FREE!
MASTER YOUR CAMERA IN 4 WEEKS EBOOK EDITION
WORTH £15 Internet connection required. T&Cs apply. See page 4
100% UNOFFICIAL
Issue 115 www.digitalcameraworld.com
THE NIKON MAGAZINE BETTER SHOTS TODAY!
BIG TEST
Shoot it sharper!
Superzooms from £189!
Travel light with 8 great do-it-all lenses
Master focusing for landscapes, street, action & macro!
FREE VIDEOS 6 PHOTO PROJECTS TO TRY AT HOME
NikonSkills PRO TIPS
Fine art flowers
Our Apprentice learns to shoot arty close-ups of pretty plants
Andrea Bruce
“Going to a war zone doesn’t scare me” p56
Busy as a bee
Tom Mason on how he still gets the buzz p54
Up in the air
Fantastic shots of fighter planes p68
APPRENTICE
TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT 1
TRIPOD SETTINGS Andy says… When using a tripod, switch off Vibration Reduction to prevent the system compensating for movement that isn’t actually there. Once autofocus is achieved, switch this off to lock it in. Macro lenses can be slow to focus, so use the focus limiter switch to prevent excessive hunting.
2
EXPOSURE DELAY MODE Andy says… When shooting up close, even the teeniest amount of movement will be amplified, so I suggested John set a three-second exposure delay. After pressing the shutter the camera raises the mirror and then waits to allow vibration from this movement to subside before taking the exposure.
3
APERTURE PRIORITY Andy says… When shooting close-ups, depth of field is everything, so I suggested shooting in Aperture Priority mode; shutter speed becomes irrelevant when using a tripod, particularly when shooting indoors with no breeze to contend with. I often set a little negative exposure compensation to ensure that no highlights are blown.
8
PRO KIT PAINTED GLASS Andy says… I’ve created my own coloured backgrounds by handpainting sheets of glass; this enables the background light to shine through for a bright background. By handpainting them there’s an uneven spread of paint, which results in a more interesting texture. I can create a huge variety of tones by stacking the different-coloured sheets together. pointing out the bright yellow California poppy set in a miniature port bottle. “I’ve been shooting it this morning, but I’ll just pop and get another one,” he added as he headed into the garden, secateurs in hand. “My wife’s the real gardener, I just photograph them!” he confessed on returning with a fresh specimen. “And we’ll find all our subjects for today’s shoot growing here. I do shoot outside with the flowers in their environment, but we’ve got showers forecast today, and shooting inside there’s no wind to contend with.” Andy placed some sheets of painted glass into the slots at the back of his tabletop studio, and what looked like a picture frame’s mount board surround towards the front. He then instructed John to set up his camera on a tripod, poking his lens through the hole. “What’s with the picture frame?” queried John, “We’re not ready to mount it on the wall quite yet!” “It’s what I use as a reflector,” revealed Andy. “The plant is backlit by the indirect light streaming through the windows and hitting the coloured glass, which creates a really vibrant backdrop. The white frame is made from a spare piece of mount board, and bounces light back onto the plant, filling in shadows. With flower photography it’s generally best to shoot against diffused sunlight, such as a north-facing window. And if you have no choice but to shoot
against full sunlight, then you can always stick some baking paper, or similar, onto the window to diffuse it.”
A QUESTION OF COMPOSITION
Andy then asked John to frame up his shot and checked over his composition. The flower was in the centre of the frame with space all around it, in all taking up about 10 per cent of the image area. “You need to get closer – much closer!” advised Andy.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
SUPER SHOT #1
“And while you could crop in to get the composition you want, you lose pixels that way – and the size you could potentially print it at. Plus the brush strokes of the painted glass are clearly visible, due to the increased depth of field, and distract from the flower itself. Also, you don’t want the flower to be in the middle of the image – try placing the stem according to the rule of thirds, so that there’s more ‘breathing space’ facing the flower than behind it.”
