Photography News Issue 22

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Tests

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Photography Produced by

Issue 22 20 July – 16 Aug

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Advertisement feature Tom Barnes

Profoto B1 & B2

In the spotlight

Part one

Finding out how photographers use the Profoto B1 and B2 off-camera flash kit in earnest, we spotlight two pros. First up is Tom Barnes Self-taught photographer Tom Barnes has found his home in portrait photography, snapping everyone from ballet dancers to rock stars, always with his Profoto B1 in tow.

When Profoto announced the B1, it was as if they’d heard my prayers

Tell us how you got into photography in the first place?

I was first given a camera by my dad at around five years old and I’ve been shooting since then – when you’re that age you’ll take anything your parents say as concrete fact and when they said I had a talent for it I believed them.

I was taking pictures of anything and everything I could but even at an early age I wanted to photograph people, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

Who has been the most memorable person you’ve shot?

I’ve shot some incredible people and met such a variety that it’s almost impossible to nail it down to one person, I had a shoot recently with Suzi Quatro and that was great; we really clicked but other shoot highlights have been British boxing legend Joe Calzaghe; Huey Morgan from Fun Lovin’ Criminals was great; and the funniest person I’ve ever shot was Rhys Darby from Flight of The Conchords. I had to ask him to stop talking as I could not hold the camera steady I was laughing so hard.

Lighting is key when it comes to portraits, what’s your style?

I think my style is dark and slightly moody, some people have said cinematic but I don’t know if I’d go that far. I use a little ambient but rely heavily on flash in almost every situation, I also tend to only use one or two heads on a set-up.

What in your eyes makes a great portrait?

Very simply getting someone’s character across in the image; it obviously helps to have great lighting and a technically strong shot, but if you’ve missed capturing someone’s character then you’ve entirely missed the point of taking a portrait.

Why did you choose the B1 when the market is saturated with portable lighting systems?

I’ve been a Profoto user for years and years so bought into the system a long time ago. I’ve always enjoyed the quality and consistency of the light and the reliability of the kit. When they announced the B1, it was as if they’d heard my

prayers for a smaller and easier to transport and use flash head, it was the perfect light for me; smaller, lighter, compact with no cables and remotely controlled via the Air system.

It’s meant that I carry less kit and have a much easier time on set; I no longer need to run over to packs or lights to adjust power or modelling, it can all be done from the camera. All I need to do is make sure the angles are right and then I can control everything else over the Air system.

Which accessories in the Profoto Light Shaping system do you use with your B1?

I use a whole mix of stuff but my go-to accessories are the 3x4 RFI softboxes with the soft grids; these give a lovely light and are easy to control. I’ll tend to use one or two of these on a set-up. Often I might also use some of the new silver deep umbrellas as they have a great crisp focused output to them due to the slightly more parabolic shape.

Tell us about the most challenging assignment you’ve tackled with the B1.

Every assignment is challenging for different reasons, it’s one of the things that makes the job so interesting. I think the challenges I’ve faced on shoots are mainly things like light placement. The B1 is the perfect solution for me with that sort of situation.

Because it has no cables, you can suspend it in tight places or have the light up really high and not have to worry about packs getting caught etc. Cables might sound like a funny thing to have a problem with but they cause problems, people trip or they can get caught, it also takes two hands to move a pack and light. With the B1 you can just grab the stand and go. tombarnes.co Turn to the inside back cover to read the second spotlight.

Profoto B1 & B2 One of the keys to great photos is lighting. A well-lit photo stands head and shoulders above the rest, giving your work a professional edge. Lighting doesn’t need to be complicated though and with the Profoto B1 and B2 off-camera flash systems, achieving slick expert-level shots is easy. The B1 has completely cordless TTL operation and is ten times as powerful as your average speedlight, making it your go-to flash for on-location shoots. On the other hand, the B2 is TTL ready too, can be used both on and off camera and is versatile enough to use as a gentle fill light or even as your main source. profoto.co.uk

News

Previews

Tests

Clubs

Interviews

Techniques

Competitions

Photography Produced by

Issue 22 20 July – 16 Aug

news

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

GET YOUR

FREE DIGITAL EDITION every month

at absolutephoto.com

In association with

The story behind a photo marathon

Canon’s megapixel monster on test

Lighting academy WIN! sponsored by Lencarta Samsung memory duo!

How 250 intrepid shooters got on, page 20

Read the verdict on the EOS 5DS on page 32

See page 30 for summer portrait techniques

Nikon lands new lenses

Turn to page 54 to find out more

Trio of top Nikkor lenses includes DX format standard zoom and two super-telephoto primes There’s a trio of new lenses fresh from Nikon, amongst which is the AF-S DX 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR lens (£869.99). It’s a big zoomer but it weighs in at just 480g; it’d make a welcome travel buddy for a Nikon DX-format camera. Nikon has introduced four-stop vibration reduction and combined with its large focal range, crisp photos are on the horizon. It’s the first DX lens to include anti-reflective Nano Crystal Coating and it also boasts a protective fluorine coating. Breaking it down, it comprises 17 elements in 13 groups and includes three aspherical as well as four extra-low dispersion elements.

Nikon’s also put out two brandnew super-telephoto lenses: the AF-S Nikkor 600mm f/4E and the AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4E. The company has managed to cram all that super-telephoto technology into the lightest lenses in their class, all whilst improving performance too.

Canon goes long with G3 X The 500mm is 20% lighter than its predecessor and the 600mm 25%, all made possible thanks to the use of fluorite elements and a partially magnesium alloy build. In terms of performance, these lenses are precise, with an electromagnetic

diaphragm that delivers consistency even at high speed. You might want to avert your eyes for the prices though; the 600mm comes in at £9649.99 and the 500mm at £8149.99. nikon.co.uk

Canon’s pulled another first out of the bag, this time in the form of the PowerShot G3 X, which is the first in Canon’s superzoom compact range…

Continue reading on page 5

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

News

Canon goes long with G3 X Canon’s pulled another first out of the bag, this time in the form of the PowerShot G3 X, which is the first in Canon’s superzoom compact range to feature a 1.0-type back-illuminated CMOS sensor. The G3 X’s 20.2-megapixel sensor is the same as found in the G7 X and works in tandem with a DIGIC 6 processor, it is nifty too, reaching speeds of up to 5.9fps. The lens is a showstopping 25x optical zoom that promises clarity throughout.

Despite being a compact, it has the touch of a DSLR with a large tilting touchscreen, control ring, full

Get close with Samyang Samyang is making its first foray into macro photography with the release of not one, but two new macro lenses.

The 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC macro lens is a manual focus lens that’s been designed for fullframe as well as smaller sensors.

It’s a flexible lens, ideal for upclose 1:1 magnification shots as well as flattering telephoto portraits. In a Nikon AW fit it’ll cost £419.99 and for the Canon, Sony A, Pentax, Sony E, Fujifilm

X and Micro Four Thirds, it’s priced at £389.99.

Next up is the 100mm T2.1 VDSLR ED UMC macro lens.

Aimed at filmmakers it’s a manual focus lens for full-frame and smaller sensors. It comes with focus and de-coupled aperture gear rings for use with rigs and follow focus. The Nikon, Canon, Sony E and Micro Four Thirds fit costs £429.99. intro2020.co.uk

manual control and Raw settings. It’s stacking up to be a strong second shooter or travel companion and with Full HD movie capabilities improved with 5-axis image stabilisation it ticks a lot of boxes. It’s available later in July and has a suggested retail price of £799.99.

Canon also launched the Speedlite 430EX III-RT for its EOS system. Priced at £249.99 this flash has a GN of 43 (ISO 100/metres), but its key selling point is integrated radio control for great off-camera versatility.

canon.co.uk

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News News in brief Quick off the mark Free firmware updates have been released for the Sony A7, A7R, A7S and A6000 to improve start-up speed as well as to facilitate movie recording at a high bit rate. sony.co.uk

Bold moves from Sony Sony launches it latest full-frame CSC which boasts 42.2 megapixels, plus two more premium compacts featuring one-inch CMOS sensors Big news from Sony as the firm releases its new flagship mirrorless full-frame camera, the A7R II, whose 42.2-megapixel back-illuminated CMOS sensor takes centre stage.

Improvements on its predecessor include an updated AF system, which in this latest model delivers a response time up to 40% faster thanks to 399 focal plane phasedetection AF points. ISO ranges from 100 to 25,600 and five-axis image stabilisation has been finetuned to support high-res shooting.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, it also brings 4K video recording with a choice of shooting in fullframe or super 35mm crop. Pricing and availability to be announced.

Nuanced Cokin The latest in-filter innovation comes from Cokin, which has designed a range of ND filters that offer second-tonone neutrality and produce images free of infrared pollution. Nuance filters come in six different sizes with the strongest offering a 10EV reduction; multiple filters can be stacked without colour cast too. Prices to be confirmed. intro2020.co.uk

Elsewhere, in the Sony compacts department there are an additional two cameras added to the range: the compact RX100 IV and high-zoom RX10 II. Both models are the first to feature a stacked 1.0-type CMOS sensor with a DRAM memory chip, which provides faster read-out of image detail.

Other features include up to 40x super slow motion shooting and 4K video recording. The RX100 IV has Zeiss 24-70mm lens whilst the RX10 II has the same lens as its predecessor, the 24-200mm f/2.8.

The RX100 IV retails at £644 and the RX10 II at £840. sony.co.uk

Pack your bags Photomatix plug-in HDR software Photomatix is now available as a plug-in for Photoshop Elements, meaning that you can work on photos you’ve already processed in Photoshop creating a more streamlined process. Test it out by downloading a free trial from the HDRsoft website. hdrsoft.com

A first from Sigma

The Sigma 24-35mm f/2 DG HSM is the first full-frame wide-angle zoom lens to feature a large maximum aperture. It’s able to cover the work of three of the most commonly used prime lenses, 24mm, 28mm and 35mm, all-in-one lens and the bright aperture of f/2 is constant.

Super Multi-Layer coating reduces ghosting and flare for sharp images with high contrast even in backlit conditions. Silence is the name of the game when it comes to using high-speed AF and a nine-blade rounded diaphragm is responsible for good bokeh. sigma-imaging-uk.com

Developed for the pro and enthusiast shooter, Tamrac has announced its new Anvil series of backpacks. Built to be both durable and lightweight, the Anvil series comes in six sizes and prices start at £199.99 for the Anvil Slim 11 backpack. The new range incorporates weatherresistant fabrics and comes with seam-sealed rain covers, and on the inside individual dividers are lightweight and fully customisable.

Accessories can be stored in the front butterfly pockets and there’s room for a 15in laptop in a protective inner compartment.

Comfort hasn’t been overlooked; an airflow harness system takes care of that. And your tripod can attach to the back, with a quick release system for easy access.

Tamrac has seen massive changes in the past year or so and we will be chatting with the company’s new president, Greg Schern, about his new plans in the next issue of Photography News. tamrac.co.uk

Innovations from Velbon Tripod expert Velbon continues to bring out innovative camera supports

A three-in-one tripod, monopod and hide-lamp set is just one of the new products from Velbon this month.

The SUB-65 (£139.99) is ideal for photographers, videographers and birdwatchers, featuring foursection legs and a quick-lock system for swift set up. There’s a removable centre column which transforms into a five-section monopod that can extend up to 164cm – the tripod itself reaches up to 161cm – and the Hide-Clamp II enables mounting

of the centre column on a table for steady shooting.

The other new products are four new tripods join Velbon’s Ultra series: the Ultra 355 with three-way head and quick release (£99.99); the 353 Mini-Q with ball and socket head and quick release (£89.99); the 455 with pan head PH-G40D (£119.99); and the 655 heavy-duty travel tripod (£99.99). velbon.co.uk

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News

Sling your hook Five camera straps and slings have been brought out by Optech to give you the ultimate in accessibility and security when you’re on the go. The Utility Camera Sling-Duo (£36.99) gives you quick access to up to two pieces of gear, whilst the Triple Carrier (£52.99) takes it one step further with room for three cameras or a combo of camera and binoculars. There’s a sling designed specifically for mirrorless and small SLRs (£12.99), allowing you to carry your camera discreetly to the side but still enabling easy gliding into shooting position. On top of that, Optech has released a strap for mirrorless cameras too, retailing at £17.99. Lastly there’s a tripod loop costing £15.99 that converts your existing strap into a tripod strap. intro2020.co.uk

Rugged tripods for the hardy

Triple release from Tokina A new lens and two new filters make up Tokina’s latest releases. The Cinema 50-135mm T3.0 lens is compact and has a nine-bladed curved iris for spot-on bokeh. Aspherical and Low Dispersion glass minimise distortion. It’s retailing at £4499.99.

The first of the filters is the Hydrophillic Coating Protector filter that’s designed to prevent water from beading on the surface when shooting in wet conditions. It’s available in seven sizes, from 77mm to 127mm, with the smallest costing £299.

The other filter, the Pro IRND precisely controls the amount of light entering the lens without affecting the colour. Available in either round or square sizes, prices start from £129.99 for the 82mm round filter. tokinalens.com

Three-legged friends for the keen travel and scenic worker

Doubled up Conquering the twin enemies of any travel or landscape photographer, Sirui has engineered the Wave & Wilderness series of tripods featuring seals designed to keep the dust and water out. These tripods can be submerged up to their shoulders in water and still deliver exceptional stability. They come with rubber feet for use on hard surfaces and spikes for gaining traction on softer ground. Prices for the W&W series start at £599.99.

Two new models join Sirui’s existing travel tripod range, so there’s no need to look any further if what

you are after is lightweight but impressively stable tripods. Reaching up to 147cm and folding down to a minimum length of 40cm, they each feature a retractable centre column and come in aluminium or eight-layer carbon-fibre, costing from £169.99 or £269.99 respectively.

A new video monopod with stand spider has also been made available (from £349.99) as well as a new tilt head, L-20S (£199.99).

Kenko’s Teleplus HD DGX 2.0 and the 1.4x DGX teleconverters have now been released in a Canon fit.

The HD DGX 2.0 (£279.99), as the name suggests, doubles the length of your lens whilst still enabling full AF control when you’re shooting with a lens with an aperture of f/2.8 or brighter.

The Teleplus 1.4x HD DGX (£219.99) gives you 1.4x extra focal length and again offers full AF with lenses of f/4 or brighter.

Both offer compact, low-cost ways of expanding your lenses.

sirui.eu/en/home intro2020.co.uk

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News

DxO supports new models

Tonality app revamped

DxO has released updates to DxO OpticsPro v10.4.2, FilmPack v5.1.4 and Viewpoint v2.5.6, ensuring compatibility with Canon’s EOS 5DS and 5DS R models, delivering digital noise removal whilst preserving detail and colour saturation. These updates also enable seamless integration with Adobe Photoshop CC. Other news from DxO includes the introduction of the ONE, a 20.2-megapixel sensor with a f/1.8 lens that attaches directly to iPhones. It doesn’t come cheap though, it’s priced at £499. dxo.com

Sturdy & precise Extending its XPRO range of tripod heads, Manfrotto has unveiled the XPRO Ball Head. Featuring a triplelocking system, the XPRO Ball Head is incredibly precise, keeping a sturdy position once locked in; levelling bubbles help you get your tripod set up just right. It’s made from magnesium alloy and is really lightweight so you’re not adding much to your kitbag in the way of weight, but gaining plenty in terms of versatility. Available with either a black 200PL or a top lock system plate, the XPRO Ball Head is priced £114.95 or £159.95 respectively.

Black & white photo editing software Tonality from Macphun provides photographers with the tools to create pro-style black & white photos through layerbased image editing, overlay textures, structure detail and the like. Freshly updated, the app now offers all that and more, including a new Luminosity Mask control for more drama in your shots, compatibility with the latest version of Lightroom CC and provides new Raw camera file formats.

Find Tonality in the Mac App Store for an introductory price of £8.50.

News in brief Calumet launches foldable LCD viewfinder Designed for use on all DSLRs with a 3in or 3.2in screens, including the Canon EOS 5D Mark III, this pro quality LCD viewfinder loupe is costs £125. calphoto.co.uk

macphun.com/tonality Sound it out Azden has added a USB port to its portable mixer range, so you can hook up your FMX-42u mixer (£729.99) to your laptop, smartphone or tablet for a secondary stereo audio output. Also released is the SGM-250 Pro Shotgun mic promising high performance and quality (£299.99). intro2020.co.uk

manfrotto.co.uk

Phottix change Phottix flash triggers and studio lighting are now distributed by Mac Group Europe.

Joining the Phottix range is the Indra360 TTL. A portable battery flash system compatible with the Odin and Mitros+

triggers, it offers the option of highspeed flash sync at shutter speeds up to 1/8000sec with Canon and Nikon DSLRs. eu.macgroupus.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

News © Jonathan Taylor

News in brief

Light fantastic From 18 July until 4 September, the National Media Museum in Bradford will host an Artist in Residence programme supported in part by Ilford Photo which will see artists partake in Double Exposure: A Tale of Two Planets in Darkness and Light. Visitors will be able to see the work as it is unfolding and even better, entrance is free. nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Mystery solved © National Media Museum / Science & Society Picture Library

A long journey home The ever-popular Travel Photographer of the Year competition is bringing its exhibition back to London to celebrate this year’s finalists. Showing at the Royal Geographic Society, it’s free to visit and runs from 24 July until 5 September. tpoty.com

Bleeding London Illustrating exhilarating diversity this exhibition brings a London A to Z to City Hall On show at London’s City Hall are 1200 pictures from the massive Bleeding London project, the aim of which was to follow in the footsteps of Stuart London and record every entry in the London A to Z.

