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Basics of Photography : PostUsing Processing in D-SLRs Basics: the Built-in Flash of your D-SLR (Part The Shadows/Highlights ToolIII) Create Strobe Effects Fungus in Photoshop How to BlurPhotography the Background Tips Create a FogAdjustment Effect Layer Give your Photos a Velvia® Touch with a Black & White Let’s Correct a Tilted Building Lens Hoods & Light Cutters How to Setup Photoshop CS5
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Welcome Editor Hoshang S. Billimoria Technical Editor Rohinton Mehta Executive Editor Mathew Thottungal Senior Correspondent Sujith Gopinath Copy Editor Aswathi Nair Photography Mahesh Reddy Creative Director Atul D. Bandekar Design Ajit Manjrekar, Sanjay Awad, Ajay Paradkar Production Dinesh Bhajnik, Deepak Narkar, Ravi Parmar Product Manager Perseus Master Publisher Girish Mallya Circulation and Subscription Sanjeev Roy (Asst. Operations Manager) Sachin Kelkar (Subscription Supervisor) Head Office - Mumbai 2nd Floor, C Wing, Trade World, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013 Tel: + 91 22 43525252 Fax: + 91 22 24955394 Email: sp@nextgenpublishing.net Subscription Tel: + 91 22 43525220 Fax: + 91 22 24955394 Email: subscriptions@nextgenpublishing.net News Stand Distribution India Book House, Mumbai 400 002, Tel: +91 22 2284626 Fax: +91 22 22835099 Marketing Offices Ahmedabad Chandan House, 3rd Floor, Mithakhali Six Roads, Ahmedabad 380006 Tel: + 91 79 40008000 Fax: + 91 79 40008080 Bangalore #903, 9th floor, ‘B’ Wing, Mittal Towers, MG Road, Bangalore -560001 Tel: +91 80 - 66110116 New Delhi Plot No.225, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase III, Okhla, New Delhi 110020 Tel: + 91 11 42346600 Fax: + 91 11 42346679 Chennai Unit No:20,Third floor, Modern Towers, 35/23 West Cott Road, Royapettah, Chennai 600 014 Tel +91-44-39149889/90/91 Fax +91-44-39149892. Pune 401B, Gandhi Empire, Plot no.2, 5th flr, Sareen Estate, Kondhwa Rd, Pune 411040 Tel: + 91 20 32930291 Fax: + 91 20 26830465 Hyderabad
Richard G.C. +9199492 17127 Views and opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Next Gen Publishing Ltd. Next Gen Publishing does not take the responsibility for returning unsolicited material sent without adequate postal stamps for return postage. No part of the magazine may be reproduced in part or full without the prior express written permission of the publisher. Printed by Girish Mallya, Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013. Published by Girish Mallya on behalf of Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013. Printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd, 1-1-60/5 RTCX Roads, Hyderabad - 20. Published at Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013. Copyright 2006 SMART PHOTOGRAPHY All readers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries before sending money, incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in the publication. Smart Photography does not vouch for any claims made by advertisers for their products and services. The editor, publisher, printer and employees of the publication shall not be held liable for any consequence in the events of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai only. Editor – Hoshang S Billimoria
S
o, one more Photokina has come and gone. Considering the economic state of Europe and the rest of the world, the imaging industry put up a commendable show. The competition between the old imaging companies (read Nikon, Canon, Pentax etc.) and the consumer electronic companies (read Panasonic, Samsung and Sony) is getting more and more acute. The second group is trying to change the rules of the game (ILCCs are an example); the old imaging companies are trying to up the barriers. The competition is good if the end customer benefits in the form of better technology and keen pricing. Let us see how this unfolds in the years to come.
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WE ARE GLUED TO THE GLOBAL IMAGING INDUSTRY Our team is updated with all the benchmarks and road blocks that the field of photography and imaging across the globe experiences. This helps us record the changes in the global perspective, thus making us the first to predict which products will be a rage in the Indian markets.
OUR TESTS ARE CONDUCTED BY EXPERTS All equipment go through a series of tests at the hands of our experts. Our reviewers are experts in the field of photography across the country and have many years of experience. That gives us the foresight to distinguish between a passing trend and a big change in the field of photography and imaging. And finally, our reviews are not extended to just fill up the pages!
WE’RE IMPARTIAL Loyalty towards our readers is a given, and their best interests are always on our mind. Every verdict is honest and not influenced by advertisers or personal favorites. So when we say a product is a ‘BEST BUY’, then, it is just that!
WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU There is no debate on why we are here. Our sole goal is to provide you options and better your judgement in product purchase while, sharing tips and tricks to improve your images. Our biggest joy is in building a bridge between you and your perfect picture! October 2012 Smart Photography
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Contents october 2012
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Regulars
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10 Mail Bag 14 News Watch
issue 7 | volume 08 | october 2012
34 Kaleidoscope LeARNiNGS Layer Opacity vs. FiLL in phOtOshOp n cOntent-aware MOve tOOL n wOrking the scene n Basics OF phOtOgraphy: high key and LOw key phOtOgraphy
Cover Photograph: T. Srinivasa Reddy
38 Picture of the Month
Just a moment!
Readers can find the updated Buyer’s Guide, log on http://smartphotography.in/ news/monthly-special Smart Photography thanks the readers who participate in the Picture of the Month contest. We would like to bring to your attention a few changes in the rules for submission. From now on, you may send in your images with the longer side measuring atleast 17 inches. Please note that the images have to be horizontal. This permits readers to submit panoramic shots, which was not possible with the current size of 17 x 11 inches.
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Smart Photography October 2012
40 Showcase - T. Srinivasa Reddy
Dr. Harsh Wardhan
52 If I Were You
55 Ask Uncle Ronnie 58 Master Craftsman - Clare Arni 138
Tidbits
60 40
Contents october 2012
70 66 LEARNINGS 66 Layer Opacity Vs. Fill in Photoshop 70 Content-Aware Move Tool 72 Working the Scene 76 Basics of Photography: High Key and Low Key Photography
REVIEWS
82 Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 86 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 90 Fujifilm FinePix SL300 94 Canon IXUS 510 HS 98 Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM 101 Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11-16mm F2.8 (IF) DX-II
FIRST LOOK 103 Sandisk Extreme 128GB SDXC UHS-I 8
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Write to us at: Mail Bag Smart Photography, Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel(W), Mumbai 400013. E-mail: sp@nextgenpublishing.net
Loud and Clear Ever since I started photography, there was a need to find a critic who could guide me with my images. It was at this point that I came across Smart Photography, and it helped me learn and clear all my doubts. My initial investment was the Nikon D3100 with a 55-200 VR lens. I was delighted to see my work recognised in the magazine I consider to be my mentor. Every month I look forward to the issue and it makes me work better. Someday I wish to see my work on SP’s cover. Your guidance will surely encourage people to come forward with their work. Thank you. Regards, Mohan Krishnan, Amravati, Maharashtra
competitions, conducted in the last three months. The first recognition was an honorable mention in Inkfarm’s Funniest Candids Photo Contest held by The Seattle (USA).
Triple International The other two notable Recognition for photogsuccesses were in the rapher, Subhash Purohit. worldwide photo Kolhapur based, serious photographic hobbyist Subhash Purohit was recently conferred with three international recognitions in two world class photography
10
competition held by an Europe NGO - The International Movement for Leisure Activities In Science & Technology, which functions worldwide for youth activities.
Smart Photography October 2012
The theme for the contest was ‘Scientific Panorama’, which received 1520 entries
from 54 countries. These endeavours won him two Bronze medals.
Mailbag
SP’s Battle of the Titans
In SP’s September issue, I read the article that pitted the D800 and the 5DIII against each other. Although I can’t afford either camera, I would like to put forward few of my thoughts. First, congratulations to Ronnie and the Smart Photography team for bringing out a very frank and unbiased comparison between the Canon 5D III and the Nikon D800. It was classic Ronnie - deep in technical content with the subtle touch of humor! In spite of the apparent similarities in size and shape, these two cameras are as different as chalk and cheese. The 5D III is an excellent general purpose camera whereas the D800 is more specialised camera for landscape and studio photography. With its very high pixel count, the D800 nibbles at the lower end of medium format realm at a fraction of the price. However, many of its drawbacks like frame rate, shallower buffer depth are due to the very same feature. In fact, a simple calculation will show D800 pushes more data through the pipe than the 5D III but it is still one FPS slower! Coming to Ronnie’s note on Nikon users on the “deer” problem, being one myself would approach the problem this way: I would use the DX mode. That will reduce the pixel count to around 15.5 MP, which is still
a respectable figure. For that I get 5 FPS or even 6 FPS with the optional grip. The burst rate goes to 100 frames for JPEG/fine and 23 for RAW+JPEG. Plus the reach is better (always a boon to wildlife photographers) due to cropping. I also get another unique advantage - a sort of sports finder which will help me to frame a moving subject much more easily since I can see beyond what the lens is capturing in the viewfinder. All in all not bad for a leopard that can change its spots! Of course one can argue against it but this is a reasonable solution. The same crop will reduce pixel count on 5DIII to around 9.5MP with no increase in FPS. One good feature was the ability of D800 to focus with lenses as slow as f/8 (by as many as 8 sensors). This is an invaluable feature for wildlife photographers (who are always short focal length) since it will allow a 300 f/4 lens to work with a 2X converter thus saving a great deal of money. From the rumors that are flying about, Canon is supposed to bring out an ultra-high pixel count camera of the order of 47MP and Nikon a low cost 24MP camera. Perhaps Canon is trying to do a Nikon, and vice versa! Thanks and Regards, Ashok Kandimalla, Hyderabad
ERRATA
In News Watch (Page No. 24, National News, Smart Photography, September 2012), under the head ‘NIP Honors Uncle Ronnie for his significant contribution to Photography’, we have inadvertently mentioned the name of Jagdish Mali, whereas the correct name is Jagdish Agrawal (Dinodia Picture Agency). We deeply regret the error and at the same time thank our subscriber/reader M.Jasubhai Patel for drawing our attention to it. In September 2012’s exclusive ‘Accessories Special’’ pages, the MRP of Sekonic Flashmate L-308S light meter (Page No. 79) was inadvertently mentioned as Rs. 1100/-. The actual MRP is Rs.15,300/-. Similarly, the MRP of Light Chrom Hip Grip, (Page No. 81) was printed as Rs. 199/-, whereas the correct MRP is Rs. 1,999/- . Both these errors are sincerely regretted. 12
Smart Photography October 2012
News Watch International
SNIPPETS
Fujifilm’s X-Pro1 firmware v2.00 released Fujifilm has announced a performance improving firmware v2.00 for its X-Pro1. Firmware 2.00 addresses many of the criticisms put forward by early reviews. This includes improved autofocus speed, better manual focus behaviour and less waiting for processing and card-writing. The firmware is available for download.
Sony announces ‘PlayMemories’ Camera Apps to extend NEX-5R capabilities
Sony has announced the first in a series of ‘PlayMemories’ Camera Apps. These apps will be available to Sony owners through an account on the company’s ‘PlayMemories’ web service and can be installed on the newlyannounced Alpha NEX-5R. The Apps allow various features and capabilities to be added to the camera, including image processing and remote triggering options.
Microsoft and Sharp collaborate on large file transfer technology
Microsoft has reached a licensing agreement with Sharp Electronics of Japan for a technology that eases the transfer of large files between personal computers and other digital devices. The agreement covers the use of extended file allocation table — or exfat — technology in smart-phones distributed by Sharp based on the Android platform.