A CLOSE CALL Taking Andy’s advice on board, John moved his tripod much closer, so that the flower was now taking up a good half of the image frame, but was struggling to get the flower centred vertically. He started to adjust his tripod legs to get the right height, but Andy stopped him: “There’s an easier way! Now that you’ve got the subject at the size you want, move it into the correct www.digitalcameraworld.com
EXPERT INSIGHT DEPTH OF FIELD Andy says… Shooting extreme macro close-ups severely restricts depth of field, so shooting wide open might only give you less than a millimetre of sharpness. Closing down the aperture extends depth of field dramatically, but even so you’ll probably not get the full flower, from closest to furthest petal, in focus. I don’t worry too much about diffraction when shooting macro, where the entire image becomes softer at very narrow apertures, as my style of shooting is soft and dreamy. At the end of the day, there’s no ‘right’ aperture – it’s purely down to the look that you’re after.
Camera:
Nikon D750
Lens:
105mm f/2.8
Exposure:
1/80 sec, f/4, ISO100
f/22
f/4
9
SHOOT
SHARPE Master the art of focusing, from static landscapes to moving subjects and street photography to macro‌
26
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Perfect sharpness
Learning how to use different focusing techniques is important, but recognizing when to put each to work – depending on the subject matter – is essential for professional results.
IT
Images: © Shutterstock
Shoo t it… SHARPER!
ER! T www.digitalcameraworld.com
he philosophy surrounding sharpness has changed significantly over the history of photography. Modern sensors and lenses are now capable of capturing a previously unobtainable level of detail, which has resulted in a cultural shift amongst photographers and the users of the photographs that we produce. The expectations of quality – a perceived baseline standard level of sharpness – has increased amongst an ever-more-
demanding audience. This means that, where a fundamental skill such as focusing is concerned, it can be quite difficult to hide any flaws in the photographer’s technique. Correct focus is imperative, not only because blurred images fail to convey detail and act as a distraction, but also because the viewer of a photograph is led by where the plane of focus falls. If misplaced this can incorrectly indicate to your audience where they should be looking within your composition. It is also a professional skill to be able to adapt your approach to focusing for different subjects and genres. Subject distance, speed and direction all influence which focusing method should be employed for the most reliable results.
27
CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
Colourful, well-lit background produces vibrant blurred tones and attractive bokeh
Super-fast 85mm prime is used to produce a shallow depth of field
Spacious and interesting background lends itself to a large, medium-format style composition
The Mission –U nderstand the Brenizer method, and shoot and edit your own portrait
Time –O ne hour
Skill level – Advanced
Kit needed – F ast standard or telephoto lens
–A dobe CC (or similar editing suite)
VIEW THE PROJECT VIDEOS ONLINE www.bit.ly/NPhoto115
42
P roje c t two: Crea tive tech niq ues
Patchwork portraits
Mike Harris uses the Brenizer method to shoot and edit a bokeh panorama with a super-shallow depth of field The Brenizer method is the brainchild of renowned wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer. It’s sometimes referred to as the bokeh panorama, owing to the wide frame and super-shallow depth of field that characterizes the style of images. Bokeh panoramas boast shallower depths of field than are achievable with a wide-angle lens and give APS-C and full-frame users the ability to produce portraits with a large format aesthetic. The key to this striking
technique is to use a fast telephoto lens to achieve a creamy depth of field and constant camera settings that won’t change between frames, creating a seamless blend. Once you’ve settled on a white balance preset, locked your exposure, and used AF to focus on your subject, you need to switch to manual focus so as not to change your point of focus as you begin to shoot your panorama sequence. Exactly how many photos you take is
