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E ID U G A R E M A C E M A R F FULL-

S h it w y h p a r g to o h p r u o Instantly improve y nses le F R d n a s a r e m a c R Canon’s EOS

NEW SERIES!

CANON SCHOOL Getting the best out of your Canon gear

FREE VIDEOS TO FOLLOW ONLINE Watch our expert guides to improve your skills

CANON EOS R3 &NewRF LENSES pro sporty EOS camera plus three new fast prime lenses

PRO TIPS

PEDIGREE PET PHOTOS Learn to take perfect paw-traits of your dogs

• Great video tutorials for you – see page 5 for details

PLUS EOS SOS • BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

BETTER BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY Learn some simple skills for taking your best-ever bird photos, from little robins to big cormorants! Page 50

Peter Travers / Future

OUR GUARANTEE • We’re the only photo magazine in the newsagent that’s 100% DEDICATED TO CANON EOS CAMERA USERS so we’re 100% relevant to your needs.

Welcome hatever Canon EOS camera you use, we’re here to help you become a better Canon photographer. This issue we go in-depth into making the move to mirrorless, and how Canon’s EOS R System cameras and RF lenses will instantly improve your photography. Canon has developed some incredible new technology for the EOS R5 and R6 full-frame mirrorless cameras in particular, plus the revolutionary RF lens mount is key to faster communication between camera and lens, which means faster and better autofocus, plus a whole lot more. Our big EOS mirrorless guide starts on page 28.

Also inside this issue, we reveal what we know so far about Canon’s new EOS R3, which is set to be the new stellar camera for serious sports and wildlife photographers, plus three new RF lens launches, see page 80.

Our Apprentice finds out how to take great photos of dogs with Canon pro Laura Galbraith, from indoor studio set-ups to getting out on location, see page 8. We have new easy-to-follow photo projects in our Canon Skills section, including using off-camera flash for portraits at sundown and flower photos using reflectors, and I explain how to photograph a variety of birds in your local area. Plus new Lightroom, Photoshop CC and Affinity Photo image-editing tutorials, all with free video guides, from page 45.

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CONTENTS BIG EOS CAMERA GUIDE

28

MAKE THE MOVE TO MIRRORLESS

Learn how to instantly improve your photography with Canon’s EOS R System cameras and RF lenses

46

80 ESSENTIALS Inspirations 20

We reveal the winning Canon images in our latest photography competition

28

Make the move to mirrorless

Our in-depth guide explaining how Canon’s EOS R cameras and RF lenses can instantly improve your photography

40 Subscription Offer 64Photo Stories

Amazing subscription offers and your chance to get a free Lowepro Tahoe bag

How Alexander created a series of artistic portraits with his daughter and pets, and pro studio photographer Guia Besana XVHV ÁRZHUV IRU KHU XQLTXH IHPDOH SRUWUDLWV

68My Kit 114 Focus Point

Chris Winter on his top six bits of kit for taking great shots in extreme conditions

Your letters, stats and web news – stay up to date with the world of PhotoPlus

4

CANON PROS The Apprentice 08

Canon professional photographer Laura Galbraith helps our Apprentice improve their pet photo skills in the studio and outside

NEW TESTS New! Canon News 80

Canon announces the new EOS R3 super-fast mirrorless camera, plus new RF 100mm, 400mm and 600mm prime lenses

Gear Update 84 42 86Mini Test: Photo cards CANON SCHOOL Canon EOS M50 Mk II 88 70 New Series Canon School 92Super Test: Portrait lenses EOS Solutions 74 Buyers’ Guides 104 76 EOS S.O.S David Clapp column

This issue our globe-trotting Canon pro David Clapp reveals his love for shooting lighthouses, whatever the weather

We take a look at the latest and greatest Canon related kit available today Check out our pick of the best personalized greeting cards for any occasion

To start off our new series, our resident Canon expert Marcus Hawkins explains all you need to know about Canon’s lens mounts

Find out how to get the most out of the useful Canon Camera Connect mobile app

Brian DQVZHUV \RXU WHFKQLFDO TXHVWLRQV

It might be a minor upgrade but it’s a great all-round crop-sensor EOS M mirrorless

We test eight fast prime lenses ideal for professionallooking portrait photos Stay up-to-date with all the latest lenses and Canon EOS camera bodies using our buyers’ guides

92

ISSUE 179 JUNE 2021

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Project 1 Take beautiful Project 2 Editor Peter shows portraits in the golden hour you how to take better photos using off-camera flash lights of different local birds LIGHTROOM CLASSIC CC

42 ACCESS YOUR FREE EBOOK Get your free 196-page Teach Yourself Photography eBook – download it to WORTH £17.99 your mobile device or computer 1. Go to our web page at quick link bit.ly/pp179ebook Note enter this in your internet browser bar (not into Google).

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Project 3 Take professional Tutorial 1 Discover how to flower photos at home in your adjust parts of your image garden using reflectors locally in Lightroom

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Meet the team...

PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA

Who we are and our favourite articles inside this issue…

Peter Travers

James Paterson

Editor • 5D Mark IV

Technique writer • 5D Mark IV

peter.travers@futurenet.com

james.paterson@futurenet.com

“I loved getting immersed in the local countryside to photograph the different birds for my big photo project this issue – the cormorant was a real poser!” PAGE 50

“It made a refreshing change to get out on location to take some family portraits in a flowery field at sunset. I even used a pop of flash to balance the light!” PAGE 46

Dan Mold

Louise Carey

Technique editor • 1D X Mk III

Technique writer • R6

dan.mold@futurenet.com

photoplus@futurenet.com

“Inside I reveal how to take beautiful flower images in your garden and get a wide range of looks using a simple 5-in-1 reflector to bend and bounce the sunlight!” PAGE 54

“In part two of my Lightroom tutorial series, I help you selectively enhance overexposed skies in your landscape images Raw photographs.” PAGE 56

This issue’s contributors…

Editorial Editor Peter Travers peter.travers@futurenet.com • 01225 442244 Art Editor Martin Parfitt Production Editor Kyle Hearse Technique Editor Dan Mold Technique Writer Louise Carey Lab Manager Ben Andrews Group Art Director Warren Brown Photography All copyrights and trademarks are recognized and respected Photography Studio Phil Barker Advertising Media packs are available on request Advertising Sales Manager Michael Pyatt michael.pyatt@futurenet.com • 01225 687538 Account Director Matt Bailey matt.bailey@futurenet.com • 01225 687511 UK Commercial Sales Director Clare Dove clare.dove@futurenet.com International licensing PhotoPlus is available for licensing. Contact the Licensing team to discuss partnership opportunities. Email Head of Print Licensing Rachel Shaw at licensing@futurenet.com Subscriptions New subscription orders email help@magazinesdirect.com or call 0330 333 1113 or you can visit www.magazinesdirect.com Renew your subscription email help@mymagazine.co.uk Customer service 0330 333 4333 or visit www.mymagazine.co.uk Head of subscriptions Sharon Todd Circulation Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers 01202 586200 Production Head of Production US & UK Mark Constance Senior Production Manager Matt Eglinton Ad Production Manager Chris Gozzett Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Production Manager Vivienne Calvert Management Chief Content Officer Aaron Asadi Brand Director Matt Pierce Content Director Chris George Head of Art & Design Rodney Dive Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham Chief Revenue Officer Zack Sullivan Printed by William Gibbons Distributed by Marketforce, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: 0203 787 9001

Laura Galbraith

Caroline Allington

Marco Tagliarino

Marcus Hawkins

Canon pro photographer Laura shows how to take dog paw-traits in the studio and out on location. PAGE 8

Portrait photographer Caroline captured a wonderful portrait of her daughter, Willow. PAGE 22

In our Inspirations gallery, Marco explains how he captured an atmospheric portrait at f/2.8. PAGE 24

Marcus reveals how Canon’s EOS R mirrorless cameras and RF lenses can improve your photography. PAGE 28

Alexander Sviridov

Guia Besana

Brian Worley

Matthew Richards

Learn how Alexander took shots of his daughter and pets, then merged them in Photoshop. PAGE 64

Pro studio photographer Guia uses flowers as props to add extra meaning to her portrait photos. PAGE 66

Is there anything about Canon gear that Brian doesn’t know? Find out inside starting on PAGE 74

Step up your portrait photos by upgrading to one of these eight 85mm prime lenses tested this issue. PAGE 92

Our contributors Ben Andrews, James Artaius, Guia Besana, David Clapp, Laura Galbraith, Marcus Hawkins, James Paterson, Matthew Richards, Alexander Sviridov, Chris Winter, Brian Worley

6

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THEAPPRENTICE

PEDIGREE PHOTOGRAPHY This month we pair up Canon pro Laura Galbraith with our reader Yvette to help her perfect her pet paw-traits!

AFTER

8

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SHOOT WITH A PRO

APPRENTICE CANON PRO NAME:

LAURA GALBRAITH CAMERA:

CANON EOS R5 LAURA WAS a teacher of IT and Mathematics, but two years ago decided to pursue her passion and become a full-time photographer.

She now runs a successful pet photography and workshop business. She’s had success too, winning the Guild of Photographers Bird Image of the Year title in 2019 and Nature and Wildlife Image of the Year in 2020. We met up with her at her home studio to help Yvette take some top pet pictures. www.lauragalbraith photography.co.uk

The Canon Magazine

NAME:

YVETTE SMITH CAMERA:

CANON EOS 6D Mark II NOW RETIRED, Yvette loves nothing more than photographing animals with her Canon EOS 6D Mark II and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in her spare time.

She’s confident photographing animals outside, but admits that studio lighting is an area she’s had trouble understanding. So we’ve arranged for her to meet up with Canon pro Laura Galbraith to photograph a handful of characterful dogs at her home studio in Burwell.

9

THEAPPRENTICE TECHNIQUE ASSESSMENT Laura offered some guidance on settings for photographing canine companions

TOP GEAR #1 Short telephoto zoom lenses LAURA USES a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM to take the majority of her pet portraits. The short telephoto focal length is great for full-body dog shots, and zooming in for tighter headshots, as well as being able to shoot from a distance without invading the dog’s space. Its wide max aperture of f/2.8 makes it easy to blur backgrounds too.

BACKGROUND CHOICES CAMERA SETUP LAURA SET Yvette’s Canon EOS 6D Mark II to its Manual mode so that the exposure settings could be locked in. She then set the aperture to f/8 for a decent amount of sharpness in the dog’s face, it’s also a bit more forgiving if you misfocus on the nose too.

The shutter speed was set to 1/160 sec, which may sound a little slow to capture animals, but the flash will freeze them.

LAURA HAS a vast range of backgrounds she can quickly change to give her pet portraits an entirely different look. She has a mixture of paper and vinyl background rolls that measure 2.7m wide, this area gives you more chance to be able to take a shot with a neat background, even if the dog moves around a little. Laura says the vinyl ones work out better value as they’re more robust and more easily cleaned after any doggy accidents or mucky paw prints.

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/11, ISO160

CHECK THE HISTOGRAM AFTER TAKING a test shot be sure to check your histogram on the LCD of your Canon EOS, this is usually done by going into the playback menu and pressing Info until the histogram appears. You’ll have a peak on the right or left when shooting on a black or white background, the other ‘bump’ will be the exposure information of the dog so make sure that this part isn’t bunched up at the sides as this will mean a loss of data.

10

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SHOOT WITH A PRO

HOT SHOT #1

EXPERT INSIGHT

GET THE DOG’S ATTENTION LAURA has a variety of methods to get the dogs attention and ensure that they’re looking in the correct direction.

She has a bag full of ‘quackers,’ which are whistles hunters use to imitate the sound of a duck or various other birds. They’re a great hands-free way to make a sound that pricks up the dogs ears and gets them making eye contact with the camera when you’re shooting

The Canon Magazine

YVETTE’S COMMENT For our first setup we were photographing one of Laura’s dogs called Sansa, a five-month-old working Cocker Spaniel. Laura pulled down a large white vinyl background onto two palettes. Having the base of the background raised up makes it easier to get eye level with the dogs when crouching down for more intimate eye contact, it also gives the dogs a boundary, so they’re less likely to jump off. Laura had three of the lights with softboxes attached lighting the background to make sure it was totally white, then a single key light flash in front of Sansa to light her and this had a large octobox attached to it, which creates beautiful catchlights in the her eyes.

FLASH TRIGGERS LAURA USES Elinchrom Skyport triggers to fire her flashes and so she can dial in the amount of flash power on each flash head directly from the trigger, this saves you having to walk over to each flash to dial your settings in. Yvette connected the trigger to her camera and adjusted the flash settings until the white background was perfectly white.

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THEAPPRENTICE

YVETTE’S COMMENT For our next shot Laura flipped over the vinyl background, which is blue on the otherside, for our next dog, Fred, a rescued Corgi. He was a chilled-out customer, quite slow and easily bribed into position with a few treats.

He had beautiful golden fur that compliments the blue background. A large octobox was positioned in front to light him, which creates strong catchlights in the eyes. Then three flash heads with softboxes attached were angled at the background to even out the lighting, I controlled the strength of all of the flashes using the trigger attached to my camera until the lighting looked correct.

REFLECTING THE LIGHT LAURA HAS a large reflector she can use to reflect some of the bounced flashlight back onto the dog and fill in any shadows.

Her reflectors have coloured sides, such as gold, silver, and white.

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SHOOT WITH A PRO

HOT SHOT #2

CANON EF TO EOS R ADAPTER LAURA STILL uses her EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR and utilizes it as a backup camera, however she still uses all of her Canon EF lenses with her mirrorless EOS R5, thanks to the Canon EF to EOS R adapter. This means she can use her Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM with control over AF, aperture and image stabilization.

EXPERT INSIGHT

BRIBE THEM WITH TREATS

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/11, ISO160

TREATS for your pets are essential for getting them to behave, stay still and look in the direction you need them to for the best shots. Fred here had a particular affinity for the ‘puppy sausage,’ which Laura had cut up into tiny pieces and would reward Fred’s behaviour with a small treat.

TOP GEAR #2 Backup camera body FOR A long time Laura’s workhorse camera was her Canon EOS 5D Mk IV, which has a full-frame sensor with a 30.4Mp resolution and maximum 7fps burst mode. It’s a pro body with weather sealing that she’s relied on for years and now acts as a solid backup camera after upgrading to the EOS R5 (see page 17). She pairs this one with her EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens and her R5 with her Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM so she has fast access to a wide range of focal lengths quickly without needing to faff about swapping lenses.

The Canon Magazine

LAURA’S 10 TIPS FOR PAW-FECT PET PHOTOS

1

Beep off!

Some dogs react badly to the autofocus and flash beeps, so Laura tends to turn them off.

2

Get down low Crouch down and get a more intimate angle of your subject – this works for people and pet portraits.

3

Bag of tricks Have a bag of dog toys and treats at the ready, so you can use them to get the dogs attention and also reward them after posing.

4

Freshly trimmed The owners will usually have the dogs visit the groomers before a photo shoot – a fresh haircut makes it easier to get the best doggy shots.

5

Fit for the wall Be careful of male dogs as you don’t want to see certain ‘boy parts’ staring at you – check your shots and recompose to avoid this!

6

Make a composite To shoot two or three dogs at the same time against a background Laura will sometimes splice together the best photos of each dog.

7

Vinyl backgrounds Laura rates the vinyl background rolls as they’re better value, are more durable and can be mopped between sessions to clean them.

8

Find new locations For outdoor pet shots, be sure to get out and about and make a note of any photogenic locations you spot, and direction of light, to return to later.

9

Modelling lamps Laura uses the modelling lamps on her flash heads to work out what the lighting will look like on subjects as she moves the lights around.

10

Practice makes perfect Practice with friend’s and family’s pets – there’s no pressure and you can build up a portfolio.

13

THEAPPRENTICE YVETTE’S COMMENT Next up I was photographing Laura’s other dog Kade, a two-and-half-year-old Beaglier.

As Laura has him trained he was well behaved and persuaded into the right poses with a few a treats. He has this fantastic profile with his stubby nose, big eyes and long soft ears, so I thought a side-on shot would be best. I zoomed in all the way on my 70-200mm lens to make him a decent size in the frame and sat on the floor to get eye level. Then Laura went around the side behind one of the lights and got his attention, so that I could take this portrait profile of him.

TOP GEAR #3 Studio flash LAURA USES four Elinchrom D-Lite RX ONE flash heads, three on lightstands with softboxes attached and another on the ceiling with a strip softbox. Laura has a large octobox attached to her key light, this goes in front of the dogs for lighting and creating catchlights. She also has a grid modifier (pictured) that can be attached to the softboxes to stop the light spilling too much onto darker backgrounds.

EDIT PET IMAGES LIKE A PRO TO PRODUCE her award-winning images Laura polishes her pictures up to perfection in Lightroom Classic and Photoshop CC. She’ll clone out and touch up particles of dust or paw prints on the background, and correct the colours by tweaking the Raw files in Lightroom. Laura explains: “My Beaglier Kade always comes out far too orange in pictures, so I tone down the saturation specifically on the orange and red channels to make it look more natural.”

14

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/11, ISO200

EXPERT INSIGHT

PRACTICE! LAURA likes to get her lighting spot-on before the dogs arrive, as you need to focus all your attention on getting them to behave and coaxed into position, rather than messing with lighting. To do this she props up the background, gets the lights roughly in position and starts them all on a quarter power.

She’ll then place her Scooby Doo toy in position, take test shots and dial in the lighting until it looks perfect, then lock it all off ready to start shooting.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

SHOOT WITH A PRO

HOT SHOT #3

SET A CUSTOM WHITE BALANCE TO ACHIEVE accurate colours in her images Laura rests a grey card on her Scooby Doo toy and takes a picture of it with her studio lights set up.

She then goes into her Canon camera’s shooting menu and navigates to the Custom White Balance option. This enables her to use the grey card as a reference to set the colours correctly in camera.

The Canon Magazine

15

THEAPPRENTICE HOT SHOT #4

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/500 sec, f/3.2, ISO2500

SHOOT WITH A PRO

EXPERT INSIGHT

R5’S AUTO ANIMAL AF YVETTE’S COMMENT After our session in the studio we met up with Carol Ford, a gundog trainer that lives near Laura. She brought her black Labrador, Phoebe. Laura took us on a dog walk trail she routinely takes daily and she’d scouted out some locations that’d work well for some doggy photos. Although it was very overcast, this worked better for the portraits we needed, as the clouds act like a massive softbox, giving us a gentle diffused light. For this shot of Phoebe, I got down low to the ground and zoomed in with my 70-200mm, then Carol stood behind me and used a green tennis ball to get Phoebe’s attention so she was looking in the right direction.

ONE of the reasons Laura upgraded to the EOS R5 was for its state-of-the-art Animal face and eye detection AF. This is set in the autofocus menu by setting subject to detect to Animals. This works incredibly well placing the active AF point over the dogs eyes and tracking them as they move, impressively picking out Phoebe’s dark eyes against her black fur and making it a breeze to get her eyes pin-sharp.

TOP GEAR #4

UTILIZE PROPS

Full-frame EOS R5 mirrorless AS WELL as pet portraits, Laura is also a very accomplished wildlife photographer. She’s recently made the move to mirrorless and bought an EOS R5. Its 45Mp full-frame high-res sensor is fantastic for picking up fine details on fur in studio shots, and can also shoot at a blisteringly fast 20fps, perfect for fast animals on the move when she’s out photographing wildlife. But the biggest benefit is the R5’s Animal AF mode which is amazing for focusing automatically on dog’s, cat’s and any animal’s eyes!

GET A personal touch to your pictures by adding some props or including part of the environment in the frame. We found a large log on the side of the path and pulled this into a position where we could get a photogenic background with Phoebe’s front feet on it. For another shot we enticed her to poke her head through a gap in a fence to create unique shots full of character and keep your pet pics looking fresh and varied.

LAURA’S TOP 3 PET PORTRAITS Canon pro photographer Laura shares some of her other pet pictures…

STANLEY

HAZEL

PENNY

STANLEY IS a lovely Lurcher and he has the most amazing fur that has every tone of black and white, and as a result looks stunning in this photograph, shot under lights against a black backdrop inside my studio.

PHOTOGRAPHING DOGS can often be challenging, but cats are on another level as they’re untrained and definitely have minds of their own. Hazel is a three-year old mixed breed cat, and my R5 and its Animal AF helped here!

PENNY’S AN English Pointer who was one of my dog’s companions at puppy school. I love how Pointers are the epitome of grace one second, and the exact opposite the next, so I had to be fast to capture this expression.

The Canon Magazine

17

THEAPPRENTICE YVETTE’S COMMENT

LAURA’S VERDICT

For our last shot of the day we were photographing the black Labrador Phoebe outside and in-between showery spells.

We managed to get her into a good spot on the path where she had a nice background that was far enough away from her we could turn it into a pleasing out-of-focus blur with a wide aperture of f/2.8. I zoomed all the way in to 200mm on my lens to get a frame-filling headshot and compress the perspective too, then Carol was stood behind me as I crouched down and she waved a tennis ball to get Phoebe looking towards me for this engaged headshot with great eye contact.

It was fantastic having Yvette as my Apprentice for this session.

To me, it seemed clear that she was very passionate about taking photos of animals and willing to learn new techniques to capture better pet pictures.

Using flash was clearly a stumbling block for her, so I hope that after today’s session in the studio that she’s found the confidence and has a greater understanding to now try using flash in her future pictures. For anyone starting out in pet photography it’s certainly easier if you can get the owner or a second pair of hands to help persuade the dogs into looking in the right direction.

SHOT OF THE DAY! Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO2500

18

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NEXT MONTH LANDSCAPES

BE OUR NEXT APPRENTICE Do you need some help to take your Canon photography to the next level?

Let us know what you’d like help with and we could pair you up with a top pro for the day! Send an email to photoplus@ futurenet.com with ‘PhotoPlus Apprentice’ in the subject line, and include your telephone number and address.

The Canon Magazine

19

STUNNING IMAGERY FROM THE WORLD OF CANON PHOTOGRAPHY

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FANTASTIC CANON PHOTOGRAPHY

01 WINNER R NEON BY DOMINIC BEAVEN

Dominic’s captured a fantastic portrait full of colour. His wide aperture of f/1.6, with an EF 50mm lens on his 5D Mark III, has done a great job of turning the background lights into beautiful bokeh circles, while the neon sign adds extra vibrance to his portrait in the foreground and creates an eye-catching reflection in her glasses too. He tells us: “I took this picture on a shoot at night around Soho in London and used a combination of the light from the neon tubes and an LCD panel to light the subject’s face.”

The Canon Magazine

Lens

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

Exposure

1/100 sec, f/1.6, ISO250

21

INSPIRATIONS

02

02 THE JOY OF SUMMER BY

All the images in this gallery were entrants to the PhotoPlus ‘Wide Aperture Imagery’ competition hosted on Photocrowd – a website where a public vote on the best-liked images is pitted against expert opinion.

To enter our current contest, and vote on your favourite photos, simply visit www.photocrowd.com

CAROLINE ALLINGTON Caroline has captured a wonderful portrait of her daughter Willow.

