Photography News Issue 26 by Bright Publishing

News Tests Clubs

Exhibitions

Techniques

Interviews

Competitions

Reviews

Photography Produced by

Issue 26 16 Nov â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15 Dec

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Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News Tests Clubs

Exhibitions

Techniques

Interviews

Competitions

Reviews

Photography Produced by

Issue 26 16 Nov – 15 Dec

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Your FREE newspaper packed with the latest news, views and stories from the world of photography

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Leica launches full-frame SL

Iconic German brand launches a new mirrorless camera system

In what has been a busy year – Leica has launched a top-end full-frame compact, the Q, and a medium-format DSLR, the S007 – the company has now launched the Leica SL, a full-frame 24-megapixel interchangeable lens camera, too. The SL uses a totally new mount and adapters will be available for other Leica system lenses. Three SL lenses have been announced so

far, the 24-90mm f/2.8-4, the 90280mm f/2.8 and the 50mm f/1.4, and more are promised. Leica M users will be pleased to hear that the SL has been optimised for M lenses and, with the adapter, will give full functionality. A fully featured exposure system, an ISO range of 50 to 50,000, the ability to shoot at 11fps and a high-spec AF system all add up to an impressive camera. Of

course, it is true that its appeal is limited because you need £5050 for the body and another £3150 for the 24-90mm f/2.8-4 lens. Look beyond the price and the design though and the build quality and image quality make the SL a very interesting camera. For a hands-on preview of the SL please turn to page 10.

Spend money and save Great money-saving offers from Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon, just in time for Christmas See page 5 for more

uk.leica-camera.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Spend money and save Great money-saving offers from Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon, just in time for Christmas We expect a few deals this time of year and the photo firms haven’t let us down, with Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon all offering up a helping of tasty cashback offers just in time for Christmas. Canon kicks off with cashback on selected products and the chance to win a VIP trip to St Moritz in Switzerland – registering for your cashback deal will automatically enter you into the competition. Included in the cashback offers are the likes of the EOS 1200D with £20 cashback and the EOS 6D with £100 going straight back in your pocket; amongst lenses there a whole range of zooms and primes to choose from. You could take home the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS with £150 cashback, for example. Offers run until 13 January 2016. Fujifilm ran a cashback offer earlier in the year and it proved so popular that it is running a similar scheme this winter – it applies to products bought from 30 October 2015 to 11 January 2016. A wide range of offers are available. For example, buy a Fujifilm X-T1 and XF18-55m lens kit and you get £75 cashback plus a free vertical battery grip. Buy an X-E2 body or the 18-55mm kit and you can claim a free XC50-230mm lens. Buy one XF lens and you get £75 cashback, buy two and get £225, and indulge in three and you get £375. Now to Nikon who are giving you up to £70 cashback on certain DSLRs kits. So for example, buy the Nikon D5500 and SB-700 speedlight and you can claim £70 cashback. Buy the D5500 on its own and you get £50 cashback. Cashback offers are available on these selected Nikon products bought between 14 October and 13 January 2016 inclusive. For full details of these tempting offers please visit the appropriate website. canon.co.uk/wintercashback, fuji-offers.com, nikon.co.uk/promotions

...Continued from cover

Sigma goes wide Ultra-wide angle and full-frame go together like peas and carrots, and we’ve got Sigma to thank for this top-notch pairing. Its new 20mm f/1.4 ultra-wide angle lens in the Art range is designed to get the most out of your full-frame DSLR. Sigma has designed the f/1.4 lens with two FLD (F low dispersion) glass and five SLD (special low dispersion) glass elements so that there is better clarity edge to edge and to minimise chromatic aberrations. Distortion is another common issue with wide-angle lenses and Sigma has thought of a way around that too, so you’ll find you’ll be getting a much higher quality throughout your images. Ghosting and flare have been attacked, too, so even in backlit conditions you’ll still get sharp, ghost-free results. It’s priced at £849.99, is available in Nikon and Canon fits, and comes with a cover lens and rear lens cap. sigma-imaging-uk.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

A fast light affair Elinchrom has launched the Quadra HS flash head, a compact flash head compatible with the ELB 400 and all previous generations of Quadra battery packs. The HS in its name tells you it’s optimised for high-speed sync photography and ideal for use with the new EL-Skyport Plus HS transmitter. With this pairing, shooting flash in bright sun is easy with plenty of power. Integrated in the head is a daylight-balanced LED modelling lamp producing the equivalent of 50W tungsten light output. Buy the new head alone or with the ELB 400. The ELB 400 One Head HS To Go Set Li-ion costs £1279 and the Quadra HS Upgrade kit for Canon or Nikon costs £499 – including the head and the Skyport Plus HS transmitter. Elinchrom’s latest transmitter, the EL-Skyport Plus HS – for Canon and Nikon – costs £199 and it’s the most advanced Skyport ever. You can take wireless control of all lights’ power settings directly from this Skyport transmitter, and the Elinchrom’s Hi-Sync technology means you can go beyond your camera’s usual flash sync speed and work at speeds up to 1/8000sec in high-sync mode. It has 20 frequency channels for Normal or Speed mode usage, and you can see each light’s individual settings on the large LCD, which glows green if you’re using Normal sync mode and red for Speed sync so you always know where you’re at. elinchrom.com

Fresh Fujifilm glass A new prime lens is what Fujifilm has in store for you this month in the form of the Fujinon XF35mm f/2 R WR lens. The XF35mm is equivalent to 53mm in 35mm format so it is the perfect standard focal length giving you an angle of view that is similar to that of the human eye. Including two aspherical elements, the 35mm is constructed out of nine elements organised in six groups and features the smallest diameter in the XF lineup as well as a stand-out autofocus time of just 0.8sec. It’s dust-resistant and can work in temperatures as low as -10°C. Look out for it as of midNovember when you can expect to pick up one for around £299.

Canon makes a good impression There’s a new printer on the market from Canon, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 which promises to keep stride with the pro photographers of the world. Its advanced 12-ink pigment-based system features a new series of Lucia PRO inks that includes a photo black, matt black, grey and photo grey to get your monochromes up to scratch with increased black density and uniform glossiness. A L-COA image processing system makes sure that all those inks are delivered to paper in perfect balance and precisely to give your photos the professional finish they’re deserving of. With cameras always packing more megapixels in, this printer keeps up with the best of them accepting 1200ppi highres image data. It’s a large-format printer that delivers prints up to A2 in size, and being wireless, you can send images to print straight from places like Google Drive and Dropbox. You’ll be able to take one home as of early 2016 and it’ll be the first in a new series from Canon of professionalgrade printers.

Next up from Fujifilm is the XF1.4X TC WR teleconverter. With a seven element in three group construction, this converter is designed to minimise any quality loss from the original lens, a common problem with teleconverters. At this time, the only compatible lens is the XF50-140mm f/2.8 which becomes a 70-196mm f/4 with the converter attached – this is 107-299mm in the 35mm format. It costs £329. Firmware updates for Fujifilm X‑series cameras to give full compatibility to the above products are also available to download from the website. fujifilm.eu/uk/

Shorter focal length, wide-angle Zeiss has added to its Otus family of top-end manual focus lenses with the 28mm f/1.4 for Canon and Nikon SLRs. This is one for the landscapers, as even with a maximum aperture the corners of the image are completely usable, leaving no limits to composition. Like the other lenses in the Zeiss Otus range, this one is no exception when it comes to design, featuring internal focusing, a dial window and the well-known yellow-labelling of the dials for easy legibility. It’s constructed in 16 elements in 13 groups with one of the elements having an aspheric optical surface and another being aspheric on both sides. A price has yet to be released but we do know it’ll be out in shops in spring 2016.

canon.co.uk zeiss.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

World’s first from Interfit

Premium Sony

Interfit has been hard at work developing the latest addition to its flash line-up, the S1 Monolight flash. It is the world’s first 500Ws output monobloc with the option of mains or battery power and offers HSS (high-speed sync) and TTL flash metering for Canon and Nikon cameras. In manual mode you can fire up the S1’s HSS mode, which works at shutter speeds up to 1/1800sec. Using integrated IGBT technology, flash durations can be made shorter whilst still maintaining colour accuracy keeping a consistent 5700K colour temperature with flash durations ranging from 1/1000sec down to 1/9000sec.

The S1 comes supplied with both AC-power sources and a LiIon battery that’ll keep you going for 350 full-power flashes in manual and TTL modes and over 400 flashes in HSS mode. Coinciding with the release of the S1 is a TTL Remote compatible with Canon and Nikon cameras, priced at £79.99, as well as a spare battery at £159.99. The S1 is due out in December and will cost £799.99 and that includes the head, battery, AC power pack and 7in reflector. The S1 on its own is £479.99. interfitphotographic.com

£2600 buys you the highest-resolution compact on the market today. With 42.4 megapixels and many innovative features, it looks a cracker The successor to the acclaimed Cyber-shot RX1 and RX1r compact cameras has been unveiled by Sony, say hello to the RX1r II. The crowning glory of this latest model has to be its 42.4-megapixel full-frame Exmor R sensor and its lens doesn’t disappoint either being a Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2 lens. Improvements to the hardware include a better AF response speed with 399 focal-plane phase-detection AF points that cover just under half of the image area making it the widest AF coverage on a full-frame sensor. Working with 25 contrast AF points, you’ve got a focus response that is around 30% faster than the original model’s.

A world-first optical variable low pass filter is another stand-out feature, even more so because it can be turned off or adjusted to ‘standard’ which is a compromise between high resolution and removing moiré and colour artefacts, or ‘high’ which places more emphasis on reducing moiré and artefacting. There are bells and whistles as well, with a XGA OLED viewfinder, a tiltable screen and Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. Available in December, you’ll need to put aside £2600 to get your hands on one. sony.co.uk

Watch your background Jazz up your studio shots with the new additions to Creativity Backgrounds’ Ella Bella range. Newborn photo shoots to YouTube video backdrops will all look top with the new bokeh designs, printed on paper with a fade-resistant ink to keep them looking box-fresh for longer. To coincide with the new range and as Christmas is around the corner, Creativity Backgrounds is running a competition to win a set of four of the new Bokeh design backgrounds and a pack of four other Ella Bella designs. Just post five of your best Christmas-themed bokeh images on its Facebook page (search for Creativity Backgrounds) to be in with a chance – the competition closes on 30 November so get them in quick.

creativitybackgrounds. co.uk

Quiet as Velcro?

Velcro is quite a distinguishable sound, but it’s one that has been silenced by Tenba for its DNA messenger bags making its new range the ultimate stealth photo accessory. In sensitive situations , such as shooting video, no longer does the sound of you going into your bag need to be an issue. The DNA range is a reaction to customer feedback and Tenba has delivered on the secure and silent bag that you’ve asked for. Each bag also has an abrasion and moisture-resistant body armour base panel and a reversible rain cover, as well as removable padded camera inserts and a security strap for bikes. The Tenba Messenger DNA bags come in four sizes, in olive green, cobalt blue and dark copper colours in addition to a graphite grey option, and range in price from £70 up to £115 for the largest. tenba.com

Rollei protector A digital camera’s monitor is prone to scuffing and scratching, and it’s also the weakest point when a camera is dropped. The answer may be Rollei’s range of Pro Display Protection screens. These screen covers are made from 0.3mm optical glass and they simply stick onto the camera screen.

They work with touch-sensitive cameras, too. The protective glass is also dust- and sweat-resistant, and are anti-glare. Screens are available for more than 50 camera models from all leading brands. They cost £19.99 each. rollei.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Making memories

PermaJet Open Day There is still time to register for the PermaJet Open Day that is taking place on Saturday 28 November at its showroom in Stratford-uponAvon, Warwickshire. As well as PermaJet showing off its wares which includes its latest FB paper range, Olympus, the RPS, Aaduki and Datacolor, among others, will also be in attendance. The event is free

to attend and that includes the seminars that are happening throughout the day. Register by visiting the PermaJet website and once you have done that you can book onto the talks – places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

A glut of cards from Lexar, starting with its Pro 2933x XQD 2.0 card (prices starting at £139.99 for 32GB), currently the fastest on the market with read speeds up to 440Mbps. Its little brother, the Professional 1400x XQD 2.0 card (prices starting from £96.99 for 32GB) can read at speeds up to 210MB, but both are up to handling high-definition video footage and capturing 4K movies for extended lengths. A 128GB capacity version (£224.99) of the Professional 200X SDXC UHS-II memory card range has been released with read speeds up to 300Mbpsand write speeds of 260Mbps. There’s a new Lexar Professional Workflow line (prices from £35.99), too, that is compatible with the Pro Workflow HR2 and HR1 and consists of a selection of memory card readers. Now to mobile USB 3.0 flash drives, Lexar has added the JumpDrive M20c (from £16.99 for 16GB) and the M20i (from £39.99 for 16GB). They feature read speeds of 150Mbps and up to 95Mbps respectively with the M20c delivering write speeds of up to 60Mbps and the M20i, 20Mbps. lexar.com

permajet.com

Sony A68 Sony’s latest A-mount camera is the A68. It features 4D autofocus with 79 AF points for good AF tracking performance and with its Translucent Mirror Technology, it can track subjects at up to 8fps. The A68 boasts resolution of 24 megapixels, an APS-C Exmor sensor and an ISO range of 100-25,600. No price or availability details have been confirmed at this time.

Softbox for small flashguns The Rogue FlashBender 2 Mirrorless Soft Box kit fits flashguns such as the Nikon SB-500, Nissin i40 and Olympus FL600R – or any head with a circumference of 158.8-184mm. It attaches quickly and securely and makes a soft box, bounce flash or a snoot to help control the flash’s output. It packs flat, too, so you can leave it in the camera bag ready for use at any time. It costs £39.95.

Creative HDR

Specialising in imaging software for Apple Mac computers, Macphun has announced Aurora HDR, a software developed in collaboration with leading HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff. Aurora HDR can be used as a standalone software or as plug-in through other softwares including Photoshop and Lightroom. Key features include new algorithms for nautrallooking results to much more stylised looks and all at the click of the mouse. Layers, a radiance feature and extensive colour controls let you produce the look you want with minimal fuss. The standard version of Aurora HDR is available at the introductory price of $39.99 (normally $49.99), while the Pro version is $89.99 (normally $99.99). macphun.com

sony.co.uk

colourconfidence.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News News in brief New arrival Garmin has launched the babyCam, the first in-vehicle video monitor that works wirelessly with a compatible satnav. It even has night vision so you can keep your eye on your young passengers on journeys. It costs £159.95 (not including a satnav). garmin.com/babyCam

Preview

Specs

Leica SL

Price Leica SL body £5050, 24-90mm f/2.8-4 £3150 Resolution 24 megapixels 6000x4000 pixels, APS-C 10 megapixels 3836x2624 pixels

It is not every day a whole new camera system is launched so it is a real privilege to spend a couple of days with Leica’s latest arrival

Sensor CMOS, 24x36mm, IR filter but no low pass filter with Maestro II processor File formats 14-bit DNG Raw, 8-bit JPEGs, MP4, MOV

Sony firmware Firmware version 2.0 is available for the Sony A7R II. This enables uncompressed 14-bit Raw capture. esupport.sony.com Manfrotto get busy Manfrotto’s BeFree One is an ultra compact, four-section travel tripod, folding down to just 32cm. The tripod is priced at £124.95. Inspired by selfie sticks Manfrotto has launched the Compact Xtreme, a four section monopod that can be turned into a pole. It is lightweight but it can hold up to 1kg of kit thanks to its aluminium and Adapto construction. It comes in at £39.95 and is available now. That’s not all from Manfrotto though, and the NX bag collection is designed to carry CSCs. There are nine models, ranging from a small and simple pouch right through to highly organised multipurpose backpacks, prices start from £15.95. Lastolite by Manfrotto is a co-branding project with Lastolite’s product range. Here, two new products have also been announced, the Ezybox Speed-Lite priced at £49.99 and the Perspective Collapsible Backgrounds are priced at £169.99 manfrotto.co.uk Stay powered up With action cameras so popular, this new PNY Action Charger powerpack will prove very popular. It has two battery bays so you can charge two HERO4 batteries and a phone at the same time via the USB output. The battery can charge a HERO4 battery three times before it needs recharging. An LED display shows the battery power level. It costs £39.95 and that includes micro and mini USB cables. PNY also has microSD Elite performance cards available. Capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB – the 16GB costs £19.99. pny.eu

Storage 2GB built-in (enough for 33 Raws), two SD cards slots – slot 1 writes at 100MB/s, slot 2 at 30MB/s ISO range 50-50,000 EVF 4.4-megapixel resolution Dimensions (wxhxd) 147x104x39mm Weight 771g

Written by Will Cheung There is no getting away from the fact that the Leica SL is an unexpectedly large camera considering that it is mirrorless. In fact the first thing I did when unpacking the body was to peer inside to confirm the lack of a reflex mirror – there definitely isn’t one, and you get a lovely, slightly scary view of the full-frame 24-megapixel CMOS sensor. There is a built-in cleaning system but its effectiveness has yet to be confirmed. One good thing is the large sensor and wide lens throat mean that if the sensor needs a clean, it is easy to get at with swabs – if you’re brave enough! Fit the 24-90mm f/2.8-4 zoom and you have a combination that weighs in at 2.02kg, so it’s quite a weight – well into full-frame DSLR territory here. You certainly know it’s around your neck, and hold the camera up to your eye for any reasonable length of time and it’ll give your muscles a good workout.

The SL uses a totally new lens mount but adapters for Leica T, S, R and M fit lenses will be available. With many M-system users out there, the good news is that Leica has optimised the SL for M lenses. The SL is a great-looking camera in a chunky, minimalist and, dare I say it, manly sort of way. I like its looks but am slightly perplexed by the raised plinth on the left-side topplate which seems to have no useful purpose – apart from giving extra headroom for internal components – and it does tarnish the look. Much as I like the minimalist design, Leica has put form over function. Only three controls have any markings – the on/off switch, the dioptre correction control and the movie record button. The lack of markings does slow down handling to start with but with familiarity and practice this should not be a long-term issue. The feel of the controls is excellent. Solid, responsive and a pleasure to use. That includes the multiway control joystick placed

Above There is much to enjoy in the Leica SL and it showed itself to be a very capable, consistently good performer. For a mirrorless camera, though, it is big and heavy – and highly priced, too.

The SL is a great-looking camera in a chunky, minimalist and, dare I say it, manly sort of way to the left of the input dial. For navigating and selecting menu items it is very good indeed. Push the shutter button and the exposure is made accompanied by a decisive and very low-pitched shutter sound. If a shutter noise ever sounded like quality, this is it. The large LCD monitor provides an impressively bright image and you have the option of whether you want live view, the EVF or auto switchover between the two when the camera is raised to the eye. Leica makes much of its EVF and it is good and highly detailed. It has a resolution of 4.4 megapixels giving a highly detailed viewing image and that is helped by the big eyepiece. The image is clear but not the brightest I’ve seen. Also, on my sample the image was not totally flicker-free but it wasn’t bad enough to be off-putting. Camera data is aligned across the top and bottom of the image and out of the picture area, in the case of the EVF. There is plenty of information if you want it and there is also the option of image only. The focus zones can be shown or hidden so you have plenty of choice. One anomaly is that the menu is not visible in the EVF so if you are using the EVF only and need a menu item you have to make the monitor active. In this short preview, the camera’s multizone meter and AF system performed very well giving excellent-quality images. The AF system has 49 or 37 zones that you can set for all to be active, in zones

or just the single zone. AF area is moved with the joystick or with the touchscreen and the focus points can be visible or switched off. Exposure mode is changed by pressing in the input dial. This shows the set mode on the top-plate LCD and rotating the dial alters the mode. The same dial is used to alter aperture or shutter speed, depending on which mode you’re using – it’s aperture in manual too. I didn’t have much time with the SL but took enough shots in a variety of lighting and at different ISO settings to know that image quality is excellent. I shot in DNG Raw and Large JPEG, and processed files in Lightroom CC. The 24-90mm lens is a corker, too, and no concerns using it at maximum aperture. Just make you sure your handholding skills are up to it – or use a tripod. I did a quick test of the camera’s stabilisation system with shutter speeds down to 1/8sec. The weight of the camera/lens helped and I was getting pin-sharp shots at this speed which I thought impressive. To sum up the preview, I enjoyed my short time with the SL, probably more than I thought when I first clapped eyes on it. I thought it would be too big and clunky, especially with the 24-90mm lens, and the unmarked controls seemed bizarre but the quality of the results and the camera’s overall feel did impress. I’m looking forward to testing it more fully next issue. leica.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Scenic splendour The results of one of the UK’s most popular competitions, the Landscape Photographer of the Year, have been unveiled

CBRE winner announced

This year’s CBRE Urban Photographer of the year contest (featured in issue 20 of PN) attracted over 21,000 entries from 113 countries. The theme of this year’s contest was Cities at Work, and the contest was open to amateur and professional photographers. This year’s contest was also the first to feature a category for images shot on mobile imaging devices. The overall winner of the contest was judged to be Oscar Rialubin from the Philippines for his image Xyclops. Oscar wins a luxury trip to the destination of his choice. “To be named as the CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year is a great accolade,” says Oscar. “I have been passionate about street photography for a number of years and I knew my shot of a watch repairman in the middle of his work fitted the brief fantastically. The urban environment is a fascinating subject as it is one of constant change and activity; capturing that one perfect moment is a great feeling.” cbreupoty.com

take-a-view.co.uk

overall winner, and I’m not sure that I was terribly coherent after that point.” You can enjoy all the winning entries for yourself on the Balcony at London’s Waterloo station. Photographs will be in display stands but pictures will also make an appearance on Motion@Waterloo, a 40m wide LCD screen that spans platforms seven to 11. The exhibition opens on 23 November and closes 7 February. Admission is free. The winning and commended images can also be enjoyed in the accompanying book, Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 9, published by AA Publishing and out now.