down to personal preference, but we recommend overlaying each image by around 30% to ensure you don’t leave any gaps. Photoshop makes it easy to blend your sequence by automatically merging your images together. You then simply need to check the blend for any inconsistencies and crop it as desired. If you like the idea of creating a wide portrait with a super-shallow depth of field, here’s how to shoot and edit your own bokeh panorama.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
BRENIZER PORTRAITS
www.digitalcameraworld.com
43
Tom Mason Wild Life
Tom Mason Pro wildlife photographer and Nikon Europe Ambassador Tom has worked around the globe on assignments to capture images of all creatures great and small, from the Falkland Islands to the Amazon Rainforest. www.tommasonphoto.com
Feeling the buzz? Finding ways to excite yourself after years of a hobby can be tough, but it’s still very possible
H
aving been stuck at home for the last few months it’s been an odd time in life. Over the last six years as a professional wildlife photographer, March through June has been rather busy. Sitting at home could have felt frustrating, but weirdly it hasn’t. As a person, I tend to be quite positive, so when the lockdown got underway I thought it was a terrific time to take stock and reflect on a few things. One of the biggest worries about my career so far has been the fact that I didn’t want to ruin my hobby. Growing up, photography was my break from life, a chance to just enjoy and be outside with nature. The process of sitting behind the camera was pretty much as far away from stress as possible. But when you turn that into a career, things start to change. Making good images, although still creative, is required, rather than a bonus of a successful day, and it all has to happen regularly. If trips don’t go well it has ramifications in regards to sales, clients and ultimately putting food on the table, so stress, well, sneaks in…
All images: © Tom Mason
Let’s talk about stress
54
Now, when it comes to stress, I confess that I like it in some forms. The added pressure can help me to work harder and more efficiently, focusing on producing the best work I can, maximizing opportunities. Short, week-long trips overseas see me pulling 22-hour days back-to-back, squeezing the maximum from every moment and often resulting in images and opportunities I’m very proud of, that feeling of pressure aiding
my creative process. That buzz, however, can fade when you land home again, trip over and back into the daily slog of emails and meetings. The grind can take you away from the camera until that next trip, and although when working on location you have amazing moments with some great subjects, that time behind the camera is eaten into by the practicalities of it being your job. Rewind 20 years and I’m in the garden. Having been through my mum’s old boxes from her time travelling, I have her SLR in hand. It’s got no film inside, but that doesn’t matter as a six-year-old me wanders round the garden looking into the lavender and pointing the classic nifty fifty at the bumblebees. Peering through the viewfinder I remember the excitement of holding the camera, turning the dampened manual focus ring, and pressing the shutter before winding on. That buzz that afternoon may have been the first inkling that becoming a photographer would be my path. Back in the present, I’ve been getting back to basics, with days to get out and enjoy local wildlife. At home, I’ve been inspired to look a little closer and spend time with the macro lens, something in the past I’ve always diverted from in
Lens reversed, magnification at around 3x life size puts you in a different world. Everything takes on a new dimension
Reversed magnification offers up a new world of close-up natural wonders.
search of the larger and sexier subjects. Wanting something of a challenge, I’ve invested in an old-school Nikon 28mm AIS that offers the ability to be reversed for magnifications over life-size. Nikon is still producing these (in small numbers) and mine was brand new. The all-metal construction is solid, and the dampened manual focus ring is smooth, with an aperture ring that clicks in a way that’s satisfying. Every time I pick it up it puts a smile on my face, and on the front of my D850 it’s a class imaging tool. Lens reversed, magnification at around 3x life size puts you in a different world. Everything takes on a new dimension with the lens opening up a hidden land. Stress gone, I’m back to finding that pure love of discovering something new, a new buzz, albeit still with a camera firmly in hand.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Shooting with a reverse-mounted Nikon 28mm AIS enabled Tom to pick out the prime details of this bumblebee.
