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Digital SLR issue 84

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Composition Using filters Lens choice

MASTER

LANDSCAPES

IN minutes!

how to get every shot in perfect focus

BAFFLED BY RAW?

we explain what it is & why you need it

“I need a photo backpack for my DSLR and lenses” Reader’s buying problem solved DSLR84-001 (COVER)RPlhbjc.indd 1

27 Techniques

win!

go den

photo rules

Equipment

Ideal for new photographers

FANTASTIC nikon prizes PLUS A chance to shoot our cover 16/8/13 10:14:52

he Digital SLR staff love photography too and, when we’re not putting the magazine together, we’re out with our cameras. Here’s what the team got up to this month...

“As we explain on page 38, you need a lot of patience to shoot butterflies, but the end results can give a tremendous sense of achievement. On a roasting hot day, I ventured out into the garden and found this little fella taking a well-deserved rest on a patch of lavender. Shot at the long end of a £100 70-300mm telezoom, I was very happy with the detail on the butterfly’s wings.” Matty, Editor

Welcome

What’s the best part of photography? It’s a question I’m frequently asked and my answer is always the same: learning new skills. It doesn’t matter if you have just taken your first camera out of the box or you’ve been snapping for a few years, there is always something new to learn. This month, we’ve dedicated our special feature to getting beginner photographers on the fast track to great images by serving up no less than 27 top tips. Some are technique ideas, while others recommend kit, but all are designed to help you improve your skills in the shortest amount of time. Elsewhere, we’ll explain how to take your first steps into the world of landscape photography, use the Raw format to perfect your photos and master your camera’s autofocus system. Along with all this learning, there’s plenty of inspiration, too. Find a month’s worth of photo challenges on page 35 and get motivated by flicking to page 49 and Digital SLR reader, Gail Hilton’s, amazing story behind her cover-worthy portraits. Lastly, this issue sees a new feature, Camera wars, where the Digital SLR staff do battle to see who can win that age-old pub argument; what’s the best camera you can buy for £500?

Matty Graham, Editor mattygraham@bright-publishing.com

Digital SLR

“I’ve always wanted to take my own photograph of a lion, so when I had the chance to go to Longleat Safari Park in Wiltshire with Panasonic, I pounced on the opportunity. We had a VIP tour, so got much closer to the animals than we otherwise would have, and I bagged myself some shots of this magnificent beast. It’s not quite the same as photographing one in the wild, but it’s not a bad substitute!” Ian, Technical writer

Plus

Get your extra digital content by signing up at www.dslruser.co.uk/dslrplus get free extra content every month straight to your inbox simply supply your name and email address, then leave the rest to us

“I went on holiday to south Devon earlier this month. Lovely part of the world. On one of the days, we went for a walk on Dartmoor. This shot, of one of the myriad tors and rocky outcrops that pepper the landscape, was taken on my Canon EOS 5D MkII as we headed, weary footed, back to the car.” Roger, Editorial director

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FEATURE PACKED NEW LOOK!

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Contents Digital SLR

Issue 84

Your new-look issue comes packed to the staples with great photo advice. This month you will find…

Reader rescued!

27 LEARNER PHOTO TIPS 16

Learn some landscape tricks Photo Technique

6 27 Learner tips COVER

Just taken the plunge and bought a new camera? Here are some golden nuggets of advice that will get you on the road to fantastic results.

16 Back to Basics: Landscapes COVER

Easy to follow advice that will put your landscape pictures in a field of their own.

35 Photo Ideas

Creative image ideas and exciting photo projects that you can try right now!

EQUIPMENT 68 Ask Ian

Technical writer Ian has a PhD. That means he needs to be fed lots of photo questions to keep him going. Find out the problems he’s devoured this month.

72 Reader Rescue COVER

Reader Susan Guy badly needs a photo backpack. We hotfoot it to her home town with a quintet of options to help her make a choice.