The Landscape Photographer of the Year is one of the country’s most popular imaging contests and this year’s winner of the £10,000 prize is Andy Farrar. Founder of the awards and leading landscape photographer Charlie Waite said: “Andy’s winning photograph of this beautiful area of Dorset’s Jurassic coast is a gentle image with a simple, effective composition that reflects the mood of a cold, winter’s morning. It is believable and appealing, with the snow adding an interesting dimension to a classic scene.” Andy was understandably delighted. “When Charlie called I must admit that I was a bit bewildered and didn’t really dare allow myself to think that this was the fabled ‘Charlie phone call’,” Andy says. “I thought I was hearing things when he said I was the

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Images in the Lakes © Steve Gosling

Travelling Light is an exhibition of 30 pictures by leading landscape photographer Steve Gosling. It is being held at the Friends Gallery, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria. It opens 28 November and closes 20 January 2016. Entrance is free and the show will be open 9.30am to 5pm on nonperformance days and from 9am on performance days. Contact the theatre on 017687 74411 for specific opening times. Steve is hosting a talk associated with the exhibition on 5 December at the same venue. Tickets cost £4 and can be obtained from the theatre’s box office using the phone number above. You can read more from Steve about the exhibition and his approach to landscape photography later in this issue.

New books

Mastering Portrait Photography By Paul Wilkinson & Sarah Plater, it is out now and is available at £19.99 (softback). Paul and Sarah are professional photographers and this book is full of practical advice illustrated by a wide selection of their lovely images. Shooting by natural light, with flash, posing and what kit to use are just some of the many areas discussed in the book. Next issue, we’ve a home studio feature featuring advice and images from Paul and Sarah, so don’t miss it. ammonitepress.com

stevegoslingphotography. co.uk

Olympus’s Annual Student Photography

Anyone who is in full- or part-time education and 16 years or older is eligible to enter this contest, and any brand of equipment can be used to take the entries. Entry is free and there is also no limit to the number of entries you can submit. The theme of the competition is Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle and the overall prize is an Olympus OM-D E-M1. Second prize is an

Olympus PEN E-PL7 and third place scoops a Stylus TG-860 Tough compact camera. The judges for this contest are Olympus ambassadors Jay McLaughlin, R Cleveland Aaron and Nicholas Goodden. Entries for the contest closes 8 January 2016. blog.exhibtr.com © David Uzochukwu

Building blocks In Place of Architecture is an exhibition featuring the work of 13 contemporary photographers. The exhibited images explore the role that photography and film play in our interpretation, perception and understanding of the architectural environment. It is on now and hangs until 11 December and you can see it at Nottingham Trent University’s Bonington building, Shakespeare Street in Nottingham city centre. Entry is free. boningtongallery.co.uk

Wild World Published by Lonely Planet, it costs £29.99 (hardback). It features a collection of 198 full-page pictures curated by Lonely Planet experts and features some the world’s wildest areas. Perhaps not quite so wild, five areas of the UK are featured, too. It is the ideal book for armchair travellers as well as those more adventurous souls looking for new places to explore with their camera. lonelyplanet.com

Books for Christmas Hoxton Mini Press has a range of photography books featuring subjects from around East London, but the great thing is that their appeal is far wider than the featured area. Check out the website for full details. hoxtonminipress.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Clubs

Tell us your club’s latest news, email: clubnews@photography-news.co.uk

Camera club news If your club has any news that you want to share with the rest of the world, this is the page for it. Your story might be about your club’s success in a contest, or a member’s personal achievement; it could be about a group outing you had recently or when the annual exhibition is on show. Any news is eligible for inclusion, so club publicity officers please take note of the submission guidelines and get your stories in

Earl Shilton’s new home Earl Shilton Camera Club has moved to a new venue. It now meets at The Earl Shilton Constitutional Club for its regular Wednesday evening meetings, and the club hopes to host some exciting competitions and other events in the new facilities. earlshiltoncameraclub.org. uk

Deadline for the next issue: 8 December 2015

We need words and pictures by 8 December for the next issue of Photography News, which will be available from 15 December. Write your story in a Word document (400 words maximum). Please include contact details of the club, exhibition or event – website, meeting times, opening times, whatever is relevant. Images should be JPEGs, 2000 pixels on the longest dimension, any colour space, and image credits should be included. If the story is an exhibition or event, please send a picture from the exhibition (not the publicity poster) or one from the event. If it includes people please identify them. Attach the Word document and JPEGs to an email and send to clubnews@photography-news.co.uk.

News in brief

How to submit

Swannell visits Cheltenham Join Cheltenham Camera Club for an insight into the career of John Swannell Portrait and fashion photographer, John Swannell started out at Vogue and assisted David Bailey before going it alone. He’s since established a glittering career, photographing the good and the great – some of those photographs he’ll be showing at Cheltenham Camera Club on Thursday 26 November. He’ll also be regaling members and visitors

with some of the stories behind his shots and give an insight into his approach to portraiture. Tickets for the event at the Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham are available from the Town Hall and the club’s website. The evening begins at 7.30pm. cheltenhamcameraclub.co.uk

Above Farnborough member John Childs with Photo-Cirkel members.

Auf Deutsch Farnborough Camera Club members, John Childs and Ken Whalley visited Photo-Cirkel in Oberursel, Germany last month. The two towns are twinned and the camera clubs have forged strong links with each other. This year, Photo-Cirkel invited Farnborough CC to enter photos in their autumn exhibition. John and Ken attended the exhibition, which attracted many visitors. The pair spent a week with Photo-Cirkel members, visiting and photographing the local area. Photo-Cirkel also submitted entries to Farnborough CC’s Set Subject competition, which was won by Jill Williams.

Are you our Camera Club of the Year? It’s that time of the year again – no, not Christmas! Time to enter your club into our Camera Club of the Year competition is what we mean. Turn to page 19 for all the details. absolutephoto.com

farnboroughcameraclub.org

Photography News issue 27 Issue 27 of PN will be out in time for Christmas. It’s being distributed from 19 December – perfect for a bit of holiday reading. What’s the best kit? Now is your chance to name the top gear as we’re launching the PN Awards. And you could win a case of wine if you take the trouble to tell us which kit you think deserves an award. Find out more on page 39. absolutephoto.com Kempsey Camera Club If you’re in the Worcester, Pershore and Tewkesbury area, Kempsey Camera Club could be your club. Established in 1989, it meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at Kempsey’s Community Centre. kempseycameraclub.co.uk

Perfect score

Above Memories by Jenny Clark was one of the eight images that secured a win for Tonbridge Camera Club in this year’s Ross Cup. The club last won the Cup in 2011, and this year’s win marks their 20th success in the competition. Established in 1951, the Ross Cup is run by the Kent County Photographic Association and this year was hosted by Eastbourne Photographic Society.

Since getting the season underway, the Potters Bar & District Photographic Society has enjoyed a presentation of images that have been taken by its members in the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain as well as an internal club competition. The internal competition was on the theme of A Rainy Day and from all the entries, one was awarded the perfect score of 20. That image was Rainy Day Stork by Fiona Patterson, who, on finding out her score, was “surprised that the judge thought my image worthy of such a good score – it almost made getting soaked worthwhile!” pottersbarphotosoc.org.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview

Science lessons

Pro focus

In this exclusive extract from Professional Photo magazine, find out why a trip to Bradford’s National Media Museum will help you brush up your science and history knowledge

We don’t often think of science and photography together, but maybe we should. Trace photography back to its earliest roots and you find scientists like Henri Becquerel creating photographs of radioactivity and inventors like William Henry Fox Talbot working with solar microscopes. The pioneers of early photography were scientists, and it’s the connection between them and today’s art photographers that Revelations: Experiments in Photography demonstrates. The exhibition at the National Media Museum grew out of a three-year dialogue between Dr Ben Burbridge, from the University of Sussex and Greg Hobson, the Museum’s curator of photography. Their shared interest in the relationship between contemporary art and early scientific photography underpins this fascinating display. Ben explains that the premise behind the exhibition was specific: “To show the capacity of photography to go beyond the naked eye, to lend visibility to phenomena that would ordinarily remain invisible.” Take for example Andrew Ainslie Common’s Orion Nebula image. Before such images were captured we didn’t know what space looked like. “It demonstrates beautifully how we negotiate and think about what we know about the world through its photographic representation,” says Greg. “When we think about what the universe looks like we think about what we see in images. Photography gives something an appearance.” And such images are still being captured; in the exhibition, Trevor Paglen’s 2010 shot of a distant military drone follows on from Ainslie Common’s Orion image from 1883. This “making the invisible visible” weaves through all the images in the show, like Ori Gersht’s modern explosions, which slow down time to capture motion, just as Eadweard Muybridge and Harold Edgerton did in the 1880s and 1950s respectively. Given the wonderful archive of early photography at the Museum, this could have simply been a display of fascinating early science images, but Ben and Greg wanted to “make a unique contribution”. The contrasts and comparisons between the historical and contemporary images offer insights into photography and our perception of it. Many of the older images are from the Museum’s own archive, but the contemporary shots had to be sourced, some from private collections. Deciding what to include was no mean feat. Ben explains that “among our criteria for selecting the contemporary work were its links with early science – we wanted them to be

Many of the older images are from the Museum’s own archive Above X-ray of Angelfish and Surgeon fish, 1896 by Eduard Valenta and Josef Maria Eder. Above right Proboscis of the Hummingbird Hawk Moth, 1928 by Carl Strüwe. Below right Blow Up, Untitled 1, 2007 by Ori Gersht saying something specific – and its connections with the early scientific photography.” They were also at pains to ensure that the hanging was structured and thought out. “When we started out there wasn’t such a clear chronology, we were mixing contemporary with historical, but that was felt to be a bit too obvious,” says Greg. “Which is why we started to look at a chronology.” “It’s a more meaningful way to tell a historical story,” says Ben. “Cultural and social change come through with this hanging.” For example, the first X-rays in the 19th century were groundbreaking, now they’re commonplace. Our reactions to photography now are different from those of our predecessors, and photographers aren’t scientists, but the medium still offers sight of things the eye can’t see. Which is why a trip to Bradford should be in your sights. Revelations: Experiments in Photography is at the National Media Museum, Bradford, from 20 November 2015 until 3 February 2016. nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

You’ll find more insight in the latest Professional Photo – the only mag dedicated to full-time and aspiring pro photographers

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Camera Club of the Year 2015-16

How to enter First, your club’s competition secretary (or whoever is going to enter each month) must sign up at absolutephoto.com. Next, click on Members’ Area in the menu bar, then choose Camera Club of the Year 2015-16 from the drop-down list. Simply register your camera club and follow the upload instructions.

Glory and great prizes from Canon await the camera club who wins this year’s challenge. It’s easy to enter so what are you waiting for? Welcome to the launch of this year’s search for the UK’s most talented camera club. Last year, with more than 50 clubs fighting it out, Amersham Photographic Society emerged victorious winning by a single point. It was a close run thing so well done to Amersham PS. In association with Canon, this year’s Camera Club of the Year competition promises to be bigger and better than ever. After feedback from last year, the contest’s process is changing.

To start, register your club on absolutephoto.com. Next, click on Member’s Area in the menu bar and choose Camera Club of Year 2015-16 from the drop-down list. Follow the instructions to upload images. Each month we’ll set a subject theme and we want to see five images from five different club members on that theme. Any club or group is eligible to enter so long as there are at least five members and that includes online groups and internal company clubs.

After the closing date each month, the images will be judged by the experts at Photography News and the top scoring club from that month will qualify for the grand final and win a Canon PIXMA PRO100S A3+ printer worth £499.99. Once a club has qualified for the grand final they needn’t enter again – they can if they want but they are not eligible for the monthly prize. Clubs can enter at any point even at the fifth and final round. After the five monthly rounds, we’ll have

The Camera Club of the Year wins… … a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. This brand-new professional quality A2 printer is worth £1199.99. It uses a 12-colour Lucia PRO inkset that includes four blacks for excellent monochrome output. On appropriate media, Lucia PRO inks have impressive lightfast qualities. … an exclusive day with renowned professional landscape and travel photographer David Noton, enjoying a workshop and an illustrated talk.

Overall winner prize:

CANON imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 Five izes monthly pr

Overall winner prize:

N C A NO A PIXM PRO-100S

DAVID NOTON exclusive day

Monthly winners The five monthly winners each get a Canon PIXMA PRO-100S worth £499.99. This is a professional quality A3+ printer, featuring an eight colour inkset with excellent lightfast qualities.

Its built-in Wi-Fi capabilities means wireless connection is possible so prints can be made from tablets and phones as well as the computer. canon.co.uk

five grand finalists and they will be asked to submit a further selection of pictures and it is from these images that the overall winning club will be decided. The themes for the final judging will be made known to the finalists at the same time after the five rounds. The overall winners earn the accolade of the Photography News Camera Club of the Year 2015-16 and a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000, a professional, 12-ink A2 printer worth £1199.99.

Canon EOS 5DS The game-changing Canon EOS 5DS boasts 50.6-megapixels, the highest resolution available on any 35mm camera. The EOS 5DS R has the same features list as the 5DS but uses a low-pass cancellation filter that gives even more detailed pictures. The incredible resolution is only one exciting aspect of this highly featured camera. Its AF system employs 61 points that can be used together or grouped into movable zones for off-centre shooting. Exposure is deadly accurate thanks to the 150k RGB+IR metering sensor and there is a full range of exposure modes available. Add weather sealing, dual memory slots, Full HD movies, a programmable interval timer and much more, and you have an amazing DSLR that can deliver the most critical image quality.

Specs Street price £2999 Resolution 50.6 megapixels Sensor 24x36mm CMOS with Dual DIGIC processor Autofocus system TTL-CT SIR with dedicated CMOS sensor. 61-point AF system that works down to -2EV

Metering system 150k pixel RGB+IR sensor. Evaluative, partial, centre-weight and spot metering patterns

Shutter range 30secs to 1/8000sec, B Continuous shooting Up to 5fps

Exposure modes PASM

Monitor 3.2in LCD, Clear View II TFT, 1040k dots

ISO range 100-6400, with expansion to 50 and 12,800

Dimensions (wxhxd) 152x116.4x76.4mm Weight 845g body only

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Below Interiors can be very contrasty so metering needs to be done with care. Here a tripod was used. Bottom Entries for this theme can include low-light shots taken in markets and interiors.

Round 1: low light To kick off this year’s camera Club of the Year contest we want to see five stunning low-light pictures Low light presents all sorts of technical challenges to the keen photographer, but conquer those and great pictures are there to be had. We want to see pictures that show creative and skilful use of low light and how the photographers recognised the potential of the moment, overcame any problems and produced awesome images. Camera shake and/or subject movement are obvious issues when light levels drop and the slower shutter speeds that come with such situations require careful management. It might mean using the camera’s image stabilisation system to help get sharper pictures. Canon’s Image Stabilisation (IS) system is a brilliant innovation and features on many of its EF lenses giving a benefit of several f/stops. A 3EV benefit means that if you can take sharp pictures at 1/60sec, using IS means it is possible to shoot at a shutter speed three f/

stops slower and get equally sharp shots, ie. 1/8sec in this example. While IS is no substitute for a tripod, it does have a massive benefit to handheld shooting. Of course, once you really start to explore the potential of subjects like light trails, a tripod has no peer. Dealing with camera shake is all well and good, but if the subject is moving – or perhaps you are – no IS system will cope so here is where you can take control of the camera’s ISO setting. Modern cameras are amazingly good at the high ISO settings, with ISO 1600, 3200 and even 6400 capable of low noise performance and good enough for exhibition quality images. Go beyond these high ISO settings and there is the inevitable compromise with image quality, but with cameras such as the Canon EOS-1D X with ISO 51,200 and the option of expansion to ISO 204,800, low light should no longer hold any fear for photographers.

Low light presents all sorts of technical challenges to the keen photographer but conquer those and great pictures are there to be had

Above While night photography is best done with a tripod, using a high ISO means that the camera can be handheld for low-light street shooting.

Left The great ISO performance of modern cameras means shooting in the poorest light is possible.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year David’s kit for low light

Masterclass: Low light

David Noton

Canon ambassador and landscape shooter David Noton dishes out advice to help you and your club take home the top prize. For his first masterclass, we turn the lights down low © David Noton

Canon EOS-1D X The low-light capabilities of this pro DSLR are formidable. Generally speaking cameras with high pixel densities are less capable at high ISOs than ones with big sensors with fewer pixels.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L If you’re into travel portraiture in dark huts or markets (as I am!) this lens is the tool for you. The combination of the fast f/1.2 maximum aperture with a camera like the EOS-1D X enables me to shoot hand-held in the darkest alleyway.

Gitzo 3542 Shooting under the night sky requires a good stable tripod you can trust; compromising on your legs is always a bad move.

Head torch It goes without saying, setting a shot up in the pitch black is not easy so a torch is a must. I keep mine permanently in my camera bag.

Above left A lady, Inle Lake, Myanmar, Burma. Canon EOS-1D X and 85mm f/1.2L, 1/640sec at f/1.2, ISO 800. Above right The Milky Way over the Sierra Nevada from Hanging Rock, Sequoia National Park, California, USA. Canon EOS1D X and 14mm f/2.8L, 20secs at f/4, ISO 12,800.

With his camera in hand, David Noton has travelled the world to find and capture some of the most breathtaking views. From the Yorkshire Dales to the French Pyrenees to Nepal, David’s photo albums make for envy-inducing viewing. He started off capturing on film and one of the great liberations he’s found with shooting digital is the ability to take his camera into the darkest corners or out into the starry night and come back with pictures that are astonishing and worth every bit as much as those taken in daylight. “When I’m travelling now, I know I can walk into the dingiest dwelling in Burma lit only by candlelight and still be able to make worthwhile pictures of the inhabitants,” says David, speaking of the benefits of working with his Canon kit. And your kit is everything when it comes to making low-light photos shine. “To make an image in low light, we either need a long exposure with the camera locked off on a tripod or a camera capable of super high ISO setting, sometimes, as is the case with night sky photography, both.”

Taking pictures in low light is not an easy task, but the results are more than worth putting in the time and effort to achieve. “Making pictures in total darkness takes considerable planning, meticulous preparation and skilled camera craft, but that’s all part of the fun,” he explains. Knowing your equipment inside out is one of the most crucial factors in getting low-light photography right, something that’s come naturally to David with his Canon EOS-1D X and EOS 5D Mark II, both of which he praises for achieving “amazing image quality” even at sky high ISO settings. “I often use an ISO setting as high as 12,800 to capture a night sky,” he begins. “When I consider that I used to think of ISO 400 as high, that’s pretty incredible. Of course the downside to high ISO settings is noise, that gritty grainy look which can spoil a picture, but then again if it’s the price of capturing an image or not, I’d always opt for raising the ISO and going for it.” For his must-have kit list on a darkened shooting trip, after a camera with a super-sensitive

sensor comes a tripod and a torch. “Fast lenses with wide maximum apertures are also handy, enabling evocative portraits for example to be made in the dimmest of light,” he says. “My EF 85mm f/1.2L and EF 35mm f/1.4L are particularly useful in this regard.” One late night shoot in Argentina at Iguassu Falls particularly stands out in his mind as one of the most memorable experiences shooting in the dark. “I was on the lip of the gorge with my heart in my mouth and the water roaring all around me in the darkness all night until dawn,” he recalls. “It was a truly awe-inspiring experience. I’ll never forget that night as long as I live.” You don’t have to travel far though to capture something amazing after hours, the key is just getting out there and having a go. “I’d urge readers to experiment and push the boundaries using the evocative low light to be found in the shadows of life, under twilight and at night for landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife, even portraits.” davidnoton.com

Photography in the Raw by David Noton A practical and inspirational guide from behind the lens of an internationally recognised landscape and travel photographer, Photography in the Raw examines the fundamentals of how to improve as a photographer; how to read the light, be in the right place at the right time and make the most of a situation to produce the best picture possible.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview Profile

Jason Heward Iconic company Leica has been supplying legendary photographic products for over 100 years. We got in touch with Leica UK’s managing director to discuss the recent release of several new and exciting products

Biography Years in the photo industry? Three Current location Kent Last picture taken I took some shots of some beautiful horses in a field near to my home on the Leica M Monochrom When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up? Archaeologist Dogs or cats? Grew up with, and still have, both. Toast or cereal? Toast Email or phone call? My inbox is full, so I’m reverting to calls!

