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JARGON-FREE guides • Be more confident with flash • How to spring clean your gear • White-balance demystified

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✓ Flowers ✓ Birds ✓ Animals Get great shots using simple techniques

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Welcome

Contents

A friend of mine is a serious photographer, who is fortunate to travel frequently to various exotic locations with his camera.

He’ll quite often rub my nose in it and send an image from his ‘office for the day’ – invariably a crystal clear lake or trendy city centre. While it must be nice visiting plush locations with bags of the Learn how to capture the year’s freshest season on page 4. latest kit, grand expeditions with the camera isn’t what photography is about. In my book at least!

Creative photography is filling a rainy Sunday afternoon by taking an something you have in the house and turning it into a picture. If you share this school of thinking, this is the magazine for you. We’ve got 18 pages bursting with Photo Projects. You won’t need pricey kit – one of our projects will even shows how to save cash. Share your images with us on our website or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/DSLRMag).

Along with some wild animal images in our gallery, we also share reader Stephen Tait’s passion for photographing his home turf, Northumberland.

As the snow has finally disappeared and green shoots are springing up, we’ve dedicated this month’s Rules feature to spring photography.

It’s a fantastic season to shoot – full of life and new beginnings. Bluebells blooming or lambs bouncing, you won’t be lost for something to line up in front of your lens. Enjoy the issue.

4 The 9 golden rules to shoting spring COVER

Digital SLR, Issue 78

Photo Technique Armed with these tips you’ll spring into action and capture the season in all its glory.

20 Photo Academy COVER

It’s time to move on from auto white-balance and choose your own presets for creative effects.

32 Take control of landscapes

Find out how to use a focal point to give your scenic shots that 3D feel.

38 7 photo projects COVER

18 pages bursting with inspiration, ideas and practical tips to improve your photography.

64 How Do I?

Hopping mad that you can’t get to grips with guide numbers or flummoxed by filters? Let us help.

68 Take a broader view COVER Learn to love your wide-angle lens with our expert advice.

READERS’ SHOTS 14 Feedback

Readers’ images critiqued by our panel of pros. Pats on the back all round, or words of encouragement?

26 Reader Hero

Proving that home turf is often the best shooting ground, Stephen Tait focuses on his local area.

58 You Shoot It

Matty Graham, Editor mattygraham@bright-publishing.com

Wildlife wonders from two talented readers. Next issue it could be your landscape shots…

94 Photoblogs

Admire your fellow photographers’ efforts in these two portfolios. Have you submitted yours yet?

EQUIPMENT 75 Photo backpacks COVER

Which of these top ten kitbags will you pack up your troubles in and smile, smile, smile?

80 If you buy one thing…

Each issue we recommend a musthave bit of kit. This issue the circular polariser is under the spotlight.

82 Reviews

Fancy a new three-legged friend or a third-party flash? Check out our tests before you splash the cash.

I enjoyed a fun evening capturing this shot, using nothing more than confetti. Learn the technique on page 52.

the digital slr promise We like to make promises here at Digital SLR magazine. It means you’ve got something to judge us by and we’ve got something to live up to.

Listed here are some promises that we’ll stand by in this and every issue of the magazine. If you don’t think we live up to these promises, tell us. n We’ll make sure every issue is full of easy to follow advice n We’ll never fill all our pages with images taken by professional photographers using equipment you can’t afford n We’ll never test equipment that costs thousands of pounds n We’ll always print lots of pictures by our readers Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag

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February 2013 issue winners

Congratulations to Stephen Wathen from Wimbourne and Michael Hilton from Cheshire, who each win a fanastic Tamron 18-270mm lens.

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In association with

One subject. THE nine rules you need to know. Welcome to the ultimate definitive guide

The nine rules to...

Shooting spring Wave goodbye to winter and head out into the greenery of springtime. Drew Buckley explains how to capture this bright and breezy season in all its glory

Rule

1

Look for colour

Spring is all about a burst of colour, so try to dominate the scene with a single bold colour. Yellow daffs, bluebells, even a sea of crisp white snowdrops can invigorate and attack the senses with colour overload. Although these types of images can be close-ups, sometimes they fall into the landscape category.