Over the last year, 600 photographers have uploaded more than 58,000 images, and 1200 of are show until 14 August. bleedinglondon.co.uk

Sell your wares A new market developed especially for photographers has been opened by EyeEm. It enables its 13 million strong members to sell their photos to editors, advertisers and pretty much anyone looking for a particular sort of image.

Photographers keep 50% of the profit and there is already a large database of 50 million images, with more added daily. eyeem.com

Portrait of Christina, 1913, Lieutenant Colonel Mervyn O’Gorman, The Royal Photographic Society Collection.

The identity of a young woman in a 102-year old portrait has finally been discovered after the national media picked up on the mystery surrounding the RPS’s portrait Christina, taken in 1913 and shown recently at the National Media Museum. The woman is now known to have been Christina Elizabeth Frances Bevan, a relative of Mervyn O’Gorman who took the picture. nationalmediamuseum.org.uk

Masters at work Make your vote count in the Hasselblad Masters 2016 competition

A Nest egg Providing full HD live video streaming, the new Nest Cam can be set up anywhere to give you peace of mind when you’re away. It’s magnetic and can be mounted to the wall or screwed to a tripod, it can also be mounted upside down for a better angle. Improved night vision is another new feature of the Nest Cam (£159). nest.com

Bailey’s Stardust The extra touch The BenQ RP interactive series of flat panels (RP652, RP702 and RP790) let you project in 4K resolution and act as a touchscreen, giving you the opportunity to give interactive learning experiences. benq.co.uk

David Bailey’s landmark exhibition makes its way to Edinburgh On show at the Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, is a major exhibition of the one of the world’s greatest photographers. David Bailey’s latest show features more than 300 pictures as well as material such as books and magazines from his personal archive.

The show is on until 18 October and admission is £11 (£9 concessions).

We’ll be taking a more in-depth look at the exhibition in the next issue of Photography News. nationalgalleries.org

The judges in the Hasselblad Masters 2016 competition have created a shortlist of finalists from more than 10,000 entries. Now it’s your turn to put on your judge’s robes. The competition is being turned over to the public to vote on the winning panel in each of the ten categories. To get voting, just register on the Hasselblad website.

The winning photographers will each be asked to create a new theme-based panel of work using the latest Hasselblad equipment, the results of which will be printed in a commemorative book. Winners

will also get to keep a new high-end medium-format Hasselblad camera, so make sure your vote counts.

If you want to get even more hands on, Hasselblad is hosting a free two-day ShootLDN event this autumn. International landscape photographer Charlie Waite will be speaking at the event along with architectural and commercial photographer Sean Conboy and wedding photographer David Stanbury, amongst others. Visit shoot-ldn.co.uk to register. hasselblad.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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

Club news

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

How to submit

Deadline for the next issue: 3 August 2015

We need words and pictures by 3 August for the next issue of Photography News, which will be available from 17 August.

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 and any colour space. 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.

© Terry Donnelly

David Noton chases the light Renowned travel and landscape photographer takes his talk to Chesterfield Chesterfield Photographic Society welcomes internationally renowned travel and landscape photographer, David Noton on Thursday 10 September. He will give his talk, Chasing the Light, showcasing images from places right across the globe, such as Chile, Iceland, Vietnam and Italy.

As well as showing his breathtaking images, David will also describe his trips around the globe, with his usual passion for

the peoples and places of the world.

He will also share some of the secrets behind his shots, including technical aspects and planning.

Chesterfield PS is promoting the event, along with Dents Photographic, and raising funds for Ashgate Hospice and the Air Ambulance. Tickets priced at £10 are available from Chesterfield Theatres box office. chesterfieldphotosociety.org

Edinburgh on show

If you are heading to Edinburgh for the Festival this August, take time out and enjoy the 153rd Edinburgh International Exhibition of Photography.

This free show of around 200 inspirational prints is at the premises of Edinburgh Photographic Society at 68 Great King Street. edinburghphotographicsociety.co.uk

© Andrew Greenwood

Above Earl of Shilton CC members practise their skills ahead of their exhibition next month.

A week of photo fun Join Earl Shilton CC as it celebrates its first week-long exhibition

Instead of its usual one-day display of members’ work, Earl Shilton Camera Club’s annual exhibition this year is on for eight days, from Monday 24 August to Tuesday 1 September.

The exhibition, which brings the club’s 40th anniversary celebrations to a close, will include members’ images as well as items related to

photography. It is at the Atkins Gallery in Hinckley and admission is free.

Earl Shilton Camera Club meets on Wednesdays from September to May at the George Ward Centre in Barwell.

Viewfinders exhibition The Viewfinders of Romsey Camera Club’s annual exhibition is at King John’s House, Romsey, from Saturday 25 July until Sunday 2 August. It is open daily 10am to 4pm; opening an hour later on Sundays. Admission is free.

Viewfinders of Romsey CC meets on Tuesdays from September to July at Michelmersh and Timsbury Jubilee Hall, Timsbury.

earlshiltoncameraclub.org.uk viewfinderscameraclub.org.uk

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Interview Biography

Profile

Daniel Benjamin Daniel Benjamin, head of consumer product marketing for Canon UK & Ireland, talks megapixels, lenses and Custom Quick Control menus

Years in the photo industry?

15 years this summer – where does the time go?

Current location Reigate, Surrey Last picture taken My two boys playing on the beach in Naples, Florida, taken on an EOS 70D with EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM When you were younger, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Goose from Top Gun Dogs or cats?

Cats – less maintenance Toast or cereal?

Neither, tends to be a Diet Coke Email or phone call?

Both, can’t survive without my phone!

We would recommend using lenses launched within the last two years as these will give you the optimum performance from the sensor

Canon has been offering 22-24-megapixel level DSLRs in recent years, so what made the company suddenly decide to make such a big leap in terms of resolution? Was this driven from customer feedback?

We continually listen to customer feedback and we were hearing the need for a high-resolution camera for specialist types of photography.

We introduced the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R to market at a time when expectations around highresolution sensor cameras are at their highest and we’re confident that we’ve created a product that will far exceed these expectations. We wanted to make sure that we were using the right sensor that would, along with our optical heritage, create the perfect balance of image quality and camera performance.

What were the key design obstacles when it came to designing the 53-megapixel sensor?

The size of each pixel and its light gathering capabilities are the main obstacles when it comes to developing high-megapixel sensors.

The more pixels you add the smaller they then become and the less able they are to absorb light. As we designed and built the sensor we had complete control over every aspect, allowing us to make every pixel as efficient as possible by looking at the depth of the pixel, the size of the microlens and the size of the photodiode to counter the issue.

As we understand it, the higher the resolution, ie. the greater the number of pixels packed into a sensor, the greater the issue with digital noise. What technologies has Canon brought into play on the EOS 5DS/R to ensure digital noise is not an issue?

We developed the sensor from

scratch to make sure that it is as efficient as possible at absorbing light. We also use new algorithms in the sensor, which can limit the effect of noise. The increase of noise is the reason why the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R don’t have the same ISO capabilities as the EOS 5D Mark III. What was the thinking behind the two models, the S and the S R? We created the two different cameras as we feel that they are aimed at two different types of photography. The EOS 5DS would really be better suited to architectural or fashion photography, the 5DS R meanwhile, with is maximum sharpness, is actually far better suited to landscape photography.

Can you explain in detail how the low-pass filter cancelling system works on the EOS 5DS R? Is it an actual physical feature or is it done in software?

The EOS 5DS contains a standard low-pass filter as found in all our EOS cameras. The low-pass filter very slightly blurs the image to stop the effects of moiré patterns when shooting subjects with regimented patterns like fabrics. The downside to this is that there can be loss of detail. For this reason, we have introduced the 5DS R, which has the low-pass filter cancelling system.

The system works by having two low-pass filters, one behind the other. The second filter is rotated though 90° and cancels out the first one. The upside is that you get sharper images, but there is a potential for moiré patterns.

Who do you think will be buying the EOS 5DS/R? And which model is the most popular going into store right now?

Interestingly we have seen an even 50/50 split between the two cameras

in terms of pre-orders. Many of our pre-orders came from professional or advanced photographers who are specialists or are passionate about a specific field of photography such as landscape or architecture, for example. Also, professional photographers who work in commercial markets who need the best resolution and a camera that gives them greater flexibility than medium-format cameras.

With such high resolution, does the photographer have to be wary which lenses to use? Canon’s lens system is huge so do you suggest only certain lenses be used?

We would recommend using lenses launched within the last two years as these will give you the optimum performance from the sensor. Many other lenses in our range are also suitable for these cameras but this can depend on the application in which they are being used, eg. focal length, aperture.

We are in the process of testing all lenses in our EF range and will provide a full update.

On a similar theme, is Canon offering any technique advice regarding getting the most from the cameras?

The teams in-store are great and well versed in helping people get the most of both the EOS 5DS and EOS 5DS R. We run regular open days and workshops with selected retailers and where relevant, offer advice and hands-on opportunities with these cameras. For our CPS (Canon Professional Services) members, we are running a series of events throughout the rest of the year giving them a chance to take a look at the camera, plus we have a range of resources online and on our social media channels for people to take a look at.

Do you think we will see DSLRs of greater resolution than 50 megapixels? Or is there no need for any more?

If people start asking for greater resolutions we will look into creating them for consumer products. We have developed a 120-megapixel UCMOS sensor, which we showcased at our expo in 2010 but this is designed for very specialist applications. There are other great developments recently like higher ISOs, which I feel are just as interesting as more megapixels.

Was there an opportunity to endow the EOS 5DS/R with 4K video capability?

The development of 4K is incredibly exciting, but the adoption of 4K among consumers is still in the early stages. We’re always studying the market and assessing consumer appetite before we make a product available. We offer 4K cameras in our professional Cinema EOS range so we already have the technological capabilities for when the customer demand arises.

Are there are any new features or technologies on the EOS 5DS/R that you want to highlight like, for example, the Custom Quick Control menu setting?

We understand photographers so have built the cameras for the way they work, letting them take control of how they want to use the camera with the customisable controls.

The new Custom Quick Control screen is a favourite feature of mine on the new EOS 5DS and 5DS R. The type, size and position of icons are easily customisable to suit the photographer or shooting scenario.

It means I can use the camera in the way that works for me. canon.co.uk

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Profile Biography

Before the Judge

David Penprase Each issue, a respected judge or exhibition selector shares their thoughts and experiences. This month, we hear from photo veteran David Penprase Words by David Penprase FRPS

David Penprase David’s work has appeared in every major photography magazine and he is decorated with awards for his photography.

He has recently completed three books to raise money for charity, but his latest foray in the e-book world is Developing a Photographic Style in the Photowise series for RHE Media Photography Ltd. Home club The London Salon; to be fair, it’s not my home club I have none.

Favourite camera Fujifilm GX680 Favourite lens 210mm Favourite photographers Jan Saudek, Albert Watson, JoelPeter Witkin, Nick Knight and dozens more!

Favourite subjects Portraiture, figurative, landscape, still life, abstract, manipulated, surreal, impressionistic etc. anything that’s done well!

I bought my first 35mm camera at the age of 40 – that’s 33 years ago – and joined my local club at Redruth.

At the time it was renowned for monochrome workers; I learnt a great deal. I soon moved to mediumformat in an effort to slow down to a more considered approach; initially using a trusty Mamiya RB67, then my Fujifilm GX680 with its 210mm lens. I also use a Wista 5x4 and Type 55 posi/neg film which I love.

It’s now sadly unavailable but I still have a fair stock.

Monochrome has always been my thing, I started entering my work in photographic salons, and was fortunate to win a number of awards including Best Mono in the Austrian Super Circuit in 1997 and again in 1999; the Kodak B&W awards for fashion in Fashion and Advertising in 1998. Five gold medals in The London Salon resulted in being invited to join in 1998. The same year I became a panel member for the RPS Distinctions in Photographic Printing and I am currently chair of the Applied Panel.

My interest in becoming a judge grew from a frustration of many photographers being obsessed with technique. Let me make it clear there has to be good practice as with any medium, but photography has moved on. Years ago, I recall giving first place to a 5x7 print mounted on thin card against mainly large prints including some 20x16 Cibachromes,

I could feel the surprise in the room, but as I said then look at the content!

With the advent of autofocus and multi-metered digital cameras, anyone can produce a sharp, wellexposed image. So, if you asked me what the most common failings are, I’d say there’s a mindset that looks no farther than print quality.

This was fine 20 years ago but with digital capture it’s a given and images should be more about content. I do my best to instil that in my opinion, images should affect the viewer emotionally.

The other area that often offends is when a good image is overworked to the extent that the techniques override the visual impact. It’s about knowing when to stop.

I enjoy critiquing work but I’m aware that we’re all close to our work and criticism can appear harsh when it’s not intended. I’m sure most judges look for the good points first. There’s the odd occasion when one’s lost for words, but there are giveaway signs in the work that convey it’s someone just starting or sadly a long-time practitioner that may never get up to standard.

Remember that it’s their image and one they felt worthy to enter. With that in mind, advise quietly.

The other joy about seeing work, especially a body of work in the form of a RPS Fellowship Distinction application, is that once in a while I see some outstanding work that

If you asked me what the most common failings are, I’d say there’s a mindset that looks no farther than print quality

blows me away. Opinions differ, which is why there are five panel judges and myself with the RPS. I would say we always reach the correct decision in the end.

If I gave advice for competition work, it’d be to learn your craft, only photograph subjects that excite you, produce quality work, and try like mad to surprise the viewer!

Many judges are pleased to share their knowledge with clubs, but remember they have to put food on the table. If I may take this opportunity to use a dirty word: money. How many judges or lecturers have heard ‘do we owe you any expenses?’ Lecturers work for years at enormous expense to produce a body of work to entertain and educate an audience. In my case giving a talk in London means coming up from Cornwall, using

two working days I could have been earning on. Why will club members pay a plumber/electrician the going rate but it stops there?

With most clubs there’s a feeling that lecturers can afford to show their work for expenses. Yes, there’s a sense of achievement and fulfilment in doing so but club members will pay a great deal for their kit, go to the cinema and the pub, but ask them to put in £5-10 to help pay the speaker, and learn about their passion, and there’s a problem! This doesn’t apply to all, and for some people clubs are more social than photographic, but one would hope the nucleus would understand the huge benefits if they saw a greater cross section of speakers and judges.

To find out more, go to David Penprase's website dp.talktalk.net.

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.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Competition © Uttam Kamati

Interview

Going for green

Above Uttam Kamati’s Watering Melon was awarded the top prize at 2015’s Atkins EPOTY competition.

The Environmental Photographer of the Year competition was established by water management firm CIWEM, and CEO Nigel Hendley tells us more of how it has evolved over the years Take us back to the roots of the competition, why and what did you set about to create?

We launched the Environmental Photographer of the Year (EPOTY) competition in 2007. Our aim is to raise awareness and understanding of global environmental issues through the promotion of stunning photographic images.

Our ambition is to encourage amateur and professional photographers of all ages to share photos that demonstrate the causes, consequences and solutions to some of our biggest water and environmental challenges – an integral part of our Royal Charter. Atkins, our sponsors, strongly share that ambition.

What do you hope to achieve with it and what have you achieved so far?

We have already attracted entrants, as we had hoped, from all over the world. This year over 10,000 images were submitted.

Some of the environmental concerns we are

highlighting, in particular climate change, can be quite abstract and difficult to explain to people. A picture can paint a thousand words and the entrants have done a wonderful job in interpreting these issues. As well as exhibiting the best entries in London and at Forestry Commission sites all over the UK, we are exploring how we can promote the best entries in international centres as well.

How did you come to get involved with the EPOTY competition?

The competition was launched in the same year as CIWEM’s Arts and Environment network. The network aims to promote more creativity at the heart of environmental policy, as well as action to overcome today’s environmental challenges. Nick Reeves, our executive director at that time, was a trained artist and recognised the potential in using art to help us achieve our Royal Charter public

benefits to “advance the science and practice of water and environmental management”.

What do you most enjoy about working on this competition in particular?

As a keen amateur photographer myself, I truly admire those who produce the amazingly creative artwork entered. It is inspiring to see the quality and numbers of entries submitted. We have many of the previous years’ images around our office in Saffron Hill, Farringdon, as a visual reminder of what we and our almost 10,000 members are working to achieve.

What kinds of sights do you hope people will share with you through the competition?

We like to see a broad spectrum of images that reflect the issues we face both in developing countries and in more industrialised nations. Often the problems experienced in

The environmental concerns we are highlighting, in particular climate change, can be quite abstract and difficult to explain to people

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Competition

You’ve now chosen your winning image of 2015, what was it about that photo in particular that earned it the top accolade?

When I first saw Uttam Kamati’s winning image Watering Melon (left) I was bowled over by the beauty and the message it conveyed. We sometimes take water completely for granted in the Western world. This image underlines the crucial importance of clean water, and its value to the two people depicted, whose livelihood depends entirely on the liquid flowing in their fragile pipe. Perhaps a better title would be simply Liquid Gold.

Our fantastic judging panel noted the technical ability of the photographer at capturing the stunning light at a moment in everyday life in the Teesta riverbed in West Bengal, India. It highlights issues of water resource management, drought, climate change, sustainability, and water quality. Over-abstraction and damming of the river upstream to generate electricity has reduced flows resulting in the loss of water supply for thousands of farmers. Overabstraction of water resources is one of the top environmental challenges we face all over the world; this image brings that message home.

