Advanced Photographer 51 Sampler

PENTAX 645Z FIELD TEST ENTER THE TWILIGHT ZONE

Five readers deliver their verdicts

Shoot great landscapes before teatime

SHOOT A PROJECT

Three ideas guaranteed to inspire

THE MAGAZINE THAT TAKES YOUR IMAGES SERIOUSLY

ISSUE 51 £4.95 ADVANCEDPHOTOGRAPHER.CO.UK

PACKED WITH NEW GEAR

Definitive reviews on the latest premium compacts, Sigma 150-600mm and more

It’s behind you!

Why great studio portraits start with well-lit backgrounds

How torches, flashguns and wire wool can help you create epic low-light masterpieces FEATURED INSIDE: FUJIFILM X-T 1 NIKON D800 LEICA M9 CANON EOS 6D SAMSUNG NX1 CANON POWERSHOT G7 X FUJIFILM X30 SIGMA 150-600MM LYTRO ILLUM 4 MINI TESTS ap51-001 coverhb.indd 1

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ISSUE 51

Welcome WILL CHEUNG FRPS, EDITOR Will has worked in photo mags for 30 years and been taking pictures for even longer. His photographic interests are very broad, from landscape and nature to portraits, indoors and out.

ENAHDACONNCTEENDT IP

AVAILABLE

With more hours of darkness than daylight, now’s the perfect time to venture out into the world at night and we’ve loads of creative ideas for you to try, all of them requiring you to add your own light. Light painting, wire wool spinning and creating orbs are among the eyecatching techniques we explore in detail here.

Medium-format digital capture is very expensive, but the Pentax 645Z has broken the mould and offers 51.2 megapixels at just £6800 body only. That is still a lot of money but it is incredible value for what you get.

Anyway, find out how five readers got on with it when they were lent one for the day and told to go shoot the Lake District.

In Photo Kit, we try out the latest sensation from Samsung, the NX1, a CSC aimed at the experienced image-maker. It has a 28.2-megapixel resolution, can shoot at 15fps, features 4K video and its AF system has sensors covering 90% of the imaging area. There’s nothing quite like it on the market. The same applies to the Lytro Illum, a remarkable camera that captures every picture at f/2 but lets you produce the effect of f/1 or f/16 in software. It could well be the future.

See you next month for an indoor photography special.

Will Cheung FRPS, Editor

PAGE 26 COVER STORY

SEEING THE LIGHT

PAGE 68 COVER STORY

SAMSUNG NX1

PAGE 8 COVER STORY

LANDSCAPE MASTERCLASS

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ISSUE 51

CONTENTS PAGE 8

LANDSCAPE MASTERCLASS

Imparting his scenic know-how, editor Cheung shows us how it’s done. This issue, he’s playing the (twilight) blues.

PAGE 12

UPFRONT

Excited about photography? You bet! This issue we’re gawping over price tags and portraits.

PAGE 18

PENTAX HOT SHOTS

DAVID WILLIAMS

Well, if you will go to the Lake District in autumn, what do you expect but rain? So our five Hot Shots weren’t disappointed by the weather or the Pentax 645Z. PAGE 110

INSPIRED

PAGE 26

THE BIG FEATURE: LOW LIGHT

What a difference a light makes. Transform an ordinary location into an extraordinary scene. With a torch.

PAGE 49

LIGHTING ACADEMY

It’s behind you! How to light the background with just two heads.

PAGE 55

PROJECTS

Practise with a project. Whether it’s small or grand, it’ll fire your imagination and polish your skills.

LIGHTING ACADEMY

PAGE 55 COVER STORY

PROJECTS

INSPIRED

Great images spark yet more great images. Get your monthly dollop of inspiration from the streets.

MIKE MARTIN

PAGE 49 COVER STORY

KINGSLEY SINGLETON

PAGE 110

PAGE 114

AND FINALLY…

Large or small, and everything in between – editor Cheung proves that size really doesn’t matter.