If you stuble upon a large patch of daffs, try zooming in with your kit lens so that aall you can see in the viewfinder is a sea of yellow. If you can’t zoom in, then don’t worry, you can always crop the image later on the computer. Some DSLRs even offer basic editing features, like cropping, incamera – so you can save a little time and do away with the computer altogether.

4 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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In association with Meet our expert Drew Buckley Pembrokeshire snapper and regular contributor, Drew shoots landscapes and nature, along with running location-based workshops

PICTURE SETTINGS

Shutter speed: 1/80sec Aperture: f/16 ISO 100 Lens: 18-55mm ebell Notes: Want to find a blu are re The a? are r you wood in ctions. websites that will give dire www.

Try www.visitwoods.org or woodlandtrust.org.uk

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Feedback

In association with

Expert advice and ideas to help you improve your pictures COMPOSITION IDEAS // SHOOT BETTER LANDSCAPES // PORTRAIT TIPS // WILDLIFE CREATIVITY // GETTING ACTION SHOTS // IMPROVING TECHNIQUE // EDITING ADVICE // MACRO MAGIC //

INFO Camera: Canon EOS 1100D Lens: 18-55mm Exposure settings: 1/320sec at f/11 ISO 100

The sign is cut-off, which would have helped to identify the location.

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Expert critique Feedback

Our panel of experts: A select group of really clever photographers who have loads to say…

Matty Graham Editor A photojournalist for over ten years, Matty is particularly enthusiastic about action photography.

Ian Fyfe Technical writer Ian is a Sony shooter who likes shooting all sorts, but particularly enjoys getting in close for some macro shots.

Roger Payne Editorial director Roger has recently completed a 365 project, so is well-placed to dish out advice on your images.

Mark Bauer Pro landscape photographer Based on the south coast, Mark specialises in atmospheric images of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall.

➔

Drew Buckley Pro landscape photographer Pembrokeshire snapper Drew shoots landscapes and nature, along with running location-based workshops

Amy Hollis Brighton

“I am doing a GCSE photography course and I was lucky enough to get a Canon EOS 1100D from my parents. During half term I went to Brighton to take pictures of the pier. It was an overcast day but the sun was coming through.

We’d been reviewing composition at school and I was keen to put it into practice. I was looking at the rule of thirds and leading lines. I also like the two people in the bottom of the photo as it gives the scene a sense of scale.”

Great job with ex it’s kept the de posure – tail in the highlights on th e water.

ian fyfe We always think of beaches as places to go on bright summer days, but that shouldn’t stop you taking your camera to the coast in less favourable conditions – as Amy’s image shows, piers make for great subjects in these conditions. The two figures draw your eye to the choppy surface of the water and light reflecting from it and show you how big the pier is.

Since the people are what your eye is naturally drawn to, I think placing them higher in the frame would have increased the overall impact of this shot. They’re well placed from the left-hand edge of the frame, one third of the way in, but being further up would make the composition more pleasing to the eye, and cut off empty space in the sky. More careful framing would also have avoided the sign being cut off on the left of the image, which would have helped to confirm the location.

As far as technique goes though, Amy’s done a great job.

The exposure is the right level to keep detail in the highlights on the water and to emphasise those broken clouds over the pier, and the horizon line is nice and level. By using an aperture of f/11, everything’s stayed sharp too.

Get live feedback on your shots!

Want our experts to give their opinion on your images? Head over to our Facebook page and look out for our live Feedback Friday sessions.

The next session is Friday 22 March. All you need to do is post the image you’d like critiqued and we’ll reply with some positive and constructive advice. Why not give it a go? Our tips could be the push you need to improve your photos.

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PHOTO ACADEMY

YOUR DSLR A-Z

MODULE FIVE

Take control of colour Understanding your camera’s white-balance features will help improve the overall quality of your images. Let’s learn a little more…

H

uman perception is really quite amazing.

You don’t always notice, but the quality of light is constantly changing. Which means that when you’re standing outside in sunny weather, the colour of light is different from when it’s cloudy. And the colour of light at noon is different again from the colour at dawn or dusk.

Wherever you’re looking, your brain compensates for the colour of light.