Are there any issues that persistently and prevalently arise through the competition?

The images and films are an amazing visual reminder of the interconnectivity between environmental, social and cultural issues and the importance of a connected approach to tackling global issues of climate change, flooding, environmental pollution, water resource management, waste water and flood risk management.

Above Kazi Riasat Alve’s image Collecting Crabs taken in Satkhira, 2014.

© Bhar Dipayan

developing countries are inextricably linked, through climate change for instance, with the challenges faced in tackling pollution on a global scale. The images on display at the Royal Geographical Society and the Forestry Commission tour reflect this emphasis.

© Esme Allen

© Kazi Riasat Alve

When I first saw Uttam Kamati’s winning image Watering Melon (left) I was bowled over by the beauty and the message it conveyed

Above right Esme Allen’s series entitled Eden Restored – The Mesopotamian Marshes of Iraq won the Forestry Commission England Exhibition Award.

Above The Atkins CIWEM Young Environmental Photographer of the Year went to Bhar Dipayan’s Families are living under the Bridge.

What are your thoughts when you see the finalists’ images, what kind of picture of our world do they create for you?

Images from the competition remind me why organisations such as CIWEM are so important. We are working for the public benefit for a sustainable world. It is truly motivational for us to be reminded of the messages that are behind many of these images. We are often surprised, and delighted, by the interpretation apparent and the beauty that’s portrayed.

Below The Atkins Cityscape Prize was awarded to Michael Theodoric for Enjoy. © Michael Theodoric

Is there any location or are there any issues that you’d like to see covered more?

We would like to see more European entries depicting the challenges faced by industrialised nations. In particular, anything that links cause and effect and draws attention to what needs to be achieved for sustainability is most welcome.

Do you have a category or image that you favour and if so why?

I have to say the 2015 winner of the Atkins CIWEM Environmental Photographer of the Year main prize. It represents CIWEM’s treasured assets and what we as an organisation cherish.

The judging panel features some of the most distinguished people in their industries, from both the world of art and photography as well as science and the environment. What were their reactions to this year’s entries?

The judging process takes some time, as we feel it is important to really discuss the images

and what they mean to each of us. We are all consistently surprised, inspired and enthused by the entries we receive. The judges were delighted with the quality and beauty of this year’s entries.

How does the judging process work?

Judging takes place face-to-face and is immensely enjoyable but also truly moving.

We are working to resolve many of the issues which the images bring to the fore, but seeing a new representation or an issue in a new location can be challenging.

The competition is now free to enter thanks to sponsorship from Atkins, how did that affect the kinds of entries you receive?

We strongly feel that competition entrants should not be restricted by financial mobility.

Free entry allows amateurs and professionals from around the world to submit their work and we hope that this will continue, with the support of Atkins, into the future.

What can we expect from the competition in the coming years?

Entries for next year’s competition will open at the end of 2015 – keep a look out on our website for more information. We look forward to entrants continuing to tackle hardhitting environmental issues of the moment, such as shale gas, flood risk management and climate change. And we hope to exhibit the images in more places around the world so more people can see them and be inspired to support proper protection of the environment. epoty.org

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Advertisement feature

A clearer view Manfrotto Distribution & Bushnell

Sports optics firm Bushnell is the latest well-known name to join Manfrotto Distribution’s ever-expanding portfolio of products

One of the most valuable items you’ll be carrying around in your kitbag will inevitably be your camera. There’s only so much you can do and so far you can take your photography with your camera alone though, even if you’ve invested in a model with all the bells and whistles. Sometimes you need that extra bit of support to stretch your creative muscles even further, whether that’s in the form of a tripod for added stability and control or a specialist lens to get you the view you’re seeking. Manfrotto Distribution is a name synonymous with top-end tripods, but it is also the go-to place to source all your photo accessories too.

Manfrotto Distribution has expanded its prestigious portfolio, with the latest name added being Bushnell.

Bushnell holds serious weight in the sports optics market, with a reputation for bringing innovative and legendary binoculars, spotting scopes and camera traps, to wildlife and sporting enthusiasts amongst others. The company has been in the business for more than 60 years now and they really know their stuff when it comes to optics. Now Bushnell equipment is available through Manfrotto Distribution, you can find even more of your favourite accessories in one place.

The right pair Talking about the new addition to Manfrotto Distribution’s portfolio, managing director Chris Carr said: “Bushnell is one of the most recognised and reputable optics brands in the UK and is the perfect fit within the portfolio.” Now rubbing shoulders with the likes of National Geographic’s range of bags and Lastolite backgrounds, Bushnell’s optics add even more diversity to the Manfrotto Distribution range and even more convenience for photographers and videographers.

“The product road map, the huge growth in Natureview

Cams and the brand collaborations are very exciting and we are delighted to be working with Bushnell,” Chris said of the company’s extensive product line-up.

Photographers with a keen interest in wildlife will be amongst those to benefit from the new range. The Natureview binoculars are renowned for delivering high-performance optics that’ll get you right up close to your subject, but also providing clarity too for bright and crisp viewing. Partnering your camera with Natureview binoculars means you can set up your kit in advance and instead of spotting wildlife using your camera, these purpose-built binoculars give you a better view while not disturbing your camera set-up. You can locate your subject and be ready to capture right off the bat.

With seven products in the range to choose from, including the classic birding binoculars the 8x40mm Backyard Birder as well as the outstanding longrange 10x42mm binos, there’s a pair for every need.

Get hands on at the Birdfair The best way to find the best product for you is to get hands on.

Why not get to grips with Bushnell’s range at the Birdfair?

The Birdfair is the perfect place to test out Bushnell’s products in the field to see how they fare in real life situations. And with Bushnell experts on hand to offer advice and guidance, you’ll be armed with all the information you need to invest in the right kit.

Birdfair is at Rutland Water Nature Reserve, from 21 until 23 August. It’s a ticketed event; visit birdfair.org.uk to find out more.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com In association with

WINNER Best overall image Mark O’Leary

© Mark O’Leary

2015

Left Editor Will Cheung offers advice before the Photo 24 crowd head off on their adventure.

SHORTLISTED Best overall image Mark Stimpson

In association with

24 hours of photography on the longest day of the year with a bunch of like-minded folk was the original thinking behind Photo 24. Now in its third year it is more popular than ever with every place taken within hours of the launch.

Photo 24 began at a central London hotel at noon on Saturday 20 June and ended the next day, same place, same time. In between there were meet-ups, a trip on the London Eye for sunset, the opportunity to experience a Nikon School taster session and a photo treasure hunt around the capital. It was going to be a busy 24 hours.

The weather forecast wasn’t promising. The Met Office said it would be cloudy with some rain and it was spot on. We saw little sun during the whole

24 hours and the challenge was dealing with flat light while the heavy showers made life difficult for our Photo 24ers late Saturday.

On the plus side, an anti-austerity march, tens of thousands strong, from the City to the Houses of Parliament made for great photographic opportunities for out Photo 24 attendees.

As you can see from the pictures in this feature (and those on absolutephoto.com), our readers revelled in the conditions. We saw many brilliant pictures in our Photo 24 contests. With hundreds of miles walked and many thousands of pictures shot, Photo 24 2015 was a huge success.

If you want to be part of 2016’s Photo 24 event look out for details early next year.

© Mark Stimpson

20 June saw 250 Photography News & Advanced Photographer readers congregate in London for the third Photo 24, a day-long celebration of photography The prize for best overall image Winner Mark O’Leary lands a Nikon D750 and 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 kit worth £2200. The D750 is a full-frame DSLR using a FX-format CMOS sensor giving an impressive 24.3-megapixels of resolution. It can shoot along at 6.5fps, features a tiltable monitor and has full HD movie recording.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com In association with

WINNER Colour of Camden Gordon Fawley

SHORTLISTED Colour of Camden Barry Horne

© Gordon Fawley

WINNER Where’s the Shard?

Paul Mellor

© Barry Horne

SHORTLISTED Where’s the Shard?

Christine Campbell

© Christine Campbell

© Paul Mellor

Images Exceptional creativity as well as excellent camera skills were exhibited by many entrants.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com In association with

WINNER City asleep Neetha Atukorale

Above For this year’s Photo 24 we organised two private pods on the London Eye, for sunset. Fifty readers paid £25 each for a spot in the pods.

© Neetha Atukorale

What the Meet-up winners won The winners of our six Meet-up competitions each win a Nikon 1 J5 with 10-30mm zoom lens worth £399. This tiny interchangeable lens 20.8-megapixel camera punches well above its weight when it comes to picture quality and photographic versatility. With a fully featured PASM exposure system, the ability to shoot at 20fps, Wi-Fi and 4K video, the winners of the J5 have tremendous potential to explore.

WINNER London waking up Anthony Morris

Above Our 250 Photo 24ers shot thousands of pictures and walked many hundreds of kilometres during the day’s shoot.

WINNER Capture the spirit Peter Karry

© Peter Karry

© Anthony Morris

Above “It’s my first-ever winning shot,” says Anthony Morris, “and thanks to you and Nikon for making the event such a great experience.”

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com In association with

WINNER #DISCOVERDIFFERENT Rob Franks © Rob Franks

Left The dull conditions meant there was no sunset from the London Eye but great pictures were still to be had.

WINNER Icons of London Mark Stimpson © Mark Stimpson

SHORTLISTED Icons of London Darrell Godliman © Darrell Godliman

SHORTLISTED Icons of London Martin Sylvester © Martin Sylvester

During Photo 24, Nikon challenged attendees to #DiscoverDifferent, with the aim of encouraging photographers to think outside the box in order to create an extraordinary photograph.

The #DiscoverDifferent winner is Rob Franks, who lands a £129 voucher for a Nikon School training course and two tickets to next year’s The Photography Show, where his winning image will be on display on the Nikon stand.

“I was with two friends and we

were walking back from the Shard Meet-up across London Bridge when the heavens opened,” explains winner Rob. “We made a dash for cover by a building that had a balcony/overhang along the north side of the Thames.

We sat there for a short while perched on a small ledge.

“After a while I decided to get up and walk around a bit. As I got up I caught the reflection in a puddle that had formed on top of the riverside wall. After trying several different

compositions and wondering whether to include the blur of passing boats, I decided on the shot without the blurred boats.”

Follow #DiscoverDifferent on twitter.com/UKNikon and facebook. com/IamnikonUK for details of upcoming #DiscoverDifferent events.

The first event, Secret Oxford, takes place on Friday 14 August. Future events are also planned for Brighton, London and Cambridge.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Interview Terry O’Neill

I don’t really like cameras While the legendary photographer professes to not like cameras, he certainly knows how to use them to good effect. Feted for his portraiture, Terry O’Neill tells us about the pictures he made and the pictures that made him Interview by Kingsley Singleton In a world of tiresome, truculent micro celebrities it’s really great to find someone who is, at the same time, deserving of their fame and also one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

That person is Terry O’Neill, who despite being one of the UK’s most iconic photographers, is as free with perspectives on his career, his subjects, his successes and failures, as he is with London travel advice (“you want a number 14 back to the West End from here”).

The foundations of Terry’s reputation were built in the 60s, and his style brought an exciting documentary edge to portraiture. This came, in part, from embracing new 35mm format cameras that would allow quality shots to be taken outside the studio, but mainly from his unintrusive approach.

Here he discusses his early years and the experiences that formed his approach.

Before the celebrity shots you’re so well known for today, you had a ‘proper’ job as a photographer with BOAC at London Airport (later Heathrow). What did that involve?

Yeah, it was in the Technical Photographic Unit. I wasn’t into photography at that stage; I wanted to work for an airline so I’d get to play in jazz clubs on stopovers in the US. I was glazing prints and assisting people photographing the interior of aircraft. I was so bored by it, but a guy there got me interested in photography proper; he brought in magazines and books, and I slowly picked it up.

As part of the job, we had to go to art school once a week, and as an assignment I got sent down to the airport to do some reportage; people crying, going home or coming back, or whatever… that’s when I got lucky and got this shot of Rab Butler [Home Secretary, 1957–62].

That’s the shot that got you noticed by the papers? What do you think was so special about it? And do you still have it?

No, I’ve looked for it, but that whole bloody library has disappeared. I wish I still had it; it was a great shot. It was in the airport, and Rab Butler was dressed, as usual, in a suit and he’d fallen asleep amongst these African chieftains, you know with the hats and the robes on… It was a great contrast, I suppose. A reporter saw me and sent it to his picture editor. They looked at my roll of film and loved the way that I took pictures, so they gave me a job covering the airport for them every Saturday.

Do you think it would still be possible for someone to take the same route as you did today? Or have stars these days become too guarded, making situations like this a thing of the past?

Well, not exactly the same, no. In those days it was all just a lot more natural. What many people forget is that London Airport was just one terminal and everything happened in that one place; when you went through there in those days you got straight onto the plane. There wasn’t all this segregation.

You had movie stars sitting there having coffee and getting ready; all you had to do was keep your eyes open. What made my pictures different from all the standard airside shots of people going up the stairs or waving goodbye – what made me successful – was I couldn’t get airside because I didn’t have a pass. I had to work with what I had.

Do you think you need a natural instinct for reportage?

Well, I just saw things; I mean, not to start with because before I started getting into photography I’d never really looked

Award winning Terry O’Neill photographed actor Faye Dunaway, who he married six years later, at breakfast by the Beverley Hills Hotel pool the morning after she won an Academy Award for her role in Network, in 1977. at things in that way. But when I started reading these photography magazines I’d see pictures of kids or people crying – real stuff with a story – and I used to go looking for that type of picture. I don’t know about instinct, but if you know what you’re looking for, you find it, funnily enough.

Other photographers would go there and they wouldn’t see a thing. But I used to hone in on people and if I saw someone rushing up to someone, I knew they’d laugh, or embrace, or burst into tears. I knew there’d be a moment and I’d be right there to capture it.

That’s not necessarily the kind of thing you can learn in art school though.

I can honestly say that I learnt nothing at art school – nothing useful anyway. It was just a lot of stuff that held you up and stopped you taking pictures, like you weren’t supposed to use colour film below 40°F… I just pressed on and filled the frame.

That was my whole thing, and I learnt it very early. If you want to be a good photographer always fill the frame. So that when

Terry on getting close Could you get access to megastars, like I did, in the modern world? I don’t think so. The movie stars have changed it all, the paparazzi’s killed a lot of the trust and there’s nothing like Life magazine that publishes good reportage these days. You’ve got to get into people’s lives, but now the stars won’t even let you near their house.

If you did get in, they’d want total control; it’s not the actors or actresses or their personalities so much, it’s the publicists and the managers; they want to be in charge of everything.

They even want control of the copy now. They get the photos and they say you can only put this photograph here and that photograph there.

I don’t know whether it was me or maybe it was just the time when I was starting out and getting successful, but it was a lot freer. Whatever it was, it was a real golden age.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Interview Terry on seeing flaws I always see flaws. I see them in every shot I’ve taken. Take that one of Sinatra (below). I often thought I could have got in closer, but I didn’t because I was already focused and waiting for him to come around the corner. I’ve always wondered if I’d have waited one more step whether that would have been a better picture, I’ll never know… it’s just that slightly empty area at the bottom. It drives me mad but people don’t even notice. And I can’t crop it without losing the shape. Brigitte Bardot with the cigar (right) is probably the most perfect one. I love that, that’s a great crop.

I never even realised until about ten years ago when I looked at my library what a fantastic life I was involved in you blow up the picture it’s the entire negative, it’s not just little bits of it.

You were an early adopter of 35mm kit. Do you think using certain types of camera were a big part of your success?

I started on an Agfa Selecta which was a cheap, heavy little 35mm camera. Even when I was at the airport I was doing all these pictures on this thing, but it did the job. Before 35mm, portraits were all about studios and special lighting; 35mm brought the candid look because you could carry your camera anywhere and you had 36 shots in the tank, and more in your pocket. I don’t have that camera anymore; all my cameras have been stolen over the years, so I just rent them now.

Actually, I don’t really like cameras; it’s your brain that takes the picture, but people think it’s the camera. The skill is to get that idea through the lens, to shape it with this instrument. But really it’s all about your brain. I try and explain this to people and they don’t understand what I’m talking about.

I know exactly what you mean; people obsess about kit, rather than prioritising creativity.

It’s a big hang up. It gets in the way. Peter Sellers was photography mad, every new camera that came out, he had to buy. Terry Donovan was the same. I’ve never understood it.

It’s like digital cameras; I’ve used them, but I don’t like them. It’s not photography to me; everyone’s glued to a screen when they should be concentrating on the pictures. A picture is a moment and you’ve got to be ready, so stop looking at your camera!

When I go to a premiere and I see these guys and they say ‘oh wait a minute while I look through the shots’, I mean, it’s a joke.

When it happened, the celebrity thing was meteoric. You were working with the biggest names in the world. It must have felt amazing.

Ker Robertson, who was assistant editor on the Daily Sketch also ran a pop programme on TV called Cool for Cats, and because I was the youngest photographer in Fleet Street, he wanted me to shoot these bands. He sent me down to Abbey Road and it was The Beatles recording ‘Please Please Me’. So I sort of started at the top and never looked back. It was incredible.

Above Often cited as Terry’s most iconic image, this shot of Brigitte Bardot is permanently hung in The National Portrait Gallery: “I only had one frame left – one shot at it. But suddenly the wind swept her hair across her face, and it was a knockout” But there was a moment when you had to leave the paper and go solo. What triggered it?