PHOTO KIT PAGE 65

GEAR NEWS

If it’s new, it’s here; if it’s hot, it’s here. This is your monthly round-up of all the latest kit – wish list to hand…

PAGE 68

SAMSUNG NX1

Getting to grips with the top-of-the-range CSC in the first part of our super test.

PAGE 75

CANON POWERSHOT G7 X

Canon’s PowerShot G series has been around a while.

Can the G7 X uphold its great reputation?

PAGE 79 NICK ADAMSON

PAGE 18

COVER STORY

PENTAX HOT SHOTS

FUJIFILM X30

Our reviewer gets picky with this premium compact.

PAGE 82

SIGMA 150-600MM

Sigma extends its range with a telezoom that’s perfect for wildlife and sports fans.

PAGE 85

LONG-TERMERS

Find out what it’s like to use a camera day in, day out as the AP team and readers share their kit experiences.

PAGE 92

COVER STORY

PAGE 94

MINI TESTS

PAGE 75 COVER STORY

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LYTRO ILLUM

This review could be an illum-inating experience…

PAGE 99

CANON POWERSHOT G7 X

NR SOFTWARE

Keep it down with one of these four packages.

PAGE 99

MINI TESTS

The bits and pieces that are guaranteed to improve your shooting experience.

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LANDSCAPE MASTERCLASS

Moody blues WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG

Our view of the world changes a great deal in that magical time after the sun has set for the day and it is simply awesome to be out there enjoying it with the camera. Even better if you’re in a nice location

T

wilight is a beautiful time to be out shooting, whether you’re in the landscape or an urban environment.

This magical time when the sun is below the horizon but still illuminating the upper atmosphere gives a lovely, soft light with a moody character all its own. It’s often called the blue hour for very good reason, although it’s true that its duration does vary and an hour is optimistic; pictures taken during this period take on a vibrant blue hue that can look stunning. With the control available in digital imaging this blueness can be

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honed to suit personal taste and indeed it can be removed completely with a click of a dropper tool.

Its gorgeous aesthetic quality apart, twilight is also wonderful because it can be photogenic almost regardless of what conditions were like during the day.

Thus, twilight on a cloudy, wet day can be as photogenic as twilight after a sundrenched day. Another potential advantage of this time of year is that twilight happens relatively early so it can be much more sociable. In summer when twilight is 9, 10, 11pm, it can make for a very long day.

@advancedphotog

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07/11/2014 08:55

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07/11/2014 08:55

CREATIVE LOW LIGHT

ED ENIPAHDACNONCTENT LE

AVAILAB

DARREN LITTLEHALES

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@advancedphotog

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07/11/2014 09:08

CREATIVE LOW LIGHT

WORDS KINGSLEY SINGLETON

Give your lightpainted pictures the wow factor and turn ordinary locations into extraordinary scenes Advanced Photographer is also available as a fully interactive magazine – go to iTunes now!

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07/11/2014 09:08

DAVID GILLIVER

CREATIVE LOW LIGHT

THE REACTION TO A GREAT LIGHT-PAINTED PICTURE IS SOMETHING YOU SIMPLY CAN’T BEAT. IT USUALLY STARTS WITH ‘WOW’ AND ENDS WITH ‘HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?’ THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE AFTER, BUT IF YOU’VE ALREADY HAD A GO AT LIGHT PAINTING AND AREN’T GETTING THE RESULTS YOU WANT, IT’S TIME TO RE-EXAMINE HOW YOU’RE DOING IT WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THE EXPERTS. AND IF YOU’VE NEVER HAD A GO AT IT BEFORE, WE’RE ACTUALLY REALLY JEALOUS, BECAUSE SEEING YOUR FIRST FEW LIGHTPAINTED EXPOSURES IS ONE OF THE PUREST AND MOST MEMORABLE THRILLS YOU CAN GET FROM PHOTOGRAPHY. Many of us first tried light painting as part of learning photography, and as Tim Savage, an experienced light painter and photography tutor at West Dean College in West Sussex, says, it’s instrumental in learning about light and time. “I would turn the lights out and get my students to use their mobile phones to draw and paint shapes and words within the classroom. Light painting is beautifully visual and uses photography to create something that we can't witness with our eyes alone.”

