an auto exposure mode, your EOS may use Evaluative metering mode to analyse the intensity of shadows and the highlights in different parts of the frame. It will then adjust its aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings to capture an exposure based on an average of the scene’s…

Angela Nicholson Head of testing angela.nicholson@futurenet.com Welcome... ONE aspect of photography that I especially enjoy is the ability to explore a subject in detail. So I am particularly pleased that this month’s Super Test looks at macro lenses (page 116). A macro lens allows you to get really close to a subject, and with 1:1 reproduction, objects are the same size on the sensor as they are in reality. It opens up a whole world of creative possibilities. The tendency with macro photography is to shoot with a narrow aperture to get maximum depth of field, but it can also be fun to shoot at wider apertures to include some creative blur. That’s just one reason why we test lenses at every aperture setting. This is especially relevant as many…

£330/$420 The smallest and lightest lens in the group at just 73x70mm and 335g, this Canon is also one of the least expensive to buy. Designed solely for DSLRs with APS-C format image sensors, it has an ‘effective’ focal length of 96mm, making it useful for portraiture as well as macro photography on cameras like the 700D and 70D. As with nearly all other lenses in the group, the f/2.8 widest aperture enables a tight depth of field, although, in this respect, it’s beaten by the Tamron 60mm lens that’s also for APS-C cameras, which has an f/2 maximum aperture. Build quality feels solid and the ring-type ultrasonic autofocus is fast – which is just as well, because the lens lacks a focus limiter switch, as featured on most competing…

£385/$670 Almost identical in physical size to the Canon 100mm L-series lens, the construction of this Sigma feels a bit more solid, and it’s 100g heavier at 725g. Even so, it doesn’t need a tripod mounting collar, although it’s a shame Sigma doesn’t offer one as an optional extra. Sigma does supply collars as standard with its heavier 150mm and 180mm lenses, and all three come complete with not only a hood, but also a hood extender for optimized efficiency when using APS-C format cameras. The lens features a threeposition focus limiter switch and an optical stabilizer. It’s not a ‘hybrid’ stabilizer, as fitted to the Canon 100mm IS lens, but proves equally effective while also adding a secondary panning mode. Ring-type ultrasonic autofocus is swift and quiet, and the…

£310/$525 Built solely for APS-C format cameras, this Tamron leads the whole group for maximum aperture at f/2. All the other lenses are a whole f/stop slower at f/2.8, and while it’s of little consequence for macro photography, the faster shutter speeds and smaller depth of field an f/2 aperture enables can be advantageous for general shooting, and especially for portraiture. For macro shooting, the minimum focus distance is 23cm, and the distance between the front of the lens and the target is 10.5cm. Autofocusing is accurate but a little on the slow side, and the comparatively basic electric motor is clearly audible; on the plus side, and unusually for a system of this type, full-time manual override is available in One Shot autofocus mode. However, the focus ring itself…

Canon’s 100mm IS USM is a great lens, but the Sigma 105mm matches it all the way for image quality, stabilization and handling, as well as autofocus accuracy and speed. Build quality feels every bit as good too, yet the Sigma is significantly less expensive than the Canon, making it our all-round best buy. Sigma’s longer 150mm and 180mm lenses are also excellent, but much pricier, and only worth the extra outlay if you really need the longer focal lengths. The Tamron 90mm VC USD is another highly attractive lens. In most respects it’s almost as good as the Sigma 105mm, but it comes up short on sharpness at wide apertures – that’s no real concern for macro photography, but it can be an issue in general shooting. Of the…

HOW TO POSE... TODDLERS 1/9 TICKLE TOES Posing a toddler is all about making up fun games and then capturing the expressions, so ask them to do something silly like tickle their own toes Top tip: Lie on the floor to shoot at their eye level 2/9 ON THE FLOOR Lying them on their back gives you a dynamic angle to shoot from – and will hopefully keep them still! Top tip: Try spinning or sliding them around on their back to capture some fun expressions 3/9 CLAP HAPPY Kids love to clap, so this can lead to happy faces and lively poses – more so if you clap along with them Top tip: Making noise is fun for young children, so get them shouting, banging and stomping 4/9 ROMPER…

John Fanning Our Canon expert guided our Apprentice around Dorset capturing the Great British countryside. PAGE 8 Oliver Wright Landscape and wildlife photographer Oliver Wright reveals what kit he couldn’t be without. PAGE 86 Marcus Hawkins This issue our camera hero battled an evil Canon EOS robot in our tough Man vs Camera challenge. PAGE 32 Andrew James Confused about your apertures? Our expert Andrew explains all you need to know. PAGE 90 David Noton Our David continues his travelogue, visiting the iconic Sequoia National Park in California. PAGE 42 Brian Worley Our technical wizard Brian gets to the bottom of your Canon queries in our EOS SOS Q+A section. PAGE 101 Harry Borden This top UK pro portrait photographer tells us how it all started on his father’s pig…

Hollie Latham Technique editor hollie.latham@futurenet.com Welcome... WITH the longer, lighter days and the colourful countryside in full bloom, why not make the most of the scenic views around you with this month’s panorama project? If you prefer to stay closer to home, we’ve got a simple project you can try in your own back garden. For rainy days, head inside and capture vibrant shots by recreating the Harris shutter effect. For those of you who want some flash-lit action, we’ve got two great projects to try your hand at. Combine the panning technique with flash to capture punchy high-speed action sports shots, and get great high-key portraits indoors with just a pair of flashguns. If you want to get to grips with Photoshop, we’ve got a tutorial to help you…

