CSC MEGA TEST PART 1: CANON VS FUJI VS SAMSUNG THE MAGAZINE THAT TAKES YOUR IMAGES SERIOUSLY
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AD HEAD TO HE AD TO HHEEAD
CANON EOS-1D X VS NIKON D4S The T he ultimate ultimate D DSLR SLR battle. battle. And just one winner
INSPIRATION
The power of projects
WIN!
A LOCATION SHOOT, PLUS LOWEPRO & JOBY KIT. AND TRAINING WITH SHOOTSMART See pages 59 & 60
Improve your creativity. Set yourself a theme
SUMMER’S HERE Why now is the best time to shoot landscapes SCENIC KIT TESTED: LITTLE STOPPER & MANFROTTO 055 AP45-001 (COVER).indd 1
GROUP REVIEW: SIX TOP SIGMA MA OPTICS ON THE TEST BENCH 22/05/2014 16:42
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Welcome
WILL CHEUNG FRPS, EDITOR Will has worked in photo mags for nearly 30 years and been taking pictures for even longer. His photographic interests are very broad, from nature to portraits.
Welcome to the issue. Setting yourself little (or big!) projects is a great way to give yourself reasons to pick up the camera. Projects don’t have to be deep and meaningful, they can be very simple and there’s absolutely no reason why you can’t have a number going on at any one time. Their start and end points can be flexible too, and the same applies to what you do with them at the end. A gallery on your website, making a set of prints or even making a book out of the results are all worthwhile options. In sum, projects are very much a good thing, and in this issue we see what five readers have been up to. Scenics is a hugely popular subject, as always, and this issue we have some outstanding images to whet your appetite, plus essential advice on how you can make the most of yours. In Photo Kit, we kick off a major three-part review of CSCs. With systems like Micro Four Thirds from Olympus and Panasonic, the Fujifilm X-series, Sony NEX and the Samsung NX system, the CSC section of the market is growing rapidly with more and more keen photographers looking to enjoy their benefits. If you are one of them, this test is perfect for you. We’re also taking a close look at two pro flagships, the Canon EOS-1D X and the Nikon D4S, testing them side by side. We look forward to your company next issue.
Will Cheung FRPS, Editor
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Contents
10 INSPIRE: Severn series
The cover story... POPPY FIELD IN THE SUN “Sunset was still a little way off so the naked sun was an issue,” says Will Cheung. “I metered the foreground and then a patch of bright sky and tried a 0.9ND grad. That wasn’t strong enough for my tastes so I added a 0.6ND grad too. Using two filters shooting into the sun is a recipe for flare but I didn’t mind the odd spot.” Nikon D800, 16-35mm f/4 at 16mm, 1/90sec at f/11, ISO 100, Lee Filters graduates 0.6ND and 0.9ND, both hard-edged in combination
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SEE PAGE 77 FOR DETAILS
18 CAPTURE: Summer days
54
LIGHTING ACADEMY: High-key
Inspiration, technique, opinion 7 UPFRONT The latest and
25 DIY: PROJECTS This
greatest launches – we keep our ear to the ground to bring you all the news.
time it’s personal. Set yourself a project to challenge and improve your skills, like these five industrious shooters.
10 RIVER TALES: INSPIRE Exploring the River Severn, Mark Hooper creates moody black & white images that tell the story of man’s involvement with the outdoors.
18 LAND LOVERS: CAPTURE For a perfect day (or summer!) of landscape shooting, you need the right technique and kit, as well as the right attitude to get you out of bed with the lark or staying out with the owl.
4 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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36 TOP SPOT It’s a capital idea to join the Advanced crew in London for Photo 24, our free 24-hour photo shoot on 20/21 June; read on to find out how to join in the fun. 43 EXPOSED Annual memory crisis aside, what’s editor Cheung been up to with his camera recently? 44 TRAINING DAY It’s never too late to learn, but where are the best places to
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Contents
63
25
GROUP TEST: Entry-level CSCs part 1
PROJECTS: Challenge yourself
36
TOP SPOT: Photo 24 hits London
89 ROUND-UP: Sigma lenses
Photo Kit: the latest gear tested do so? We have the answers. This issue, we’re picking ’n’ mixing with PW Academy.