Leica has been very active recently with the launch of several new products. It must be the most exciting time for you as managing director of Leica UK? It’s a hugely exciting time. With the launch of its recent products, Leica has cemented its position as the vanguard of photography. It will always be a privilege to be MD of such an iconic company, but never more so than at this time. How is business generally, especially from your Mayfair store’s perspective? Business is good, both in our flagship store and for our authorised dealers. The breadth of our camera portfolio means we can cover almost every field of photography. More and more people are coming to our brand to experience our exceptional products. The Leica Q has been getting good reviews, especially with respect to its noise performance. You must be pleased, but how has it been received by customers? The Q is quite the phenomenon! “The best fixed‑lens, full-frame compact ever made,” according to many. I have yet to see a bad review and this is reflected in the waiting list. It is the perfect combination of what is technically possible and what makes sense photographically. Customers are genuinely excited about how it can extend their creativity. The Leica M Monochrom can only shoot black & white pictures. Leica is the only manufacturer to take this innovative and niche approach. What was Leica’s thinking behind the concept and how has it been received? The Leica M Monochrom is quite brilliant and I think it perfectly represents the brand. Would any other camera manufacturer create a camera purely on the basis of helping customers express their creativity through the aesthetics of black & white photography? The M has legendary status and the Monochrom adds to this. Even we are a little surprised by how many customers are using it!

When you are creating the future, the challenge is always to keep this focused on the essentials, or as we like to say – ‘Das Wesentliche’

The SL (right) is a very lovely camera and is beautifully made, but what was the thinking behind the new SL system? After all, in the M-system you effectively have a quality full‑frame product, so was there a specific need for a new system? What does the new lens mount offer that an existing one doesn’t offer? The SL really is a new milestone in the professional camera segment. It’s a cutting-edge mirrorless system camera, with many innovations that result in outstanding quality. The SL has closed the gap between our professional S series and the legendary M series. M customers love to use the optical rangefinder system, but for some situations they require more speed and video capability. All our systems have specific advantages and user benefits, and are an integral part of our long-term product strategy. The Leica SL lens mount expands the camera’s range of options and brings even more creative freedom. The SL (TL) mount permits the use of more than 100 Leica lenses on the Leica SL, including Leica S and M lenses.

How long has the SL been in development? Sorry, but we don’t disclose details regarding development times! From a technical perspective, what was the biggest challenge in developing the SL? When you are creating the future, the challenge is always to keep things focused on the essentials, or as we like to say – ‘Das Wesentliche’. We know that often the things that appear simple can be the most difficult to attain, particularly when you are creating something with so many innovations. What sort of photographer do you expect to buy the SL? I know you are aiming it at professionals but are you expecting good take‑up from M owners? This camera is designed to the high specification demanded by professional photographers – from its robust and resilient build quality to the speed and excellent image quality. Anyone who appreciates a highly innovative, cutting-edge camera will be interested in this. Image quality, speed, cinematic-quality video – I can think of many M owners who will be interested. The SL will bring many new customers to Leica as well, particularly film and video makers. Does the SL feature the same sensor and processor as the Q? Does the sensor come from the same source as the Monochrom, ie. your Belgian supplier? The SL has a 24-megapixel sensor that is based on the sensor architecture used in the Leica Q, but with modifications to ensure outstanding imaging performance when using Leica M lenses, and for ultrasonic sensor cleaning. The sensor is used exclusively in Leica cameras and has no special name. Leica is using different sources and manufacturers in this field, but supplier details are subject to confidentiality.   Was there any idea to go for a higher resolution, ie. 50 megapixels, with the SL system? The new camera was developed together with professional photographers. We came to the conclusion that speed and image quality are the two most important requirements and priorities for this target group.

SL speed means to provide a high frame rate of up to 11 frames per second, which leads to an extended scope of photographic applications — for example, sports and photojournalism. Our philosophy is that the highest image quality is achieved by larger pixels, especially with shadow and highlight reproduction, and a higher ISO up to 50,000. Our goal was to create a camera that offers maximum flexibility in order to adapt to every situation or photographic condition. Do you have a roadmap of SL lenses and accessories, so buyers can be confident they are investing in a full system? Leica will release three SL lenses in the first year. However, we will extend our lens portfolio on a regular basis. Because of the SL mount, photographers will have access to almost all Leica lenses ever made. For instance, all lenses for the Leica T camera can be used without an adapter. In addition, appropriate adapters allow Leica S, M, R and cine lenses to be mounted on the Leica SL. The adapter for Leica M is already available, and R, S and cine lens adapters are currently under development.   The SL’s design is minimalist to the extent that very few controls are marked. Has this approach come from consumer research or just Leica’s designers (or a design agency) going for a cool look? As mentioned previously, the SL was developed in collaboration with professional photographers. Leica has always been synonymous with great design. It has the characteristic profile of a Leica camera at a glance and is a true Leica design – timeless, classic and unique in its craftsmanship. What aspect or feature of the SL excites you most personally? There are many aspects of the SL that excite me and I am still discovering innovations and new potentials. The aspect that excites me most, personally, is its video-recording capability. Even in full HD, the Leica SL sets new standards, it records video at up to 120 frames per second and makes use of the entire sensor area. Video filming is possible with almost every Leica lens ever built, including our award-winning Leica cine lenses.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Profile Biography

Years in photography Seriously, about 18 years Home club Inn Focus Group, a tiny club. There's nice guys and me – and I absolutely love it Favourite camera Currently own a Canon EOS 7D but I’m not really ‘into’ kit Favourite lens Sigma 10-20mm without a doubt Favourite photo accessories Large portable reflector Favourite photographic subject or technique People pictures and wide-angle portraiture Awards Got to go back to 2010 for the last time I picked up any distinctions. These were a Masters from the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (MPAGB) and a Fellowship of the British Photographic Exhibition circuit (FBPE) Medals Numerous national and international. One that stands out is the Smethwick International where in 2010 I picked up three awards including two medals out of my entry of four projected digital images

There are many excellent images being produced. Some, however, fall a long way short of those at the top

Image Kathryn is renowned for her creative images and has many awards with them.

Kathryn J Scorah MPAGB FBPE Each issue, a respected judge or exhibition selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month, we hear from creative photographer and national judge Kathryn J Scorah Words by Kathryn J Scorah I’ve judged relatively few times at club level, I prefer to do interclub, federation and salon judging. I really enjoy salons where I get to see a wide variety of work. I gained a lot of experience at my previous club, Wigan 10, where we appraised each other’s work. Sitting in the same room as the hugely successful founder members and commenting on their pictures wasn’t for the faint hearted but it was extremely rewarding and has stood me in good stead for assessing others’ work. I also run a private critique group where members are encouraged to comment honestly and constructively on each other’s images. We include relative newcomers through to very experienced exhibitors, it works well and we have all learnt a great deal from the process – and it’s fun! The teacher in me made me want to become a judge, I love helping other people. No matter what standard you are we all miss things in our own pictures. To see people I’ve helped with constructive criticism win awards in national competitions gives me a real buzz. Sometimes I think there are too many competitions. People are tempted to put in whatever they have laying about on their hard drives just to have an entry. That’s not to say that there aren’t some fine photographers out there. Just that on the face of it, the standard can be diluted by ordinary work. At the top end of amateur photography, without doubt, there are many excellent images being produced. Some, however, fall a long way short of those at the top. I think is due to people not competing outside their own club. They have no idea of the current standard. Even at the top there are poorly manipulated images that gain awards for reasons best known to the judge. Sometimes I think if a picture conforms to a formula then some judges mark it up irrespective of quality or originality. The temptation to dismiss someone’s work should always be overcome. Judges have a huge responsibility not to put someone off. At the end of the day a good picture should speak for itself. For

Kathryn Scorah Seeking out fresh, new approaches to photography that are about as far away from the bandwagon as you can get is Kathryn’s bag. The feeling of an image is what’s important to this renowned photographer and that’s exactly how she approaches judging.

Before the Judge

the others I have to find some way of encouraging the author. Only once have I had to question the validity of putting an image in front of a judge. Hopefully I was as diplomatic as I could have been. I hate offending anyone. I truly believe in treating people with the utmost respect. I wouldn’t necessarily mark down an image because a technique was employed. Rather, a technique’s poor execution or its global application over the image is something that would not go down well. I have a few phrases of encouragement I’d hope say what I mean without offending. I always try to find some thing to say that echoes what I would have done either at the taking stage or in post-processing. That way the author hopefully will have learnt something for next time. Pictures without feeling or mood are the biggest downfalls in club photography. Landscapes taken on a sunny day, for example, are typical of those that turn up at club level. I’m looking for something that moves me on an emotional level. A picture has to speak to me. Also I’m looking for the mark of the photographer.

If I think it’s a picture that could have been taken by anyone standing there regardless of skill I would be inclined to less enthusiastic about it. There’s an old joke about there being only one happy person in the room at the end of a competition; the judge. You may or may not agree with a particular judge’s remarks or scores, but if you have learnt something then the judge has proved to be worth his or her salt. There are poor judges at every level. A judge who exercises personal preference or prejudice towards a genre of photography or subject matter does no favours to the general perception of photographic judging. My criteria for judging is ‘does the picture speak to me?’ After that I judge on quality. Quality of the projected image or print, light, exposure, focusing,

and manipulation (if any). And composition. Is it easy to read? Is the composition balanced? Does the viewpoint and what is included or excluded show me what drew the photographer to take the picture? My motto for my picture is: ‘A picture isn’t finished until everything that could be taken away is taken away.’ Simplicity is the key. Yet the picture must have a narrative that is easily understood by the viewer. It may be different for each person, but certainly there needs to be some element of storytelling. My advice? Get out and see as many successful photographs as you can. Not to copy but to be inspired. Use them as a springboard for your own ideas. And have fun! bit.ly/kathrynscorahphotography

What do you think? Have you seen a photographic judge at work who you’d like to see profiled in Photography News? If so please drop us a line to opinion@photographynews.co.uk with the judge’s name and, if possible, their contact details.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview Simon Kitchin

Photographing North Wales

Local to North Wales himself, photographer Simon Kitchin could see the potential in a book dedicated to such a rich and diverse landscape, and so his first book, Photographing North Wales, was born © Simon Kitchin

Interview by Megan Croft What’s your background in photography? I’m completely self-taught. Moving to North Wales in 1997 inspired me to take it up. Hiking amongst the stunning scenery of Snowdonia really gave me the incentive to buy a good camera and try to capture it. Have you ever created a book before? No. I was approached by fotoVUE, my publisher, and after meeting them and hearing about the book concept it was too good an opportunity to miss. What makes North Wales a worthy subject for you? To be honest, this is a question I’m surprised anyone would ask. One trip here and it speaks for itself. I think the diversity

of the area is probably unrivalled in the UK but strangely it still doesn’t seem overly popular with photographers; they’re seriously missing out.

How long did it take to put together? Two years, pretty much. I started in September 2013 and it was published in August 2015.

Is the North Wales landscape not overly familiar to you now? How easy is it to find fresh inspiration in a familiar setting? I’ve only lived here since 1997, and that’s not long enough to discover all the amazing photographic opportunities the area has to offer.

How many pictures did you take in total? Now that’s a good question, and honestly I’m not 100% sure. A quick check on my hard drive suggests it’s at least 2000.

How did the book move from concept to reality? It all happened very quickly. As soon as I’d met Mick and Stuart from fotoVUE, I started work on the book. Their enthusiasm and seeing the draft of their first book, Photographing The Lake District, left me in no doubt that this would be a great thing to be involved in.

What were some of the challenges of producing a book? There were several. Unfortunately, photography isn’t a full‑time occupation for me at the moment, so being able to get out in the right light and weather conditions was sometimes a challenge. Time in general was at a premium, but thankfully I have a very supportive wife who was fully behind me. She’s as enthusiastic about the book as I am. Another challenge was the diversity of photos that we wanted to include in the book; North Wales has lots of big landscapes but we all agreed it needed to

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview be more than that, we wanted it to appeal to fans of all styles of landscape photography and, importantly, non-photographers, too. The concept was really to promote the diversity and heritage of the area, as well as the stunning landscape. The book definitely broadened my own photographic style. We all have a comfort zone, and working on the book made me look well beyond mine. What about the challenges of shooting such a large area as North Wales? It isn’t until you start a project like this that you realise just how big an area North Wales is. Fortunately, I already had a good start in Snowdonia, as my back catalogue of photos provided some of the content and saved some travelling. I’d not really photographed the Llyn Peninsula and southern Snowdonia, however, both the farthest away from home, so several nights were spent in local B&Bs to save the two hours drive and make the early starts a little easier.

Tell us what was in your kit bag. I’ll be honest: I’m not really a ‘gear head’, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a bad camera these days. Having said that, for landscapes I think the Nikon D800 just offers that little bit more than most so I went for that and I don’t regret it. I carry the usual stuff: a tripod, I try to go light (ish) so use a Benro CF Travel Angel II most of the time, and just take two lenses and plenty of spare batteries – nothing worse than running out of power when out for a full day. I also use Lee Filters and occasionally a Heliopan polariser. I carried a Sony RX100 compact with me most of the time, it’s a great back-up and really useful for macro shots. The other essential kit is warm, waterproof clothing. The book is about North Wales, after all.

For landscapes, I think the Nikon D800 just offers a bit more than most, so I went for that and I don’t regret it

Left The stunning Llyn Llydaw, a natural lake part-way up the slopes of Mount Snowdon in Snowdonia National Park. Below The ruined beauty of Ynys Pandy slate mill, near Porthmadog. © Simon Kitchin

What can we expect to see in the book? I like to think the book captures something of everything about North Wales: the obvious is its stunning coastal scenery, impressive Snowdonia peaks and incredible castles. Beyond this, though, there’s a wealth of scenery and heritage that’s far less well-known, such as my own area of North-East Wales, and I really wanted to make sure this was featured in the book, as areas such as the Clwydian Range Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and historic sites like Valle Crucis Abbey, Castell Dinas Brân and the incredible engineering marvel of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in the Dee Valley are brilliant places to explore with a camera.

Which lens did you rely on most? I don’t really have lots to choose from. I think you can have too many lenses, so I deliberately limit myself. I used the Nikon 16‑35mm f/4 much of the time, with the Nikon 24-120mm f/4 for the longer and detail shots. Was there an accessory that proved to be really invaluable? Knowing when to be in the right spot to catch the light is pretty much essential when you’re on a limited timescale. In fact, it’s pretty much essential all the time, to get the best shots from a trip. The Photographers’ Ephemeris app was a great help. Do you have any advice for others setting out to create their own books? I’d say go for it, it’s a fantastic way to improve your photography. I see things now that I never used to see before starting the book. Getting out of that comfort zone is very rewarding, if rather challenging. I’d take even more photos next time; you can never have enough choice when producing a book like this.

Did you have a favourite location? It’s difficult to pick a favourite, as there are so many great places, but Cwm Idwal in Snowdonia would have to be one. It’s so dramatic and offers so many photo opportunities in one place. It can get busy, though, so it’s not a place to escape from it all. That brings up my next favourite, Cwm Pennant. I visited three times in total and saw hardly anyone, despite the wonderful scenery. It has a sense of something special about it, and the bluebells that carpet almost the entire hillside at the bottom of the valley in spring are truly breathtaking.

Was there anywhere you weren’t able to capture but really wanted to? I wouldn’t say I wasn’t able to capture anywhere particularly, but we made a deliberate decision to limit the high, mountain locations we included in the book, as we wanted to make North Wales as accessible to as many people as possible, not everyone can or wants to climb to the summit of a 3000ft peak. This might happen in a future book, though, who knows?

What was your most memorable day of shooting on the project? I’d have to say my first trip to photograph Cwm Cau and Talyllyn in southern Snowdonia. I was blessed with a day of glorious September light, from arriving at Cwm Cau for sunrise, having walked the Minffordd Path in the dark to get there, to capturing the lovely reflections on the lake and then driving down to the wonderful little Talyllyn Railway to photograph a passing steam locomotive. The light was so good that I managed to capture nearly all the photographs I needed in a single visit.

What do you hope to achieve with the book? I’d like to think that the book showcases how amazing a place North Wales is and encourages people to come here and see it for themselves. I think it’s one of the most diverse areas of the UK and it would be nice to hear if others agree with me.

Who would enjoy the book? Honestly, anyone interested in great views, history, industrial heritage or just being out and about in the great outdoors. The whole concept of the book was to reach as wide an audience as possible, so whilst it’s called Photographing North Wales, you really don’t need to be a photographer to find it useful. Many early customers are using it as a guidebook to find their way around the area. Do you have any other projects in the pipeline? I must admit, as much as I enjoyed working on the book, I like having the freedom to go out with the camera when and where I want at the moment, so I’m holding off on any major projects for a while. I am still doing some writing in the form of location articles for photography magazines, and promoting the book is something I’ll be doing for some time to come. If someone has a project in mind, though, I’m always open to offers. landscapephotographyuk.com

Buy the book Whether you’re looking for photo inspiration, want to discover more of North Wales or are just into looking at damn decent landscape shots, Simon Kitchin’s Photographing North Wales is a real crowd pleaser. As well as stunning photos, the book also guides the reader to some of the most photo-worthy spots and educates on how to take a decent pic or two whilst you’re there. Over 100 locations are featured within the book, and some 300 photographs illustrate the true beauty of North Wales. Get your hands on a copy via the publisher’s website. At just £19.95, it’s a bargain, too. fotovue.com

Above The 13th century Criccieth Castle, Gwynedd, which dominates the rocky peninsula overlooking Tremadog Bay.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview Pro focus

Travelling Light

Landscape pro Steve Gosling is hosting an exhibition and talk in the Lake District this winter. We managed to catch up with Steve for a quick chat during a busy autumn of photography up and down the country

How did the exhibition come about? I’ve not had an exhibition for a few years and I’ve been busy producing new work so it felt like now was a good time to share that with a wider audience. I particularly wanted to showcase my Olympus images as I’ve been very happy with the quality I’m getting from my OM-D cameras. I think it’s an opportunity for those whose are sceptical about the Micro Four Thirds system to come and judge for themselves. Olympus UK, Lee Filters and PermaJet all kindly agreed to sponsor the exhibition so that has helped tremendously with budgeting for the show – putting on something like this is an expensive affair. Can you tell us about the content of the exhibition? How many pictures are on show and are they from one area or a mix? Did you shoot specifically for the show? There are 30 prints in both colour and monochrome taken in various locations in this country (predominantly the Lake District but also Northumberland and Scotland) and overseas, the USA, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, one of my favourite locations. Many of the Lake District shots were taken in the last 12 months specifically for the show but primarily the exhibition is a collection of

Interview by Megan Croft

some of my favourite images taken over the last two years.

in real time so it takes all the guesswork out of the process.

Please can you expand on your inspiration for the exhibition’s title, Travelling Light? It’s a play on words really. I’ve been using Olympus OM-D cameras and lenses for landscapes since their launch in 2012 and one of the reasons for my switch from a DSLR was the reduced size and weight of the Micro Four Thirds system. Hence Travelling Light. My first Micro Four Thirds camera was the Olympus PEN E-PL2 in 2011 – it reminded me very much of my old Olympus Trip 35 so it was a sentimental acquisition originally. I’d always had a soft spot for the Olympus camera design ethos and the quality of its optics and found that the PENs and then the OM-Ds carried on this tradition. Also, the range of available high-quality lenses has always been a strength of the Micro Four Thirds system so that was an attraction. Most importantly though the PENs and the OM-Ds deliver the quality I’m looking for so there’s no need to look elsewhere. I’ll happily print to 30x20in from an Olympus Raw file.

What lenses do you have in your bag? I have all the Olympus primes, 12mm, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, 60mm macro and 75mm, and used these regularly until the pro zooms were launched. I have both the 12-40mm f/2.8 and 40-150mm f/2.8 pro zooms. Their constant wide maximum aperture is a boon and their performance is up there with the primes.

What is the most used feature of your Olympus camera? It has to be the Live Bulb feature. As a lover of long-exposure landscape photography this innovative feature, which gives an updated indication of how the exposure is ‘developing’

Are there any lenses that you would like Olympus to introduce? I’m hoping to be an instructor on a workshop to Antarctica next year so I’m looking forward to the launch of the 300mm f/4 pro lens – that’ll be ideal for this trip. Occasionally it’d be good to have a tilt-shift lens but the extensive depth-of-field given by the Micro Four Thirds format means it’s not usually an issue. What other kit do you generally take on a landscape shoot? A Gitzo tripod – I have a Traveller tripod and Series 2 and 3 tripods from the Mountaineer range fitted with an Arca Swiss geared head. For filters I use the fantastic quality Lee Filters – the 100mm system for the pro zooms and the Seven5 filters for the primes – with everything in a MindShift backpack. The rotation 180° Pro is probably the best photo backpack I’ve ever used.