I’d become known for finding new faces and at the same time, I got fed up with the newspaper because I felt I was intruding on people. I covered an air crash in Norway and came back to do the funeral the next week. I went down to Croydon and I’ll always remember this all my life, there were more than 100 kids killed in a plane crash, there was stone cold silence in this thing and I thought I can’t do this anymore, it’s the final straw.

Anyway, I went and told the editor that I’m going to have to leave and he says ‘the day you walk out of here you’re finished’.

I sort of shit myself then and I went home and rang every contact I had and I was back in the papers next week like I’d never been away.

I’ve had all the luck in the world, believe me.

Being around all those stars, part of the set in a way, and still getting your job done, did you have to adapt your style?

I never even realised until about ten years ago when I looked at my library what a fantastic life I was involved in. I just didn’t.

I hate being famous and I hate being known, and I realised a long time ago, that’s what made me a good photographer: just to be there and fade into the background; don’t engage people in conversation, just observe. That was my final polishing up of my technique. iconicimages.net

Above Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, shot in 1975, at the height of Moore’s Hollywood success. Terry O’Neill enjoyed unprecedented access to the biggest stars of the day, creating decades of intimate images full of humour and candid moments.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Technique Travel photography

Travelling light Great travel photography is more than a record of your trip – you need to take your viewers on a journey of the imagination. Find out how with tips from award-winning shooters…

Words by Kingsley Singleton

© Tim Taylor / tpoty.com

Great travel shots don’t actually require far flung locations; because it’s all about presenting the story of a place or a culture for your viewers, they can certainly be shot in the UK, even in your own town. All you have to do is imagine yourself in the shoes of a visitor, seeing the place through fresh eyes, and from there you’ll find inspiration for a variety of locally themed subjects which may seem everyday to you, but will most probably be foreign to someone else.

To open the lid on travel photography, this month we’ve gone straight to the top; the organisers and winners of the prestigious Travel Photographer of the Year competition. So, what do the competition’s co-founder and organiser, Chris Coe, and some of

the winning photographers, think defines travel photography?

For starters, it’s important not to get too preoccupied with any labels which can fight your creative urges and get in the way of shooting. Chris says, “the genesis of travel photography was simply in replacing the sketch as a way of recording what people saw on a journey. In many ways, the subject was less relevant than seeing something different; an insight into a different culture or place. For me, it’s still the same today.”

“Travel photography is universal and with it we have had to redefine what’s considered exotic”, says Chris. “It’s certainly harder to see opportunities and shoot your own country, simply because you are more familiar with it, but experience

of frequent travel, actually equips you better to do this.”

The next step is to apply your own style, though for someone like Simon Morris whose main interest is in shooting cultures that are becoming scarce, this may seem difficult. But he’s quick to adapt: “Documenting the miners in South Wales years ago would’ve been a good storytelling opportunity.”

Travel photography is a curious yet familiar thing; an umbrella of almost every photographic style, it covers a huge range of subjects from still lifes to portraits and candid street scenes to sweeping landscapes. It’s shot at night and in the daytime, at sea and on land, indoors and out. Travel shots are unmistakably exotic, and yet can be made closer to home than you

would expect. While it’s not so easy to define what turns a regular shot into a travel image, it’s immediately clear what is travel photography and what is not.

Grand winner of 2014’s Travel Photographer of the Year, and other accolades, Philip Lee Harvey, agrees that good travel shots should inspire a taste for adventure, stopping you in your tracks with the picture’s visual appeal, “but leaving you wanting to know more and inspiring you to go those places”.

This approach requires some level of storytelling, a hook into the narrative of the image, and Simon Morris, runner up in 2013’s Vanishing and Emerging Cultures category, says part of this is achieved in trying to capture the unique atmosphere of a place; “whether

Above Atmosphere and a sense of culture is incredibly important in travel photography.

Travel shots are unmistakably exotic, and yet can be made closer to home than you’d expect

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Technique © David Oliete / tpoty.com

Left Great travel images come in a huge variety of styles, from landscapes and portraits to documentary and still-life shots.

A little prior knowledge will certainly help make sure that you are in the right place at the right time © Philip Lee Harvey / tpoty.com

Atmospheric pressure How you get that atmospheric feel is certainly an important concern, and partly it comes from getting the things that first struck you about a place into your photography. That means not shooting straight away and immediately recording the scene in front of you – which is what a security camera would do, not a photographer with a brain. Stop and take note of your first impressions: what draws your eye, and what feeling do you get from the place.

The heat? The cold? The sunshine, or the mist? The iconic architecture, the landscape, or maybe the way people are dressed?

Whatever you identify, it’s time to zone in on those elements and feature them prominently in your frames, because they’re what will communicate those same feelings to your viewers. “For me,” says Simon, “conditions like low light, mist and smoke, always bring travel images to life”, and if you can layer these onto your travel scenes it will enrich the view even further.

Working almost like a navigational aid for the viewer, if you identify iconic buildings or landscape features at your location you’ll tap into a visual shorthand the tells them exactly where you were and where you want their

© Jino Lee / tpoty.com

you’re shooting a landscape image in Tuscany or a portrait of a Herdsman in Rajasthan, it must be steeped in that culture.” Peter Karry, who was runner up in 2014’s Natural World Portfolio section, meanwhile feels that “it’s the originality and creativity of the photographer which is key in communicating the feel of the place.”

Above The picture’s ability to take the viewer on an atmospheric journey of discovery creates memorable and winning shots. imagination to be. Then you can build other distinctive elements of the scene into your composition.

“With much photographed subjects,” advises Chris, “it’s not easy to create something fresh, but the cleverest photographers use these cultural icons subtly to entertain or educate the viewer about a culture, or an element of it.”

Take a well known landmark like the Eiffel Tower or the Empire State Building, for example. Placing this in the frame, even in a minor way, creates an immediate clue, which informs the rest of the composition, so the street food vendor or line of merchants’ stalls in the foreground are immediately placed; defined in their exotic location.

If you’re faced with familiar, often photographed scenes, then making them your own is just part of the creative enjoyment to be had.

Research and adventure Research is a big part of getting the kind of travel shots you want, both when it comes to finding great new locations and also improving results from well known ones. In terms of the latter, a little prior knowledge will certainly help make sure that you are in the right place at the right time; say for a fiery sunset over your chosen subject, or to shoot a harbour full of returning fishermen.

“I will always look up what markets or festivals are going to coincide with my visit,” says Peter “but you need an open mind, too; if you’re well prepared you can still look around for other potential shooting opportunities in that area”.

Some internet picture research also helps define what people are shooting in the place you’re going, so that you can improve on it or avoid it entirely.

Above Focusing on the people of your destinations is a sure-fire way of engaging the viewer and telling them a bit more about the local culture.

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Technique © Tim Taylor

© Simon Morris / tpoty.com

© Philip Lee Harvey / tpoty.com

The choice is yours, but there’s so much information out there that it’s dangerous not to use it. It’s not just online and in books that you can find out valuable tips on when and where to go. All the TPotY photographers here agree that guides are very useful, with their knowledge of the location and customs helping your shoot run smoother. It should always be local guides that you turn to though, not tour guides.

Philip continues, “I would always use the local guides. They can save you a lot of time and money, open doors and explain what you’re doing in a language people understand.

As lovely as walking around off the beaten track is, for me, I’d always prefer the option of a local to make sure I don’t miss opportunities.

That said, you must still follow your own instincts, but listen to local people first.” Simon Morris recalls, “without a guide, I could never in a million years have travelled all the way to Siberia, stayed with Evenki Herders and brought home something unseen like an image I took of a young Nenets boy playing on the Tundra in -40ºC weather.

If I’d attempted to travel that far in Russia with no guide it would be like stepping onto some foreign planet!”

Travelling candids Many successful travel pictures are of a documentary style, which uses street scenes and candid portraits to show a culture up close, and with good reason; the local dress, the interaction and the way the community shops, eats and entertains itself is a rich human tapestry. This takes guts to shoot, much like any street photography, but there are ways to make this easier on yourself and the people you’re photographing.

Above If you have time, building a rapport with your subject can really pay off.

I would always use the local guides.

They can save you a lot of time and money, open doors and explain what you’re doing in a language people understand

For starters don’t be shy – interacting with the population, and showing your own humanity, makes shooting a lot easier (and a more rewarding experience) than operating remotely, like some anthropological sniper.

“Empathy and politeness” says Tim Taylor, “are much more important than confidence. I feel too much confidence can come across as arrogance and that makes people defensive. But if you can relate to people and understand them, that then puts them at ease and can lead to some truly special situations.”

In particular, you can often have more luck by not shooting straight away, but instead asking for directions, or information about the local area, or the person’s job.

“Luck, guile and technique all play their part in good candids, and personally I like to take things slow,” says Simon Morris.

Peter Karry recalls an incident in Kolkata which shows how

interaction leads to great images: “we were walking through a poor area, when this chai vendor called us over to his stall, sat us down, and insisted on making us all a fresh cup, free of charge. This meant that a lot of the other locals then gathered round to see what was happening, and created lots of great opportunities for us.”

If you can’t play the long game, success comes from a mixture of observation and good technique.

Just like regular street photography, you have to be ready to shoot, so either set up your exposure beforehand or shoot in program mode; as a creative photographer you’re advised to shoot in manual or aperture-priority, which is fine if you have time, but candids require speed, so relying on the camera isn’t a bad thing.

One set to love Because travel photography is so closely linked to documentary

shooting, it really helps to have a brief and create coherent sets of images. If you do this, in addition to most people’s catch-all ‘take pictures of Barcelona’ way of shooting, you’ll not only have a good record of your trip, but some excellent photoessays, too. Win-win.

Your project could be anything and while there’s nothing wrong with a preplanned idea, going back to those first impressions is a good way to make sure don’t lose sight of the atmosphere that’s so important.

Projects don’t have to be subject based, of course, and a satisfying series of images can also be made by composing in a consistent way, using certain, distinctive angles, or focal lengths, or even processing shots in a themed way.

Of course, a set needs to be pruned and edited down to what really works, and it’s important to eject anything that’s not gelling with the other images, even if it’s a good shot in its own right.

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Technique © Peter Karry / tpoty.com

Any processing route you take should also chime with your original intentions for the pictures Checking your post Sets of travel images also benefit from consistent processing and this can mean anything from synchronising the look of the colours, to cropping, and special effects like adding texture. That’s not to say that this kind of editing should take precedence over getting the most from an individual picture in terms of its exposure, but consistency in other areas can be really helpful.

Of course, any processing route you take should also chime with your original intentions for the pictures; how you wanted to convey the atmosphere of your location, the story of the people or the place.

If you want to show off the textures and fine details of an abandoned building, or the wares of a bazaar stall, HDR processing or using the Clarity setting in Lightroom can help, but if your subject demands smoother tones, it’s not going to be too fitting. Similarly, if you want to portray a gritty realness in your scenes, then black & white will work well, but if the hues or the place are more important, it’s not going to be all that appropriate.

Basically, no processing should ever be used without considering its effects, and how it changes the mood of the photo.

Getting out there Like those early photographic explorers returning from exotic lands with pictures that amazed the people back home, the last step in any travel project is making sure your images are seen. Travel actually makes this a lot easier than many other types of photography, because there’s always a narrative at work, or a purpose to the image, which you can use.

How you choose to show your work depends on the audience, says Chris: “while a good website is your online business card, a blog can also help you tell the story of your images much more easily.” Photo books also present you with an excellent way of sharing your travel shots, as do slide shows and multimedia installations to tell the complete story of your adventure.

And of course competitions, like TPotY are a superb way to use your travel shots, too. As well as the competitive aspects which can see you striving to produce your best work, competitions, says Chris, “show your work to an audience who might otherwise not see it.

Travel Photographer of the Year has a huge reach internationally, and past winners have seen a huge difference in their profile as a result of the exposure.”

Travel kit Packing for travel photography is always a matter of priorities.

“Your most important gear is your eyes and your legs”, says Chris Coe, co-founder of the Travel Photographer of the Year. “Travelling with masses of gear can hinder your creativity,” he continues, “so to remain unintrusive and mobile, I’d advise a small, lightweight camera with highquality prime lenses, plus one telephoto zoom and a tripod”.

Prime lenses cut down on weight, but a standard zoom can be very versatile, allowing a better range of framing if your movement is restricted.

It’s a good idea to consider a backup in harsh environments.

Your choice of bag makes a difference in how comfortable you are and helps you refine what you’re taking. Opt for one that’s comfortable when fully loaded. Shoulder bags are great for a few hours, but if you’re carrying more than a couple of kilos, a backpack is better at cushioning the load.

If you can’t leave items at home, but might not need them every day, try taking a broader range of kit and using your accommodation as a base.

Above Peter Karry’s miniature landscapes won him runner-up in 2014’s Natural World Portfolio.

© Philip Lee Harvey / tpoty.com

Get your travel shots noticed worldwide This month’s technique features images from the previous winners and commended photographers in the Travel Photographer of the Year competition.

The contest was created by Chris and Karen Coe in 2003 and this year’s contest is open to entries now via the tpoty.com website, and the closing date is 1 October. As with previous years’ winning and commended images, 2015’s best shots will be exhibited in the UK and abroad, as well as featuring in the Travel Photographer of the Year book.

You can see last year’s entries in residence at the Royal Geographical Society in London from 24 July to 5 September 2015.

There are ten categories to enter this year, and of course some great prizes as further reward for your efforts!

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Technique Lighting academy

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It’s well past mid-summer now, so you may already have spent some time on outdoor portraits, but getting out of the studio doesn’t have to mean leaving the flash behind. With the right approach you can use flash to augment the sunshine and fill in the shadows in a way that’s much more controllable than shooting with just the natural light.

For the most flattering results, the drill here is to turn the subject away from the sunshine and to fire the flash in as a fill light.

A second flash can be used to add to the sun’s backlighting, so you can control its position more easily on the subject and also keep shooting when the sun goes behind a cloud.

For pictures like this, using a flash is often better than a reflector for several reasons. The flash’s light is more controllable, and also not as intrusive to the subject, because while the constant sparkle of a reflector may make them squint, the flash is, of course, only brought into play in the split second it’s required. With just a little experimentation we’ll achieve a bright, summery, high-key image.

We went to a local woodland for this shoot, full of fresh greenery, bluebells and nice straight trunks to create a background reasonably free from distractions. Framing fairly wide to start off, but using a wide f/4 aperture to knock the background out a little, Amber stood with her back to the sun and we took a shot in aperture-priority, metered in multi-segment mode (1/200sec at f/4, ISO 200), which, as expected, exposed the background quite well, but left her too shadowed, and had none of the high-key sparkle we wanted in the shot.

Dialling in +1EV of exposure compensation gave a better look to Amber, and the background gained the desired brighter look, just right to create the high-key effect we were after when the fill and hair lights were put in. In fact, just using exposure compensation correctly to expose the subject and let the

RTRAIT T EC

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Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

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Get ready for great summer portraits with this simple technique.

Here we’ll use two flashes off camera and bias the exposure to flood the frame with light for a beautiful, flattering high-key effect…

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Get fresh with high-key outdoor photography MASTERCLASS

For the most flattering results, the drill here is to turn the subject away from the sunshine and to fire the flash in as a fill light background take care of itself would be a perfectly good set-up if we didn’t have flash to add as well, but the extra light you can add really pays off.

Switching to manual mode and dialling in the 1/100sec, f/4, ISO 200 exposure we knew was good for the wider scene, it was then time to set up the flashes and get their power to the right level. First came the fill light, initially positioned to Amber’s left (camera-right) and fitted with a basic reflector dish.

The height of the fill light contributes to how natural it looks, with flatter angles looking more artificial. Placing the light higher mimics the look of the sun, so we settled on an angle of around 45º above Amber’s eyeline. It’s worth checking at this stage how the shadows are falling on your subject’s face, and the cardinal rule here, for a flattering style, is to avoid anything too long or deep; for instance, if the shadow from the subject’s nose breaks over their lips the angle needs lowering.

Light check To check this you can use your flash’s modelling lamp if it has one. The Safari 2 lights we used have a 15W LED lamp, equivalent a 150W tungsten bulb, but this wasn’t too visible in the sun (it would be easier on a dull day), so we made do with a quick test shot.

Positioned around 5ft from Amber, we then metered the light using a Gossen DigiPro F2 flash meter arriving at a power output of 1/32nd. The light worked okay here, but as expected the lack of diffusion from the reflector dish meant that it wasn’t the most flattering; in fact, for a shot like this where the subject is turned away from the undiffused sun to avoid high contrast on their face, using unmodified flash is just creating the same problem. When we switched to a bounce umbrella (which provides lots of diffusion) and fired it from the same distance and height, the results were much improved, with exactly the natural look we were after.

Above With Amber turned against the light, overexposing the shot by about 1EV gives an okay exposure, but there are still shadows to deal with. With a hair light and fill light firing, these are more easily controlled than using a reflector. And if you’re short on lighting stands, just wait for the editor of a photographic magazine to wander past…

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Technique

This broader backlight gave a really nice haloing effect, reminiscent of a lower sun and filled the image with even more light tones

Above Soft or hard fill light? The modifier to use depends on the look you want. We were after a soft, high-key style, so used a bounce umbrella on the fill light to give lots of diffusion (in the picture above right, it’s placed to Amber’s left), but if you want a slightly harder look to the shadows that’s more like direct sunlight, a simple reflector dish does the job just fine (above left).