48 RAW MASTERCLASS We’re a world away from the days of film, when switching from colour to black & white meant making the decision at point of capture. Digital not only lets you choose to go black & white later, it puts you in control of grain too.
54 LIGHTING ACADEMY
63 CSCS ON TEST
99 SIGMA UD-01 Be
For flattering portraits, and stunning still lifes, lighting is key, high-key in fact. We show you how to nail it with just two lights.
Our resident techie Dr Fyfe just couldn’t resist another mega test. So we’ve got ten mirrorless models over three issues: first up, entrylevel APS-C cameras.
your own lens technician with this USB dock.
59, 60 & 78 WIN Three fantastic prizes up for grabs.
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79 CANON EOS-1D X VS NIKON D4S Range topping models from the two biggest names on the market: who will go home, head held high, and who’ll have their tail between their legs?
89 SIGMA LENSES The independent lens maker has more than 40 optics in its line-up. We examine six of the best.
100 BAGS Unless you have a man Friday to carry all your gubbins, you need a good kitbag. Maybe one of these seven will make your willing helper redundant.
102 LITTLE STOPPER It’s Lee Filters’ latest long exposure filter and it absorbs six stops. Does it knock editor Cheung for six?
104 MANFROTTO MT055CXPRO4 Stable, carbon fibre, versatile – everything you want in a pod.
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INSPIRATION
The great ’scapes
A STORM’S BREWING Most landscape photographers dream of sunshine and blue skies, but not Mark Hooper, who waits until the clouds close in before heading out to capture his striking scenic shots WORDS MEGAN CROFT PICTURES MARK HOOPER
10 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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INSPIRATION
The great ’scapes BLACK NORE LIGHTHOUSE “The Severn Estuary off Black Nore Point has the second highest tide fall in the world. When the tide is out you can get some great angles to shoot from with the exposed rocks providing foreground interest. I took this with my 10mm wide-angle lens to create a dynamic composition. Using a slow shutter speed I wanted to blur the clouds to try and mirror the leading lines in the rocks.” Nikon D5000, Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 lens at 15mm, 0.6sec at f/16, ISO 200
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CAPTURE
The great ’scapes
SCENIC SPLENDOUR Now’s the time to capture those beautiful golden sunrises and colourful ’scapes, but make sure you plan ahead and get your filters ready for action WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG
18 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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CAPTURE
The great ’scapes
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TOP SPOT
London
Join us for
PHOTO 24 Fancy 24 hours indulging your passion for photography with a bunch of like-minded souls? That’s what Photo 24, in association with Nikon and the Nikon School, has to offer and it all kicks off at 6pm on 20 June in London WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG
36
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TOP SPOT
London
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START IMAGE
48 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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RAW MASTERCLASS CREATE A GRAINY B&W LOOK
RAW MASTERCLASS
ON THE STREETS When shooting with film, you were stuck with whatever film was loaded in the camera, which was why many photographers carried one camera body for colour and another for black & white. By shooting Raw, you can make that decision when you’re in front of the computer WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG
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LIGHTING A C A D E M Y The main light, an Elinchrom D-Lite RX, was to camera left with a white reflector positioned camera right for fill-in. A third light rather than a reflector would have given an even better highkey effect. The background light fitted with a spill kill was set to full power so it’s brighter than the illumination on the subject by 1.5EV. That keeps the white background white because without any light it would be light- or even mid-grey. The exposure was 1/160sec at f/11, ISO 200.