The modern DSLR is really sophisticated and well equipped, so it’s easy to take colour for granted and let the camera make all the decisions for you. And it will make a pretty good job of it, but it’s not quite as clever as our own perception.

If you shoot away without thinking about how colour affects

your pictures, letting your camera do everything, you’re making photography very dull. The world is a colourful place, so how you use colour says a great deal about you as a photographer.

Some people prefer the world to be subtle, full of pastel shades; others like the world to be a vibrant place, with saturated colours. Understanding colour in this way is an important element to becoming a better photographer. Purposively controlling colour puts you more in control of your images, makes you more creative, and quite simply, it’s more fun. That’s what we’re going to prove with this Photo Academy module.

Get to grips with the basics of white-balance and colour control

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Master white-balance Photo Academy SHADE White-Balance PRESET

above When shot with auto white-balance, this image looked fairly blue and cold. But by switching to a warmer WB preset, the image changes dramatically and looks warmer.

Auto white-balance

If you shoot without thinking about how colour affects your pictures, letting your camera do everything, you’re making photography very dull Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag

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Getting accurate colour Every type of light has a given colour temperature, with red at the low end of the scale and blue at the high end. It’s not so important to know that the colour temperature scale is measured in Kelvins (K), or that noontime sunshine is around 5500K. But it is useful to understand that your DSLR’s sophisticated white-balance feature knows this. It can counterbalance different colour temperatures of light, for example adding blue when the light is red, or red when the light is blue (red and blue cancel each other out to produce a neutral colour). The majority of auto white-balance (AWB) systems do this fine, but they’re not infallible, so you may prefer to set white-balance manually.

To set the white-balance (WB) for yourself, select the white-balance preset symbols, such as Daylight, Cloudy and Tungsten – these set the camera’s whitebalance to a specific Kelvins value. Each setting neutralises a colour tint as long as the light source matches the setting. For example, an ordinary household light bulb with a filament is a tungsten bulb

White-balance presets explained Shade 7500K – Standing in the shadow of a building or a tree with open sky above you, the light is very blue so this preset adds the highest amount of red.

Cloudy 6500K – Cloudy light is bluer than bright sunlight. This setting adds red.

Daylight 5500K – The middle value for a bright, sunny day. It’s also the setting for electronic flash.

Fluorescent 3800K – This setting adds a little blue to cool down the temperature of fluorescent strips and energy-saving bulbs, and also a little magenta (purple) to neutralise any green cast.

Tungsten 2800K – An orange-red colour temperature, so the setting compensates with a lot of blue.

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Our friend in the

NORTH Dedicated Digital SLR reader, Stephen Tait, has spent years photographing his hometown of Newcastle and its surrounding areas. We find out what’s behind this passion for his local area

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Stephen Tait Reader Hero

Many photographers have a favourite area or location that they will visit, time and again, just to capture more images of the preferred scene. This location could be somewhere you stumbled upon during a holiday, or it could be a well-known view that you made a pilgrimage to. For 40-year-old machinist, Stephen Tait, his favourite area is the North East, which funnily enough, is lucky because that’s where he lives.

“Photography is something I’ve always been interested in and I actually started taking pictures back in the days of film. My first camera was a Christmas present and

I didn’t buy my first digital camera until 2009. Learning the basics on a film camera is a very different experience to working with a digital camera. Rather than seeing the result on the LCD screen a second after taking the photo, you’d have to wait days or even weeks to get the prints back from the lab, so it’s a much slower learning process,” says Stephen, who couldn’t wait to put his first DSLR, a Canon EOS 550D, into service.

“When I was shooting film I didn’t have a car, but by the time I bought my Canon DSLR I had some wheels, so rather than photographing areas within walking distance, it meant I could take a drive and visit more locations. I started

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photographing more and more locations in Northumberland and it was still a lot more affordable than using a film camera.

I remember I once attended an air show and took 13 rolls of film with me – I shot the lot!” explains Stephen, wincing as he recalls the resulting processing fees.

He has since upgraded from the EOS 550D to a Canon EOS 7D and has also beefed up his kitbag. “I was using the EOS 7D’s kit lens, but now I also use a Tamron 70-300mm and a 50mm prime lens. I also have some filters including a Lee Filters 10-stop for really long exposures. My most recent buy is a Tamron 18-270mm, which I find incredibly useful.