55
THE N-PHOTO INTERVIEW
Andrea Bruce Profile
● Andrea Bruce is a co-owner and member of the Amsterdam-based Noor photo agency and specializes on the lives of people living in the aftermath of war. ● Previously, she was a staff photographer at the Washington Post, covering the Iraq war from 2003 and other major conflicts in Afghanistan, India, Egypt and Iran. ● Andrea has been named Photographer of the Year four times by the White House News Photographers Association, and is a recipient of the prestigious John Faber Award from the Overseas Press Club in New York. ● A regular contributor to National Geographic and the New York Times, Andrea is a Nikon European Ambassador and the recipient of the Chris Hondros Fund Award for the “commitment, willingness and sacrifice shown in her work”.
All images: © Andrea Bruce / Noor Images
www.andreabruce.com
56
www.digitalcameraworld.com
ANDREA BRUCE
Andrea Bruce
She is one of the most decorated war and conflict photographers today, but even Andrea Bruce has been forced to focus on the dayto-day realities of home. She tells Keith Wilson how to survive in a war zone, why she loves the Z 6 and how to find stories others miss‌
www.digitalcameraworld.com
57
YOUR STORIES
[1] Andrew uses slower shutter speeds when photographing aircraft with propellers to create a sense of motion in the rotors.
Camera:
Nikon D500
Lens:
200-500mm f/5.6
Exposure:
1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO160
Mighty wings Andrew Yeates discusses his passion for aviation photography and how he captures incredible planes in flight MISSION: Capture images that show off the incredible beauty and power of awe-inspiring aircraft at one of the UK’s biggest air shows PHOTOGRAPHER: Andrew Yeates LOCATION: County Meath, Republic of Ireland KIT USED: Nikon D500, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR INSTAGRAM: @andyy28
ver since I was a child I’ve been fascinated with all things aviation. From watching the ’80s action series Airwolf on the telly and building hundreds of model kits to plane spotting. I’ve even had helicopter flight lessons! I started to photograph air shows around Ireland in 2011 and joined my local camera club in 2014. I took a big
E
68
interest in wildlife and macro photography, but always returned to aviation. Eager to learn more, I wanted to visit some of the bigger air shows around the UK and Europe. My trip to the Royal Navy International Air Day at Yeovilton in 2018 was my first air show outside of Ireland and I had just switched to Nikon. It was also my first outing with the 200-500mm f/5.6. Coming from a 10Mp camera and an old zoom lens, I was excited to experience the huge leap in image quality and performance. I mostly shoot in Aperture Priority, but I’ll switch to Shutter Priority if I’m shooting anything with propellers. Slower shutter speeds blur the propellers and add a sense of movement, so it’s important to have control of that. For this shot [1], I chose a shutter speed of 1/125 sec and used tight framing to convey the machine’s power and
size. Beautiful, natural light from the right adds shape to the aircraft, making it pop against the background.
Highway to the danger zone Having photographed the Red Arrows numerous times before, I know they never fail to impress. In this image [2] they’re performing the tornado manoeuvre. I focused on the main formation of jets using group-area AF and placed them on the right-hand side of the frame. The dark clouds were perfect as they emphasized the colourful smoke trails. The Belgian Air Force F-16 display is a crowd favourite at any air show. I wanted my photo [3] to reflect the aircraft’s moniker ‘Dark Falcon.’ I shot towards the sun and dialled in about a stop of negative exposure compensation to throw the jet into silhouette, while the sun lit up the smoke trails and vapour coming off the wings. The flares were an added bonus. I was keen to get a shot of the Royal Navy’s Wildcats while they were firing flares [4]. The two helicopters came out very early on for what I thought was an introduction. You can imagine my disappointment when all of a sudden they both pulled up and flares started flying everywhere. I was still sitting there with my camera on my lap! I thought I’d missed my chance, but they came out again later in the day and I was ready.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY
Camera:
Nikon D500
Lens:
200-500mm f/5.6
Exposure:
1/800 sec, f/8, ISO320
[2] Above: The dark clouds emphasize the Red Arrows’ signature red, white and blue smoke trails.