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Smart Photography October 2012
Nikon unveils D600, a 24MP full-frame D-SLR Nikon has announced D600, the smallest and least expensive full frame D-SLR in the market, aimed directly at enthusiast photographers. The D600 is built around a 24MP, 36x24mm, CMOS sensor and crams many of the features of the more expensive D800 into a distinctly D7000-esque body. It features a 100% coverage viewfinder and 39-point autofocus system, nine of which are cross-type points. It can capture 1080p HD video at 30, 25 or 24 frames per second and can stream uncompressed footage. There is also an optional Wi-Fi. The D600 will have a list price of $2,099 body only, or $2,699 with the 24-85mm F3.5-5.6 lens
Nikon creates 10.5mm F1.8 fast prime lens for 1 system mirrorless cameras
Nikon has announced the 1 Nikkor 18.5mm F1.8 fast ‘normal’ prime lens for its 1 system mirrorless cameras. The 18.5mm lens offers a field of view equivalent to that of a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. The lens will be available in black, white or silver at a cost of around $189.95.
News Watch International
SNIPPETS
Manfrotto introduces lightweight, versatile 290 Carbon tripods
Manfrotto has introduced a new family of carbon fibre camera supports – 290 Carbon. designed to accompany new photographers as they progress and improve their skills. The 290 Carbon range is built sturdy: its solid and strong aluminium leg levers have adjustable locking tension that can be tightened to ensure wear-proof stability and reliability.
Adobe unveils release candidates of Lightroom v4.1 and ACR 7.2
Adobe has announced the ‘release candidate’ versions of Lightroom 4.2 and Adobe Camera Raw 7.2. The latest nearcomplete versions add support for a series of highly-anticipated cameras, including the Sony DSCRX100 and Canon EOS 650D.
Corel announces PaintShop Pro X5 Corel has announced PaintShop Pro X5, the latest version of its photo management and editing software. This latest update includes improved geotagging and face recognition. Pro X5 also gains a series of ‘Instant Effects’ presets allowing different ‘looks’ to be achieved simply. The software will cost $79.99, or $99.99 for the ‘Ultimate’ edition which includes ColorEfex Pro 3.0.
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Smart Photography October 2012
Sony announces NEX-6 16MP with Wi-Fi
Sony announced the Alpha NEX-6 16MP enthusiast mirrorless interchangeable lens camera and three additional E-mount lenses for its NEX cameras. The NEX-6 builds on the features first seen in its predecessor, the NEX-5R. In addition, it gains a highresolution, 2.3M dot OLED viewfinder previously seen on the NEX-7, plus an external mode dial. The NEX-6 is launched along with a 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 retractable power zoom lens. It will be available for about $850 (Body only).
Sony introduces α99 camera with translucent Mirror Technology and Dual AF System
Sony has announced its flagship full frame interchangeable lens camera, the SLT A99. The A99 features a 24MP 36x24mm CMOS sensor that features on-sensor phase detection, creating a dual AF system that promises improved focus tracking and focus precision. It also includes the Quick Navi interactive status panel and a host of features for video shooters. There is also an additional lens, the SAM 28-75mm F2.8, a moderately-priced fast standard zoom. The α99 full-frame digital system camera will be available this October as body-only for about $2800.
Sony reveals DSC-RX1 full-frame camera with fixed Zeiss T 35mm F2 lens Sony has officially announced the Cyber-shot DSC-RX1, a full-frame compact camera with a fixed 35mm F2 lens. The camera features a 36x24mm CMOS sensor and a leaf shutter for near-silent operation. It includes a manual aperture ring and dedicated exposure compensation dial for direct manual control. The camera will retail for around $2,800.
Sony adds three new lenses for its E-mount NEX cameras
Sony has announced three E-mount lenses for its NEX cameras, a 10-18mm wide zoom, a 16-50mm retractable power zoom and a 35mm F1.8 prime lens. The 1018mm F4 is a mid-level wide-angle zoom covering a 15-27mm equivalent range. The 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 power zoom offers a compact standard zoom covering the 24-75mm equivalent range. Finally the 35mm F1.8 is a 53mm equivalent normal prime lens. The 10-18mm will cost around $850, the 16-50mm power zoom will cost around $350, and the 35mm F1.8 will be priced around $450.
News Watch International Canon announces PowerShot SX500 IS and SX160 IS 16MP superzooms
Canon has introduced the PowerShot SX160 IS and SX500 IS - both of which are mid-range superzoom cameras. The SX160 IS has a 16x zoom covering a 28448mm equivalent range. This is backed with a 16MP CCD sensor and DIGIC 4 processor. The SX500 IS features the same sensor and processor but adds a 30X, 24-720mm equivalent lens. Both feature faster autofocus and less shutter lag than previous models, while the SX160 IS includes Canon’s Intelligent IS system designed to compensate for a greater variety of camera movements. The models will be available from September at $329 for the SX500 IS and $229 for the SX160 IS.
Canon introduces EOS 6D Wi-Fi enabled fullframe D-SLR Canon has announced the EOS 6D, a smaller, lighter and more affordable full frame D-SLR for enthusiast photographers. The 20.2 MP camera uses a newlydeveloped sensor and features an system with a
Smart Photography October 2012
Canon has refreshed its G-series enthusiast compact with the addition of G15, and created the implausible SX50 HS. The G15 is a successor to the G12 and is built around a 12MP, 1/1.7-inch CMOS sensor. Its lens also gets an upgrade - retaining its 28-140mm range but now with a maximum aperture of F1.82.8. It loses the G12’s articulated screen but gains a higherresolution, 920k dot panel. Meanwhile the SX50 HS features a remarkable 24-1200mm equivalent 50x zoom, thanks to its smaller 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor.
Tamron creates SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD with ultrasonic focus Tamron has announced the SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD, a fast telephoto zoom lens that features optical image stabilisation and an ultrasonic-type autofocus motor. Designed for both full frame and APS-C cameras, it’s billed as the smallest in its class. The lens will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts towards the end of 2012. Pricing is yet to be announced.
11-point autofocus single cross-type sensor.
The 6D becomes the company’s first EOS model to include GPS and Wi-Fi, to make sharing images easier across the social media. The full frame D-SLR will cost $2,099 and is scheduled to hit the market place by December 2012.
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Canon showcases PowerShot G15 and SX50 HS 50x superzoom
News Watch International Olympus releases SP-820UZ and SP-720UZ 14MP superzooms Olympus has released two superzoom cameras, the SP820UZ and the SP720UZ. Both are 14MP CMOS-based cameras featuring 1080p movie capture and 460k dot 3-inch LCDs. The SP-820UZ features a 40x, 22.4-896mm equivalent lens and takes AA batteries. The SP-720UZ is built around a shorter, 26x, 26-676mm equivalent zoom lens. Both models feature sensor-shift image stabilisation, and can control Eye-Fi wireless SD cards.
Olympus launches Stylus VH-515 12MP CMOS 8x and VH-410 16MP CCD 5x Olympus has announced the Stylus VH-515 and
55mm F1.4 for D-SLRs and family of lenses from Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss will show prototypes of a 55mm F1.4 Distagon prime lens for D-SLRs and the first lenses for mirrorless system cameras. The lenses for mirrorless cameras will be autofocus designs and will be available in mid-2013. The prototypes on show will include a wide-angle prime, a standard prime and a macro lens. No details are given for which systems will be supported. The manual focus Distagon 1.4/55 will be available in the second half of 2013 for Canon and Nikon mounts. 20
Smart Photography October 2012
VH-410 compact cameras. The VH-515 is a 12MP BSI-CMOS powered compact with an 8x, 25-200mm equivalent zoom. The VH-410 is a 16MP camera that uses a CCD chip behind its 5x, 26-130mm equivalent lens. Both cameras feature 460k dot 3� LCDs, with the VH-410’s one being touch-sensitive.
Olympus adds two 16MP PEN models
Olympus has refreshed its PEN series with the PEN Lite E-PL5 and PEN Mini E-PM2 16MP touch-screen mirrorless cameras. Both models feature the 16 MP sensor and TruePic VI image processor first seen in the OM-D E-M5. Both cameras also gain 460,000 dot, touch-sensitive rear LCDs, with the ability to focus and shoot by touching the screen. The E-PL5 offers a mode dial, an extra button, flip-up LCD and E-P3-style screw-on front grip over the PEN Mini. The E-PL5 will cost $699 with the 14-42mm retractable zoom, while the E-PM2 will cost $599 with the same lens.
Panasonic announces DMC-GH3 high-end movie-focussed mirrorless camera
Panasonic unveiled the LUMIX GH3, its most powerful and versatile Digital Single Lens Mirrorless (DSLM) interchangeable lens camera yet, featuring incredible video and picture quality in a ruggedly elegant and compact design. Offering expert control for videographers and photographers alike, the state-of-the-art LUMIX GH3 delivers crisp images and videos with a 16.05-megapixel Live MOS sensor combined with the incredible processing power of Venus Engine in a portable 550 g compact body. With an exceptionally fast and accurate auto-focus, its engineered for precision control and professional results in any situation, and can capture the action with absolute precision.
News Watch International Pentax Ricoh unveils Pentax K-5 II D-SLR and K-5 IIs
Pentax Ricoh has announced its latest flagship D-SLRs - the K-5 II and K-5IIs. The s version, which costs $100 more, comes without an anti-aliasing filter, to offer higher resolution at the risk of more prominent moiré interference patterns. Both cameras feature 16MP sensors and the weather-sealed magnesium alloy build of the original K-5. The biggest difference is the latest, SAFOX X, autofocus sensor. This is designed to work in low light than any of its rivals (down to -3EV), it will also provide greater accuracy when working with F2.8 and fast lenses. The K-5 II will be available from October at a cost of around $1350 with 18-55mm WR kit zoom. The K-5 IIs will be available, bodyonly for around $1300 - a $100 premium over the standard version.
Pentax Ricoh introduces Q10 small-sensor mirrorless camera
Pentax Ricoh has expanded its Q system with the addition of the Q10 body and adapter allowing the use of K-mount lenses. The Q10 features a slightly redesigned body and updated 12.4MP, 1/2.3”, back-lit CMOS sensor. Improvements include faster 22
Smart Photography October 2012
It can capture 1080p30 movies and features a selection of the multi-shot and image processing modes that have become common on CMOSbased cameras.
operation and autofocus performance, the company says. A 15-45mm F2.8 fast 80-250mm equivalent telephoto zoom, the Pentax 06 Telephoto Zoom lens, has also been added. An adapter allows mounting and manual focussing of K-mount lenses on Q-mount bodies. The Q10 will cost around $700 with the 02 Standard kit zoom, with the fast zoom costing around $300 and the K-mount adapter roughly $250.
Pentax announces X-5 D-SLRlike 26x zoom 16MP CMOS superzoom Pentax has announced the X-5, a 26x superzoom built around a
16MP backlit CMOS sensor. The X-5 is designed to closely resemble the company’s K-5 D-SLR, despite being based around a 1/2.3”-type sensor. The lens offers a 22.3-580mm equivalent range, backed up with sensor-shift image stabilisation. It features a tilting 460k dot rear LCD and 230k dot electronic viewfinder.
Pentax reveals HD Pentax D FA 645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR stabilised lens
Pentax Ricoh has disclosed the HD Pentax D FA 645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR, an image-stabilised 71mmequivalent macro lens for its 645D medium-format D-SLR. The lens offers maximum magnification of 0.5x, when focussed at its 41cm (1.36”) minimum focussing distance. The design features 11 elements in 9 groups and the Quick-shift system for switching between autofocus and MF modes.
Tokina unveils the AT-X 70200 F4 PRO FX AF Kenko Tokina Co.,Ltd. has introduced the AT-X 70-200 F4 PRO FX, medium-telephoto zoom lens with a focal length of 70 mm to 200mm and a maximum aperture of f/4 compatible with the Nikon full frame SLR or Canon full frame SLR. Three SD glass elements provide excellent correction for color aberration. Ring type ultra-sonic motor ensures fast and quiet auto-focussing as well as full-time manual focussing capability. This lens incorporates an inner focussing and inner zooming system. The 9-blade diaphragm creates an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image.