VIDEO also online http://bit.ly/pp_102_3 THE MISSION Shoot a high-key portrait lit with flash Time needed 20 minutes Skill level Intermediate Kit needed 2 Speedlites • Plain white or off-white wall • Shoot-through umbrella (optional) The term ‘high key’ means images with a bright, airy look that are dominated by light tones, usually with a blown-out background. It’s a lighting setup you often see in studio fashion or family portraiture, but it doesn’t require a studio and a load of expensive lighting gear. All you need is a white wall and a pair of flashguns. To get the high-key look we simply need to overexpose the background, so that it comes out brighter than our subject, which is easily done with two flashes. Train one on the subject, with the other…

VIDEO ALSO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_102_6 THE MISSION Learn to master a variety of Photoshop Elements’ clever selection tools Time needed 15 minutes Skill level Beginner Kit needed Photoshop Elements 13 DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM: http://downloads.photoplusmag.com/pp102.zip Selections allow us to isolate parts of our images, making it easier to target, adjust or cut out those areas. When working with photographs, these areas are usually quite complex, so attempting to select them with basic selection tools, such as the Lasso, would take ages. This is where Element’s advanced selection tools – Quick Selection and the Magic Wand – show their worth. They work by making selections based on similarities in colour and tone, so they excel at selecting large areas, such as skies, in just a few clicks. Here we’ll…

DURING THE past 25 years, Canon photographer Harry Borden has built a reputation as one of the UK’s top professional portrait photographers. His distinctive images avoid the kind of lighting and poses that make attentiongrabbing but ultimately shallow portraits. Instead, he prefers to create photographs that are understated and insightful, and that often have a sense of ambiguity. Harry’s work has received two World Press Photo awards and a Royal Photographic Society Fellowship; its quality has been recognized by the National Portrait Gallery, which holds well over 100 of his photographs. His career has taken him to locations around the world to meet some of the most famous people of our times, but, as he explains, it began in the rather less glamorous surroundings of his father’s pig farm in…

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 “Would fast zoom lenses with an f/2.8 aperture help my low-light photos?” Paul Crombie, Penicuik, Scotland BRIAN SAYS… Low light in itself is not so much trouble if a lens has image stabilization, but for moving subjects in low light a faster aperture will still give you faster shutter speeds. Fast f/2.8 apertures will let in four times as much light as an f/5.6 lens. If using flash is not practical then push the ISO up; a bit of noise on a sharp picture is better than a…

NEUTRAL density filters are essential for landscape photographers, as they enable longer exposure times to smooth out flowing water and moving clouds. In urban settings, moving people and vehicles can be blurred or even made to disappear, while ND filters enable portrait photographers to set wide apertures to blur backgrounds even in very bright conditions. ND filters generally come as part of a filter kit. For ease of use, a great alternative is a variable ND filter – these are basically two polarizers fixed together to form one screw-on filter. As they’re rotated, the elements restrict the amount of light that can pass through them, and therefore extend the exposure time from split seconds into minutes. Despite the ND title, many are known as faders, as they produce slight colour…

£375/$550 The overall design and finish of this lens look very similar to the EF-S 60mm on test, but this one is substantially larger and nearly twice as heavy, at 79x119mm and 600g. Along with its longer 100mm focal length, the closest focus distance also greater at 31cm, which puts the non-extending front element 15cm from what you’re shooting. Further similarities to the EF-S 60mm include an optical layout based on 12 elements within eight groups, rapid yet quiet ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, the lack of image stabilization, and the lack of a supplied lens hood, which is available as an optional extra. The larger 100mm lens has a more rounded aperture based on eight diaphragm blades rather than seven, and adds a focus limiter switch; however, it’s only a basic…

£670/$1100 This lens is significantly more expensive than the Sigma 105mm on test, but compares favourably in this respect with the Canon 100mm IS. The main gain is an extension in closest focus distance. The lens isn’t much longer physically than the Sigma 105mm, so the distance from front of lens to target increases from 15cm to 19cm, giving you a couple of extra inches to work with. The optical design includes three Special Low Dispersion elements to counter colour fringing. Build quality feels of the same high standard as the 105mm lens but, as this one is weightier at 1150g, a tripod mounting collar is included – this enables easy rotation for landscape and portrait orientation shooting and keeps the weight well centralized. The layout of switches is identical…

£300/$500 Originally launched nearly 20 years ago, the Tamron 90mm has been a favourite with macro photographers looking for good image quality at a budget price. However, it’s starting to look a bit past its sell-by date compared with newer contenders, not least Tamron’s own 90mm VC USD, reviewed over the page. The lens is unique in this group, and not in a good way, as it lacks internal focusing. The inner barrel slides out and the lens almost doubles in length at its shortest focus setting of 29cm. This results in the front of the lens extending to just 10cm from the target in full macro magnification mode. The basic electric autofocus motor is relatively noisy and sluggish, and there’s no full-time manual override – instead, the focus ring…

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 1200D is the most basic, the 750D/760D for intermediates, while the 1D X is strictly for pros or those with deep pockets. 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. With over 150 lenses available for Canon DSLRs, picking the best for the job can be a minefield. Here’s the lowdown on all currently available EOS-fit glass Choosing lenses Key factors to watch out for THE MAIN factors to consider in…