Camera:
Nikon D500
Lens:
200-500mm f/5.6
Exposure:
1/3200 sec, f/8, ISO360
Andrew’s Top Tips • Plan your day. Research the layout of the venue and identify the display line. Familiarize yourself with the timetable.
[3] Right: The unmistakable shape of this F-16 Fighting Falcon makes it particularly suited to silhouettes.
• Shutter speed is crucial. I use over 1/1000 sec for fast jets and 1/15 sec to 1/320 sec for panning, aircraft with propellers and motion blur.
[4] Below: A shutter speed of 1/250 sec was enough to freeze the flares but still maintain a bit of motion in the rotor blades.
• Use dark clouds to your advantage. They add more drama and impact.
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Camera:
Nikon D500
Lens:
200-500mm f/5.6
Exposure:
1/250 sec, f/18, ISO320
69
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2020
The search for the world’s best Nikon photographer of 2020 continues! Each issue the monthly N-Photo POTY 2020 photo contest’s top 10 images are selected by the N-Photo team. This issue’s competition has the theme of travel photography…
www.digitalcameraworld.com
NPOTY TRAVEL 2
3
1
1. Lights of Yi Peng
2. The Young Breeder
3. Temple
This image was taken at the Yi Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand. A pond in the grounds of the Lanna Dhutanka temple provided the reflection that allowed for this stunning symmetrical composition. Lanterns evenly occupy the sky and the silhouetted crowd has been captured crisply. There was no room for error as the lanterns were only released once.
Cattle are very important in Mundari culture as this portrait of a child and bull clearly conveys. The photograph was taken in Terekeka, South Sudan, and stands out as both subjects are looking directly into the camera. The wide 24mm focal length has captured the surrounding herd and the sunburst peeping from behind the bull’s huge horns only adds to this image’s appeal.
This rather magnificent building is the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Composition is key when photographing architecture and, like the building itself, this picture is almost perfectly symmetrical. The warm interior lighting pops against the cool hues of this blue hour image, and the clear sky complements the clean aesthetic of the epic structure.
BY RODNEY EE
BY ROBERTO PAZZI
BY HANA PESKOVA
Camera:
Nikon D800
Camera:
Nikon D810
Camera:
Nikon D800E
Lens:
24-70mm f/2.8
Lens:
24-70mm f/2.8
Lens:
35mm f/1.4
Exposure:
1/50 sec, f/3.2, ISO3200
Exposure:
1/800 sec, f/10, ISO200
Exposure:
1/15 sec, f/6.3, ISO400
WIN! Your prints professionally mounted Worth £100!
Transform your favourite spaces with your own piece of personalized CEWE WALL ART. The winner of the crowd and judges’ vote each receive a £100 CEWE Photoworld voucher* to have their entry mounted in a range of stylish options including acrylic, aluminium, canvas and gallery prints in a huge array of sizes. See cewe-photoworld.com/npoty20 *
CEWE can only guarantee delivery to UK addresses
www.digitalcameraworld.com
77
REVIEW 1
2 5
4
6
3
Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S
Mount Nikon Z FX Full frame Yes Autofocus Yes Image stabilization No Construction 14 elements in 11 groups Angle of view 94 degrees
£1049/$1049
Diaphragm blades 9
The Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S is the widest-angle Nikon Z-mount prime lens to date, combining versatility with top performance
Maximum magnification ratio 0.19x
T
he Nikon Z 20mm f/1.8 S has a lot to live up to in the photographic world. Both of Nikon’s 24-70mm Z-mount f/2.8 and f/4 standard zooms are tremendously versatile, but what do you do when you want a wider viewing angle? The most obvious choice is the similarly excellent Z 14-30mm f/4 S zoom, which gives a mighty maximum viewing angle of 114 degrees. However, if you’re after a fixed focal length and a faster aperture rating, the newer 20mm lens is, literally, a prime candidate. It gives a generous 94 degree viewing angle on FX bodies, and a useful 70 degrees on the DX format Z 50, which is the equivalent to using a 30mm lens on a full-frame camera body.