80 50mm prime lenses

58 10 Minute Masterclass COVER

Boost your picture quality on a budget by buying a 50mm lens. We test a selection and name the best!

62 Start shooting with Raw COVER

NEW FEATURE! With a budget of £500 to spend, which camera would you buy? Staff members make their choice before using them for a series of challenges.

Get to grips with your camera’s autofocus modes in less time than it takes to make a ham salad sandwich.

Take more control over your shots by shooting with the Raw file format. We explain what it is and how to use it.

READERS’ SHOTS 26 Feedback

Professionals prescribe pacifying photo pointers to poorly punters’ pictures.

49 Reader Hero

Gail Hilton approaches people in the street and asks to take their picture. The results are stunning and they’re here.

54 Photoblogs

Days out in London and Surrey produce these fab shots by our talented readers.

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86 Camera wars

competitions & regulars

30 Your photo, our cover COVER

Want to see your handiwork on the cover of Digital SLR? Enter this comp and you could be joining us for a special Nikon-sponsored front cover shoot.

79 Subscribe

98 Wordsearch

Find the 19 words and win software. It’s as easy as that.

Digital edition ✓ Access the digital edition on your iPad or iPhone ✓ Head to the App Store, search for Digital SLR magazine and choose your subscription deal ✓ Buy the new issue, a back issue, or sign up for a subscription – it’s up to you!

anytime anywhere issue 84 DIGITAL SLR 5

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PHOTO TIPS

27 LEARNER PHOTO TIPS Just picked up a camera and ready to get started? Turbo charge your learning with these tips, techniques and photo shortcuts

6 DIGITAL SLR issue 84

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27 LEARNER PHOTO TIPS

Digital SLR Plus This feature has extended content in our free digital magazine. Download it at www.dslruser.co.uk/ dslrplus

here’s nothing wrong with being a beginner – we all have to start somewhere. However, if you’ve just bought a camera and are interested in improving your photo skills, this feature is for you. Over the next seven pages, our 27 learner top tips will nudge your creativity to its fullest potential and help you understand some of the bewildering array of options and features your digital SLR or CSC offers. Whatever your background or level of knowledge, there’s nothing better than getting a helping hand when it comes to learning your way around your new camera – and if you already know a thing or two, there’s no harm in getting a refresher on some basic techniques. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag

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Whether you’re fazed by aperture-priority, wondering why you need a skylight filter on your lens or you’re looking for inspirational ideas to shoot, there’s bound to be a tip tailor-made for you. We’ve got everything covered; it’s a bit like the Highway Code to photography. So turn over and read our 27 nuggets of jargon-free advice, all guaranteed to boost your photo skills and understanding.

ready to take off your l plates? let the learning begin… issue 84 DIGITAL SLR 7

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TECHNIQUE

Back to Basics

Working with natural light Sunlight can be a landscape photographer’s best friend (or worst enemy). Learn to befriend it and make the most of it

The light during the golden hours not only reveals form and texture, but can also result in dramatic skies.

The best times for landscape photography are the 30 minutes either side of sunrise or sunset. These are often called the golden hours – when the sun is low over the horizon, the light is warm and golden and the low sun provides ‘modelling’ light for the landscape, highlighting form and texture, and casting long, raking shadows. With the sun just below the horizon, pre-dawn or post-sunset, there is often a glow in the sky as the clouds are lit from below, adding drama to the scene.