54 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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LIGHTING A C A D E M Y
LIGHTING A C A D E M Y
Part 45
Over the next two issues we will be looking at high-key and low-key lighting and how you can achieve great results with simple techniques. This issue, we work with high-key lighting WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG
How you light a scene impacts a picture’s mood fundamentally so you should always bear that in mind when setting up a shoot. High-key lighting is a well-established, popular type of lighting that suits flattering people pictures but it’s also used for stilllife photography too. What you are after is an even lighting effect with soft shadows. Shadows means contrast; for high-key work you want to keep the contrast range within a picture comparatively low. Dress the subject predominately in light-toned clothing, use a white backdrop and throw some light at the scene in front of you and you get a high-key effect that can look lovely in the right situation. A tad of overexposure also helps to keep the light tones airy but you should check the histogram because while you want a high-key effect you don’t want blown highlights devoid of any detail. The BACKGROUND LIGHT ONLY
histogram of a high-key image should have a strong right bias, but not be clipping off to the right. Because you need a shadowless effect, high-key lighting is easier with three lighting heads: the main one and a fill-in light your subject and a third one the white background. It is worth remembering that for a white background to come out white you need to throw some light at it. The two lights on the subject both need to be giving an output that’s more or less equal. Checking the output from each accurately needs a flash meter ideally, measuring one light at a time before doing a final check with both lights firing. A lighting ratio of 1:1 would be perfect but if you want a slight kick increase the output of the main unit up slightly. At the background, take another meter reading. You need the flash output to be 1EV or 1.5EV brighter than the light hitting the subject. If you don’t have
Dress the subject in light-toned clothing, use a white backdrop and throw some light at the scene and you can get a highkey effect that can look lovely in the right situation
LEFT Only one light was used here, an Elinchrom D-Lite RX, on the background. As you can see, the background is overlit and it’s actually too ‘white’. You can also see that because it is overlit, light bounced all over the place and has even lightened the model who had no direct light on her. A flash meter is a benefit here and you can meter one light at a time to determine the correct ratio or to ensure the background is correctly lit. Working with one light at a time and getting each one correct before moving on to the next is good practice, and then make sure all are firing when you start shooting in earnest.
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Photo Kit
INDEPENDENT REVIEWS OF ALL THINGS PHOTOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT IS naturally very important to advanced photographers and therefore it’s also very important to Advanced Photographer magazine – so every month we’ll be reviewing a wide variety of the latest photo kit. We’ll be including items that are relevant to the main technique features in each issue so cameras and lenses will feature heavily, but so too will accessories and software.
BEST IN TEST
Look out for this badge of honour in our comparison tests
63 CSC ON TEST: PART 1 Our S
resident techie Dr Fyfe just couldn’t resist another mega test. So we’ve ten mirrorless models over three issues: first up, entry-level cameras.
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79
CANON EOS-1D X VS NIKON D4S Range-
topping models from the biggest names on the market: who will go home, head held high, and who’ll have their tail between their legs?
89 SIGMA LENSES We
examine six of the independent lens makers’ best optics.
99 SIGMA UD-01 Be your own
lens technician with this USB dock.
100 BAGS Unless you have a man Friday to carry all your gubbins, you need a good kitbag. Maybe one of these…
104 MANFROTTO
MTO55CXPRO4
Carbon fibre, stable, versatile – everything you want in a tripod.
102
LITTLE STOPPER Does
Lee Filters’ new long exposure filter knock editor Cheung for six?
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Photo Kit
EOS-1D X VS D4S
NIKON D4S VS CANON EOS-1D X
Big sporting events often bring out new flagship DSLRs, and the World Cup has triggered an update from Nikon. Canon is sticking with what it’s got, so it’s time for a rematch WORDS IAN FYFE PICTURES IAN FYFE & WILL CHEUNG
If you like cameras, then flagship DSLRs from the big two, Canon and Nikon, are like shiny things to magpies – you don’t necessarily need them for anything, but they hold a powerful attraction, and you’d love one if you had the chance. The release of the Nikon D4S earlier this year caused a stir in the photography world, with updates to pique the interest of any action photographer. We reviewed the D4S in the last issue, but there’s a question that most of you, regardless of the brand you own, probably still have – how does it compare to the Canon EOS1D X? So we thought we’d find out. It’s true to say that the D4S wasn’t a major overhaul of the D4, but the biggest changes are significant in the context of the sports and nature it’s designed to capture. The shooting rate has been increased from ten frames-per-second to 11fps, which may not sound like a big difference, but could be crucial when shooting fast-moving action.