Some people forget about this chapter in their photographic history and move on to other disciplines, but a hard core of light painters stays true, refining and cultivating the methods, and most importantly creating those pictures with the wow factor. Take up the subject with David Gilliver, who shoots and writes extensively on the subject, and the thrill of creating these pictures is obvious: “I still find the concept of being present in each of the photographs, painting with the light, yet remaining invisible, quite incredible. I have an undeniable presence in each photograph yet there is no evidence that I was there other than the light sculptures that have been left behind.”

To those who don’t know, it can look very close to madness, but once on the camera screen it all becomes clear, the spinning lights and flying sparks become beautiful, arcing streaks, and the questing torch beams light up landscapes and buildings in dramatic, theatrical style. It’s this strange alchemy and sleight of hand that makes creative light painting so addictive: mixing natural and artificial light to make something amazing; taking an ordinary scene and making it extraordinary. And if you want to do it better, you’ve come to the right place.

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@advancedphotog

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07/11/2014 16:13

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TIM SAVAGE

DARREN LITTLEHALES

DAVID GILLIVER

CREATIVE LOW LIGHT

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PROJECTS GREY THE SHARD SEALS IAN COOK | IANCOOK57.WIX.COM/ICWP

Seal shooting Wildlife fan Ian Cook has found the very best locations to capture up-close and personal shots of magnificent grey seals as they wallow in their natural habitats, right on his doorstep

INSPIRATION The reclusive and beautiful grey seal population living along the Northumberland and Berwickshire coast AIM To find new, deserted vantage points from which to shoot the seals DURATION Ongoing

FROM A CRAWLING POSITION ON THE SANDS THE LENS IS ALMOST AT GROUND LEVEL, GIVING EYE CONTACT

While grey seals can be spotted at several locations within the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast European Marine Site, near to where I live, the breeding population is located on the Farne Islands. The islands provide a suitable undisturbed habitat where seals can haul out and moult, usually in the spring, and breed in the autumn, and some 1000 seal pups are produced on the Islands each year, providing 3% of the UK’s annual pup production.

However, you don’t have to get a ferry out to the Farne Islands to shoot them, because at the Lindisfarne National Nature Reserve, it’s easy to see and hear them as they haul out onto sandbars and beaches – it’s just a case of knowing where to look.

With this in mind, over the past few years I’ve set about capturing images of these beautiful animals from the lesser-known locations in the area. At these places, I can be guaranteed that I won’t be disturbed by other people walking along the beach or other photographers – and nor will the seals. Knowing where the seals will have hauled out is a bonus, but a lot of this is down to putting in the time scouting.

Once a group of them is located I use the cover of the sand dunes to get reasonably close, and prepare my equipment. As with most wildlife photography, camouflaging your presence is a must. I shoot on my Nikon D7000, usually with a Manfrotto monopod, and having a long lens is vital. More often than not I’m shooting at the long end of my Sigma 150500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM, which gives me an equivalent of 750mm – plenty to fill the frame.

It’s then a case of crouching and crawling to get within range – you have to move very slowly, as sudden movements will have them all scampering

into the sea, where they then sit and watch!

What I’ve found throughout the project is that fieldcraft plays the most important role in capturing successful images. You can’t expect to simply walk up to them and start snapping away, and to get close in safety you also need knowledge of your surroundings. The tides, their height and the timing of high water should always be checked before you head out; some of the areas where the seals haul out can become covered in the blink of an eye and there’s an abundance of quicksand in the area, too. Personal safety really is paramount.

So much of the process is in waiting and making sure I don’t scare my subjects. Once the seals have become accustomed to my presence, I find that crawling commando style will get me even closer.

