Outdoor Photography 05 (Sampler) by Future PLC

Landscapes

Nature

Macro

Lenses

Gardens

Wildlife

master macro shots Discover the joys of getting up

Digital Edition

and really close to nature

take perfect panoramas Professional secrets for capturing stunning scenes revealed

from dusk to dawn Get over the golden hour and learn to take great photos all day long

Contents 10

Camera skills Your essential guide to outdoor photography ��10 Maximise the potential of lenses �� 18 Master pro landscape compositions ��28

Predict the weather �� 38 Shooting panoramas �� 42 From dusk to dawn �� 54

Projects Fill the frame with flowers ��66 Ring flowers with light �� 68 Take it slow with seascapes ��70 Improve your landscapes �� 74 Go with the flow to shoot water �� 76 Take your SLR for a dip �� 80 Control bright skies �� 82

Say hi to a blue sky �� 84 Make your zoo shots natural �� 86 Paint with light �� 90 Zoom your way to explosive shots �� 92 Master shutter dragging �� 96 Mount and frame prints �� 97 Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Contents 124

Don’t restrict yourself to rural locations, as coastal resorts and even some urban environments can also be home to an assortment of outdoor scenarios

SHOOTOUTS

132

Urban architecture �� 100 Flower power �� 106 Ancient landscapes ��112 Mountain scenes �� 118 Wildlife photography �� 124

Outdoor Gear

100

Macros lenses �� 132 Photo apps ��140 Sturdy tripods �� 142 Pivot tripods �� 144 Sling straps �� 152 HDR software �� 154 Wildlife lenses ��156 Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Camera skills

31 Patience is a virtue

If there’s a lull in subjects to shoot it can seem like a good use of time to go through captures and delete any that aren’t up to scratch. Instead, wait and do this at home where a larger screen is better equipped at presenting the results. You could find that images you previously dismissed as under-par can actually be saved with a little tweaking.

32 Correcting colour

If the colours of your outdoor scene aren’t realistic, use an editing suite to correct them. Most programs will offer an Auto Correct option, a colour-picking feature, or work at this manually by counter-acting hues. For example, if your images show a cooling or blue hue, add warmth by nudging the Yellow values up.

33 Spot dead pixels

Lens spots appear as dull patches on the image and dead pixels appear as coloured dots. You can clone these errors out using an editing suite such as Photoshop. Here, select the Clone tool, hold down Opt/Alt and click on an area you wish to copy. Next move the cursor to the offending spot and click again.

34 Keep the noise down

Using higher ISOs for night photography or handheld shooting can introduce noise. You can decrease how noticeable this is by using a noise-reduction plug-in such as Noise Ninja or Neat Image. Be careful not to go too far with the extent of this feature, however, as it can cause the oversmoothing of details.

Creative compositions

Composing images effectively takes great skill, patience and a good creative eye. If your composition falls flat on the screen, try using the thirds grid to crop into it. This way you can make the interest lie on one of the intersecting points or lines. You’ll find this produces a much more pleasing arrangement.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Camera skills

Beware distracting elements

If part of your scene is detracting focus from the main area of attention, you may wish to remove it completely. If it’s too big to simply clone out in Photoshop, you can choose to crop it out instead. Remember to lock the aspect ratio if you want to maintain the form and proportions of the frame as it was originally shot.

Enhance colours

Should the colours of your outdoor scene fail to pop at a vivacity you had envisaged, try ramping them up using an editing suite’s Saturation slider, such as the one found in Photoshop. Simply dragging the scale to the right will instantly inject some dramatic colour into the image, though be careful not to overdo this effect.

37 Balance your exposure 39 Moody monochrome Tricky lighting conditions can fool a camera’s meters into over- or underexposing. Using Curves, or a similar exposure-balancing tool can help this. With Curves activated, lift the line one-third of the way from the top to reveal details shrouded in shadow. Drag the line one-third from the bottom down to bring back details blown out by overexposing.

To enchant your capture with a certain atmosphere, try removing all of the colour. One of the easiest ways to do this is to head to the Saturation slider and scale it all the way down to the left until the image becomes a blanket of shades of grey. Try increasing the contrast and playing with Curves for a whole range of interesting results.