TOP TIP

find out when sunrise/sunset is and get to your location in good time

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Back to Basics Graduated filters At sunset and sunrise, the main technical challenge is contrast, as there is often a huge difference in brightness between the foreground and the sky. Although the human eye can cope with extremes of contrast and will see detail in both the dark foreground and the bright sky, camera sensors can’t. They do not have enough dynamic range to capture detail in both the shadow and highlight areas, and will expose the foreground correctly but overexpose the sky, or will expose the sky correctly but underexpose the foreground. Fortunately, there is a simple solution to this problem, which is to use neutral density graduated filters (often called ND grads). These filters are usually rectangular ‘system’ filters, which slot into a special filter holder that fits onto your lens, and they have a clear bottom half and a neutral grey coated top half, with a transition zone in the middle. They are simple to use – just move the filter in the holder until the transition zone lines up with the horizon and the coated half is covering the bright sky. This balances the contrast in brightness and brings it within the dynamic range of the sensor, enabling the camera to

TECHNIQUE

An ND grad balances the contrast between the sky and land (or sea).

expose correctly for both the dark foreground and bright sky. ND grads come in different strengths – typically one, two or three stops – so you can choose the one most suited to the conditions.

It’s important to position them correctly; if they are too high in the holder, the top part of the sky will be dark, with a bright band on the horizon, and if they are too low, you will see them ‘cutting in’ to features in the landscape.

What a difference a filter makes

No filter: The difference in

brightness between the sky and foreground may be too great for the sensor to record detail in both. Here, the foreground is correctly exposed, but the sky is blown.

Filter too high: With the filter

positioned too high in the holder, the top of the sky is correctly exposed and retains plenty of detail, but there is a bright strip on the horizon.

Neutral density filters As well as graduated ND filters, you can also get ‘solid’ ND filters, which are not split into a clear and a dark half, but are completely coated. They are designed to reduce the light which enters the camera and reaches the sensor, so you can use a longer shutter speed for creative effect – for example, to blur water or cloud. As with ND grads, they are available in various strengths, ranging from one to a whopping ten stops, which makes shutter speeds of several minutes possible.

positioned too low in the holder, you can see it cutting in to features in the foreground – in this case, it is darkening the far end of the jetty, but the sky is correctly exposed.

Correctly positioned: With the

grad lined up on the horizon, the camera has captured detail in both the foreground and the bright sky, without the filter being obvious. This is how the eye sees the scene.

EXTENDED CONTENT

Digital SLR Plus Inspired to get out into the landscape with your camera? Want to know what kit to take? For advice on gear, head over to our free Digital SLR Plus content to see what else is on the horizon.

ND filters extend the shutter speed for creative effect. To smooth waves, for example.

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Filter too low: With the filter

NEXT issue the saying goes ‘never work with animals or children’, but having got you photographing your pets (last issue), we’ll now show you how to get great photos of sulky teens. issue 84 DIGITAL SLR 23

16/8/13 10:27:00

Feedback READERS’ SHOTS

Feedback

In association with

Expert advice and ideas to help you improve your pictures

1) Superb sharpness. Considering that Stephen must have acted quickly to get this, he hasn’t compromised his focusing technique. 2) Beautiful background. The out of focus highlights (bokeh) are lovely, giving a summery feel to the shot.

3) Compositional compromise. Framing could be better by using the rule of thirds - see panel right.

26 DIGITAL SLR issue 84 82

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Feedback

READERS’ SHOTS

Meet the experts Our Feedback panel have over 60 years of picture-taking experience between them, which guarantees you’re getting top quality, image improving advice

Matty Graham Editor

know the rules! The rule of thirds is a commonly-used compositional trick that works in many situations, including this one. Imagine dividing the frame into equal thirds horizontally and vertically, rather like a noughts and crosses grid. You then use this imaginary grid to position your subject on one of the lines or intersection points. We’ve reframed Stephen’s image (adding in extra foliage) using the rule of thirds, complete with grid – the result is a more balanced composition that works better than the more central framing on Stephen’s original image.