The late summer sun works wonderfully well, giving the image a gentle quality with subdued colours that help draw the viewer’s eye towards the red poppy that Willow is holding.

Lens

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM

Exposure

1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO250

03 GOLDEN LIGHT JULIE TENNANT

Julie’s shot impressed us as she’s caught the perfect moment this butterfly had its wings spread, so we can see the beautiful yellow and black patterns in all their intricate detail. The purple flower adds an extra splash of colour and the background has been blurred nicely with a wide aperture.

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM

Exposure

1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO1000

03

04 RED SQUIRREL BY STEVE CAMPBELL

An awesome shot from Steve who managed to bag this brill portrait on his first day photographing them in Inverness. There’s an abundance of colour from the fiery reds in the squirrel’s coat, as well as the lush greens and purples from the grass and heather.

22

Lens

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L USM

Exposure

1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO320

04

www.digitalcameraworld.com

FANTASTIC CANON PHOTOGRAPHY

05 MANTIS BY EVELYNE ZELTNER

It’s not often we see portraits taken of praying mantis, so Evelyne has pleasantly surprised us with this incredible close up. The simple colours tie the whole image together and the framing works well, as she’s made sure to be extra generous with room above the mantis’s head to ensure its long antennae aren’t cropped out of the frame. We look forward to seeing more great Canon photos from her in the future!

Lens

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Exposure

1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO100

The Canon Magazine

23

INSPIRATIONS

06

24

www.digitalcameraworld.com

FANTASTIC CANON PHOTOGRAPHY

07

06 THE LONE STAG BY JACK DODSON

When we think of deer images the first thing that springs to mind is the sheer power displayed in the rutting season. Jack’s atmospheric and peaceful image of this lone stag silhouette on a foggy morning couldn’t be more of the polar opposite, so it’s a refreshing change!

Lens

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

Exposure

1/125 sec, f/4, ISO3200

07 FAVARITX LIGHTHOUSE BY MARC MARCO

Marc stitched together eight individual images to create this fantastic panorama of the Favaritx lighthouse in Menorca. This super wide view works tremendously well, allowing him to include the full arch of the Milky Way in the frame above the lighthouse.

“Menorca island has a Starlight Award because it’s one of the best places to see the sky in the night,” he says. “I’m from the neighbouring island Mallorca and made a 24hr trip there to capture this image.”

08

Lens

Samyang 14mm f/2.8

Exposure

30 secs, f/2.8, ISO6400

All the images in this gallery were entrants to the PhotoPlus ‘Wide Aperture Imagery’ competition hosted on Photocrowd – a website where a public vote on the best-liked images is pitted against expert opinion.

To enter our current contest, and vote on your favourite photos, simply visit www.photocrowd.com

08 CIRCLES BY DONY BARONCHELLI

Dony’s turned dew drops on a spiderweb into abstract art which looks fantastic up close and with her black and white conversion. What’s more impressive is it was taken on a Canon PowerShot A710 compact, which just goes to show you don’t always need expensive gear to get top shots!

The Canon Magazine

Lens

Canon PowerShot A710 IS

Exposure

1/200 sec, f/4, ISO100

25

INSPIRATIONS

09

09 THE LOOK OF BEAUTY BY

All the images in this gallery were entrants to the PhotoPlus ‘Wide Aperture Imagery’ competition hosted on Photocrowd – a website where a public vote on the best-liked images is pitted against expert opinion.

To enter our current contest, and vote on your favourite photos, simply visit www.photocrowd.com

MARCO TAGLIARINO This is a lovely portrait from Marco, he’s made sure the focus is precisely on the girl’s eye and used a wide aperture of f/2.8 to blur the background bringing all of the attention on to his subject. He tells us: “I took this street portrait in Madagascar on the Tsiribina river. It’s an extremely poor region, but I’ve never seen so many smiles!”

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM

Exposure

1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO250

10 FOX BY JAYNE BOND

Jayne has expertly waited and been patient to win over the trust of the foxes she wanted to photograph. This has paid dividends as it allowed her to bag this awesome portrait.

We love the use of a wide aperture and low angle, which makes it feel much more intimate and makes the blurred background more appealing. She’s caught just the right moment when the fox is looking directly at her, making the eye contact in this image strong and instantly draws the viewer’s eye in.

Lens

Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM

Exposure

1/800 sec, f/4, ISO1250

10

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MASTERMIRRORLESS

MAKE THE MOVE TO

MIRRORLESS!

anon EOS R cameras might have shed the size, weight and mirrors of their Canon EOS DSLR counterparts, but they pack in tons of new technology and features. Take the latest EOS R5 and EOS R6 bodies for instance – we could devote an entire issue to explain how to set up the various nuances of their advanced, intelligent Dual Pixel CMOS AF II autofocus systems. Instead, over the next ten pages, we’ve picked out the key Canon EOS R camera features and RF lens tech that can really make a difference to the way that you take pictures, and the creativity and quality of the end result…

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© Richard Walch, Canon Ambassador

Discover how Canon EOS R System mirrorless cameras and RF lenses will instantly improve your photography

www.digitalcameraworld.com

The electronic shutter gives you the highest continuous shooting speed, but it can lead to distortions in fast-moving subjects. The upcoming EOS R3 is said to reduce this problem

The Canon Magazine

29

MASTERMIRRORLESS

The mirrorless advantage nlike EOS DSLRs, EOS R cameras don’t have a mirror inside to bounce the image up to an optical YLHZÀQGHU ,QVWHDG WKH\ KDYH DQ HOHFWURQLF YLHZÀQGHU WKDW·V HVVHQWLDOO\ D VPDOOHU YHUVLRQ RI WKH FDPHUD·V UHDU GLVSOD\ and this can show the Live View feed from the sensor or the camera menus, just like WKH PDLQ VFUHHQ There are a number of advantages to this design, and couple of potential GUDZEDFNV 7KH ELJ ERQXV

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LV WKDW \RX FDQ VHH WKH VXEMHFW or scene as the camera sees it %\ WKDW ZH PHDQ ZLWK LPDJH processing settings such as ZKLWH EDODQFH DQG 3LFWXUH 6W\OH DSSOLHG 2I FRXUVH LI \RX VKRRW 5DZ ÀOHV WKHQ WKHVH VHWWLQJV aren’t applied to the image WKDW·V VDYHG WR WKH PHPRU\ FDUG (YHQ VR WKHUH·V D UHDO EHQHÀW WR EHLQJ DEOH WR SUHYLHZ an accurate image – and it’s GHDG KDQG\ IRU MXGJLQJ KRZ DQ LPDJH ZLOO ORRN ZKHQ \RX ZDQW WR VKRRW LQ EODFN DQG ZKLWH You can also call up a live KLVWRJUDP HQDEOLQJ \RX WR

FIRMWARE UPDATES CANON PERIODICALLY releases firmware that fixes problems and adds new features and functionality to EOS R cameras and lenses. For example, the latest update for the EOS R6 fixes a potential issue where the image displayed in the EVF may be corrupted. It also makes electronic full-time manual focus adjustment possible in both One-shot AF and Servo AF. Register your camera with Canon and you’ll get announcements and notifications of important firmware updates. Check the Canon website regularly to ensure that you’re on the latest update.

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make accurate exposure adjustments while continuing to frame the scene, and PDJQLI\ DQ DUHD RI WKH LPDJH to make manual focusing HDVLHU 7KHUH DUH RWKHU PDQXDO IRFXVLQJ DLGV WKDW \RX FDQ superimpose over the image, IRU DGGHG FRQYHQLHQFH :KLOH \RX FDQ WDNH advantage of these features on WKH UHDU GLVSOD\ RI D '6/5 \RX GRQ·W KDYH WR WDNH \RXU H\H DZD\ IURP WKH YLHZÀQGHU ZLWK an EOS R camera, making it more convenient when shooting handheld or in bright light, when the rear VFUHHQ FDQ EH WRXJK WR VHH 'XH WR WKH ZD\ WKDW WKH image is produced in an HOHFWURQLF YLHZÀQGHU \RX QHHG WR IDFWRU LQ D VPDOO GHOD\ between seeing the shot and WDNLQJ LW :LWK DQ RSWLFDO YLHZÀQGHU \RX·UH VHHLQJ WKH image at the speed of light, but ZLWK WKH HOHFWURQLF YLHZÀQGHU LQ DQ (26 5 ERG\ WKH FDPHUD has to process the signal it receives, route it through some FLUFXLWU\ DQG VHQG LW WR WKH VFUHHQ EHIRUH \RX FDQ VHH LW 7KH GHOD\ PLJKW EH PLQXVFXOH but that might make the

© Javier Cortes, Canon Ambassador

Get an accurate picture of your final image from the viewfinder

difference between capturing the critical moment in a sports HYHQW DQG MXVW PLVVLQJ LW <RX PD\ KDYH WR IUDPH ZLGHU DQG VKRRW ORWV RI VKRWV WR EH VXUH %DWWHU\ OLIH LV DQRWKHU DVSHFW WR EHDU LQ PLQG )UDPLQJ XS and composing shots with a '6/5 LV HVVHQWLDOO\ IUHH %XW ZLWK DQ (26 5 ERG\ \RX KDYH to have the camera powered up in order to be able to see DQ\WKLQJ WKURXJK WKH YLHZÀQGHU <RX PLJKW MXVW want to check out a few different camera angles without taking a photo, but it ZLOO QLEEOH DZD\ DW WKH EDWWHU\ 7R EH IDLU LW·V XQOLNHO\ WR EH WURXEOHVRPH IRU GD\ WR GD\ SKRWRJUDSK\ ,W·V RQO\ ZKHQ \RX·UH WUDYHOOLQJ WR D UHPRWH ORFDWLRQ ZKHUH \RX PLJKW QRW EH DEOH WR FDUU\ PDQ\ EDWWHULHV RU FKDUJH WKHP UHJXODUO\ WKDW LW FDQ EHFRPH DQ LVVXH

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON EOS R CAMERAS

Compared with an optical viewfinder, an EVF gives you a clearer view of the subject in low light. It also allows you to preview the effects of white balance and Picture Style adjustments in real-time

STEP BY STEP EOS R SYSTEM ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDERS You get more options for customizing an electronic viewfinder than you do with an optical viewfinder

01 EYE SENSOR

02 DISPLAY FORMAT

03 TOUCH & DRAG AF

You can set an EOS R system camera to automatically switch from the rear display to the viewfinder when you look through it, or you can manually activate them instead. The EOS R5 and EOS R6 also allow you to give priority to the rear screen when it’s swung out.

As well as being able to customize the amount of info that’s on display, the viewfinder brightness, colour balance and more, you can change the size of the display too – great for those who wear glasses and have trouble seeing into the corners of the frame.

When shooting with the viewfinder, you can use the rear display as a touch panel for selecting and moving the AF point.

While you can make the whole screen active, you can also set a specific area of the display as your start point, so you don’t accidentally move the AF point.

The Canon Magazine

31

MASTERMIRRORLESS

Advanced autofocus ne of the standout IHDWXUHV VKDUHG E\ WKH EOS R5 and R6 is the new Dual Pixel CMOS $) ,, DXWRIRFXV V\VWHP ,W·V D KXJH OHDS forward, and uses the data processing power of the ',*,& ; SURFHVVRU DQG D 'HHS Learning algorithm to be more agile and accurate during WUDFNLQJ 7KH 5 DQG 5 DUH EDVLFDOO\ SRZHUIXO FRPSXWHUV with a hole at the front…

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© Robert Marc Lehmann, Canon Ambassador

While Canon’s EOS R is quick, the newer R5 and R6 take focus tracking up a gear UHVXOWV %LUGV KDYH PDQ\ different shapes (a chicken ORRNV YHU\ GLIIHUHQW WR D ÁDPLQJR VR WKHUH·V VRPH potential for error, but when WKH V\VWHP GRHV ORFN RQ LW FDQ pick out the head, and even WKH H\H LI (\H 'HWHFWLRQ KDV EHHQ DFWLYDWHG 2K \HV (\H 'HWHFWLRQ Once this has been enabled in WKH FDPHUD·V $) PHQX LW ZLOO track the animal or person’s H\H DV ORQJ DV WKH FDPHUD LV FORVH HQRXJK 7KH SULRULW\ IRU DXWRIRFXV LV HVVHQWLDOO\ ERG\ IDFH H\H 6R LI LW FDQ·W GHWHFW WKH H\H LW·OO ORRN IRU WKH KHDG and if it can’t discern that it ZLOO IRFXV RQ WKH ERG\ 7KH ZD\ WKH 5 DQG 5 lock onto animals and birds is XQQHUYLQJ ,W·V LQVDQHO\ good at picking out them out in wider scenes, even when there’s lots of details that would distract OHVVHU V\VWHPV $QG HYHQ LI WKH\ GRQ·W ÀQG WKH VXEMHFW ÀUVW WLPH PRPHQWDULO\ OLIWLQJ \RXU ÀQJHU from the shutter release or $) 21 EXWWRQ DQG OLJKWO\ pressing it again is often HQRXJK IRU WKH V\VWHP WR UHVHW DQG ÀQG WKH VXEMHFW

With Eye Detection enabled, Dual Pixel CMOS AF II will attempt to track a bird’s eye or head and not lock onto the nearest part of its body

You’re also able to use the ‘Subject to detect’ option in the (26 5 DQG 5 ·V $) PHQX 7KH options available are People, $QLPDOV DQG 1R SULRULW\ 6D\ \RX·UH VKRRWLQJ D SHUVRQ DQG WKHLU GRJ ,I \RX VHW WKH SULRULW\ WR 3HRSOH LW ZRXOG WU\ WR IRFXV RQ WKH SHUVRQ·V IDFH LI \RX VHW LW to Animal, it would pick out the GRJ·V KHDG LQVWHDG 6HW LW 1R SULRULW\ DQG LW ZRXOG UHYHUW WR the familiar method of

focusing on the closest object RU WKH DUHD RI KLJKHVW FRQWUDVW 7KH QHZO\ DQQRXQFHG (26 5 VHH SDJH LV VHW WR PRYH WKH V\VWHP D VWHS IXUWKHU E\ WUDFNLQJ DQ DGGLWLRQDO 7%&

W\SH RI VXEMHFW DQG LQWURGXFHV (\H &RQWURO $) WR WKH (26 5 OLQH :KDW \RX VHH LV OLWHUDOO\ ZKDW \RX JHW LQ IRFXV DV WKH R3 will be able to monitor the PRYHPHQW RI \RXU H\H DQG IRFXV ZKHUH \RX·UH ORRNLQJ

“The way the R5 and R6 lock onto animals and birds is unnerving. It’s insanely good at picking out them out in wider scenes”

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CANON EOS R CAMERAS

MANUAL FOCUSING AS WELL as advanced autofocus, EOS R cameras have a number of additional manual focusing aids. There’s the familiar magnification option that allows you to increase the size of the area that you want to focus on, and also a ‘peaking’ setting that can superimpose a coloured highlight on the edges on the image that are in focus. The Canon EOS R, R5 and R6 also have a Focus Guide option, which displays a guide frame and arrows on the screen. These indicate the direction and degree to which you need to turn the focusing ring.

The Focus guide will only be displayed if you enable it in the AF menu and switch the lens to MF

STEP BY STEP SETTING THE AUTOFOCUS PRIORITY Dual Pixel CMOS AF II technology enables you to choose the type of subject to focus on

01 SUBJECT DETECTION

02 EYE DETECTION

03 END RESULT

You don’t have to set the Animals option as the priority, but it can lead to more reliable results. Even with this option selected, the camera will also detect people, it’s just that it prioritizes the focus on any creatures that it identifies.

To enable Eye Detection, the AF method must be set to Face+Tracking. A white AF point will then be displayed around the detected subject’s eye and will be tracked in the frame. You can also tap the screen to choose an eye to focus on.

With the useful Eye Detection activated, the camera picked out this eagle’s eye without any hesitation at all. If the camera can’t detect an eye, it will focus on the head, or the body instead, so you’re not missing a single shot.

The Canon Magazine

33

MASTERMIRRORLESS

Need for speed The RF mount’s fast communication opens up a whole new range of photo possibilities OS R bodies have been designed with VSHHG LQ PLQG 7KH extra data that’s able to be pushed across WKH 5) PRXQW EHWZHHQ WKH cameras and lenses has allowed for numerous performance improvements RYHU ZLWK WKH () V\VWHP )RU H[DPSOH WKHUH·V WKH enhanced continuous VKRRWLQJ VSHHG %RWK WKH (26 R5 and EOS R6 can shoot FRQWLQXRXVO\ DW XS WR ISV IUDPHV SHU VHFRQG XVLQJ their mechanical shutters, or ISV ZKHQ WKHLU HOHFWURQLF VKXWWHUV DUH DFWLYH ,Q WKH (26 '6/5 OLQH XS WKH ÁDJVKLS (26 ' ; 0DUN ,,, ÁDJVKLS '/65 FDQ KLW ISV EXW WKDW·V RQO\ ZKHQ XVLQJ Live View mode on the rear

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VFUHHQ ZKLFK LV QRW DOZD\V FRQYHQLHQW 7KH QHZ (26 5 is set to eclipse this, with a top speed of 30fps – with full DXWRIRFXV WUDFNLQJ WRR Unlike a mechanical shutter, an electronic shutter has no PRYLQJ SDUWV VR LW HVVHQWLDOO\ HQDEOHV \RX WR VKRRW LQ VLOHQFH 7KHUH DUH PDQ\ VLWXDWLRQV ZKHUH WKLV FDQ LPSURYH \RXU KLW UDWH VXFK DV ZKHQ \RX·UH photographing wildlife or FDQGLG SRUWUDLWV 7KHUH DUH also no vibrations, which PHDQV SRWHQWLDOO\ VKDUSHU LPDJHV DV ZHOO 7KH ZD\ LQ ZKLFK DQ electronic shutter works means that it’s not suitable for all VXEMHFWV WKRXJK :LWK D mechanical shutter, two sets of ‘curtains’ or blinds in front of the sensor open and close to

“Unlike a mechanical shutter, an electronic shutter has no moving parts, so it essentially enables you to shoot in silence” 34

control the length of the H[SRVXUH $Q HOHFWURQLF VKXWWHU HVVHQWLDOO\ MXVW VZLWFKHV WKH VHQVRU RQ DQG RII ,W GRHVQ·W expose the sensor all in one go though, but rather ‘scans’ the VFHQH OLQH E\ OLQH 7KLV PHDQV WKDW LI D IDVW PRYLQJ VXEMHFW changes position from when the frame is read at the top to ZKHQ LW ÀQLVKHV DW WKH ERWWRP WKH\ PD\ DSSHDU GLVWRUWHG LQ WKH ÀQDO LPDJH ² WKH VR FDOOHG ¶UROOLQJ VKXWWHU· RU ¶MHOOR· HIIHFW $ JROIHU WHHLQJ RII PD\ VHHP like the ideal time to switch to

the silent shutter, for example, EXW WKH VSHHG RI WKH VKLQ\ JROI FOXE PD\ OHDYH LW ORRNLQJ FXUYHG LQ WKH ÀQDO LPDJH &XUUHQWO\ LW·V DOVR QRW SRVVLEOH WR XVH ÁDVK ZLWK DQ HOHFWURQLF VKXWWHU EHFDXVH RI WKH OLQH E\ OLQH ZD\ WKDW WKH SKRWRJUDSK LV UHFRUGHG The new Canon EOS R3 IHDWXUHV D QHZ %6, %DFNVLGH LOOXPLQDWHG &026 VHQVRU which promises faster readout speeds and ‘minimal’ distortion when using the electronic shutter, so it could be a

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© Samo Vidic, Canon Ambassador

CANON EOS R CAMERAS

RF LENS CONTACTS THE RF mount used by EOS R System cameras and lenses features 12 contacts – four more than the EF mount. The system has been made with future-proofing and expandability in mind, as not all the contacts are currently being used by the cameras and lenses. With faster processors and bigger batteries, for instance, future EOS R bodies may be able to drive lens AF motors even faster, allowing focus-tracking of moving subjects at even faster continuous shooting speeds. It’s incredible to think AF could be even better in the future!

Canon’s RF mount and its 12 contacts are the driving force behind the faster communication between lenses and EOS R System cameras

SHUTTER MODE YOU CAN choose to use a mechanical shutter or an electronic ‘silent’ shutter in most EOS R bodies. The EOS RP uses a slightly different arrangement, and its silent shutter is actually only available as a scene mode with more limited controls. With the EOS R5 and EOS R6, you can also select an electronic ‘first-curtain’ shutter mode. Here, the mechanical shutter is only used as the second curtain, to end the exposure. This option means that there is no ‘shutter shock’ at the start of the exposure, with the potential for sharper images than with the fully mechanical option. The fully electronic shutter allows you to shoot at up to maximum 20fps continuous shutter speed.