Size and quality

If you intend to print your outdoor images, stick with the original resolution, as today’s cameras offer very high megapixel-count sensors that are more than capable of producing extraordinarily large prints at full resolution. However, if you want to post your image online, reduce its size to 72dpi for easy upload and viewing.

Above Balance. Tampering with shots in postproduction is a common practise among professional photographers

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

All images © Natalie Denton

Should the colours of your outdoor scene fail to pop at a vivacity you had envisaged, try ramping them up using an editing suite’s Saturation slider

Camera skills

Achieve Balance and Harmony Understand these basic principles to help produce appealing compositions

omposition is the art of creating order among the chaos of the natural world, achieved by careful selection of what we include in the frame. Probably the best-known way of organising the frame is the rule of thirds. Imagine a grid dividing the frame into thirds both horizontally and vertically. The components can then be organised around these divisions, with key focal points placed on the intersection of horizontal and vertical lines. The rule of thirds is a simplification of a naturally harmonious proportion known as 'the golden section', which has been used in art for centuries. Start by dividing the image frame into two

Right Rule of thirds. This peaceful river scene is organised according to the rule of thirds, in particular the church, trees and bed of reeds

rectangles, so that the ratio of the smaller one to the larger one is the same as the ratio of the larger one to the whole frame. If you continue to subdivide the frame along these lines, you end up with something that looks like a rule of thirds grid, which can be organised in a similar way. The use of lines in the landscape (such as roads and rivers) is another way to add structure. These lines are also very useful for highlighting the main subject in the composition. Diagonal lines are especially dynamic. There’s more to visual balance than the rule of thirds or golden section, however. Thinking of

Below The golden section. This image’s harmony comes from the fact that Super Tip the main focal Rule of Odds point – the chalk One simple tip to increase carving – is harmony in compositions is to placed remember that odd numbers are precisely on more pleasing to the eye than an intersection even numbers. So, if including a in the golden group of objects, where possible section make sure the group is an odd number. Three is often regarded as the magic number.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

physical balance can help us to understand its principles. If you place two objects of equal weight on a seesaw, they will need to be equidistant from the fulcrum in order to balance. In visual terms, there is symmetry. However, with two objects of different weights, the lighter one has to be further away from the fulcrum to achieve balance, which in visual terms creates asymmetric balance – usually considered to be more dynamic. We don’t consider the physical weight of objects in the frame, but rather their ‘visual weight’ – such as size, contrast, texture – and place them accordingly.

Camera skills

Direct the eye Highlight your imageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s focal point using an effective composition

Focal Point

The church is placed on the intersection of two lines in the golden section

Balance

The horizon is placed on a horizontal line of the golden section

Leading Line

The line of rock leads the eye through the frame to the main subject

Depth

Strong foreground interest creates linear perspective, adding a sense of depth

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Projects the mission

■ Get natural-looking wildlife shots at zoos or safari parks

time needed ■ 1 day

skill level

■ Anyone can do it ■ Some tricky aspects ■ Advanced technique

Kit needed

■ Nikon DSLR ■ Telephoto zoom

Project nine Camera techniques

Make your zoo shots natural

A telephoto zoom plus some clever practical tricks and editing processes equals great wildlife shots Animals make great subjects, but they’re not always easy to photograph, even in captivity. That said, zoos and wildlife parks are great places to hone your wildlife photography skills. They allow you to get closer to the animals than you would in the wild. For this tutorial, we went to the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, Oxfordshire, to show you how to get shots to be proud of. The first thing you’ll need is a telephoto lens. Nikon’s 55-300mm or 70-300mm zooms would be ideal, as the maximum effective focal length they give on a DX-format camera is about 450mm. This should be adequate even for larger enclosures, where animals are further away.

Longer focal lengths take a little practice, which is why environments like zoos are ideal. They also increase the risk of camera-shake. As a quick guide, use the ‘reciprocal rule’, where you divide the effective focal length into ‘1’ to get the minimum ‘safe’ shutter speed. For example, if you’re shooting at an effective focal length of 250mm, your minimum speed should be 1/250 sec. The VR system on many Nikon lenses will help cut camera-shake, but it can’t prevent subject movement. You’ll still need

faster shutter speeds to capture moving animals. We’d recommend shooting RAW files rather than JPEGs, too. You won’t always have time to think about the perfect settings when you’re shooting, and NEFs give you more flexibility to edit settings later on. The walkthrough below gives more tips on the best camera settings to use at zoos, but we’ve also g ot plenty of advice on how to get better animal shots in the artificial surroundings of a wildlife park.