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The AF system, while using the same module as the D4 and D800, has been tweaked for better acquisition, and the mirror movement has been adjusted so it flips back faster – the dual benefit of this is that there’s longer between frames for the focus to change, and also the blackout in the viewfinder is shorter so that you can track your subject more easily. Also updated for the D4S is the image processor, which is the latest generation EXPEED 4. This promises better image rendering in JPEG files straight from the camera, which could be important if you want to maximise the shooting speed and buffer capacity, and avoid trawling through the hundreds of large Raw files that are easy to accumulate at such shooting speeds. The other benefit of this processor is a new top ISO equivalent sensitivity of 409,600, a benefit of 1EV over the D4 and EOS-1D X. There’s no sign that Canon has any intention of replacing the EOS-1D X,
even though it’s now over two years old. But that’s probably because it doesn’t need to. Even against the D4S, the Canon still looks good on paper. Its top shooting rate remains 1fps faster than the Nikon’s, with an AF system that’s overall more advanced. Unusually for Canon in recent times, even the resolution is in fact slightly higher. The only headline specification it falls short on is the top ISO sensitivity, which ‘only’ reaches 204,800. It’s debatable as to whether this really puts it at a disadvantage. Of course, both of these cameras are brutes, and there’s very little difference in how they feel to use. To all intents and purposes, they weigh exactly the same, although the Canon is slightly smaller in terms of dimensions. The control layouts obviously differ between them, but will be very familiar to users of the respective systems. What really matters though is how they perform, so let’s find out.
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Photo Kit
ACCESSORIES
Sigma USB Dock UD-01 Become your own official Sigma lens engineer with the USB Dock that lets you tweak your lenses’ calibration WORDS & PICTURES RICHARD HOPKINS
KEY FEATURES USER-ADJUSTABLE AF FINE-TUNE MULTI-ZONE DISTANCE CALIBRATION ZOOM FOCAL LENGTH OPTIMISATION CUSTOMISED IMAGE STABILISATION COMPATIBLE WITH SIGMA GLOBAL VISION RANGE It’s a fact of life that not all lenses are exactly calibrated to all camera bodies, and if they’re out of sync, autofocusing will not be accurate. To address this, the AF micro-calibration function has long been a feature on most DSLRs, allowing you to fine-tune for optimum performance. And that generally works very well, up to a point. On most cameras, the adjustment available usually allows just one overall change to each lens, so there can be a problem with zooms that might need several settings for different focal lengths, or for different focusing distances. Inside all lenses there are electronics to adjust these things, but they’re only accessible to official service engineers. What the Sigma USB Dock does is allow
users to get at the adjustment controls themselves, though it only works with a few Sigma lenses, basically all those from the new Global Vision range, currently including seven lenses for DSLRs: 1770mm f/2.8-4 C, 18-35mm f/1.8 A, 24105mm f/4 A, 30mm f/1.4 A, 35mm f/1.4 A, 50mm f/1.4 A and 120-300mm f/2.8 S. The device itself is very simple, like a large rear lens cap with a USB connection to the computer. Connect it up, then download the USB Dock software and instructions, and away you go. This is quick and simple, the software is pretty much self-explanatory and the whole process requires the minimum of computer-savvy. To make adjustments, just click on the setting required for the focal length and focusing distance, dial in the number, and it’s done in seconds. For lenses with OS image stabilisation and other custom features like the 120-300mm f/2.8 S, there are extra options to tweak those too. Using the USB Dock is easy. What takes far more time is the whole business of actually testing the lens to establish exactly what adjustments are needed. The USB Dock can’t help with that, and Sigma doesn’t offer any advice either.
THE VERDICT In theory, the USB Dock is a great idea. It’s cheap to buy and very easy to use, and Sigma should be congratulated on that. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to accurate lens calibration than just plugging in the USB Dock, and the much harder and more time-consuming task is all the trial-and-error testing needed to establish what changes to apply (if any). That can be a tricky business at the best of times, but if you’re up for it, or just enjoy this kind of technical tinkering, the USB Dock will ensure your Sigma lenses perform to the very best of their ability.