Ian Fyfe Technical writer

Roger Payne Editorial director

Stephen Mulville Hawk “I was inspired by the garden wildlife feature in Issue 82 of Digital SLR and as I had just bought a Sigma 18-250mm lens, I decided to take it on my usual dog-walking route, along with my tripod. As I passed a cemetery, I noticed a pair of hawks flying around and managed to capture one as it landed.”

matty graham Hats off to Stephen – he’s captured a rare wildlife moment and should be applauded for his efforts. Subjects of this nature are easily spooked so photographers need to be cautious in their approach when photographing them. What’s more the chances are, you’ll get a matter of seconds to take your shot so you have to get everything right, first time. Stephen used good photo technique to capture what is a sharp and striking image. Camera shake can be a huge problem when you zoom in to a subject, so Stephen’s decision to use a tripod has paid dividends. The combination of a long lens and a medium aperture of f/9 has kept both the headstone and the hawk in focus, but has blurred the background beautifully. The only point I would make relates to composition. Stephen has tried to follow the rule of thirds by placing the hawk to one side of the frame, which is good. However, it’s more off-centre than one third from the top or side. I would also have liked to see more room above the hawk at the top of the frame. All in all though, this is a fantastic effort from a reader who clearly has an eye for a good picture. We hope the magazine continues to inspire you, Stephen!

“a fantastic effort from a reader who clearly has an eye for a good picture” CAMERA INFORMATION Nikon D3100 Lens: Sigma 18-250mm Exposure: 1/125sec at f/9, ISO 100

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project one

Shoot at a butterfly farm Don’t let great close-up photo opportunities flutter by. Get down on the farm for some butterfly shots, says Roger Payne

DID YOU KNOW?

on’t know about you, but I definitely haven’t seen as many wild butterflies this year as I’d hoped. That’s obviously not good news for the environment, but it’s also bad news for photographers as butterflies are definitely one of summer’s most photogenic subjects. Wanting to get my fix of the flighty creatures, I decided to visit a butterfly farm and headed to the Wye Valley Butterfly Zoo in Hertfordshire (www. butterflyzoo.co.uk). The controlled environment means butterfly farms like this play host to species from all over the world, giving photographers the ideal opportunity to get some frame-filling close-ups. Many of the varieties are large as well, so a dedicated macro lens isn’t necessary. I used a Fujifilm X-S1 bridge camera to get these shots, but a standard 18-55mm kit zoom on a DSLR or compact system camera should fare just as well. Once you’ve found a butterfly farm near you, head over there and follow these tips to get some great results.

There are 14 butterfly farms in the uk. look online for your nearest one

FOLLOW THE FOOD!

As well as growing plants for the butterflies to feed off, farms will often include plates of decomposing fruit for the insects to enjoy. It seems that a bit of overripe banana or orange is the fillet steak of the butterfly world. These feeding stations will often attract multiple species and give you a great chance to get in close. If possible, try not to include the plate that the fruit is sitting on, just zoom in even closer. If your lens doesn’t allow you to get as close as I did here, go as close as you can and then crop in afterwards on the computer.

KEEP AN EYE ON BACKGROUNDS Although you’re shooting indoors, it’s important to try and make your shots look as natural as possible. That means cutting out any other visitors and avoiding any man-made backgrounds. There will be plenty of foliage and greenery within the location so move around your subject to try and line the subject up so it’s included in the frame. This image may be nice and sharp, but the fact that the subject is on a piece of wire gauze spoils the effect somewhat!

“There will be plenty of foliage and greenery within the location so move around your subject” 38 DIGITAL SLR issue 84

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Photo ideas

Allow 15-20 minutes for a steamy lens to clear.

Shoot your subjects straight on When you’re working close-up, the depthof-field (what is and isn’t sharp) is substantially reduced. This makes it imperative that you try and photograph the butterflies straight on rather than from one side or the other. Here, the subject is being very obliging, sitting nice and still, but shooting from an angle means the wing tip nearest to the camera is out of focus. Moving round not only gives a more balanced composition, it also delivers a pin-sharp result using the same aperture of f/5.6.