Corporate Office : 704, Ring Road Mall, Sector-3, Rohini, Delhi. Tel. : 011-47074444, Fax : +91-11-47074499 Email : info@imsmercantiles.in Branch Offices : Mumbai : 09892088651 Kolkatta : 09830517744 Jaipur : 09799211188 Ahmedabad : 09374232944 Hyderabad : 09390377744
News Watch International Hasselblad introduces H5D medium format camera series and 24mm F4.8 lens
Samsung unveils Android 4.1 OS powered Galaxy camera
Hasselblad has updated its full line up of H System medium format camera and lenses. The H5D series is expected to start shipping by December, and will include 40, 50 and 60 megapixel models, as well as 50 and 200 megapixel multi-shot versions. The latest cameras feature an updated user interface and revised image processors for improved JPEG output. A 24mm F4.8 lens, equivalent to a 17mm lens on a 135 format D-SLR has also been added to the portfolio.
Samsung has added a 16MP BSI CMOS compact superzoom/ Android smart device hybrid to its portfolio. The GALAXY Camera combines a 21x, 23-481mmm equivalent zoom camera on the front with a 4.8-inch touchscreen on the back. It runs Android 4.1 ( Jelly Bean), and will be available in two versions - one with 3G connectivity and the other with 4G.
KFM-2200 announced by Kenko
Fujifilm launches XF18-55mm F2.8-4.0 OIS and XF14mm F2.8
Kenko Tokina has revealed the Kenko Flash meter, KFM-2200, designed to be used with both digital and film cameras. Using Display function, required values can be measured for 3 parameters selected: F number, shutter speed or ISO. To measure the required value for one parameter just input data for two of other parameters using the up/down dial to input data. When used with the flat diffuser, KFM-2200 can work as Lux meter for Cine use.
PRO 700 HD-LV launched from SLIK SLIK CORPORATION is set to add the PRO 700 HD-LV, a heavy duty tripod with special 3-way panhead with oil fluid system especially for D-SLRs with movie, yet suitable for D-SLR camera with telephoto lenses to its portfolio. The Slik Leveling Unit is a device that mounts between the tripod and head the ability to be leveled more easily. The Unit has an all-metal construction and is designed to hold up to 10kg of tripod head and equipment. Operation is simple, just loosen the thumb screw and adjust the position of the head using bubble level as a guide to leveling of the head. Once the head is level turn the thumb-screw to lock it down. The method is similar to how professional video camera tripods are levelled. 24
Smart Photography October 2012
Alongside the X-E1, Fujifilm announced two additional lenses for its XF-mount – an 18-55mm F2.8-4 standard zoom and a 21mm-equivalent 14mm F2.8 prime lens. The 18-55mm will be offered on its own or as a kit lens with the X-E1. Meanwhile, the 14mm offers an optically-corrected 21mm equivalent field-of-view and a push-pull focus ring to engage manual focus.
Fujifilm extends X-series with XF1 12MP compact Fujifilm has introduced the XF1, a 12MP pocketable enthusiast compact camera. The XF1 features classic styling, a 25-100mm equivalent, F1.8-4.9 imagestabilised lens and a fairly large 2/3-inch CMOS sensor. The XF1 uses Fujifilm’s EXR technology to offer improved noise or dynamic range modes at 6MP output. The camera features aluminium construction with a synthetic leather grip in one of three colors, and has a unique retracting mechanical zoom ring.
News Watch National
Fujifilm launches second X Series camera - X-E1 Close on the heels of unveiling the highly acclaimed X-Pro1, Fujifilm has announced the X-E1; the company’s second interchangeable lens camera. X-E1 offers a 16 megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS Sensor with top-class OLED electronic viewfinder, a built-in flash and the X mount for the Fujinon XF lens range. The X-E1 camera boasts an OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a resolution of 2.36 million dots. It also offers full HD movie recording at 24fps. In addition, Fujifilm also expanded the lens line-up for its interchangeable cameras with an addition of two lenses, a bright F2.8 super wide 14mm (21mm in 35mm equivalent) single focal length lens and a bright F2.8-4 zoom lens that covers the shooting range of 18mm to 55mm (27-83mm in
35mm equivalent). Another line of five unique lenses will be added to the XF lens series in early 2013, making the total to 10 lenses.
Nikon expands COOLPIX Portfolio with five new cameras Nikon India unveiled five new products to its successful COOLPIX series. The new models include the Coolpix P7700, L610, S6400, S800c, and SO1. All the new models are equipped with world class NIKKOR lenses and HD movie function. The COOLPIX P-series model, COOLPIX P7700 is a high-performance digital compact camera loaded with enhanced image quality when shooting at high sensitivities. This camera features a sharp 7.1x zoom NIKKOR ED glass lens with a maximum aperture of f/2 and a 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor. The COOLPIX L610 is a high zoom-ratio model with a 14x optical zoom lens covering the 25 to 350mm range and a large 3-inch LCD monitor. On the other hand the S6400 is a slim, high-powered zoom camera that offers a built-in touch panel; while the S800c is Wi-Fi compatible camera equipped with the Android OS. The last model, the S01 is the most compact and lightest COOLPIX model ever released.
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Smart Photography October 2012
Sandisk celebrates 25th anniversary of flash memory SanDisk Corporation recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of flash memory. Companies such as SanDisk have increased the capacity of flash memory by 30,000 times while decreasing its cost by 50,000 times over the past two decades. SanDisk’s first product, a 20 megabyte solid state drive (SSD), sold for $1,000 in 1991. The 25-year anniversary of flash memory arrives as the consumer demand for powerful mobile devices reached record levels. SanDisk envisions a world where flash memory fuels every interaction with digital content, from capturing photos on a smartphone to sharing those images via the cloud powered by SSDs.
News Watch National
Epson revolutionises printing for small, medium and large enterprises In a press meet by Epson, the company spoke about how its proprietary Micro Piezo technology, used in its printers, is evolving and adapting to meet the demands of modern day consumers across segments. The mechatronic inkjet technology is already revolutionising conventional processes in the commercial and industrial fields where customers demand high image quality; small lot,
fast-turnaround printing, and low costs, while also reducing environmental impact.
Minoru Usui, President, Seiko Epson Corporation, Japan at the press briefing explains how Epson is revolutionising business printing for small, medium and large enterprises.
Kenichiro Mori appointed as the new Managing Director of Olympus India Olympus Imaging India announced the appointment of Kenichiro Mori as its new Managing Director, overseeing Olympus Imaging Corporation’s operations in the region with effect from September 1st, 2012. Mori san will be responsible for spearheading the overall growth and profitability of the company within the region by driving robust business strategies, and providing thought leadership and guiding excellence in market performance across all categories. Announcing this change over, Toshiaki Gomi, Division Manager (Head of Global Sales) and Member of the Board, Olympus Imaging Corporation emphasised, “Within India, we are in the midst of making a constructive difference to the market through our core efficiencies and technological excellence. Olympus Imaging Corporation’s long association with India has helped us create a foothold for ourselves among the masses.”
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Smart Photography October 2012
Moreover, the Epson’s SureLab digital dry labs are used to printing beautiful photos while eliminating more than 90% of the chemicals used in traditional photo labs. The technology is also already being used to print color filters for LCD TVs.
Transcend unveils 64GB Class 10 SDXC Card Transcend’s new Ultimate SDXC cards are perfect for consumers in need of extended HD video recording time; it enables highspeed consecutive shooting at fast motion events. With supported capacities ranging from 32GB to up to 2TB, SDXC offers vastly greater storage potential compared to the SDHC standard which only supports capacities up to 32GB. These cards boasts a read speed of up to 25 MB/s.
News Watch National
Canon records 60 percent growth in camera business Canon India has revealed that the company has registered 32% growth in the first six months of 2012 driven by a strong 60% growth in its camera business. The company announced that the substantial increase in its market share was a result of aggressive marketing, new product launches, attractive pricing, retail expansion and portfolio expansion-citing Canon’s entry into the cinematography domain with the launch of its Cinema EOS C300 camera. Canon’s marketing spends comprise of almost 72% of Canon India’s overall marketing budget of INR 142 crores for 2012. This year, the camera division also has
significantly increased its marketing budget - from INR 76 crores in 2011 to INR 102 crores in 2012 - an increase of over 34%. During this year’s Onam celebrations, Dr. Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India, said, “We have exceeded our retail reach this year to 2992 retailers spread across 620 cities. The number of our partners in Kerala has reached 102, spread across 22 cities. While overall the camera business has grown at a record 60%, the growth in Kerala has been phenomenal. At 110%, Kerala has registered the highest growth for Canon.”
Shari Academy’s LuXoculuS’12 showcases the best in creativity of Shari Academy presided over the function. The guests for the evening were Kakubhai Kothari, renowned wildlife photographer, Yoshitaka Shimogawa, Director, Canon India and S.M. Ramprasad, Dy. General Manager, Epson India. The Dean announced that the Academy was re-introducing the Fashion Diploma course which would be headed by professional photographers, Vikram Bawa and Jatin Kampani.
Kakubhai addresses the gathering. Also seen are Ramprasad, Yoshitaka Shimogawa and Girish Mistry
Shari Academy’s annual ‘Luxoculus’ photographic exhibition was held at the P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy, followed by the convocation and graduation ceremony at the Garware Club House, Mumbai. Girish Mistry, Dean
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Smart Photography October 2012
The top award of the evening was given to Dhaval S.Shah who was also declared the Mastercraftsman for 2012. The top scorer of the year prize was grabbed by Vikrant Oulkar, who also won awards in categories like people/portrait, digital enhanced photos and the dean’s award. The other winners were Kunaal Bose for fashion, Sanghamitra. K for food photography, Sushant V.Kadam for photo-journalistic work, Zenith Gurung for Splash and stilllife, Ninad Savrikar for automobile photography and Dawa Sherpa for fine art photography.
News Watch National
AALO introduces new PRO X-808 LED Video and Flash Lights Studio Foto Lite unveiled a new brand name – AALO. On this occasion, the new AALO Pro X-808, an all-in-one multipurpose light was also launched at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Kolkata. The chief guest for the evening was Kolkata’s renowned photographer Vivek Das. The other dignitaries present on the occasion included eminent photographers, Vivek Dev Burman and Tapan Chandra. The evening was presided by Rajan Kapoor (partnerSFL) who welcomed the guests. The first purchase of the AALO PRO X-808 was by Vivek Das, handed
Photo & Image Today Expo records successful milestone
The Photo Today exhibition at Bengaluru followed by the Image Today exhibition in Chennai, were organised by Buysell Interactions recently. The exhibitions saw the participation of over 150-odd exhibitors with many of the leading imaging brands being present at the venue. Some of the products and services that were on display included photo studio equipment, digital cameras, video editing solutions, kiosks, printers, scanners, design CDs, photo lamination machines, frame making equipment and materials, album making and binding machines and ID card systems. The organisers also announced dates for the 2013 exhibitions. While Photo Today will be held from 28th to 30th June 2013 in Bengaluru, Image Today expo will be held from 26th to 28th July 2013 in Chennai.
(L to R) K.K.Kapur & Rajiv Kapoor (Partners Studio Foto Lite), Tapan Ch. Chandra, Cheif Guest Vivek das and Vivek Dev Burman at the launch ceremony of AALO PRO X-808
over by K.K.Kapur. Product demonstrations were also organised for the guests.
FIP’s 26th Photographic Convention to be held at Rajahmundry The Federation of Indian Photography (FIP) is organising its 26th All India Photographic Convention at Rajahmundry from the 6th to 8th November 2012. It will be followed by a postconvention photography outing to Papi Hills, in the Godavari basin, on the 9th and 10th of November 2012. The photographers will have an opportunity to attend the workshops, slide-shows, talks and discussions with veterans from different genres of photography including pictorial, portrait, product photography, photo-journalism, nature and digital photo editing.