Zoos and wildlife parks are great places to hone your wildlife photography skills. They allow you to get closer to the animals than you would in the wild

Step by step Go wild with your camera There’s no need to go on safari to get better views of animals… Despite what you might assume, it’s not essential to have an expensive camera and fancy, dedicated lenses to get great wildlife pictures. A Nikon D4 and 300mm f/2.8 would be lovely to have, certainly, but you can do very nicely with a D3100 and ordinary telephoto zoom. The real skill lies in choosing the right camera settings, getting plenty of practice with longer lenses and learning to overcome some of the difficulties involved with photographing animals in captivity.

01 Use Aperture Priority

You might think that the obvious way to set a high shutter speed would be by using Shutter Priority (S) mode. In fact, Aperture Priority (A) is better. If you set the widest lens aperture (f/5.6 on the 300mm optic we’re using, for example) then you automatically get the fastest shutter speed available for the conditions.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

02 Increase the ISO

For relatively static subjects, a shutter speed of 1/250 sec is a workable minimum, but 1/500 sec or 1/1000 sec is better, especially if the animal is moving. To get these shutter speeds, you might need to increase the ISO. On reasonably bright days, ISO200 or ISO400 should be enough when you’re shooting at f/5.6.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Challenge 1

108

Shootout

Take a close-up of a single flower

Kit Canon 700D with EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens at 42mm Exposure 1/320 sec at f/4.5, ISO 100

Ge off It was clear from the start that what Geoff lacked in technical skill, he more than made up for in creativity and enthusiasm. He has a good eye and a keenness to explore, which is a must in garden photography.

For his first photo, Geoff decided to work on getting to grips with the aperture setting and how he could isolate a single flower effectively. Ben advised him to use Aperture Priority mode so he could control the effect with greater precision. To help with his composition, Ben advised Geoff to use the rule of thirds and not always place his subject right in the centre. After Ben’s advice, Geoff came back with this cracking shot.

Expe rt op in ion

• Nicel y sa tura ted, with strong and eye-ca tching greens. • Th e composit ion works effec tively, with the main focal poin t off to one side. • Geoff has used an ape rture se ttin g of f/4.5, whi ch has blurred the bac kgroun d and isola ted the fore grou nd sub jec t.

TRY THIS!

Remember the name When you get back from a shoot, it can be tricky to remember the names of all the flowers. To help you with organising your shots later, we suggest you devise a system where you take an image of the name plaque before you start shooting. That way you’ll be able to clearly title and label your images at the editing stage.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

Shootout

Ca role For the first challenge, Carole used her 100mm macro lens that has a one-to-one image aspect ratio. For this reason, Carole was able to get in much closer to the flowers when she was ready to take her shot. When you shoot at such a close proximity, you need to be very careful to make sure that your focus point is absolutely spot-on. Carole opted to use an aperture setting of f/7.1 here to ensure that enough of the flower stayed sharp while blurring out the background. To compensate for the narrow aperture setting, Carole pushed her ISO right up to 500. An alternative would have been for Carole to use her tripod and set the camera to a slower shutter speed to keep her image setting at the optimum quality. As we were shooting on a bright sunny day, Carole also decided to use a diffuser to help shade her subject, as harsh > shadows are distracting.

Expe rt op in ion

• Ca role has mad e an exce llen t choi ce of flower bud, with the petal s just starting to show.

• She has mad e grea t use of the ape rture se ttin g, with the main part of the flower sha rp and the bac kgroun d blurred. • Th e soft ligh t works effec tively and all de tail can be seen.

Kit Canon 70D with EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro Exposure 1/250 sec at f/7.1, ISO 500

TRY THIS!

Use Aperture Priority Both Geoff and Carole opted to shoot in the Aperture Priority mode, so the camera was balancing the shutter speed while they were in control of the aperture setting. We would also recommend that you check your histogram as you shoot, and adjust the exposure compensation setting accordingly.