PREPARE TO BE MIST-IFIED! Butterfly farms are warm, humid places. That means your camera is likely to steam up within a few seconds of you going in. A fixed-lens camera like the X-S1 will get a misty front lens element, but a DSLR could also get mist on the internal mirror. The best option is to leave the camera to acclimatise and let the mist clear naturally – this will take 15-20 minutes. If the internal mirror is steamed up, removing the lens can speed up the process. If you want to clear moisture off the lens, use a microfibre lens cloth and wipe very gently.

“your camera is likely to steam up within a few seconds. let the mist clear naturally” DON’T FORGET THE PLANTS Butterflies won’t be the only exotic species that you can photograph; you’ll often find some unusual plants that are well worth taking a few shots of. I like to crop in close to create graphic shapes using the large leaves, but you can also look out for water droplets on larger leaves, or brightly coloured blooms that can be photographed with a wide aperture of f/4 or f/5.6 to throw the background out of focus.

USE DYNAMIC compositions

USE EXPOSURE COMPENSATION Bright backgrounds can often fool your camera’s meter into underexposure, leading to a dark subject. The solution is to use exposure compensation, signified by a button with a +/- symbol. Here, I selected +1 exposure compensation, to ensure the butterfly was accurately exposed. For a darker background, I would have used -1. Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag

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Try a variety of different compositional options if your subject is staying still. Here, my first straight-on shot was fine, but I then turned the camera so the leaves created a more dynamic diagonal line. Additionally, I positioned the butterfly using the rule of thirds, placing it one third of the way in from the left of the frame for a balanced composition. A stronger shot, don’t you think? issue 84 DIGITAL SLR 39

16/8/13 10:50:36

EQUIPMENT

50mm prime lenses

Anatomy of a 50mm prime lens Aperture In 50mm prime lenses, the diameter of the aperture can go very wide to give a very shallow depth-of-field and let in a lot of light. The hole is formed by blades and the more blades there are, the rounder the aperture and the nicer the out-offocus areas look.

AF/MF switch On the side of these lenses is a switch that lets you change between autofocus and manual focus. If in manual focus, you need to use the focus ring to get your subject sharp. Some lenses have an M/A option, which lets you override autofocus with the focus ring at any time. Focus ring When in manual focus mode, turn this ring to adjust the focus. Some lenses have a textured ring along the barrel, for others you simply turn the front of the lens. In either case, you want it to move smoothly without sticking so that fine adjustments are easy.

7 reasons why you need a 50mm prime lens

Filter thread At the front of the lens is a thread that lets you attach circular filters for controlling light and creative effects. Different lenses have different diameters, and the larger the diameter, the more expensive the corresponding filters will be.

Image quality Because prime lenses have no zoom mechanism, the glass is fixed in position for maximum image quality. Images taken with a 50mm prime lens contain a lot more detail than those taken with a kit lens and they don’t have so much coloured fringing.

Extremely shallow depth-of-field Any 50mm prime lens has a maximum aperture that’s wider than most other lenses. This means you can achieve an extremely shallow depth-of-field, with the foreground and background completely blurred out. This is especially good for making portrait subjects stand out.

Low-light shooting Such a wide maximum aperture also means the lens lets in a lot of light. So you can still take pictures in very low-light levels without increasing the ISO sensitivity or worrying about blurring from a slow shutter speed.

It’ll help your compositions Because the focal length of a prime lens is fixed, you can’t just stand still and adjust the zoom. It forces you to think more about the composition and move your feet to get it right – over time, this will make you a better and more creative photographer.

It’s versatile The focal length of 50mm is very versatile and it captures scenes in a similar way to how we see them. It’s great for street photography and portraits in particular, but is also a great walkabout lens for capturing just about anything.

It’s easy to carry Most 50mm prime lenses are small and light, so they don’t take up much room in your bag and won’t weigh you down. Even if you don’t have it on your camera all the time, you won’t mind taking it with you along with the rest of your kit.

It’s cheap Possibly the best thing about 50mm prime lenses. In some cases, you can get change from £100, and others won’t cost you much more. The wider-aperture option of f/1.4 is more expensive, but still only around £300 and the quality makes this a bargain.