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News Watch
Inaugural
DJ Memorial Photography Contest sees participation from the country’s best talent
As a tribute to this visionary leader, LMW has instituted the DJ Memorial Photography Contest (DJMPC)annually at Coimbatore. The DJMPC contest will carry a total cash prize of Rs.10 lakhs.
DJMPC were received this year from April 2012, up to July 2012. A total of 1,148 participants participated in the contest, bringing the total number of entries to 3,700 images. The judging of the contest was done by a panel, comprising of renowned wildlife photographer T.N.A. Perumal, Rohinton J. Mehta (Technical Editor, Smart Photography magazine), and K. Maruthachalam (eminent Coimbatore based photographer and lab owner), in August 2012. Entries were received in two categoriesNature and Open.
The entries for the first edition of
The award ceremony was held
Dr. D. Jayavarthanavelu, ex-Chairman and Managing Director of Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd. (LMW), was a multi-faceted visionary leader, well known for his business acumen and humility. He was also an accomplished photographer, who photographed a wide variety of subjects across the globe.
Dhritiman Mukherjee
H.Sathish Smart Photography October 2012
The respective award winners for the inaugural DJ Memorial Photography Contest award winners are: -
NATURE CATEGORY Dhritiman Mukherjee, Kolkata- 1st prize Rs. 3 Lakhs R. Prakash, Coimbatore- 2nd prize Rs. 1-5 Lakhs H.V. Praveen Kumar, Bengaluru- 3rd prize Rs. 50,000
OPEN CATEGORY H.Sathish, Bengaluru-1st prize Rs. 3 Lakhs Debraj Chakraborty, Assam- 2nd prize Rs.1-5 Lakhs Sugato Mukherjee, Kolkata- 3rd prize Rs.50,000
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on 7th September 2012 at Sri Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery (in Coimbatore). The prizes were presented to the respective winners by Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, Managing Director, LMW. The photo expo was inaugurated by Smt. Rajyalakshmi Jayavarthanavelu. Award winning photographs and other selected images were put up for public viewing at the art gallery till 9th September 2012.
News Watch Exhibition Transmundane- Beyond this world
Photo Exhibition -‘UNTITLED’
CAMERAunLIMITED is organising a photo expo titled, ‘TransmundaneBeyond this world’. The exhibition will feature the work of Anamitra Chakladar, Angad S Malhotra, Rami Dagar, Sanjay Das, Sanjay Maggo and Sariika Dandona. The photographers plan to showcase abstract and surreal work. The physical form of an ordinary, mundane subject gets transformed into a spiritual one in the photographs. The photo exhibition will be held from 19th to 28th October 2012 at the Arpana Caur Academy of Fine Arts in New Delhi.
Six Kolkata based photographers: Abhiruk Lahiri, Anindya Chakraborty, Dipanjan Mitra, Krishnendu Saha, Tanmoy Nayak and Tanumay Naskar showcased their work recently at the Birla Art Gallery, in Kolkata from 28th August to 2nd September 2012. The prominent theme was black and white and the images mostly were in series form. While Anindya showcased the series of photos on nightmares; Krishnendu explored his personal emotions, while Dipanjan displayed his B/W on landscape.
Magical Moments
Social Enterprise
(A series of light and shadow by 5 renowned photographers)
Dr Mukesh Batra conducted his 8 annual charity photo exhibition at the NCPA in Mumbai, recently. ‘Magical Moments’ featured his collection of photographs that included breathtaking views of the volcanic cones and the scenic natural wonders on the Hawaiian Island. The proceeds from sales went to the Happy Home and School for the Blind. th
(6 photographers showcase their B & W work)
Pushpendra Gautam was a part of a photo exhibition organised by Centre for Social Enterprise and Research. The mission of the expo was to utilise the photo medium to showcase the human element of social enterprise to transform society. The exhibition was held from 4th September to 11th September, at Alliance Francaise in Bangalore.
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Finally, a platform for all photographers to exhibit their talent and GET NOTICED!
Kaleidoscope
Fun, Folklore & Festivities... K
olkata based Kartick Das was naturally inspired by the creative art process quite early in his career, being a student of fine arts. This encouraged him to become a visual artiste. Like most youngsters growing up in the rural landscapes of Bengal, he Kartick Das, was fascinated by nature, and was heavKolkata ily influenced by the rich cultural and traditional influences around him. He began documenting the various religious ceremonies and dances that are so integral to the festivities in Eastern India. According to Kartick, festivals help reflect on the various aspects like culture, history, etc. and in many ways also contribute to rejuvenating people who are engulfed by sufferings and sorrows. He recalls one distinct dance form called the Chhau dance, which is performed in the Purulia district of West Bengal. What is unique about the Chhau is that it blends both the dance and martial art forms, employing mock-combat techniques (called khel), stylised gaits of birds and animals (called chalis and topkas) and the different movements which are based on the daily chores of village housewives. Masks are an imperative part of the Chhau Dance in Purulia; this adds another dimension to the celebrations. Kartick’s gear includes the Canon EOS 1000D with the Mystical Curves Image Courtesy : Rishabh K Collection 18-55mm lens theII primary camera. In addition he also Camera:Nikon Canon EOS as 5D Mark Camera: D90 Shutterspeed: speed:1/200sec 1/400sec Shutter uses the f/8 Olympus SP 565 UZ and the Olympus u700. Aperture:f/6.3 Aperture: Sensitivity:ISO ISO400 100 Sensitivity:
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Smart Photography October 2012
Sindoor Khela Camera: Olympus MJU700 Aperture: f/1.8 ISO: 100
Chauu Mask
Camera: Olympus MJU700 Aperture: f/1.8 ISO: 100
All things festive Camera: Olympus MJU700 Aperture: f/1.8 Shutter speed: 1/250sec. ISO: 64
Chauu in full swing Camera: Olympus MJU700 Aperture: f/30 ISO: 100
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Deities on display Camera: Olympus MJU700 Shutter speed: 1/30sec. ISO: 100
Biswakarma
Camera: Olympus SP565UZ Aperture: f/1.8 Shutter speed: 1/125sec. ISO: 100
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Smart Photography October 2012
Get featured & win an Epson PictureMate PM245, worth Rs.9999/-!
To please the Gods Camera: Olympus SP565 UZ Aperture: f/1.8 Shutter speed: 1/50sec. ISO: 100
A devotee at Nag Panchami Camera: Olympus SP565 UZ Aperture: f/1.8 Shutter speed: 1/50sec. ISO: 100
Kali
Camera: Olympus MJU700 Aperture: f/1.8 Shutter speed: 1/50sec. ISO: 100
CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS! Kaleidoscope is the perfect way to jump-start your career... So simply send us a selection of your images along with full details of your vision and the technical information at sp@nextgenpublishing.net. We accept both film and digital images. All pictures that are forwarded to Kaleidoscope should be 8x10 inches in size (or larger) and at 300 ppi. However, we will re-size them according to the layout considerations. October 2012 Smart Photography
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Photograph by
Vaibhav Jaguste
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MK 393 PD Tripod
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Picture of the Month We are sure that all of you have a few pictures that you think are prize worthy. It happens very often that you don’t know where to send the image that could put a feather in your cap. If you have such images (we’re sure you have many!), send us ONE such horizontal image. If it qualifies, we shall publish it as a double-spread. a. You have to guarantee that the picture was shot by you b. If there are people in the picture who can be identified, we’ll need a model release
c. The picture should not have been printed elsewhere (magazine newspaper, or offered to any publication) d. Mark the entry as “Picture of the Month” and rename the file using your name e. You may send images via print/e-mail to: Next Gen Publishing Ltd.,2nd Floor, C Wing, Trade World, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013 (or) sphoto.india@gmail.com
A note to our readers 1. The picture has to be horizontal. 2. Kindly ensure that the longer side should measure atleast 17 inches, at 300ppi. 3. Low resolution images will not be accepted. 4. We do not check images on online galleries. 5. Kindly ensure complete contact/address details are provided. Winners will have to collect their prize from SP’s Mumbai office or send an authorised representative to do so. 6. Please make sure that your picture does not have your name/logo on it.
Showcase
Festival Nirvana 40
Smart Photography September 2012
Showcase
Ganesh Utsav
“M
y camera has taken me on a personal journey through the unexpected nuances of life”, explains Vijayawada based photo journalist, Srinivasa Reddy. “Photography has become my tool to investigate, discover, confront and ultimately portray the complex, fascinating world around me.” As a child, photography was Srinivasa’s fantasy. This shaped his outlook towards life with all the possible efficacy in the art of taking photographs. Indigenous tribes and pastoral life were great fillips, and he ventured into making portfolios. The academic mandate juxtaposed with his ability to take photographs came very handy during this period. The tribal etiquette, the lifestyles, the pure pastoral characteristics, the tribal customs, the unique behavioural patterns, the gait and body language, the colourful attires and the exclusive tribal eccentricities caught his interest.
The natural combination of colours is often a photographer’s delight. Like a poet, Srinivas’s imaginative eye, in a fine frenzy, tried its best to give a shape and form to the minutest details of tribal emotions and natural habitats through the lens. Monochrome slides and colour photographs are part of the tribal portfolio in his imagery. Lambadas in Andhra Pradesh (also known as Banjaras) and Bondos in Orissa were fascinating tribes, and he captured almost
every aspect of their existence. Honours, awards and laurels have T. Srinivasa Reddy, Vijaybeen a part of awada, A.P his photographic journey. Currently, he is a member of many national and international photographic associations. Being a photojournalist, Srinivas regularly contributes to various journals and periodicals across the country. In addition, his photographs have also found their pride of place in prestigious international journals such as NatGeo and many others. Even after establishing himself in the field of commercial, industrial and fashion photography, Srinivas devotes most of his time to innovative and original photography sessions outside the structured locales. His photography is also sensitive to social themes. Projects like restoring and reprinting rare photographs of two major social reform movements in postindependent India -Criminal Reform and Jogini Women reform movements undertaken by Samskar, a reputed voluntary agency in Andhra Pradesh, are a part of his portfolio. Currently, he is engaged with other developmental projects in the country as well. The unflagging zeal keeps him alive, and his tryst with camera is an ongoing saga.
Mathew Thottungal October 2012 Smart Photography
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Showcase
Meghalaya Dancers
Traditional Dance with Fire
Showcase
Tribal Festival Time
Holy Colour! October 2012 Smart Photography
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Showcase
Jallikattu
Charge!
Interest of Another Kind 44
Smart Photography October 2012
Present:
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I.B.F. India - The 2nd (Indian) Edition Industry conference focused on conveying practical perspectives on how modern day consumer and professional photo businesses can enhance their profits. The presentation topics include Photofinishing as an industry, Role of Print in this Age, Developing New Revenue Streams, Digital Photo Services, Managing Consumer Expectations - Freebies vs. COD formats, Managing online to brick and mortar stores, Innovations as a driver of value and Increasing Value with Integration
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Showcase
Tones of a festival 46
Smart Photography September 2012
Showcase
A Story in Every Frame...