From a crawling position on the sands the lens is almost at ground level, giving natural eye contact in the images, which gives them more impact. I find

IMAGES I took all three of these shots with my Nikon D7000 and Sigma 150-500mm lens. TOP 1/2000sec at f/6.3, ISO 720. LEFT 1/1000sec at f/6.3, ISO 900. RIGHT 1/2000sec at f/6.3, ISO 2200.

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@advancedphotog

info@advancedphotographer.co.uk

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07/11/2014 10:19

THE SHARD PROJECTS

that in this position the seals are really curious as to what I am and what I am doing, although I’ve never had one come any nearer than about 50 feet.

I have a custom setting on my D7000, so I can spring into action as quickly as possible: it’s aperture-priority, set wide open, with auto ISO enabled, and the shutter speed limited to a 1/1000sec minimum. The Sigma 150-500mm is a great performer for these shots, if used correctly. It’s very decent wide open but at one stop down it’s even sharper. It’s a heavy lens that needs support though – my handheld shots from it are a bit hit-and-miss, but with it on a monopod or beanbag for low shots, and the OS switched on, it’s a winner.

If the seals are scared into the water, it’s by no means game over. With flight made easier, they’re actually a lot more confident, and I’ve found it possible to approach the edge of the channel, and have them come within feet of me. Although they’re huge animals with big teeth I’ve never ever felt threatened by them – I think we have a mutual respect for each other.

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PHOTO KIT SAMSUNG NX1

SPECS PRICE £1300 body only CONTACT samsung.com SENSOR 28-megapixel APS-C BSI CMOS, 23.5x15.7mm, 6480x4320 pixels ISO RANGE 100-25,600, expands to 51,200, auto SHUTTER 30secs-1/8000sec, flash sync 1/250sec DRIVE MODES Single, continuous at 15fps METERING SYSTEM Multi-zone, centreweighted, spot EXPOSURE MODES PASM, auto, custom COMPENSATION ±5EV in 0.3EV steps MONITOR 3in articulating, touchscreen, Super AMOLED, 1036k dots EVF 100% coverage, 2360k dot resolution FOCUSING Contrast detect (sensor), phase detect, multi-area, single point, tracking, live view, detection FOCUSING POINTS 205 phase-detect, 153 cross-type, 209 contrast-detect (sensor) CONNECTIVITY USB 3.0, HDMI, wireless, Bluetooth STORAGE MEDIA SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS I/II) DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 139x102x66mm WEIGHT 550g

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FULL TEST: SAMSUNG NX1 PART ONE

WORD & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG

This top-end CSC boasts an impressive list of features including the world’s most advanced AF system and a 15fps shooting speed. In part one of this test we examine its features and handling

The Samsung NX system, using an APS-C sensor and new lens mount, was announced in 2009 with the first model being the NX10. The ambition back then was very clear, to “become a global leader in the new hybrid digital camera market and achieve the company’s goal to become the global leader in the digital camera market by 2012,” said Sang-jin Park, CEO of the Samsung Digital Imaging Company.

Samsung has made serious in-roads into the market since but currently is not quite where it hoped to be back then. The arrival of the NX1 could give the brand the impetus it needs to achieve its aims.

The NX1 is bristling with innovation and features never seen before on a digital camera. Most notable of these are its 28-megapixel BSI sensor, the first of this type to be used in an APS-C sensor camera, and its remarkable AF system that uses 205 phase-detection

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points, 153 of which are cross-type sensors, covering 90% of the image area. There’s also 4K video capability and it can shoot full-size Raws at 15fps – you get an impressive 23 shots before the buffer cries for mercy. With super-fine JPEGs, more than 70 shots at 15fps are possible which is plenty for most situations. Pure shooting speed is easily understood and appreciated so perhaps we should concentrate on its other headline features.

The sensor is Samsung’s own and is the highest resolution APS-C sensor yet seen at 28 megapixels. The possible downside of cramming all those lightgathering pixels into a small area is greater heat generation and the risk of higher levels of digital noise and poorer image quality at high ISOs. To avert that problem Samsung has employed BSI technology.

In traditional, front-illuminated sensors, the light gathering cells are @advancedphotog

directly above the silicon substrate used to make the chip’s base but underneath all the chip’s electronics.