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

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Outdoor gear

BEST FOR MFT

BEST FOR PENTAX

Mount option: Canon EF Fujifilm X Nikon FX Pentax K Samsung NX Mount option: Micro Four Thirds

Sony A Sony E Four Thirds Micro Four Thirds

Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro M.Zuiko Digital ED

Samyang 100mm f/2.8 ED UMC Macro

£450/$500

£350/$550

You’ll be seeing double ompared with other manufacturers’ own-brand macro lenses on test, the Olympus is very affordable. Designed for the Micro Four Thirds format, which requires a relatively small image circle, the lens is compact and remarkably light, at just 185g. Even so, it feels sturdy and well-built, and the construction includes weather seals. The MFT format’s 2.0x crop factor gives the lens an effective focal length of 120mm. More importantly for macro shooting, this also doubles the ‘effective’ maximum magnification to 2.0x, when using the lens at its 20cm minimum focus distance. The only catch is that this distance is closer than normal, increasing the risk of casting a shadow over your subject.

A macro lens for almost any camera

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0 f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

Centre

f/8 Middle

f/11

f/16 f/22

Edge

Scores for sharpness don’t look impressive, but images retain excellent fine detail.

FRINGING Lower is better

f/2.8 0.12 f/8 0.7 f/16 0.8 There’s very little colour fringing at any aperture throughout the entire range.

DISTORTION Nearer 0 is better -0.07

Performance Both automatic and manual focusing work very effectively for macro shooting, based on a stepping motor system that enables excellent precision. Image quality is very pleasing overall, and the Zero coatings offer good resistance against ghosting and flare. It’s simply the best macro lens choice for MFT cameras.

-2

-1

The amount of pincushion distortion is so negligible that it’s almost impossible to spot.

Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

vailable in a barrage of different mount options, including the likes of Micro Four Thirds, Samsung NX and both Sony A and E fits, the Samyang is a very manual affair. Not only does it lack any autofocus ability, but the aperture also has to be set manually, using the lens’s aperture ring. The only exception to this is the Nikon-fit edition, which includes the electronics and mechanics necessary for adjusting the aperture from the host camera. The lens is well engineered and handles beautifully. The focus ring has a long travel and is silky smooth in operation, enabling excellent precision for very fine adjustments. High-quality optical elements include both ED (Extralow Dispersion) and HR (High Refractive) glass.

SHARPNESS HIGHER IS BETTER

Performance Sharpness and contrast are good even at the widest available aperture of f/2.8, and remain very consistent throughout most of the aperture range. A problem when using narrow apertures for non-Nikon SLRs is that the viewfinder image becomes very dark indeed.

SHARPNESS HIGHER IS BETTER 2500

2000

1500

1000

500

readings taken from centre f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

f/8

Centre

Middle

f/11

f/16 f/22

Edge

Sharpness is good across the whole frame, but not altogether outstanding.

FRINGING Lower is better

f/2.8 0.51 f/8 1.74 f/16 1.56 It’s a little worse than average, especially at mid-range apertures, but no real issue.

DISTORTION Nearer 0 is better -0.36 -2

-1

There’s a touch of pincushion distortion, but not usually enough to detect.

Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

Outdoor gear

Mount option: Canon EF Nikon FX Sony A Sigma SA Full-frame

Mount option: Sony E Full-frame

Sigma Macro 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM

Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS

£320/$620

£950/$1,100

High-end performance at a low price

An E-mount lens with all mod-cons

his full-frame SHARPNESS HIGHER IS BETTER compatible macro 2500 lens is available in Canon, Nikon and Sony A 2000 mount options. It’s the outright cheapest lens here (in the UK, at least) but you’d never guess based 1500 on the feature set. The Sigma boasts ring-type ultrasonic 1000 autofocus with a three-position range limiter switch, optical 500 stabilisation with dual static and readings taken panning modes, and two SLD from centre 0 (Special Low Dispersion) optical f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 elements. It’s supplied with a soft Centre Middle Edge case, a hood and a hood converter The drop in extreme corner-sharpness isn’t to optimise efficiency when using a concern for the majority of macro shooting. the lens on an APS-C format camera. FRINGING Lower is better Build quality is good and the 0.56 f/8 0.79 f/16 0.76 construction feels sturdy and solid, f/2.8 Colour fringing isn’t really perceptible, while operation of the manual even towards the extreme corners. focus ring is smooth and precise. DISTORTION Nearer 0 is better The only slight drawback is that -0.12 the Sigma has no weather seals.