As both the EOS R5 and R6 can shoot continuously at up to 20fps when their electronic shutters are active, it makes shooting action much easier

JDPH FKDQJHU IRU VSRUWV SKRWRJUDSK\ $QRWKHU ERQXV RI WKH KLJK VSHHG FRPPXQLFDWLRQ RIIHUHG E\ WKH 5) PRXQW LV WKH HQKDQFHG OHYHO RI VWDELOL]DWLRQ that’s offered in the EOS R5 DQG (26 5 7KHVH FDPHUDV IHDWXUH ,%,6 ,Q ERG\ ,PDJH 6WDELOLVDWLRQ WKDW ZRUNV FRRSHUDWLYHO\ ZLWK WKH ,PDJH 6WDELOL]HUV LQ ,6 OHQVHV WR GHOLYHU XS WR VWRSV RI D[LV VKDNH UHGXFWLRQ 1RW RQO\ GRHV

The Canon Magazine

WKLV LPSURYH \RXU FKDQFHV RI taking sharper images, it also JLYHV \RX PRUH FUHDWLYH RSWLRQV ZKLOH RQ WKH JR ,I \RX ZDQWHG WR UHFRUG D PRWLRQ blurred subject in a sharp VFHQH \RX·G QRUPDOO\ KDYH WR reach for a tripod, but the high OHYHO RI VWDELOLW\ PHDQV WKDW \RX FDQ XVH VORZHU VKXWWHU speeds while shooting handheld and still retain VKDUSQHVV ZKHUH \RX QHHG WR

35

MASTERMIRRORLESS

Creative features

DSLRS AREN’T DEAD

Take your image-making in a new direction with mirrorless cameras

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s well as capturing fast subjects more HDVLO\ DQG ZLWK EHWWHU LPDJH TXDOLW\ WKHUH·V also a host of WHFKQRORJ\ LQVLGH (26 5 cameras that can enable \RX WR EH PRUH FUHDWLYH WRR Take focus bracketing, for example, which is available on WKH KLJK HQG (26 5 DQG 5 FDPHUDV DQG WKH HQWU\ OHYHO (26 53 EXW QRW RQ WKH (26 5 7KLV WHFKQRORJ\ DOORZV \RX WR DXWRPDWLFDOO\ UHFRUG D sequence of pictures that can be stacked together in software to extend the depth RI ÀHOG ,W·V GHVLJQHG IRU PDFUR DQG FORVH XS SKRWRJUDSK\ ZKHUH GHSWK RI ÀHOG LV W\SLFDOO\ YHU\ VKDOORZ HYHQ when using smaller aperture VHWWLQJV <RX WHOO WKH FDPHUD KRZ PDQ\ VKRWV \RX ZDQW WR WDNH DQG LW ZLOO DXWRPDWLFDOO\ record the sequence, changing the focus distance for each shot to give the GHVLUHG FRYHUDJH

The function is also available in the EOS 90D DSLR, but the focus breathing VXSSUHVVLRQ WKDW·V XVHG LQ 5) OHQVHV VXFK DV WKH 5) PP ) / 0DFUR ,6 860 FDQ PDNH it easier to line up the images LQ WKH ÀQDO IRFXV VWDFN )RFXV EUHDWKLQJ LV ZKHQ WKH PDJQLÀFDWLRQ FKDQJHV DV WKH OHQV LV UHIRFXVHG ,W·V VRPHWKLQJ that’s more of a concern for YLGHR UHFRUGLQJ ZKHUH DQ\ FKDQJH LQ WKH PDJQLÀFDWLRQ ZLOO EH QRWLFHDEOH ZKHQ \RX·UH watching a clip, but the focus breathing suppression is an added bonus for macro photographers using Canons DXWRPDWHG EUDFNHWLQJ IXQFWLRQ Talking of video, the EOS R FDPHUDV DUH SHUIHFWO\ VXLWHG WR recording clips, thanks to their (9)V 1R ORQJHU GR \RX KDYH WR hold the camera at awkward angles to view the rear screen, OLNH \RX ZRXOG ZLWK D '6/5 DV \RX·UH DEOH WR IXOO\ VXSSRUW WKH FDPHUD ZLWK \RXU H\H SUHVVHG DJDLQVW WKH YLHZÀQGHU

All EOS R cameras are capable of recording 4K video, but the (26 5 RIIHUV D VWHS FKDQJH in video performance with its internal 8K RAW capture (and WKH SURVSHFW RI SXOOLQJ 0S VWLOOV IURP WKDW . IRRWDJH

:KLOH \RX DUH PRUH OLPLWHG LQ terms of camera settings when shooting video, being able to pull an image from a video clip at a higher resolution than the SKRWRV SURGXFHG E\ PRVW (26 cameras opens up even more FUHDWLYH RSSRUWXQLWLHV $V ZHOO DV OHWWLQJ \RX UHFRUG SURSHU LQGXVWU\ VWDQGDUG +'5 video clips, both the EOS R5 and EOS R6 also offer the prospect of saving images as ELW +(,) +LJK (IÀFLHQF\ ,PDJH )RUPDW ÀOHV DV ZHOO DV -3(*V +(,)V FDQ KROG RQWR more shadow and highlight GHWDLO JLYLQJ D PRUH +'5 OLNH LPDJH WKDQ D -3(* 7R UHFRUG +(,) ÀOHV \RX KDYH WR HQVXUH the shutter is set to Mechanical DQG WKDW ¶+'5 34· LV HQDEOHG LQ WKH 6KRRWLQJ PHQX

AT THE end of the day, looking at an image without any metadata, you’d be hard-pressed to tell which type of camera it was taken on. EOS DSLRs continue to produce incredible image quality and are loaded with technology to make the job easier. There are some instances where a DSLR will still rule. If you’ve no love for EVFs, for example, then DSLRs are your only option. You can see what’s happening in real-time and you’ll get a longer battery life, because you’re not having to switch the camera on to frame up potential shots. There’s also the proven cold-weather abilities of DSLRs and battery use, you can use any EF lenses without an adapter, and sometimes the extra reach of a crop-sensor Canon and telephoto lens trumps the full-frame image quality.

STEP BY STEP GETTING SET UP FOR VIDEO

01 VIDEO MODE

02 PRO FEATURES

03 APERTURE CONTROL

04 WIRED FOR SOUND

Although you can start recording video at any point by hitting the movie shooting button, you don’t get as many menu options to tinker with compared to when you set and EOS R camera to its dedicated movie mode.

The EOS R5 and EOS R6 in particular come loaded with pro-level film-making options, such as Canon Log, ‘true’ HDR video recording in PQ and a zebra stripes overlay to show areas that are too bright in frame.

To avoid big jumps in brightness when you change the aperture while recording, you can set it to finer 1/8-stop increments. It only works with RF lenses, and when the camera is set to ‘Manual manual exp.’

Microphone and headphone ports enable you to monitor the audio recording, while an HDMI output allows you to record to an external device as well as playing back an HDR output to a compatible display.

36

www.digitalcameraworld.com

© Guia Besana, Canon Ambassador

The EOS R6 offers a fantastic set of features for film-makers as well as photographers

CANON EOS R CAMERAS

The creative features and high image quality of the EOS R6 and EOS R5 can inspire you to push your photography up a level

The Canon Magazine

37

MASTERMIRRORLESS

RF lenses technology The growing collection of quality RF glass is key to the EOS R System t isn’t just the speed, TXDOLW\ DQG IHDWXUHV RI WKH latest EOS R bodies that FDQ KHOS WR LPSURYH \RXU SKRWRJUDSK\ ² WKH innovations introduced in the 5) OHQV UDQJH FDQ PDNH D UHDO GLIIHUHQFH WRR Canon has taken two DSSURDFKHV ZLWK WKH 5) OHQV UDQJH HLWKHU PDLQWDLQLQJ WKH VDPH OHYHO RI TXDOLW\ DV WKH HTXLYDOHQW () OHQV EXW SDFNLQJ more features in, or producing a lens that just hasn’t been SRVVLEOH EHIRUH 7DNH WKH &DQRQ 5) PP ) / ,6

I The RF 15-35MM F2.8L IS USM lens is capable of capturing a phenomenally wide view – 1mm more than the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM doesn’t sound a lot, but it’s noticeable with ultra-wide lenses

38

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© Ulla Lohman, Canon Ambassador

CANON RF LENSES

SUPER-TELES TO TAKE ANYWHERE THE RF 600mm F11 IS STM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM have a fixed aperture.

Only being able to shoot everything at f/11 sounds restrictive, and it can be, but as long as the background is far enough beyond the subject it won’t be rendered sharply at these lens’s long focal lengths. Also the EOS R5 and R6 can autofocus down to f/22, so they have no problem focusing at f/11 with these two lenses.

Despite their long focal lengths, the RF 600mm and 800mm F11 super-teles are very compact. But to operate them, they first need to be unlocked…

super telephoto lenses which JLYH LQFUHGLEOH UHDFK LQ D YHU\ OLJKWZHLJKW DQG FRPSDFW VL]H plus are affordable when compared with Canon’s SURIHVVLRQDO / VHULHV ELJ JXQV 2I FRXUVH \RX GRQ·W KDYH WR LPPHGLDWHO\ GLYH LQWR WKH 5) OHQV SRRO DV \RX FDQ FDUU\ RQ XVLQJ \RXU () DQG () 6 OHQVHV YLD RQH RI WKH () (26 5 OHQV DGDSWHUV 7KUHH DUH DYDLODEOH – a standard one, one that VRPHWKLQJ \RX·G W\SLFDOO\ KDYH brings Lens Control Ring WR VDFULÀFH ZKHQ JRLQJ EH\RQG IXQFWLRQDOLW\ WR WKH DWWDFKHG () OHQV SOXV DQRWKHU ZKLFK WKDW OLIH VL]H UHSURGXFWLRQ RIIHUV GURS LQ ÀOWHU IXQFWLRQ SRLQW 7KLV QHZ 5) PP macro lens also doubles up as a The latter one can be useful ZKHQ VKRRWLQJ ZLWK XOWUD ZLGH SRUWUDLW OHQV 7R FRPEDW WKH RU WHOHSKRWR () OHQVHV WKDW FDQ OHQV·V GHWDLO UHYHDOLQJ UD]RU EH KDUGHU WR XVH ZLWK VFUHZ LQ sharpness that could prove too ÀOWHUV 7KH (26 5 V\VWHP LV UHYHDOLQJ IRU VRPH W\SHV RI ‘bilingual’, and it can portraits, it’s equipped with a FRPPXQLFDWH GLUHFWO\ ZLWK DQ variable Spherical Aberration () OHQV ZLWKRXW DQ\ RI WKH GDWD &RQWURO 7KLV HQDEOHV \RX WR KDYLQJ WR EH WUDQVODWHG ÀUVW adjust the look of the bokeh This means that there’s no DQG VOLJKWO\ VRIWHQ WKH VNLQ WR difference in performance FUHDWH D PRUH ÁDWWHULQJ UHVXOW ² LQ IDFW \RX FDQ DFWXDOO\ VHH OHDUQ PRUH RQ SDJH

improvements in the results Then there are the unique DFKLHYHG ZLWK DQ () OHQV 5) OHQVHV VXFK DV WKH &DQRQ 5) PP ) / 860 ZKLFK compared with using it on a RIIHUV SULPH OHQV TXDOLW\ DQG D DSLR, because the EOS R cameras can process out fast aperture throughout the ]RRP UDQJH 2U WKH QHZ &DQRQ problems such as diffraction and chromatic aberration 5) PP ) ,6 670 DQG &DQRQ 5) PP ) ,6 670 PRUH HIIHFWLYHO\

The Canon Magazine

… and the front part of the lens extended. The lock ring then has to be set to the ‘locked’ position in order to remove the warning in the viewfinder

LENS CONTROL RING CANON RF lenses have a Lens Control Ring that can be customized with a feature that you use often. For example, you can rotate it to add or remove exposure compensation or change the aperture. It just means you react more quickly without having to take your eye from the viewfinder. With the EOS R5 and EOS R6, you get three control dials on the camera bodies. These enable you to independently adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO when working in Manual mode, and means you can assign an entirely different shortcut to the Lens Control Ring – such as switching between AF methods.

You can customize the Control Ring of some RF lenses so you can adjust, say, exposure compensation with the twist of the ring

39

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Subscribe to PhotoPlus for a year and get this fantastic Lowepro bag for your Canon kit Peter Travers Editor www.digitalcameraworld.com

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www.magazinesdirect.com/php/tahoe150 or you can call 0330 333 1113 and quote ‘93AY’ * Terms and Conditions: Offer open to new UK subscribers only. Pricing is guaranteed for the first 12 months and we will notify you in advance of any price changes. Please allow up to six weeks for delivery of your first subscription issue (up to eight weeks overseas). Your gift will be delivered separately within 60 days after your first payment has cleared. Gifts only available to subscribers on the UK mainland. Gift not available with a digital subscription. The full subscription rate is for 12 months (13 issues) and includes postage and packaging. If the magazine ordered changes frequency per annum, we will honour the number of issues paid for, not the term of the subscription. For full terms and conditions, visit www.magazinesdirect.com/terms. For enquiries please call: +44 (0) 330 333 1113. Lines are open Monday- Friday 9am- 5pm UK Time or e-mail: help@magazinesdirect. com. Calls to 0330 numbers will be charged at no more than a national landline call, and may be included in your phone provider’s call bundle. Offer ends 31 July 2021

The Canon Magazine

41

THECLAPPCOLUMN

Lessons in the rain at Fanad Lighthouse Fanad Lighthouse, Donegal, Northern Ireland. 20:00pm. April 2013

David braves the horrendous conditions of Donegal and captures the heavenly light of Fanad Lighthouse – a beacon of hope in a storm ver since the very early days of my landscape photography adventures I have been a self-confessed lighthouse junkie. It is true to say some of my efforts photographing cold Atlantic storms have got me in hot water, there's one especially memorable experience where I clambered down to the water's

E 42

edge at Trevose in a force 7 wind, drenched in seaspray, and found myself unable to climb the rocks back out. I’ll call it ‘developing a healthy fear of death’, rather than reckless abandon.

Alongside Brittany, the United Kingdom and Ireland has some truly epic lighthouse locations, but the lighthouses themselves do vary. From stubby inland pepper pots to huge monoliths situated on remote reefs miles from the shore,

there is variety in abundance. In the right place, these structures are everything we crave in a seascape.

Fanad Lighthouse is one of the most incredible I have photographed. Standing on a rock headland in Donegal, just over the borders of Northern Ireland, the structure is a classic. Not too tall, close to the water and with a gully just in front of it, which makes every photograph magical, as though you are viewing it from a vantage point out to sea. www.digitalcameraworld.com

DAVID CANON NOTON PRO COLUMN CLAPP Lens

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

Exposure

1/10 sec, f/16, ISO100

“Who would have thought that shooting lighthouses in the rain can give you those spectacular magic beams!”

Lens

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM

Exposure

1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO800

Arriving at 20:00pm one drizzly grey May evening, the grey seems somewhat uninspiring. Walking the cliffs for a vantage point, there seems little chance of any drama unfolding, so as usual it becomes a waiting game and a chance to decode the puzzle. Coastal locations are always fraught with lower than average success rates, thanks to the ‘band of cloud’, which often blocks the chance of any good light, especially when I’m holding a camera.

1RW D IDQ RI WKH VWRS ÀOWHU , VWDUW E\ experimenting with shutter speed and a polarizer. Remember, a polarizer and a bigger aperture (f/16-22) can be just enough to give you some painterly water movement. My memories of Trevose get The Canon Magazine

me shooting at just 1/10 sec, to take the edge off some crashing waves and then something truly unexpected happened.

A huge cumulous anvil is caught in orange light, the sun now below the horizon, becoming the backdrop to my centralized composition. Using my Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L wide-angle at f/16, 1/10 sec and ISO100. What an unexpected result.

I pull my rain cover over my bag and sit behind a rock as the rain starts to fall.

There’s always that period when its not actually that dark, you know you should stay, but when you look towards the direction of the car, all you can think DERXW LV WKH KHDWHUV DQG ÀQGLQJ WKDW granola bar under the passenger seat.

Lighthouses beckon you to stay a lot longer than normal and nothing conveys photographic intent as well as an image of a working lighthouse. There is still photography to be done.

By 21:30pm, I'm soaked and sheets of rain are tonight's lowlight dessert. It’s so easy to pack up, but I'm about to learn a valuable lesson. Who would ever have thought that shooting lighthouses in the rain can give you those spectacular magic beams! There was me thinking it was fog.

The waves are crashing, the gloom has fully descended – it is the height of drama. The shutter speed has dropped considerably, but the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III is still able to shoot. I push the ISO to 800, drop the aperture to f/5.6 and extend the shutter speed to 30 secs, to capture all that illuminated glory, aghast at the LCD preview, my hood dripping, with the biggest of grins.

There really is nothing better than photographing a stormy lighthouse and living to tell the fantastical tale.

NEXT MONTH NAMIBIA

DAVID CLAPP Canon professsional photographer Visit www.patreon.com/davidclapp for video based lessons, Zoom talks and more.

David Clapp FRPS is a full-time professional photographer, for the last 15 years and leads global workshops. An RPS judge for Applied and Travel, he undertakes commissions worldwide, works for Canon UK and is represented by Getty Images.

43

HOW TO VIEW OUR LINE VIDEO GUIDES ON PROJECT AND

VIDEO GUIDES #179

ALL OF OUR NEW PHOTO N BE VIEWED IMAGE-EDITING VIDEOS CALINKS ON ONLINE VIA THE WEB PAGES 46-63

Sharpen up your photography skills with our all-new photo projects and expert guides

Dan Mold Technique editor dan.mold@futurenet.com

New projects with video guides Follow our Canon camera walkthrough guides and Photoshop editing videos

Welcome...

THIS MONTH we’ve got some fantastic photo projects that make full use of the great outdoors and sunnier summer months.

Starting on page 46, watch James run through how you can take sublime portraits full of rich golden tones by shooting at sunset. Editor Peter has been busy taking photos of wildlife on his local patch, see his tips for better bird photos on page 50.

If you have access to a garden why not shoot some fine-art florals? It’s a great way to understand how you can manipulate light with a simple 5-in-1 reflector (see page 54). Fine weather is never a guarantee, so if you find yourself stuck indoors, be sure to check out our three editing tutorials.

On page 58 Louise runs through the Adjustment Brush tool in Lightroom Classic CC, while James has been busy giving his kids super powers in Photoshop (page 60) and creating an eye-catching glitch effects in Affinity Photo (page 62).

The Canon Magazine

46

Sunset portraits

Take beautifully atmospheric portraits in the golden hour at sunset

50

Catch the birdie

54

Flower power

We show you how to take brilliant photos of different birds

Take professional flower photos at home in your garden

60

Photoshop CC

Transform your kids into superheroes with Photoshop CC

VIEW THE VIDEOS

58

Lightroom Classic CC

Discover how to adjust parts of your image locally in Lightroom

62

Affinity Photo

Create an eye-catching glitch effect in Serif’s Affinity Photo editor

WHENEVER you see this icon you’ll find an accompanying video to watch VIEW T online so you HE can follow along.

You can view the videos on a smartphone, tablet or computer. See the links on the project pages.

VIDEO

45

THE MISSION Shoot portraits at sunset with a flash Time needed One hour Skill level Intermediate Kit needed • Flash • Wireless trigger • Softbox • Light stand

46

Portraits at sunset James Paterson shows you how to take vibrant photos of your friends and family at sundown – even if the sun doesn’t appear! he magic hour has long been known as the perfect time of day to capture gorgeous landscape photos, but it’s being increasingly used by portrait photographers too.

As the sun goes down the vibrant colours can create a stunning backdrop for your portraits. And even if the sky doesn’t erupt into colour, it’s still a great time to head out for dramatic clouds and portraits.

The key technical challenge that you have to overcome is the

T

strong backlighting you get when shooting towards the setting sun.

This makes it very tricky to get a balanced exposure, because the subject’s front will be in deep shade. If using the natural light alone we could expose for the shade, but this will blow out the sky; or we could expose for the bright sky, but then the subject will be in silhouette. Both options can lead to great portraits, but if we want to record detail in the sky and the subject at the same time we need to supplement the natural light with some of our own. $Q RII FDPHUD ÁDVK LV LGHDO

A pop of light at the right moment will let us balance out WKH EROG FORXGV ZLWK WKH OLJKW RQ our subject for a stunning sunset SRUWUDLW :KHQ LW FRPHV WR FKRRVLQJ WKH ULJKW OLJKW \RX FRXOG XVH D 6SHHGOLWH IRU WKLV EXW D VWDQG DORQH ÁDVK XQLW JLYHV \RX PRUH FRQWURO DQG SRZHU 7KHVH NLQG RI RXWGRRU ÁDVK KHDGV XVHG WR EH SURKLELWLYHO\ H[SHQVLYH EXW WKHVH GD\V \RX FDQ ÀQG YHU\ UHDVRQDEOH RSWLRQV RXW WKHUH :KHQ ZH FDQ JHW RXU ÁDVK working in harmony with the VHWWLQJ VXQ WKH UHVXOWV FDQ EH DEVROXWHO\ VSHFWDFXODU www.digitalcameraworld.com

EO D I V E H VIEW T

PORTRAITS AT SUNSETS

WATCH VIDEO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_179_1 PROJECT 1

THE SET-UP STUNNING PORTRAITS AT SUNDOWN Set up an outdoor off-camera flash to light your subject for dramatic sunset portraits 01 SETTING SUN

02 LOCATION

03 OUTDOOR FLASH

The best angle for our sunset portrait will usually be shooting towards the sun.

The most vibrant colours often form in this part of the sky as the sun reaches the horizon. Even if the sun disappears behind low clouds like this, you’re still likely to see dramatic cloud formations and colours.

Think of a location near you that will work for your sunset portrait, and consider the direction of the setting sun in advance.

The rapeseed field here offers vibrant colours that match those in the sky.

The beach or a lake can be great choices too, as the sun will reflect off the water.

A stand-alone flash unit like the Godox AD300Pro here is ideal, as the output is enough to balance with the sunlight, even when firing though large modifiers like a softbox or umbrella. If you don’t happen to have an outdoor flash with you, a Speedlite can work just as well.

01

03

02

05 04

06

04 MODIFIER AND LIGHT STAND

05 FLASH TRIGGER

06 WHITE BALANCE

Light modifiers like this softbox let us transform the hard light from the flash, making it softer, so that it spreads out and lifts our subject with flattering frontal light.

Umbrellas or softboxes are best, but if you don’t have one you could shoot through the diffuse panel in a 5-in-1 reflector.

When shooting with an off-camera flash we need to be able to trigger it from the camera, either using a second Speedlite, a sync cable, or a dedicated trigger.

Or, you can use the camera’s pop-up flash and set your off-camera flash to optical release so it fires at the same moment.

Set the white balance to enhance the sunset tones. Try using the manual white balance setting and choose a kelvin value around 8400. Shoot in Raw if you can, as this gives you the option to alter white balance afterwards with the same results as if you’d done so beforehand.

The Canon Magazine

47

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_1 PROJECT 1

STEP BY STEP CANON CAMERA & FLASH SETTINGS Learn how to expose for sunset portraits with a flash by measuring the ambient light first

FLASH IN THE FRAME? Sometimes when shooting with off-camera flash outdoors it can be difficult to get the composition you want without including the flash in the frame. If this happens, try shooting a second ‘clean’ frame after removing the flash from the scene so that you have the option to copy in the clean area later on. It’s best to use a tripod for this, but you can get away with hand-holding the camera as long as the position doesn’t move too much between frames. Loosely select, then copy and paste the clean area in Photoshop and position it over the flash.

48

01 POSITION THE FLASH

02 EXPOSE FOR THE AMBIENT

We can place off-camera flash wherever we like. You can put it to one side of subjects for strong directional light that complements the backlighting from the sun.

Try feathering the flash so that it’s angled across the front of the subject. This gives more even light.

Before turning on the flash we work out an exposure that best captures the sky. Set your camera to Manual with shutter speed at 1/200 sec and ISO100. Start with an aperture around f/8 then take a test shot and vary it, until the sky looks right. Our aperture is f/5.6.

03 TURN ON THE FLASH

04 LIFT THE SUBJECT

Next, turn on the flash and trigger, then take a few test shots to work out the best angle for the flash. We can adjust the strength of the light from the flash either by tweaking the power settings, or by moving the flash in closer or further from our subject.

Leave the exposure settings as they are and adjust the strength of the flash until you find the right balance for your subject. You may want to position the subject so they block the sun, or perhaps have it peeking around the edge of the subject to create atmospheric flare.

05 BALANCE WITH THE FADING LIGHT

06 DISTANCE FROM THE SUBJECT

As the sun goes down the ambient light levels will too, so we may need to increase our ISO to account for the fading light and also drop the flash power to balance it out with the daylight. A compatible wireless trigger can be useful for tweaking the flash power on the fly.

The distance between flash and subject has a bearing on the softness and strength of the light. Bringing the softbox close will make for softer light over the face, as the light source will be larger in relation to the subject.