“B
eing a doctor has definitely given me a certain sense of satisfaction. But photography happens to be my real stress buster, with the camera being my support system”, reveals Harsh Wardhan, Photographer and Pediatric Surgeon, who has been practicing at Delhi’s Max Health care and Sunder Lal Jain hospitals for over two decades. In addition, he has written many scientific papers in both national and international journals. Like the path taken by most beginners, he too joined a photography course to understand the camera and master the different photographic techniques. Serious photography happened only over the last decade. To master the creative art, he travelled across Australia by road and instantly fell in love with the Australian landscape. His first camera was the Yashika FX 2000, purchased way back in the late eighties. Harsh’s travelogues have been published in reputed magazines like Lonely Planet, Outlook Traveller etc. Over Bursts of colour
the years, his creative efforts have earned him many recognitions. The foremost being the first prize at the Paris-based PX3 (Le Prix de la Photography Dr. Harsh Wardhan, Photo Award). He has also New Delhi bagged the top honours at the photo contests sponsored by Epson and Mail Today magazine. “I plan my holidays keeping in mind the photographic opportunities the various destinations would have to offer. However, I also love to shoot the different festivals in India. Holi (the festival of colours) being the obvious favourite for its sheer scale and the riot of colours. I have photographed the total solar eclipse at Benaras (Varanasi) in 2009, Mahakumbh in Haridwar in 2010, the Desert festival in Jaisalmer, Holi at Nand Gaon and Barsana, the Goa Carnival, and many other festivities.” Being a travel buff, the strong desire to keep going back to the Leh & Spiti valley by road to capture the majestic beauty of the hills happens to be one of his top priorities. Harsh thanks his family for their immense support during all his creative adventures. His photographic gear mainly comprises the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, along with the Canon EOS 40D and the Canon 30D. To complement that he uses the Canon 70 – 200mm f/4 L USM, Canon EF 28 – 200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM, the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM and the Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM lens for his photography.
Mathew Thottungal October 2012 Smart Photography
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Showcase Eid festivities
Chatt Pooja
Prayer offerings
Showcase
Devotees show their solidarity
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Showcase
In a Dussera Pandal
Lamps at Diwali 50
Smart Photography October 2012
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If I Were You Our Imaging Expert
No one can take a picture that everyone likes. But, almost every picture can have a scope of improvement. Many-a-times, we are not our best critic, while others can immediately point out the faults. In If I were you, our expert comments on how your pictures could be taken to another level.
Rohinton Mehta, Technical Editor, Smart Photography
Nature’s Beauty
It is always nice to hear such things from our readers.
left, the dark patch near the butterfly, and the highlights at the top right are not really helping. So, if I were you, I would have tried to see (at the time of taking the shot) if they could have been eliminated by a subtle shift of the camera position. If not possible, then editing in post-processing could be the only way.
The image is sharp, the composition is fairly good. The background is reasonably well subdued. Let us see how this picture could have been improved.
The EXIF data says that you had used a 105mm lens. I assume it was the f/2.8 macro lens from Nikon. If so, you could also have tried using the lens at f/4 or even wide open to get a smoother background.
I think the light green leaves at the top
It also helps if the specimen we are
Dr. Gautam Kumar Joardar from Kolkata is a fan of macro photography. He has sent us this picture of a butterfly on some red flowers, which he edited after learning basic editing from Smart Photography.
Original Image 52
Smart Photography October 2012
Edited Image
photographing is undamaged. In the original picture, we can see the background greenery through a tear in the butterfly’s wing. Observe the edited image and see how the background has been cleaned up. I’ve also tried to get some detail on the dark wings.
Picture Info
Camera: Nikon D7000 ISO: 800 Lens: 105mm (157mm in 35mm format) Shutter speed: 1/160 sec Aperture: F/5.6 Metering: Matrix
If I Were You
Picture Info
Camera: Nikon D3100 ISO: 220 Lens: 55-200mm at 200mm (Equivalent to 300mm) Shutter speed: 1/500 sec Aperture: f/5.6
The Cormorant
The picture of the cormorant drying off has been sent to us via Email by Dr. Prakash Lalpotu from Basmathnagar, Maharashtra. These birds often stay in the ‘wings outstretched’ position for a very long time and as such provide us enough time to try out the various features of our camera. I am a bit surprised that whilst the bird is in reasonable focus (should have been sharper), the tree stump on which it is sitting, is quite blurred. The bird and the stump are almost in the same plane, so why is the stump so much blurred? Please check your lens. Does it have a lot of fungus? Or do you have a scratched/unclean filter over the lens that is possibly robbing you of sharpness? Have you recently had any work done on the lens? The EXIF data says that you used the lens wide open (at f/5.6), but that should not be the cause of this loss of sharpness. The bird in the original photo almost at the center of the frame. The tree stump, being so large in the frame, attracts too much attention. In the edited version, I have recomposed the picture, got rid of some blue cast on the bird, and sharpened the image. See how the new framing improves the picture.
Original Image
Edited Image October 2012 Smart Photography
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If I Were You
Jodhpur Landscape
Note: If I Were You is meant to encourage and guide readers, and help them improve their photography. Please ensure that the required camera/exposure details are sent to us (or are available in the EXIF data). We shall not accept images for this section if the required data is not available. Readers are requested to send their images at 300ppi for 8 x 10-inch size. If they are too small, it gets difficult to work on them, and hence may be rejected.
This landscape from Jodhpur comes to us from S. N. Venugopal from Chennai. Shot from Mehrangad Fort, it shows the landscape surrounding the fort.
If I were you, I would have used either a higher shutter speed, or used a tripod, or as a last resort, rested the camera on some ledge. The image is a bit soft, probably due to handshake at the low shutter speed.
Picture Info
Camera: Olympus E-PL3 ISO: 200 Shutter speed: 1/40 sec Aperture: f/8
Now let’s see how we can improve the overall tonality. In Photoshop, create an ‘adjustment layer’ for Levels, but don’t adjust the sliders. (You create an ‘adjustment layer’ by clicking on the half-black, half-white circle at the bottom of the Layers palette and select the required adjustment). Just go to the Blending Mode and select Multiply (you get to the Blending Mode by clicking on the double-headed arrow where it says ‘Normal’). The entire image will darken. Now simply adjust the Opacity (in the Layers palette) till you are happy with the foreground tonality. You may now flatten the layers (Layer > Flatten Image). The next step is to get finer tonality in the sky area. Again create an ‘adjustment layer’ for Levels and select the Multiply Blending Mode. This time we want to darken only the sky and not the foreground. With the white mask in the Layers palette activated, click Ctrl + I to invert the mask (It will turn black and hide the edit). Now, with white as the Foreground colour (at the bottom of the toolbox, the white square should be in the front) and a soft-edged Brush, simply paint over the sky area at 100% opacity (Opacity is controlled from the Tools Option Bar at the top). Sharpen the image as required and save the file. Enjoy the creation. 54
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Original Image
Edited Image
Ask Uncle Ronnie
Dilemma
With a view to venture into digital photography and obtain razor-sharp images, I purchased a Panasonic Lumix FZ50 with a LEICA lens a couple of years ago. While this is a good camera, it falls short on sharpness. I guess that is due to its extremely small sensor size. I now wish to decide and purchase either the Canon 16.1 MP EOS 1D Mark IV with APS - H CMOS sensor, or the NIKON D 800 / 800 E with full-frame 36 MP sensor. While 16.1 MP spread on an APS-H size sensor should result in better utilisation of the entire pixel range/dynamic range, would 36 MP on a fullframe sensor have a crowding effect, resulting in some loss of detail? Please advice me about the lens I should buy. I would like a fast zoom lens covering wide to telephoto, like the (for the Nikon) AF-S DX Zoom - NIKKOR 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED with AF-S VR Zoom NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 G IF-ED because of the availability of f/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range, or the EF 70-200 mm f/2.8 L USM with EF-S 17-55mm f /2.8 IS USM (if you advice my going in for the Canon). Sanjay Singh via E-mail
Did you know... Ronnie has over 35 years of experience in photography? In fact, he has taught several thousand photoenthusiasts in various institutions and through workshops, as well as judged many national and international photo contests, including the prestigious International Photo Contest held at Colombo, Sri Lanka. So, if you have any photo-queries, whether conventional or digital, don’t hesitate. Just go ahead and Ask Uncle Ronnie at sp@nextgenpublishing.net, ‘cause he knows it all!
With your primary objective in mind, I would suggest you go for the Nikon D800 along with the two Nikkor lenses you have mentioned. This does not in any way imply that the Canon
EOS 1D Mark IV is inferior; ideally, one should compare apples to apples only! It wouldn’t be fair to compare the resolution produced by a 36 MP camera with one that outputs 16 MP. Even then, if you must compare, then compare the 22.3MP Canon EOS 5D Mark III with the Nikon D800. You can read about this in SP’s September issue. You should first decide on the type of photography you intend to do with your new camera, and also decide how large your images are likely to be. The D800 would be of great help when you need to crop your images. But if your images are likely to be of modest size (say, roughly around 16 x 20”), both the cameras would suffice. I suggest you check out both the models, ‘play’ with them for a while to see which feels more comfortable in your hands, check out which user interface you prefer, and then decide. And by the way, the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens that you mentioned is likely to cause vignetting when used with a APS-H size sensor.
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Ask Uncle Ronnie
Please advise!
I have been an ardent reader of Smart Photography for the last few years and have benefited a lot from the articles that taught me a lot about shooting. I graduated to a D-SLR a year back, with Nikon D5000, 1855mm lens (kit lens) and the 55-200mm f/4-5.6 lens. I have a few questions: 1. I want to purchase a macro lens for photographing flowers and insects, as also for some portrait photography (the main aim is flower and relatively large sized insects). Which macro lens would be ideal for that? 2. I plan to start night photography, like taking pictures of cityscapes at night using very long exposures. For that, I plan to buy a remote shutter release. Which shutter release should I opt for? 3. For both night photography and macro photography (and many other types of photography as well), I need a sturdy tripod. Can you please suggest a tripod which is sturdy, but not exorbitantly priced? Subhajit Chaudhuri, Agartala 1. Considering the equipment you have, I suggest a AF-S Micro NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED (Rs.36,450) lens, which will be equivalent to 90mm on your D5000. This can also serve you as a portrait lens. If not, consider
AF-S Micro
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m F/2.8G
Nikkor 60m
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Smart Photography October 2012
camera, and the shutter will release after the set time (maximum 3 seconds), without any user-caused movement of the camera. Tamron SP
AF 90mm
f/2.8 Di M
acro
the Tamron 90mm f/2.8 macro lens (approximately Rs.23,000), which will be equivalent to 135mm on your D5000. Alternately, buy 52mm close-up filters (+1 and +2) of any good make (Cokin
Close-up Filters
3. You could buy a Manfrotto 190 series tripod (legs) with a suitable ‘head’, but I would suggest getting a Manfrotto 055XDB 496 RC2 Ballhead model (aluminium legs) instead, with a 496RC2 ball head. The reason I am suggesting the 055XDB over the 190 series is that sooner or later, you may buy a longer (and heavier lens). That time too, the suggested combo will serve you well. The combo is not too expensive.
or Kenko. Should be available within Rs.1000). 52mm filters will fit both your current lenses. Attaching both the filters (always attach the +2 first) will get you a +3 equivalent. Generally, it is suggested not use close-up filters with zoom lenses, but I have seen some great close-up images using the mentioned combo. Once your interest in close-up photography grows, you may consider buying a dedicated macro lens. 2. The idea of using a remote shutter release is to avoid the possibility of camera movement when the shutter release button is pressed. You could set your D5000 to the self-timer mode (either to 2 or 5 seconds) and save yourself some money. After setting up the selftimer, press the shutter release on your tripod mounted camera, let go of the
Manfrotto 055XDB
Ask Uncle Ronnie
DOF and more....