Most importantly though the PENs and OM-Ds deliver the quality I’m looking for so there’s no need to look elsewhere

Above left Steve uses a tripod for most of his pictures and graduate filters make a frequent appearance too. Above right “I have a saying, ‘if I haven’t got wet then I probably haven’t got a good shot,” says Steve. This picture is called Heavy rain.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Interview

We see you use Lee Filters. Which ones are your most commonly used filters? I have a set of soft and hard ND graduates, ND filters, 2, 3, 6 and 10 stop and a polariser. I rarely take a landscape shot without using one of the ND grads – I find them essential to balance the exposure. Your pictures always seem to be square format. What is the background behind this? Do you have the camera’s EVF/monitor masked to show the square format? This is a bit like the ‘what came first – the chicken or the egg?’ question. I don’t know if I like the square format because I’ve shot a lot with 6x6cm-format cameras in the past – I’ve owned Lubitel and Yashica-Mat TLRs and Hasselblad 503CW cameras – or if I use that format because it appeals to my personal vision. Either way it’s a format that seems to suit my graphic, minimalist style. I do tend to have the EVF/monitor set to 1:1 format by default and switch to one of the other options (usually 4:3 or 16:9) when appropriate.

What is your favourite area on the UK for landscapes? Same question, but abroad? In the UK that’s easy – the west of Scotland and particularly the Isle of Skye. It’s a bit harder to choose an overseas location – I love Iceland so that would be high on my list but last year I visited the Faroe Islands and that is a fantastic location for landscape photography and in many ways a cross between Skye and Iceland. Most experienced landscapers avoid the middle of the day because of the harsh, unattractive lighting. As your work is in black & white, does this apply to you too? I shoot at all times of the day (and night too!) and try to match my choice of location with the prevailing weather conditions. For example, going to woodland or where there is water in flat, overcast light or shooting graphic and bold compositions in bright sunshine. In terms of weather and light, what conditions do you favour? My favourite locations offer a clue! I like to work in changeable weather conditions; it’s on the edge of a weather system when things can get interesting in terms of light and cloud structure. I have a saying, ‘if I haven’t got wet then I probably haven’t got a good shot’.

Do you do your own printing? If so what printer do you use for output? Yes, I can print up to A2. I’ve always used Epson printers as they give superb image quality and particularly for black & white. My current printer is the Stylus Pro 3880.

What are the worst conditions you have experienced on one of your landscape shoots? Have you had any really potentially dangerous moments? Given what I’ve just said you can imagine that I’m normally getting wet and cold in pursuit of a good picture. So the choice of appropriate, good-quality clothing and footwear is important to ensure that I’m as well equipped for the conditions as possible. It’s important to plan and to be prepared for the worst to happen. To be honest I try to avoid putting myself into risky situations – no photograph is worth dying for!

Your exhibition has prints made on PermaJet papers. What made you pick PermaJet and which surface do you favour? When I started printing digitally I tried as many different papers as I could get my hands on. But I pretty soon narrowed it down to

If you had to give one piece of advice to readers keen on landscape photography and keen to improve, what would you say? Follow your instincts and be true to yourself by photographing your passions, and don’t be overly concerned about the views of others.

Above Steve’s exhibition features images taken in a variety of locations with the Lake District playing a dominant role. This is entitled Hanging on. Below Funningur Church, Faroe Islands. One of Steve’s favourite locations is the Faroes. “In many ways it is a cross between Skye and Iceland,” he says. © Steve Gosling

Can you give us some background information on your editing techniques? So, for example, what softwares do you use for your monochrome conversions? I use the Capture One Raw processor for the first stage of my edit and I find the most recent version of this great piece of software meets most of my needs. I do import into Photoshop for some final tweaking prior to printing and occasionally use Google Nik Silver Efex Pro II for its superb black & white conversions.

three or four papers that I liked and continue to use on a regular basis. For the exhibition I’ve chosen PermaJet’s Museum Classic, a wonderful, slightly textured fine art paper for black & white prints and FB Gold Silk for the colour images.

Do you always use a tripod? I use a tripod for 99% of my landscape work. Not only does the tripod give me the flexibility to maintain image quality whatever the length of exposure required but it also forces me to slow down and think more about the imagemaking process.

See the show: Steve Gosling’s exhibition The exhibition will be held in the Friends’ Gallery on the first floor of Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria,. The exhibition opens on 28 November and runs until 20 January 2016. The Friends’ Gallery is open from 9.30am to 5.00pm on non performance days and until 9.00pm on performance days. Steve is also hosting a talk about his photography at the same venue on 5 December, starting at 10am. Places are limited and tickets can be bought from the theatre’s box office (phone 017687 74411,) and they cost £4 each. theatrebythelake.com stevegoslingphotography.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique The great indoors

Table-toppers This month, take a voyage of photographic discovery without even leaving your own home as the PN team showcase three brilliant still-life techniques you can shoot at the kitchen table Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton & Will Cheung A lot of people think of still-life as an old-fashioned, staid subject, but when you get into it, you find that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s demanding, exacting and endlessly creative. There’s just so much to think about with still-life; so many choices, that despite being something you can shoot without even setting foot outside, it’s very challenging. And of course rewarding, too. So while the weather worsens, retreat with us and keep shooting. If you haven’t already got a still-life project in mind, the place to begin is finding a subject. Look around your home and although it might not seem like a storeroom of photographic inspiration, there’s much more to shoot than you’d think. How about starting in the kitchen; there’s cutlery, produce, ceramics and glassware.

In the living room you might find flowers, ornaments, lightbulbs. Upstairs, jewellery and toys, even a collection of old lenses or cameras. Or head into the garden and grab yourself a fallen leaf... It’s all you need to start the journey. Next you need an area to shoot in, but fortunately still-life doesn’t require a lot of space. You can set up on the dining room table, or use the top of a chest of drawers as the techniques in the month’s guide show. But you don’t want distractions while you’re working, so lay claim to a room and tell everyone that you’re not to be disturbed. Even turn your phone off, so you can get properly absorbed by what you’re shooting. Lighting and composition come next; how are you going to take the subject and show it off in an interesting

way? Again, the type of lighting you can use varies enormously. You can shoot great still-lifes with natural light from a window (if there are any), but torches, LEDs and flash make it easier. In these techniques we’ve used all three, showing how each can bring the best from a subject. How you control and position your light source is just as important, so you’ll need to have some modifiers on hand. Home-made versions can work wonders, as anyone who’s ever made a light-tent out of bubblewrap will tell you, but there’s an advantage to using properly designed gear that’s been evolved with photographers in mind. It might be good time to invest in some new kit, which is always a brilliant excuse to play, so if you see something you like in this month’s techniques, stick it on your Christmas list.

What you’ll need Camera A DSLR or a CSC with full manual control is vital because you’ll be experimenting with shutter speeds and apertures as well as needing to control focus precisely. These cameras will also make it easier to set the whitebalance for creative colour effects and let you take a custom white-balance reading for the flash you’re using. Lenses A macro lens is very handy for still-life and vital for real close-up shots, but if you don’t have one, or if you can’t justify the outlay, you can focus closer by attaching extension tubes or reversing rings to your existing lenses. For larger subjects and wider views a standard zoom, like a 24-70mm or 18-55mm works just fine. Tripod A tripod is absolutely vital, not only in keeping the camera still during long exposures, but improving image sharpness. Shooting from a locked-off position also lets you capture multiple exposures which you can blend later in software, and of course keeps your hands free to move lights, or the subject. Lights Sadly, the flash on your camera isn’t your friend when it comes to still-life, so you need an accessory flashgun, or two, allowing you to place the light where you want in the scene. Specialised macro flashes are also desirable. And having a range of torches or LED lights on hand gives you plenty of creative options. Other stuff It’s not just ‘core’ photo gear that adds up to a great still life, small accessories help an awful lot, too. You might need ND filters to control the light, or brackets, clamps and lighting stands to position it. If you’re working with macro florals, using a clamp also helps place the subject and hold it firm.

Shoot backlit leaves It’s late autumn, so most trees will be bare so that means lots of fallen brown, yellow and red leaves to shoot up close. You could shoot on location but that means contending with wind and variable light so the indoor option has great appeal. Shooting a leafy macro or still life shot at home means you have total control and all the hours you need to experiment and tailor the settings and composition to get the look you want. The first thing is to find some good specimens, so get out, search around for fallen leaves that haven’t yet turned to mush, then discard all but the brightest and least tattered ones. This is particularly important if you’re planning to shoot the edges, as that’s where most of the damage happens. For the pictures on this page, I concentrated on the veins, but was still careful to avoid leaves with too many spots and holes. Once you’ve found some good ones, put your proposed subjects in a polythene bag to retain any moisture so the leaves don’t dry out on the journey home. Setting up for backlighting I wanted to shoot my leaves with some backlighting, and the reason is simple; because leaves are translucent they glow in a lovely way when lit from the behind, just like the sun is hitting them. You can do this is a number of ways, like taping a leaf to a window pane and allowing the natural light outside to flood through it, or you can position a

lamp behind it, but the most effective and controllable way is to use flash. With flash, the light will be more consistent and you can control the power to suit what you need. So, for example, if you want maximum depth-of-field, setting a high output will enable you to shoot at f/16. You can also use lower ISO setting for the best possible picture quality. Positioning the flash behind the leaf is relatively simple, although of course you have to suspend the subject somehow. I set the camera I was using – a Pentax K-3 with an SMC D FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR lens – on a Manfrotto 055MF3 tripod with a Manfrotto 468MGRC2 ball head, and roughly composed the image. Although it’s best to use a dedicated macro clamp for this type of work, I didn’t have one to hand, so I attached the leaf to a piece of coat-hanger wire with some garden twine, and bent the bottom part around to form a stand. This worked fine – once it had stopped wobbling – and, as with many macro subjects it’s highly beneficial to be able to move the subject around to tweak the composition, leaving the camera locked in position. Positioning the flash You can use any off-camera flash for this technique, and although I could have used a speedlight on a stand behind the subject, controlling it with a sync cable or wireless, I decided to try out a dedicated macro unit, the Venus Optics KX800 Flexible Macro

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique Depth-of-field, flash and filters When you’re shooting with flash you can find the power of the light to be a problem, especially when using middle or wide apertures. Here I wanted to shoot at f/8 which allows some of the leaf to blur – unfortunately stopping down to f/16 kept too much in focus. But there was too much flash power so I couldn’t do it without overexposing. I first guarded against this by setting the lowest ISO sensitivity, to make the sensor as unreceptive to light as possible,

Original image

F/8

F/16

With the lighting creating the glow that I wanted, I could move the subject around and shoot lots of angles

and also setting the flash power to its lowest, (1/128). But it was still overexposing. So eventually I fitted an ND filter to block more of the light and was able to set the wider aperture that I wanted and get the shallow depth-of-field I desired. Flash (£229 from ukdigital.co.uk). Despite looking like something that’s escaped from the innards of a Dalek, this did a brilliant job. It has two articulating tentacles, at the end of which sit the flashguns, so I could bend one around under the leaf to provide the main backlighting and use the other for a little fill. There’s also a third tentacle with a powerful LED on it, I didn’t use that this time but it is handy to aid focusing. Focusing on the details With the flash in the right spot and it was easy to reposition if required, I focused on the leaf using the K-3’s live-view function and its focusing peak mode. This ‘what you see is what you get’ method I’ve found to be by far the best way of focusing for macro; you just zoom in to check sharpness is exactly where you want it, and the focus peaking highlights the sharp points making it even easier. This is all done in manual focus, and although this should keep the sharpness consistent, it’s best to keep checking between shots as even slight movements of the subject will throw the focus off. Exposure and flash power With very little natural light in the room, the flash was easy to control. I switched to manual exposure mode and started with a test shot of 1/60sec at f/8, ISO 100. Switching on the flash at the rear (the two on the Venus Optics unit can be controlled independently), I set it to a 1/4 power and fired a test shot. This was way too

bright, but I didn’t want to close the aperture because I wanted a shallow, but not too shallow, depth-of-field. I had nowhere to go in terms of lowering the ISO and increasing the shutter speed to 1/125sec would have no effect on the flash, so I dropped output to its lowest, 1/128 – but it was still over-exposing, due to the closeness of the flash to the leaf. Therefore I reached for a neutral density filter to absorb some of the light – a Cokin P neutral density with a 16x filter factor so cutting out four stops of light. This gave me what I needed, and I ended up using the main light at 1/4 power and the second flash at 1/64 to catch some of the surface details.

Venus Optics KX800 twin flash The Venus Optics KX800 twin macro flash proved very handy when it came to finely positioning the flash to back light the leaf in this technique. Its three flexible arms allow lots of lighting options as you can control the power of the left and right flashes, and the LED independently. It’s compatible with a wide range of DSLRs, and costs £229. You can find out more at ukdigital.co.uk.

Editing and experimentation With the lighting creating the glow that I wanted, I could move the subject around and shot lots of angles looking for nice shapes in the veins. Changing the angle of the leaf meant refocusing each time, and but with the flash and camera in consistent positions, there was no need to change the power. And with the light controlled accurately in shooting, there wasn’t much editing required; in Lightroom I did warm the colours slightly and add some saturation, also using the Adjustment Brush tool set to +20 Sharpening to add some detail to the in-focus areas. Finally I used the Spot Removal tool to clean up a few blemishes – even if you’ve got a good specimen, these will always look more prominent when magnified by a macro lens. KS

More great tabletop tips and techniques over the page...

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique

Floral delight Tabletop photography is fun and I’m regularly pick up some flowers to keep my shutter finger exercised during the long winter nights. You don’t need much kit either and I often shoot blooms with natural daylight. Of course at this time of year daylight time is limited so it’s time to get out the flashgun. It is surprising what can be achieved with one or two flashguns and a few extra accessories. Obviously, much depends on what kit you have at your disposal but if you only have a single flashgun you can still get shooting. You can use the flashgun on the camera but the results won’t be too special and you have much more creative flexibility if you get the flash off the camera. Triggering the flashgun can be done, depending on the model, with a cable or by using a radio trigger. Should you not have either option, you can even fire the flash using its test button with the shutter open on the B setting. This means setting up, focusing and so on with the lights on, and then making the actual exposure in the dark, so while it is possible it’s bit more of a fiddle and not especially convenient. With accessories like the Hähnel Captur flash trigger and remote camera release selling for £60, if you don’t have a radio trigger right now, they are not expensive. The camera used for these pictures was a Fujifilm X-T1 with, mostly, the 60mm f/2.4 macro and a few with the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 for really shallow depth-of-field. To enable close focusing one or two Fujifilm extension tubes were used, the MCEX-11 and the MCEX-16.

I started to shoot in earnest and spent a couple of hours shooting through the bouquet I picked up at the local supermarket

Right This was shot with the 56mm f/1.2 with an extension tube to let me get really close. An aperture of f/2.8 was set to give a very shallow depth-of-field. Far right top Taken with the Fuji 60mm macro lens set to f/16 for good depth-of-field with the flash and brolly over the subject. Far right bottom A second flash fitted with a blue gel was aimed at the background, a pale blue shirt. On this occasion, the main light was moved round to be at almost 90° to the subject for a strong side-lighting effect. All shots processed through Google Nik Color Efex Pro.

The camera was fixed onto a Gitzo GT2532 tripod and a Benro G2 ball head. Two flashguns, a Phottix Mitros+ and a Nikon SB-900 were used mounted on Phottix Varos Pro Flash Shoe Umbrella holders and these were placed on lighting stands. A shoot through white brolly on the Mitros+ was the main light and the Nikon was fitted with a Honl grid and blue filter gel was the secondary unit. The flash units were triggered using PocketWizard Plus III units. Both flashguns were set to manual output. I didn’t use a flash meter and just tested output by taking pictures and then adjusting output to get what looked good on the camera monitor. Getting the effect of one light right at a time is a good way of working before using both lights and doing any final fine-tuning. The Mitros+, the main light, is a powerful GN58 (IS0 100/metres) flashgun and fitted with the supplied diffuser and shooting through a white brolly full power was needed, even though the light was three feet or less from the subject. Using extension tubes meant light loss of 1EV or so. I was shooting mostly at f/11 or f/16 with the camera set to ISO 200 and when the 56mm was fitted, I opened up to f/2 and f/2.8 for very selective focus. For the wide aperture shots, less power was needed and the main light was set to 1/64th output. The second flashgun, the Nikon was set to ¼ power and with or without the blue filter, that seemed about right. A sheet of white board was used as the background for most of the images, but for the blue

Shadow-free lighting

background shots, I used a plain pale-blue shirt stretched out across the board. A white backdrop is not effective for colouring with a filter gel and something like a mid-grey would have been better but my wardrobe doesn’t have such an item. After an hour or so getting kit together, setting up and experimenting, I started to shoot in earnest and spent a couple of hours shooting through the bouquet I picked up from the local supermarket. Main light position was varied, moving it to one side for more texture and then held above the bloom for a softer effect. The second light was varied from providing a blue background and then fitted with just the Honl grid aimed at the subject acting as a fill-in.

The results were uploaded into Lightroom and put through a film emulation plug-in – in this case Google Nik’s Color Efex Pro – to give the results shown here. I suppose if I was clever I could have connected the camera to a laptop and shot tethered so I could see the image on a larger screen seconds after taking the shot. I found the X-T1 needs a $27 plug-in for Lightroom so I didn’t bother on this occasion. One of the joys of tabletop like this is that you can revisit the subject immediately if you don’t like the result and re-shoot. Indeed, if you have the space the set-up can be left up for the winter so whenever the urge arises, you can go shoot immediately. It’s a great way to help those long winter nights zip by. WC

Fashion Ringflash is widely used in subjects as diverse as fashion and portraiture to medical and record photography for shadowless lighting. A device like the RayFlash turns a flashgun into a very effective low cost ringflash that is also very portable. It sells for £89 and two versions are available, Short Neck or Long Neck, depending on the height of the DSLR/flashgun combination you’re using. See the Flaghead website for more details on which one you need. The Universal adapter means the RayFlash will fit any speedlight-type flashgun. It doesn’t have any electronics inside and no cables are needed. You just mount the unit into the flashgun and the RayFlash’s internal arrangement of prisms and reflectors distributes the output evenly and efficiently around unit from the flashgun to give the ringflash effect. Because the RayFlash is attached to a dedicated hotshoe mounted flashgun, you can take advantage of the TTL flash metering system and use flash exposure compensation to finetune shots. Or switch to manual for full control. The choice is yours because you have full dedication. flaghead.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique

Paint with light

This time of year, daylight becomes an increasingly rare commodity and if you’re anything like me, you feel like hibernating until the smell of Easter eggs wakes you up. But for photography the lack of light just means you need to be more inventive; you have to make your own. Here’s an example, a technique that uses oldfashioned light-painting tricks but gives them a digital gloss. Light painting works by setting up a long exposure, then illuminating the subject while the shutter is open; the longer the exposure, the more time you’ll have to do it, and by moving the light you can get a lovely soft look. Set an exposure of, say, 5secs, and depending on the size of the subject, you’ll be able to pass a light right over it, wrapping the illumination around and reducing shadows. But what if you want to get different types of light, all the in the same picture? Different strengths, different angles, and different colours? That’s a bit more complicated, unless you Exposure 1

Exposure 3

also use software like Photoshop or Elements. Because these programs let you blend images using layers, you can easily combine separate exposure and build up a light-painted effect. Setting up the subject You can paint anything with light – the larger it is, you’ll just need a longer exposure and a more powerful torch. But tabletop subjects are the easiest, and that’s what I used here. The exposures themselves must be shot in darkness, but when setting up, keep the room lights on, so you can focus and perfect your composition. I set up the subject (a 1/12 scale Aoshima Aliens Power Loader, thanks for asking) on top of a suitably distressed metal tray and with a black card behind. Take a look at the before version above right, and you’ll see how rubbish this looks with the lights on; the card doesn’t even cover the background. But this doesn’t matter because with the right lighting, all the clutter will disappear. Exposure 2

Exposure 4

Left Compare the light-painted final image with the same scene as lit by the room lights and you’ll quickly see how powerful this method of lighting can be. I combined several separately lit 4sec exposures to make the final image in Photoshop, but there’s nothing to stop you setting a longer exposure and trying to paint it all in one go.

I set up a Nikon D800 and 2470mm f/2.8 lens on a tripod, focused and then switched to manual focus to prevent it hunting when the lights went off. Setting the camera to manual exposure, I dialled in settings of 4secs at f/16, ISO 100. A test exposure with the room lights off and no torch showed the scene in total darkness, so control over the lighting would be complete. I set the white-balance to daylight, more on that in a moment. Finally, I set the drive mode to selftimer, giving me enough time to trip the shutter and start moving the light. Holding a torch Many people use mini LED torches for light painting, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but for ease of use, kit designed specifically for photographers is always a benefit; enter the Rotolight Creative Colour Kit (see panel). Setting off the first exposure, the ring-shaped Rotolight was easy to pass over the subject or hold in place for more directed effects. Holding it in one hand, I could also use the other to create a flag to stop it the light falling on the background and keep that dark. Checking the exposures at this point, if the subject is too dark, you’ll need to move the light closer, use a longer exposure keeping it on the subject for more time; or you could raise the ISO. If it’s too bright, do the opposite. Going back to setting that manual daylight white-balance, the Rotolight’s gels meant that I could get a contrasting mix of warm and cool light. I chose to use a blue gel from one side, orange from the other and a little daylight balanced light from the front to fill the shadows. I also used a bluegel to put a spot on the background. If the white-balance had been set to Auto it would have adapted to the light so the difference in frames would have been marginal.