86
Specifications
Min focus distance 0.2m
Key features The Z 20mm has a very manageable size and weight, at 85x109mm and 505g respectively. For such a wide-angle lens, the modestly sized 77mm filter thread is a bonus, enabling the easy fitment of screw-in filters, or a square filter holder. It’s a particular advantage for landscape photography, to which the lens is well suited. The
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Filter size 77m Size 85x109mm Weight 505g Z 20mm is equally adept at large-scale architectural photography and cityscapes. The combination of wide viewing angle and fast f/1.8 aperture works well for shooting under low lighting conditions. For example, when shooting indoors under ambient lighting, or outside at twilight, you can maintain fairly fast shutter speeds to freeze action without bumping up your ISO too much. For architectural interiors, where you might prefer to use a narrower aperture, the in-body stabilization of Z 6 and Z 7 cameras helps to avoid the shakes. And for the great outdoors, the viewing angle and fast aperture offer great promise for astrophotography. A less obvious advantage of the lens is that it has a particularly short minimum focus distance of just 0.2m (about eight inches). Bearing in mind that this is measured from the focal
NIKON Z 20MM F/1.8 S
Line widths per picture height
Sharpness
Sharpness is ace, from wide-open right to f/11. It’s great in the centre of the frame between f/2.8 and f/8. Corner sharpness isn’t as remarkable, but is still impressive. This lens demonstrates astounding sharpness while keeping fringing very low.
plane (effectively the active surface of the image sensor), rather than the front of the lens, you really can get incredibly close to what you’re shooting. It’s great for exaggerating perspective and, again, the fast f/1.8 max aperture adds versatility.
Build and handling The 20mm has a simple yet effective design. Onboard controls boil down to an auto/manual focus switch and a single control ring. The control ring is generously large, utilizing most of the length of the barrel, and has a well-damped, fluid feel to its operation. You’d usually use it as a manual focus ring and, while there’s no physical focus distance scale nor depth of field markers to enable zone focusing, manual focus does work well with the optional ‘focus peaking’ display of Nikon’s mirrorless cameras. If you use autofocus, the control ring can be assigned to a variety of other functions, including declicked aperture control. A further attraction for movie capture is that focus breathing is absolutely negligible, so the effective field of view and magnification don’t change as you sweep through the focus range. The optical design is based on 14 elements in 11 groups, including three aspherical elements and three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements to enhance clarity and reduce chromatic aberrations. Nano Crystal Coat is also applied to minimize ghosting and flare. Overall build quality feels robust, despite the lens being fairly lightweight, and the construction features a good range of weather-seals.
Fringing
The 20mm is no disappointment, delivering spectacular corner-to-corner sharpness. Auto in-camera corrections are available for lateral chromatic aberration, vignetting and distortion but, even when disabled, these negative attributes are minimal. Resistance to ghosting and flare is very good indeed. For such a wide-angle lens, bokeh is smooth, especially when shooting extreme close-ups. At the other end of the scale, the lens works well for astrophotography, with minimal coma and astigmatism. This helps to avoid the appearance of comet-like tails on stars and other points of light, or more complex batwing shapes. For a native Z-mount lens with the full range of autofocus and handling finesse, this 20mm prime is a cracker. The wide viewing angle and fast aperture combine to give great versatility for everything from cramped interiors to rolling landscapes and beyond, taking in heavenly skies at night. It’s pricey, but the sheer quality and performance makes the 20mm worth it.
Distortion
-0.5
This lens produces mild barrel distortion, but it’s negligible and certainly not noticeable in most cases.
Features 1 Every movable part of the lens barrel is
sealed to keep dust and moisture out. 2 ED glass and aspherical lens elements
correct chromatic aberrations. 3 The control ring is large and offers a well-
damped, fluid feel to its operation. 4 It has a nice, solid build with a single
auto/manual focus switch.