This did mean that we had to re-meter for the flash power – the extra diffusion meant that more power was required – and this was reset to around 1/8th. Whether it’s the distance, angle or modifier of the light that you change, it’s important to readjust the power of the lights as even minor alterations can throw your exposure completely off. The ambient exposure should remain roughly the same, but it’s also worth keeping an eye on, too.

Adding the hair light With the fill light balancing the ambient backlighting from the sun, you could explore the scene quite happily. However, if you want a bit more control, or if the sun isn’t hitting the subject quite as you intended, an additional flash positioned to the rear can help. Of course, this can be used as a complete substitute for the sun if desired.

Starting with the intention of training this light on Amber’s hair alone, we set up a second Safari 2 head on a stand behind and to her right, roughly in the same direction as the sun. We first tried the flash with just its reflector dish, finding the throw of light to be a bit too broad and also getting some flare from it in that position – a nice effect if it’s what you’re going for, but not something you want to achieve by accident.

Fitting the reflector dish with a 10º honeycomb, the light was much more controlled, but even so, it fell across her neck a little too much, creating a rather hard shadow there. The solution here was to feather the light a little by angling it upwards, so that most of it was missing Amber’s hair, and just picking up the points we wanted. Positioned further away than the fill light and also angled off, we needed 1/4th power to get the aperture that we wanted.

Fine-tuning the results With the fill and hair lights both working well in the scene, a few more tweaks were made to improve the modelling on Amber and also try some different looks. Firstly, the fill light with its bounce umbrella was moved over to camera left pretty much opposite the sun and the hair light; in this opposing position, it provided

the maximum fill effect, lowering contrast on Amber even further.

We also tried out a direct backlighting effect, positioning the second light directly behind Amber and framing tighter so it was hidden.

Here, the same honeycomb modifier was used, but because the light was closer to Amber, the power was dropped to 1/8th; the fill light was moved back towards the camera a little, but at the same distance, and after checking it was used at the same power as before (1/8th). This broader backlight gave a really nice haloing effect, reminiscent of a lower sun and filled the image with even more light tones. Some burnout was seen in Amber’s hair, and while the power on the back light could have been dropped to remove this, we were happy with the glow it gave.

Backlighting with a honeycomb

The kit we used

Fill light with no backlight

As you’d expect, for a shoot like this you’re likely to be well away from the luxury of mains power, so you need a flash system that runs from a power pack, like Lencarta’s Safari 2. Equally important then is the amount of power that’s provided and how long it lasts as you need enough to have flexibility in your lighting and certainly don’t want to run out mid shoot.

The Safari 2 has a 600Ws flash generator that’s small and light enough carry about (we took two on this shoot in their carry cases and didn’t break a sweat carrying them), and that power is adjustable over five stops down to 1/32nd in 1/3rd increments. The kit is rated at 400 flashes per charge, but of course this rises at the lower power settings, so you’re highly unlikely to find it running out on you. The flash generator is connected to the head by a heavy-duty cable of about 3m in length, so there’s plenty of scope in positioning one away from the other.

As mentioned opposite, it also has a 15W LED modelling lamp (equivalent to 150W), which means you can check lighting more easily with accessory flashguns, which are often used in these kind of location shoots.

What’s more, the popular Bowens S-fit modifiers used mean there’s no messing about with annoying and flimsy flashgun attachments – whatever you use in the studio you can simply apply outdoors, too.

Thanks to this month’s model, the wonderful Amber Tutton. To see more of her work, or enquire about a booking, visit amber-tutton.co.uk.

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Camera test Full test, part 2

Canon EOS 5DS Welcome to the concluding part of the Canon EOS 5DS review, the first 35mm-format camera to sport a 50-megapixel resolution. It’s time to look at the image quality it produces as well as its exposure and AF performance Words by Will Cheung

Image quality

Specs Price EOS 5DS £2999 body only EOS 5DS R £3200 body only Sensor CMOS effective 50.6 megapixels with Dual DIGIC 6 processor and integrated cleaning system Sensor format 36x24mm, 8688x5792 pixels.

Cropped shooting modes available. 3 Raw options (full size, M and S), various JPEG options ISO range 100-6400, expandable to 50-12,800

Full-frame image

Shutter range 30secs to 1/8000sec, B, flash sync 1/200sec Drive modes 5fps in continuous, two selftimer options, single silent and silent continuous. Integral intervalometer Metering system Multi, spot, centre-weighted and partial using a 150k pixel RGB and IR sensor, EOS iSA systems gives 242-zone metering

JPEG 24-70mm at 50mm f/5.6

JPEG 24-105mm at 50mm f/5.6

Exposure modes PASM, scene intelligent auto, 3x custom Compensation +/-5 in 0.3 or 0.5EV steps. AEB 2, 3, 5 or 7 shots Monitor Fixed 3.2in LCD with 1040k dots Focusing Auto selection uses 61 points, manual selection allows selection from 61, 15, 9 or cross-type points only. There are many AF zone selection options and AF Microadjustment allows up to 40 lenses to be memorised

Raw 24-70mm at 50mm f/5.6

Raw 24-105mm at 50mm f/5.6

The EOS 5DS has a 53-megapixel sensor with 50.6 megapixels working. Used at its highest resolution means that Raws take up 72 to 80MB and JPEGs will take up 20MB so you’ll need plenty of storage cards on a trip.

On the computer a 16-bit image is 288MB and you can get a 28.7x19in print at 300ppi without any software interpolation. Given that you can print files at 200ppi with no visible difference on many materials, resizing the file without any interpolation will give a 43.4x28.9in print. We’re talking seriously big files here and it is no surprise that images and catalogues take several seconds to refresh in Adobe Lightroom – and that’s with a reasonably fast Mac mini full of RAM. During this test I shot with four Canon lenses: the 16-35mm f/4L IS USM, the 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, the 70-200mm f/4L IS USM and the 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. The last-named is not on the list of lenses recommended by Canon for use on the EOS 5DS. I also did a few comparison shots with 5DS’s almost identical twin, the 5DS R, with the same lenses, and the results are discussed elsewhere in this review.

Straight away I found that the wide-angle and 24-70mm gave first-rate image quality and the not-recommended 24-105mm was only a little behind. The 70-200mm images were okay but seemed less impressive and not bitingly sharp.

For the 70-200mm I played with the AF Microadjustment and got improved results, but they still weren’t as crisp as the other zooms.

It’s an older lens (it came out 2006) so maybe that was the problem.

The 24-105mm f/4 came out a year earlier, but it was fine although the newer 24-70mm f/2.8 II was clearly better at the same focal length and aperture settings. The magnitude of difference between the two standard zooms wasn’t massive but it was discernible. The 24-70mm II is a higher spec, more modern and pricier lens, so this is no surprise.

But the lesson is if you have older Canon or independent optics, try them on the EOS 5DS to make sure they deliver the results you want.

Generally, though, in print and on screen it is difficult not to be impressed by the quality. Shoot at medium ISOs, use high-class optics at their best-performing apertures and fast shutter speeds or a tripod and the quality is a joy to behold.

Images Shown here are full-size files. The Raws have been processed in Lightroom CC without any Unsharp Mask and the JPEGs are straight out of the camera. As always with Raw files, adding some Unsharp Mask made a significant difference and printed out equivalent to 100%, the resulting glossy prints looked marvelous.

Focusing points 61, 41 f/4 cross-type including five dual cross-type at f/2.8 and one cross-type at f/8. Number of crosstype sensors varies according to the lens Video Full HD 1920x1080 Connectivity USB 3.0, mini HDMI Storage media 1xCF, 1xSD/SDHC/SDXC Dimensions 152x116x76mm Weight 922g body and battery only Contact canon.co.uk

JPEG 24-70mm at 70mm f/8

JPEG 24-105mm at 70mm f/8

JPEG 70-200mm at 70mm f/8

Raw 24-70mm at 70mm f/8

Raw 24-105mm at 70mm f/8

Raw 70-200mm at 70mm f/8

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Camera test

The EOS 5DS isn’t an action camera but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the camera’s AF menu. It’s extensive

Images Single point AF tracking was the most successful zone option when shooting an approaching horse and the camera was reasonably successful at maintaining focus. This set was shot on a 70-200mm f/4 at 200mm. The exposure was 1/750sec at f/4 and ISO 400.

AF tracking The EOS 5DS isn’t an action camera but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the camera’s AF menu.

It’s extensive and akin to what’s available on other top-end Canons including action case studies and many zone and focus point options.

The camera’s fastest continuous shooting speed is 5fps so while it’s behind the fastest DSLRs around it’s still quite quick considering how much information is being handled by the DIGIC 6 processor – and the fact this isn’t an action camera. The buffer allows 20 full-size Raws at 5fps before buffering kicks in. If you shoot large JPEGs, the camera just

carries on shooting with a SanDisk 90MB/s CF card.

I tried the AF system in various guises and on moving subjects, from walking and a horse’s cantering pace to high-speed, oncoming traffic on the motorway.

Whether you’re snapping family barbecues or shooting sport, you need to set the AF system up and there are many options. You can have 61, 15 or nine AF zones working, or just cross-type sensors. If you manually select AF areas, you have the option of, among others, spot AF, one zone with four neighbours, nine zone AF or the choice of all 61 zones. Then for action there are six AF case studies, giving options of,

for example, whether the subject is moving erratically in any direction, accelerating or decelerating quickly.

At the Appleby Horse Fair where horses were coming towards me I stuck with case 1, a multi-purpose setting and case 2, which claimed to continue to track subjects and ignore obstacles. I also tried various AF zone options and had the most success with single point AF expanded by four AF points. This group I moved around using the multi-function toggle control when needed. Single point AF worked well, but keeping a small area on a moving subject takes practice.

Keeping the AF cluster on a horse’s nose as it trotted, cantered or

walked towards me was reasonably successful. The contrast on a horse’s head or nose isn’t always great and although the light was good the system didn’t always track.

Obviously you have to factor in some user incompetence there. I used the EF 70-200mm f/4 and perhaps the f/2.8 would be better.

Cars on a road was generally easier to cope with, largely due to the better contrast and the more predictable direction of travel. Here the expanded four or nine zones focusing pattern worked well.

While the 5DS’s forte isn’t action it does a respectable job with focusing. Correct set-up and practice are definitely needed, though.

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Camera test

Above The 24-70mm f/2.8 II is a top lens and it made the most of this scene. The exposure was 1/350sec at f/8 and ISO 400. The highlights were recovered in Lightroom CC. Left Rusty detail shot on a 24105mm at 75mm with an exposure of 1/5sec at f/22 and ISO 100.

Below The lone poppy was picked out with the 70-200mm at f/4.

Exposure was 1/500sec at f/4 and ISO 200.

Above The EOS 5DS relishes detailed scenes. Shot on the 24-105mm at 50mm. Exposure 1/125sec at f/11 and ISO 100. Tripod-mounted.

Above The 24-105mm f/4 is not on Canon’s recommended list but it still did fine. Exposure 1/5sec at f/22 and ISO 200, camera tripod-mounted.

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Camera test Canon EOS 5DS v Canon EOS 5DS R

Image quality options

The difference between the two DSLRs is that the 5DS R has an optical low-pass filter (OLPF) cancelling function and it costs £200 more.

Digital cameras have an OLPF to combat moiré patterning and false colour artefacts. Moiré can occur in subjects featuring repeating patterns, although with the very high resolutions of modern cameras, the pattern has to be very fine to cause a problem. But because it is difficult to get rid of in editing, prevention is better than cure.

Adding an OLPF in front of the sensor diffuses the image very, very slightly so impacts on the resolution of the finest details but avoids moiré.

More cameras are coming out sans OLPF. For example, the Nikon D810, Pentax K3 II as well as the Fujifilm X-series.

Both Canons have an OLPF but the EOS 5DS R has two OLPFs, one at right angles to the other so they cancel each other out. And this has been done without changing the sensor’s overall depth.

You might think it’d make more sense to take the OLPF out completely but doing that would change the sensor’s depth and impact on manufacturing efficiency.

Having a sensor of identical depth means two models can be made on the same production line.

If you don’t need full-size Raws, M-Raw, S-Raw and a wide selection of JPEG image quality modes are also available.

Medium Raw files are still 28-megapixel resolution with images measuring 6480x4320pixels.

A crop mode is also available so you can shoot 1:1, 1.3x or 1.6x among others. The viewfinder image is masked to help composition in the case of these formats.

If you shoot JPEGs the saved image is cropped physically but if you shoot in Raw and the full-size Raw will be retained.

In Canon DPP v4, the crop set in-camera is indicated, and when the image is opened to work on the crop is imposed though the full-sized file is always available.

In Lightroom CC, the catalogue preview shows imported cropped files as they’re set in the camera, but click on the Crop Overlay (R) and you will see the whole Raw.

We did some shooting side by side with the EOS 5DS and 5DS R using the same lens, aperture setting, ISO, same quality mode and processed the images in Canon DPP v4 and Lightroom CC using the same settings. Then we checked out images at 100 and 200% and also in print form made at 100%, at 300ppi and on glossy paper.

So, is the extra £200 for the EOS 5DS R worth it? To be honest, in our tests, there is a benefit but it isn’t big. Very fine details are marginally crisper and impossible to quantify in terms of value for money. However, on the R there is the risk of moiré.

It is worth noting that with over 1000 shots taken for this test, moiré was only spotted once – in the shot below – and was only visible at high magnification.

Pixel peepers might disagree, but I think if you bought the EOS 5DS and found yourself unhappy with the results, the cause is more likely to be your technique or lenses than the impact of the OLPF. The choice is a tiny improvement in overall picture quality with a tiny risk of moiré or save the £200, avoid moiré and false colours in the first place and still wallow in excellent image quality.

For more on the EOS 5DS, read the profile of Canon’s Daniel Benjamin on page 13.

Full-frame image

Below The same scene shot in the two cameras using the 24-70mm f/2.8 II lens, aperture, ISO and processed in Lightroom CC.

EOS 5DS The wire grill might not be as detailed as in the EOS 5DS R shot, but the difference is tiny at best.

EOS 5DS R At high magnification, moiré is discernible in this EOS 5DS R picture.

Auto Lighting Optimizer

Full frame image with ALO standard

In any contrasty lighting situation, you can use the Canon’s Auto Lighting Optimizer to help improve your shots. This contrasty scene was shot at 1/60sec at f/4.5 and ISO 200, and using ALO has lifted the shadows without touching the highlight region. ALO works when shooting in JPEG only and the Raws we shot at the same time looked like the No ALO image shown here.

No ALO

Verdict Canon took its time getting into the high-resolution race, but with 50.6 megapixels it has leapfrogged over Nikon and the EOS 5DS is clearly a terrific camera capable of stunning images.

For a body only price of £2999, the EOS 5DS offers medium-format resolution in a fast-handling package with a huge range of lenses. Whether you need or want the 50-megapixel resolution is your concern, not Canon’s, but buy one and you are in for a real treat.

Just make sure your lenses, tripod and all round technique are up to scratch if you want the best the camera has to offer.

ALO low

ALO high

How it rates Features No IS, but boasts all most users will need

24/25

Performance Speedy AF and top optical performance

24/25

Handling A weighty lens but it’s great to use

24/25

Value for money Cheap it isn’t, but quality costs

25/25

Overall We don’t all need 50 megapixels but this is a game-changing DSLR Pros Image quality, handles big files quickly Cons Needs the best lenses

Did you miss the first part of this review?

Don’t worry if you missed the first part of this review, it’s available online at absolutephoto.com.

97/100

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Specs Price £499 body only, X-T10 and XC16-50mm kit £599 X-T10 and XC18-55mm kit £799 black and silver available Sensor 4896x3264 pixels, X-Trans CMOS II, 16.3 megapixels, 1.5x crop factor, APS-C 23.5x15.7mm ISO range 200-6400, extended settings to 51,200 in JPEG only Shutter range 1-1/32,000sec (electronic shutter), 30-1/4000sec, B (max 60mins), T (30-1/4000sec), flash sync 1/180sec Drive modes Up to 8fps Metering TTL 256-zone, spot, average Exposure modes PASM Exposure comp +/-3EV in 0.3EV steps, AE bracketing up to +/-1EV Focusing Single, continuous, manual. 49 focus points on a 7x7 grid in single zone, wide/tracking AF from 77 on 11x7 grid, zone AF with 3x3/5x3/ 5x5 areas from 77 on 11x7 grid Video Full HD 1920x1080 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p, 14 mins continuous Storage media SD, SDHC, SDXC (UHS-1) Dimensions 118.4x82.8x40.8mm Weight 381g body Contact fujifilm.eu/uk

Full test

Fujifilm X-T10

Its features list doesn’t read like an entry-level model and at £499 for the body, the latest X-series CSC is designed and priced to attract newbies to Fujifilm’s quickly growing system

Words by Will Cheung

I shot around 1500 frames mostly in aperturepriority with multi-segment metering. The number of poor shots was remarkably low

In a short time the Fujifilm X-series has built a significant, devout and fast-growing following. This success is due to several factors. Fujifilm started from the ground up with an innovative X-Trans sensor to avoid moiré so no need for an optical low pass filter. To maximise the potential for detail-rich images Fujifilm intend its X-series lenses to be high spec with fast aperture primes.

Then there are the cameras themselves with the original X-Pro1 and X-T1 leading the way. The X-T1’s retro-look and its ongoing firmware updates have definitely helped it gain respect as well as many fans.