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Take Control Add depth to landscapes

1

Find a location

It’s much easier to find a strong composition if there’s an obvious focal point in the scene, and Knowlton Church in Dorset – a ruined church set in a Neolithic Henge monument – certainly fits the bill. It’s a very atmospheric location and has a reputation for being one of the most haunted places in Britain.

2

Shoot a first attempt

With program mode (P) selected, the camera sets aperture and shutter speed, giving you no control over exposure or depth-of-field. The result is a picture which is a little pale and washed out, and which doesn’t have a wide enough zone of sharpness – both the immediate foreground and the background are soft.

Not much thought has gone into the composition, either, with the church too central in the frame, and the lack of perspective clues gives a rather flat result.

There’s no detail or colour in the sky with our first attempt.

3

Switch to A or Av

While program mode is useful for snapshots, the camera won’t always choose the right settings for landscape photographs. The best exposure mode to use for landscapes is aperture-priority (A or Av) mode, as you select the aperture, and can therefore control the depth-of-field.

4

Choose a small aperture

The smaller the aperture, the more depth-of-field you get. Remember though, that a smaller aperture means a larger f-number (eg. f/16 is a smaller aperture than f/8). With wide-angle lenses, f/11 or f/16 will usually give enough depth-of-field. A smaller aperture means that the camera will set a longer shutter speed to get the correct exposure, so it’s essential to mount the camera on a tripod. f/4

“While program mode is useful for snapshots, the camera won’t always choose the right settings so use aperture-priority mode instead”

5

Adjust your composition

Choosing a wider angle and including more foreground helps to create perspective. The ancient circle around the church provides a useful leading line, guiding the eye towards the subject. Placing the main focal point off-centre – according to the rule of thirds – has improved the balance of the composition. Most cameras can overlay a grid like the one below – just press the Display or Info button. f/16

Switch on your Li mode to get a ve View better look at the rule of thirds grid.

Crack f-numbers

Flummoxed by f-numbers? Here’s one way to pick the right aperture. Think of a line of people. To get one person to be in focus, select f/1. For eight people to be in focus, you’d pick f/8 and so on until f/22 would keep them all in focus.

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Add depth to landscapes Take Control

6

Focus manually

To get maximum depth-offield, you need to pick the focus point, rather than leave it to the camera, so switch to manual focus mode.

Focusing about a third of the way into the scene will maximise depth-of-field, and for really accurate focusing, use Live View again to zoom in on your focal point to make sure it’s sharp.

7

Wait for the right light

The right light is essential for creating a 3D look, and the best light is usually provided by low sun at the beginning or end of the day. This will create depth by casting shadows across the scene, and highlighting form and texture.

In this picture, by lighting one side of the church and leaving the other in shadow, it gives a much more 3D look to the building than in the previous shot. However, it still isn’t quite right – the sky is a little too bright and lacks detail, which has a detrimental effect on the 3D look.

Wide-angle lenses Using a wide-angle lens exaggerates perspective, enhancing an image’s depth. It has the additional benefit of increasing depth-of-field. Don’t worry if you don’t have a wide-angle lens though, the wideend of your 18-55mm kit lens will still capture ample foreground interest. If you’d like to know more about wide-angle photography, turn to page 68.

8

Use a filter

When there is a big difference in brightness between the foreground and the sky, camera sensors can struggle to capture detail across the whole tonal range. A graduated filter, which is dark at the top and clear at the bottom, darkens bright skies, reducing the contrast range so that the camera can record detail in the whole scene.

Having more detail in the sky in this final shot makes a huge difference to the 3D look of the scene, and the overall impact of the image. Waiting for the right cloud formation – with clouds stretching to the corners of the frame – also helps.

final image

Affordable filters

You may think that an ND grad filter is the preserve of a professional photographer, but the truth is that filters can be bought for sensible money.

A grad filter can be bought for as little as £25-£30. Brands to look out for are Lee Filters, Hoya and Cokin. If you don’t have a filter, you could choose to shoot multiple images, exposing for the sky and then the foreground before merging them together in software to create an HDR photo.