Performance
5 The fast f/1.8 aperture works well for
Nikon’s Z-mount S-line prime and zoom lenses have come through our testing procedures with flying colours, so we’ve come to expect a lot from performance.
6 At 77mm, the filter thread is modestly
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Shorter bars indicate less fringing, and the Z 20mm f/1.8 S has short bars. It produces little to no aberration and you’re unlikely to spot any fringing in real-world shots.
shooting under low lighting conditions. sized for such a wide angle prime.
N-Photo verdict When you want a wider viewing angle than your 24-70mm zoom can deliver, this is the ideal prime lens for the Z 6 and Z 7. Image quality is up to the top standard of Z-mount Nikon S-line lenses, and you can enjoy similarly refined handling, virtually silent AF, and negligible focus breathing. It’s a superb lens that’s equally capable for stills and film, and it’s also a delight for astrophotography. Features Build & handling Performance Value
5.0
Overall
87
BIG TEST
Superzoom design
Superzooms use a lot of tech to ensure image quality remains stellar ny zoom lens represents a bit of a compromise in image quality, compared with a fixed focal length prime. It’s only natural that the bigger zoom range of a superzoom lens tends to result in a greater compromise, especially in terms of sharpness and distortions. But recent designs aim to capitalize on advances in tech, maximizing performance. A key element in the design of superzoom lenses is the use of ‘aspherical’ elements. Instead of having the natural curve of a section of a sphere, these specially moulded, or ground elements, have irregular shapes. A single aspherical element can replace multiple spherical elements, greatly reducing the size and
A
weight of a camera lens, while also potentially increasing quality. Given that Nikon DSLR cameras don’t feature sensor-shift stabilization, another key ingredient in superzoom lenses is optical stabilization. If you want a lens that you can use while travelling on foot, you don’t want to be lugging a clunky tripod around with you everywhere. Effective optical stabilization can be a major asset in getting consistently sharp handheld shots, especially at long telephoto focal lengths. All of the lenses in this Big Test feature stabilization, including Nikon’s first mirrorless superzoom, making it well suited to the non-stabilized Z 50. We’ve come to accept autofocus as a way of life, however, there are various competing
systems on offer. Most of the Nikon lenses on test use ring-type ultrasonic AF systems, based on a pair of large rings within the lens that are driven electromagnetically at ultrasonic frequencies. Performance tends to be quick and whisper-quiet and there’s a handling benefit too. The focus ring doesn’t rotate during AF, so you don’t need to keep your fingers clear while handholding the camera and lens. Full-time manual override of AF is also available, without the need to switch from AF to MF. Some others lenses on test use motorbased AF systems. These enable a smaller, more compact physical construction, but the focus ring rotates during AF and doesn’t allow full-time manual override. AF tends to be slower and more audible as well.
What to look for…
Keep these on your superzoom wish list SHORT STUFF Most superzoom lenses for DX format cameras have a shortest focal length of 18mm, equivalent to a 27mm on a full-frame camera. The Tamron 16-300mm shrinks to an effective 24mm focal length.
ULTRASONIC MOTOR Unlike in ring-type systems, an ultrasonic motor assembly uses drive shafts and gearwheels to drive autofocus. They’re generally slower and louder in operation.
LONG REACH The DX format lenses on test stretch to 200mm, 300mm or 400mm. After applying the 1.5x crop factor, the ‘effective’ focal length becomes 300mm, 450mm or 600mm respectively. AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM The lenses on test with ring-type ultrasonic systems have the fastest and quietest autofocus, whereas motor-based systems enable a smaller more lightweight lens construction.
90
SEALED MOUNTING PLATE All of the Nikon and Tamron lenses on test have a weather-seal ring on their mounting plates, to avoid the ingress of dust and moisture. It’s lacking in the Sigma superzoom.