Selling at £499, the X-T10 is an entry-level X-series camera in the style of the X-T1. With the latest v4 firmware for the X-T1, both cameras share identical AF systems as well as a sensor. Despite its price, the X-T10 has an EVF and significantly improved brightness and contrast when compared to the X-T1’s EVF. Enough comparing a £499 camera with one twice its price, let’s focus on the X-T10. It sports a resolution of 16.3 megapixels with a native ISO range of 200 to 6400 with higher speeds available in JPEG only. The shutter has speeds from 30secs to 1/32,000sec which is the electronic shutter’s top speed.

B (bulb) allows a maximum 60 minutes while T (time) extends from 30secs to 1/32,000sec with the Mechanical/Electronic shutter selected. I can’t see the benefit of T as Fujifilm interpret it. I can see the point of the traditional T setting, ie. one push of a button opens the shutter and another closes it, which means long exposures are possible without a cable release – but you can’t do this on Fujifilm’s T setting.

The exposure system boasts the usual PASM modes with three light measuring methods plus a selection of subject modes and art filters. The exposure system acquitted itself well as I shot around 1500 frames mostly in aperture-priority with multisegment metering. The number of poor shots was remarkably low and only a handful were beyond the salvage of Raw. Shooting into the sun, white subjects against a blue sky, dark interiors and high-contrast scenes were handled well. Exposure compensation was only needed in extremely contrasty lighting.

While the exposure system is sure-footed the AF system could be indecisive – there’s an element of user error there. The AF system’s very advanced with 77 zones arranged in an 11x7 array across the image. The central 15 AF sensors are phase- and contrast-detect, while the rest are contrast-detect only with no cross-type sensors.

There are various options for using the 77-zone array. In singlezone AF, you don’t see 77 options.

Only 49 points are highlighted and used, with the option to alter the size of the AF point. With the smallest single point option you use one sensor but with a wide single area in action several sensors are used.

In Wide/Tracking mode all 77 sensors are potentially active and the camera highlights the working zones. This mode can be used in with eye and face detection modes.

Finally there is Zone AF where you pick a grid of focusing zones, so in 5x5, 5x3 or 3x3 so you have 25, 15 or nine AF zones working. The active grid can be moved around within the overall 77-zone pattern. The only time the 77-zone pattern isn’t available is when continuous high drive mode and continuous focusing are set. Only the central nine or 15 zones are available because they are the most effective.

The AF system’s very good in a wide variety of lighting and contrast situations. I use single AF point by default, moving it to where I want sharp focus or using it with focus lock. Either way the camera latches on quickly and accurately even when the smallest AF zone is in use.

Dim light and low contrast slows AF down and the focus zone might turn red with the !AF warning showing, indicating focus has been achieved.

I tried all focusing options with a high success rate in single-shot AF mode. Continuous AF mode tracks focus as the subject moves, and success rate was much lower with only the central grid of 15, nine or one active meaning the subject needs to be in the middle of the frame.

Strangely, in AF mode, on a tripod with a stationary subject the system twitches with the finger on the shutter button. If there’s camera or subject movement it’s expected, but nothing was moving and AF went in and out of focus with the active zones leaping around. This also occurred on an X-T1 with v4 firmware. It’s annoying as there seems no need for it. The AF-C issue apart, a thumbs up for the improved speed and sensitivity.

Overall handling of the X-T10 is sound with a couple of niggles. The shorter body on the right side means a greater likelihood of accidentally pressing the four-way control, Fn button or the DISP/BACK button with your thumb. I did that more than a few times. I had the same issue with the VIEWMODE button by the eyepiece and managed to change mode without trying when carrying it around my neck.

Finally, and other X-series cameras do this, the battery indicator can go from a few bars to flashing red in no time at all. A firmware fix would be nice, Mr Fujifilm.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Anatomy

From the front •C ontrol-wise there is little from the front. There’s the lens release button at seven o’clock and opposite the lens throat is the click-stopped focus mode selector with single-shot, continuous and manual focusing options.

•U nder the shutter release is an input or command dial and next to that is the AF illuminator/selftimer countdown LED. •T he right-side handgrip is moulded, as is the thumb-grip on the rear.

•T he X-T10 has a small pop-up flash, which can be handy for a spot of fill-in, but with a GN of seven (ISO 200/metres) its usefulness is limited.

From the back •T he 3.2in tiltable monitor is excellent providing a fine-quality image. It’s a hassle pulling the monitor out if a tripod plate is attached to the camera base.

• Push the DISP/BACK button and you can scroll through different viewing options.

•B ring the camera up to the eye and the LCD switches to the EVF – or you can set just the EVF or just the monitor if preferred. The view mode button is too easily used, though, when the camera is carried around the neck.

•W hat information is shown on the display or through the EVF can be customised to suit your needs.

•P ush the Q button to bring up the Quick menu which lets you access commonly used features quickly. This menu can also be changed to show fewer items if desired.

• I n the menu there are seven buttons around the top and back of the X-T10 that can be customised to a selection of key functions.

From the top •T he top-plate is dominated by three large controls: the exposure compensation dial, the shutter speed dial and the drive dial. None has any form of mechanical lock and there is no menu lock option either.

•T he drive dial has two Adv and Bkt settings. This allows you to assign your preferred filter or bracketing value.

•T he lever at the base of the shutter speed dial switches between the PASM modes and Auto SR+ mode, which is like a green square mode or fully auto on other cameras. The lever protruding from the drive dial activates the pop-up flash.

•N ote the shutter release is threaded for a traditional screw-in cable release, which seems out of place on an entry-level camera. There is a socket in the side panel to fit an electronic cable release, the Fujifilm RR-90 or equivalent.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Camera test ISO performance

Noise reduction

Full-frame image

The X-T10’s default noise reduction setting is 0 and the range is +/-2. I shot the twilight scene at all five settings at ISO 800, 1600, 3200 and 6400 in JPEG and Raw. The ISO 3200 set is shown here together with the Raw processed in Lightroom with no NR and default sharpening to give a comparison.

The camera’s noise reduction isn’t overly aggressive so detail isn’t too greatly smoothed out even at the +2 setting and looks perfectly acceptable.

ISO 3200 -2 NR

ISO 3200 -1 NR

ISO 3200 0 NR

ISO 3200 +1 NR

ISO 3200 +2 NR

untreated Raws and do not appear too aggressively processed.

Digital noise is generally very low until you get to ISO 1600 and then it kicks in, but not that badly – even the ISO 3200 JPEG image looks good. ISO 2500 is certainly usable for critical results if the light is poor especially if some noise reduction is applied in software but speeds of ISO 4000 and higher are best reserved for when the conditions are truly dire.

The highest ISO where Raw is available is 6400 and expansion up to 51,200 is possible but with JPEGs only. Image quality at the expanded settings is poor which is what you would expect. Images are noisy, fine detail is lost and colour fidelity suffers hugely. The ISO 51,200 JPEG is almost painterly with the high noise levels and loss of definition and saturation.

ISO 3200 Raw

The X-T10’s sensor is the Fujifilm X-Trans II CMOS sensor so it is a known quantity and proven on several cameras already.

ISO performance and fine detail rendition are first-rate so getting impressive A2 or bigger enlargements from a Raw or JPEG from this camera is no problem at all at lower ISO settings.

This twilight scene was shot on a tripod-mounted X-T10 using a 16mm f/1.4 lens. The base exposure at ISO 200 was 0.6sec at f/8. Raws were processed through Lightroom CC with no noise reduction and default sharpening. The JPEGs are straight out of camera.

The same scene was also shot on an X-T1 for comparison and indeed the shots taken at the same speeds did look almost identical.

The JPEGs are consistently better with smoother tones than the Full-frame image

AF on the move

ISO 800 JPEG

ISO 800 Raw

ISO 1600 JPEG

ISO 1600 Raw

ISO 3200 JPEG

ISO 3200 Raw

ISO 6400 JPEG

ISO 6400 Raw

One of the big selling points of the X-T10 is its AF system which is faster and more responsive than previous X-series models – the same system is available for the X-T1 via firmware v4.

AF is definitely quicker when compared with an X-T1 running v3 software. I mostly used singlepoint AF with the choice of 49 zones but also tried the other options including face and eye detection.

The Wide/Tracking mode with its 77 zones can leap around – no surprise really as the camera does not know what you want sharp. But it is usable especially for people shots and face detection. With face detection set you can also use eye detection, where you can prioritise which eye to focus on.

Personally, I would prefer to use Zone or singlepoint. Zone is good because you can move the active area around and it’s like having one big single point.

In continuous AF, the camera does twitch in and

out of focus all the time even when the camera and subject are totally still. However, when the subject is moving the system does react very well and in favourable conditions with a compliant subject focus tracking is very good.

For example, fitted with the 55-200mm zoom, the X-T10 coped well and successfully tracked fast moving motorway traffic using continuous AF where only the 15 central phase and contrastdetecting sensors are at work. The well-defined lines and shapes of cars and trucks do make for an amenable subject, and it is true that lower contrast subjects have more variable results. Generally, though, for a CSC the continuous AF is good and worth trying for action subjects. The buffer is not that big though so you don’t get a long, sustained burst – in Fine JPEG I was getting a maximum of 12 shots before buffering.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Camera test Original

Toy Camera

Picture options

Dynamic Tone

In ADVANCED AUTO SR mode – engaged by moving the lever at the base of the shutter speed dual to AUTO – there are dedicated scene-based subject modes such as snow, fireworks and sport.

On the drive dial there are the options of Adv 1 and Adv 2, with these you can assign your preferred advanced filter or bracketing values.

Advanced Filter includes Toy Camera and Dynamic Tone settings, the results of which are shown here. Others include Miniature and Soft Focus.

Shooting in Advanced Filter mode, even if Raw only is set, and the camera will switch to JPEG and no Raw file is recorded.

That’s worth bearing in mind if you want a normal image to work on later, so shoot a Raw too.

Choose the AF zone to suit The X-T10 has a 77-point AF system with various options on how to use it. In Zone AF, you can choose to have zones of nine, 15 or 25 points active and that zone can be moved around the whole 77-point area.

If you prefer to have just one AF zone working, there is the option of 49 areas to choose from. Here the smallest zone is just one of the system’s 77 sensors working, however, if you select a larger zone then you are going to get several sensors working in combination.

Fujifilm XF16mm f/1.4 R WR With 1.5x crop factor this prime lens is a 24mm lens in the 35mm format so you won’t be surprised to learn that it’s solid piece of glass but it’s not unwieldy. On the X-T10 it does make the camera front heavy.

The smooth aperture ring is click-stopped in 0.3EV steps like other X-series lenses and there are no other controls apart from the barrel that pulls back to give manual focusing. Manual focusing itself is smooth and minimum focus is 15cm – focus this closely and the lens front is a couple of inches away from the subject. Being able to focus this closely and shoot at f/1.4 gives plenty of potential for creative focusing effects – just make sure you focus accurately though.

Sharpness and fine detail rendition is excellent throughout the aperture range, and I experienced no flare problems.

Verdict Existing X-system owners will love the X-T10 as it makes a perfect second camera to an X-T1 or X-Pro1. Of course there are handling differences but there is a great deal of common ground too, and I was switching between the X-T10 and the X-T1 with no confusion at all.

For would-be X-series buyers the X-T10 is a truly tempting camera, not just on its great value price but also its creative potential and sure-footed ability to deliver excellent pictures. I shot just shy of 1500 shots during this test and the outright failures, especially in respect to exposure, was limited to a handful. Focusing is also generally consistent and it’s only fast-moving subjects that the system is challenged by. And that’s not to mention the ever-growing range of sensible (although not necessarily cheap) focal length, fast aperture lenses.

By definition, a budget or entry-level camera lacks some key features compared with its pricier relations, and it is the case that the X-T10 is no X-T1 so there’s no weather-proofing. But given that the X-T10 is almost half the latter’s price, the X-T10 is a remarkable and highly capable camera that punches well above its weight and comes thoroughly recommended.

How it rates Features Impressive list at this price

24/25

Performance Great sensor, good AF and spot-on exposures

24/25

Handling Not perfect, but generally very good

23/25

Value for money A steal at £500 body only

25/25

Overall A great entry-level X-series camera that Fujifilm has got so much right Pros Small, image quality, X-series lenses, price 96/100 Cons No lock function, a few handling niggles

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Lens test Group test

Raising the standard Ask 100 photographers which lens they’d choose if they could only pick one, probably 99 of them would plump for a fast-aperture, top-end standard zoom – just like one of these on test here Words by Richard Hopkins Is there a more regularly used lens than a standard-range zoom?

Offering unrivalled versatility, they can be pressed into service on any number of tasks from family snaps and events, to portraits and interiors, right through to general scenes and landscapes. With a fast f/2.8 maximum aperture at all focal lengths, they’re good in low light, great for shallow depth-of-field effects, and they focus reasonably close too – typically 15cm from the front of the lens, giving a handy reproduction ratio of approximately 1:4 at the 70mm end.

The 24-70mm lenses here sit at the heart of a classic three-lens trinity, with a wider 16-35mm-ish f/2.8 and longer 70-200mm f/2.8, so it makes sense to choose carefully

Specs

and invest in the best. To help you do this we’re testing optics from the leading DSLR makers alongside options from Sigma and Tamron, which are also strong and good value contenders.

Uniquely in this class the Tamron offers VC image stabilisation, with the only other stabilised options being the Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS, or Sony with its in-camera SteadyShot stabilisation system. There are two schools of thought around the value of image stabilisation, with some considering it to be unnecessary in this focal length range and just adding extra optical complexity. On the other hand, the option to shoot handheld at speeds as long as 1/4sec – deep into normal tripod territory – definitely has its advantages.

Aperture range f/2.8 throughout, to f/22 Full-frame and APS-C

Verdict The flagship Canon standard zoom isn’t cheap by any means, but it is the best standard zoom any Canon user can buy, no question. Start saving now!

Format compatibility Full-frame and APS-C Field of view 84-34° (full-frame) 59-22° (APS-C 1.6x) Optical design 18 elements in 13 groups Diaphragm 9 rounded blades Autofocus motor Ultrasonic drive Min focus 38cm (from sensor)

Max magnification 1:4.8

Filter size 82mm Zoom lock Yes Accessories supplied Hood, soft pouch Size (DxL) 89x113mm (143mm at max zoom) Weight 805g Camera fittings Canon only Contact canon.co.uk

Features No IS, but boasts all most users will need

24/25

Performance Speedy AF and top optical performance

25/25

Handling A weighty lens but it’s great to use

24/25

Value for money Cheap it isn’t, but quality costs

23/25

Overall Without doubt, a truly excellent standard zoom Pros Optical quality very high at all focal lengths Cons Big filters needed, no IS, price

Min working distance 17cm (front of lens)

Weather resistant Yes

£1400

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

Canon offers more choices than most in standard-range zooms with four options on offer. This 24-70mm f/2.8L II sits at the top of the list. It was launched in 2012 and features a number of significant improvements over the well-loved MkI. At 805g, it’s one of the lighter 24-70mms, having knocked a substantial 145g off the previous version. The filter size has gone up to 82mm, and Canon has reverted to a more conventional optical layout that extends the barrel with increased focal length instead of the other way around (like Nikon). It’s superbly made, with solid weatherresistant build and very smooth

controls. Manual focus is one-finger light, with zooming a tad heavier.

There’s a zoom lock at the 24mm setting, though it’s hardly needed.

Autofocus is USM ultrasonic drive with full-time manual override. It’s very fast, effectively instant in most situations, only taking 0.35 seconds in the near-to-far speed test, and almost totally silent. Excellent.

The optical design is completely revised, though perhaps surprisingly, doesn’t include image stabilisation.

Instead, Canon has chosen to focus on sheer optical excellence, with 18 elements (more than any other) and a generous helping of exotic glass.

Sharpness is very high indeed, and is exceptional in two important aspects – it hardly reduces at longer focal lengths, and edge sharpness is high even at maximum aperture.

According to our modulation Transfer Function (MTF) stats sharpness nudges 90% at f/2.8 in the centre, and is way above the 70% Excellent line at all apertures, at all focal lengths.

Edge sharpness is not far behind, also Excellent except at higher f/numbers where diffraction hits harder.

Aberrations control is fairly typical of this class. CA is less than average, as you’d expect given the high sharpness, rating Very Good overall

96/100

with an average of 4.0µ. Vignetting is only really noticeable at the wide end at maximum aperture, with 2.2EV shading in the corners at 24mm f/2.8, rating Good overall. Distortion is also strongest at short focal lengths, with 1.7% barrelling at 24mm, gradually turning to 1.5% pincushion at 70mm, rating Good overall.

The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L II is the best standard-range zoom available, and quite probably the sharpest zoom lens on the market, easily beating many good quality primes. It excels in every aspect of performance. Since introduction, the price has reduced but it’s still expensive at £1400.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Lens test Specs

£1199

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Aperture range f/2.8 throughout, to f/22

Verdict

Format compatibility Full-frame and APS-C

This Nikon is the oldest standard zoom in this selection but it shows that age isn’t a factor when it comes to optical performance. A fine, top quality optic.

Field of view 84-34° (full-frame) 62-23° (APS-C)

Features Silent AF, good close focusing but no IS

24/25

Performance Produces very sharp images

24/25

Handling No complaints in this department

24/25

Min focus 38cm (from sensor)

Value for money A top end zoom hence its high price

23/25

Min working distance 19cm (front of lens)

Overall It’s getting on in years, but it’s still a cracking lens Pros Quiet and swift AF, weather resistance, handling Cons Weight, optically just short of the best around

Optical design 15 elements in 11 groups Diaphragm 9 rounded blades Autofocus motor Silent Wave Motor

Max magnification 1:3.7 Weather resistant Yes Filter size 77mm Zoom lock No Accessories supplied Hood, zipped case Size (DxL) 83x133mm (153mm at min zoom) Weight 900g Camera fittings Nikon only Contact nikon.co.uk

Specs

There are four standard-range zooms in the Nikon full-frame portfolio and the 24-70mm f/2.8G lens is the premium model.