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16/8/13 11:32:59

50mm prime lenses

Nikon f/1.8 G AF-S b

• T

Digital SLR

f/5.6

f/1.8

Digital SLR verdict PROS: Focus override, build quality, silent focusing CONS: Softness at wide apertures

Canon EF f/1.8 II

Overall sharpness is fantastic and the outof-focus areas are silky smooth.

f/1.8

Price: £82 Size: 68.2x41mm Weight: 130g his is the cheapest 50mm f/1.8 lens money can buy – if you’re a Canon user, you’re in for a bargain. Usually with such a low price, there's a compromise, and with this lens it’s in the build quality – there’s no denying that it feels plasticky, but the advantage is that it’s light and small. Not only will it cost you very little, but you’ll also hardly notice it in your kitbag. There’s no ultrasonic motor in this lens, so focusing is a noisy affair, with a rasping motor movement and the odd clunk. That doesn’t affect performance though – it’s fast and moves straight to the right point. The manual focus ring at the front of the lens moves smoothly, although it’s a little loose for my liking and, unusually, there’s no distance scale on the focusing ring, so you can’t preset it to a known distance. Image quality from this lens is superb. Coloured fringing is almost absent at all apertures, and the tiny amount that appears with the widest apertures is removed by closing the aperture to f/2.8. From f/2.8 to f/16, detail is also extremely sharp at the centre, and resolution is just about maintained out to the edges of the frame. The only downfall is when the aperture is opened wide, especially to the maximum setting of f/1.8. Here, images are softer and detail is lost. The aperture is also pentagonal in shape, which makes for slightly less attractive out-of-focus areas when the aperture is closed slightly from its maximum. Nevertheless, the drawbacks are minor, and it’s a fantastic lens by any standard, never mind at this price.

f/1.8

IN TE st S

of two 50mm lenses from Nikon with a O ne maximum aperture of f/1.8, this one’s the more expensive. It’s built like a lens that’s worth more and it performs well without being heavy or too expensive. One major advantage is the Silent Wave Motor, which means the lens makes almost no noise when moving back and forth to focus. It’s quick too, with smooth, decisive movement directly into position and without any hunting. Even when you have the lens set to autofocus mode, you can override it manually with the focusing ring – useful if you want to fine-tune focus after the autofocus system has locked on. The ring moves smoothly without being loose, so if you go manual with your focusing, it’s easy to make fine adjustments. When this lens is used with its aperture set to its widest of f/1.8, detail is quite soft, but the out-of-focus areas are silky smooth. Sharpness at the centre of the frame improves if you close the aperture to f/2.8, although this still leaves things fuzzy at the edges and you need to go down to f/5.6 for maximum sharpness across the frame. Overall though, sharpness is fantastic and this lasts throughout the rest of the aperture range, right up to the smallest available of f/16. Coloured fringing is also well controlled; there is some – primarily green – at the widest apertures, but it’s not bad and with smaller apertures it completely disappears. All in all, an impressive performance that makes for a great value lens – it’s only of use to Nikon users, but for me it’s the best of or test group.

• b e ST

Price: £155 Size: 72x52.5mm Weight: 185g

t IN TE es

EQUIPMENT

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f/5.6

f/1.8

Digital SLR verdict PROS: Small and light, cheap CONS: Pentagonal aperture, build quality, softness at maximum aperture

From f/2.8 to f/16, detail is extremely sharp. At f/1.8, images are much softer.

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ISSUE 85

ON SALE 26 sept

next month in Digital SLR

getteenage

pics!

Bag portraits your

older kids will be proud to show off!

-— ALSO INCLUDING -—

Light up the darkness Crack night photography in ten minutes

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Budget flashguns tested Improve your lighting for less than £100

Get closer to the action We test the best affordable telezooms

16/8/13 10:47:05