FOCUS DISTANCE SCALE Most lenses in this group have a focus distance scale, either mounted under a viewing window or printed on the focus ring. However, they are lacking in the Nikon 18-300mm, Z 24200mm and Tamron 18-200mm lenses.
OPTICAL STABILIZATION All but essential in superzoom lenses, competing stabilization systems include Nikon VR (Vibration Reduction), Sigma OS (Optical Stabilizer) and Tamron VC (Vibration Compensation). A lens with a built-in optical stabilizer has a dedicated group of elements with computer-controlled movement to counteract physical vibrations.
16mm
18mm
28mm
200mm
300mm
400mm
Zoom extremes
Here’s how the major focal length differences look in practice The above series of photographs shows the approximate difference in wide-angle potential between the varying focal lengths of 16mm and 18mm on an APS-C format body, as well as the longest competing zoom settings of 200mm, 300mm and 400mm. On a full-frame body, the Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens gives just roughly the same zoom range an 18-200mm lens allows for APS-C format cameras. www.digitalcameraworld.com
9000
SUPERZOOMS
Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC
Sigma 18-300mm f/3.56.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C
A smart buy as a holiday lens
Extra reach comes with greater quality
£189/$199
f you’re going to splash out on a ‘holiday lens’, it makes sense to keep the price down and buy something that you’re not going to be too precious about. With the least expensive price tag in the group, the Tamron 18-200mm is low-cost and, at 400g, it’s also very lightweight. As the second edition of Tamron’s 18-200mm lens, it adds VC (Vibration Compensation) and boasts an upgraded autofocus system. It’s still based on an electric motor but with an integrated gear train that runs more quietly than the original lens. The focus ring rotates during autofocus and doesn’t enable full-time manual override. The lens is 30g lighter than its predecessor, despite being a bit larger. This is due to the fitment of a plastic rather than metal mounting plate, but at least it includes a weather-seal ring.
I
Performance AF speed is pedestrian, but the stabilizer works well with four-stop effectiveness. Image quality is respectable in all areas, making the lens outstanding value at the price.
N-Photo verdict This upgraded Tamron superzoom delivers decent enough performance at an affordable price tag.
Sharpness Sharpness isn’t anything to write home about, but at least it’s consistent through the zoom range.
Fringing Amounts of colour fringing are average for a superzoom at the short and long end, but negligible in the mid-sector.
Distortion It’s not bad overall, but barrel distortion is worse than average at the short end of the zoom range.
Build & handling Performance
www.digitalcameraworld.com
igma produces a number of superzooms, including 18-200mm and 18-250mm models, but this 18-300mm is the most attractive option, not only due to its longer focal length, but because its image quality is generally superior, too. It’s not the most compact lens, weighing in at 585g and with a 72mm filter thread. The construction employs Sigma’s TSC (Thermally Stable Composite) material that’s resistant to size fluctuations during temperature changes. There’s a metal mounting plate but no weather-seal ring. As with other Global Vision lenses, it’s compatible with Sigma’s optional USB Dock. Upgraded glass sees the inclusion of four top-grade FLD (‘Fluorite’ Low Dispersion) elements along with one SLD element.
S
Performance Typical of motor-based ultrasonic systems, the one in this lens isn’t that speedy and is audible, as well as lacking a manual override facility. The optical stabilizer gives a four-stop effectiveness, complete with auto panning detection.
N-Photo verdict
Features
Value
4
£349/$399
Overall
It offers the greatest zoom range with the minimum compromise in image quality. It’s a bit chunky, however.
Sharpness Sharpness is excellent throughout most of the zoom range, only dropping off at the long end.
Fringing Colour fringing is relatively minimal, especially in the mid to long sector of the zoom range.
Distortion As with fringing, the lens controls pincushion distortion well at medium to long zoom settings.
Features Build & handling Performance Value
4.5
Overall
91