This 24-70mm f/2.8 is the oldest, dating back to 2007. A lot has happened since then, particularly on the build and packaging side with the now widespread use of high-quality mechanical-grade plastics to reduce size and weight, even in the most expensive lenses. So the Nikon might be a little old-fashioned with its metal zoom and focusing rings, and at 900g it’s almost as heavy as the Sony, but as far as the optics are concerned, Nikon can still hold its own.

The optical layout is unusual, as the barrel extends at the short end of the range rather than the longest.

Nikon has cunningly used this to its advantage, in effect creating a ‘zooming’ lens hood that provides optimum shading at all focal lengths.

The old Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L Mk I was also like this.

Build quality is top drawer, including weather resistance.

Handling is excellent, with very smooth controls and a lightlyweighted focusing ring, with slightly heavier zoom action.

Autofocus is by Nikon’s SWM (Silent Wave Motor), with full-time

manual override. AF is very quiet and fast, recording 0.38 seconds in the near-to-far speed test, and is virtually instant for normal focus shifts. It goes down to a 19cm minimum working distance, measured from the front of the lens for a best in class maximum reproduction ratio of 1:3.7.

The optical design has 15 elements in 11 groups, including three of ED glass and three with aspherical surfaces. Sharpness is very high in the centre, easily above the Excellent line at f/2.8 and at all focal lengths, with slight improvements at f/4 and f/5.6. Edge sharpness follows closely and from f/4 it also rates as Excellent.

Aberrations control is in line for this class. CA averaged 6.6µ to score Good overall. There’s some vignetting at f/2.8, mostly at short focal lengths with the worst being 2.0EV at 24mm f/2.8, but it’s dramatically cut from f/4 for an average rating of Good. Barrel distortion measured 2.9% at 24mm, turning to mild 0.7% pincushion at 70mm, rating Good overall.

In the battle of the brands, the Nikon falls just behind Canon and Sony for sharpness, but it’s a close call.

The differences are slight, and only noticeable at f/2.8. In all other aspects of performance, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 is second to none.

£600

Sigma DG 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX HSM

Aperture range f/2.8 throughout, to f/22

95/100

Verdict

Format compatibility Full-frame and APS-C

Independent brand Sigma is well known for its quality optics and this one is typical: it’s perfectly capable, handles well and is good value for money.

Field of view 84-34° (full-frame) 59-22° (APS-C 1.6x)

Features Has enough to rival the marque brands but cheaper

24/25

Performance Use mid-apertures and you won’t be disappointed

22/25

Handling No issues arose during our test

24/25

Min focus 38cm (from sensor)

Value for money A capable standard zoom at a decent price

24/25

Min working distance 16cm (front of lens)

Overall A decent standard zoom at a decent price, but avoid f/2.8 Pros Attractive price, optically good at mid-apertures Cons Quality at maximum aperture

Optical design 14 elements in 12 groups Diaphragm 9 rounded blades Autofocus motor Hypersonic drive

Max magnification 1:5.3 Weather resistant No Filter size 82mm Zoom lock No Accessories supplied Hood, zipped case Size (DxL) 89x95mm (125mm at max zoom) Weight 790g Camera fittings Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sigma, Sony Contact sigma-imaging.co.uk

Sigma has been grabbing the headlines recently with its new Art series of exceptionally fine lenses, but the DG 24-70mm f/2.8 IF EX HSM is from a different era, launched in 2008. Its main appeal is a keen £600 price.

Weighing 790g, this Sigma is the lightest of the current crop of 24‑70mm f/2.8 zooms, but only just.

It’s also shorter by a noticeable but not significant amount. The outer barrel is all mechanical-grade plastic, although it’s very well made, with smooth zoom and manual focus rings, that are both a little more heavily weighted than usual.

Autofocus is by ultrasonic HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor), with full-time manual override. It’s very quiet, barely audible, and shifts focus very fast. In the near-to-far speed test, it recorded a rapid 0.38 seconds, keeping up with the best.

This Sigma focuses down to a minimum working distance (measured from the front of the lens) of 16cm, where Sigma claims a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:5.3, though it checked out at 1:4.5 on both Canon and Nikon-fit versions – just a useful bit better than stated.

Optical construction is 14 elements, the least number in this test, though

Sigma has not spared the exotic glass with one ELD element, two SLD and three aspherical surfaces. Fewer elements suggest a less ambitious design and a lower standard of correction, and although that’s not always true, the Sigma proved to be less sharp than rival 24-70mm models here. The main areas of weakness are at f/2.8 and f/4, particularly around the edges, and at longer focal length settings. Stopping down improves things rapidly, with a big jump from f/2.8 to f/4, and from f/5.6 it can stand good comparison with the best, with an Excellent standard of sharpness across the frame.

94/100

There are no surprises in the aberrations department, with CA well controlled at an average 4.4µ to rate Very Good. There’s barrel distortion of 1.7% at 24mm, turning through neutral at 35mm, and on to modest pincushion of 1.7% at 70mm, to rate Good overall. Vignetting is quite strong with 2.4EV at 24mm f/2.8, but it’s not an issue at any other settings, rating Good overall.

The competition is tough in this class, and the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 is up against some of the finest prograde zooms available. But the Sigma gives a very good account mid-range apertures at very reasonable cost.

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Lens test Specs Aperture range f/2.8 throughout, to f/22

£1349

Sony Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM Verdict

Format compatibility Full-frame and APS-C

A solidly made lens with a highly creditable optical performance only a tad behind the Canon and on a par with the Nikon. Price is on the high side.

Field of view 84-34° (full-frame) 61-23° (APS-C 1.5x)

Features Rich in features but no zoom lock, which it needs

23/25

Performance Excellent, especially at short and mid-focal lengths

24/25

Handling Heavy zoom action but mostly good

23/25

Min focus 34cm (from sensor)

Value for money Quality costs but buy this and you won’t be disappointed

22/25

Min working distance 15cm (front of lens)

Overall A fine Zeiss lens out of the top drawer Pros F/2.8 quality at wide and mid-range settings Cons Price, minor handling niggles

Optical design 17 elements in 13 groups Diaphragm 9 rounded blades Autofocus motor Super Sonic-wave Motor

Max magnification 1:3.8 Weather resistant No Filter size 77mm Zoom lock No Accessories supplied Hood, soft pouch Size (DxL) 83x111mm (142mm at max zoom) Weight 955g Camera fittings Sony-A (E with adapter) Contact sony.co.uk

Specs

Despite the sleek contemporary styling, the Sony Zeiss 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA SSM actually dates back to 2008, first introduced for the Sony Alpha DSLR and SLT cameras.

It’s very well built, the heaviest on test at 955g, with the extending metal barrel adding a touch of class.

Controls are perfectly smooth, with a nice light action to the manual focus ring. The zoom action is heavier, and you can feel it shifting some big chunks of glass. There’s no zoom lock, though it really needs one.

The test camera was a Sony A7R full-frame mirrorless, with an LAEA4 adapter joining everything

together and providing full functions, including phase-detect AF using Sony’s SLT technology. Autofocus drive is SSM (Super Sonic-wave Motor), very quiet and very fast, matching the best with 0.35 seconds in the near-to-far speed test. It focuses close, down to a MWD of 15cm to give a 1:3.8 magnification ratio at 70mm focal length, equalling Nikon.

Optical design is 17 elements, with two of ED glass and two with aspherical surfaces. Sharpness is very high, if not quite the best. That accolade goes to Canon with Sony and Nikon in hot pursuit. The Sony’s most impressive sharpness characteristic

is exceptional performance at f/2.8 in the centre, running close to 90% MTF at short and mid-range focal lengths and only a little lower at the long end.

It’s never less than Excellent. If there’s a weakness, it’s edge sharpness at f/2.8 that’s merely Very Good, but it jumps up to Excellent from f/4, and stays there. So while Canon takes the crown in theory, in practice there’s probably nothing in it, bearing in mind that at f/2.8 subjects that stray too far from the centre will most likely to be out of perfect focus anyway.

Aberrations control is very typical of this class, with CA more noticeable at the wide end, reducing to 70mm

with an average of 5.7µ, rating Good.

Distortion follows the usual trend of noticeable barrelling at 24mm, gradually transitioning to modest pincushion at 70mm, with an average of 1.3% rating Good.

Vignetting too is par for the course, being significant only at 24mm f/2.8 with 2.4EV of corner shading, and that’s knocked in half by f/4. Overall, vignetting rates Good.

This is a very fine lens from Sony.

It’s a bit heavy, perhaps reflecting its age and reduced use of lightweight materials, but it’s very well put together and is sharp where it matters.

It’s pricey, but quality costs.

£740

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

Aperture range f/2.8 throughout, to f/22

92/100

Verdict

Format compatibility Full-frame and APS-C

Tamron’s move into the premium lens market is serious as this high class optic shows. And it sells at a very tempting price too so demands to be looked at.

Field of view 84-34° (full-frame) 59-22° (APS-C 1.6x)

Features Boasts USD, VC and WR

25/25

Performance Generally impressive with a couple of less good spots

24/25

Handling Everything works really well

24/25

Min focus 38cm (from sensor)

Value for money In the shops for £750, so a bargain

25/25

Min working distance 17cm (front of lens)

Overall Top set of specs, optically impressive and a great price Pros VC, optical abilities Cons Large filter size, not much else

Optical design 17 elements in 12 groups Diaphragm 9 rounded blades Autofocus USM ultrasonic drive

Max magnification 1:5 Weather resistant Yes Filter size 82mm Zoom lock Yes Accessories supplied Hood Size (DxL) 88x109mm (140mm at max zoom) Weight 825g Camera fittings Canon, Nikon, Sony-A (without VC) Contact intro2020.co.uk

Tamron has been building itself a premium quality SP lens line recently, also listing an excellent 70-200mm f/2.8 VC and a promising new 1530mm f/2.8 VC. Then there’s this 2470mm f/2.8 VC that looks almost too good to be true at only £750, and it has VC image stabilisation, so it’s unique in the 24-70mm f/2.8 class.

At 825g, its weight is about average for the class. Build quality is high, it’s weather resistant and feels solid with no wobble in the extended barrel.

Controls are smooth, with fingerlight manual focus and a more firmly weighted zoom ring. There’s a zoom lock that probably won’t get used.

Autofocus is by Tamron’s USD Ultrasonic Silent Drive, that is indeed (almost) silent and decently fast, too. It recorded 0.5 seconds in the near-tofar speed test, which is a tenth or so behind the quickest, but focus shifts like that rarely happen in practice so it’s very unlikely to be a problem.

Image stabilisation is Tamron’s own VC Vibration Compensation system, using its proven tri-axial design, and claiming four stops of benefit (to CIPA standard). It checked out at close to that with 90% sharp images at three stops, and 70% at four stops. This is a very high performance, pretty much as good as

it gets, and in practical terms it means sharp handheld images can be had at around the 1/4sec mark.

Optical design features 17 elements, with a liberal sprinkling of exotics – three of LD glass, two XR and four aspherical surfaces. At 24mm, sharpness in the centre is extremely high right from f/2.8. The edges lag a little, but improve to Excellent by f/4.

Much the same result is repeated at both 40mm and 70mm focal lengths, though to be critical the levels are slightly lower at f/2.8 and f/4. It’s an impressive performance though, delivering very high image quality at all focal lengths and apertures.

98/100

Aberrations control is up to par, with no major issues. There’s moderate CA throughout, averaging 6.8µ to rate Good. There’s the expected barrel distortion of 2.0% at 24mm, switching quite early to pincushion, reaching 1.6% at 70mm – rating Good overall. There’s 2.0EV vignetting at 24mm f/2.8, though at all other apertures and focal lengths it’s quite acceptable, rating Good.

This SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di USD VC is a terrific lens from Tamron.

It competes fair and square on all aspects of performance, plus it has a very effective VC and comes in at nothing less than a bargain price.

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Accessories test Buyers’ guide

Studio lighting accessories Just like adding lenses to your kit bag, increasing your arsenal of studio lighting accessories will give you more options and lead to better shots…

It’s true that buying your first set of studio lights opens the door to a wider world of creative photography – but having the power of flash lighting at your fingertips is really just the start of the journey.

The next steps are arguably even more important, and they’re all to do with how you learn to control that light and refine the look of your images.

Any good flash head from a starter version to a pro-spec model can be used to create great photos if it’s used effectively, but it’s how the light from the flash is directed – how its bent to your will – that really matters.

To do that, practise is important, but so is investing in kit to expand your options; it’s very much like adding lenses to your kitbag – the more focal lengths you have, the wider the range of subjects you can shoot; and the more accessories you have the more you can refine the look of your pictures.

Controlling the light While most studio kits come with reflector dishes as standard and possibly also a small selection of modifiers – pick up a twin-head kit and you might get a couple of umbrellas, or softboxes, or a combination of the two – there’s a huge range of other ways to play with the light.

Brollies, softboxes and beauty dishes which spread the light, can be bought in differing shapes and sizes to those you’ve already got, granting more localised illumination, or providing even more diffusion. And to do the opposite – to harden and direct the light – there’s an army of

options out there like snoots, specialist reflector dishes, honeycombs and barndoors of various shapes and sizes.

Then, of course, there are reflectors and deflectors to bounce or swallow the light, filling in or strengthening shadows, and lighting gels that can be used to add a colourful twist to your pictures or balance the flash with natural light.

Other accessories But of course it’s not just ways of modifying the light that you need to consider when investing in your array of lighting kit. There are loads more accessories out there which can be used to improve the technical quality of your pictures, make working in the studio easier, and even put a more creative spin on the images you’re getting.

Examples of these include dedicated stands to improve the positioning of your lights, bags and trunks for transporting or storing your precious kit, flash meters to get a more accurate exposure, backgrounds for a cleaner, more professional look, and even light sources that aren’t flash to mix with your regular lighting.

It all adds to what you can achieve in the studio – and that’s why this month, to help dip your toe further into the waters of flash photography, we’ve gathered some highquality, innovative lighting accessories for your consideration. But of course each of the manufacturers featured here has plenty more to offer besides. Take a look, and make sure you pick up some new kit – it’ll change the way you shoot.

Elinchrom 4 Piece Deflector Set

Lencarta Combined Floor/Low Level Stand

If you have an Elinchrom flash kit like the excellent D-Lite RX One you’ll know that one of its unique features is the umbrella tube that’s located within the accessory ring. This isn’t just for slotting in a brolly though – you can also use it to attach modifiers like this set of four deflectors. The design means that these deflectors can be used on the majority of Elinchrom reflector dishes, but they’re particularly useful with the company’s collapsible Portalite softboxes.

Slot a deflector in, over the flash bulb, but behind the softbox’s diffuser, and you’ll alter the lighting giving it a more focused look, halfway between a softbox and a beauty dish. And of course you can also use them without the ’box’s diffuser for a harder look.

The four deflectors are Clear, Translucent, Silver and Gold, and each offers a different look, as they vary the amount of light between direct and fully reflected. The amount of direct flash that’s taken out and reflected is half a stop for the Clear disk and a full stop for the Translucent version, while the Silver and Gold versions deflect all the light for a softer look; the Gold version being warmer in tone. For less than £30, the variety this adds to just one modifier is immense.

If you’ve shot studio portraits of children or pets, you’ll know that their height can cause problems, because regular lighting stands will only lower to about 80cm. This means light normally has to be directed down at them, cutting your options. Yes, you can raise the subject, placing them on a chair, or a tabletop, but it’s not ideal. What is ideal is a lowlevel lighting stand, and the latter can also be used for floor-level uplighting on larger subjects.

This Lencarta Combined Floor/Low Level Stand can be raised in sections (two), reaching a maximum height of 80cm; a useful level for a background light, or placing behind a standing subject. Unlike regular stands though, the centre column can be removed, lowering the working height to just 23cm and allowing flash to be used at almost floor level. What’s more, the spigot which holds the flash head can be mounted horizontally (as well as the usual vertical) on the column, for even more freedom. Like its height, the weight-spreading base is streamlined, and at 60cm across it takes up a lot less floor space than others.

Using a nylon lock mechanism, operating the stand is easy and it has a strong aluminium construction, but is still light, weighing in at 930g.

£29 theflashcentre.com/elinchrom-store elinchrom.com

£35

lencarta.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Accessories test Pixapro 60cm Collapsible Beauty Dish

Interfit 107cm 5-in-1 Reflector Kit

Beauty dishes are an excellent upgrade to your set of diffusers, often giving a more refined look to that of a softbox or umbrella. The construction, with its central deflector and shallow outer dish, still provides soft light, but from a beauty dish it’s more focused and can be used closer to the subject than a softbox, creating deeper shadows. This makes dishes great for sophisticated low-key portraits and fashion work. The only trouble with most dishes is that they’re awkward to transport, being much wider than a regular spill kill reflector and made of metal, so they can’t be folded down like a box or brolly.

Pixapro solves this problem with a collapsible dish.

Available from 60cm to 120cm in diameter (£70, £85 and £100 respectively) and with a silver or white inner, the dishes feature a locking ring that, when released, allows them to fold up and pack away into an included bag. With the main dish made of fabric they’re much lighter than metal versions, too. These dishes come in the widely accepted Bowens S-fitting, allowing them to be used on a range of lights and be adaptable, too, so you can quickly remove the deflector for a more direct effect, or attach the included diffuser or honeycomb for a softer or more direct light.