Final shot The addition of the filter really adds a professional touch to my image. There is now detail and colour in the sky which, when coupled with the foreground interest and sharpness throughout the frame, help give my image some depth and perspective.

All these steps are easy to attempt, so give them all a go the next time you stumble upon a photogenic location to see what images you can capture.

NEXT MONTH: Perfect your panning

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ject 14 t 17 – o r c a P a ro a 4 – ro ad aqu tage lo ct 34 or tr 0mm p roject ook // Coast t 6 – B gs // P ra // P / Proje Feed p e e / – n 5 j P b c e i – in o rs 41 – e o 2 k v / r m j t n r 0 o / t r P a e o o o 2 h c Th ph ing ct mo tw pse t // ct / Pr ng id c oje pas apturi / Proje an ecli Make a t // Pr lters / – Early Cand iend a / Proje igiscop ro the – 3 – ot a fr den / 3 – D ot igh sing fi ect 9 ac – C day / l 1 8 o M 7 t 4 e h r 3 c 2 – i o a t ect ture a t 44 – S roject sing th Polar // Proj Proje – Sh ldlife g Projec ject 26 e-look i ha g o pic 5– es // P t 16 / s // jec – A // Pro ection ct 1 – C roject s plac e fact Projec ing a w ll life / r t // Pr – Vinta treme t u f x P a ti s e / 9 ac tale to per // Proj ters // – Famo 12 – F dren / – Plan e-up s d fine ject 2 32 – E ce // t l o l 9 med studio ated fi ject 8 roject ng chi ject 1 en clos – Foun y // Pr Projec of dan ure Fra P o t o t h 5 r u d you // Pr t // it // e ar rap Cap rad ng a Gar ct 2 // P Hiri t 4 – G 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FIgLT ated t 33 PO tche hoTR s ple n / E RSjec E Fra 49 – Ki oject 1 es // P Gradu ing lip d p INjeGct 39 sroLA jecNt D SeCcA PE4S7 s– W peo o lighti // Pro s– W – Foo D D s t LI FE// Pr scen o S /s/ K IL n P i D r 4 c r ID a t s P S e t i a t c t j l 6 c TI LL je io s CLOl ro stud spor ject 3 and // lenses – Shoos S – Po roPjeS Pro LI F Bad tud Coasta S/E-U //EPS SsP / P oject 5 ct 6 – Pro the b rime 44 affiti // obook ingsa O2R–TS smLO entW /LIPG r HT roje t r ea t p t ect i r c o gr H e g e j l ph 50 – Pro man e lters / rs // P ather, s // fi e e t w filt sho

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issue 78 DIGITAL SLR 37

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Photo Projects >> Natural light portraits MEGA PROJECT

1

Find a light source

4

Take some test shots

Any window will do, but the light quality will be different depending on the time of day. Ideally, some of the light should be coming from above your subject’s eye level so their face is properly exposed. Also try to make sure the background is tidy or at least photogenic.

With portraits, it is usually best to ensure the eyes are in focus, so review your shots and zoom in, making sure that your subject’s eyes are sharp. If the shot is blurry, try increasing the ISO of your camera to around 400, which shouldn’t add any digital noise.

2

Position your subject

5

Try using a reflector

6

Experiment with poses

Position your subject so they are comfortable and in the best light. If the light is too harsh, move them further away from the window. If you do move away from the window, sit them on a chair – light ‘falls’ as it enters windows, so you’ll want them lower down.

3

Set up your camera

With your camera in aperture-priority mode (A or Av), set the widest aperture of your lens. For a kit lens, this will be around f/3.5. The wide aperture will help to isolate your subject from the background and create a nice out of focus look on any objects in the distance.

If you’re shooting your subject side-on to the window, try using a reflector to fill in the shadows on the dark side of the face.

Reflectors can be bought from just a tenner but, don’t worry, you can also make one by simply sticking some kitchen foil onto a piece of card.

Try experimenting with different poses and locations. Seating your model facing the window can give nice, evenly lit results. If they are slightly uncomfortable, ask them to focus on something outside the window. The more relaxed they are, the better the shots will be, so keep practising.

Seeing in black & white >> If you have image-editing software, try converting your shots to black & white. Alternatively, you can change your DSLR’s picture mode to B&W and capture monochrome shots in-camera.