As a consequence, less light reaches the light-sensitive cells.

Simply, a back-illuminated sensor – also known as backside illumination – is built like a front-illuminated sensor but turned upside down and then the silicon substrate (about 1mm thick), on which the chip is made, is machined to be less than 1% of its original thickness.

This allows light to pass through and be captured by the light-receiving surface which now sits above all the electronics for a more efficient light gathering performance. The BSI design, until now only seen on a oneinch sensor, means greater surface area for light gathering and less noise.

As you can imagine, making BSI sensors is full of serious engineering challenges that Samsung’s conquered to produce the NX1’s APS-C sensor. info@advancedphotographer.co.uk

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07/11/2014 11:03

SAMSUNG NX1 PHOTO KIT

SAMSUNG NX1 ANATOMY 4 FROM THE FRONT At the camera’s heart is the 28-megapixel BSI CMOS sensor 1 . The backside illuminated sensor should aid good low-light performance. There is no low-pass sensor to maximise image quality and new micro lenses are used to enhance light transmission. Press this 2 and rotate the lens anti-clockwise to remove it. The NX lens family is growing and more high spec lenses are due in the future. The preview button 3 can be assigned to functions other than depthof-field preview – such as one-touch Raw and white-balance. Customising buttons is done via the menu item Key Mapping. Under the housing sits a GN11 (at ISO 100) pop-up flash 4 which is a surprising addition given that the NX1 is aimed at experienced photographers.

Completing the scene from the front is the AF illuminating LED 5 that can be turned off.

FROM THE BACK Dominating the rear is the articulating, touch-sensitive Super AMOLED threeinch monitor 1 . The live view image switches to the EVF 2 when the camera is brought up to the eye. The EVF 3 toggles through viewfinder image only, monitor image only or the default where the viewing image switches between them automatically. Push the button 4 marked Mobile to link the camera up to your phone or device – you have to download the Samsung Camera Manager first – to view or transfer images or to use the remote viewfinder feature.

The right side is where many physical controls are sited but many features are altered using the touch-sensitive monitor. Many of these buttons (and command dials) can be customised using the Key Mapping menu item.

3 5 1

4

2 1

3 7 6

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5 9 FROM THE TOP The top-plate is home to several key controls. This little stack of controls 1 is the drive dial which includes self-timer and bracketing modes as well as the drive settings, while the four buttons need one push and the settings can be varied using either of the two input dials.

The click-stopped exposure mode dial 2 can be left free turning or locked with a push of the central button. The LCD panel 3 is info packed and while the type is small it’s easily legible. Push this 4 if you want to light up the LCD. The on/off switch 5 is a collar around the shutter button 6 and close by are the movie record 7 and exposure compensation 8 controls plus the front input dial 9 . Positioned for easy access for the thumb is the exposure lock 10 which is activated by a single press.

The NX1’s AMOLED rear monitor is packed with user information but pressing the DISP control scrolls through the various options. Many of the items are touch-sensitive, such as MENU, Fn and those items ranged on the left. Pushing the EVF button (just above the screen) toggles between monitor on, EVF on and auto switchover between the two.

3 2

10

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This is the first CSC to feature a top-plate LCD information panel. You could argue that the data provided by the monitor/EVF makes the LCD panel redundant but it proved very useful to check settings at a glance without having to pick the camera up.

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The NX1 features Samsung’s own-design BSI 28-megapixel CMOS sensor. It’s the first APS-C sensor to feature BSI technology. Standing for backside illumination, it’s basically an innovative sensor design to minimise high ISO noise.