Performance The Sigma combines excellent image quality with accurate autofocus and effective stabilisation, which match the pricier Nikon. Being a standard rather than hybrid stabiliser, it loses out to the Canon and Tamron for close-range effectiveness, but the Sigma is unbeatable value.

-2

-1

The negligible amount of barrel distortion will go completely unnoticed in most images.

Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

ne of Sony’s G-series lenses for E-mount cameras, this 90mm macro is designed to deliver beautiful bokeh. Other features include a DDSSM (Direct Drive Super Sonic wave Motor) autofocus motor and a three-position range limiter switch. There’s even a focus hold button, which is of no practical use for macro photography but can come in handy for portraiture and other short telephoto applications. As with the Tokina lens, the focus ring has a push-pull mechanism for switching between auto and manual focus. The inclusion of an optical stabiliser is a bonus when using the lens with first-generation A7 cameras, which lack a built-in sensor-shift stabiliser. The high-grade, weather-sealed build hosts an optical path that includes both an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element and a Super ED element.

Performance Image quality, handling and overall performance are excellent, but no better than from the much less expensive Tamron lens on test. Ultimately, the Sony is a great lens, but seems relatively poor value for money at the price.

SHARPNESS HIGHER IS BETTER 2500

2000

1500

1000

500

readings taken from centre f/2.8

f/4

f/5.6

Centre

f/8 Middle

f/11

f/16 f/22

Edge

Corner-sharpness could be a little better, but defocused areas are super-soft.

FRINGING Lower is better

f/2.8 0.29 f/8 0.4 f/16 0.76 The Sony suppresses longitudinal and lateral chromatic aberrations very well.

DISTORTION Nearer 0 is better -0.47 -2

-1

Barrel distortion is marginally worse than average, on a par with the Nikon lens.

Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

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Outdoor gear

Kenro Karoo Ultimate Travel

Manfrotto 190 Xpro3-BHQ2

£160/$240

£200/$300

It’s a variation on a theme

A new twist on pivoting

HE Karoo Ultimate Travel tripod is quite similar to the Benro Travel that’s also on test. It has the same arrangement of four-section legs with twist locks, which can swing up over the extended centre column to reduce storage size. The leg sections have identical diameters, as does the mounting plate for the head. Another similarity is that one of the legs can be detached and used as a monopod. However, its attachment to either the supplied extension tube or to the centre column is rather more fiddly and time-consuming than with the Benro. The maximum monopod height is 151cm with the tube, or 177cm with the centre column. The centre column itself is noticeably different to that of any other tripod on test. It has a pivot joint at its top, so you adjust the height of the centre column even in pivot mode. The downside is that you can only use the centre column in vertical or horizontal modes, with no other angles being available. You also need to retract the centre column through the clamp a little when in horizontal orientation, to enable a firm locking action.

PERFORmaNCE The controls and clamps operate smoothly and effectively. Overall rigidity is very good, living up to the 10kg rating for both the legs and ball head. The head lacks a variable friction damper, but features a panning release. SPEC Maximum operating height 167cm Folded height (with head) 46cm Weight with head 2.1kg Max load (legs, head) 10kg, 10kg Leg section diameters 28, 25, 22, 19mm Pivoting centre column 90° only Ball head Kenro BB2 Head mount diameter 52mm Locking leg angles 3 angles Feet Pads and spikes WE SAY If you can get by with just vertical or horizontal column orientation, this is a bargain buy. Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

he latest incarnation of Manfrotto’s threesection 190 Xpro has been revamped for greater ease of use and compactness. It can’t compete with the ‘travel’ tripods on test for folding down to a small size, but it’s nevertheless 7cm shorter than its predecessor. Switching the centre column between vertical and horizontal mode is simpler than with any other tripod on test – bar the Manfrotto 055, which has the same style of mechanism. All you need to do is to slacken off a single locking screw, then raise the centre column, press a release button at its base, flip the column over, and finally retract it a little in its horizontal orientation to enable locking. The same solitary locking screw enables panning rotation. The multi-angle leg mechanism is similarly streamlined and straightforward, enabling four lockable angles rather than the usual three. The new Xpro ball head is simply superb and, unlike most previous Manfrotto designs, includes an independent panning release. There are no retractable spikes in the rubber foot pads and the tripod isn’t supplied with a carrying bag.