3. When you ‘close down’ the aperture (that is, make the aperture narrower), the depth of field increases (assuming focal length and distance remains constant). Hence, to ensure the maximum focussing accuracy, all modern cameras focus at the widest aperture, irrespective of the aperture that will eventually be used to take the shot. When you fully press the shutter release button, the aperture drops down to what you have set. After the exposure, the aperture blades open once again to the widest opening. The idea behind this is 1. No. 2. Depth of Field depends on the magnification produced on that if good focus (or nearly good focus) is achieved with the the film/sensor. Greater the magnification, lesser the DOF and aperture that provides the least DOF (that is, the lens wide vice versa. If you have two cameras (irrespective of the sensor open), then stopping down the aperture will definitely take care of any shortfall in the focussing accuracy. size) fitted with identical focal length lenses or non-identical So coming back to your query, if you were able to focus the focal length lenses, the DOF will be the same as long as you manage to keep the magnification (image size on the sensor) lens at a narrow aperture, chances are, that due to extended DOF, your focussing accuracy could suffer. the same. 4. ‘Bits per Channel’ (12-bit or 14-bit) is responsible for the Subject F/8 50mm (equivalent to 75mm) number of colours, and not the Brightness. In ACR (Adobe Shallow DOF Camera Raw), you can set the ‘bits’ by clicking on the blue APS-C Sensor workflow options tab at the bottom of the screen. In the F/8 50mm dialog box that opens, select 8-bits/channel or 16-bits Greater DOF per channel from the ‘Depth’ box. After the edits in ACR, you press the ‘Open’ button and the image will open in Full-frame Sensor Photoshop. If you have selected 8-bits per channel, the Subject F/8 35mm (equivalent to 50mm) image in Photoshop will be at 8-bits; if you select 16-bits per channel, the image in Photoshop will be at 16-bits. After APS-C Sensor working in Photoshop, you have the choice to save the image In both cases, identical DOF F/8 50mm as JPEG or TIFF. If you save it as a JPEG, it will save as a 8-bit per channel file; if you save it as a TIFF file, it can be saved at 16-bits/channel. Full-frame Sensor 1. Does autofocus work better when increasing ISO? 2. How are full-frame sensors related to depth of field and its control? 3. Does focussing accuracy vary when closing down aperture? 4. When saving a Raw file as TIFF, how many brightness levels/bits I get from the TIFF? Maxim D via E-mail
F/8 35mm (equivalent to 50mm)
Subject Lesser magnification, greater DOF
APS-C Sensor F/8 50mm Greater magnification, lesser DOF Full-frame Sensor Workflow options F/8 50mm (equivalent to 75mm)
APS-C Sensor F/8 50mm
Subject
Magnification is identical. Hence DOF would be the same.
Full-frame Sensor
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Clare Arni
Mastercraftsman
Clare Arni, Bengaluru
Bengaluru based photographer, Clare Arni’s work encompasses architecture, travel, social documentary and cultural heritage. Her recent exhibitions concentrated on the lives of marginalised communities in rural and urban India. Several exhibitions on the disappearing professions across India gained her critical acclaim from all over. Excerpts:
the Surface Beneath
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Mastercraftsman
Š Clare Arni
Karaga running across burning embers
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Clare Arni
Mastercraftsman St.Mary procession through Shivajinagar, Bengaluru
Having travelled to various locations such as Peru, Afghanistan, Myanmar etc., what is your perspective on India and the festivals that are celebrated here? You are well known for your photos of Asia. What attracted you to this region in particular? I have lived in India for 35 years. Since I spent a major portion of my life in India, I consider this country to be my home. I find India to be an easier place to shoot street and festival photography, more so because the people are more amenable to being photographed. Children, in particular love being photographed and crowd into my frame. On the flip side, in many other countries people do not wish to be photographed at all even in open spaces like markets.
Is photography a documentary or an artistic form of expression for you? Comment The idea that a photographic image has to be either artistic or documentary, and cannot be both is an outdated debate. I absolutely feel that a photograph can be both, and that is the challenge I face when I shoot festivals. I believe it is possible to achieve this completely.
What is the biggest challenge in photographing Indian festivals, as the country has been photographed a million times during these special occasions. How do you keep your coverage fresh and distinctive from the rest? I do some pre-planning before I shoot a festival, I visit the site to check out the vantage points I can use. It is not just the main event of the festival; I spend time there and walk around shooting behind 60
Smart Photography October 2012
Š Clare Arni
Clare Arni
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Clare Arni
Mastercraftsman Offerings at Someshwara Temple
Shooting on film teaches you a lot about handling the problems owing to low light, shooting at night and the differing colour casts. All these issues have now been solved by the advances made by digital technology. In fact it is freeing as I can experiment much more with movement, slow shutter 62
Smart Photography October 2012
© Clare Arni
A Murugan devotee at the Kavadi festival Crowds pull the temple chariot at Madurai
© Clare Arni
Shooting the different kinds of festivals in India seems to be an extremely difficult proposition. Given the low lighting conditions, swarms of people; also the technical details like different colour casts which requires adjustments, how do you manage to hold your focus?
© Clare Arni
the scenes and the preparations that go into carrying out the event. More recently, I have ventured into photographing the lesser-known festivals, which happens on a neighbourhood level, like Murugan Kavadi and Draupadi Amman fire walking. These festivals are more manageable and intimate.
Before the fire walking ceremony Bhoot Kola near Udipi
© Clare Arni
speeds and lower depths of field at festivals to bring forward a different feel. Part of photographing a festival means you capture the atmosphere, the movement, and the surprising stillness that is present in the eye of the storm.
Preparing for the Draupadi Amman festival
© Clare Arni
© Clare Arni
Clare Arni
As a photographer shooting festivals, you generally have two choices: Either you use a long lens to capture expressions and reactions from far away and not take any undue risk, or you shoot up close and wide, while protecting your equipment with a rain sleeve. What is your take on shooting the events on the ground? I spend a lot of time at festivals so there is the opportunity to shoot from afar, but then I approach a few of the participants and chat with them so I can do more in depth portraiture. I enjoy being at the heart of the action and am not perturbed by crowds once I start shooting. I concentrate on creating images rather than on the discomfort of the situation. October 2012 Smart Photography
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Clare Arni
Mastercraftsman Street food being sold during the Meenakshi fest, Madurai
Having said that, recently at the Draupadi Amman fire walking festival, I got a vantage point near the fire. The crowds started pushing to get a better view, leaving me precariously close to the burning embers. I had to fight my way out of the crowd with the help of a woman journalist. The best part was that I managed to get the shot I was looking for.
Kambala, Karnataka
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Mathew Thottungal
Learnings 66
Layer Opacity Vs. Fill in Photoshop
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Content-Aware Move Tool
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Working the Scene
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Basics of Photography: High Key and Low Key Photography
Learning Photoshop The author, Rajendra Prasad, an Associate of Royal Photographic Society of London, and a banker by profession, has been in the photographic field for over two decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. At present he is the Chairman of Digital Imaging Division, India International Photographic Council, Delhi. Rajendra has a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He has published several articles on photography in photographic magazines and journals of IIPC & FIP. He has also published an e-book An Introduction to Digital Photography which was released at Indore IIPC workshop by Sri Jaipal Reddy, Minister-Information & Broadcasting. He has also given talks on photography at Doordarshan. He has taught several photo-enthusiasts through workshops on photography in several Indian cities. His photographs have also won many accolades in different photographic salons. He has also served as a judge in various contests. His other hobbies are electronics and painting. He maintains a photoblog digicreation.blogspot.com and can be reached at rajdigi25@gmail.com
Layer Opacity Vs. Fill in Photoshop
W
hen you have a layer selected, you will notice that you have two sliders available at the top right hand corner of the Layers panel. One which you are probably familiar with is Opacity, and the other, which you might not be familiar with, is Fill. A fairly common question asked, even by a few advanced Photoshop users is, “What really is the difference between the Opacity and Fill options in the Layers panel? Don’t they both do the same thing?” It is an intelligent question because in most cases, they actually exactly do the same thing i.e. both the Opacity and Fill options control layer transparency; they control how much the currently selected layer allows other layers below it in the document to show through. Normally, to lower a layer’s transparency, we lower the Opacity value. But if the Fill option also lowers transparency, then what is the point of having two options that do the same
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thing? There must be some difference, right? The main difference between Opacity and Fill has to do with Photoshop’s layer styles. If you haven’t added any effects (styles) to your layer, like a stroke, drop shadow, bevel and emboss or outer glow, you will get the same results, lowering either the Opacity or Fill values. If, on the other hand, you do have one or more layer styles applied, Opacity and Fill behave very differently. This feature is tremendously useful in many respects. It is quite difficult for beginners to figure out how Fill and Opacity work without seeing it practically. So, in this month’s tutorial, we are going to learn the difference between the two. In the following tutorial you will learn how to add watermarks to your photographs. There are many ways to add watermarks in Photoshop, but
I have chosen this particular method which uses the fill property of layer to display its importance. If you are one of the many digital photographers or designers who use the web either to show your client the work you have done for them, or to show off your portfolio; one of the major concerns is that someone might steal your work. There is no guarantee that you can stop this from happening completely, but there are things we can do to hinder the stealing process. One such method is to add a copyright watermark to your images. So let us go through the process of how to add a watermark on your photograph, and simultaneously know the difference between Opacity and Fill command of layer. The screenshots featured here are of Photoshop CS5, but you can use earlier versions of Photoshop too.
Learning Photoshop
How to add watermark to your photographs:
1
Open the photograph you want to watermark First you will need to select an image to work with. Open the image. I have used a picture of pairing Damsel flies in this tutorial. Now follow the steps to add a watermark on the photograph. For those who don’t know what a watermark is, it is basically a set of words usually starting with a copyright symbol that is put over an image, so that it remains your work and cannot be claimed by someone else. Keep in mind that a watermark is more than just simple text on top of an image. A watermark should be ‘obscure’ looking. It should blend-in with
the image in such a manner that both the image and the copyright are visible.
2
Typing the copyright information on your image Select the Type tool from the Tools panel, or use the keyboard shortcut T. Then press D on your keyboard to set the foreground colour as Black, and type in the text you want as copyright text, or simply write your name under a copyright sign. I have written Smart Photography below the copyright mark. To access the copyright symbol ©, press Option-G on a Mac, or hold down the Alt key on Windows and enter 0169 on the numeric keypad. You will see that by doing this the copyright symbol automatically gets typed. Now select the Type tool again and select any font (I have selected Engravers MT Font 36pt size) and enter the required text. Select the appropriate font and size to go with the image. Open the layer panel if it not already open. You can use the keyboard shortcut F7 for opening or closing the layer panel. In the layer panel, you will see two type layers above the Image layer (background), as shown in the screenshot.
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3
Rotate the text with Free Transform The copyright watermark tends to look better with the text rotated a bit. Once you have entered your text, select the both type layers simultaneously. To do this hold Shift and then click both the type layers, one after the other from the layers panel. You will see that both layers turn blue indicting that both layers are selected. Now press Ctrl+T (Win) / Command+T (Mac) to bring up the Free Transform handles around your text. Place your mouse cursor outside one of the corner handles and drag left or right to rotate the text. Hold down the Shift key as you drag to rotate. Press Enter (Win) or Return (Mac) to apply the rotation.
4
Comparing the effect of Opacity and Fill The Opacity option is located at the top right corner of the Layers panel, and the Fill option is directly below it. By default, both values are set to 100%, which means the text, which is on the currently selected layer is completely visible in the document. Merge both the type layers to make them one layer. For this first select both the layers as you have done earlier, and click Layer>Merge Layers to merge them. Now if we lower the Opacity value down to 50%, you will see that the typed words in your document become 50% transparent, allowing the image below it to partially show through. Then raise the Opacity value back to 100%, and this time, lower the Fill value to 50%. With Fill set to 50%, the text once again becomes 50% transparent in the document, and we get the exact same result as Opacity. This is why people get confused and feel that they perform the same function.
5
Adding layer styles to the type layer Photoshop layer styles are a popular way to add effects, such as drop shadows and strokes, to layers in a nondestructive way. Photoshop introduced layer styles way back in version 6 as a way to add effects to a layer without having to manually create them. You add effects using an interface of easy-to-use checkboxes, sliders and more. You can make quick changes to layer effects. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options, or Right Click your Layer, and select Blending Options. This will bring up the Layer Style Options. From here you can completely customise your layers effect. After applying a Layer Style, the effects in the layer can be seen, adjusted, disabled or re-enabled from the Layers panel. Layers with effects applied to them will have a small round icon with ‘fx’ in it. You will notice that once you add a layer style to your layer, the list of effects being used shows up in the layers panel. You can show/hide each of the effects by clicking the eyeball icon next to the name of each effect. This allows you to quickly hide a specific effect, while keeping the settings intact in case you want to turn it back on. Let us add a Drop Shadow. Check Drop Shadow, and click on it to bring up its options. Set the parameters as shown in the diagram. As you are making adjustments, you will be able to see the changes being made in your actual document. Keep an eye on your document while adding effects will allow you to better determine how to adjust settings. Now let’s add a Bevel and Emboss. Adjust the sliders in Bevel and Emboss dialog box to create a subtle effect, so that it does not draw too much attention but at the same time pops the text out a bit.