Close light will also need less output to light the subject. www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAITS AT SUNSETS

PHOTOSHOP TIPS ENHANCE YOUR SUNSET TONES Whether shooting portraits or landscapes use these simple tonal tricks to boost sunset colours

01 TARGET COLOURS

02 SELECT THE SKY

03 USE CHANNEL MIXER

The Colour Mixer panel in Lightroom and ACR is useful for targeting and enhancing different colour ranges. Go to the panel, click the Saturation tab then drag left or right over colours in the image to change the saturation of the colours. It’s useful for boosting oranges and yellows in sunsets.

You can boost the colours selectively in the sky using an Adjustment Layer.

First go to Select>Sky. Then click the Adjustment Layer icon in the Layers panel and choose your adjustment – try Hue/ Saturation to boost the colour intensity, or Curves to add contrast to the sky.

Here’s a quick tip for boosting sunset colours. Add a Channel Mixer Adjustment Layer. Set Output Channel: Red then set Red +200, Green -50, Blue -50. Set Output Channel: Blue and set Blue +200, Red -50, Green -50. Adjust the strength by altering layer opacity.

TOP TIPS MATCHING THE TEMPERATURE Balance out the colour temperature between your flash and the setting sun FLASHES USUALLY have a white balance around 5000-6000 kelvin, which is similar to the colour of daylight at noon. This makes them useful for shooting outdoors during the day, but at sunset the colour of the light is around 3000 kelvin – much warmer. This discrepancy between the flash and the ambient light can make the subject look too cool. We can fix this by warming the flash. One option is to fix a Colour Temperature Orange (or CTO) gel over the flash bulb. Or, some softboxes like the Godox modifier here allow you to fit a gold reflector inside the casing. Light takes on the colour of any surface it bounces off, so this gold disc can add a touch of warmth to the scene.

The Canon Magazine

49

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_2 PROJECT 2

THE MISSION Discover how easy it can be to take great winged wildlife photos in your local area Time needed 2-3 hours Skill level Intermediate Kit needed • Super-telephoto zoom lens

Catch the birdie Keen nature photographer Peter Travers goes bird spotting and shows you how to capture great wildlife photos – from large herons to tiny robins ith restrictions lifting further in the UK recently, it’s been nice to get out and about with my Canon gear.

I love the chance to venture into the deep countryside in search of photogenic wildlife, and for this big photo project I was on the hunt for birds. But these aren’t exotic birds, unobtainable to most of us, these are birds you’ll be able WR ÀQG LQ \RXU ORFDO UHJLRQ ZLWK D ELW RI IRUHWKRXJKW DQG SODQQLQJ

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STEP BY STEP GET SET FOR BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY Learn essential Canon camera settings and long lens tips to improve your birdie shots

QUICK TIP The joy of modern Canon EOS cameras is they all create large file sizes, which gives you scope to crop pretty severely when necessary. Even the old-but-still-gold EOS 7D Mark II with its 20Mp sensor creates Raw images of 5472x3648 pixels, allowing us to crop tighter on this image of a faraway flying heron in the sky, with a resulting image of 3180x2120 pixels, which is still a decent size for most uses, including online and in print.

50

01 FIND THE BEST LOCATION

02 CROP-SENSOR CANON

During our walks in lockdowns we discovered a few great bird habitats by local rivers, streams and lakes.

By exploring each area, we could work out where best to shoot from without disturbing any of the wildlife.

We used a Canon EOS 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm super-telephoto zoom lens. With its crop-sensor, the 7D Mark II extends the reach of our zoom, plus its fast 10-frames-per-second burst increased our hit rate.

03 SUPER-TELEPHOTO ZOOM LENS

04 HIGH ISO FOR FAST SHUTTER SPEEDS

The longer your lens, the more you can fill the frame with distant or smaller wildlife subjects. Rather than super-expensive super-telephoto primes, we used a zoom for more flexibility and easier/lighter handling.

We shot in Manual mode for control of our exposures, and used a wide aperture of f/5.6 to maintain a shallow depth of field, and an ISO of 1600 to obtain a fast 1/1000 sec shutter speed for sharp birdie shots. www.digitalcameraworld.com

BETTER POOCH BIRDPERFECT PHOTOS

CANON CAMERA SETUP FOR FASTER SHOOTING The importance of being in the right place at the right time with the right camera!

01 PHOTO OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

02 READY TO SHOOT

03 AUTOFOCUS MODES

This opportunity occurred as I patiently sat lake-side waiting for a moorhen to come out of hiding. Suddenly, a large swan got territorial with a Canada goose, and as it chased it away on the lake, the goose looked like it was running across the water.

I was already primed with my Canon and long lens, with a shutter speed of 1/1600 sec as the sun had come out, and used the High-speed continuous burst mode so I was able to fire off a sequence of frames to capture the action, then pick the best shot.

Using the AI Servo AF mode rather than One-Shot AF meant my 7D Mark II camera tracked and automatically adjusted the focusing as the goose escaped the swan.

The Canon Magazine

51

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_2 PROJECT 2

BIRDS 1 GET IN POSITION FOR BETTER BACKGROUNDS It’s something we often talk about, and for good reason as it can make or break your photos: the background behind your subjects is the main difference between amateur-ish snaps and professionallooking wildlife photos. The trick is to position yourself before the birds have appeared, so you’re all set with a good perch and clean, clutter-free background that’s a good distance away. This means that when shooting with a long focal length and wide aperture it will be blurred into obscurity. For this shot of a robin on a wild hedgerow, we moved around and shot from high up, so the green fields were our beautifully-clear background.

BIRDS 2 BIG BIRD Patience certainly pays to capture the best wildlife photos, and this is especially so with flighty and wary herons. When you’re photographing birds (or planes) in the sky and there isn’t anything else for your AF to get distracted by in the air, use the Auto AF point selection so your camera will lock on quicker to your feathered friend flying above!

52

www.digitalcameraworld.com

BETTER BIRD PHOTOS

BIRDS 3 DUCKS ON THE WATER Even a common female mallard can appear photogenic if you’re clever with your composition and wait until they’re swimming on water.

Get down low to the water’s edge and find some reeds or foliage in the foreground to shoot through to add depth to your shot. Also, don’t be afraid to shoot into the light, you’ll often find a back-lit subject with rim light looks more atmospheric than simply shooting with the sun directly lighting them. You can often pull out the shadow detail of Raws in ACR or Lightroom.

BIRDS 4 WINGING IT! Black birds against a dark background, such as this cormorant drying its wings after taking a dip for some fish (left), can fool your camera into over-exposing, so dial in some negative compensation. Whereas when I was composing with the cormorant from a different angle, so it was against clear white sky behind it (above), I needed to be careful of underexposure as my EOS camera was cautious of capturing the light sky too bright, rending the sky and black bird too dark. This time, positive exposure compensation was required. It’s easiest if you’re set up in either Av (Aperture Priority), Tv (Shutter Priority), or Manual mode to then dial in negative or positive exposure compensation.

The Canon Magazine

53

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_3 PROJECT 3

THE MISSION Use a kit lens to shoot a flower in natural light Time needed 30 minutes Skill level Beginner Kit needed • Tripod • 5-in-1 reflector

Flower power Dan Mold shows you how to take bloomin’ brilliant flower close-ups ith summer coming into full swing, you’ll have access to an DEXQGDQFH RI ÁRUDO subjects to shoot in your garden, and even if you don’t have access to a blossoming garden, you can always head RXWVLGH ZLWK D ÁRZHU IURP D shop-bought bouquet.

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Macro lenses can certainly be KHOSIXO IRU JHWWLQJ IUDPH ÀOOLQJ shots, though great results can still be achieved with a humble kit lens like Canon’s EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens, which has a close focusing distance of just FP IRU IUDPH ÀOOLQJ ÁRUDO VKRWV We’re going to show you how to get amazing professional results

SET UP TO USE A 5-IN-1 A REFLECTOR

without any studio lights, using natural sunlight only. Natural light doesn’t offer the absolute control, however you can still PDQLSXODWH LW ZLWK D UHÁHFWRU RU diffusing ‘scrim’. We recommend D FKHDS LQ UHÁHFWRU WKDW KDV white, black, gold and silver sides as well as a scrim layer too. Here’s what you need to know…

NORMAL

Discover what the different sides of a reflector can be used for

SILVER

GOLD

01 NO REFLECTOR

02 SILVER REFLECTOR

03 GOLD REFLECTOR

The sun was directly above us which leads to harsh shadows, and it was also coming from behind the flower so you can see the petals are backlit with a rim-light around the edges. The front face of the flower is in shadow, so it’s hard to see the details.

The silver or white side of a reflector can be used to bounce ambient sun back onto your subject to fill in parts that were in shadow before and add extra detail.

The silver side has a bit more of a cooler and metallic sheen than the white side.

Like the silver side, the gold side of your reflector can be used to fill in shadows, however the light it reflects back will have a much warmer golden quality. This is great for replicating the effect of shooting in the photogenic golden hour period.

54

www.digitalcameraworld.com

FANTASTIC FLORALS

QUICK TIP! If the weather isn’t suitable for shooting flowers outside, try photographing a shop-bought flower inside placed next to a large window

DON’T HAVE A GARDEN? If you don’t have a garden or greenery for a backdrop, a simple piece of coloured A4 or A3 card can be placed behind your flowers to give them a clean and colourful background. Use a clamp to keep it steady while you shoot and try complimentary colours for your background that go together well with the main colour in your flower.

The Canon Magazine

55

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_3 PROJECT 3

TIP 1 SET UP YOUR SHOT We put together this shop-bought gerbera at home in our garden using a sturdy pint glass and added some weight with three lemons, this also helps keep the flower stem snug and secure. You can absolutely use flowers already in your garden, just be aware that they may blow around a bit more, making it harder to achieve precise focus. You could use a device like The Plamp from Wimberley, which is a doubleended clamp that can be articulated to hold fragile flower stems and stop them blowing in the breeze – very handy indeed!

You’ll also want to carefully brush off any dirt, debris or cobwebs so that the flower head is pristine as this will save you time cleaning the shot up in Photoshop later.

F/16

F/1.8

TIP 2 EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR DEPTH OF FIELD A scrappy background can be the difference between a mediocre shot and a great one, so be sure to pay attention to what’s in the background of your image. You can blur the backdrop by opening up the aperture to a wider value, such as f/2.8 or f/1.8. You could also move your flower further away from the background to increase the distance which will make it easier to blur too. Another option is to move closer to your subject if you have a shorter focusing distance, as the closer you can focus, the easier you’ll find it is to blur the background too. Bare all three of these variables in mind and work towards a shallow depth of field that will help separate the flower from the background.

56

www.digitalcameraworld.com

FANTASTIC FLORALS

PICKING A PRETTY POSY

TIP 3 FIND THE STIGMA

Make your flower pictures as good as possible by picking interesting specimens that aren’t dog-eared or wilted as this will detract from the end result. Take the time to handle them with care so you don’t damage them and if you have a handheld air blower for blasting dust off your camera lenses, this can also be useed to gently blow away any dirt or pollen off the petals.

The centre of your flower, or the stigma or stamens, should be your focal point if they’re visible. We placed a single active focus point on the centre of our flower and zoomed in using the Live View to make sure it was pin-sharp. Any tiny movement to the camera or wind blowing the flower can throw your focus off, so be sure to take the shot soon after you’ve focused to give yourself the best chance of getting a sharp image. We also used a tripod to help stabilize the camera and also switched off Image Stabilisation, which can create more blur when you’re shooting on a tripod.

We also turned on the 2-sec Self-timer, so that the motion of pressing the shutter button didn’t introduce shake either.

WITHOUT SCRIM

WITH SCRIM

TIP 4 DIFFUSE THE SITUATION We’d recommend photographing flowers on an overcast day or when the sun is lower in the sky, so the light isn’t coming from directly above, which can look very harsh. If you have no choice but to shoot in the middle of a sunny day, a diffuser, also called a ‘scrim’, can be placed between your subject and the sun. This semi-transparent material helps spread out the light like a softbox and makes the shadows less harsh. You’ll usually find a diffuser in the middle of a 5-in-1 reflector when you remove the reflective outer sleeve.

You could also improvise with a white piece of fabric like a shirt or bed sheet if you’re in a pinch. Just make sure all of the light hitting your subject is coming through the scrim, as you don’t want the frame of your diffuser in shot as this will produce an obvious shadow.

The Canon Magazine

57

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_4 LIGHTROOM CLASSIC CC

Part 2 of a New Series!

BEFORE Adjust a specific part of your picture in Lightroom

Let your skies shine

Time needed 20 minutes

Louise Carey demonstrates how to selectively enhance overexposed skies with the Adjustment Brush tool in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC

THE MISSION

Skill level Beginner Kit needed Adobe Lightroom Classic CC

DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM: http://downloads. photoplusmag.com/pp179.zip

58

he brilliant glow of a sun-soaked sky can be the perfect cherry on top of your landscape photography sundae.

But, getting the right exposure for both land and sky can be tricky.

Some photographers like to capture multiple exposures and blend them together, but a single Raw image contains so much information, that there’s actually a far simpler solution.

Lightroom is equipped with the Adjustment Brush tool, found in the Develop module. This tool

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enables users to selectively brush adjustments onto their image.

6R LI \RX ÀQG \RXUVHOI ZLWK D beautiful sunset that you just couldn’t expose correctly in-camera, the Adjustment Brush tool comes in very handy.

No matter whether you’re VKRRWLQJ D ÁDW KRUL]RQ VXFK DV the beach scene above), or a more complicated vista that includes trees, mountains or architecture, the Adjustment Brush tool enables \RX WR SDLQW RYHU VSHFLÀF DVSHFWV of your image and edit them without affecting anything else within the frame. It’s a great tool

for other photographic genres as well – fantastic for adding an extra glint to a subject’s eyes in a portrait, or even reducing the saturation of a particularly garish piece of clothing. The possibilities are truly endless.

You can download the same %HDFKB6XQVHW MSJ VWDUW ÀOH ZH·UH XVLQJ KHUH VHH OLQN ERWWRP OHIW

or simply open up one of your own photographs into Lightroom Classic CC to follow along.

Also, don’t forget to watch the accompanying video for some extra tips and tricks. Let’s go ahead and get started... www.digitalcameraworld.com

LANDSCAPE ENHANCEMENTS

STEP BY STEP USE THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH Selectively edit specific parts of your photos for total control in Lightroom CC

SEE YOUR MISTAKES CLEARLY

01 MAKE YOUR BASIC ADJUSTMENTS

02 CHOOSE THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH TOOL

After importing your photo, navigate to the Basic panel in the Develop module. Use the sliders to create the right exposure and white balance for the foreground.

Don’t worry if your sky is overexposed, as we’ll fix this with the Adjustment Brush tool later.

Press ‘K’, or choose the Adjustment Brush tool. Go to the Brush panel and use the sliders to control the tool.

The Size and Feather sliders will affect how large the brush is and how soft the edges are. The Flow and Density sliders control the opacity of the brush.

03 MAKE A ROUGH SELECTION

04 BRING DOWN THE HIGHLIGHTS

If you have a simple horizon (such as ours), set the Feather slider to around 25%. and paint over the sky or any other specific part of the image you want to adjust separately from your global adjustments and press O to see the area you’ve selected clearly.

Once you’ve selected the area you want to adjust with the Adjustment Brush tool, move the Highlights slider to the left to darken the brightest areas. For an even more powerful effect, you can also adjust the Whites slider too, although a lighter touch works best here.

05 ADJUST THE TONES

06 TIDY UP THE SELECTION

The sky can often be the most exciting aspect of a landscape photo – and the most colourful. Move the Temp and Tint sliders to the right to introduce sunset tones of yellow and purple. Give the colours an extra boost by moving the Saturation slider to the right too.

It’s common for Adjustment Brush selections to be a little messy at first. On the Brush panel, navigate to the Erase option and use the Size slider to create a small brush. Then, go along the horizon and tidy up any imperfections to neaten it up.

The Canon Magazine

To see any potential selection errors more clearly, hover your mouse over the Adjustment Brush selection point or press O on the keyboard to view the red selection mask. You can also right-click this point to duplicate, delete or reset your brushing.

QUICK TIP! You can use the Adjustment Brush tool multiple times by clicking the ‘New’ option to start making a new adjustment

NEXT MONTH PART 2: SPOT HEALING BRUSH TOOL 59

VIEW T HE VIDE WATCH VIDEO ONLINE O

http://bit.ly/pp_179_5 PHOTOSHOP CC

THE MISSION Blend a portrait with a selection of images using layer skills in Photoshop Time needed 20 minutes Skill level Intermediate Kit needed Photoshop CC

DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM: http://downloads. photoplusmag.com/pp179.zip

60

Turn the kids into superheroes James Paterson creates the movie poster superhero-look by showing you how to master Photoshop blending skills and utilizing special effects hy not give the kids a superhero makeover?

By utilizing the power of layer blend modes and a range of free downloadable images, it’s easier than it might look to create a portrait that could pass for a movie poster.

The key skill here is in mastering Layer Blend Modes.

These let us combine our portrait with our set of other images. The most useful blend mode for this is

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Screen, which adds together the brighter parts from each image while cancelling out black areas.

It means we can start with a black background, then build up layers on top of one another – either in front or behind our subject. By using Screen we can blend images RI ÀUHZRUNV ÁDPHV DQG VWDUV WR build our special effect with ease.

The images were downloaded for free from pixabay.com – search 2585843, 3860177, 5456206, 1285364 and 3129573.

We’ll also make use of Select Subject command, which lets us cut out our subject in an instant.

We’ve provided a portrait for you to practice with, but why not shoot your own for this effect? All you need to do is capture a person in a suitably heroic pose. Try and place them against a plain backdrop, so they’re easier to cut out. You could even take it a step further than we have here by adding a movie title or other graphic elements to the VFHQH WR ÀQLVK LW DOO RII www.digitalcameraworld.com

SUPER PHOTOSHOP TIPS

STEP BY STEP GET THE SUPERHERO LOOK Add special effects and discover how to combine images with ease with blending modes

QUICK TIP!

01 CUT OUT THE SUBJECT

02 BLEND FIREWORKS

Open the portrait then go to Select>Subject. Once selected, click the Add Mask icon in the Layers panel.

Next, click the Create Adjustment Layer icon. Choose Color Lookup. Click the square ‘clip to layer’ icon in the properties, then choose the ‘Edgy Amber’ LUT.

Make a new layer, drag to the bottom of the stack and fill with black. Open image fireworks-2585843 (from pixabay.com). Drag and drop it in to your image, then drag it just above the black layer at the bottom.

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+T if you need to resize the layer to fit.

It’s not always clear which of the 27 blend modes will be right for your image – you can cycle through them with Shift-plus or Shift-minus

BEST OF BLEND

03 ADD MORE IMAGES

04 LIQUIFY THE LAYER

Download image art-3860177. Drag and drop it in to the portrait image and resize, then go to the Layers panel and change the blend mode to Screen. Position the layer below the cut out portrait in the layer stack.

Repeat for the image universe-5456206.

Drop in image explosion-1285364 and set it to Screen blend mode, so the darker areas get cancelled out.

Position it to one side of the figure, go to Filter>Liquify.

Use the Forward Warp tool to stretch out the lines to create a wing-like shape on one half of the figure.

05 BOOST THE TONES

06 CHOOSE A PROFILE

Add a Layer Mask and paint black to hide unwanted parts of the wing-shape layer, then copy the layer (Cmd/Ctrl+J) and repeat for the other side. Drag in meteor-3129573 and set it to Screen. Drag to the top of the layer stack and position it over the figure.

A tonal change at the end will help all the elements come together. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to merge a new layer. Go to Filter>Camera Raw Filter. Choose a profile to alter the colours. We used Artistic02, and added a vignette to lighten the corners.

The Canon Magazine

The key blend mode here is Screen, but there are other equally useful layer blend modes for effects similar to this. One of our favourites is Overlay, which is fantastic for combining textures with your photos. Soft Light works similarly to Overlay, but is more subtle. The Lighten and Darken blend modes are hugely useful too as they only allow pixels to show through that are either lighter or darker than those already present.

Multiply is also very helpful – it’s the opposite to Screen so works best when adding darker elements to a white backdrop.

NEXT MONTH MANDALA PAINTING 61

AFFINITY PHOTO

BEFORE

THE MISSION Use the Pixelate filter, blend modes and simple selections to create a ‘corrupted’ image Time needed 30 minutes Skill level Intermediate Kit needed Affinity Photo

DOWNLOAD PROJECT FILES TO YOUR COMPUTER FROM: http://downloads. photoplusmag.com/pp179.zip

62

Glitch your photos James Paterson uses a combination of filter effects and layer skills to transform portraits with a fun digital glitch effect in Affinity Photo

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FRUUXSWHG SKRWR ÀOH ZLOO XVXDOO\ VHQG XV SKRWRJUDSKHUV LQWR D FROG VZHDW EXW DV D YLVXDO HIIHFW LW FDQ UHVXOW LQ D VWULNLQJ SKRWRJUDSK +HUH ZH·OO VKRZ \RX KRZ WR JHW WKH SL[HODWHG JOLWFK ORRN LQ $IÀQLW\ 3KRWR XVLQJ D UDQJH RI VLPSOH WRROV We’ll begin by making two copies of our layer, then we’ll DSSO\ WKH 3L[HODWH ÀOWHU WR HDFK layer in varying amounts.

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blocks, each an average of the segment of image underneath.

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Once that’s done, we can select little slivers of the pixel blocks then shift them slightly to enhance the glitch effect in the photograph. Along the way we’ll encounter several fundamental $IÀQLW\ 3KRWR HGLWLQJ WRROV such as layer masks, adjustment layers and Curves.

To complement the pixelated look we’ll also skew the colours in

parts of the image by creating a red version of our photograph, then use the Exclusion blend mode for a striking colour effect.

This can be strengthened with a combination of simple tonal adjustments, each applied using a different layer so that they all stay independent from one another and remain endlessly editable.

We’ve supplied a starting image LQ WKH SURMHFW ÀOHV GRZQORDG OLQN on the left), but it’s more fun to use one of your own close-up portraits, so you can glitch your friends and family in minutes. www.digitalcameraworld.com

EO D I V E H VIEW T

PHOTO GLITCH EFFECT

WATCH VIDEO ONLINE http://bit.ly/pp_179_6

STEP BY STEP CREATE A GLITCHED-OUT PORTRAIT Utilize filter effects and layer skills in Affinity Photo to create this unique digital photograph

BUILDING ON THE EFFECT

01 PIXELATE THE PORTRAIT

02 LIQUIFY THE IMAGE

Open the portrait image then press Cmd/Ctrl+J twice to make two copies of the layer. Go to the Layers panel and set the blend mode of the top layer to Lighten, then go to Filter> Distort>Pixelate. Set Quantization to around 70, or whatever works for your portrait.

Highlight the middle layer then click Liquify Persona, top left. Use the Push Forward tool to warp the image, pushing the face to the side – any distortion will do. Hit Apply. Set the blend mode to Soft Light, then go to the Pixelate filter and use a higher amount, like 300.