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PHOTO KIT LYTRO ILLUM

SPECS PRICE £1300 CONTACT lytro.com SENSOR Light field sensor based on CMOS, 1/1.2in, 10.82x7.52mm active area LIGHT FIELD RESOLUTION 40 megaray IMAGE FORMAT Light Field Raw 2D EXPORT RESOLUTION 2450x1634 pixels

ENHANCED IPAD CONT AVAILABLEENT

ISO RANGE 80-3200 SHUTTER 32secs-1/4000sec, flash sync 1/250sec DRIVE MODES Single, continuous at 3fps, self-timer METERING SYSTEM Scene evaluative EXPOSURE MODES Program, ISO priority, shutter-priority, manual COMPENSATION Yes, AEL and bracketing available MONITOR 4in backlit LCD, 480x800 resolution, touchscreen, articulating LENS 9.5-77.8mm (30250mm equivalent) APERTURE f/2 constant FOCUSING MODES Region AF MINIMUM FOCUS 0mm from the lens front (at 9.5mm)

WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG

LYTRO ILLUM

Welcome to the very first camera that lets you explore focus post-capture

W

e tried the first Lytro last November and while it was innovative it seemed little more than a novelty. The Lytro Illum is the latest model using the same technology and it’s a very different proposition with greater appeal and a purpose.

The Illum captures the entire light field so every ray, its colour, brightness and intensity, coming through the integral 30-250mm zoom lens, is recorded by the 40-megaray sensor.

As traditional photographers we are used to selecting a lens aperture to suit the result we want. On the Illum the lens has just one aperture, f/2, but despite this when you process the files (each around 55MB) in the free Lytro Desktop software you can adjust the look of the image within an aperture range of f/1 to f/16. What’s more with the lens’s ability to focus to literally 0mm from the lens front (at the shortest focal length) to infinity without having to switch modes, the potential for the creative (moving) image-maker is considerable.

In many ways, with respect to features, the Illum is like many modern cameras. There’s a large touchF/1

sensitive articulating monitor plus the sort of features we usually take for granted like autofocus, autoexposure and auto white-balance. But having a lens with just one aperture is different and so is the way you think and work with the camera. Thinking about the final result is something all photographers do but here the emphasis is very much on what you want in focus, which is where the camera’s refocusing features come to the fore that let you shoot what Lytro calls ‘living pictures’.

Usually, you would set an aperture and focus appropriately to give the depth-of-field you want to suit the image, shooting a picture or using the depth-of-field preview to check you have got it right.

On the Illum, you focus on the subject at the required closest focus point by touching the monitor and then press the Lytro button (it’s right next to the shutter release) to check accurately how much of the scene is sharp. With the Lytro button, you get a focusing histogram plus blue focus peaking which shows what in the foreground is sharp and orange peaking showing what is going to be sharp in the background. If the

F/2

F/16

STORAGE MEDIA SDHC, SDXC DIMENSIONS (WXHXD) 86x145x166mm WEIGHT 940g

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ABOVE The Illum is the only camera to produce files that allow you to amend focus post-capture, going from the original f/2 aperture all the way up to f/16 or to f/1 for minimal depth-of-field. The Lytro Desktop software can help you transform images into 3D or 2D JPEG, TIFF or movie file masterpieces.

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07/11/2014 11:40

LYTRO ILLUM PHOTO KIT

ABOVE To process and animate images from the Illum you need to install the free Lytro Desktop software. Processing and modifying images is straightforward for most photographers familiar with editing software, but using the Animate module to get the most creative effect will take a little more time to get used to.

ABOVE The camera’s unusual body design is eye-catching and although it looks unconventional, handling is very good. The large lens means the camera is comfortable to cradle and the touch-sensitive articulating monitor makes composition easy.

VERDICT

ABOVE The Illum’s large monitor is unlike other cameras in that you get focusing data too. Press the Lytro button (image above left) and you get a focusing distance histogram on the right side with blue (foreground) and orange (background) focus peaking. region of focus is not what you want, adjust the focusing barrel until the focus histogram or peaking looks right, ie. your foreground subject shows blue peaking and the background orange peaking. The focusing histogram runs down the right side of the monitor. It works like an exposure histogram and it shows you how much is sharp at the distance the lens is focused – the higher the peaks, the greater the amount of focus.