Learning Photoshop
6
Effect of lowering Opacity and Fill We have already established that adjusting Opacity and Fill displays similar effects. Now select both the type layers and see the effect of lowering Opacity and Fill to 50%, after applying layer effects. This is where you will see the difference between Opacity and Fill. Lowering the Opacity value will make everything on the type layer 50% transparent, but by lowering the Fill value to 50%, the text becomes 50% transparent and the layer styles applied to the text are visible 100%! The Drop Shadow and Bevel and Emboss effects were not affected at all by the Fill value. In fact, with the text itself now being transparent, we can see the Bevel and Emboss effect applied to it. This example should have given you a clear picture of the major difference between Opacity and Fill. The Fill value has no effect on the layer styles at all, allowing you to easily create an interesting watermark effect that would have been impossible using the Opacity slider.
 Closing comments One of the things that many designers always seem to miss (mostly because we never read the manuals!), is the difference between Opacity and Fill. The Opacity value controls the transparency of anything and everything on a layer, including layer styles. The Fill value, on the other hand, affects only the actual contents of the layer. It has no effect on layer styles. That is the subtle, yet most important difference between Opacity and Fill which is used in many layer effects. Experiment with different effects on the text to discover interesting options. Keep exploring! October 2012 Smart Photography
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Learning
Content-Aware Move Tool P
hotoshop CS6 has some really amazing features; some of them are almost magical. If you are a ‘purist’, you may not appreciate (or may even dislike) using such features. But if you are a ‘digital artist’, then you are bound to love them. One such feature is the Content-Aware Move Tool.
Printscreen_1
Often times, due to one reason or the other, we may not be able to achieve the composition we are after. Or, it may be just that our composition needs a magical helping hand. Here’s an example. In our picture, the crow is sitting at the lower edge of the structure and is looking out of the frame. You may like that, but let’s assume that you wanted the crow to be higher up on the structure so that its position follows the ‘rule of the thirds’. We can very easily achieve that by using the Content-Aware Move Tool in CS6. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the background must be uniform in tone. 1. Open the image in CS6. Open the Layers Palette by clicking on the F7 key on the keyboard. 70
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Printscreen_2
2. Create a new layer as shown in Printscreen 1. 3. The next step is to take the ContentAware Move Tool from the Toolbox (it is nestled with the Spot Healing Brush Tool) and draw a rough selection around the crow (Printscreen 2). I took care not to include the structure as far as possible because the texture on the structure at this point may slightly differ from where I finally set the crow. Note: Ensure that the Mode is set to Move, and Sample All Layers is
checked (ticked). In the Adaptations box, I selected Very Strict as I wanted the greatest possible accuracy.
4. Now, using the computer mouse, drag and place the crow at its new position. As soon as you let go of the mouse, Photoshop will do its work. Don’t worry if you see the crow in two places for a while because as soon as the feature completes the job, the original crow will vanish in to thin air and the area behind it will be replaced by the background. 5. Finally, if some clean up is required, do so using the Spot Healing Brush. 6. Save the file using the Save As command. There are various new magical features that Photoshop CS6 offers and we shall try to bring them to you in future editions of your favourite magazine.
Rohinton Mehta
Original
Final
Learning
Working the Scene “You don’t take a photograph, you make it”
W
- Ansel Adams.
hen you talk of street photography, no statement can be truer than this. Street photography is all about capturing the essence and ethos of a place, a moment, or a situation. All street photographers have that horse sense of sniffing out a scene. They comb the streets for something worth capturing and when they get the gut feel that they are on to something, they just don’t leave the scene till they have got that one special image which they were looking for in the first place. As a travel photographer, besides shooting cityscapes, landscapes, monuments, exteriors, interiors, people, and varied other things, I also do street photography. During my recent photo-visit to London, while on Westminster Bridge, I sensed that I could have a shot that could sum up London in its entirety. To me, this place offered it all. It had diverse people walking by, it had Big Ben as the backdrop; the period lamppost depicting the history and heritage of London; the skies were cloudy with the dodgy sun - something that is typically London. So I started shooting. I shot standing up, crouching down, sprawling on the ground,
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from the footpath, from the bridge railing, from the edge of the road. I went on and on, till I finally felt that I have nailed the shot I was looking for. On a later count I realised that I shot approximately 130 frames over a 40-minute shooting spree. Some of those frames weren’t bad (see the enlarged thumbnails alongside). But I hadn’t stopped, till I had what I would call the ‘gold’ shot (see the following page). I subsequently processed it in B&W, as, for me, London is symbolic of the ‘Raj’, which is now history. To many, London may be a colourful city, but to me this image in black and white sums up London (I am from an era when Films Division documentaries screened in movie halls were in Black & White). I share all this, as there’s a lesson hidden in it somewhere; a lesson for all to take and keep; a lesson, which I repeat to myself many times. The lesson is - when you feel you are on to something, don’t give up easily or settle for mediocrity. Keep at it. Continue to shoot. As I say, ‘Work the scene’. And be at it, till you get the sense that you have struck ‘gold’. Photos and text by Ajay Sood (a.k.a. Travelure) www.pinterest.com/travelure www.facebook.com/travelure www.travelure.wordpress.com www.facebook.com/groups/travelography
Learning Basics of Photography Smart Photography has been continually receiving requests to start a basic course for beginners. With this in mind, we have asked a very knowledgeable photographer from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to take over writing these articles. We have also requested him to be as jargon-free as it is possible, so that newcomers to photography feel comfortable to pursue the hobby. The author, Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment. He has published several articles on photography and some of his writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography. An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest in the history of photography and a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He is presently working as a Management and Engineering consultant. You can see his work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashok_kandimalla. He can be reached at kashokk@gmail.com
High Key and Low Key Photography
D
o the words high key and low key photography intrigue you? Have you tried creating such images and faced problems? Don’t worry! This article will introduce to you the basic concepts of high key and low key photography. It will also explain to you how to create the needed effects with suitable lighting; but first, let us see what these terms mean. A photograph with predominantly light tones is termed as a “High Key” photograph. Such an image will have light or no shadows (or dark areas). High key photographs are generally associated with a “happy” mood and are extensively used in fashion and product photography. The overall contrast of the image is low. The main colour here is white. On the contrary, photographs that have large areas of dark tones are called “Low Key” photographs. These pictures have few or no highlights. They are associated more with a somber mood. Low Key images are created with either side or back lighting. The latter creates the rim light which accentuates 76
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(highlights) the contours of the subject body. The overall contrast of the image can be very high. The predominant colour here is black. Both high key and low key photographs generally tend to be monochromatic. The lighting technique that is needed to create a high key photograph, as you would have guessed, is called high key lighting. Likewise, you have low key lighting for creating low key photographs. Techniques for creating high key and low key photographs, challenges that you might encounter while creating them and solutions to those problems is the subject of this article. To understand all that, you need to revisit the basics of exposure. So, here we go! An exposure meter that is built into your camera measures reflected light. However, it has no idea whether the light it is receiving (to measure) was reflected from a light toned subject (like snow) or from a dark toned subject (like coal) though the former reflects a lot more light than the latter.
Here is an analogy that will make the concept clear. Can you tell how far the source of a sound is, just by the volume (loudness) of the sound? You cannot, because a very loud sound a mile away will sound less intense compared to the sound from your stereo just a few feet away. Similarly, just by measuring the intensity of the reflected light, a meter cannot tell if it has been reflected from a light toned subject or a dark toned subject or anything in between, although the reflectance would be different in each case. So, what does your camera meter assume the tone of the reflecting subject to be? The meter always assumes that the light is being reflected from a medium toned subject and hence converts the subject to a medium tone. Note that the medium tone is the tone to which all photographic meters are calibrated as per internationally accepted standards. Look at this in some more depth. What happens is that a meter will treat a high key scene as a medium toned scene in more light. Hence, it will give less exposure than what is needed,
Basics of Photography
Picture 1
Picture 2
rendering the scene darker due to underexposure. The converse happens with a low key scene. Instead of looking at it as a low key scene the meter will treat it as a medium toned scene (as always) in less light. Hence, it will give more exposure than what is needed, rendering the scene lighter due to overexposure.
Picture 1: This is how a high key scene will look without exposure compensation. Picture 3
The consequence is that both scenes will be rendered (recorded) as medium toned, which is the calibrated tone of the meter! We can summarise by saying that all photographic meters are “tone blind” as they do not take into account the reflectance of the subject. Hence, you need to remember that if you meter a scene that is not medium tone, as is the case with high and low key scenes, then you need to change the exposure as given by your camera’s exposure meter. This is done by giving suitable exposure compensation. If you are photographing a high key subject, then you need to allow more exposure, that is, you should give positive exposure compensation (Pictures 1 and 2). This will increase the exposure from the camera reading that would have caused a medium toned image capture, to something lighter. You need to do the opposite - that is, give negative compensation for a low key subject so that it comes out dark and not medium toned (Pictures 3 and 4).
Picture 2: A properly exposed high key scene after giving positive exposure compensation. Picture 4
Picture 3: This is how a low key scene will look without exposure compensation
Picture 4: A properly exposed low key scene after giving negative exposure compensation.
So, the real trick is to determine the amount of compensation you need to give. To find that, first remember the “Metering Mantra”. The mantra says, “The metered area is always rendered in medium tone but you can place it at any tone you want with proper exposure compensation, regardless of the subject’s original tone!” In other words, The actual tone of subject does not matter! The meter reading will be such that the area you measure will be rendered medium tone in the image.
l
It is you who has to decide how you want the subject to be rendered - medium, dark, or black, or light, or white, or anything in between. You will need to give compensation accordingly, using the Tonal Variation table featured here.
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Tonal Variation Table Compensation Value in EV (stops)
To render the tone as
+ 2.5
burnt/blown out (detail less) white
+ 2.0 extremely light + 1.5 very light + 1.0 light + 0.5 slightly light 0 (no compensation)
medium tone
- 0.5 slightly dark - 1.0 dark
Note that in some cameras, (example Nikon cameras) these directions are interchanged, that is overexposure is to the left and underexposure is to the right. Also, the exposure scale in some cameras is marked in 1/3 stop intervals rather than 0.5 (half stops). Please note and set the compensation accordingly.
How the exposure scale works. Picture 5
- 1.5 very dark
Picture 5: Exposure scale marked at 0.5 EV steps.
- 2.0 extremely dark - 2.5 How to set compensation: You can set exposure compensation in two ways. If you are using an automatic exposure mode (like aperture priority, shutter priority, etc.), you can use the exposure compensation button and dial in the needed compensation. However, for critical work, automatic exposure modes (especially when used along with a spot meter) are not very convenient. Just use the manual exposure mode and you can set the exposure compensation by observing the appropriate marker on the exposure scale in the viewfinder. There is no need to use the exposure compensation feature on your camera at all. Once you select the manual exposure mode, an exposure scale (looks like a ruler used by students) appears in the viewfinder (Picture 5). However, instead of being marked in centimeters and inches it is marked in exposure stops (hope you have not forgotten what 78
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blocked (detail less) black a stop means). The underexposure is to the left and the overexposure is towards the right. To the left and right are stops which are marked in ½ stop (0.5 EV) intervals. The scale here shows a range of - 2.5 to +2.5 stops. If the symbol > is illuminated, it indicates that the overexposure is beyond 2.5 stops. Likewise, if < is illuminated, it indicates that underexposure is beyond 2.5 stops. The central marker is illuminated when the exposure is technically “correct” (Picture 6). That is, if you take a picture as it is at this exposure (without changing ISO or shutter speed or aperture), the area over which you had measured will be rendered in medium tone. If any other marker is illuminated (Pictures 7 and 8) the said area will be rendered lighter or darker by an amount as indicated by the illuminated marker. This is merely a visual indication of the exposure compensation.