Lighting style As my intention was to shoot lots of exposures with the light in different places, I took plenty of shots, knowing I could pick the best to combine later. The style of lighting comes from how you hold the light. Close to the subject the light is stronger with fewer shadows; further off it’s weaker, but harder looking. So to get the same level of illumination you need to hold the light longer further away, and more briefly when close up. I also used a Maglite with the bezel removed and shone the naked bulb through the plastic beacon on top of the Power Loader to light it. This was tricky and I very nearly jogged the model – that would have been bad news, because one of the most important things when shooting to combine exposures is that you watch out for minor movements in camera position and subject. Any shift and your pictures won’t line up easily. Lighten up Blending the images is easy. If you have Adobe Bridge, select the files to use, then go to Tools > Photoshop > Load files into Photoshop Layers. This will stack all the pictures up in the same document. If you don’t have Bridge, open the pictures individually, then copy and paste them all into the same document to create the layers. From here, you just need to change each layer’s Blending mode to Lighten. So, in the Layers palette, click where it says Normal and pick the Lighten option from the list. The Lighten blending mode lets all the lightest parts of the stacked images show up, so all the separately painted exposures will come together at once. And because the way Lighten works, if there’s part of a layer you don’t want to see, just paint over it with black using the brush tool to make it invisible. KS

Rotolight LED You can use almost any type of torch for this technique, but the Rotolight Stealth RL 48, part of the Creative Colour Kit did a really good job. You can fit Lee Filters gels for colour effects, and it’s a snip at under £100. Rotolight.com

For photography the lack of light means you have to be more inventive Left Four of the light-painted exposures that were blended into the final image. As it’s only the light areas that are visible in the final composite, the separately-lit parts combine seamlessly. Streaks of light from the torch can be painted out of the layered image so it doesn’t matter if you put the light in shot trying to get the angle right.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique Lighting academy

Twin light techniques Using two lights doubles not just your power, but also your creative options. Here are three easy lighting looks you can achieve with two flash heads and two softboxes Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

Two flash units allow you to throw more light onto the subject

Left Softboxes create flattering, diffused light, but being directional in nature they still produce some shadows (see below). To cut these down even further, use a second softbox placed opposite the first. Be careful to match the lighting ratio so that you’re not underlighting the subject, and remember that going from one light to two on the subject will mean altering the power or exposure settings to make sure you don’t overexpose. While it’s possible to achieve superb lighting effects with a single studio flash head alone, or twinned with a reflector, options expand massively when you start working with two heads. Not only do two flash units allow you to throw more light onto the subject, banishing shadows and letting you create very flattering, even looks, they also provide extra control; so even the minor accents of light used in lowkey effects are more adaptable than when just a reflector is used, with lighting power easily set to different levels to change the contrast ratio, and more easily directed, too. What’s more, triggering two lights shouldn’t be any more difficult than one; you just need an additional wireless receiver, or, if your flash head has one, use the second light’s slave function, so it will fire when it detects the first. In the following techniques we’ll be using two lights, each fitted with an 85cm octa softbox, as well as a reflector when required. It’s a setup you can start using straight out of the box, as most manufacturers provide twin‑head kits that include softboxes, stands and cables. Clamshell lighting This is one of the most flattering looks you can get from a two-light setup, which is why it’s commonly used on models for cover shoots

and advertising, where a shadowless, lowcontrast look is required. The clamshell name comes from the positioning of the lights; one sits above the subject and the other below, like the two parts of a shell (although they can sit at either side too). With the light softened by the softboxes’ diffusers, it wraps around the subject to create broad and even illumination. Of course, with the light below you’ll probably need to frame up closer to the subject, so you don’t get it in the shot. We used a seated position, mounting the top light on a stand and laying the second on the floor, so it naturally angled upwards. Both ’boxes were set up at the same distance to the model, Harri. As always, the power and the lighting ratio are just as important as the positioning, and with two lights on the subject, you need to watch that you’re not accidentally overpowering them. Likewise, the lights must be well balanced in output, so that the lighting from below isn’t stronger, which tends to look poor. To avoid the latter, set the lights to the same power or have the lower light at a slightly lower power before taking a reading with your flash meter or a test shot; if you meter using just the first light, then add the second, you’ll over-expose as the light overlaps. With the top light at quarter power, and the bottom one 1/3 stop below it, we metered at f/14, ISO 200.

Too much power

Top light only

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique Perfect white background For a perfectly white background, as found in many modern portraits, you ideally need two lights fitted with large softboxes, angled across the backdrop and at an even power, so that the light is even. Of course, if you only have two lights, that leaves you with nothing to light the subject. But it’s also possible to get a perfectly white background and well-lit subject with just two: just use one of the softboxes as the background itself. What you need to do is position the light behind the subject at the same height as their head will be and point it back towards the camera, then control the power so it’s not too dominant. Of course, you need a fairly large softbox, and the subject needs room to move around; we used an 85cm octa softbox and the edges did creep into some shots, but when the light is on and the background is white they’re easy to paint out in Photoshop. The closer to the softbox the subject stands, the easier to fit them in. In our shot, Harri stood around 2ft from the softbox behind her. With the background light in position, set your other softbox to the front of the subject, a little higher than eye level, and use a reflector to fill shadows on the opposite side. The light behind should be around a stop more powerful than that from the front. It’s easiest to meter the light on the subject’s face, then dial in a stop more power on the backlight. With the light on Harri set to ¼ power, we metered at f/11 at ISO 200, so set the rear light to ½ power. Take a test shot and watch that the light from behind isn’t overexposing any part of the subject. If it is, turn it down or increase the distance between the light and the subject.

Just right

No backlight

Too bright

Above A white background needs lighting to stay white, otherwise it will come out grey. For a large subject you’ll need two lights on the background to get it looking white. For a head-and-shoulders shot try turning one softbox around, placing it directly behind the subject facing the camera to give a white backdrop. Care must be taken not to set the power too high or it will flare and overexpose the edges of the subject. Just make sure it’s around a stop brigher than the light on the subject.

With hairlight

No hairlight

Above Although softboxes create diffused lighting, you can still use one as a hairlight, creating a broader and softer look that when using a spill-kill reflector in the same position. A grid helps channel the light.

Above Adding a second light to the rear of the subject adds definition and helps to separate them from the background, especially if it’s dark, like the black cloth used here. Using a grid on the softbox means that output is more directional with much less spread so you get a pool of light.

Hair lighting The purpose of a softbox is to diffuse light, reducing and softening shadows, but diffusion spreads the light across a wide area, so it’s less controllable. True, a softbox’s opaque sides and reflective inner make it more easy to direct than other softening modifiers, like shoot-through and bounce umbrellas or globes, but if you’re working on a shot that requires areas of shadow, it can be tricky. That’s where grids or honeycombs come in, allowing you to get soft, controllable light in just the spot you need it. In this third setup, we wanted to use the second light to accent the shadowed side of Harri, creating separation from the background. The light’s spill had to be controlled to keep it off the background. A spill-kill reflector and honeycomb grid could do this, but the light can be very hard; a softbox gives a broader, softer look. For this setup, we positioned the key light to Harri’s front and had her turn towards it. A reflector was also

used in the fill-light position, to keep the lighting full and the shadows few, but you can do without the latter if you want the lighting to have a more ‘split’ look, with shadows between the lit elements. At ¼ power the key light, around 3ft from Harri, gave us a meter reading of f/13 at ISO 200. The second light’s octa softbox was fitted with a grid and positioned at the opposite side to the key light, but a similar distance away. It could thus be metered separately, and because of the grid it won’t be picked up by the reflector. Power was set at the same level as the key light, making it slightly brighter, This caught the texture and lightness of Harri’s blonde hair very nicely. Next month More creative lighting set-ups to enjoy. Thanks to This month’s Lighting Academy model was the brilliant Harriadnie Beau (harriadniebeau.com).

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Awards Gear of the year

Photography News Awards 2015 Never ever have we had it so good. Whether it’s cameras, lenses or something smaller but equally essential like filters or triggers, we are blessed with great kit and that is what our Awards recognise and it’s you who decides the winners

Over the next two pages are our nominations in key product categories, and from these we want you to vote for what you feel deserves your support. You can vote in as few or as many categories as you want – it’s entirely up to you. But everyone who votes will be entered into a prize draw after voting closes and the

first name picked out at random will win a free 12 bottle case of wine Voting is open now and will close on Wednesday 24 February 2016, so you have plenty of time to consider what you vote for. Go to absolutephoto.com and follow the Awards 2015 link to vote. We have kept the

voting process as simple as possible and you don’t have to register or log in. If you prefer to vote by post, nominate your products by ticking the appropriate box and sending the pages from the issue to Bright Publishing, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ.

How to vote Go to absolutephoto.com or post these pages to Bright Publishing, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Awards ADVANCED DSLR

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

Nikon D750

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Nikon D810

Pentax K-3 II

MEDIUM-FORMAT Hasselblad H5D-50c Leica S007 Pentax 645Z Phase One XF with IQ3

CONSUMER DSLR Canon EOS 760D Nikon D5500 Nikon D7200 Pentax K-S2 Sony A77 II

WIDE-ANGLE ZOOM Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L USM Fujifilm XF10-24mm f/4 R OIS Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM Art Sony Vario-Sonnar T* 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM II Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD

PROFESSIONAL DSLR Canon EOS 5DS/5DS R Canon EOS-1D X Nikon D4s CONSUMER CSC Fujifilm X-T10 Nikon 1 J5 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark II Panasonic Lumix GF7 Samsung NX500 Sony A6000

TELEPHOTO ZOOM Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Fujifilm XF50-140mm f/2.8 R OIS WR Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Pentax 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM S Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD

ADVANCED CSC Canon EOS M3 Leica T Nikon 1 V3 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Panasonic DMC-GX8 Sony A7S II ZOOM COMPACT Canon PowerShot G5 X Fujifilm X30 Nikon COOLPIX P900 Olympus TOUGH TG-4 Panasonic Lumix LX100 Sony Cyber-shot RX100 IV

PRIME: STANDARD Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM Leica APO-Summicron-M 50mm f/2 ASPH Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM A Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4

TRIPOD: TRAVEL Benro Travel Flat FTF18CIB0 Gitzo GT1555T MeFOTO Roadtrip C1350Q Nest Traveller NT-6234AK Vanguard VEO 204AB Velbon Ultra 455

MACRO Fujifilm XF60mm f/2.4 R Macro Pentax D-FA 100mm f/2.8 Macro WR Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro Sigma APO 180mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Tamron SP 90mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Macro Zeiss Milvus 50mm f/2

PHOTO BACKPACK Lowepro ProTactic 350 AW Lowepro Pro Trekker 450 AW Manfrotto Pro Light MultiPro-120 PL Tamrac Anvil Slim 15 Tenba Shootout Backpack 24L Think Tank StreetWalker Pro

VIDEO Samyang 21mm T1.5 ED AS UMC CS Samyang 50mm T1.3 ED AS UMC CS XEEN 50mm T1.5 XEEN 85mm T1.5 Schneider FF-Prime 50mm T2.1 Zeiss Loxia 50mm f/2

SHOULDER/SLING BAG Billingham Packington Lowepro Slingshot Edge 150 AW Manfrotto Agile II Sling Tamrac Stratus 8 Tenba Shootout Sling Bag LE Medium Vanguard Up-Rise II 43

STANDARD ZOOM

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

Fujifilm XF16-55mm f/2.8 R WR

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR

Pentax 24-70mm f/2.8 ED SDM WR

Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM A

Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD

SUPERZOOM Fujifilm XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6R OIS WR Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4-5.6 II Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 DC Macro OS HSM C Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD

TRIPOD: CARBON-FIBRE 3 Legged Thing Evolution 3 Brian Benro FTA28CC Giottoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s YTL 8353 Induro GIT203 Manfrotto 290 XTRA Carbon Vanguard VEO 265CB

ROLLER/HARD CASE Lowepro Pro Roller X100 AW Manfrotto Professional Roller 50 Nest Odyssey 10 Tenba Roadie Universal Think Tank Airport 4-Sight Vanguard Xcenior 48T

PRIME: WIDE-ANGLE Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.8G ED Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/1.8 Pro Samyang 21mm f/1.4 ED AS UMC CS Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM A Zeiss Milvus 21mm f/2.8

TRIPOD: ALUMINIUM Benro Mach3 TMA37AL Manfrotto MT055XOPRO3 Mefoto Globetrotter A2350Q2 Nest NT-6294AK Slik Pro 700 DX Velbon SUB-65

ON-CAMERA FLASH Canon Speedlite 600EX-RT Metz 64 AF-1 Digital Nikon SB-910 Nissin Di700A + Air 1 Phottix Mitros+ Pixapro Li-ION580 ETTL

PROFESSIONAL CSC

PREMIUM COMPACT

Fujifilm X-T1

Leica SL

Panasonic Lumix GH4

Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II

Fujifilm X100T

Leica Q

Olympus OM-D E-M1

Samsung NX1

Sony A7R II

Ricoh GR II

Sigma Quattro dp0

Sony Cyber-shot RX1r II

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Awards MONOBLOC FLASH Bowens Gemini 500R Broncolor Siros 400 Elinchrom BRX 500 Lastolite Lumen8 Pixapro Storm 400 Profoto D1 Air 250

LAUNCH

Canon EOS 5DS/5DS R

STUDIO/LIGHTING ACCESSORY BounceLite modifier Elinchrom EL-Skyport Plus HS Hähnel Captur Lastolite Urban backgrounds Magmod modifiers Phottix Varos Pro BG Umbrella Holder

Fujifilm X-T10

Leica SL system

Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 & SP 45mm f/1.8

CONTINUOUS LIGHT Bowens Mosaic Daylight LED panel Elemental CRYO 600 Manfrotto Spectra900F LED Rosco LitePad HO+ Rotolight NEO LED Westcott Skylux LED

INKJET MEDIA: FINE ART FINISH Canson Infinity Rag Photographique 310gsm Epson Hot Press Bright 330gsm Hahnemühle William Turner 310gsm Fotospeed Smooth Cotton 300gsm Signature Innova Soft Textured Natural White 315gsm PermaJet Museum 310

FILTER Cokin Nuances Formatt Hitech Firecrest ND Hoya ProND family Lee Filters Super Stopper Marumi DHG Super Circular Polariser Vu Sion Q ND Graduates

MONITOR Apple 27in Thunderbolt BenQ SW2700PT Pro 27in IPS LCD Eizo ColorEdge CX271 27in LCD LG Digital Cinema 4K 31MU97Z 31in NEC SpectraView Reference 272 LED Samsung 28in UHD

PRIME TELEPHOTO

anon EF 400mm C f/4 DO IS II USM

ujifilm XF90mm F f/2 R LM WR

ikon AF-S 300mm N f/4E PF ED VR

Samyang 135mm f/2 ED UMC

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM

Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4

MEMORY CARD Delkin Black SD Lexar Professional 2000x SDHC/SDXC UHS-II PNY Elite Performance SDXC UHS-III Samsung SDXC Pro Plus UHS-1 SanDisk Extreme PRO SDHC/SDXC UHS-II Transcend SDXC/SDHC Class 3 UHS-II SD

COLOUR MANAGEMENT DEVICE DataColor Spyder 5 Elite DataColor SpyderCHECKR 24 ExpoDisc 2.0 White-balance filter X-Rite ColorMunki Display X-Rite ColorMunki Photo X-Rite ColorChecker Passport

EXTERNAL STORAGE DEVICE Drobo 5D G-Technology 4TB G-Dock ev Lacie d2 3TB Samsung Portable SSD T1 Seagate Backup Plus Desktop Drive Western Digital My Passport Ultra Metal Edition

INNOVATION DxO ONE Elinchrom EL-Skyport Transmitter Plus HS Hähnel Captur Leica SL EVF Olympus High Res Shot mode Phottix Indra360 TTL

INKJET PRINTER Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 Canon PIXMA Pro-100S Canon PIXMA MG5700 Epson SureColor SC-P400 Epson SureColor SC-P600 Epson SureColor SC-P800 INKJET MEDIA: PHOTOGRAPHIC FINISH Canson Infinity Photo Lustre Premium Resin Coated 310gsm DaVinci Fibre Gloss Silk 310gsm Epson Traditional Photo Paper Fotospeed Photo Smooth Pearl 290 Hahnemühle Photo Rag Baryta PermaJet FB Gold Silk 315gsm

BEST RETAILER Whether you shop for your photo kit online or in store, nominate the photo retailer that offers an extensive choice, great service and competitive prices, and comes to the rescue in the unlikely event of a product going wrong. Tell us the photo retailer that has you going back time and time again.

Closing date: 24 February 2016

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II

Zeiss Milvus lens family

BEST HIRE CENTRE Perhaps you’ve hired an expensive exotic telephoto for an air show or lighting kit for a location shoot, whichever, nominate the hire company that has fulfilled your wishes, with a wide product range, punctuality and good customer service. Tell us the hire service that you’d recommend.

BEST BOOK SERVICE Creating your own high-quality photographic book has never been easier, but there are so many online services. In your experience, which book service offers the best choice of papers and finishes, ease of use and quality product? Nominate the best book service in your opinion.

BEST INSURANCE PROVIDER If you insure your photo outfit with a specialist photographic policy, or you do the odd photography job so need public indemnity insurance, has your provider gone the extra mile? Nominate the provider that offers competitive premiums and a fast, efficient claim service.

PHOTO WEBSITE PROVIDER For gallery websites or full-service sites, with clientproofing and a blog, which provider offers the best range of templates and customisation options together with top-notch customer service? If your website provider leaves you totally satisfied, tell us.

PROCESSING LAB Which processing lab do you trust with your photos, albums or stationery? If they offer highquality and utterly reliable service at competitive prices, are they worthy of a PN award? Recognise the lab that impresses you by nominating them.

TRAINING PROVIDER From basic photographic knowledge through particular tips and techniques to camera specific training, in the classroom, studio or out on location, which provider offers the best learning experience, in your opinion? Nominate your preferred provider.

The details How to vote Go to absolutephoto.com or fill in and post these pages to Bright Publishing, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire CB22 3HJ. Closing date is Wednesday 24 February 2016.

The results We’ll announce the results in issue 30 of Photography News and present the awards to their deserving recipients at The Photography Show, at Brimingham’s NEC, 19-22 March 2016.