HOW IT RATES FEATURES
25/25
Great idea and lots of control
PERFORMANCE
25/25
Works perfectly well
HANDLING
23/25
Fine, once you know what to correct
VALUE FOR MONEY
25/25
Excellent
OVERALL
98/100
A great idea to help you get the most from your Sigma lens, but a tad on the geeky side PROS Helps you optimise your Sigma lens CONS Time it takes to work out corrections
AT-A-GLANCE SPECS
The device is simple, like a large rear lens cap with a USB connection to the computer. Connect it up, download the software and away you go www.advancedphotographer.co.uk
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STREET PRICE £40 CONTACT www.sigma-imaging-uk.com OPERATING SYSTEM Windows 7, Mac 10.7, or later INTERFACE USB 2 (cable supplied) POWER SOURCE USB bus DIMENSIONS (DXL) 69x25mm WEIGHT 65g COMPATIBILITY Sigma Global Vision lenses only FITTINGS Canon, Nikon, Sigma
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Photo Kit BAGS
TRAVELLING LIGHT: BAGS It’s all very well choosing your kit carefully for the streets, but you also need to think carefully about what you’ll carry it in. Here are some of the latest options
LOWEPRO URBAN REPORTER 250
SPECS PRICE £114 CONTACT www.lowepro.com CAPACITY DSLR + 3-4 lenses, 13in laptop. Side pockets, front organiser COLOUR Black CONSTRUCTION Twilled polyester with water-repellent coating WEIGHT 1.2kg
Taking your camera kit out onto the city streets requires a certain type of bag that covers a number of bases. First and foremost, it needs to protect – that obviously means good build quality and plenty of padding, but for the streets, that’s not all. City photography doesn’t necessarily need good weather, so a bag that can withstand a downpour is handy. It also needs to be secure – you want to be sure that sticky fingers don’t have easy access to your kit. But at the same time, street work can mean moving quickly to capture the moment, so you don’t want it to be a mission to get to your kit. Talking of access, the last thing you want is a bag that means you have to stop and empty everything out just to change lenses; sling bags and messenger style bags are best, because they let you get to everything without taking the bag off your shoulder. Size is an issue too – a bulky backpack can be awkward if you’re on and off buses or weaving your way through crowds, so something that’s big enough for the kit you need but no bigger is probably best. Here we’ve got a selection of the latest bags designed for the city streets, offering a variety of capacity, storage, carrying, access and style options.
The clue’s in n the name with this one – the Urban Reporter is designed forr the streets. First and foremost, its styling is discreet ill know you’ve got a camera tucked away in it so no one will it. But it’s also secure – the flap is held in place by leather straps secured with poppers. The space inside is plentiful, well padded and customisable. Big expandable pockets on the sides and an organiser pocket on the front also mean plenty of space for accessories.
MANFROTTO AGILE V
MANFROTTO SPECS £119 SLING BAG 30 PRICE CONTACT www.manfrotto.co.uk
SPECS PRICE £49 CONTACT www.manfrotto.co.uk CAPACITY DS DSLR + 2-3 lenses, tripod and pocket po tripod, accessories COLOUR Blac Black CONSTRUCT CONSTRUCTION Waterrepellent nylo nylon WEIGHT 1.04 1.04kg
Manfrotto is best known for its tripods, and thi this bag in its Stile range will carry not one, but two. A full-size tripod can be strapped to the front, while there’s a dedicated pocket inside for one of Manfrotto’s pocket series tripods. Quick draw flaps on either side provide swift access to your kit when you swing the bag round on the sling strap, and there’s a secure top compartment for your accessories and personal items. The shoulder strap can be supported by an underarm strap if you’re walking for a long time.
100 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 45
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CAPACITY DSLR + 2-3 lenses, tablet, tripod COLOUR Black CONSTRUCTION Exo-Tough multi-layer construction with otection internal camera protection tem system WEIGHT 1.26kg
Solid doesn’t quitee cover the feel of this professional bag – its or is very sturdy and should eeasily brush off Exo-Tough exterior ustle. There’s plenty of internal padding too, knocks from city bustle. and the dividers can be easily completely customised to suit your choice of kit. Access to the main compartment is via one side only and a large opening stops things feeling cramped. A tripod can be strapped to the other side. The sling strap makes access quick, although you can’t choose your preferred shoulder.