“Reflectors can be bought from just a tenner, but you can also make one by sticking some foil onto a piece of card0 40 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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1/3/13 08:28:26

Photo Projects >> Natural light portraits

What you’ll need > DSLR > Kit lens > Window DIFFICULTY RATING

EASY

Final image A stunning portrait using the minimum of kit. Why not give this technique a go and then share your results on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ DSLRMag)?

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youshoot it In association with

Make Life Simple

™

Paul Dibben “My first image is of a wild otter on the River Stour in Blandford, Dorset. I was incredibly lucky to see this stunning animal at close quarters after it caught a large tench in a flood pool near the main river. The otter brought the tench up into the reeds and I slowly approached it and got within ten feet of it . The otter continued to eat the fish in front of me, a truly special wildlife encounter.”

“My second image is of a wild mandarin duck, one of 20 of these stunning birds that seem to winter in a local park in Yeovil, Somerset. They certainly brighten up the low winter light.”

The otter brought the tench up into the reeds. I approached and got within ten feet of it RIGHT Amazing wildlife images like this don’t happen by accident and to be in with even a chance of bagging a great photo, some intense preparation and even greater patience are needed. As a photographer, you’ll have to get to know the location like the back of your hand and observe the behaviour of your potential subjects. Lastly, the truth is you simply can’t get too close to a subject like this, so a big lens like Paul’s is a must.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm with 1.4x converter, 1/200 at f/5.6, ISO 400 BELOW If creeping alongside a river, stalking otters, is a little too much for you, there are subjects that won’t run away at the slightest twitch.

Take this colourful mandarin duck, for example, who could be coaxed closer with a handful of breadcrumbs.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 300mm with 1.4x converter, 1/250 at f/5.6, ISO 500

58 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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1/3/13 08:37:18

you shoot it Send us your best shots and you could bag a PNY memory card for your trouble.

These talented readers did just that

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DSLR-78-058-061 (YOU SHOOT IT)hbljcMG.indd 59

100%

READERS’ IMAGES

issue 78 DIGITAL SLR 59

1/3/13 08:37:29

How do I? Picture-taking problems solved

This month’s e: topics includ rmark

✓ Add a wate ns ✓ Clean my le s in low ✓ Take pictureness light or dark r ✓ Freeze wate

Please send questions via email to: mattygraham@bright-publishing.com

HOW DO I…

Sell my images online?

What’s the best place to sell images online? Should I add watermarks to images loaded onto the Internet?

Neville Daytona, Facebook page Thanks for your question, Neville. For selling, there is a range of options, and the best place depends on what sort of photos you have and whether you want to sell them digitally or provide prints. Your description sounds like you mean stock libraries – there are many of these, and some will take any photos, some are very selective.

You’ll only receive a fraction of the sales price if you do sell through these though.

The other main option is having your own website – there are a number of template services that let you sell your photos through them.

These charge a monthly subscription, but some are really good value and you might well make your money back and more.

64 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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Adding a watermark is a good way of preventing people printing your images, so it’s a good way to protect your work. They can spoil your images though and make it look unprofessional – a large watermark across the centre in a font like Comic Sans won’t give a very good impression. A discreet watermark in the corner, or a faint one, is usually sufficient. Perhaps a better solution is to make sure that only lowresolution images are available to view online – if you resize images to 72 pixels per inch and about 1000 pixels along the longest edge, then these images will still fill many screens but are no good for printing at a useable size.

A large watermark across the centre in a font like Comic Sans won’t give a very good impression Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/DSLRMag

1/3/13 08:39:05

Your questions answered

HOW DO I…

Take quality images in low light?

I'd like to capture some nice photos when it gets dark, can you give me some advice please?

Tony Hodgkinson, Facebook page Our best advice is ‘with a tripod’. With almost any subject at night, there won’t be much light, so you’ll need a long shutter speed – a tripod’s essential if you don’t want the camera to move. If you need a fast shutter speed, for something that’s moving for example, then increase the ISO sensitivity, but this can cause graininess in the image. Also, if your photo includes the sky, it’s best to take it while there’s still some light left. This will leave the sky dark blue rather than an expanse of black. If you’re looking for subjects, why not try some lit-up landmarks, or some light trails?