PORTABLE FLASH

Elinchrom ELB 400

Lencarta Safari 2

Interfit S1 Monolight

Phottix Indra360 TTL

Profoto B2

Camera test Specs Street price £2900 Sensor Full-frame CMOS 24 megapixels, 6000x4000 pixels with Maestro II processor File formats DNG Raw, JPEG Storage 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC card Lens Summilux 28mm f/1.7 Autofocus Single, continuous, touch, face detection, live view Manual focus Yes Minimum focusing 30cm, 17cm in macro ISO range 100-50,000, auto Continuous drive 10fps Monitor 3in touchscreen, 1040k dots Viewfinder EVF, 3680k dots Shutter speed range 30secs to 1/16,000sec Flash sync 1/500sec or slower Exposure modes PASM, sport, portrait, landscape, night portrait, snow/beach Scene modes Candlelight, sunset, digiscoping, miniature, panorama, time lapse Metering modes Multizone, spot, centre-weighted Exposure compensation +/-3EV in 0.3EV steps Bracketing +/-3EV in 0.3EV steps Video features 1920x1080 resolution, MPEG-4 format, stereo Connectivity USB2.0, HDMI, wireless Dimensions (wxhxd) 130x80x93mm Weight 640g Contact uk.leica-camera.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Leica Q Premium compacts are proving popular among keen photographers and at £2900, the Leica Q is certainly has a premium price tag but is it any good? We find out Review by Will Cheung People don’t buy compact cameras like they used too, preferring their mobile phones instead, but if there is any bright spot it is in the top-end, large-sensor sector of the market where we have premium products offering excellent image quality. Several major brands, including Fujifilm and Sony, are slugging it out for business and now Leica has thrown its hat into the ring. The Q, a 24-megapixel compact with a fixed Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens, has a guide price of £2900, so significantly more expensive than most of its compatriots, but then the offering is different. While most topend compacts use one-inch, APS-C or Micro Four Thirds sensors, the Q joins the Sony Cyber-Shot RX1, RX1R and the new RX1R II as fixed lens compacts with a full-frame sensor. As a long-time Leica M user, I expected the Q to have exquisite build quality and to feel good. I wasn’t disappointed. The body has an admirable heft and solidity, and you cannot but help admire the quality of the finish. Its robustness is a reassuring pleasure and makes you believe it’s worth close to three grand. The beautifully finished body is also nice on the eye, with few controls and the rounded body ends typical of the Leica M. But on the downside, its shape is not great for a secure hold. The right-side of the body, even with a scoop out of the rear side for the thumb, doesn’t allow for a secure one-handed grip. Someone more cynical than me might suggest this was done to encourage the purchase of the optional £90 Leica Q Typ 116 handgrip. Certainly, if you shoot street images with a Q in hand ready to go, this handgrip is essential or at least,

you’ll want the supplied neck strap tightly wrapped around your hand/ wrist. Nevertheless, the camera’s basic grip design could easily have been better. The same applies to the leather neck strap. It’s thin with no cushioning so there is no concession to comfort. Neither was I convinced by the split strap arrangement to secure the strap to the body. Personally I’d suggest to any Q buyer that before leaving the shop they add both a more comfortable strap and a Typ 116 handgrip to their basket. The top-plate has a minimalist feel: a large shutter/exposure mode dial and an on/off switch, neither with a lock, an input dial, and a movie record button. The Q offers full HD video capability, and as I suspect the majority of users will be still shooters, it is a shame that the movie record button can’t be customised to be more useful. In fact, greater customisation would be a good idea. No locks on the exposure dial and on/off switch is something to watch, too. I managed to turn the camera on when putting it in the bag. The clickstop between the S and C settings is very smooth and easy to slide into so I found myself in C mode too often. Shooting in C gives a shooting rate of up to ten frames-per-second so if you don’t spot that you are in C and just want to squeeze off a single shot, you get an unwanted series of frames. The camera has a live-view, touchsensitive monitor, which provides a quality viewing image. Ranged down its left side are five buttons. The FN button can be assigned to seven different options. During composition pushing the button at the centre of the four-way

I expected the Q to have exquisite build quality and to feel good. I wasn’t disappointed Left The Q’s multi-zone exposure system proved itself adept at handling all types of lighting, and auto white-balance performance was sound too.

thumb pad scrolls through three viewing options. There’s full-frame without any camera setting info, then there is 16:9 format ideal for video, and finally, there’s a full-frame overlay that includes key camera data. Put the camera up to your eye and the camera switches to the EVF. The detail visible with the high-resolution EVF is impressive, but the image does seem to lack brightness and sparkle. Generally, though, it is good to work with and fine detail is well rendered. Camera set-up is straightforward, helped in large part by the lack of controls and the clear legends. The menu, however, is a disappointment. It is just one long list of items – 34 in total, eight per page. The options are pretty standard, but it seemed strange that while the Q offers shooting JPEGs or JPEGs and DNG Raws simultaneously, it doesn’t offer Raws only, which is a waste of capacity if that’s all what you want. Tabs or pages like those used by every other camera brand to group menu items relevant to, for example, camera set-up, custom features and playback would be more user friendly and surely not that difficult

to implement. The limited number of controls and function buttons does mean your options to customise the Q are limited, which is a shame. Having so far done nothing but moan about the Q’s design and layout, here are the neat things – and there’s plenty of them, too. The fixed 28mm lens and integral hood, for example. Firstly, it is a highly capable optic capable of excellent results as you can see from the test images here. Whether the 28mm focal length is the right choice by Leica depends on what you like to shoot with. In terms of performance, our test camera acquitted itself very well and there were no absolute failures. The meter handled a mix of lighting types very well so full marks here. AF was pretty capable too and any errors were usually the user’s fault. The autofocusing process was inaudible in practical situations and that was the same with the camera’s shutter noise. The mechanical shutter (up to 1/2000sec) did have a quiet, smooth and assured Leica-esque click, and when the electronic shutter kicked in (over 1/2000sec), there was no noise at all.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Lens performance The Q’s fixed Summilux 28mm f/1.7 lens has a smooth-operating aperture ring, in 0.3EV steps with an A setting for program mode when A on the shutter speed dial is also set. There is no locking button to keep it on A. The lens hood is fixed and no problems were experienced with flare or ghosting even with the sun in the frame the DNG Raws processed in Lightroom CC with default sharpening. Image quality from f/1.7 is impressive, but there is a tiny amount of softness under critical inspection. Quality from f/1.8 picks up, fine detail looks really good and the lens really starts to sing, giving excellent image quality in the centre and the edges from f/2.5 onwards until f/11 and f/16 where again there is slight softness that is improved with some unsharp mask. All told, and as you would expect, a very capable lens.

Full-frame image

F/1.7

F/1.8

F/2.5

F/4

F/5.6

F/8

F/11

F/16

Verdict If the light conditions are dire, ISO 6400 and even 12,500 give detail-rich images

Left The Leica Q offers a very capable high ISO performance and you can shoot at ISO 3200 and even beyond to get critically good, low noise pictures.

ISO performance

ISO 200

ISO 1600

ISO 6400

ISO 800

ISO 3200

ISO 12,500

Full-frame image

These ISO images were shot at twilight on a tripod-mounted Leica Q. The base exposure for the ISO 100 image was 1sec at f/8. The DNG files were processed in Lightroom CC with no noise reduction. Noise starts to appear at ISO 800, but it’s very fine and easily removed in Lightroom. More noise is evident at ISO 1600 but isn’t oppressive and fine detail remains well rendered. For critical use, ISO 1600 is usable and even ISO 3200 is acceptable. If the light conditions are dire, ISO 6400 and even 12,500 give detailrich images, but noise levels are high. The difference between ISO 12,500, and H1 and H2 is very marked and the noise levels are high. The Q is an impressive performer at high ISOs up to 3200 and images clean up nicely with modest noise reduction in Lightroom.

ISO 25,000

ISO 50,000

Ultimately, as with any camera review, the buying decision boils down to two big questions: is the Leica Q any good and is it worth the money? Well, the camera is without doubt very good and image quality is excellent. Yes, it has its quirks (character?), and some of them are annoying but despite this, I really enjoyed using it. Leica does sometimes put function above form and some more forethought from an end user standpoint would have made it an even better product. There is no escaping the fact that Leica cameras rarely rate highly in value for money terms because they are expensive. So if you want a full-frame, fixed-lens compact, you could save cash and buy one of the Sony RX1 series. But the thing is, the Sonys do not have the kudos, feel or the engineering quality of the Leica, so in that context £2900 is not bad value at all. If you have the mindset and the budget, you are very unlikely to be disappointed.

How it rates Features Has enough but lacks the frills of rivals

20/25

Performance Deeply impressive

25/25

Handling Good mixed with less good stuff

22/25

Value for money Rates highly despite its hefty price tag

22/25

89/100 Overall Any product with the red dot isn’t going to be cheap, and this is a very fine camera and the price is good Pros Image quality, ISO performance, lens, feel Cons Menu system, handling quirks, limited customization, handgrip

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Specs Street price £449 Sensor 20.2-megapixels, 5406x3604 pixels, CMOS BSI Sensor format 13.2x8.8mm (1in format) File formats JPG, DNG, DxO (SuperRaw), MOV (H.264) Lens 11.9mm f/1.8 (equivalent to 32mm in full-frame) with image stabilisation. x3 digital zoom

DxO ONE This device turns an iPhone into a 20-megapixel camera with a whole host of photo features including PASM modes and a fast lens, as well as the option to shoot Raw files. This is what the future could look like

Minimum focusing 20cm ISO range 100 to 12,800, 25,600 (Hi1), 51,200 (Hi2) Shutter range 15secs to 1/8000sec Drive modes Single frame Metering system 1024 multi-zone, centre-weighted and spot Exposure modes PASM, auto, sports, portrait, landscape, night Exposure compensation +/-3EV in 0.3EV steps Monitor OLED screen on ONE. Focusing Auto, single-shot and continuous Focus points 256 Video Fuji HD at 30fps, slow-motion mode at 120fps Connectivity Micro USB, via phone Storage media Micro SD card Dimensions (wxhxd) 67.5x48.8x26.2mm Weight 108g Compatibility iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6/5s/5c/5, iPad Air 2, mini 3, Air, mini 2, iPad (4th generation), iOS 8 or later Contact dxo.com

Above The ONE’s LCD panel has limited information as relevant camera settings are shown on the phone’s touchscreen.

Review by Will Cheung Most people use their mobile phone’s camera to document their lives and, of course, its connectivity means you can take a shot and upload it to your favourite social media site very quickly. All that is well and good, but while phone picture quality is getting better it doesn’t match that of a highresolution compact, CSC or DSLR. The DxO ONE, however, can deliver 20-megapixel Raws, has more camera functionality than a mobile phone, has a 32mm f/1.8 lens, and even lets you shoot Raws. Also, you can upload shots seconds after taking them thanks to the camera’s on-board processing. It sells for £449 and certainly offers an interesting option to iPhone users who want high-resolution files without the hassle of taking a ‘proper’ camera out with them. The ONE itself is quite small – about half the size of a iPhone 5C and a little over twice its thickness. It is self-contained with a microSD card, fixed 32mm f/1.8 equivalent lens, lens cover, battery, and connector. It has a two-stage shutter release too, though when it is connected you might prefer the virtual release on the phone. It is worth noting that the ONE and does not draw any power from the iPhone or vice versa. The DxO ONE slips into the iPhone’s or iPad’s Lightning connector. On my iPhone 5C I had to remove the case to enable a connection. The ONE is switched on by sliding the spring-loaded lens cover all the way down until you encounter resistance. Push the cover further and the spring-loaded connector,

normally tucked away flush with the ONE’s body, pops out. When stowing the ONE, you need to ensure the connector’s safely parked and the process to do this is simple. It is worth noting that the connector can’t be pushed flush unless it is in its vertical position, so if you have used the camera at an angle the connector needs to be correctly aligned. Next, input the phone or tablet’s unlock code, plug the ONE in and the camera automatically fires up the camera app. If this is the very first time you have used the ONE, the camera tells the phone to download and install the app. With the camera connected and the app open you are ready to shoot, but the process has already taken several seconds. On a quick-draw comparison a compact, CSC or DSLR is much, much quicker. Intuitive controls The phone’s touch-sensitive screen becomes the monitor and control centre. On the right there are settings for image format, flash (the camera’s LED light), drive mode and exposure mode. On the left, you can set aperture, ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation and white-balance. The virtual shutter and movie record buttons are here too. There is some shutter lag but it’s not much at all. It doesn’t take long at all to get to grips with using the controls. It is intuitive because the settings and terminology are photographic. Set A and you know that is aperturepriority AE. Of course, it’s also the case that the iPhone/iPad’s screen is first rate giving a high-resolution, bright viewing image. Using the device’s

touch-sensitive screen is something users are very familiar with and that helps with handling, camera set-up and shooting. There is the option of shooting Raw, JPEG or both at the same time. You can choose to have images stored only onto the ONE’s Micro SD card, or transferring JPEGs to the phone as well. Also, if you have just shot a bunch of pictures, you don’t have to wait before removing the DxO from the phone and there is no data loss. SuperRaw SuperRaw is DxO’s own format while normal Raws are Adobe DNG files so readily editable in an imaging package. Both are available on the ONE. Super DxO is specifically aimed for high ISO use and is processable only in DxO OpticsPro 10 – buy the DxO ONE and you get a free copy of the software. In this mode, the camera takes four images in rapid succession – the four shots take place in 1/22sec if the exposure is 1/22sec or quicker. In practice, it’s so quick you don’t notice this happening. The ONE does have an algorithm to handle moving subjects and I used SuperRaw for people shots with no multi-imaging or blur problems. Incidentally, DxO 10 is an excellent software compatible with most Raw formats and its PRIME noise reduction feature is capable of amazing results, far superior to anything possible in Lightroom. Once you are back home, just as with any camera, files can be downloaded via a cable or by removing the microSD card and using a card reader. I have to say I mostly enjoyed using the DxO ONE and the quality of

results is excellent. It also proved itself immensely useful on occasions when I don’t usually take a camera with me but always have a phone. For me, this is when I am out pedaling on my road bike. I don’t take a camera for obvious weight reasons but always, always have my iPhone. Stuffing the ONE in another pocket was no issue at all and if I saw a picture the extra seconds it took to set the ONE up was a chance to get my breath back so it was all good. The whole concept is good (at least for iPhone users) and I got some good pictures from the ONE, but there are niggling handling issues, some of which can be sorted in firmware, others perhaps not. For example, set-up is slow which means an opportunity might be history by the time you are ready to shoot, and you can’t really carry the ONE and phone linked together ready. It’s not comfortable nor secure and the phone locks after a period and the DXO goes into power save mode, too. The ONE’s battery also does not encourage having the camera powered up for extended periods. It drains quickly and it can’t be user-swapped so you can’t have a spare ONE handy. Aside from these fundamental issues there are aspects of handling that could be better. For example, on the ONE I’d like the option of having 1EV settings for aperture and shutter speed selection as it speeds handling up – there is only 0.3EV at the moment and scrolling through the f/stop range is slow. ISO speeds are in 1EV steps. The AF point can’t be locked in position. Having a touch screen means an unintentional touch of a finger can mean the focus point can be anywhere and that proved very annoying, causing me to miss shots.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Out of camera JPEG

Using SuperRaw

Super Raw in DXO 10

The light for this set of comparisons (shot at a production of The Addams Family by the Chester Operatic Society) was very poor so ISO 3200 was used giving an exposure of 1/250sec at f/2.8. SuperRaw and JPEG was set first with the former processed in DxO 10. Next, DNG Raw was shot and that file was processed through DxO 10 with its PRIME option. Given the low light and high ISO, you can’t help but be amazed by the result of Super Raw, but DNG through DxO 10 was not too far behind. Full-frame image

DNG Raw, DXO 10, prime NR

DNG Raw, Lightroom CC, default NR

ISO performance

ISO 100

ISO 800

This low-light scene was shot on the DxO One mounted on a tripod using a MeFOTO SideKick360 bracket (eu.macgroupus.com). Raw format was used with files processed in Lightroom with no noise reduction applied. With DxO 10 and its PRIME feature, digital noise can be greatly reduced so these shots are a worst-case scenario, and as you can see it’s impressive even in this situation. ISO 1600 and 3200 settings can be used for critical purposes with no problem at all and even the ISO 6400 images look quite clean. If low-light shooting appeals, the DxO ONE can certainly deliver. The base exposure for the ISO 100 was 1/8sec at f/1.8. Full-frame image ISO 1600

ISO 3200

Verdict

The DxO ONE is a brilliant innovation that works and performs well. It has potential. There are some issues with it though and the ONE has handling quirks so it’s not the ideal camera for quick grabshots. But it has many plus points, too. Image quality and noise performance is as you would expect from a 1in format sensor and I was getting excellent quality A3 and even A2 prints from the Raw files. The DxO ONE has a great appeal. I don’t have a compact camera – it’s a DSLR/CSC or the phone – so the ONE gives me the option of high-quality images in a portable bodyform. Once the battery issue is resolved, assuming it has a few firmware updates, and it’ll be on my shopping list.

How it rates ISO 6400

ISO 12,800 Features 23/25 Plenty of photo features, 1in sensor and fast lens Performance 23/25 Excellent image quality, good noise performance

ISO 25,600

Above Changing camera settings is very intuitive and done using the iPhone’s/iPad’s touch screen. The virtual shutter release/video record button is at bottom left.

ISO 51,200

Handling Fiddly, slow to get ready

17/25

Value for money £449 seems high

17/25

Overall 80/100 Great idea, works well and produces fine-quality pictures, but has quirky handling and poor battery life Pros Compact, high ISO performance, Raw and SuperRaw, image quality Cons Poor battery capacity, Apple phones/tablets only, AF zone can’t be locked, aperture adjustable in 0.3EV only, SuperRaw in DxO software only, handling, early version bugs in our sample

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First tests

First tests Accessories

We get our hands on the latest kit and share our first impressions – so you know whether or not to add it to your wish list Reviews by Roger Payne and Will Cheung

Specs In the box GT1555T and GH1382TQD ball head, carrying strap, short column Max height 131.5cm Max height (centre column fully extended) 148.5cm Min height 30.5cm Closed length 35.5cm Weight 1.42kg Max load 10kg GH1382TQD ball head Material Aluminium Quick release Yes Independent pan lock Yes Ball friction adjust No Weight 390g Max load 11kg Contact gitzo.co.uk

Gitzo GT1555T Traveler Kit £820 For many years, Gitzo’s been setting the standard for lightweight travel tripods, and the GT1555T is the latest arrival. It sells for £640 on its own or £820 for the kit, which includes the GH1382TQD ball head (£265). The GT1555T is a five-section carbon-fibre tripod whose legs fold back over themselves for compactness. The folded profile is minimised thanks to the head, which allows the legs to fold flat. The legs are made from Carbon eXact tubes, for excellent stiffness and stability even with narrower legs (the fifth leg section has a diameter of 11mm). Legs are locked in place with Gitzo’s renowned G-lock twist grips. Twist grips save space and weight, and are less prone to loosening over time. An internal O-ring also keeps out dust and sand. The really great thing about the G-lock system is that only a firm twist is needed to tighten the legs. This is a five-section pod, which helps keep size down but makes set-up slightly slower. The legs have two locked splayed positions – for normal and low‑level shooting – but the legs can be used at in-between settings with no problem except, perhaps, on polished floors. Very low camera positions are possible by reversing the centre column or using the very short centre column. No ballast hook is supplied but one can be accommodated.

The legs are made from Carbon eXact tubes, for excellent stiffness and stability How it rates Verdict With this kit comes the GH1382TQD ball head, a slimline head designed for the Series 0 and 1 tripods that accepts Gitzo D plates and most Arca-Swiss-style plates. I did remove a screw from the top‑plate to make fitting some of my Arca plates easier. The ball action is smooth and I didn’t miss an adjustable friction control because the head doesn’t loll when the locking knob is slackened. A quick twist of the main lock and the camera’s position is secured. I used this tripod and head with a Fujifilm X-T1 and a variety of lenses, but a sterner test came with a Nikon D800, including the 300mm f/4 PF lens – Gitzo suggest

200mm is the limit for this pod. Shutter release was either with a remote control or a combination of self‑timer and exposure delay mode. A 300mm lens mounted on a full‑frame camera rather than on a tripod with a mount is not really a fair test, but I wanted to push this travel pod, and I did get a couple of rejects, which might have been due to a gentle breeze and the long lens. With shorter lenses and the centre column fully extended, I had no problems. I enjoyed the GT1555T’s company especially when I covered 13 miles around Buttermere. I wouldn’t even have attempted such a walk with a normal-size tripod. WC

Gitzo tripods aren’t cheap but there’s a reason for that: they are precision-engineered from the finest materials and offer incredible stability for their size. The GT1555T most definitely punches well above its weight and I’d be happy using it even with a full-frame DSLR and the centre column fully extended which is not something that I would normally recommend. In many situations, it’d perform as well as many larger, heavier tripods, but the fact that it offers great stability in a compact form makes this kit good value. Pros Stable, size, weight, takes Arca plates, looks the business, cover, attractive looks Cons Price

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First tests

Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF ED VR £1639 It’s rare now that a new lens comes out without some form of exotic glass inside it, designed to help it do something or other better than previous lenses. The same goes for this Nikon prime telephoto. The exotic glass in question here is Nikon’s Phase Fresnel (PF) element, the first lens from the company to feature it. The PF element is said to help deliver images almost free of chromatic aberration and with exceptional clarity, but it also means that this optic is the lightest full-frame, autofocus 300mm prime available. It weighs in at 755g and measures 147.5mm without the supplied lens hood. For comparison, the Nikon 70‑300mm f/4.5-5.6 weighs 744g and measures 144mm. The PF element has a series of concentric circles engraved on it to enable lens designers to use fewer elements in the 300mm’s construction. Peering through the lens with the help of a bright torch, these rings are not at all visible, but Nikon does mention that ring-shaped flare can occur when the sun is in or just out of frame. Nikon’s Capture NX-D software has a PF Flare Control option to deal with this. I did aim the lens at the sun (using live view) and also took the hood off and let light strike the lens at an oblique angle. I didn’t experience any unusual flare, but there was ghosting and contrast loss, as with any lens. The bare statistics might not mean much, but you only have to pick up the lens to appreciate how small it is, bearing in mind its focal length and constant f/4 aperture. Add the 1.4 teleconverter and you have a remarkably petite 420mm f/5.6. Lenses of this length usually come supplied with a tripod adapter, but there is not one supplied with this lens. The indent around the barrel allows the fitting of the optional Nikon Full-frame

RT-1 collar; this costs around £125 but there are plenty of cheaper (less than £10) non-Nikon options. I used the lens on a Nikon D800 with the camera mounted to the tripod and experienced no problems with shake. However, if I bought the lens, I’d buy a tripod ring. Optically, this 300m is no let‑down. In fact, it delivers everything Nikon promises and more: very sharp pictures, good VR performance and accurate AF. Sharpness was good at the centre and edges from f/4 onwards, and probably peaked at f/5.6 and f/8. Given that this type of lens is used at the wider apertures, it’s a good thing that it performs well at these settings. If you were to use this lens at the smaller apertures, it might not be ideal, because by f/16 and beyond sharpness had dropped off noticeably. With Nikon’s 1.4x teleconverter, sharpness level remained high, the best results coming two stops down from maximum. A 4.5EV benefit is claimed for the VR system. Assuming that 1/500sec is a sensible handholding speed, that means shooting at 1/20sec will still give sharp images. On a still autumn day I shot a series of shots up to and including 1/20sec, to test the system. The image does seem to ‘float’ in the viewfinder as shots are framed up and the finger is resting on the shutter button, and my shots as slow as 1/25sec were surprisingly acceptable. In fact, on another windless occasion I did some shots as slow as 1/6sec and got acceptably sharp results. Getting sharp shots at that speed with a handheld 300mm is amazing, although it is not recommended, and I got several failures at that speed too. I reckon my safe limit with this lens is 1/60sec and that is still impressive with such a long focal length. WC

Specs Format Full-frame, APS-C Mount Nikon F, accepts Nikon teleconverters Construction 16 elements in 10 groups Special lens elements 1x ED element, 1x aspherical element, 1x Phase Fresnel element Coatings Fluorine coating on front element, nano coating, super integrated coating (SIC) Filter size 77mm Aperture range f/4-32 Diaphragm Nine blades Internal focus Yes, AF uses Silent Wave Motor Manual focus Yes, A/M, M/AM, M options Minimum focus 1.4m Focus limiter Yes, full, infinity to 3m Maximum magnification 0.24x Distance scale Yes, metres and feet Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser VR offering 4.5EV benefit Tripod collar No Lens hood Supplied Weather-sealed No Dimensions (lxd) 147.5x89mm Weight 755g Contact nikon.co.uk

Image This 300mm makes the most of subjects packed with fine detail, and is even light enough to carry around for landscape shooting.