03 SKEW THE COLOURS

04 MASK YOUR LAYERS

Highlight the bottom layer and use Cmd/Ctrl+J to copy.

Hit Cmd/Ctrl+L for Levels. Click ‘Master’ and choose Red, drag the ‘Output Black Level’ slider to the right. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+E to merge the layer down, get the Move tool. Tap the left arrow to nudge the layer sideways.

Change the blend mode of the red layer to Exclusion.

Highlight the layer above and click the Add Mask icon, get the Brush tool and paint black to hide parts of the effect over areas in the face. Do the same with the other two layers to create a mix of pixels and colours.

05 BOOST COLOUR & CONTRAST

06 SHIFT SELECTIONS

Click the Adjustment icon in the Layers panel and choose HSL, then increase Saturation. Next, add a Colour Balance adjustment. Shift the colours towards Cyan and Blue. Then add a Curves adjustment and plot an S-shaped curve, as shown, to boost contrast.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to merge a copy of the layers, then grab the Rectangular Marquee tool.

Make a thin rectangular selection and use the Move tool to alter the position. Repeat to build up the effect gradually across the face.

The Canon Magazine

The technique of using a combination of layers, blend modes and layer masking we’ve used can be applied in similar ways to all kinds of projects. We can start by trying out different blend modes to combine images in various ways, then add layer masks to control which areas of the effect show up over our shot. Get to grips with these fundamentals and the opportunities for visual effects are almost limitless.

63

PHOTOSTORIES Photo essays from PhotoPlus readers and professional photographers alike

JOIN IN THE FUN! One of the great things about photography is being able to share your view of the world. This month, perfect family/pet portraits, and using flowers to convey the power and fragility of women.

We want your photos and stories! For your chance to show off your images in PhotoPlus, send three to five high-resolution JPEGs, along with a brief synopsis – explain why you took the shots, the location, whether they’re part of an ongoing project or a one-off shoot, and anything else unusual or interesting. Also include Canon DSLR, lens and exposure details.

Email photoplus@futurenet.com Online www.facebook.com/photoplusmag www.twitter.com/photoplusmag Post PhotoPlus: The Canon Mag Future, The Ambury Bath BA1 1UA, UK

01

PROJECT INFO

Alexander challenged himself to create a series of artistic portraits of his daughter with some of their family pets NAME: Alexander Sviridov LOCATION: Ontario, Canada MISSION: Combine pet portraits with his photogenic daughter, Iris KIT: Canon EOS 6D, Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, LS Photo PRO Studio and Visico VT-300 lights @alexander_sviridov_photoart

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Portraits with pets couple of years ago I came up with a new idea for a series of images, where I decided to incorporate pets into portraits with my daughter, Iris.

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YOUR PHOTO STORIES 03

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01 IRIS AND PETS

A side on composite of Alex’s daughter Iris, mini poodle, Himalayan cat and hamster Lens

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/9, ISO100

02 SENYA

Iris posed side-on with African grey parrot ‘Senya’ on her shoulder for a unique profile portrait Lens

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/9, ISO100

03 GERBILS

Alex carefully positioned the two gerbils on Iris and waited for the perfect photo opportunity Lens

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

Exposure

1/125 sec, f/6.3, ISO100

04 IRIS AND BLINCHIK

Alex shot Iris first, then the cat mid-jump, and merged the images Lens

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM

Exposure

1/125 sec, f/5, ISO100

FEEDBACK creating unique and Alexander has done a stellar job at capturing and nding quality time with quirky family photos including his pets, while spe hop skills very much his daughter, Iris. His photography and Photos reminds us that having work in tandem for these images. These shoots to help keep learning a photo project on the go can be a fantastic way r portfolio. new skills, as well as new images to expand you 65

PHOTOSTORIES

01

PROJECT INFO

Rummage of Flowers Professional studio photographer Guia Besana uses flowers as special props to add extra meaning to her female portraits

NAME: Guia Besana LOCATION: Barcelona, Spain MISSION: Capture strength and power in women using flowers as props KIT: Canon EOS R & Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM www.guiabesana.com

66

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01 CALLA LILY

Guia used the flowers to empower her subject and convey fragility

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Lens

Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM

Exposure

1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO160

02 GERBERA

The gerbera daisy symbolizes purity, innocence and beauty Lens

Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM

Exposure

1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO200

03 ARTHURIUM

These flowers are known for adapting to any environment so Guia wanted to capture this in her image Lens

Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM

Exposure

1/100 sec, f/3.2, ISO200

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Dried flowers in general make Guia think of memories. Yearning for memories is a “very feminine trait” says Guia and she wanted to represent that in this image Lens

Canon RF 50mm F1.2L USM

Exposure

1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO160

FEEDBACK

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series of images Using props like flowers is a great way to tie a yourself with a together. We think it’s a brilliant idea to challenge g theme and add project like this to give your portraits a recurrin rly a very talented some brilliant shots to your portfolio. Guia is clea t it is to be a portrait photographer addressing themes of wha on lenses. We look woman, femininity and fragility through her Can forward to seeing her future projects soon.

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Professional photographers reveal their top six tools of the trade they couldn’t shoot without

WHAT DO I DO?

Chris Winter Shooting in extreme environments like the freezing cold Falkland Islands and sweltering heat of Iraq, Canon pro Chris knows a thing or two about working under pressure was an Electrical Engineer on nuclear Submarines in the Royal Navy for 11 years before I decided to follow my passion and become a naval airman photographer. This gave me unique access to Royalty – I’ve been lucky enough to photograph The Duke of Edinburgh and Prince Harry.

The change in career gave me lots of new experiences, from shooting a rescue exercise in the freezing temperatures of the Falkland

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Islands and South Georgia, to the Royal Marines staging a mock assault on an oil rig in the blistering heat of Iraq.

After leaving the military I set up my own business working freelance for design agencies, advertising clients and commercial companies and it’s been great. I’ve had the pleasure of capturing the portraits of many interesting people, a highlight has been the National Portrait Gallery acquiring my portrait of Sir Ranulph Fiennes for their collection. This was a charity shoot for his Coldest Journey

expedition to Antarctica, proving you never know what will come from a photoshoot!

I’ve been using Canon kit for more than 12 years and the system is perfect for me – I can depend on it. I use Canon wide-angles for sports and action, primes for portraits and telephotos optics for fast moving subjects.

It has to be said 2020 was a strange year for the creative industry and I changed my practices to allow for cleaning, masks and distancing and so on so that I could continue to do the job that I love.

Chris Winter www.chriswinter.co.uk CHRIS CREATES bold, vibrant and eye-catching images on location and in the studio.

Based in Leicestershire, Chris shoots commissions in London, across the UK, and internationally.

He spent three years as a royal navy photographer travelling the world shooting in some of the most arduous conditions, from the Antarctic cold of South Georgia to the Gulf and Iraq.

A highlight was when the National Portrait Gallery’s acquired his striking Sir Ranulph Fiennes portrait for their collection.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON PROS & THEIR KIT IN CHRIS’S BAG

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Canon EOS-1D Canon EF Canon EF Canon EF X Mark III 600mm f/4L IS 300mm f/2.8L 24-70mm WEB: www.canon.co.uk III USM IS II USM f/2.8L II I’VE USED the first two incarnations of Canon’s EOS-1D DSLR line and love them so much I’ve recently upgraded to the Mark III model, which is a brilliant piece of kit.

It has the fast 20fps frames per second burst rate which has low blackout in the viewfinder. What’s more important to me is the incredibly fast and accurate autofocus, which this camera delivers every single time.

The Canon Magazine

WEB: www.canon.co.uk

WEB: www.canon.co.uk

WEB: www.canon.co.uk

THIS IS a great lens and with all things considered, it’s actually really lightweight. As far as 600mm f/4 lenses go, it’s 870g lighter than Canon’s Mark II version! I’ve used it recently, handheld, to capture fast moving drones taking off and while they were in flight.

It has fantastic Image Stabilisation built-in and, combined with superb autofocus, consistently produces clear and sharp images.

WHEN MY EF 600mm f/4L IS III lens is a bit too long and, I turn to my Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II telephoto instead.

The lens is lightweight, about 20 per cent lighter and about 45 per cent shorter in length than my 600mm. It creates super-sharp images and also has automatic panning detection, which works really well for suddenly fast moving subjects.

THIS IS my workhorse lens and I love it. Its wide zoom range from 24mm wide angle to short telephoto 70mm makes it a versatile tool that is just as at home photographing portraits of premiership footballers to equestrian horses.

The wide aperture of f/2.8 makes it great for shallow depth-of-field effects and shooting in low light. I’ve shot with it in sandy and wet conditions without any problems, so far.

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Profoto B1 lights

DJI Ronin-S gimbal

WEB: www.profoto.com

WEB: www.dji.com

THESE LIGHTS are my choice for in the studio and on location, they all run off batteries allowing my shoots to be flexible and makes them safer to use with less wires to trip over!

The TTL and high speed sync features on these lights give me the versatility in any weather situation.

I have a whole load of modifiers I can attach to my Profoto B1 flash heads, such as softbox, snoots, beauty dishes to sculpt the light to my exact needs.

GIMBAL’S ALLOW you to attach your camera to them to stabilize them when shooting handheld and are particularly handy for capturing smooth video – I can record 5.5k on my Canon EOS-1D X Mark III. The Ronin-S gimbal is the one I reach for when shooting video on my DSLR. More and more clients are wanting stills and moving image from the same shoot, having the video option on Canon DSLR’s combined with the Ronin-S is a perfect combination.

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NEWSERIES

CANON SCHOOL In part one of our new series we begin by explaining all you need to know about Canon’s different lens mounts

MARCUS HAWKINS PHOTO EXPERT Marcus has been passionate about photography for more than 25 years. A former editor of our sister publication Digital Camera, he has written about photography and cameras for a wide range of clients, including Canon and Jessops, and uses a Canon EOS 5D Mk IV.

Get to know Canon lens mounts Not all EF lenses fit on all Canon cameras. Here’s the EOS lens ecosystem low-down… f you’ve moved to Canon EOS camera from a different system, or you’ve XSJUDGHG WR \RXU ÀUVW interchangeable lens camera, the range of lens mounts available can be a little confusing.

There are four different options in the Canon EOS line – two for cameras with full-frame sensors (EF and RF) and two for cameras with smaller APS-C sensors (EF-S and EF-M). While you can attach some lenses designed for one mount onto another – EF lenses work on EF-S bodies, for example – you’ll need an adaptor to be able to do this with others. And then

there are some lenses that just aren’t compatible with other cameras (there’s no adaptor to attached EF-M lenses onto the RF mount).

Not all mounts are made equal, either. As you’ll see from this month’s big mirrorless guide (page 28), the RF mount has four more electrical contacts than the EF mount, and not all of these are currently used by the system, so there is scope for introducing extra features and improved performance in the future. The large diameter of the EF and RF mount gives them added versatility when it comes to lens design too, allowing for large maximum apertures such as f/1.2.

The EOS R6 uses RF lenses natively, however, it can also take EF and EF-S lenses via an adaptor to expand your creative options

EF mount

R mount

EF-S mount

EF-M mount

Canon EOS full-frame DSLRs Giving ample coverage of a full-frame sensor, the large EF mount has a ‘flange focal distance’ (from the ring to the sensor) of 44mm.

Canon EOS R full-frame mirrorless This shares the same 54mm inner diameter as the EF mount, but the mirrorless EOS R camera’s sensor is much closer to the mounting ring.

Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs The EF-S mount has the same diameter and ‘flange focal distance’ as the EF mount, enabling Canon APS-C DSLRs to can take both EF-S and EF lenses.

Canon EOS M APS-C mirrorless Complementing the compact size of EOS M mirrorless cameras, the smallest mount in the EOS range has an inner diameter of 47mm.

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www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON LENS MOUNTS KNOW YOUR MOUNTS

The pioneering EF mount How to access the widest range of Canon glass ntroduced in the same year as U2 unleashed The Joshua Tree, the EF mount has now been around for 34 years. At the time of its debut in ’87, it was hugely innovative, with its large diameter and full digital control. But while it’s enabled some of the most celebrated lenses in the history of SLR photography, Canon has now shifted its development to the more forward-looking RF lens technology.

That being said, the EF mount is still the most widely supported lens mount in the EOS line-up, with 150 million EF (and RF) lenses having been produced as of January 2021, and more than 60 different flavours of EF lenses available to buy from new – from the widest EF 11-24mm f/4L USM to the longest EF 800mm

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f/5.6L IS USM. Lenses that are compatible with this mount have the ‘EF’ designation.

They’re not to be confused with ‘EF-S’ lenses, which is used to identify lenses that are designed to be used with EOS cameras that have smaller APS-C sensors (see below).

There are also some specialist lenses that you can attach to the EF mount, but which don’t have the ‘EF’ designation – this is because they are manual focus only and lack the ‘Electro-Focus’ part of the EF mount. These specialist lenses include Canon’s TS-E (Tilt-Shift) range, which enable you to correct converging verticals in architecture photography and change the position of the plane of focus to increase or decrease the depth of field. There’s also the MP-E (Macro Photo) close-up lens which allows you to shoot small subjects at larger than life-size.

The EF lens range allows you to explore a host of different looks. If you’re into creative close-ups, for example, there’s a choice of macro lenses

Where does the EF-S mount fit in?

You can fit more compact lenses on a Canon APS-C EOS DSLR aking its debut 18 years ago, the EF-S mount is a variation on the full-fat EF mount.

It’s basically identical to the original design, with the same diameter, the same flange focal distance and the same number of electrical contacts.

The main difference is in the design of the lenses. EF-S lenses project an image that only fills the dimensions of an APS-C sensor, rather than a full-frame. When it’s attached to the camera, the rear of an EF-S lens also sits closer to the sensor than it does with an EF

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Canon EOS DSLRs with APS-C sensors can be fitted with EF-S lenses (line up the white squares) or EF lenses (line up the red dots) The Canon Magazine

An EF-S lens (left) has the same size mount as an EF lens (right), but produces a smaller ‘image circle’

lens (the ’S’ in EF-S stands for ‘Short back focus’). This is why EF-S lenses cannot be attached to a full-frame camera with the EF mount, as despite the mounting rings being the same size, the back of the lens could cause damage to the mirror.

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CANONSCHOOL MIGHTY MICRO

Small but perfectly formed If size and weight are really an issue, consider the EOS M System he EF-M mount was designed for Canon’s first mirrorless body, 2012’s EOS M. Like EF-S lenses, EF-M lenses produce an image that matches the dimensions of an APS-C sensor. But because there’s no mirror to take account of in the EOS-M bodies, the flange

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distance doesn’t have to be as big. So, while there’s a gap of 44mm between the sensor and the mounting ring in an EOS DLSR, it has been reduced to a mere 18mm in the EF-M mount.

That’s why the EOS M range has smaller, lighter, hobbit-friendly cameras and lenses compared with the rest of the EOS line-up.

The native lens support isn’t as wide as with cameras that use the EF, EF-S and RF mounts. There are just five EF-M zooms and three EF-M prime lenses. But you can, at least, use a mount adapter that unlocks the door to the EF and EF-S collection. As soon as you attach a larger lens to an

There are eight lenses in the EOS M range, with the popular ‘mid-range’ focal lengths being well catered for

EOS-M body, it can start to feel front-heavy, which kind of defeats the purpose of choosing a mirrorless APS-C camera in the first place.

The next generation Discover how RF lenses are opening up new opportunities for Canon photographers he RF mount is where Canon now focuses its lens R&D, and with good reason.

The combination of a large 54mm diameter and a short flange focal distance of 20mm has enabled more freedom for Canon to pursue lens designs that haven’t been possible before – such as the RF 28-70mm F2L USM and RF 800mm F11 IS STM. With four more electrical contacts than the EF mount, the RF mount is able to transmit a higher volume of data at faster speeds between the camera and lens. That’s one of the reasons you can enjoy enhanced autofocus with animal eye tracking, and up to 8-stops of image stabilization in the EOS R6 and R5 – because the camera can control the in-camera and

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lens-based IS systems in a co-ordinated way.

Another advantage of the faster communication is that the DLO (Digital Lens Optimizer) lens correction data can now be stored in an RF lens and be transferred when it’s attached to the camera (so no more faffing around with downloading data and uploading it to the camera). The lens correction data can be applied during continuous shooting too, with no reduction in the speed or number of shots.

The balance of the RF lens range isn’t quite there yet.

There’s only one lens that goes wider than 24mm for example, but a choice of three 85mm primes. But with the addition of a mount adapter, you can plug up any gaps with EF and EF-S lenses in the short term.

You don’t have to jump ship to RF lenses. This shot was taken using an EF 24-70mm lens mounted on an EOS RP with the aid of a EF-EOS R adapter www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON LENS MOUNTS MOUNT ADAPTERS

Make the most of mount adapters Expand your creative possibilities with different lens ranges anon has developed a set of mount adapters for its mirrorless cameras that enable you to use lenses designed for DSLRs. It’s particularly beneficial for EOS M System cameras, where the native lens support is not entirely comprehensive.

Having access to a mount adapter was also important in the early days of the EOS R System, but the RF lens range has expanded considerably since the heady days of 2018. Even so, using one of the EF-EOS R adapters means you can keep using your current EF and EF-S collection, as well as specialist lenses that the EOS R system lacks – such as a fisheye or tilt-shift.

The EF-EOS M is a no-frills adapter that essentially holds a DSLR lens at the correct distance from an EOS M camera’s sensor. An EF or EF-S lens needs 44mm clearance, while an EF-M lens only requires 18mm, so without the

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adapter the lens wouldn’t be able to focus a sharp image on the sensor.

It’s a similar story with the three different EF-EOS R adapters that enable you to use DSLR lenses on EOS R System bodies. But as well as simply holding an EF or EF-S lens at the correct distance and allowing the EOS R body and DSLR to communicate with each other, they also offer

additional functions, such as a Lens Control Ring and drop-in optical filters. Even the standard EF-EOS R adapter can enable you to get even better results from your existing lenses than you can with a DSLR. An EOS R body has lens maps for every EF lens, and it’s more effective at electronically processing out chromatic aberration,

As well as the three EF-EOS R adapters, there’s also a dedicated one for Canon’s RF-mount EOS C70 Cinema camera

problems. Plus, you can also benefit from the In-Body IS (IBIS) in the EOS R5 and R6, allowing you to get sharper handheld results from older EF lenses that don’t have IS.

EOS M cameras use an APS-C sensor, so you have to multiply the lens’s focal length by 1.6x in order to arrive at the ‘effective’ focal length. So this Canon EF 70-200mm lens mounted on an EOS M gives you the equivalent view as a 112-320mm lens on a full-frame EOS body

School tip Cropping aspect ratio Choose a narrower angle of view for greater magnification WHEN YOU attach an EF-S lens to an EOS R camera using an adapter, the camera will automatically crop the image to the capture a 3:2 area in the centre of the sensor. This magnifies the image by approximately 1.6x so that the image you see matches the APS-sized image projected by the lens.

When you attach a full-frame EF lens via the adapter (or you’re using an RF The Canon Magazine

lens), you capture images at the full-size of the sensor. But you can also choose to shoot with the same 1.6x crop if you need a little extra magnification of the subject. You’ll find this option under ‘Cropping/aspect ratio’ in the red Shooting menu. You obviously lose some image resolution when doing this, but it can be worth trying when you’re shooting distant wildlife or sports.

PART 2 Next issue: All you need to know about EOS menus

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CANONSCHOOL

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS Our Canon expert Brian explains how to get the most out of the useful Canon Camera Connect mobile app

BRIAN WORLEY CANON PRO Brian is a freelance photographer and photo tutor, based in Oxfordshire. He has unrivalled EOS camera knowledge as he’s been working for Canon for over 15 years, and will help you master all EOS products. www.p4pictures.com

Canon Camera Connect app E Canon’s mobile app enables you to control your camera remotely and transfer images OS cameras with Wi-Fi work with the free to download Canon Camera Connect app to provide remote control from your mobile, enable transfer of images and, for some cameras, GPS info.

For cameras without a movable LCD screen your mobile becomes that screen

simplifying low and high angle shots.

Download the free app from the Google or Apple app stores by searching for Canon Camera Connect app, or display a QR code on your camera LCD that \RX VFDQ WR ÀQG WKH DSS There’s two modes of operation, the camera creates a network hotspot to connect your mobile to, or you can use

an existing Wi-Fi network.

Bluetooth equipped cameras simplify Wi-Fi setup as settings are exchanged between the camera and phone automatically.

The two most popular capabilities are remote control of your camera with Live View, and downloading images saved to the memory card.

When downloading you can

choose to resize images or convert Raw to JPEG. If you just need a simple remote shutter release, you can choose the Bluetooth remote controller function to release the shutter. Other functions of the app include syncing the camera time to your mobile and using your mobile device as the GPS for your camera.

STEP BY STEP MAKE THE MOST OF CANON’S MOBILE APP Connect your camera to your phone or tablet for remote control, Live View, photo transfers and more

A REMOTE CONTROL AND LIVE VIEW DISPLAY YOU CAN HOLD With a Wi-Fi connected camera, the app is a handy tool, especially when the camera screen is hard to see. Great for DSLRs like EOS 7D Mark II and EOS 5D Mark IV without movable LCD screens. Images transferred to your mobile are ready to share to social media and by email if need be.

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02 REMOTE CONTROL AND LIVE VIEW SHOOTING

01 CONNECT YOUR CAMERA AND MOBILE Download and install the free Canon Camera Connect app (see far right), then start the connection setup from your camera menu.

There are several steps that follow and require confirmation on mobile and camera screens. Once setup, it’s simple to reconnect using a previous setup. Cameras can usually store multiple setups, so that you can switch from one device to another.

Once connected with Wi-Fi, select the remote camera control option from the main screen.

If your camera was only connected via Bluetooth, it will automatically switch to Wi-Fi connection. Here you can control exposure settings, choose the AF point location and take photos with a live preview on your device. Detailed settings are accessed in the settings panel at the end. www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON CLOUD STORAGE CANON SOLUTIONS

03 DOWNLOAD YOUR PHOTOS AND MOVIES To download photographs from your camera, select Images on camera to display the saved images and select the ones you want to download. When downloading you can convert Raw to JPEG and reduce the image size if needed. Images can be sorted and filtered by star ratings, and date, allowing for easy archival.

You can also change the thumbnail size and information displayed by the app.

The Canon Magazine

04 REMOTE BLUETOOTH SHUTTER RELEASE AND MORE Depending on your camera there are several other features that are possible with the app.

You can use it as a simple Bluetooth remote shutter release, transfer GPS information from your phone to the camera, so that images are geotagged as you shoot.

Camera date and time can be synced with your mobile for even greater accuracy and organizational potential of your images.

GET CANON’S CAMERA CONNECT APP The Canon Camera Correct app is available for free for your Apple or Android device from Google Play or App Store.