Take the picture and then in the Lytro software (in the Adjust module) you can set focus where you want within the two extremes and then adjust aperture on a slider control to vary the amount of depth-of-field you want. If you want extremely shallow depth-of-field set f/1 or f/16 for extensive front-to-back sharpness, and the preview image is refreshed instantly.

In the next software module, Animate, you can explore a variety of ways to fade focus, Advanced Photographer is also available as a fully interactive magazine – got to iTunes now!

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adjust timings and perspective and vary the zoom. Once you are happy with the results you can export the file as a 2D or 3D JPEG, TIFF or as a movie file for your website.

In use the Lytro is fine although there are a few things to be aware of. The training videos on the Lytro site show handheld use and there’s nothing wrong in that, but a tripod is a good idea especially with close-ups. Using the lens, I kept on getting the focus and zoom barrels confused. Some form of marking or different surface finish to help distinguish the two would be nice. Personally I’d prefer a tad more resistance on the barrels too.

Autofocusing is smooth and quick but give it a low contrast subject and it can miss the point of sharp focus but there’s full-time manual override. Generally, though, handling is good despite the camera’s unusual profile and chunky lens and it sits in the hands well.

There’s much to like about the Lytro and once I got used to it, in particular the refocusing features, I found it fun to use.

I can also see the potential for commercial use for producing eye-catching focusing effects in 2D or 3D quickly and easily, so in that context the price seems very reasonable.

HOW IT RATES

FEATURES 20/25 Wide-ranging zoom and plenty of automation 20/25 HANDLING Focus and zoom barrels smooth, and lovely monitor 20/25 PERFORMANCE It works well but focus can hunt 20/25 VALUE FOR MONEY There’s nothing like it around to compare it with

OVERALL

80/100

Ultimately, it depends on whether you can use its creative potential PROS Versatile in terms of pictorial effect, wide-ranging lens CONS Focus can hunt, still image quality limited to 8 megapixels

ISSUE 51 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER

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07/11/2014 11:40

And finally…

EDITORIAL TEAM

Editor Will Cheung on his photographic month

THE PAST FEW WEEKS HAVE BEEN PRETTY PRODUCTIVE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF MY OWN PICTURE-TAKING. GIVEN THAT AUTUMN IS MY FAVOURITE SEASON, THAT’S PROBABLY JUST AS WELL. I’VE DONE WOODS, BEACHES, SOME HILLS, WATERFALLS AND PLENTY OF COLOURFUL TREES. It has been great, although to be honest because I have been shooting rather than processing, I can’t say for sure if I’m pleased with my efforts just yet, but I’m hopeful.

As well as a wide range of subjects, my weapons of choice have varied too. The Canon PowerShot G7 X, Nikon D750, Panasonic Lumix GM5, Pentax 645Z and the Samsung NX1 have all been out with me, alongside my usual Fujifilm X-T1 and Nikon D800. It’s no wonder I walk with a stoop!

It’s always a danger that going out for a personal shoot becomes a day’s testing for the magazine, and it’s a trap I often fall into – headlong. I don’t think I’ll ever learn to be honest.

In years gone by, if photographers wanted the best possible quality they moved up to mediumor even large-format. For those with commercial aspirations the larger the format, the greater the potential. If you fancy digital medium-format the cost is significant. That said, the world is changing and now you can buy the Pentax 645Z with 55mm f/2.8 lens for £7700. That is still a heck of a lot of money obviously but with the very top-end full-frame DSLRs costing just under £5000 the economic leap is not quite as great.

Assuming you started reading from the front of the mag you will have read how five readers enjoyed a day out, despite the changeable weather, with the Pentax 645Z in the Lakes. I stayed an extra day and went shooting with the 645Z out on my own, and I have to say I rather enjoyed the experience.

I took out the standard 55mm lens and biggest wide-angle zoom I have ever used. The 28-45mm zoom has a modest f/4.5 maximum aperture but the lens’s girth is impressive, to put it mildly. Despite its size, though, it handles well and although it is best on a tripod I tried hand-holding at potentially risky slow shutter speeds just to see how the shake reduction system would cope. It definitely helped when shutter speeds dropped. It’s very sharp too.