F/4

How it rates Verdict

The older Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S D IF-ED cost £999, so this PF lens is significantly more at £1639, but the newer lens is worth the money. The weight and size savings are massive plus points, while the bang up-to-date spec means handling in terms of AF and VR is superior, as is optical performance. Sports and action Nikon users who need a portable, top-quality 300mm or can’t afford the f/2.8 version (£3800), this could be your dream lens. F/8

Images The 300mm performed impressively from open aperture onwards across the whole image frame, and sharpness only declined noticeably from f/16. Our test pictures were shot on a Nikon D800. Raws were processed in Lightroom with default sharpening.

Features PF, SWM, VR, ED, SIC – this lens has all the initials you could ever want

25/25

Performance Spot-on AF, very sharp images

24/25

Handling Excellent – even without a tripod collar

24/25

Value for money This level of performance at this price is very good

23/25

Overall Without doubt, a very high-quality prime telephoto Pros Light, top optical performance Cons Performance at f/16 and smaller

96/100

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First test

Chillblast Fusion Photo OC Lite II £1099.98 While there’s little doubt the camera system is the key component in any photographer’s kit, the computer can’t be far behind. Like it or not, we spend hours parked in front of our monitors working in postproduction, so having the right computer for the job is important. There’s a long-running battle over whether an Apple Mac or a PC is the best tool for the job. Being imageconscious photographers, many of us are won over by Apple’s svelte designs and cool features, but while Macs look stunning, are great to use and function perfectly well, they don’t represent the best value for money. That’s where a PC comes in. Chillblast PCs have been gaining plaudits for years. The company’s machines regularly pick up awards where they overcome the likes of Apple and other PC manufacturers to take coveted crowns. This Fusion Photo OC Lite II is one of three photo-specific models, with a spec that is optimised for photo and video editing. In standard form, this is the cheapest desktop option Chillblast produce for this intended use – there’s also a laptop for £100 more, or the Fusion Photo OC VI, which offers a sizeable leap in terms of spec and performance for an additional £730. I spent a couple of months in the company of the OC VI earlier this year and it certainly proved to be an impressive piece of kit. The age-old concept of going to make a cup of tea while the computer did its thing evaporated thanks to six cores, 32GB of RAM and 4.2GHz of processing power. They were done before I’d filled the kettle!

It’s important to appreciate my use of the term ‘standard form’ when I refer to the Photo OC Lite II as you can take your pick from an extensive menu of options when you come to spec up a PC from Chillblast. I had no reason to want to modify the specification of the unit, trusting the knowledgeable chaps at Chillblast to know the best componentry for the job. But if you know your SSD from your thermal paste, you can choose these options along with 24 other components through the extensive menus on the Chillblast site. Being honest, I was a little surprised to find, however, that no Wi-Fi capability is included in the standard model, so you’ll either need to use a cable straight into a router, opt for a dongle of some description or choose one of the optional Wi-Fi extras when you buy. There’s also no keyboard, mouse or monitor included in the price, so be sure to factor those in, too. Although I’m a long-time Mac user, finding my way around Windows 10 operating system didn’t take a huge leap of faith. Windows certainly has its quirks (from a Mac user perspective) but it also has its benefits. I’m not going to start arguing about which system is better, they’re just different. Having started the machine up, I downloaded Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications and got to work, simultaneously firing up both Lightroom and Photoshop. It’s here that I immediately appreciated the speed of the Chillblast machine. Both applications were up and ready to use in less than 15 seconds. With

Specs Processor Intel Core i7-6700K Quad Core Processor overclocked to up to 4.60GHz, 8MB L2 Cache, Corsair H60 Water Cooler Motherboard Asus Z170-A Motherboard (Intel Z97 Chipset) Memory 16GB DDR4 2133MHz, Configuration 2 x 8GB, Dual Channel Support on 2 DIMMs, 4 x DIMM Slots Hard drive 120GB Samsung SM951 PCIe solid state drive, 2 x 1000GB 7200rpm SATA III Seagate hard disks in RAID 1 Optical drive BluRay burner Software Operating system: Windows 10 Home 64bit (pre-installed and disc included) Display Monitor not included Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Graphics Card (DirectX 11) Audio On-Board 7.1 High Definition Audio Input devices Keyboard and mouse not included Networking LAN: 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet

my Mac I’d have enough time to boil the kettle. It’s a similar speedy performance when you’re in the programs themselves. I tend to spend more time in the dialogue boxes of Lightroom than anything else, but even a simple import was much faster than I’d anticipated. Likewise, magnifying images to check

sharpness is instantaneous, even on hefty files from a Canon EOS 5DS, while exporting edited images to JPEGs was completed impressively swiftly. There’s little doubt in my mind that buying this PC would reduce my computer time down significantly - saving a few seconds on every process will soon add up to minutes and hours. RP

Power supply Corsair 600W 80+ Bronze power supply Dimensions (WxHxD) 210x430x497mm Interfaces 4x USB3.0, 2x USB3.1, 2x USB 2.0, RJ45 LAN Port, DVI Port, HDMI Port, Display Port, PS/2, 5x Audio Jack, SPDIF Optical Output, 17 in 1 Card Reader

How it rates

Expansion 3x 16x PCI Express Slot, 3x 1x PCI Express Slot, PCI Slots, 4x SATA ports, SATA EXpress, M2

Verdict

Warranty 5 -year Standard Warranty (2-year collect & return, 5 years labour), Lifetime Tech Support by Chillblast

Anything that allows you to spend less time in front of a computer monitor and more time out taking pictures has to be a good thing, right? And to my mind this Chillblast PC is certainly a time saver. As a rough estimate, I’d suggest that the processing power of the machine enables you to save approximately a minute doing basic alterations on an image – that soon adds up if you’re processing, say 100 images in an evening. The pick-and-mix nature of buying the machine also affords maximum flexibility and, with so many components interchangeable, there’s a degree of future-proofing as well. Buy one of these units and when technology moves on you can simply upgrade it.

Contact chillblast.com

Features 22/25 No Wi-Fi, monitor or keyboard, but these and so much more can be added Performance Plenty of processing power for a fast and efficient workflow

24/25

Ease of use 22/25 Windows 10 is a decent OS, but takes some adjustment if you’re a Mac user Value for money Temptingly priced, especially if you’re considering an Apple Mac

23/25

91/100 Overall A great machine for photographers with plenty of upgrade options Pros Speed, Price (compared to a similarly specified Apple Mac), Flexibility and future-proofing, Windows now far more user friendly and visually appealing than it used to be. Cons No Wi-Fi as standard, monitor, keyboard and mouse not included

Both applications were up and ready to use in less than 15 seconds Left Lightroom CC runs very speedily on the OC Lite II, and magnification to 100% is instantaneous.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First tests

Tenba Shootout LE Medium Sling £79 A sling bag is a great solution for carrying your camera kit around town as it combines carrying comfort, a high level of security and the ability to get at your kit quickly. This offering from Tenba sells at £79 and has enough capacity for a decent DSLR outfit. I comfortably stowed two full-frame DSLRs with three lenses, spare batteries and some screw-in filters. Holding straps on the side can accommodate a travel tripod or monopod, so the bag has more than enough capacity for most occasions. The internal compartment is one large storage area and it can be divided up as you choose with the supplied Velcro-fitted dividers. The whole compartment can be left divider-free if you want, in case you to carry a fast long telephoto lens, for example. Whatever layout you decide you can get at the whole main compartment by simply unzipping the rear panel. A large tray divider divides the main compartment into two separate storage areas with the top area happily able to take a DSLR with a standard zoom. The bottom compartment will comfortably take a spare camera body and at least two lenses with a high level of protection. More lenses can be stored if they are smaller or shorter. The cover to this compartment has a thin pocket for filters and inside there’s couple of plastic wallets for storage cards. There is another pocket on the back suitable for accessories and the supplied waterproof cover, and on the outside of this is a bungee cord for a water bottle, perhaps, or your own waterproofs. A fully loaded Medium Sling is going to be quite weighty but Tenba has taken this into account with a wide shoulder strap. There is a phone pouch on the strap and if used will mean you are unlikely to miss a call because the phone is right next to your ear. The shoulder strap is padded, though not massively so, but the load is spread out evenly and comfort is good. I enjoyed using the bag, and getting at the contents is fast while protection and security levels are high. If there is a downside it’s that the bag is so spacious that you’re tempted to take too much kit out with you. My normal kit is a full-frame outfit with a body, three lenses, travel tripod and filters and that lot goes into a backpack which obviously spreads the load across both shoulders. This Tenba took this outfit no problem with space to spare. I was happy enough with the load taken just by the right shoulder knowing that I had the benefit of getting at the contents without having to take the bag off or put it down as you would with a backpack. Of course, when the tripod was needed, the whole lot did come off and bag’s rubber feet meant it could be stood upright rather than just lying on the ground. WC

The internal compartment is one large storage area and it can be divided up as you choose

Specs Materials used Ripstop water-repellent nylon shell, YKK zips, duraflex clips Waterproof cover Yes, WeatherWrap cover supplied Accepts 1-2 DSLRs, 3-4 lenses, or one long telephoto, or even a portable lighting outfit Dimensions (wxhxd) External: 23x42x20cm Internal: 20x39x18cm Contact tenba.com

How it rates Verdict

The Tenba Shootout LE Medium Sling is a high-quality product that is excellent for toting a good-sized camera outfit about town. It provides a high level of protection and the sling action means you can get at the contents with speedy ease. Pros Looks, good protection levels, plenty of storage capacity Cons Shoulder strap could be more padded

Mini tests DigiPower 4 Port USB Wall Charger £45 Devices that use the USB interface for charging include phones, tablets and cameras so investing in a charger like this unit makes great sense. It’s a 5V 4.2A unit with four USB sockets that can be used simultaneously to charge your gadgets. The built-in InstaSense technology means that the power needs of your devices are detected and the fastest possible charge delivered. My test, carried out over a period of several months, showed the unit to be totally reliable. It just worked. Often I would have four devices – phone, tablet, two bike lights – being charged at the same time and it just got on with it. The unit comes with UK and EU adapters – they just click in – and as it weighs in at 153g with the mains adapter so it’s perfect for travel. I suppose the only nice extra would have been a US adapter, too. WC Verdict Perfect for home and travel, it worked flawlessly on this test. As tech kit goes power adapters aren’t sexy or exciting but they are essential and this unit is well worth the investment, so highly recommended. intro2020.co.uk Samsung 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive £23.49 Portable mass-storage devices such as USB flash memory drives are incredibly handy to have around, whether for back-up or for moving large files around. Samsung has a new range of USB 3.0 drives and tested here is a 64GB version. Capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB drives are available priced at £11.99, £15.99 and £23.49 respectively. It’s a smart-looking drive and the design means it slips onto a keyring with no chance of it being separated by accident. I transferred 15GB of material from my Mac Mini via its USB 3.0 port to the drive and that took eight minutes which equates to write speed of over 31Mbps. Ruggedness is something that is a key feature in the new USB drives so I slipped it onto my keyring and then carried it around for a few weeks using it as a back-up. It’s true that it didn’t get wet so I can’t confirm that makers’ claims to it being moisture proof, but I did put it in the chill compartment of the fridge for two hours and the drive worked fine straight out of the fridge. It experienced lots of day-to-day wear and tear with no read or write problems. WC Verdict A 64GB USB 3.0 drive for under £25 is very good value and this option from Samsung can be highly recommended as being reliable and a respectable performer. samsung.com Samsung PRO Plus 64GB £59 Samsung’s range of SD and microSD storage cards has been updated recently with the arrival of PRO Plus and EVO Plus cards. The whole range now consists of the PRO Plus, PRO, EVO Plus and EVO. The PRO Plus SDXC range has 32GB and 64GB capacities and here we tried the SD 64GB PRO Plus UHS-1 Class 10 card. Claimed read and write speeds are 95MB/s and 90MB/s respectively. Performance is competitive but where these cards are really special is Samsung’s five ‘proof’ features, waterproof, temperature proof, magnetic proof, shockproof and X-ray proof. With winter upon us, one quality I was keen to test was the card’s temperature proof qualities. Samsung says the card will operate in temperatures from -25°C to 85°C, so I left the card in a domestic freezer for two hours – home freezers work typically at around -18°C. Before that though, I put the card into a Nikon D800. I got 17 Raws in continuous drive mode and the buffer/card took 17secs to clear. After the two-hour spell in the freezer I put the card straight into the camera and repeated the test. This time, the buffer took about 22secs to clear so slightly slower as you would expect given the cold card but reliability seemed unimpaired. I then submerged the card in fresh water straight out of the cold tap – it was at 8°C – for two hours and, drying it off, did the test again. Again, the card worked fine and this time the buffer cleared in 17secs, the same as the first test. WC Verdict Reliability of storage cards is crucial and it pays to use cards that you know will survive challenging conditions and deliver good write/ read speeds. In our test, the Samsung 64GB proved to be a reliable performer and it is competitively priced with similarly specified premium SD cards. samsung.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First tests Specs In the box Carry case and strap, protective bag, spiked feet, wooden monopod knob, hand strap, short centre column, Allen key

Benro Travel Angel FTA28CV1 tripod kit £349

Max height 142cm Max height (centre column fully extended) 170cm Min height 47.5cm Closed length 62.5cm Weight 1.81kg Leg sections 4 sections, twist grip locks Max load 10kg V1E ball head Material Aluminium Quick release Yes, Arca Swiss plate Independent pan lock Yes Ball friction adjust Yes Weight 400g Height 9.9cm Max load 10kg Contact eu.macgroupus.com

The twist grips are first rate with modest handtightening being enough to firmly lock the legs in place

Benro has a growing reputation for high-quality tripods at attractive prices. The FTA28C tripod featured in this kit is made from nine-layer carbon fibre for great stability in a lightweight form. One of the legs detaches and becomes a monopod and the supplied triple action ball head can take a load of 10kg. What’s more, a carry case, a bag and a set of spiked feet come with the kit, too. The Travel Angel series is Benro’s most advanced range of compact tripods and the FTA28C sits towards the larger end of the traveller-type tripod. It weighs in at 1.81kg and is robust enough for use with a fullframe DSLR and a long lens. As with most travel tripods its legs fold upwards to minimise length while on the move, measuring under 48cm. With the legs in their ready position, length increases to 64cm. The legs have two locked positions – normal use and a wider splayed leg setting for a lower camera position. The legs are firm and the pull-out, push-in locks are equally solid. Should you want a looser leg action, use the supplied Allen key to get the tension you prefer. The legs themselves are four sections with twist grip locks. Legs

lock quickly and securely with no strain and the wide diameter rubber grips are excellent to use, even in the cold, so set-up is quick. The kit comes with a set of spiked feet. One leg has a foam covering which identifies it as the leg that detaches to become a monopod. The foam helps you get a good purchase to unlock the leg which simply unscrews. You then need to remove the centre column by first unscrewing the ballast hook and the column then screws onto the monopod leg so the ball head can be attached. Two centre columns are supplied with the kit, a normal length and a short one for when you want to work at very low level. It is the work of a few minutes to get the monopod ready for action and, although not a new idea, it’s a very handy option. A wooden knob and carrying strap is supplied so the monopod can become a very usable walking pole. The supplied V1E triple-action ball head is a solid unit. It accepts Arca Swiss tripod plates and the platform has a spirit bubble to help you get the camera level. The main locking knob is great to use and locks the camera very firmly in position with a quick twist. At its

centre is a ball tension control. A minor issue but, because this control sits slightly proud of the knob’s surface, it can be altered intentionally, and the next time it’s used the ball head’s tension will be different from before. I used a small piece of gaffer tape to secure the control in place. In the main, this is a lovely tripod to use. The legs glide up and down and the twist grips are first rate with modest hand-tightening being enough to firmly lock the legs in place. A dust-resistant system will also help to avoid grit and other nasties getting into the legs too. I used the tripod for an extended period that including a trip to the Lake District. On one shoot – on a calm day – I shot, as a test, with the centre column fully extended, spiked feet fitted, and found stability to be very good even with a full-frame DSLR fitted with a 300mm lens using the self-timer and exposure delay mode. On another occasion, it was very gusty and a little more challenging. I mostly shot with the legs in their more splayed position and tried to shield the camera from the wind with my body. Stability again proved to be good, with or without me standing in as a windbreak.

All in all, a very solid performance from the tripod and ball head combination. One minor thing I would like Benro to consider is supplying a carrying case long enough to accept the tripod in its normal collapsed state because I didn’t always want to fold the tripod up fully. WC

How it rates Verdict

The Benro Travel Angel FTA28CV1E is an excellent carbonfibre tripod. It just about qualifies as a travel tripod but it also has the heft to be a fine all-rounder to the discerning photographer. The fact that it also has a monopod/ walking pole function and is supplied with spiked feet, a strap and a quality ball head makes it well worth considering. Pros Good stability, quality build, comes with a ball head, legs twist grips, comes with spiked feet, monopod option Cons Ball head tension control, carry case is too small

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

First test

Epson SureColor SC-P400 £441 Whether you’re watching an image develop in a tray or steadily edge its way out of a printer, you can’t beat the simple pleasure of seeing your work at 10x8in and beyond. Too few of us are doing this, of course, but Epson is making every effort to encourage us to print our work out by delivering a steady stream of photo-quality models for the enthusiast, club or pro who wants larger than A4. This year has already seen two models – the A3+ SC-P600 and A2 SC-P800 – both under the new SureColor name, and now there’s a third: the SC-P400. I’ve already had the pleasure of using both the P600 and P800 models and very nice they are, too. Print quality is impressive, plus they’re nicely designed and easy to operate. The A3+ P400, as its name suggests, is a lower-priced version with a few features being shaved off the SC-P600’s spec. These include a different ink set, no Wi-Fi Direct capability (although Wi-Fi is available if the SC-P400 is connected to a wireless network) and no touchscreen LCD on the printer itself. The latter is a very obvious difference as soon as you lift the printer out of its box. The touchscreen has been replaced with a basic array of buttons which, for me at least, seem a little cheap and don’t offer very intuitive icons. Setting the printer up is simple enough. The SC-P400 uses seven UltraChrome HiGloss2 pigment inks, plus a Gloss Optimizer, all of which come in 14ml cartridges. A set of Initial inks are supplied

for set-up, which load the print heads, but then don’t last as long as conventional cartridges. You only have to initialise the printer once, but it would be wise to invest in a second set of inks, especially if you have print-happy tendencies. I connected the SC-P400 to a Chillblast Fusion Photo OC Lite II PC (also tested in this issue) using a conventional USB cable as it doesn’t offer Wi-Fi, then installed the drivers from the supplied CD. I was ready to print within 30 minutes of opening the box. All of the subsequent tests were carried out by printing images from Photoshop CC 2015 and letting both the printer and the software manage colours as appropriate. Inevitably, I went straight to the largest print size and stacked the rear-loading auto sheet feeder with A3+ paper. You can also print on roll paper or CDs and DVDs – both by means of the supplied adapters – and on thick media up to 1.3mm via the front-loading manual feed tray. As soon as the first print dropped into the tray, it was evident that while corners may have been cut in terms of specification, there’s no reduction in print quality. Sure, the inkset is different, but print quality is impressive. There are a range of quality variations for photo printing. These range from Fine with High Speed switched on through to SuperPhoto with High Speed off. Printing times (and, I’d assume, ink use) vary considerably from one minute 40 seconds for an A3+ print to ten minutes and ten seconds. Naturally,

Specs Printing method Epson Micro Piezo print head Nozzle configuration 180 nozzles black, 180 nozzles per colour Minimum droplet size 1.5pl Ink technology Ultrachrome Hi-Gloss2 Printing resolution 5760x1440dpi Printing speed Five pages/min colour (plain paper 75 g/m²), nine pages/min mono (plain paper 75 g/m²) Colour inks Gloss optimizer, orange, red, magenta, yellow, cyan, matte black, photo black Paper formats A3+, A3, A4, A5, A6, letter, letter legal, postcard, 9x13cm, 10x15cm, 13x18cm, 13x20cm, 20x25cm, 100x148mm Paper tray capacity 120 sheets standard Compatible paper Thickness 0.08-1.3 mm Media handling Auto sheet feeder, borderless print, CD/DVD print, fine art paper path, roll paper, thick media support

there’s a discernible difference with greater colour accuracy and better shadow detail in the SuperPhoto print, but viewed in isolation, the lowest-quality print is actually very good. In fact, I found that selecting Epson’s PhotoEnhance function in the printer driver and then printing on the Fine setting with High Speed switched off produced a very similar result to the SuperPhoto setting, in a quarter of the time.