Also for more info and links to get the app see: www.canon.co.uk/apps/ canon-camera-connect

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CANONSCHOOL CANONSCHOOL

EOSS.O.S Our technical guru is here to help. No Canon conundrum is too big or small. Get in touch today at EOSSOS@futurenet.com

BRIAN WORLEY CANON PRO Brian is a freelance photographer and photo tutor, based in Oxfordshire. He has unrivalled EOS camera knowledge as he’s been working for Canon for over 15 years, and will help you master all EOS products. www.p4pictures.com

The latest lenses feature enhanced coatings to reduce flare and ghosting, am I impacting this by using a UV filter?

Alan Slater, Reading BRIAN SAYS… Every time light passes through a layer of glass it has an impact on the light. Your filter becomes a new element in the optical path of your lens, that wasn’t part of the design created by the manufacturer. So as a protection, I generally use a lens hood instead of a filter.

Often the cost of a replacement front element on a lens is similar to a top quality

filter. The image sensor in your camera has a UV blocking filter as part of its design so there’s little point in adding another UV blocking filter. Lastly some wide-angle lenses have writing on the front that reflects off the filter and can be seen in the image when shooting with the lens stopped down. Personally, I don’t use filters except for a polarizer when required.

Some Canon RF lenses don’t have an AF/MF switch like this RF 24-240mm and also the RF 50mm F1.8 STM

How do you manually focus the RF 50mm F1.8 STM lens, as the focus / control switch on the lens doesn’t work?

Mike Bundy, Guildford

Quality lens filters can protect your lens from sea spray and sand on a beach, but are not needed for general photography

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BRIAN SAYS… I’m almost convinced that Canon thinks the AF on the R-series cameras is so good that few will need or use manual focus on the consumer lenses.

More likely the chance to get dual functions from one ring is the driving factor, plus it simplifies the mechanical design of the lens.

The conventional AF/MF switch is missing from the RF 50mm F1.8, RF 24-240mm and RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM lens. Further to add to the confusion, the focus / control switch that is available doesn’t seem to allow manual focus either.

The solution is that manual focus must be activated from the camera menu. The Focus mode menu only appears on

my EOS R6 at the top of the AF2 menu when one of these lenses is attached. This is where you choose manual focus or autofocus. If manual focus is selected you will also need to select focus on the switch on the lens as the ring on the lens is normally a control ring instead of a manual focus ring.

When there is no AF/MF switch on an RF lens, AF/MF mode is selected from the camera menu

www.digitalcameraworld.com

EOS S.O.S SWITCH TO MIRRORLESS Ask Brian!

Confused with your Canon DSLR? Email EOSSOS@ futurenet.com

With the RF 85mm macro lens just 75cm from the water dish, the camera found the bird’s eye and accurately focussed on it at f/2.2

EOS R5/R6 Eye AF – is it that good?

Canon’s Eye AF has improved my photography, but is it the be all? utofocus advancement, Eye AF particularly, was heralded as a big step forward for the EOS R5 and R6, but how effective is this next great thing in practice? I’ve extensively used both cameras since introduction, and switched to them as my main camera, selling both my EOS 5D Mark IV and EOS R. For people pictures, it’s rare that the camera can’t find the eye, but it does need to have sight of both eyes, nose and a mouth to recognise a face, and find the eye. It’s vital to make sure you select the correct priority subject, people, animals or maybe none. I’ve experienced the camera tracking a sheep walking through the background of a shoot with a person, the camera completely ignoring the fact that the person was closer to the

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The Canon Magazine

camera and all their facial features visible. The camera being erroneously set to animal eye tracking at the time.

It should be no surprise that bird photography is simplified by eye AF detection too, even at close range and wide apertures. For simple scenes with few distractions you can simply let the camera find the eye and focus on it.

Put the camera on a tripod outside, close to a feeder or water source and wait, watching from a distance with a long cable release.

When the camera struggles to find small subjects at distance, try changing to choosing the start point for the face detection. This is a menu setting with no way to assign it to a button, but you might want to try using it with a custom shooting mode or my menu for quick

Eye AF detects the facial features, even in any orientation, and then locks on the eye, making fast aperture lenses simpler to use

access. For me using 1-point AF is only necessary for static subjects, such as landscapes and macro.

The real change is that I no longer need One-Shot AF, I set Servo AF and that’s it. I don’t need to focus lock and recompose since the camera puts the AF point where I’d put it myself, and once focus is achieved you can recompose in Servo AF, the camera thinking the subject is moving and it moves the AF point to match.

If you’ve made the switch to an EOS R5/R6, take the time to update your way of working and you’ll find that you have time to concentrate on improved composition, rather than getting the AF point on the subject.

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Select the second wireless flash option as shown to ensure the camera flash only sends control signals to the remote unit

Is it possible to use an EOS 80D to control a Speedlite 430EX III-RT without the pop-up flash firing?

Michael Dahlhausen, Germany BRIAN SAYS… The pop-up flash on the EOS 80D sends signals using visible light, so has to flash. But these signals occur just before the exposure, so shouldn’t have any effect on the picture. It does depend on the wireless settings for the built-in flash. In some configs the camera flash is fired as part of the exposure, in ratio to the Speedlite or with it.

When you select wireless function in the camera menu, make sure to choose the second wireless setting, so that the camera flash only sends control signals. You could also have a radio transmitter, like the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT, on your camera hotshoe to control the remote flash.

In Aperture Priority with f/5.6, will the camera set the same shutter speed if I use an 85mm f/1.8 lens or 70-200mm f/4 at 85mm?

Roger Boulter, Essex BRIAN SAYS… If you have selected f/5.6 then the aperture is fixed and within the range of both lenses.

Assuming your subject is identical, then the camera will set the same shutter speed. If you changed to a wide-angle lens you may see a change in the shutter speed since now the scene being shot is different, and with a wide-angle lens the scene is unlikely to be the same brightness. Specifically with a wide-angle lens you are likely to have more brighter sky in frame. This is the value of aperture numbers, they’re a measure of how much light is transmitted through the lens.

78

Can you have a delay after pressing the shutter before taking a series of auto exposure bracketed shots?

Peter Baker, East Sussex BRIAN SAYS… You can!

The easiest way is to setup auto exposure bracketing as normal, and make sure you’ve picked the self-timer drive mode.

You can use the 2-sec or 10-sec timer delays, after the timer ends the camera takes the bracketed frames automatically in rapid succession.

Why does the camera exposure vary so much with Spot metering?

Pick exposure comp from the control screen and turn the dial to auto exposure bracketing

Is there a way to setup auto exposure bracketing without using the menu?

Elliot Puritz, USA BRIAN SAYS… Access the quick control screen, then select exposure comp. If you have a quick control dial on the rear, turning it will change exposure comp, but turning the main dial, next to the shutter button, will configure auto exposure bracketed amount. By default auto exposure bracketing is reset when the camera is off, but check camera custom functions for bracketing auto cancel, and choose disable to stop this.

Kaitlyn Roach, Bath BRIAN SAYS… You’ll see changes in exposure as the spot metering measures from a small part of the centre of the frame, so small changes of composition affect where it’s reading from.

What cable do I need to ensure dedicated flash control with my Speedlite on a side bracket on my camera?

James Stewart, Nottingham BRIAN SAYS… Canon produces the off-camera cord OC-E3 for this. It’s a coiled cable that stretches to 60cm at full extension, and retains full dedication, even auto zooming the flash to match the lens focal length.

Restricting the range that a lens focuses stops delays while the distance is traversed

My RF 85mm macro lens has a switch, what should it be set to?

Adele Carter, Norfolk BRIAN SAYS… Most macro lenses and some telephoto lenses have these focus limit switches. They limit the range the lens can focus over, and by doing so speed up the response over the selected distance. It’s faster for the lens to focus from 0.5m to infinity than from 0.35m to infinity. The precision required for focus between 0.5m and 0.35m distance is high and takes time.

For general photos 0.5m to infinity might be a good choice.

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Get critiqued!

Email photos to EOSSOS@ futurenet.com with the subject ‘Rate My Photo’

I plan to move to an EOS R6, but need help choosing a lens for my EOS 90D after testing the EF 70-200mm f/4L and EF 100400mm f/4.5-5.6L lenses and being blown away by the quality…

BRIAN SAYS… If you plan on getting an EOS R6 later, you need to get a full-frame lens as you’ll only get 7Mp on the EOS R6 with crop lenses on the adapter. Thankfully both the EF 70-200mm and EF 100-400mm L lenses will be fine. However, for general

The Canon EF 70-200mm lens has a closer focusing capability than the EF 100-400mm alternative

telephoto needs on the 90D the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM is a great option with a good balance of size and weight. While you might have tested the Mark II versions, the EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM original version is still great, and a good used buy.

You’ll get more reach with the EF 100-400mm f/4.55.6L IS II USM, but it comes with increased size and weight. However don’t discount the non-L lenses, the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM is a great value lens.

If you plan to join the mirrorless ranks later, then any of the EF lenses will continue to give excellent performance on the EF EOS-R mount adapter. I used the adapter for almost 18 months

RATE MY PHOTO

Sports and action shots are more than possible with the reach of the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM telephoto zoom on a crop camera

with my EF lenses before succumbing and purchasing an RF lens.

The choice is going to be influenced by what you want to photograph, so remember that you will lose some reach with a full-frame, compared to your EOS 90D with its crop

Lens

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM

Exposure

1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO500

sensor. Maybe an option is to go for the EF 70-300mm lens now, then use it on the R6 when you move systems, as it will still give you 300mm reach. Or you could try getting second-hand lens, even one of the L-series, and possibly sell it later.

Blue Tit ROGER BUTLER, EAST SUSSEX SAYS… I’ve taken many shots of different birds on our feeder, using the Canon Camera Connect app to remotely trigger my tripod mounted 5D Mark IV. But when I saw that there were a pair of blue tits building a nest in our kitchen wall, I wanted to try and capture one with some nesting material. Thanks to Canon’s Spring lens offer, I hired an EF 100-400mm L lens.

Shooting handheld as I wasn’t sure exactly where they’d land, this allowed me to take the shot further back than I would normally and through our French doors.

For post, all I’ve done is cropped the shot.

BRIAN SAYS… Well that’s a brilliant sharp shot of a blue tit with nesting material in its beak, so I’d say you achieved your goal here. Your cropping works, and gives space in front of the bird, plus there’s a good compositional

The Canon Magazine

diagonal from the lower left corner to the top of the birds head. You’ve ensured the bird’s eye is sharp, and has a nice realistic catchlight in it.

I suggest you could improve the shot a little with post processing, as it looks a

little overexposed, and it would be good to increase the saturation to make the birds colours pop too. Currently the bird and background are close in brightness, pull the shadows down to make the bird the clearest bright element in the frame.

79

CANON NEWS

The R3 is the first EOS with a new 35mm back-illuminated stacked CMOS sensor

CANON EOS R3 The Canon EOS R3 mirrorless will pack ‘next gen Dual Pixel AF,’ a stacked BSI sensor, 30fps shooting and Eye Control focus! anon has announced the development of the EOS R3 – a professional camera aimed at pro and advanced amateur sports, wildlife and news photographers that boasts 30fps continuous shooting, a brand new stacked backside illuminated (BSI) image sensor, “next generation Dual Pixel CMOS AF” and Eye Control Function autofocus.

The full-frame Canon EOS R3 will sit between the EOS R5 and IXWXUH ÁDJVKLS (26 5 FDPHUD \HW WR EH QDPHG EXW OLNHO\ WR EH WKH 5

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80

The Canon EOS R3 is shrouded in secrecy, but sources claim it will have a 45Mp full-frame sensor, 8K 30p and a “resolution trick”

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“The Canon EOS R3 also features an updated version of the phenomenally faithful Dual Pixel AF II seen in the EOS-1D X Mark III, R5 and R6”

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KEY SPECS NEW TECH Back-illuminated stacked CMOS image sensor IMAGE PROCESSOR Digic X AF POINTS 30fps continuous shooting with AF/AE tracking and eye, head and body detection AMAZING AUTOFOCUS Eye Control Function autofocus AF Next-generation Dual Pixel CMOS AF BODY BUILD EOS-1D levels of durability, dust and water resistance

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON NEW KIT

CANON RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM The Canon RF 100mm F2.8L Macro has ‘world first’ 1.4x AF magnification and Spherical Aberration control ring fter months of rumours, the Canon RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM has ÀQDOO\ EHHQ DQQRXQFHG – and Canon claims that it’s WKH ¶ZRUOG ÀUVW· DXWRIRFXVLQJ macro lens with 1.4x PDJQLÀFDWLRQ 2Q WRS RI WKDW WKH &DQRQ 5) PP ) / 0DFUR ,6 860 KDV D GHGLFDWHG 6$ FRQWURO ULQJ :H KDG SUHYLRXVO\ VSHFXODWHG WKDW WKLV LV D VRIW IRFXV FRQWURO ULQJ DQG LQGHHG LW LV ² WKH 6SKHULFDO $EHUUDWLRQ FRQWURO HQDEOHV SKRWRJUDSKHUV WR ´YDU\ WKH ORRN RI WKH EDFNJURXQG DQG IRUHJURXQG ERNHK ZKLOH DOORZLQJ WKHP WR FUHDWH D VRIW IRFXV HIIHFW RQ WKH VXEMHFW µ :KLOH WKH IRFDO OHQJWK DQG DSHUWXUH DUH WKH VDPH DV WKH &DQRQ·V SRSXODU '6/5 PDFUR OHQV WKH &DQRQ () PP I / 0DFUR ,6 860 WKH QHZ 5) YHUVLRQ KDV VRPH YHU\ ZHOFRPH QHZ WULFNV« 2Q WRS RI WKH LQFUHDVHG UHSURGXFWLRQ UDWLR ZKLFK UHFRUGV LPDJHV ODUJHU WKDQ OLIH VL]H

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The Canon Magazine

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The RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS is a pro macro lens with class-leading 1.4x magnification and a variable Spherical Aberration Control ring on the barrel

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KEY SPECS

The RF 100mm F2.8L Macro IS USM is the world’s first AF macro lens with an incredible 1.4x close up magnification

MACRO World’s first AF macro lens with 1.4x magnification (1.4:1) capability CONTROL RING Variable Spherical Aberration Control ring can be used to adjust the subject softness and bokeh DIAPHRAGM 9-blade circular aperture STABILIZATION Up to 5-stops optical IS (CIPA standard, using an EOS R) and up to 8-stops Combined IS using EOS R5 / EOS R6 AUTOFOCUS MOTORS Dual Nano USM motors for smooth and fast autofocus

81

CANON NEWS

CANON RF 400mm F2.8L IS USM and RF 600mm F4L IS USM

Designed for pro photographers that simply cannot miss a shot, the hefty price tags start to make a lot of sense

Canon announces £12K Canon RF 400mm 2.8L IS USM and £13K Canon RF 600mm F4L IS USM super telephoto primes anon has also revealed a pair of professionalgrade, high-performance (and high-price) super telephoto lenses: the Canon RF 400mm F2.8L IS USM and Canon RF 600mm F4L IS USM. 'HVLJQHG IRU SURIHVVLRQDO VSRUWV ZLOGOLIH DQG QHZV SKRWRJUDSKHUV WKH DQQRXQFHPHQW RI WKH &DQRQ 5) PP ) / ,6 860 DQG &DQRQ 5) PP ) / ,6 860 FRLQFLGHV ZLWK WKH DQQRXQFHPHQW RI WKH QHZ &DQRQ (26 5 ² WKH SUR PLUURUOHVV IXOO IUDPH ERG\ ZLWK ISV FRQWLQXRXV VKRRWLQJ DQG H\H FRQWUROOHG $) VHH SDJH

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“They make use of the cutting-edge RF mount to deliver even more powerful performance” 82

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The premium construction of these lenses comprises Fluorite and Super UD glass elements, along with ASC and Super Spectra coatings

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KEY SPECS FAST SUPER-TELEPHOTOS Wide maximum aperture f/4 and f/2.8 respectively for the lens’ focal length, delivering excellent low light performance and image quality LENS IS Image Stabilizer providing up to 5.5-stops (based on CIPA standards) TRIPOD NOT NEEDED Lightweight and easy to hand hold for long periods DIAPHRAGM 9-blade circular aperture capable of moving in 1/8th steps for smoother transitions of apertures changing during video recording AF MOTORS Ring USM drive, high-speed CPU and optimized AF algorithms to provide a quiet and fast auto focusing

www.digitalcameraworld.com

UPDATE 03

Our round-up of the latest digital photography must-haves

05

04

84

www.digitalcameraworld.com

NEW CANON-FIT KIT

01

New Canon MegaTank printers

Big print quality, small cost per print From £199/$299 www.canon.co.uk

06

THE PIXMA G650 and G550 are the first MegaTank models to feature six ink tanks, with the standard cyan, magenta, yellow and black tanks supplemented by additional grey and red ink tanks. These are said to provide a “wider colour range, creating deeper shaded areas and richer colours for vibrant photos with strong contrast.” But the big attraction with Canon’s MegaTank printers is their low cost of printing. Both the G550 and 650 are rated to print around 3800 4x6 photos from a single set of ink bottles.

02

Apple iPad Pro 2021

As powerful as it is sleek From £749/$799 www.apple.com

THE NEW 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros are the first to feature Apple’s super-fast, yet super-efficient M1 system-on-a-chip.

This 8-core CPU is claimed to be 50% faster than the previous generation, while its 8-core GPU should deliver 40% faster graphics (that’s 1500x faster than the very first iPad Pro!). The iPad Pro 2021 will now support mmWave 5G, being able to reach 4GB/s at peak speeds. The iPad Pro is also introducing a new 12Mp ultra-wide front-facing camera with a 122º field of view, which enables the new Center Stage function. This allows users to record and stream video while moving around their space. Center Stage will track the user’s movement and keep the subject in the field-of-view by panning to follow them.

03

iMac 24-inch

An iMac that’ll brighten your day From £1249/$1299

02

www.apple.com

for better performance in low light, while an improved microphone and speakers are designed to make Zoom calls easier.

04

MOZA Slypod Pro

A slider crossed with a monopod £TBA/$599 www.gudsen.com

THE INNOVATIVE Slypod Pro combines an electronic slider and fully adjustable jib arm for controlled camera movements while filming at any angle. And when you’re not carrying out any fancy camera movements and you just need a bit of support, the Slypod Pro can also be used as a regular monopod with a powered upper section for height adjustment. It comes with a mini tripod base for vertical monopod style filming, but this can be attached to the side of the Slypod Pro for slider movements. Camera movements can be programmed in and you can perform precise movements at variable speeds. The Slypod Pro is made from carbon fibre and folds down to a size designed to fit in a backpack.

05

Sennheiser MKE 400

Classic hotshoe mic gets major facelift From £179/$199 https://en-uk.sennheiser.com

BY OUR reckoning the Sennheiser MKE 400 is some 20 years old, but now with new features and a complete new look, it is designed to appeal to a new generation of mobile content creators. The revamped design borrows heavily from the more compact Sennheiser MKE 200, launched last year, resulting in a smaller form factor.

Another key upgrade is the inclusion of 3.5mm TRS and TRRS locking cables.

06

Camskns camera skins

Get a new look for your Canon £NA/$64 www.camskns.com

01

The Canon Magazine

THE NEW iMac 2021 will turn heads as it’s available in seven colours. Inside, it has been redesigned around Apple’s new M1 chip. Its incredible energy efficiency has enabled Apple to make the latest iMac a mere 11.5mm thin – or over 50% thinner than the previous generation. The iMac 2021 features an impressive 24-inch 4.5K (4480x2520) Retina display with 500 nits of brightness. The webcam has also been given an update, with a 1080p FaceTime HD camera that features a larger sensor

ADDING SOME flair to your Canon usually means sticking it in a brightly coloured, rubberized one-piece stretchy skin – not the most elegant solution.

CAMSKNS are different. These are precision-cut adhesive vinyl stickers which perfectly cover the exterior plastic of your Canon. Most Canon DSLRs and R-series cameras are catered for, with a range of eye-catching skin colours and patterns available to ensure you really stand out.

85

MINITEST

Photo cards Check out our pick of the best personalized greeting cards for any occasion E TESTED ÀYH GLIIHUHQW SKRWR FDUG VXSSOLHUV WR VHH ZKLFK RIIHUV WKH EHVW VHUYLFH DQG UHVXOW 7R HQVXUH WKH WHVW ZDV IDLU ZH XVHG WKH VDPH LPDJH DQG DOVR WULHG WR FUHDWH D VLPLODU GHVLJQ (DFK VXSSOLHU ZDV WHVWHG RQ KRZ ZHOO WKHLU FUHDWRU WRRO ZRUNHG DQG ZKHWKHU WKHUH ZHUH DQ\ JOLWFKHV RU GLIÀFXOWLHV ZKHQ FUHDWLQJ RXU SKRWR FDUG :H DOVR UDWHG WKHP RQ KRZ IDVW WKH\ VKLSSHG DQG KRZ ZHOO WKH\ ZHUH SDFNHG WR HQVXUH WKDW WKHUH ZDV PLQLPDO GDPDJH WR WKH SURGXFW ZKHQ LW DUULYHG :H DOVR H[DPLQHG WKH FRORXU UHSURGXFWLRQ DFFXUDF\ WKH ÀQLVK RI WKH SULQWLQJ ZKHWKHU WKHUH ZHUH DQ\ PDUNV RU GHIHFWV RQ WKH SKRWR FDUGV DQG WKH JHQHUDO TXDOLW\ RI WKH SURGXFW 3ULFHV TXRWHG DUH IRU D VLQJOH IROGHG FDUG ZKHUH SRVVLEOH EXW \RX·OO JHW EHWWHU YDOXH ZKHQ \RX EXON EX\

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FIVE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR 01

Best value for money

You can buy cards individually from sites, but you’ll get better value buying in bulk.

02

More and more

Postage comes on top, and can be a minefield, but works out more cost effective when you order more cards.

03

Special offers

Keep an eye out for special promotions; you’ll often pay less than the list price by using discount codes.

04

Extra flair

Some sites enable cards to have special finishes, such as foil text, at an extra cost.

05

What type of paper

Glossy paper is good for contrast and colour, while matte is better at hiding fingerprints and reflections.

86

Mixbook

CEWE Photoworld

£1.98 (single card), shipping from £5.99

£9.99 (pack of 10), shipping from £1.99

www.mixbook.com

www.cewe-photoworld.com

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VERDICT PROS: Available globally; lots of design options; generous discounts on larger orders CONS: Print quality could be better; high postage makes single cards uneconomical

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VERDICT PROS: Great quality; lots of design options; works out at £1.20 per card, including postage CONS: Minimum order is multiples of 10 cards; only available for shipping in the UK www.digitalcameraworld.com

PHOTO CARDS

Snapfish

Photobox

Moonpig

£2.49 (single card), shipping from 99p

£1.95 (single card), shipping from £1.99

£3.49 (single card), shipping from 76p

www.snapfish.co.uk

www.photobox.co.uk

www.moonpig.com

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VERDICT PROS: Great creator tool; stylish designs; most economical choice for small orders CONS: Arrived creased and a little dog-eared; poor image alignment; dull colours The Canon Magazine

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VERDICT PROS: Good quality card stock; printing free from scratches or other aberrations CONS: Poor creator tool; cover image artificially brightened to the point of being garish

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VERDICT PROS: Lightning-fast delivery, which took just a couple of days to arrive from ordering CONS: Limited design options; poor image alignment; pricy, considering the product quality

87

EOSMTEST

CANON EOS M50 Mk II While 4K is not its forte, the crop-sensor mirrorless Canon EOS M50 Mark II has plenty to offer video content creators he Canon EOS M50 Mk II is a curious camera. Its 24.1Mp image sensor, Digic 8 processor, 2.36 million-dot EVF and 3-inch touchscreen all seem very familiar. That’s because, both internally and externally, it’s virtually identical to the original EOS M50. The same hardware, same ergonomics, same APS-C sensor, same almost-everything.