Thanks for the question, Tony – don’t forget to post some of your night shots so we can see how you got on!

Don't leave it too late. Set up your tripod before the sun sets to get some colour in the sky.

HOW DO I…

Clean my lens safely?

What’s the best way to give my lens a bit of a clean?

Steve Hope, Facebook page If there’s loose dust on the front of your lens, then the best way to clean it is to use a blower, for example from Hama – this is just £10 and it means you can remove any dust without even touching the glass, so there’s no risk of damaging or scratching it. It’s also great for blowing dust out of the back of the lens or even from the inside of your camera body if you’re really careful.

For dirt that’s less moveable, a lens cloth is the simplest option. Be sure to use a microfibre cloth, because a normal cloth (or your jumper or tissue!) can scratch the lens. Still wipe carefully, because hard pieces of grit can scratch as you move them.

It’s also best not to use any cleaning fluid because they can leave a residue that you can’t see, but might affect your images.

If you’re ever in doubt about stubborn dirt on your lens or on your camera, it’s best to have it looked at professionally to avoid the risk of damaging it. Don’t just stop at the lens though – flick over to page 46 to learn how to give your whole kit a spring clean.

Use a microfibre cloth but wipe carefully, because hard pieces of grit can scratch as you move them Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag

DSLR-78-064-067 (HOW DO I)hbljcMG.indd 65

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Top 10 Camera bags

1

2

3

1

KATA DR-467 £75

2

Crumpler Quick Escape Sling £64

3

Lowepro Fastpack 250 £69

Website: www.kata-bags.com Dimensions: 48x35x27cm Weight: 0.97kg

Website: www.intro2020.co.uk Dimensions: 27x43x17cm Weight: 1.40kg

Website: www.lowepro.com Dimensions: 31.5x24x46cm Weight: 1.64kg

Do you ever wish you could have a camera bag that gives you space for more than just your photo gear, and that you can use as a normal bag when you don’t want to take your kit with you? This bag could be the answer.

The bottom compartment’s for your kit, but there’s a separate top section for your everyday items, your shopping, or whatever else you want to carry. Even better, the camera section is removable, so the whole bag can be used as a normal backpack. It also holds a 17in laptop in its own compartment, so you could even take your camera to work alongside your computer and lunch, and go snapping in your suit at the end of the day.

When you’ve scraped together enough money and got yourself a DSLR, you’re probably loathed to shell out another load of money on a bag for it. But if you know it’ll last you a long time, the initial outlay is less painful and it seems like more of an investment. And that’s certainly the case with this bag. It’s made from durable 1000d Chicken Tex Supreme hyper performance fabric, and has a ripstop lining to prevent minor rips spreading. What’s more, it comes with a 30-year guarantee, so it will outlast your DSLR. The soft Nylex lining protects your kit too, and the sling design means it’s easy to get into when you’re out and about.

When you’re out in the field with your camera, the LCD screen on the back is fine for a preview, but if you want to see your pictures larger while you still have the chance to take them again, having your laptop with you is handy. It also means you can back up your photos while on the move.

This bag has a dedicated pocket for up to a 15in laptop, and it has a mesh waist belt to make it easier to bear the extra weight.

Side access also makes it easy to get to your camera gear and laptop without taking the bag off your shoulder. Now you can edit images while out on location without having to squint at that LCD screen.

PERFECT FOR... versatility

PERFECT FOR... durability

PERFECT FOR... carrying a laptop

76 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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1/3/13 15:49:45

Camera bags Top 10

Best for holidays

5

4

4

Manfrotto Agile V Sling £55

5

lowepro Pro Runner 300 AW £84

BEST FOR holidays

Website: www.manfrotto.co.uk Dimensions: 41x31x20cm Weight: 1.04kg

Website: www.lowepro.com Dimensions: 33x19x44cm Weight: 1.40kg

LOWEPRO PRO RUNNER 300 AW

We’re all guilty of leaving our tripods at home because it’s too much trouble to carry it, even when we know that we’d get better pictures if we made the effort. Manfrotto is one of the most popular brands of tripod, and this bag is designed to make it easy for you to carry a ’pod with you. On one side, there are specific straps for securing a fullsize tripod, but if this is still too much, there’s a dedicated internal pocket for one of the company’s pocket series models. The sling bag design gives you easy access to the rest of your kit just by swinging it round to the front. With this bag, there’ll be no excuse for shaky pictures again.