Black & white prints are also good, but they’re not as impressive as those from the SC-P600, which gives better tones and smoother gradation. That can only be expected considering the pricier unit has four separate black inks, whereas the SC-P400 offers just two, but this may well be an important consideration if you do print a fair amount of monochrome work and want the best quality. RP

How it rates

Energy use 0.3W (Power off), 20W (printing) Dimensions (WxDxH) 622x324x219mm Weight 12.3kg Compatible OS Mac OS 10.6+, Windows 7, Windows 7 x64, Windows 8, Windows 8 (32/64 bit), Windows 8.1, Windows 8.1 x64 Edition, Windows Vista, Windows Vista x64 Interfaces Wi-Fi, Ethernet, USB Contact epson.co.uk

Verdict

This is an undeniably capable printer – I was generally very pleased with the prints I got from it, at a wide range of different quality settings. Ultimately, however, I’m not sure there’s a big enough price differential between this model and the SC-P600, which offers better black & white prints, larger ink cartridges, an improved design and Wi-Fi Direct. Then there’s the actual ink usage to consider. After printing no more than 20 A3+ prints with the SC-P400, I’d got through a fair amount of ink from the 14ml cartridges and well over half of the Gloss Optimizer (see screengrab). So, although it is clearly a very capable A3+ printer, the amount of times you actually print to that size may depend on how close you live to a shop selling replacement inks. For me the SC-P600, albeit more pricey, is the better buy. Features A good range of functions, although there are notable omissions

20/25

Performance Excellent colour print quality, but mono isn’t as good as the SC-P600

21/25

Ease of use Lack of LCD means harder to fathom features, no problems setting up

20/25

Value for money It’s cheaper than the SC-P600, the latter is better value

20/25

81/100 Overall Save for a little longer and buy the SC-P600 Pros Impressive print quality, plenty of features, small footprint, prints on a wide range of media, roll paper holder included Cons Small ink cartridges and high ink usage, no Wi-Fi Direct, SC-P600 better with black & white prints, cheap-looking design

Sure, the inkset is different, but print quality is impressive

Left The SureColor P400’s inkset comprises eight colours plus a Gloss Optimizer, with each cartridge holding 14ml of ink.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Accessories test Buyers’ guide

The 12 gifts of Christmas

PHOTTIX Varos Pro BG flash/ brolly bracket £25

VANGUARD VEO 37 bag £69.99

1 2

Don’t settle for socks again this festive season – treat yourself, or the photographer in your life, to some sweet new gear

Hey, it’s that time of year when thoughts start turning to sleigh bells, mulled wine and the birth of Jesus Christ. And what better way to celebrate the Saviour’s day, than by the traditional act of purchasing photographic equipment? After all, “the Lord is my light and my salvation”, it says in Psalm 27:1, and that’s basically talking about photography, right? Right? Anyway, if you’re looking to treat yourself to some swanky new kit and improve your shooting then you’ve come to the right place. Here you’ll find some of our favourite products from the year, and with a range of prices, there’s something to suit all pockets. Of course, Christmas is also a time to be given to, and if you’re fearing you’ll unwrap another pair of comedy socks or celebrity-chef cookbook, you might want to use this guide to influence your nearest and dearest. Here’s a simple step-by-step guide to doing it. Step 1: Take a large red marker pen, ring the items you want (along with any additional info such as fit or filter size). Step 2: Position the paper under the nose of the person you’re trying to influence. Cough loudly. Walk away. Step 3: Act surprised when you open your requested gift on Christmas Day and thank all involved (including us!).

MARUMI DHG Super Polariser (77mm) £50

PIXEL X800C/N Standard Edition flashgun £75

DIGIPOWER 4-Port USB Wall Charger £45 5 6

HÄHNEL Captur radio triggers £59.99

Phottix Varos Pro BG flash/brolly bracket £25

Accessories are the unsung heroes of photography. Yes, cameras and lenses might get all the fanfare like some Hollywood celebrities arriving at a gala, but it’s the accessories that make things tick. They’re vacuuming the red carpet. They’re running security. They’re serving the drinks. This Phottix Varos Pro BG bracket is a great example; designed by pro photographers it lets you mount a hotshoe flash and umbrella to a light stand or tripod, allowing the pair to tilt through 180º. This, of course, frees up all sorts of lighting possibilities which you can’t get when using a lighting stand alone. The unit is built from milled aluminium and its metal cold-shoe accepts any regular speedlight. There are 3/8in and 1/4in female threaded inserts, and male 3/8in and 1/4in screws are also included and the umbrella mount accepts shafts from 7-10mm in width. phottix.com

Vanguard VEO 37 £69.99

Vanguard’s VEO collection of camera accessories is designed for photographers who love to travel. The VEO 37 is a lightweight shoulder bag with a casual design that looks

inconspicuous. It’ll accept a DSLR with two lenses as well as various essential accessories, but what is really interesting is the bottom compartment, designed to take a travel tripod (a Vanguard VEO, naturally) but will also take a telephoto zoom. If you prefer, straps are available to hold the tripod strapped to the bottom of the bag. It’s also a dual-purpose bag that can be quickly converted to a day bag. Until 30 November, you can claim a Vanguard VEO 37 free if you buy a VEO 265CB carbon-fibre tripod. Visit Vanguard’s website for full details and to place your order. vanguardworld.com

Marumi DHG Super Circular Polariser £50

Digital processing has reduced the need for many traditional photo filters – but a polariser is one you still can’t do without. Improving contrast and deepening colours, a polariser is also vital for cutting out unwanted reflections on water or glass, something you simply can’t do in software. This Marumi Digital High-Grade Circular Polariser filter uses ultra-low reflection coatings on its glass, just like those found in lenses to increase clarity and, at only 5mm deep, its satin black frame is slim enough to avoid any

vignetting. Like all polarisers, you have to rotate the bezel to control the effect, and it turns with pleasing smoothness. For enhanced durability, the filter is designed to be scratch resistant and has a special coating to repel water and oil, making it much easier to clean. It comes in sizes from 37mm to 95mm, so make sure you mention the size you need in your hints... kenro.co.uk

Pixel X800C/N Standard Edition flashgun £75

Adding extra speedlights to your set-ups can give pictures a real lift. It’s not just about power; an extra light used behind the subject, for example, can add an accent or separation, giving shots a little more sparkle. Striking a great balance of specification, handling and price, the Pixel X800C or X800N is an obvious candidate to add to Canon and Nikon users’ kit. Not only does it have advanced features like E-TTL/i-TTL metering, wireless control (up to 50m) and high-speed sync (up to 1/8000sec) built-in, there’s also plenty of juice with a Guide Number of 60. At 1/1 power, the recycle time is a spritely 2.5sec, and at that level it can fire up to 180 times per set of four AA batteries. There’s subtlety too, with a manual setting down to 1/128 in 1/3 increments.

The X800C also has dual slave settings and a stroboscopic mode, allowing it to fire as fast 500Hz (500 times a second). Finally, to keep the flash up to date, and add new features, the firmware can be upgraded using its USB port. ukhighland.co.uk

DigiPower 4-Port USB Wall Charger £45

Technology is great, but it’s also hungry for power; and doesn’t it seem like you’re constantly charging your phone, tablet, and camera? What you need is a device that speeds up the process and makes you a cup of tea. The DigiPower 4 port USB wall charger can do one of those things, and do it very well indeed. As it’s name suggests, the unit is has four USB sockets that can be used simultaneously to charge your kit and its InstaSense feature means that the power needs of your device is detected and the fastest possible charge delivered. The DigiPower comes with UK and EU adapters which click in securely and with a weight of only 153g it’s great for travel. Best of all, it’s totally reliable and, like all the best technology it just gets on with the job while you concentrate on something more important – like that cup of tea. intro2020.co.uk

Hähnel Captur radio triggers £59.99

The Hähnel Captur is a versatile radio camera and flash-trigger system available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus and Panasonic cameras. The basic trigger and receiver set comes with leads and four AA batteries, which represents very good value. Additional receivers, which you’ll need if you want to trigger more than one camera or flash, are only £30 each. Being radio triggers, the Captur system can trigger without needing to stay in the line of sight, so you can place a camera or flash around a corner from you, or even in another room. The units pair up automatically when switched on, which means no fiddly little switches. For more complex set-ups you can use Digital Channel Matching (DCM) or open channel matching. The Captur doesn’t offer TTL or high-speed flash functionality but it is highly expandable; add the Module Timer (£39.99) or Module Pro (£99.99); the former allows time-lapse and longexposure work (assuming your camera doesn’t have an integral intervalometer, while the Module Pro goes even further, allowing sound, light and laser-based triggering. Overall, a brilliantly versatile and affordable system. hahnel.ie

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Accessories test RAY FLASH ring flash modifier £99 8

PERMAJET FB Baryta papers A4 test pack £12 7

TENBA Cable Duo 8 £19 Tool Box 8 bags £30 9

BOUNCELITE Solo flash modifier £100 10

MANFROTTO Pixi Evo mini tripod £45

SAMSUNG SSD Portable SSD T1 1TB £300

Permajet FB Baryta papers A4 test pack £12

The beauty of home printing is the huge range of finishes available, and you can try out some great examples using this PermaJet test pack. Representing the new PermaJet fibre-base (FB) Baryta range for 2015 – refreshed with multilayer technology, coating processes and enhanced alpha cellulose base materials – there are five papers to enjoy (three sheets of each) and together they offer a pleasing mix of weights and lustres from glossy to matte, each with a distinctive darkroomprinted feel. The pack includes FB Gold Silk 315, FB Royal Gloss 310, FB Distinction 320, FB Satin 310, and FB Matt 285 and each performs excellently. Choice is subjective and depends on the look you’re after, but our personal favourite is the FB Gold Silk with its deep blacks being great for mono work. There’s also an A7-sized swatch of each so you can identify them more easily; so get this make some test prints, pick the one you like, and then go for a full pack. permajet.com

Ray Flash ring modifier £99

flash

A flash is only as good as how it’s modified; naked and uncontrolled the light is more

likely to be a curse than a benefit. The modifiers you use depend on the subject you’re shooting and how you want to portrait it, so it’s normal to have a range at your disposal. Here’s one which does a great job on a variety of subjects – the Ray Flash. It will fit onto most speedlights and two versions are available to cater for different camera bodies. The Ray Flash channels the light into a ring and produces the same effect as a traditional ringflash, making it great for macro photography, but also very useful on portraits, as it gives a wraparound look and distinctive catchlights. Light and portable, the Ray Flash has no flash tubes or electronics of its own, so it’ll last a lifetime with the right care, while you can use it with your camera’s TTL flash metering for quick and easy shooting. flaghead.co.uk

Tenba Cable Duo 8 £19 Tool Box 8 bags £30

Keeping your gear organised is important, especially if you’re shooting on location; one misplaced spare battery, trigger, cable, or Allen key could be game-over. So, to get your accessories in order and accessible try a dedicated bag like those in the Tenba Tools range. At 22x21x7cm and 113g, the Cable Duo 8 is a soft case that offers

storage on both sides of a central divider; a clear plastic window means you can quickly see what’s inside without exposing it to the elements and the gear on side is held by elasticated loops, keeping cables and small tools secure. At 19x22x8cm and 300g, the Tool Box 8 has a rigid frame, and it’s also padded to give more protection making it ideal for sensitive gear like flash triggers, microphones or filters. Much like a regular camera bag, its inner has movable dividers allowing you to resize the spaces for a snug fit and, as with the Cable Duo, the front is clear. tenba.com

Bouncelite Solo flash 10 modifier £100 Regular diffusers offer only one method of softening light, either channelling the flash through a panel, or reflecting it so it bounces and scatters. But with its unique design the Bouncelite does both, so you can cook up an endless range of effects. Fitting over the head of a speedlight, it attaches using a strong rubber belt, and spacers are included to take up slack for a secure fit. The central diffuser dominates the front, and the flash is concentrated by a reflective inner; this works well, but open the hinged door on top and you can set the flash to bounce wherever

you want, either straight at the subject, or a surface. Due to the way it attaches to the head, it can be rotated, letting you use it in the same configuration whether vertical or horizontal. The Solo also comes with a case and slot-in filter cassettes. bouncelite.com

Samsung SSD Portable SSD T1 1TB £300

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are the future of storage and there’s really no argument about that; in ten years they’ll make the spinning disks of regular hard-drives look as outdated as vinyl LPs (but not as cool, of course). The advantage of SSDs is that, as their name implies, they have no moving parts, so there’s less chance of them going wrong and they’re a lot less sensitive to impact or vibration. Essentially they work the same way as the RAM in your computer; so they’re faster and quieter than disk-drives, too. Many high-end computers already use them internally, but here’s a portable version – the Samsung T1. With a read/write speed of up to 450MB/s you’ll be able to backup your images ultra fast, or edit them from the disk without lag. Your data is encrypted for security and, at 9.2x71x53.2mm, the SSD T1 is not much bigger than a credit

card. With its black chrome finish, it also looks great – who wouldn’t want one for Christmas? samsung.com/uk

Manfrotto Pixi Evo mini 12 tripod £45 No photographer’s kit should be without a mini tripod; small enough to pocket, a tiny set of legs means that you can shoot locked-off low-light shots, long exposures or timelapse sequences in a huge variety of spaces where a regular tripod wouldn’t be suitable; you can also use one position a flash or LED panel. Manfrotto’s Pixi Evo is a great example. Building on the success of the original Pixi, the Evo’s legs now feature a sliding section allowing it to be positioned at a wider range of heights, up to 19.5cm. The sliding selector can be used in five different positions and the legs themselves can be placed at two angles, so you can shoot as low as 6cm, as well setting the legs independently to deal with uneven surfaces. The integrated head lets you mount a camera at 90º, and despite weighing only 267g, the Evo has a solid construction using aluminium and high-grade plastic, and supports weights of up to 2.5kg, so will easily take a DSLR and lens. manfrotto.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Technique Photo school

Camera class

Explained Three ways to bracket your exposures Use exposure compensation The camera’s exposure compensation function allows you to alter the metered values, sometimes by as much as +/-5.0 stops. It’s activated via a button or dial on the camera body. After your first shot, dial in a negative value, shoot, then dial in a positive value. With this method you can use different values (for example 0.0EV, -1.7EV and +2.3EV), so there’s lots of control, but it takes longer and you need a tripod if merging exposures.

Everyone has to start somewhere, even pros, and in Photo School we look at the core skills every beginner needs. This month, how to use exposure bracketing and how to combine exposures in Photoshop... Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

What is exposure bracketing? Bracketing simply means shooting the same scene multiple times, each with different exposure settings. This is helpful when you’re not sure exactly what exposure you need; such as when the subject is backlit or some parts of the scene are much brighter than others. It means that you have a safety net, and can pick the best shot after the event. Usually bracketing involves a metered exposure, and exposures are taken either side of that value, resulting in lighter and darker versions. How much bracketing is needed? Exposure values – the shutter speed, aperture setting, or ISO level – are measured in ‘stops’ (one stop being the doubling or halving of one of those values), and this is how you govern how widely your bracketed exposure will vary; so, a three-shot bracket at +1.0 and -1.0 stop would give you less variation than a three‑shot bracket at +2.0 and -2.0 stops. The more complicated the light, the more you should vary the difference in exposure, and you can also shoot more frames if desired, recording five, seven or even nine shots to cover it. Shooting many frames to cover the entire range of light also means you can combine the separate exposures in software to create HDR or exposure-blended images (more on which below). How it works Depending on what mode you’re shooting in, the bracketing effect will be applied to different settings; if you’re in aperture-priority (A or Av), the shutter speed will be raised or

Use manual mode In manual mode (M), the shutter speed and aperture are set independently. To help, a +/- style exposure bar is displayed in the viewfinder or on screen, showing you how close to the camera’s metered exposure you are. This is a very accurate route to finding the best exposure, but it takes time and a tripod if merging shots. One consequence, as with compensation, is subject movement.

Use Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)

-1.0 stop (1/125sec at f/16, ISO 100)

(1/60sec at f/16, ISO 100)

lowered to make exposures lighter or darker. If you’re in shutter-priority (T or Tv), the aperture will open or close to make the images lighter or darker. If you’re in program (P), both may change.

Many cameras have Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) allowing three, five, seven or even nine shots at different exposures. Dial in the number of frames, the amount of exposure adjustment between shots, press the release (several times in single frame advance) and a sequence is captured – if continuous drive is set the camera stops after the bracket. AEB is quick so the camera can be handheld, even for merging exposures.

+1.0 stop (1/30sec at f/16, ISO 100) Most of the time, it’s best to shoot bracketed exposures in aperture priority, so that the depth-of-field in the image doesn’t change. For the same reason, you should keep the focus in the same place for each shot.

Next Month Sharpen your focus

What about shooting in Raw? As Raw provides an exposure safety net, why would you still need to shoot bracketed? Well, changing the exposure of a Raw works fine up to a point, but beyond a certain level you’ll start to lose picture quality. You might also find very bright or dark areas are beyond processing control, with something like bright clouds remaining over-exposed no matter what you do. So, if you want to guarantee the highest quality, it’s advisable to shoot in Raw and still bracket the exposures; this will take more space on your card, but it’s worth it.

Final image

Software skills Exposure blending in Photoshop Another reason to bracket shots is to blend exposures; this means taking the light parts from one and the dark parts from another to make a well-exposed scene. It’s a bit like using graduated neutral density filters when shooting, but with more control. You can blend exposures automatically (called tone-mapping or HDR processing), but here we’ll do it manually, which gives a more natural look. This technique uses the Layers palette in Adobe Photoshop or Elements software (you can apply the same principles to any program that uses layered images). We’re blending three images, but you can, of course, do more.

1. Stack the images

2. Blend the Layers

3. Finish the blend

In Photoshop or Elements, open the images to blend. Starting with the ‘middle’ exposure, go to Select > All, then Edit > Copy. Close this shot down and find the lightest version, then go to Edit > Paste. Open the Layers palette (Window > Layers) and you’ll now see a Background Layer (the lightest exposure), and Layer 1 (the middle exposure). Repeat this with the dark exposure, so you end up with three layers.

In the Layers palette, click the top layer (Layer 2, the darkest exposure), then click the Add Layer Mask icon. Pick the Brush tool (B) and set it to black (D). You can now paint onto the image to reveal the layer below, so anywhere you paint you’ll see the lighter (‘middle’) exposure. It helps to paint with a soft-edged brush, and using a low Opacity, for a smoother transition, both of which you can set in the Options bar.

When you’re done blending Layer 1 and 2, repeat the process with Layer 1 and the Background, revealing the lightest tones from your bracketed sequence. If you make a mistake, or want to tone down the lightest area, like the house above, click on the Layer Mask and paint white (press X to switch the colours over). Go to Layer > Flatten Image and File > Save As…, so you can save the final picture under a new name.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

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I’ve just had a few days’ holiday in the Lake District doing what I love – taking pictures. Autumn had just arrived so there were plenty of trees that hadn’t turned, but no matter; I was out each day armed with my camera and, most importantly, a decent, stable tripod. It never fails to amaze me how little many photographers spend on a tripod, but also how few you see out and about. Over the years – and I don’t have any figures to back this up – surely enough tripods have been sold for every man, woman and child in the UK. But how many do you see in actual use? Remarkably few, unless it is in the Lakes in autumn when the show put on by Mother Nature can be truly spectacular, and everywhere I went I bumped into photographers making the most of the weather. I know I’m going to sound like a tripod snob here, but I am going to say it anyway: I saw so many poor tripods, ones that should have been skipped ages ago or, better still, left on the shop’s shelf. Of all the accessories that can improve your pictures, it’s the tripod that offers the most potential benefit, ensuring you get the sharpest results from your expensive lenses and, of course, it allows total freedom with aperture choice. That’s the theory, at least. What shoots the theory down is that many photographers have tripods that can’t give the required stability for the kit they are using and are poorly designed, which actually makes using them a genuine displeasure. A pointless waste of time and money. The thing is, if you’ve invested hard-earned cash on first-rate lenses to use with your

high resolution cameras, skimping on support is futile, because it obviates your investment in quality kit. You need a tripod that is stable enough to hold the heaviest camera/lens combination you own in a modest breeze. But it needs to be light enough to carry around, as there is no point in having a very stable tripod that is so heavy it gets left in the car boot. The design should mean that the legs lock solidly and the head holds the camera securely in position once tightened, as well as using a decent, quick-release system. It’s not much to ask, and there are plenty of great tripods of all sizes and price levels that deliver the required support. But there is a lot of poor kit out there, too. I mostly use a compact, travel-style tripod that’s made from carbon-fibre, which keeps weight down. It copes easily with a full-frame DSLR even with a telezoom fitted, unless there is a serious wind blowing. The thing is, I do understand why tripods are not a high priority for many because they only get an outing once a year. But if that experience is a bad one and the quality of the results disappointing, the user isn’t going to spend more on a better model because they don’t see the point. Make the leap of faith, though, and a fulfilling experience and better pictures will be yours for the taking.

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