In an ideal world, no studio set-up should be without a reflector or an assistant, but sadly only one of those is realistic for most of us. That’s where a reflector and stand combo comes, like this 107cm reflector kit; the stand means you don’t need a spare pair of hands to position the light-bouncing surface, or run into dangerous contortions trying to operate both your camera and angle the reflector at the same time.

Starting with the stand, it’s an air-cushioned model for easier extension and reaches a respectable 2.6m, giving you plenty of working height. Clamping onto the top of the stand is the included multi-directional arm, and on the end of that is the rim attachment clip, into which sits the reflector. With the disk held firm it’s then swivelled to catch the light perfectly.

The reflector itself is a 5-in-1 design, and, at just over a metre in diameter, has plenty of surface to work with. With a reversible jacket that zips over an inner disk it’s able to offer white, silver, gold (‘soft sun’) and black surfaces, producing a variety of lighting effects. Typically, gold warms the subject, while silver produces higher contrast; white gives the softest look

£70

essentialphoto.co.uk

Lastolite Ezybox II Switch Large If you’ve got a flash kit you probably already have a softbox and this will likely connect directly to the head. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it does cut down on the range of flashes you can use your ’box with. Designed to work with a wider range of equipment, Lastolite Ezybox IIs can be used with regular heads, portable flash like Elinchrom’s Ranger Quadra RX range and even speedlights. The onesize-fits-all approach comes via the ’box’s wider than normal rear ring: to fit on regular heads, you use a speedring adapter (£35); and for speedlights, there’s an L-shaped bracket (also £35) which points the flashes into the throat of the assembled softbox.

But the innovation doesn’t end there: unlike regular softboxes the Ezybox Switch can convert from a regular square shape, to a rectangular format, useful in side-lighting or lighting reflective subjects like glass. The box assembles fast, thanks to its flexible frame (much like a pop-up tent) and to adjust the shape the sides are unzipped. The Large version can be thinned from 89x89cm to 89x44cm in a matter of seconds and comes with inner and outer diffusers and a carry bag. There’s an XL model, too.

bowensdirect.com

to the light, and black absorbs the light to strengthen shadows. The inner disk is a diffuser which is useful as an additional diffuser in the studio, but also helps soften direct sunlight for exterior portraits or macro work. The reflector collapses to a size of 36cm and to make storage and transportation even easier there’s an included carry case.

interfitphotographic.com

Profoto Zoom Reflector 2 Flash heads tend to come with reflector dishes as standard, so why buy another? This one from Profoto has a simple and useful function – it zooms to alter the light spread. Reflector dishes, also known as spill kills, they come in different diameters to widen or shrink their pool of light, depending on what’s required; a small diameter gives more focused light while wider reflectors spread the light further. Obviously, you don’t want to spend long changing modifiers, so Profoto’s Zoom Reflector 2, which is compatible with Profoto B1/ D1 series strobes, gives you a regular reflector effect, a wide-angle spread and everything in between with a simple sliding action.

The spread of light, pleasing thanks to the precisely engineered inner surface, can be set as wide as 105° and as narrow as 35°. It may seem a significant outlay for something you already have, but you’re getting multiple, high-quality reflectors in one unit. The Zoom Reflector 2’s solid metal construction is welcome, meaning it can withstand professional use, and there’s an optional protective Zoom Cap, so it can be left on the head and protect the bulb. You can mount Profoto snoots, barndoors or grids on the front to further control the illumination.

£140

lastolite.com

£145 profoto.com

Westcott Ice Light 2

Bowens Fresnel 200 Like other modifiers, Fresnel spotlight attachments fit onto your flash head to shape the light, but they’re unusual in using a lens and often an iris in their construction. The Bowens Fresnel 200 uses the company’s popular S-fit mounting so it can be mounted on a wide variety of other heads as well as Bowens’ own, like the popular Gemini 500s, and its metal casing is well ventilated to prevent any overheating through extended use.

The great thing about Fresnel lights is that their illumination is highly adaptable and controllable, making them useful for lots of different studio subjects, from portrait shoots to product photography. On the Fresnel 200, the diameter of the pool of light produced can be widened or thinned using the internal aperture setting and the 200mm lens at the front, with its concentric grooves, focuses the beam for a distinctive look. The style of lighting is often associated with the classic portraiture of Hollywood’s ‘golden age’, wherein you get a look that’s similar to sunlight (or perhaps more accurately a beam from a lighthouse, as that’s where Fresnel lenses were popularised). This look, similar

£77

£520

to a beauty dish but more adaptable and directable, features defined, but still soft shadow edges, which adds a dramatic element to whatever you’re shooting.

Further modifiers like barndoors can be added on the front of the Fresnel 200.

It’s not only flash modifiers that can add a creative twist to your lighting; different types of light source provide exciting looks, too. The original Westcott Ice Light LED was a big hit with photographers, allowing a bright, consistent and continuous light source, but crucially one that could be easily positioned around the subject, or moved throughout the exposure to give wraparound lighting. Now it’s been updated to offer even more.

While the Westcott Ice Light 2 retains the familiar lightsaber design, it’s 50% brighter and offers longer life (up to 60 minutes at full power on a full charge).

Unlike many LEDs and lightbars, it’s flicker free and balanced to a daylight 5500K for consistent and stable illumination. It’s highly controllable, too, with output adjustable over 18 increments, down to just 5%, all via a clear and simple digital display. It’s compatible with existing Ice Light accessories like tungsten-balanced gels and barndoors, too.

Weighing just over half a kilo, it’s also easily held or attached to a stand (via the built-in threads at either end) and its aluminium housing gives a hard-wearing feel. Charging from empty takes around 2.5hrs, but to make sure you don’t run out of juice mid-shoot, the battery is removable (an additional cell is £60).

£550

johnsons-photopia.co.uk fjwestcott.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Technique Photo school

Camera class

Manual 4700K

Daylight 5500K

Tungsten 2850K

We all have to start somewhere, and in Photo school we look at the core skills every beginner needs. This month, how to perfect your colours in-camera and in Lightroom Words & pictures by Kingsley Singleton

We worry a lot less about colour these days than we used to, and with good reason; the ability to improve Raw files in software means that true-to-life hues are only a few clicks of the mouse away. But the mark of a good photographer is getting shots as close to perfection as possible when shooting. So how do you get to grips with colour in camera? Primarily it’s about taking control of your whitebalance settings.

White-balance controls how the camera responds to the various temperatures of light; in a nutshell, light from a lamp has a lower temperature than light from the sun; so the camera can only reproduce one or the other in a lifelike way if it’s set up correctly. Most of the time, you can leave the white-balance set to Auto or AWB and it will take a good reading of the scene, but in some

circumstances, it can get confused.

This happens most often at sunset, around dawn or dusk, and where artificial and natural light mix, as in low-light shots. In these cases, it’s better to take control yourself.

Setting the white-balance Using a white-balance preset that’s suitable for the conditions is the first step to more accurate colours.

It’s done either via a button on the body or by going into a menu, and the choice of presets usually runs to six: tungsten or fluorescent for manmade lighting; daylight, cloudy and shade for natural light; and flash for when you’re adding the light yourself with a flashgun. One of these should put you in the right area.

If things still don’t look quite right, you can dial in the specific colour temperature you want using Kelvin;

this is offered on most creative cameras under a ‘K’, and it’s what we did on the shot to the right, because the daylight setting was too warm and the tungsten setting too cool.

On many DSLRs you can also fine-tune your white-balance presets and the Auto setting. For example, if colours always seem a little too cool when you’re using Auto, you can bias the reading by a few hundred Kelvin to make it more pleasing.

Taking a white-balance reading The most accurate route is to take a custom reading. Essentially you need to fill the frame with an 18% grey or pure white subject in the light you are shooting in. You can use a dedicated white-balance card like an X-Rite ColorChecker or simply a piece of white paper, or you can meter off parts of the scene, like a white wall.

Right Your camera has lots of white-balance settings, and although Auto usually does a good job, it’s often better to set the whitebalance manually. Above You can see the difference between the Daylight (too warm), Tungsten (too cool), and the manually set value (just right).

Adobe Lightroom

Software skills One of the big advantages of shooting in Raw is controlling white-balance when editing. Here’s how…

1 2

3

You should always try to get the white-balance correct in-camera, but if you need to work faster than this allows, or you’re not getting the results you want, you can always fine-tune it in software. Adobe Lightroom makes controlling a picture’s white-balance very easy and there are several ways to do it, meaning you can find the right one for you as well as the image. However, just as with exposure control, the options are more limited with JPEGs, so the best results will come from Raw files.

If you’re working in consistent lighting, such as with flash in a studio, try shooting a white-balance (or even a sheet of white paper) card or gadget in the same light; you can then use this to precisely set the white-balance using Option 1 below.

Option 2: Use the presets Within the Library module’s Quick Develop panel and the Develop module’s Basic tab you’ll find a White Balance (or WB) heading. Clicking on the menu next to this brings up a familiar range of presets, pretty much the same as those found on your camera – Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Flash. You can pick the one relevant to the shooting conditions.

In the same list are As Shot, Auto and Custom.

As Shot (the default on opening) keeps the whitebalance at its original temperature, while Auto applies Lightroom’s best guess. It’s worth trying these options before you move into Custom.

If the file is a JPEG, you are much more limited in options and all you’ll see are As Shot, Auto and Custom.

Option 1: White Balance Selector tool Like taking a manual reading from the scene, the White Balance Selector tool can be used to click directly on any part of the picture to set the colours. This makes it the most accurate option. However, you need to click on a neutral colour or it won’t work. Fortunately, after you’ve clicked on the tool in the panel to make it active (or hit W), there’s a preview showing the tones you’re using in detail. Move around the image until the R, G and B values are balanced (or as close as possible) and click.

Balanced values in the image usually mean greys or whites (use a white-balance card if you have one), but black areas can also be used. In the example on the left, we clicked on the rocks, getting a Temp of 4800K; cooler and truer than the As Shot reading.

Option 3: Temp and Tint sliders For an even broader range of temperatures than the presets, use the Basic tab’s Temp slider, which operates in K (Kelvin). The options extend from 2000K to 50,000K, but you’re unlikely to use it much outside the preset range – it’s more for making minor shifts, for example, making a Daylight (5500K) setting slightly warmer or cooler without going as far as the next preset. Cycle through the presets in the menu above and you can see the actual change in temperature, then move the slider to make more subtle shifts in the colours.

The Tint slider only comes in to play if you need to correct a magenta or green cast, making it most useful on pictures taken in fluorescent lighting.

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Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Competition

Meet the team that brings you Photography News every month

Contributing editor Kingsley Singleton kingsleysingleton@bright-publishing.com

Features and news writer Megan Croft megancroft@bright-publishing.com

Photography News is the UK’s first free newspaper aimed at photographers of all levels. It’s sent out to camera clubs and photographic societies across the country as well as being available through leading photo retailers. Photography News is also available to read online or if you prefer to have a paper version delivered to your door, a competitively priced postal subscription is available too.

In every issue we bring you news of the latest imaging products, exhibitions to visit and contests to enter as well as technique features and in-depth independent gear reviews. Plus we have opinions, club news and interviews with the great and the good of photography. If you enjoy imaging, you’ll love Photography News.

We really love to hear from you, whether it’s your view on modern photography, a topic you feel deserves investigation or your idea or opinion that you feel deserves to be shared.

If you are a member of camera club, any stories of achievement, whether by an individual member who has just gained a photographic distinction or the club itself winning a major contest, let us know. Our email addresses are below.

Meanwhile, we hope you’ll enjoy this issue and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

All the best,

Senior sub editor Lisa Clatworthy

Sub editor Catherine Brodie

Junior designer Lucy Woolcomb

Designer Katy Bowman

Read Photography News online

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Editorial Team

Advertising Team

Publishing Team

Editorial director Roger Payne

Sales director Matt Snow 01223 499453 mattsnow@bright-publishing.com Sales executive Krishan Parmar 01223 499462 krishanparmar@bright-publishing.com

Managing director Andy Brogden Managing director Matt Pluck Head of circulation Chris Haslum

Editor Will Cheung FRPS 01223 499469 willcheung@bright-publishing.com Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire, CB22 3HJ www.bright-publishing.com

Capture life’s special moments across all devices with the ultra-reliable Samsung SD memory cards. Samsung’s latest SD cards can write data at an impressive 80MB/s and transfer data at an even higher 90MB/s. The cards are also amazingly reliable being water, temperature-, X-ray-, magnet- and shockproof, so shooting in the most challenging conditions isn’t an issue.

We’re giving away two 32GB Samsung PRO SDHC UHS-1 cards to two lucky winners. Just complete the wordsearch below, and you’ll find one word in the list that’s not in the grid. Email us on puzzle@photography-news.co.uk with that word in the subject line by 17 August 2015.

Contributing editor Kingsley Singleton kingsleysingleton@bright-publishing.com Features writer Megan Croft megancroft@bright-publishing.com Sub editors Lisa Clatworthy & Catherine Brodie

Design Team Design director Andy Jennings Designer Katy Bowman Junior designer Lucy Woolcomb

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Editor Will Cheung willcheung@bright-publishing.com

Photography

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As well as your local camera club, you can pick up Photography News in-store from: Calumet, Cameraworld, Castle Cameras, Jessops, London Camera Exchange, Park Cameras, Wilkinson Cameras

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

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Advertisement feature Chris Yates

Profoto B1 & B2

In the spotlight Finding out how photographers use the Profoto B1 and B2 off-camera flash kit in earnest, we spotlight two pros.

Second up is Chris Yates

Part two

If you are a day-to-day professional photographer looking for quality, consistency and reliability, consider the B1 or B2

Chris Yates’s images are published worldwide in various editorial magazines, covering a broad range of photographic genres and always relying on the Profoto B1 or B2 for his lighting.

Which genre do you most enjoy?

Fashion; I think it always comes back to the fashion show element.

For example with the show catwalks, the backstage aspect, the pre-looks, the editorials and look-book work. It is continually evolving from season to season.

However, it is always great to cover as many genres as possible to show your potential clients what you can do. The market is flooded, budgets are tighter than ever and you need to have as many strings to your bow as possible.

What kind of role does lighting play in your line of work?

You always have to create the best-lit images from a content perspective so my first consideration is ‘how am I going to engineer the light in the shoot environment to ensure

I have a consistently lit shot?’ A lighting system to me has to be stable, suit the requirement and be up to the job whether that be in the luxury of a studio environment, on a press call or out in the sticks in the elements.

Why did you decide to invest in the Profoto systems?

I travel around a lot to assignments and I was looking at a solution that offered reliability, build quality and, more importantly, a superior light to use with the least amount of hassle.

The B1 system is extremely versatile in its mobility and portability whilst at the same time, extremely powerful and easy to use in a variety of examples without the need to lug around a separate generator for power. On the flip side, it can remain in place in the studio as if it were part of a mains supplied system.

The B2 kit has had the most outings and a lot of on the road use as my assignments vary from job to job I have needed its compactness.

What has been the most memorable shoot you’ve worked on using the Profoto system?

I would say that was the first photo shoot after replacing my previous lighting system. Whilst my shoot technique hadn’t changed, just by changing the tools I used I saw a significant improvement in the detail and output.

What kind of photographer do you think would get the most out of using Profoto systems?

Without any generalisation I think the systems are so adaptable that any photographer requiring a lighting system can employ them.

If you are a day-to-day professional photographer looking for build quality, consistency and reliability you need to consider the B1 or B2.

What’s a typical lighting set-up for you on a shoot?

For static studio and location shooting I always lean towards using an RFI/OCF Octa simply for the nice wide spread of light and if required add a second rectangle

RFI/OCF kick light either offset or head on. However a dynamic approach to shooting and the ease of movement with the B1/2 system make it easy to make adjustments on the fly, and with the B1 you have no cables to worry about.

Do you use manual control or TTL flash with the Air TTL trigger – and why?

This will always be a debate. If it’s a relatively static shoot, say in the studio for example, then manual settings, which, of course, can be dialled in from the Air remote as required or on the head itself. If I’m moving around a lot with the B2 on the side of the camera, I lean more to the TTL as it gives me the range in changing lights. I have recently been trialling a modified bracket with a B2 head mounted next to the lens mainly for press photo calls where I would normally have a speedlight. I have been really impressed with results and it has turned a few heads amongst peers. chrisyates.photography

Photography News Issue 22 absolutephoto.com

Photography news

Editorial Team

Advertising Team

Publishing Team

Editorial director Roger Payne

Sales director Matt Snow 01223 499453 mattsnow@bright-publishing.com Sales executive Krishan Parmar 01223 499462 krishanparmar@bright-publishing.com

Managing director Andy Brogden Managing director Matt Pluck Head of circulation Chris Haslum

Editor Will Cheung FRPS 01223 499469 willcheung@bright-publishing.com Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire, CB22 3HJ www.bright-publishing.com When you have finished with this newspaper, please recycle it

Contributing editor Kingsley Singleton kingsleysingleton@bright-publishing.com Features writer Megan Croft megancroft@bright-publishing.com Sub editors Lisa Clatworthy & Catherine Brodie

Design Team Design director Andy Jennings Designer Katy Bowman Junior designer Lucy Woolcomb

As well as your local camera club, you can pick up Photography News in-store from: Calumet, Cameraworld, Castle Cameras, Jessops, London Camera Exchange, Park Cameras, Wilkinson Cameras

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