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Photo Kit BAGS
NEST ATHENA A50
SPECS SPE P PRICE £70 CONTACT www.nest-style.com C C CAPACITY DSLR + 2-3 lenses. Attachment loops, tripod straps A C COLOUR Black or brown CONSTRUCTION 750D C waterproof twill, 210D nylon w W WEIGHT 1.23kg
TAMRAC EVOLUTION 6
SPECS PRICE £118 CONTACT www.intro2020.co.uk CAPACITY DSLR + 2 lenses, flash, tripod. Top compartment COLOUR Black or brown/tan CONSTRUCTION 600D PolyTek with ballistic nylon WEIGHT 1.65kg
The harness on this bag gives you the convenience of a sling bag arrangement in that you can swing it round to the front for access, but it has a quick release strap that secures it around your chest, taking some of the weight from your shoulder. You can get at your kit from openings on either side, and the bright orange interior helps you find things easily. The camera compartment’s tight, but there’s more space in the top and two zipped pockets on the front.
lity and quick access. Its Solidly built, this bag is all about versatility ng bag unique harness system lets you wear it as a backpack or sling across either shoulder. The configuration is adjusted with strong metal clips, and the colour coding makes things simple. Unused straps tuck away nicely. Openings on either side make for excellent fast access from the shoulder, and there’s a front pocket too. A top compartment for accessories or personal items and a rain cover top things off.
TENBA SHOOTOUT SLING LE MEDIUM
THINKTANK CITYWALKER 30
SPECS PRICE £79 CONTACT www.profoto.com/uk CAPACITY 1-2 DLSRs, 3-4 lenses, flash, accessories COLOUR Black CONSTRUCTION Waterrepellent, dobby/diamond ripstop nylon shell WEIGHT 1.1kg
This bag offers great flexibility ibility w with both the kit it holds and how to access it. You can configu configure it with two compartments accessible via the side and top, or with one continuous compartment and a choice of access. In this configuration, it can hold big lenses with easy access. The back zips open for access to the entire interior too. On the outside, large toggles on the zips make them easy to grab and pull, and there’s a large expandable pocket on the front and a clip for a tripod on the side.
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SPECS PRICE £129 CONTACT www.snapperstuff.com WHAT IT WILL TAKE DSLR + 3-4 lenses, flash, 15in laptop COLOUR Blue or black CONSTRUCTION 420D velocity nylon, 420D high-density nylon, 600D brushed polyester, 250D shadow ripstop polyester 1 WEIGHT 1.4kg
If you need to carry a lot of kit in a bag that’s still discreet and lets you get in quickly, then this could be the one for you. Its main compartment has plenty of space, and although the interior is well padded, the outer shell is soft so it’s comfortable against your body. Security is good too, with a clip and large Velcro pads to hold the front flap down firmly. If you want to be discreet though, silencer flaps can cover the Velcro to prevent it making a sound.
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Photo Kit
LEE FILTERS LITTLE STOPPER
AT-A-GLANCE SPECS PRICE £99 100x100mm, £68 75x90mm CONTACT www.leefilters.com AVAILABILITY 100x100mm, 75x90mm for Seven5 system FILTER Neutral density MATERIALS Glass, with foam gasket to prevent light seepage RECOMMENDED WHITE-BALANCE SETTING 7000-8000K
LEE FILTERS LITTLE STOPPER
After massive success with its Big Stopper, Lee has now introduced its little brother that absorbs six f/stops of light as opposed to ten. We’ve been testing it out to find out what it can do WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG 6SECS
Some product names are so well known that they are often used generically. We Hoover floors even when using a Dyson, we ask for a Coke when we want a cola and we Photoshop images not just edit them. A measure of the success of Lee Filters’ Big Stopper is that photographers are generically calling extreme ND filters ‘Big Stoppers’ when they are actually B+W, Light Craft Workshop or Heliopan. The Lee Filters Big Stopper was a massive success from the day it was launched, although in the early days stocks were in short supply and that meant a wait of several months. This issue is something Lee is keen to avoid with the Little Stopper and supplies have been stockpiled prior to the launch, so you have no problem if you want to buy one. As you can guess, the Little Stopper is not as optically dense, with its filter factor of 64x absorbing around six stops of light as opposed to the Big Stopper’s 1000x and ten stops. It’s available for the 