With a resolution of 51.4 megapixels, the Pentax’s Raw files are big – around 60MB each – and one thing about using a camera like the 645Z is that it slowed me down. I do tend to over-shoot a scene (obsess is another word for it) when using my usual cameras, but with medium-format I did slow up significantly and that definitely showed through in my compositions.

At the other size extreme, I also enjoyed using the Panasonic GM5. It’s a Micro Four Thirds format CSC and it’s delightfully small. So small that it fits in my snack pouch on my road bike so I took it out with me when I went for a ride the other day.

By sheer chance I got a nice full moon as the sun set and later on, when the twilight had almost gone and I was near home, the moon and an old barn made for a decent shot. The ISO went to 6400 and I shot away taking a number of shots to ensure that one would be sharp.

Clearly using the GM5 was very different from the 645Z but both were fun and I took shots that I would not have taken with my normal kit.

Editor Will Cheung FRPS ☎ 01223 499469 willcheung@bright-publishing.com Features writer Megan Croft ☎ 01223 499466 megancroft@bright-publishing.com Contributing editor Kingsley Singleton kingsleysingleton@bright-publishing.com Sub editors Lisa Clatworthy & Hannah Bealey

CONTRIBUTORS THIS ISSUE Richard Hopkins, Martin Fryatt, Ian Fyfe, Mike Martin, Sarah Loreth, Ian Cook

ADVERTISING TEAM

Sales director Matt Snow ☎ 01223 499453 mattsnow@bright-publishing.com Key accounts Maria Francis ☎ 01223 499457 mariafrancis@bright-publishing.com Key accounts Mike Elliott ☎ 01223 499458 mikeelliott@bright-publishing.com Sales executive Krishan Parmar ☎ 01223 499462 krishanparmar@bright-publishing.com

DESIGN TEAM Design director Andy Jennings Senior designer Alan Gray

WEB TEAM Flash developer Ashley Norton Web developer Will Woodgate

PUBLISHING TEAM Publishing director Andy Brogden Publishing director Matt Pluck Editorial director Roger Payne Head of circulation Chris Haslum

CONTRIBUTING TO ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER Advanced Photographer is always looking for photographic talent so if you feel your pictures are worthy of being featured in the magazine we would love to hear from you. In particular we want creative pictures showing the use of popular and innovative camera techniques.

BY POST: Send us a CD with 12 images or fewer, together with a contact print of images, and a brief covering letter outlining your ideas and photographic credentials. In terms of file size, please ensure that the image is at least A4 size (21x29.7cm) and 300ppi resolution. If you prefer, up to 12 unmounted A4 prints can be submitted. Please enclose a stamped SAE if you want the CD/prints returned.

Advanced Photographer, Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ.

BY EMAIL: Please email us at info@ advancedphotographer.co.uk. Attach no more than six low-resolution JPEGs (1000 pixels on the longest dimension) and a brief, 100-word email outlining your ideas and key photographic credentials. We will contact you for high-resolution files if your images are chosen for publication.

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When you have finished with this magazine, please recycle it

THE BEST CAMERA IS THE ONE YOU HAVE WITH YOU. The Panasonic Lumix GM5 is tiny for an interchangeable lens camera and being Micro Four Thirds means image quality is high – it drops off at the higher ISOs. Shot handheld at ISO 6400 using 1/5sec at f/5.6 with the supplied 12-32mm standard zoom.

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ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER ISSUE 51

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Advanced Photographer is published on the first Thursday of every month by Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridge CB22 3HJ. No part of this magazine can be used without prior written permission of Bright Publishing Ltd. Advanced Photographer is a registered trademark of Bright Publishing Ltd. The advertisements published in Advanced Photographer that have been written, designed or produced by employees of Bright Publishing Ltd remain the copyright of Bright Publishing Ltd and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. While Bright Publishing makes every effort to ensure accuracy, it can’t be guaranteed.

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07/11/2014 11:57