As you’re getting an identical camera to the M50 that means you get the same capable 24.1Mp APS-C image sensor, with a sensitivity of ISO100-25,600 and a max burst shooting speed of 10fps.

This renders sharp and appealing still images, and thanks to Canon’s spectacular Dual Pixel CMOS AF you can expect robust autofocus performance to get your shots sharp. However, the market that

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the EOS M50 Mark II is really making a play for is vlogging and video content creation.

It captures 4K video at 24 or 25p, and 1080p (Full HD) video at 60, 50, 30, 25, and 24p. However, there are caveats; while 1080p features the same Dual Pixel AF (based on superior phase detect autofocus technology), 4K video is instead limited to a more primitive contrast detect system. In addition, shooting in 4K invokes a minimum of a 1.6x crop factor.

“The ability to record vertical video is great for creating content for TikTok, Instagram and Facebook”

The M50 Mark II boasts superior AF and video features, but otherwise feels very familiar

What is different over the original is entirely software based – and this is where the potential big differences lie for consumers. The M50 Mark II now features a clean HDMI out – making this a much better option for streaming and webcamming, provided you have a capture card such as the Elgato Game Capture HD60 S or a dongle like the Elgato Cam Link. You can,

SPECIFICATIONS SENSOR 24.1Mp CMOS APS-C IMAGE PROCESSOR Digic 8 LENS MOUNT Canon EF-M AUTOFOCUS Dual Pixel CMOS AF (contrast detect only in 4K) with 3975 focus positions ISO RANGE ISO100-25,600 (EXP. TO 51,200) VIDEO 1080p up to 60p, 4K (with 1.6x crop) up to 25p VIEWFINDER 1x SD UHS-I LCD 3-inch fully articulating LCD touchscreen, 1.04 million dots MAX BURST 10fps CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi (2.4Ghz), Bluetooth (4.1), micro USB, micro HDMI, microphone SIZE 116x88x59mm WEIGHT 387g (black)/388g (white) including battery and memory card PRICE (BODY ONLY) £589/$599

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON EOS M50 Mk II

“Autofocus works flawlessly with the Dual Pixel AF sensor-based systems of EOS R-series cameras”

of course, still connect the camera to your computer via a USB connection with Canon’s Webcam Utility software.

Very handily, it can also record social media-friendly vertical video, and it can even live stream directly to YouTube – both RI ZKLFK DUH VLJQLÀFDQW IHDWXUHV to the burgeoning content creation market.

Finally, it also gets a boost to its autofocus performance thanks to the addition of Eye Detect AF – which detects and tracks human eyes when shooting both stills and video footage.

camera. It is, noticeably smaller than full-frame mirrorless like the R or R5, however, what’s surprising here is the M50 Mark II’s compact form gives it the same size advantage as a Micro Four Thirds cameras, like Olympus’s OM-D ( 0 0N ,,, ZLWK DOO WKH EHQHÀWV RI

The 24.1Mp image sensor inside the M50 Mark II renders impressive levels of detail

Size & handling

Again, the EOS M50 Mark II shares the same tiny footprint as its predecessor – this is a truly compact, yet capable, mirrorless The Canon Magazine

With its cropped APS-C sensor, the M50 Mark II is much smaller than full-frame mirrorless cameras like the Canon EOS R5

a larger and higher-resolution APS-C sensor.

The M50 Mark II packs the same 2.36 million-dot OLED electronic YLHZÀQGHU DQG LQFK million-dot fully articulating LCD touchscreen as its predecessor.

Both are more than up to the job of shooting both stills and video, giving you a what-you-see-is-whatyou-get preview of your actual exposure – and the articulating screen is ideal for videography DQG ÀOPLQJ \RXUVHOI DV ZHOO DV VQDSSLQJ VHOÀHV DQG FDSWXULQJ photographs at awkward angles without having to contort to see WKURXJK WKH YLHZÀQGHU The camera only has a single control dial, which lends itself to either fully automatic shooting or a semi-automatic mode like Shutter or Aperture Priority. However, a quick button tap makes it easy to switch between the different exposure controls if you decide you want to go fully manual.

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Performance

We tested the M50 Mark II with a selection of Canon EF-M lenses as well as full-frame EF glass using a simple mount adapter – and this is D QRWDEOH EHQHÀW RI WKH (26 0 system. While it has a fairly well-rounded ecosystem of compatible EF-M lenses, designed VSHFLÀFDOO\ IRU &DQRQ·V PLUURUOHVV APS-C format, you can easily mount Canon’s larger EF glass designed for full-frame DSLRs. This gives you access to an incredibly diverse range of optics to use with the M50 Mark II – though

89

EOSMTEST 01

FEATURES 01

The 2360k-dot OLED EVF is old, but packs lots of detail in all of the right places, ensuring you know how exposures look.

02

It’s only 1040k, but the articulating LCD is great for video and even shooting selfies if the occasion calls for it.

03 03

04

The pop-up flash will occasionally save your bacon and give you that extra bit of a lighting boost.

04

The single control dial is geared towards ease of use but, a quick button tap makes it easy to switch between the different exposure controls if you decide you want to go fully manual.

05

The small size of EF-M lenses keeps things compact, but you can easily mount Canon’s larger EF glass designed for full-frame DSLRs.

05

they will be subject to a 1.6x crop factor, due to the smaller APS-C sensor size.

By and large we got rich, sharp, detailed shots of all manner of subjects – the 24.1Mp sensor may not be new, but it still renders impressive images. We did notice that the new Eye Detection AF isn’t always as accurate as on Canon’s other cameras; yet we’ve been spoiled by the unparalleled Eye Detection AF on the EOS R5.

While its dynamic range isn’t the best in its category, there is still an admirably large amount of data SUHVHQW LQ WKH ÀOHV UHFRUGHG E\ WKH M50 Mark II – enough detail in the shadows and highlights to edit your 02

90

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON EOS M50 Mk II

M50 MK II vs M50 RAW* SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO Signal-to-noise ratio (dB)

50 40 30 20 10 M50

M50 Mk II ISO100

200

400

800

1600

3200

6400 12800 25600

The M50 Mark II delivers reasonably clear images, though it does struggle at higher sensitivities.

RAW* DYNAMIC RANGE Dynamic range (EV)

14 12 10 8 6 4 2

M50 Mk II

ISO100 200

Raws if they’ve been inadvertently over- or underexposed.

What about video? This is not a good 4K camera. Having a cropped 4K image in 2021 simply isn’t acceptable, let alone when it means that you also lose the Dual Pixel AF that is one of the biggest selling points of this camera – the contrast detect AF is incredibly hit and miss, DQG SXOVHV DQG KXQWV VXIÀFLHQWO\ that you risk spoiling shots, or losing focus entirely.

In addition, 4K video suffers from unpleasant rolling shutter (the ‘Jell-O effect’ as you pan side-to-side). That said, for vloggers and content creators that may not

It lacks the Animal AF of the EOS R5 and R6, but the M50 Mark II AF system still keeps up with most wildlife subjects

With its 10fps continuous burst shooting, the EOS M50 Mark II can capture fast action

actually make a huge difference, as most creators shooting for YouTube only shoot in 1080p anyway – and this is a largely excellent 1080p camera.

The lack of in-body image stabilization means that you’ll be best served with a gimbal or tripod, but you can shoot up to 60p (for smooth motion or slow-motion) and you retain the great Dual Pixel AF. A microphone jack also means that you can mount a shotgun mic or even plug in a lav mic to capture the best possible sound.

The ability to record vertical video makes the M50 Mark II an important tool for creators shooting content for TikTok, Instagram and Facebook stories, and the everincreasing wave of portraitoriented media.

“The lack of in-body image stabilization means that you’ll be best served with a gimbal or tripod” The Canon Magazine

400

M50 800

1600

3200 6400 12800 25600

It starts off well at lower ISOs for dynamic range, it quickly falls short.

This could be due to the aging sensors

RAW* RESOLUTION (AT ISO200) M50 Mk II

28

M50 Line widths per 0 picture height x100

26 5

10

15

20

25

35

30

The EOS M50 Mark II matches its 24Mp rivals up to ISO3200, though it creates slightly more noise at higher ISOs

VERDICT PROS: Great stills and 1080p; clean HDMI out; vertical video; YouTube live streaming CONS: 4K is compromised; Eye Detect AF not 100%; one control dial, rolling shutter WE SAY: We wouldn’t recommend upgrading to the Canon EOS M50 Mark II if you own the M50, but if you’re coming to the EOS M system afresh, it’s an incredibly compact and capable EOS camera, taking great stills and 1080p video, ideal for travel, everyday imaging and vlogging and content creation. But if you need to record 4K then this isn’t the camera for you.

FEATURES BUILD & HANDLING IMAGE QUALITY VALUE OVERALL

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SUPERTEST THE CONTENDERS

Canon EF 85mm Canon EF 85mm Canon EF 85mm Canon RF 85mm Canon RF 85mm f/1.8 USM f/1.4L IS USM f/1.2L USM II F1.2L USM F2 Macro IS STM £379/$419 £1489/$1599 £1999/$1999 £2869/$2699 £669/$599

92

Samyang MF 85mm f/1.4 RF £319/$379

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A £929/$1099

Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A £1249/$1599

www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAIT PRIMES

PORTRAIT

LENSES

Have you beeen missing people recently?

Photograph the ones you love and keep them close with a premium portrait lens e’ve all been missing people, on and off this last year. With restrictions beginning to ease up, we can look forward to getting reacquainted and even capturing some quality portraits as a keepsake. With that in mind, this month’s Super Test is on full-frame compatible prime lenses (we also mention Tamron’s 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD ‘portrait zoom’).

An 85mm prime lens with a fast aperture rating is usually the best choice for pro-looking portrait shots. The focal length gives a flattering perspective and enables a comfortable working distance, so you’re not crowding your subject, but are still close enough to engage. Even if shooting with an APS-C, an 85mm lens works well for tight head shots or head-and-shoulders portraiture.

One of the key attractions of a prime lens is that you can expect very good sharpness and low levels of distortion. That’s the case with most 85mm lenses, but blur is equally important. A main facet of portrait lenses is that the telephoto focal length and wide aperture enable a tight depth of field.

Some lenses go wider than others in terms of aperture, most budget-friendly options having an f/1.8 rating. For head-and-shoulders and even half-length portraits, the depth of field is tight enough to blur somebody’s ears when their eyes are in focus. Moving up to an f/1.4 lens, the depth of field becomes tighter and you’ll often find that only one eye is sharp in a portrait, if the face is slanted to the camera. Canon also offers f/1.2 lenses for both its DSLRs and mirrorless EOS R-series bodies, which can deliver an ultra-tight depth of field.

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The Canon Magazine

93

SUPERTEST

CANON EF 85mm f/1.8 USM £379/$419

01

Focusing is fully internal so the front element remains fixed.

A long-time favourite, this lens ticks all the right boxes for compactness and affordability his veteran Canon lens is VWLOO D ÀUP IDYRXULWH QRW OHDVW EHFDXVH LW·V UHDVRQDEO\ FRPSDFW DQG OLJKWZHLJKW LGHDO IRU SRSSLQJ LQ D VSDUH FRUQHU RI D JDGJHW EDJ %HWWHU VWLOO LW RQO\ FRVWV D VPDOO IUDFWLRQ RI &DQRQ·V ¶IDVWHU· PP OHQVHV DQG LV PRUH OLJKWZHLJKW DW MXVW J 1DWXUDOO\ GRZQVL]LQJ DQG FKHDSHU PDQXIDFWXULQJ FRVWV DUH PRVWO\ GXH WR WKH QDUURZHU DSHUWXUH UDWLQJ RI I 2ULJLQDOO\ ODXQFKHG QHDUO\ \HDUV DJR IRU PP ÀOP 6/5V WKH OHQV KDV VWRRG WKH WHVW RI WLPH DQG LV HTXDOO\ YLDEOH IRU GLJLWDO ERGLHV 7KH RSWLFDO SDWK LV VLPSOH EDVHG RQ QLQH HOHPHQWV LQ VHYHQ JURXSV EXW LQFOXGHV 6XSHU 6SHFWUD FRDWLQJV WR UHGXFH JKRVWLQJ DQG ÁDUH 7KH ULQJ W\SH XOWUDVRQLF $) V\VWHP LV IDVW ZKLVSHU TXLHW DQG KDV WKH XVXDO IXOO WLPH PDQXDO RYHUULGH ZLWK D SXUHO\ PHFKDQLFDO OLQNDJH +DQGOLQJ LV JRRG DQG WKH OHQV IHHOV ZHOO EXLOW EXW LW·V QRW ZHDWKHU VHDOHG DQG \RX KDYH WR EX\ WKH KRRG VHSDUDWHO\

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We combine real-world shooting results with rigorous lab testing to arrive at our overall ratings

94

02

Canon sells the ET-65 III hood as an optional extra, at £26/$23.

Performance *LYHQ WKH PRGHVW DSHUWXUH UDWLQJ VKDUSQHVV LVQ·W SDUWLFXODUO\ LPSUHVVLYH ZKHQ VKRRWLQJ ZLGH RSHQ EXW VWLOO VXIÀFLHQW IRU SOHQW\ RI GHWDLO LQ WKH H\HV &RORXU IULQJLQJ DQG GLVWRUWLRQ DUH PLQLPDO 7KH TXDOLW\ RI ERNHK LV YHU\ SOHDVLQJ ZKHQ VKRRWLQJ ZLGH RSHQ EXW WKH EODGH GLDSKUDJP LVQ·W TXLWH DV ZHOO URXQGHG DV LQ VRPH FRPSHWLQJ OHQVHV \RX·OO ÀQG RQ WKH WHVW ,W WHQGV WR JLYH D QRWLFHDEOH RFWDJRQDO VKDSH WR GHIRFXVHG SRLQWV RI OLJKW DQG EULJKW REMHFWV ZKHQ \RX VWRS GRZQ a little bit.

HOW WE TEST

FEATURES

03

02

03

Super Spectra coatings are applied to reduce ghosting and flare 04

04

Ring-type ultrasonic autofocus comes complete with a focus distance scale.

05

05

There’s no weather-seal ring on the mounting plate.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

VALUE 01

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

Middle

OVERALL

Edge

o test real-world performance, we use lenses in all sorts of lighting conditions, for indoor and outdoor shooting scenarios.

We check for good build quality and handling, smooth and precise operation of all controls, and we test the speed and accuracy of autofocus.

We typically test full-frame compatible lenses on a range of full-frame and APS-C format bodies, whereas lenses that are designed specifically for APS-C format bodies are only tested on cameras like the EOS 90D and 7D Mark II. In-camera

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corrections for chromatic aberrations and peripheral illumination (where available) are disabled throughout all testing, to better reveal the true performance of each lens.

We also run a full range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master and DxO Analyser suites. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zoom settings (where available), then analysed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations (colour fringing). A summary of results is shown on the following pages. www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAIT PRIMES

CANON EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM £1489/$1599

02

FEATURES 01

The 77mm filter thread is larger than the EF f/1.2 lens.

Ideal for handheld portraiture, this EF 85mm unusually features an image stabilizer

Keep-clean fluorine coatings are applied to the front and rear elements.

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03

The ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system is both fast and highly accurate.

Performance :LGH DSHUWXUH VKDUSQHVV LV OHVV PDJQLÀFHQW WKDQ IURP WKH 6LJPD $UW OHQV EXW VWLOO JRRG 7KH TXDOLW\ RI ERNHK LV H[FHSWLRQDO ZLWK VPRRWK EOXU DQG PLQLPDO ORQJLWXGLQDO RU ¶ERNHK· IULQJLQJ 7KH DSHUWXUH UHPDLQV PRUH ZHOO URXQGHG ZKHQ \RX·UH VWRSSLQJ GRZQ D OLWWOH ELW FRPSDUHG ZLWK &DQRQ·V ¶()· I DQG I OHQVHV IRU '6/5V

04

Air Sphere Coating is employed to minimize ghosting and flare.

05

01 03

Like most L-series lenses, this one has a weather-sealed construction.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000

05

500

04 f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

VALUE OVERALL

Edge

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02

DISTORTION None of these lenses produce much in the way of distortion here’s very little distortion to worry about in any of the lenses on test, and some produce practically none at all. The Sigma 85mm is virtually a distortion-free lens, and the Canon RF 85mm F1.2 comes very close. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 gives very slight barrel distortion. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 and Canon RF 85mm F2 lenses score the worst, for barrel and pincushion respectively. Even with these two, however, the effect is minimal and will generally go unnoticed when it comes to day-to-day shooting.

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The Canon Magazine

Distortion

4

2 1.17

0.85 0

-0.4

-0.96

-0.14

0.03

0.22

-0.37

–2

–4

–6

Negative results show barrel distortion at the short end of the zoom, positive indicates pincushion distortion at long end of the zoom range

95

SUPERTEST

CANON EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II £1999/$1999

FEATURES 01

01

The large, heavy front elements move forwards and backwards for focusing.

A legend in its own lifetime, here’s Canon’s ultra-fast portrait prime lens for EOS DSLRs

02

A

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The Super Spectra coatings are basic by the latest standards.

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03

The focus ring is electronically coupled.

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04 03

04

Based on eight diaphragm blades, the aperture isn’t particularly well-rounded.

05

05

Unlike most Canon L-series lenses, it’s not weather-sealed.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000

02 500

VALUE

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

OVERALL

Edge

GOING FOR BLUR Shrinking the depth of field (DoF) enables you to isolate subjects by blurring the background he ‘bokeh’, isn’t just about the tightness of the DoF. The design of the lens and the quality of its optical elements are critical in delivering a smooth nature to background blur.

A well-rounded diaphragm helps retain the quality of bokeh when stopping down a little. Even so, depth of field is a critical component. This sequence of shots shows how it lengthens with narrowing apertures.

T

96

f/1.2

f/1.4 www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAIT PRIMES

CANON RF 85mm F1.2L USM £2869/$2699

01

FEATURES 01

Fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements add to the weather-sealed construction.

This RF-mount 85mm F1.2 lens for EOS R cameras easily beats its old EF counterpart in every respect

02

his is a big lens…

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f/1.8 The Canon Magazine

The electronically coupled manual focus ring works a treat with ‘focus peaking.’

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03

02

There’s no physical focus distance scale.

04 03

04

05

The control ring can be tweaked to adjust various settings.

05

An AF range limiter switch locks out the short range between 0.85m and 1.5m.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

VALUE

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/2.8

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

OVERALL

Edge

f/4 97

SUPERTEST

CANON RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM £669/$599

01

01

The ‘optional’ ET-77 lens hood is pretty pricey at £58/$50.

02

It’s the comparitively ‘slowest’ prime lens in the entire group, but is still very adept at portraiture

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SAMYANG AUTOFOCUS LENSES The South Korean manufacturer is famed for its manual lenses, but also offers AF options 98

FEATURES

02

The dedicated, customizable control ring towards the front can be used to control various functions.

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03

The manual focus ring towards the rear is electronically coupled, allowing excellent precision.

Performance $V ZH·YH FRPH WR H[SHFW IURP 670 OHQVHV $) LV TXLFN DQG YLUWXDOO\ VLOHQW 7KH LPDJH VWDELOL]HU OLYHV XS WR LWV FODLPV DQG KDQGOLQJ LV D GUHDP 6KDUSQHVV DFURVV WKH ZKROH LPDJH IUDPH UHPDLQV IDEXORXV HYHQ ZKHQ VKRRWLQJ ZLGH RSHQ DQG HYHQ EHDWV WKDW RI WKH 5) PP ) OHQV DW PRVW GLUHFWO\ FRPSHWLQJ DSHUWXUHV &RORXU IULQJLQJ LV QHJOLJLEOH DQG WKHUH·V RQO\ D KLQW RI SLQFXVKLRQ GLVWRUWLRQ

04

04

A 3-position autofocus range limiter switch can lock out the short or long end of the range.

05

The f/2 aperture rating makes the lens great for portraiture as well as for macro shooting.

05

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

03 f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

VALUE OVERALL

Edge

amyang and Rokinon lenses are best known as inexpensive manual affairs, but the company also makes premium MF and AF lenses. When it comes to 85mm primes, there are AF choices for DSLRs and mirrorless EOS R-series cameras. First up, there’s the AF 85mm F1.4 EF for DSLRs, priced at £539/$499. It’s based on nine elements that include one hybrid aspherical element and Ultra Multi Coating, along with a DLSM (Dual Linear Sonic Motor) AF system. The AF 85mm F1.4 RF for mirrorless cameras is £599/$629 and adds ED (Extra-low Dispersion) and HF (High Refractive index) glass. Performance and image quality are good, making them good value.

S

Samsung now makes 85mm f/1.4 autofocus lenses for both EF-mount DSLRs and RF-mount mirrorless bodies www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAIT PRIMES

SAMYANG MF 85mm f/1.4 RF £319/$379

02

01

Samyang offers the choice of going retro with a state-of-the-art mirrorless camera

02

03

The smooth-action focus ring has a long travel, enabling excellent precision.

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04

The aperture can’t be adjusted from the body, only by turning the control ring.

05

Build quality is great, especially when you consider the price.

05

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

VALUE

01

Middle

Lower values represent less fringing, and therefore better performance

Fringing

5

4

3

f/8 Edge

2

1

f/ 85 1.2 m Sa m m F2 ya M ng ac M ro F 85 m m Si f/ gm 1.4 a 85 m Si m gm f/ 1.4 a 10 5m m f/ 1.4

85 m m

f/ 1.2 RF Ca no n

Ca no n

RF

f/ 1.4

85 m m EF

EF

85 m m

85 m m

f/ 1.8

0

Ca no n

ur lab scores reveal the extent of lateral chromatic aberration, which shows up as coloured lines around high-contrast edges towards the corners of the frame. It can be visible, for example, around dark tree branches and leaves against a bright sky. Longitudinal chromatic aberration, also known as ‘axial CA’ or bokeh fringing, occurs mostly at very wide apertures, and can be seen around the borders between in-focus areas and defocused surroundings.

OVERALL

Edge

Ca no n

Centre

04

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

EF

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4

Two flavours are served up by fast primes

The Canon Magazine

A circular bayonet-fit hood and pouch are supplied.

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Ultra Multi Coatings enable high light transmittance with low reflectivity.