While negotiating your way to the boarding gate at the airport or packing up your car for the family holiday, you don’t want a kitbag that takes up too much space. And at your destination, you don’t want to bash the natives with your bag every time you turn around either. This bag is designed for crowded airports and city streets – it’s slim, but still holds a camera and three or four lenses. There are plenty of pockets for accessories too, including a tripod, and there’s even room for your mobile and MP3 player. And even if the weather’s not quite what you hoped, the rain flaps and All Weather cover will keep your kit dry.

If you’re jetting off abroad with your kit, you’ll want to carry it on board the plane with you to keep it safe – if you check it in, you run the risk of it being lost or damaged. The Lowepro Pro Runner 300 AW is within size limits for cabin luggage, so you won’t get to the airport and find you have to check it in or leave it behind.

Be careful if you’re thinking of clipping on accessories to the attachment loops on the outside though, since this could make it bigger than you’re allowed.

PERFECT FOR... carrying tripods

PERFECT FOR... holidays

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reviews Digital SLR

✓ Cameras ✓ Lenses ✓ Accessories ✓ Courses ✓ Services

Readers and staff deliver definitive verdicts on kit, courses & services

third-party flashgun

Genesis Speedlight SP692 Want a high-spec flashgun but on a modest budget? Third-party flashguns can often prove feature packed and good value for money. Matty Graham discovers if Calumet’s Genesis SP692, half the price of normal flashguns, is worth investigating...

W

hen it comes to buying an external flashgun, it’s traditionally been the case that photographers tend to buy from their own brand – for example, Canon users will purchase a Canon flashgun and Nikon users will stick to Nikon flashguns. However, in recent years, the number of third-party external flashguns has increased, offering photographers alternative kit, usually at a much more affordable price.

The SP692 is an excellent example of this new generation of flash units that come with a high spec and a low price tag. If we go by Guide Number, which is the measurement name given to the flashgun’s power output, the closest Canon equivalent – the Speedlite 580EX II (with a Guide Number of 58,

compared to 50 from the SP692) – is around £300 more than the Genesis.

Quite a difference.

But while it may win on price and comes close to equally the Canon in terms of power output, how does it match up in the features stakes?

Reviewer: The answer is somewhat surprising!

Matty Graham First up are the more common features How much? £149 that you would expect to find; the unit Website: has E-TTL (Through The Lens) which www. helps the camera meter and delivers calumetphoto. the correct amount of flash to light the co.uk scene. Also present is a Manual mode, Product in a where the power of the flash can be sentence: adjusted incrementally for a precise Highly spec’d exposure. All fairly standard stuff up to external flashgun now, but as I continued to explore this for Canon and affordable unit, I was greeted with more Nikon cameras advanced features.

A backlit LCD screen helps users operate the flash in the dark and a beep (which can be turned off) confirms when a button has been pressed.

The Genesis also features thermal circuit protection, ensuring it won’t overheat during heavy use and the keys can be locked to prevent any settings being changed by accident.

An external power pack can be connected to extend the life of the batteries and there is also a PC socket to allow the flash to be triggered off-camera.

A light tells the user when the unit is ready to fire and there is a flip-down diffuser, as well as an additional diffuser cap that comes as standard in the box. This cap

alone would cost an extra £5-£10 so you’re saving even more money! Finally on the features front, the unit can also be triggered wirelessly, automatically firing off when another unit is triggered.

My one niggle with this flashgun is the hotshoe connector, which features a wheel-screw mechanism, rather than a quick-lock version, but seriously, for £149 I could easily live with that!

While it’s nice to have all these features, they count for nothing if the results look bad, so I tested this flashgun in a variety of different situations.

By shooting with the unit on and off the camera and also during daylight and low-light conditions, the Genesis delivered consistently good lighting for

The Genesis gave consistenly good lighting for my subjects 82 DIGITAL SLR issue 78

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1/3/13 08:52:17