100mm Lee system and the smaller Seven5 system and it’s in stores at £99 and £68 respectively. The Little Stopper is made from glass to avoid the infrared pollution problems of optical resin filters and has a foam gasket to avoid any light leakage problems when the filter is slipped into the holder. Accurate positioning and using the filter slot closest to the lens is needed to avoid any light leaks. So, why is a Little Stopper worth considering? Simple: the Big Stopper’s ten stops of absorption can be too much particularly when light levels are low, while a standard ND might not be enough, so the Little Stopper’s six stops cover that middle ground in Lee’s range. The filter comes in a classy metal container together with some instructions and an exposure guide chart. There’s also
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a note saying that the Little Stopper’s exposure factor can vary so you should test its actual factor before serious use. Its white-balance setting needs testing too, as it’s not neutral. Of course, many photographers shoot Raw and resolve any colour cast in postproduction. However, if you want a more neutral result straight out of camera, use a manual kelvin setting – Lee suggests testing a range from 7000 to 8000K – or try a custom white-balance, shooting something neutral through the filter. Using a Nikon D4S I shot at every kelvin value from 4350K to 10,000K, the value suggested for the Big Stopper. My test images were blue or cool until I got to 5880K and then started to be acceptable, then warmth kicked in from 9090K. I used 6670K most of the time and when I wanted a tad of warmth I went to 7140K. Regarding the exposure filter I used a Gossen Digisky handheld meter and I found
my Little Stopper was absorbing an extra 0.3EV, so a little extra exposure would be needed in practice. It’s worth stressing that you should follow Lee’s advice and perform your own white-balance and filter factor tests as digital cameras behave differently. One thing about using the Little Stopper is that in decent light you can accurately compose and focus through the filter – you certainly can’t compose accurately with its big brother, the Big Stopper. That said, it’s still best to compose and focus prior to fitting the filter, especially if you are working in low light. Optically, the Little Stopper had no obvious detrimental impact on image quality and flare wasn’t an issue either unless the sun was shining directly onto the filter. It should go without saying that to optimise the optical qualities of any long-exposure filter, a solid tripod, a remote release and good technique are important.
The Little Stopper is a high-quality product and gives Lee Filters devotees an extra dimension www.advancedphotographer.co.uk
23/05/2014 11:54
Photo Kit
LEE FILTERS LITTLE STOPPER THE VERDICT
LEFT The Lee Filters Little Stopper is impeccably finished, as you’d expect.
Lee Filters mentioned the Little Stopper to me well over a year ago so it has taken that long for the filter to be realised. However, there is no denying that the wait has been thoroughly worthwhile. The Little Stopper is a highquality product and gives Lee Filters devotees an extra dimension to their long-exposure photography and means you can get a serious amount of subject blur when the light levels are low.
1/10SEC
HOW IT RATES FEATURES
25/25
It’s a high-quality glass, extreme ND filter
PERFORMANCE
25/25
It did everything as promised
HANDLING
25/25
All good including being able to compose through it
VALUE FOR MONEY
23/25
Lee products are fairly priced but not cheap
OVERALL
98/100
A very welcome addition to the Lee Filters range and a classy product PROS Glass, high optical quality, easy to use CONS None really
ABOVE AND LEFT The Little Stopper enabled an exposure of 6secs at f/22, instead of the non-filtered 1/10sec at f/22. It was a breezy day and even this modestly long shutter speed gave a nice blur. The white-balance setting for the filtered image was 6670K.
BELOW The Little Stopper, in common with other extreme ND filters, is not truly neutral so you need to adjust white-balance – either in-camera or on the computer with the Raw file, or a bit of both. This set of pictures was taken using a tripodmounted Nikon D4S and 24-120mm zoom using manually set kelvin white-balance settings. The exposure was 1/8sec at f/8, ISO 200. The Raws were processed through Lightroom 5.4 with no tweaks.
AWB
5000K
5260K
5560K
5880K
6250K
6670K
7140K
7690K
8330K
9090K
10,000K
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