03

Ca no n

T

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FEATURES

99

SUPERTEST

SIGMA 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART £929/$1099

FEATURES

01 01

Big all over, the Sigma has a 86mm filter thread.

This Sigma 85mm lens is a properly heavyweight contender in the portraiture ring – in every way!

L

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02

The mechanicallylinked focus ring works operates smoothly.

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03 04

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High-end optics include one aspherical element and two SLD elements.

04

In-camera corrections are available.

03

05 02 05

Build is rock-solid and the construction includes weather-seals.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

VALUE

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

OVERALL

Edge

PORTRAIT ZOOM Tamron serves up something different in the shape of its ‘portrait zoom’ amron markets its 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD as a ‘portrait zoom lens’. It’s designed to deliver a convenient focal length for full-length portraits or group shots at its shortest zoom setting, classic half-length or head-andshoulders focal lengths at mid-zoom settings, and stretches all the way to 150mm for tight head shots.

T

100

It’s a neat idea and the lens delivers on the versatility front, enabling you to react quickly to different portrait photo opportunities at the likes of weddings and events. However, compared with all of the prime lenses in our test group, the widest available apertures are quite narrow. Even so, sharpness and contrast are good, and bokeh can be pleasantly smooth.

The Tamron’s modest f/3.5-4 apertures means it’s a decent lightweight at 796g, and priced well at £799/$799 www.digitalcameraworld.com

PORTRAIT PRIMES

SIGMA 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A £1249/$1599

01

01

It’s a big lens in all respects.

03

This bokeh beast from Sigma is a real whopper and comes complete with a tripod mount ring

D

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TAKE A LONG SHOT At weddings and other events, a longer zoom can help you reach out

The Canon Magazine

FEATURES

02

The Tripod mount ring is removable and a protective sleeve is supplied to use in its place.

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03

For an AF lens, the manual focus ring has a long travel, enabling very fine adjustments.

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02 04

04

The focus distance scale is largely superfluous.

05

05

Weather-seals include a rubber ring around the mounting plate.

Sharpness VERDICT

3000

2500

FEATURES

2000

BUILD & HANDLING 1500

PERFORMANCE

1000 500

VALUE

f/1.2 f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 Centre

Middle

f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22 Edge

edding and event photographers often keep a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens up their sleeve. Naturally, the widest available aperture doesn’t match an 85mm prime lens, but the zoom range gives you the flexibility to react to portrait ops, without having to move closer or further away, or to change the lens that’s on your camera. It’s great for ‘reportage’ style portraiture, when you’re aiming to capture life as it unfolds, rather than setting up posed compositions.

W

OVERALL

Another bonus of the additional zoom range that stretches to 200mm is that you can shoot from quite a bit further away, which can help when you’re aiming for more candid portraits.

And towards the long end of the zoom range, the f/2.8 aperture can enable a fairly tight depth of field.

The 70-200mm zoom range and fairly fast constant aperture of f/2.8 enables you to react quickly to portrait opportunities

101

SUPERTEST COMPARISON TABLE

NAME

CANON EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

CANON EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM

CANON EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II

CANON RF 85mm F1.2L USM

CANON RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM

SAMYANG MF 85mm f/1.4 RF

SIGMA 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A

SIGMA 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM | A

www.canon.co.uk

www.canon.co.uk

www.canon.co.uk

www.canon.co.uk

www.canon.co.uk

www.samyang lensglobal.com

www.sigma-global. com

www.sigma-imaginguk.com

EF

EF

EF

RF

RF

RF

EF

EF

136mm

136mm

136mm

136mm

136mm

136mm

136mm

168mm

Elements/Groups

9/7

14/10

8/7

13/9

12/11

9/7

14/12

17/12

Image stabilization

No

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

Ultrasonic (ring)

Ultrasonic (ring)

Ultrasonic (ring)

Ultrasonic (ring)

Stepping motor

None

Ultrasonic (ring)

Ultrasonic (ring)

Manual autofocus override

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

N/A

Yes

Yes

Internal focusing

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Min focus distance

0.85m

0.85m

0.95m

0.85m

0.35m

1.1m

0.85m

1.0m

Max magnification factor

0.13x

0.12x

0.11x

0.12x

0.5x

0.09x

0.12x

0.12x

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

8 blades

9 blades

8 blades

9 blades

9 blades

8 blades

9 blades

9 blades

f/22

f/22

f/16

f/16

f/29

f/22

f/16

f/16

58mm

77mm

72mm

82mm

67mm

72mm

86mm

105mm

Optional (ET-65 III)

Supplied

Supplied

Supplied

ET-77, £58/$50

Included

Supplied

Supplied

No

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

75x72mm

89x105mm

92x84mm

103x117mm

78x91mm

87x120mm

95x126mm

116x132mm

425g

950g

1025g

1195g

500g

730g

1130g

1645g

£379/$419

£1489/$1599

£1999/$1999

£2869/$2699

£669/$599

£319/$379

£929/$1099

£1249/$1599

Mount Effective focal length (APS-C)

Autofocus type

Focus distance scale Diaphragm blades Narrowest aperture Filter size Hood Weather-seals Dimensions (Dia x Length) Weight Target price

FEATURES BUILD & HANDLING PERFORMANCE VALUE OVERALL

THE WINNERS ARE... CANON EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM & CANON RF 85mm F1.2L USM Whether you shoot with or without mirrors, Canon comes out on top or performance, handling and image quality, the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM is the best portrait lens on the market for Canons. The only sticking point is the price.

The next best thing as a native RF lens for EOS R-series cameras is the Canon RF 85mm F2 Macro IS STM, which is compact and versatile.

For a fully manual lens, the Samyang MF 85mm

F

102

f/1.4 RF is a great choice. In the DSLR camp, our favourite portrait lens is the Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM. All-round performance and image quality are fabulous, and it boasts the benefit of image stabilization. Under dull lighting conditions, the stabilizer can make all the difference between consistently sharp handheld shots and a missed opportunity. www.digitalcameraworld.com

GET PHOTOPLUS FROM ONLY £3.85 PER ISSUE!

INSTANT READING Access your favourite Canon magazine on your digital device from the comfort of your own home

This digital edition offer is ONLY available via our online shop at

www.magazinesdirect.com/photoplus-magazine Available on iOS and Android

BUYERS’ GUIDE to a few With prices ranging from a couple of hundred ryone, thousand, Canon has an EOS camera to suit eve pro… from the complete beginner to most demanding

DSLR CAMERAS

Canon EOS cameras Canon splits its EOS DSLR lineup into entry-level, enthusiast and pro ranges; the 4000D is the most basic, the 850D and 77D for intermediates, the 80D and full-frame 6D Mk II for more advanced enthusiasts, while the 7D, full-frame 5D and 1D lines have pro-level features. With more expensive models, expect greater handling, more robust build quality (weather-sealing and magnesium-alloy shells), more advanced features, and full-frame rather than APS-C image sensors. Over the page, we also have the full-frame EOS R mirrorless cameras, the EOS RP as an ‘entry-level’ and more affordable option, the EOS R and R5 for serious photographers.

Plus not forgetting Canon’s smaller compact system (also mirrorless) APS-C EOS M camera range.

PRICES QUOTED ARE BODY-ONLY UNLESS STATED

CANON EOS 4000D

TESTED IN ISSUE 140 PRICE: £300/$N/A CANON has stripped everything down to its bare essentials for the 4000D, and it’s a great if basic DSLR for beginners, and at only £300 (body), it’s the cheapest new EOS DSLR. Sadly, it’s let down by a cheap kit lens, that’s tough to tolerate, so we suggest buying the better IS lens.

CANON EOS 2000D (REBEL T7)

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

18Mp APS-C CMOS Pentamirror, 0.8x, 95% 100-6400 (12,800 exp) 9-point (1 cross-type) 2.7-in, 230k-dot 3fps SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 149 PRICE with 18-55mm kit lens: £329/$400

ENTRY-LEVEL

THE 2000D is a better-spec Canon camera than the 4000D, but comes with a step up at its RRP current price. It’s arguably worth the extra, but that puts it in a difficult spot, where another step up in outlay will get you an EOS 200D, which is a far better overall DSLR camera.

CANON EOS 250D (REBEL SL3) THE NEW EOS 250D/Rebel SL3 is not Canon’s cheapest entry-level DSLR, but we think it’s the best budget/beginner DSLR with the perfect blend of power and value. This is the body that will take people from snapping on their smartphones, to getting into the hobby.

CANON EOS 850D (REBEL T8i) FOR ENTHUSIASTS looking to take the next step, the Canon EOS 850D is an impressive, lightweight yet powerful DSLR that captures detailed, colourful and sharper images, as well as 4K movies. Featuring iTR Face and Eye Detection AF and accurate Auto AF via optical viewfinder, the 850D is sure to satisfy.

104

What to look for

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.1Mp APS-C CMOS Pentamirror, 0.8x, 95% 100-6400 (12,800 exp) 9-point (1 cross-type) 3-in, 920k-dots 3fps SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £529/$600 Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.1Mp APS-C CMOS Pentamirror, 0.87x, 95% 100-25600 (51,200 exp) 9-point (1 cross-type) 3-in vari-angle touch screen, 1040k 5fps SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 172 PRICE: £839/$749 Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.1Mp Dual Pixel APS-C CMOS Pentamirror, 95% coverage, 0.82x 100-25,600 45 cross-type AF point system 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 7fps SD/SDHC/SDXC

www.digitalcameraworld.com

BUYERS’ GUIDE CAMERAS CANON EOS 77D

TESTED IN ISSUE 156 PRICE with 18-135mm kit lens: £1030/$1400 THE key specs are identical to the 800D, but the extra top-plate LCD gives at-a-glance access to vital shooting info, while a rear control wheel makes dialing in exposure settings much quicker, promoting it to Canon’s ‘enthusiast’ range. Super image quality – even at high ISOs.

CANON EOS 90D

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

Pentamirror, 0.82x, 95% 100-25,600 (51,200 exp) 45-point (all cross-type) 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 6fps (27 Raw/Unlimited JPEG) SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £1199/$1199

CANON EOS 7D Mk II

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

32.5Mp, APS-C (6960x4640 pixels) Pentaprism, 0.95x, 100% 100-25,600 (51,200 exp) 45-point (all cross-type) 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 10fps (25 Raw/58 JPEG) SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 159 PRICE: £1429/$1400 HERE’S the king of action-packed APS-C format EOS cameras. A little long in the tooth now, but it still has 65-point AF with advanced tracking, 10fps continuous drive, dual DIGIC 6 processors and GPS, all wrapped up in a tough, weathersealed magnesium alloy shell.

CANON EOS 6D Mk II

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

20.2Mp, APS-C (5472x3648 pixels) Pentaprism, 1.0x, 100% 100-16,000 (51,200 exp) 65-point (all cross-type) 3-in, 1040k dots 10fps (31 Raw/Unlimited JPEG) CompactFlash + SD/SDHC/SDXC

ENTHUSIAST

THE Canon 90D is a heavyweight replacement for the 80D, and this decathlete crop-camera comes with a new 32.5Mp sensor, super-quick 10fps continous shooting and 4K video, plus improved handling. This camera is an ideal APS-C camera upgrade for enthusiasts and beyond.

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £1349/$1600 THE world’s smallest full-frame DSLR – with a vari-angle touchscreen LCD – gets a major upgrade over the original 6D with improved speed and performance rather than outright image quality. It’s a great all-rounder now thanks to an improved AF system and burst rate.

CANON EOS 5D Mk IV

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

26.2Mp, full-frame (6240x4160 pixels) Optical pentaprism, 98% 100-40,000 (50-102,400 exp) 45-point (all cross-type) 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 6.5fps (21 Raw/150 JPEG) SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £2789/$2499 A SUPERB all-rounder, the pro-level weathersealed full-frame 5D Mk IV combines a stunning hi-res 30Mp sensor with a swift 7fps frame rate.

Its impressive specs list includes 4K video, a touchscreen LCD, Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, and GPS to automatically geotag images.

Sensor

30.4Mp, full-frame (6720x4480 pixels)

Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer)

Pentaprism, 0.71x, 100% 100-32,000 (50-102,400 exp) 61-point (41 cross-type, 5 dual-cross) 3.2-in touch-screen, 1620k dots 7fps (21 Raw/Unlimited JPEG)

Memory card

THE world’s first 50Mp full-frame DSLR delivers huge and amazingly detailed hi-res images. The higher-cost 5DS R adds a ‘low-pass cancellation filter’ for marginally sharper shots. As expected with such a high-res sensor, max ISO and drive rate are lower than with the 5D Mk IV.

TESTED IN ISSUE 148 PRICES: £2349/$3700 Sensor

50.6Mp, full-frame (8688x5792 pixels)

Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer)

Pentaprism, 0.71x, 100% 100-6400 (50-12,800 exp) 61-point (41 cross-type, 5 dual-cross) 3.2-in, 1040k dots 5fps (14 Raw/510 JPEG)

Memory card

CANON EOS-1D X MARK III THE Canon EOS-1D X Mark III is the ultimate hybrid DSLR/mirrorless machine, with superb low-light performance up to ISO102,400, expandable to 819,200, Deep Learning AF and 5.5K Raw video.

It can also capture up to 20fps in Live View mode making it a dream to shoot any action.

CompactFlash + SD/SDHC/SDXC

CompactFlash + SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 164 PRICE: £6500/$6500 Sensor

20.1Mp full-frame (5472x3648 pixels)

Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

Pentaprism, 0.76x, 100% coverage 100-102,400 (exp 50-819,200) 191-point (155 cross-type) 3.2-inch touchscreen, 2.1million dots 20fps (1000 Raw/Unlimited JPEG) 2xCFexpress 1.0 Type B

105

PROFESSIONAL

CANON EOS 5DS (5DS R)

The Canon Magazine

24.2Mp, APS-C (6000x4000 pixels)

BUYERS’ GUIDE to a few With prices ranging from a couple of hundred ryone, thousand, Canon has an EOS camera to suit eve pro… from the complete beginner to most demanding

MIRRORLESS CAMERAS CANON EOS R5

Canon EOS mirrorless cameras When it comes to choosing mirrorless EOS cameras over DSLRs, there are pros and cons to consider.

Canon’s full-frame EOS R cameras are packed with the very latest tech including IBIS, Animal AF and 20fps via the electronic shutter in both the EOS R5 and R6. Without the mirror, R bodies are smaller than their DSLR equivalents (but only a fraction lighter). Compared to Optical Viewfinders on DSLRs, using an R’s Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) is slower to focus due to lag and refresh rates, yet focusing via Live View with AF points all over the touchscreen is better. EOS R cameras can also use the next gen Canon RF lenses and their superior image quality (and superior size), but most R cameras and RF lenses are, currently, a lot more expensive.

PRICES QUOTED ARE BODY-ONLY UNLESS STATED

TESTED IN ISSUE 169 PRICE : £4199/$3899 THE Canon EOS R5 is deserving of the hype: it’s the perfect amalgamation of the R’s full-frame form, the 5D’s function, the pro-grade autofocus of the flagship 1D X Mark III DSLR, plus with near-medium format resolution, 20fps burst speeds and mirrorless magic like IBIS and amazingly-intelligent Animal AF.

CANON EOS R

Sensor

45Mp full-frame CMOS

Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer)

OLED EVF, 5690k dots 100-51,200 (50-102,400 exp) 5940 Dual Pixel CMOS AF II 3.15-in articulating touch-screen, 2100k dots 12fps mechanical, 20fps electronic

Memory card

CFexpress type B, UHS-II SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £1880/$1799

FULL-FRAME EOS R

THE full-frame mirrorless Canon EOS R boasts the new RF mount and fully articulated Dual Pixel AF touchscreen with 5655 AF points. Equivalent in many specs to the EOS 5D Mark IV, it’s an attractive way for those looking to experience mirrorless photography.

CANON EOS R6

Sensor Electronic viewfinder

ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

30.3Mp full-frame CMOS 0.5-in EVF, 3.69million dots 100-40,000 (50-102,400 exp) 5655 Dual Pixel AF points 3.2-in fully articulating touchscreen Approx. 8fps (47 Raw, 100JPEG) 1x SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-II

TESTED IN ISSUE 170 PRICE: £2499/$2499 THE R6 is built for speed, ideal for enthusiast and semi-pro sports and wildlife photographers, it can shoot up to 20fps with amazing Deep Learning AF and insanely handy IBIS. Plus with magnificent build, all weather sealed, and a fast and bright EVF, the R6 is an impressive upgrade.

CANON EOS RP

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

20.1Mp, full-frame CMOS 0.5-in EVF, 3690 million dots 100-102,400 (50-204,800 exp) 6072 Dual Pixel CMOS AF II 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 12fps mechanical, 20fps electronic 2x UHS-II SD/SDHC/SDXC

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £1299/$1400 CANON is catering to crop-sensor CSC M or EOS DSLR users looking for a full-frame upgrade that won’t break the bank. The EOS RP is strong spec package that’s notably smaller, lighter and cheaper than almost all its rivals, and ideal as an ‘entry-level’ full-frame camera.

106

What to look for

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

26.2Mp, full-frame CMOS 0.39-in EVF, 2.36 million dots 100-40,000 (50-102,400 exp) 4779 Dual Pixel AF positions 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 5fps (50 Raw/Unlimited JPEG) SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-ll

www.digitalcameraworld.com

CANON EOS M200

TESTED IN ISSUE 160 PRICE with 15-45mm kit lens: £550/$550 CANON’S EOS M200 is aimed at attracting Instagramers and smartphone upgraders to Canon’s mirrorless M range, and has an appealing spec list including its 24Mp sensor and plenty of easy-to-use features for beginners. It shoots 4K video to slea the deal.

Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.1Mp APS-C CMOS No 100-25,600 (51,200 exp) 143-point AF 3-in tilting touchscreen, 1040k dots 6.1 fps SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-1

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE: £490/$650

CANON EOS M50

CANON EOS M6 MARK II

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.2Mp, APS-C CMOS OLED EVF, 2,360k dots 100-25,600 143/99-point (1 cross-type) 3-in vari-angle touch-screen, 1040k 10fps, 7.4fps with autofocus SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-1

TESTED IN ISSUE 164 PRICE: £870/$850 THE EOS M6 Mark II is Canon’s new compact, yet powerful mirrorless camera designed to deliver sharp images for amateurs always on the move.

It has the same 32.5Mp APS-C sensor as the new Canon EOS 90D DSLR, but it’s able to shoot in 14fps blasts, and even 30fps Raw image bursts, plus ‘uncropped’ 4K video.

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

32.5Mp APS-C CMOS No 100-25,600 143/99-point 3-in tilting touchscreen, 1040k dots 14fps (23 Raws, 54 JPEGs)

APS-C EOS M

THE M50 produces the same quality and performance as the more expensive M5.

Its features probably won’t tempt any Canon DSLR users to the mirrorless camp, but for new users looking for a smaller body and trying to get into photography, it’s a marvellous route inside the Canon system.

CANON EOS M5

Sensor

SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-1

TESTED IN ISSUE 168 PRICE with 15-45mm kit lens: £600/$650 AS Canon’s flagship mirrorless M camera for enthusiasts, the EOS M5 really opens up the DSLR vs CSC debate. It shares much of the tech as the 80D, but swaps the optical viewfinder for an electronic version, making this compact system camera a pocket rocket.

Sensor Viewfinder ISO AF LCD Max burst (buffer) Memory card

24.2Mp APS-C CMOS OLED EVF, 2.36 million dots 100-25,600 49-point AF 3.2-in tilting touchscreen, 1620k dots 9fps SD/SDHC/SDXC and UHS-1

ADVERTISE HERE TODAY!

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NEXT ISSUE Future / Dan Mold

NEW CANON PHOTO SKILLS

LAKE DISTRICT

LANDSCAPES

THE NO.1 MAGAZINE FOR

CANON USERS!

We spend a sunny few days shooting great scenes in England's epic mountainous region

Clement Kiragu

FREE VIDEOS! In the next Canon Skills chapter…

Q Light-painting scenes Q New landscapes photo skills series Q Prism portrait images Q New image-editing guides in Lightroom, Photoshop CC and Affinity Photo

S O E D I V VIEW THE

PLUS ALL THIS...

Q Canon EOS techniques: 21 tricks for taking better photos today Q Canon School: Part 2 of a new series Q Super Test: Eight of the greatest all-day versatile lenses for Canon Q Pro interview: Clement Kiragu, Kenyan wildlife photographer

ISSUE 180 ON SALE 22 JUNE 2021 * Content subject to change

109

FOCUSPOINT

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the magazine and all things photographic! Email us at photoplus@futurenet.com

The month in numbers

Letter of the Month I’m looking to upgrade my camera and lenses to the R6 and RF system after reading the reviews in the mag. I’m relatively new to photography and I’ve found a site called tecobuy selling Canon products really cheap, so much so I’m actually thinking of buying the R5 instead of the R6, as it’s that cheap.

But I’ve heard of some dodgy websites abroad that sell replica kit at a fraction of the price of the real deal. Should I stay clear? It seems legit, but when selling an R5 for under £3000 I’m slightly suspicious. If so, could you point me to a reputable site please.

Neil Robinson, Liverpool

service, and only to end up with ‘grey import’ gear without a valid warranty in the UK. At worst, some sites could be scams. For more reputable sites for buying Canon gear and great deals, look no further than our website www.digitalcameraworld.com for links to great deals; just use the search function on the site for the best legit deals on the R6, R5 and RF lenses.

Well done for checking with us, you’re right to be wary of some overseas sites selling Canon kit very cheaply.

At best, you’ll likely to have weeks of waiting for delivery with no way to track it or contact their customer

Where do you buy your Canon EOS camera kit?

Email us at photoplus@ futurenet.com

THIS MONTH’S PRIZE! Each issue, every letter printed wins an Experience Seminars EOS training DVD. More info at www.eostrainingacademy.co.uk

16

Burst of shots taken in two seconds with an EOS 7D Mk II for the ‘goose runs on water’ sequence on page 51

12

The RF mount used by EOS R cameras and lenses features 12 contacts – page 28

2019 Pro pet photographer Laura Galbraith won the Guild of Photographers Image of the Year title in 2019 – page 8

Is photography considered art?

Consider this critical question and rethink why you take photos in the first place… For more interesting photography news and views, see DigitalCameraWorld.com, more on this article via quick at link bit.ly/photoarty

INSTAGRAM www.instagram.com/PhotoPlusCanonMag

114

Image: Canon

Image: Canon

Image: Pixabay

DigitalCameraWorld.com The best from our brilliant website

Canon EOS R3 has 45MP sensor, 8K 30p and “resolution trick” (report)

Canon RF lens roadmap: current and future lenses for the Canon EOS R system

The Canon EOS R3 is shrouded in secrecy, but sources claim that it will have a 45Mp sensor, 8K 30p and a ‘resolution trick’! More Canon news at our website DigitalCameraWorld.com and this story via quick link bit.ly/R3news

Here is Canon’s complete schedule of primes, zooms and creative lenses for the Canon EOS R and EOS RP. See DigitalCameraWorld.com via quick link for more info and updates bit.ly/rf_roadmap

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