PERFORmaNCE Under gravity, the legs drop so freely when released that they hit the bottom with a crash. Rigidity is good and the head is super-solid. The inability to select column angles apart from vertical or horizontal is limiting. SPEC Maximum operating height 172cm Folded height (with head) 67cm Weight with head 2.5kg Max load (legs, head) 7kg, 10kg Leg section diameters 26, 22, 19mm Pivoting centre column 90 degrees only Ball head Manfrotto Xpro Head mount diameter 60mm Locking leg angles 4 angles Feet Pads WE SAY The pivot mechanism is smart but with limited angles, and the head is superior to the legs. Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

Outdoor gear

Manfrotto 055 Xpro3-BHQ2

Vanguard Alta Pro 264AB

£300/$370

£170/$180

Manfrotto’s heavyweight contender

Quite tall but folds down small

ore substantial than the Manfrotto 190, this 055-series tripod has wider leg section diameters of 30, 26 and 22mm, compared with 26, 22 and 19mm. As a result the tripod itself is 25 per cent heavier at 2.5kg, and weighs in at 3kg, complete with the same Xpro ball head. It has a carrying length that’s just 3cm longer, yet gains 10cm in maximum height, at 182cm. In this test group, that’s only beaten by the Benbo 2. The centre column and push-levers for the four-position multi-angle legs are also beefier than in the 190 tripod but, at 8kg, the maximum load rating only gains a single kilogram. At least that’s a closer match to the 10kg rating of the Xpro head that’s supplied with both kits. Further similarities between both Manfrotto tripods include an Easy Link connector, which enables you to attach accessories like an LED light, and a bubble level on the collar, in addition to the two bubble levels featured in the ball head. The pivot mechanism of both tripods is identical in style and operation: the 055’s is just a little bigger.

PERFORmaNCE The overall rigidity of the tripod is more impressive than that of the Manfrotto 190 on test here, but the leg sections still drop out too freely when released. As a kit, the 055 legs feel a much better match for the pro-quality Xpro ball head. SPEC Maximum operating height 182cm Folded height (with head) 70cm Weight with head 3.0kg Max load (legs, head) 8kg, 10kg Leg section diameters 30, 26, 22mm Pivoting centre column 90° only Ball head Manfrotto Xpro Head mount diameter 60mm Locking leg angles 4 angles Feet Pads WE SAY Of the two Manfrotto kits in this test group, this one is the sturdier and better option. Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

ith its ball head attached, this tripod reaches a maximum height of 169mm, while folding to 63mm, thanks to having four sections in each leg. It’s not overly heavy at 2.5kg, yet matches the Manfrotto 190 kit for maximum load ratings, at 7kg and 10kg for the legs and head respectively. That’s despite the bottom leg sections being a little spindly, with a diameter of 17mm. Little extras include rubber foot pads with retractable spikes and a carrying bag. While the pivot mechanism requires the operation of two clamps rather than just one, it enables rotation through 180° in incremental steps, as featured in the Benro tripods. Release of an additional lock enables panning rotation and, overall, the pivoting system is quick to operate. The head has an independent panning release but no adjustable friction damper. The camera attachment screw on the quick-release plate lacks a D-ring for pinching between your finger and thumb but, if you’re out of small change to put in the slot, you can make good use of the supplied multi-tool that comes with the tripod.

PERFORmaNCE There’s a slight drop in rigidity when extending the thin bottom leg sections on this Vanguard, but it’s on a par with the Manfrotto 190. The lever-based clamping action of the pivot lock isn’t quite as firm as in the Benro tripods in this group. SPEC Maximum operating height 169cm Folded height (with head) 63cm Weight with head 2.5kg Max load (legs, head) 7kg, 10kg Leg section diameters 26, 23, 20, 17mm Pivoting centre column 180°, stepped Ball head Vanguard SBH-100 Head mount diameter 57mm Locking leg angles 3 angles Feet Retractable spikes WE SAY It’s a cleverly designed and very versatile tripod, delivering very good value for money. Verdict Features BUILD & HANDLING performance Value OVERALL

Outdoor landscape and nature photography

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