Picture 6 Picture 6: Exposure scale, showing that the subject will be rendered as medium toned. This is equivalent of giving no compensation.
Picture 7 Picture 7: Exposure scale, showing that the subject will be rendered 2.0 EV lighter (overexposed) compared to medium tone. This is same as giving a compensation of + 2.0 EV.
Picture 8 Picture 8: Exposure scale showing that the subject will be rendered 1.5 EV darker (underexposed) compared to medium tone. This is same as giving a compensation of -1.5 EV.
Those of you with a keen eye might have observed that this is just a graphical representation of the Tonal Variation Table. Your D-SLR will also offer several metering modes viz., evaluative (also called matrix), center weighted and spot. Evaluative meters take certain decisions after they measure the light resulting in an exposure that may not always be predictable. The center
Basics of Photography
weighted meter also measures a large area that may have more than one tone in it. Hence, for critical work it is best to use the spot meter (Picture 9) of your camera. The area measured by the spot meter is marked by a small square in the camera’s viewfinder. Most modern D-SLRs have a number of spot meters, each corresponding to one AF point (Picture 10). The measured area can be set at any tone by giving compensation as described in the Tonal Variation table. It is important that you remember that this is so regardless of the original tone the subject! For more details on how to set your camera to manual exposure mode and spot metering, refer to Smart Photography, ‘Basics of PhotographyExposure Controls in D-SLRs’ (May 2012).
Picture 9
Picture 9: This is the Spot Meter symbol. Choose the spot meter through the Metering Mode selection.
Picture 10
Picture 10: Spot meters are marked as squares in the viewfinder. Each square corresponds to an AF point also. You should use (for both focusing and metering) the point closest to the area of interest since this avoids or at least reduces the need for re-composing. This particular camera has 39 spot meters, one for each square.
Important: Remember that you will not get a high key photograph simply by overexposing. Same is the case when you want to take a low key photograph - it is not just an underexposed photograph. The subject and background have to be chosen properly, lighting set up precisely and exposed correctly to get the desired effect. In high key or low key photographs the tones of the subject and the background tend to be close to each other. They can possibly be in the same colour too. So, there is a tendency for the subject to merge with the background. However, what you want is a good separation between the subject and the background to properly demarcate the former against the latter. To achieve this you need to choose the tones of the subject and background suitably and light them carefully. Interestingly, the human eye is influenced more by the tone of the background. So, for a high key photograph you should preferably choose a very light (or even a pure white) background and a slightly darker than the background (but still very light) subject. For a low key photograph you should choose a very dark (or even a pure black) background and a slightly lighter (but still very dark) subject. To achieve proper demarcation you need to have approximately a half stop exposure difference between the background and the subject. Thus, in a high key photograph the background must be around ½ stop lighter than the subject and in a low key photograph, the background must be around ½ stop darker.
How to set exposure accurately: Every scene has a brightness range that is, the tonal variation between the brightest and darkest part of the scene. This is measured in stops. Generally a sensor can be expected to have a 5 stop range though more expensive cameras have a larger range (around 8 stops). This means that the camera can record in the same frame two objects - bright and dark with proper detail provided the difference in their brightness is not more than 5 stops that is, plus or minus 2½ stops on either side of medium tone (see the Tonal Variation Table for more details). This is called the dynamic range of the camera. Remember that when you are capturing either high key or low photographs, you are working at the near limits (boundaries) of the dynamic range and hence exposure has to be very precise. If the exposure you set exceeds the dynamic range of the camera, then the result will be blown out highlights or blocked shadows. The former is likely to occur when you are photographing high key images as the positive exposure compensation you set can take the highlights beyond what the camera can record. This will result in blown out, detail-less highlights from which you cannot recover any detail, even with post-processing. The reverse can occur when you are photographing low key scenes. Here, the negative exposure compensation you have given can take the shadows beyond what the camera can record. The result is blocked detail-less black patches. Both blown highlights and blocked shadows look ugly (unless of course you are using them for a purpose) and should be avoided. October 2012 Smart Photography
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Picture 11
Picture 11: Histogram of a typical high key scene. See how the histogram is bunched to the right. Notice that the histogram does not touch the right axis. This denotes no highlight has blown out.
Picture 12 Picture 12: Histogram of a typical low key scene. See how the histogram is bunched to the left. Here you can notice that the histogram is touching the left axis. This denotes that some shadows are blocked.
The histogram tool shows you how the tones are distributed in an image. The right side of histogram denotes lighter tones and left side darker tones with mid-tones in the middle. The right axis 80
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shows pure detail-less white and left axis pure detail-less black. The height of histogram at any point shows the number of pixels at that particular tone. Thus, a very high peak at a particular tone indicates that there are a lot of pixels with that tone. This also means that a larger area of the image is at that tone. As you would expect, a histogram of a high key scene will be bunched towards the right (Picture 11) as it will have predominantly light tones. However, if the histogram touches the right axis it means that some areas of the captured image have blown out. These will correspond to the blinkies visible with the highlight warning tool. If that is the case you may have to decrease exposure if you want to reduce or eliminate them. A histogram from a low key scene will be bunched towards the left (Picture 12) as it will have predominantly dark tones. If the histogram touches the left axis, it means that some areas of the captured image have blocked shadows. (Unfortunately, there is no tool like the highlight warning tool to indicate where the blocked shadows have occurred). If this happens, you may have to increase the exposure to bring out some details in the shadows. While a blown highlight is devoid of all detail, you can get some details out of an underexposed area through post-processing. However, those areas will have a lot of noise after post-processing and hence you should do this only as a last resort. As always, try and get the exposure right first time rather than try to salvage an image due to bad exposure later through postprocessing.
Conclusion Exposure meters do not give correct exposure for high key and low key scenes since they deviate from a mid-tone scene for which the meters are calibrated. However, you can set the correct exposure by giving the needed exposure compensation. The next article in this series, will teach you how to set up a small home studio. This will be followed by a number of projects (including those on high key and low subjects) for you to try out using the home studio. So stay tuned!
All photographs by the Author
Fortunately, your D-SLR has built-in tools that can help you avoid these issues. To start with, do not rely on the played back image seen on the LCD monitor of the camera to check these problems. Switch on the highlight warning and histogram tools and check for any overexposed and underexposed areas. These are in the playback menu. The highlight warning tool when switched on will indicate the blown out areas with â&#x20AC;&#x153;blinkiesâ&#x20AC;?. That is, those areas that have blown out will blink alternatively black and white. You have to reduce exposure if you want to reduce or eliminate them. One advantage of the highlight tool over histogram is that, it indicates to you exactly the areas of the image that have blown out.
Reviews 86 82 90 94 98 101
ILCC Review Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1
Compact Review Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Compact Review Canon IXUS 510 HS
Compact Review Fujifilm FinePix SL300
Lens Review Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
D-SLR CAMERAS
Lens Review Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11-16mm F2.8 (IF) DX-II
Change in Rating System Smart Photographyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new rating system exercises stricter evaluation in view of improvements in the overall performance of photographic equipment. Marks will be awarded for the following parameters...
Design & Build Quality..................... (out of 20)
Design & Build Quality..................... (out of 20)
Design & Build Quality..................... (out of 20)
Key Features............................................ (out of 20)
Key Features............................................ (out of 20)
Key Features............................................ (out of 20)
Ergonomics.............................................. (out of 20)
Ergonomics.............................................. (out of 20)
Ergonomics.............................................. (out of 20)
Final Rankings Recommended .......................................... 75-80% Best Buy..........................................81% and above
Performance Autofocus.....................................................(out of 5) Metering.......................................................(out of 5) Noise control............................................(out of 5) Distortion/Sharpness...........................(out of 5) LCD/Viewfinder.....................................(out of 5) Auto White Balance............................(out of 5)
Performance Autofocus.....................................................(out of 5) Sharpness.....................................................(out of 5) Distortion control..................................(out of 5) Aberrations.................................................(out of 5) Darkening of corners..........................(out of 5) Extra Features............................................(out of 5)
Performance Autofocus.....................................................(out of 5) Metering.......................................................(out of 5) Noise control............................................(out of 5) Distortion/Sharpness...........................(out of 5) LCD/Viewfinder.....................................(out of 5) Auto White Balance............................(out of 5)
Value for Money........................ (out of 10)
Value for Money.................................. (out of 10)
Value for Money........................ (out of 10)
Grand Total................................ (out of 100)
Grand Total.......................................... (out of 100)
Grand Total................................ (out of 100)
LENSES
COMPACT CAMERAS
ILCC Review Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1
X-tra from Panasonic!
77.5% Rs.49,990 Inside the Box
Camera Body LUMIX G X VARIO PZ 14-42mm F/3.5-5.6 ASPH./Power OIS/Power Zoom lens l Lens front/rear caps l Body Cap l Battery Pack l Battery Charger l USB Cable l CD-ROM Software l Basic Owner’s Manual l Hot-shoe Cover l Shoulder Strap l l
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P
anasonic has had a two-pronged approach to the ILCC market – the G-series with the D-SLR look and the GF-series – which are more like compact cameras in size and appearance. The new GX-1 continues with the design ethics of the GF-series but is christened differently perhaps because it also introduces the new X-series of Lumix lenses. The new GX-1 along with the new X-series 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical Mega OIS Power Zoom lens forms the subject of our test. The camera has now been in the international market for over six months and rumors abound that a GX-2 will be in the market shortly.
Design & Build Quality
The design of the GF-series saw
outstanding success in the market place. In fact, the GF2 was the best selling ILCC in Japan in 2011. The GX1 follows the same formula. Notably, the GX1 sports an aluminum chassis. At 272g, it seems just right as far as weight is concerned. The dimensions of 116 x 68 x 38mm also seem at par for the course. The curved hand grip on the right hand side completes the design and make it an attractive camera from the aesthetic point of view.
Key Features
The GX-1 comes with a 16MP Live MOS sensor. Panasonic offer a 23area TTL contrast autofocus system. The system also allows single point selection and includes face-detection and focus-tracking. On the metering
Mahesh Reddy
ILCC Review Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 Detail Sharpness &
Noise
13sec. ISO:160
utter Speed: 1/
Aperture: f/8 Sh
ISO:160
ISO:12800
Colour Accu
ression
racy
JPEG Comp
ty,
, Standard Quali e Quality, JPEG JPEG, Super Fin (4.28 KB) 0% 10 ) 100% (7.91 MB
Colour checker shot using Auto White Balance in sunlight. Auto Levels applied.
front, the GX-1 offers a 144-zone multi-pattern sensing system with options for spot metering and center-weighted metering. The 3-inch LCD features a 460,000 dot touch-screen. There is no viewfinder in the camera. However, an optional LVF2 electronic viewfinder can be purchased separately. The camera has a built-in flash with a Guide Number of 7.6 metres at ISO 160. Movies can be recorded in full high definition using AVCHD or MPEG4. Other features include depth of field pre-view (with shutter speeds simulation), 100% field of view of the LCD, touch-focussing anywhere in the frame, intelligent auto mode, 17 scene modes and an auto-leveller that helps the user keep the camera absolutely in level with the ground. The GX-1 comes with a rechargeable lithium battery which Panasonic say is good for up to 310 shots.
Ergonomics
Along with the optional electronic viewfinder, the GX-1 does give a slight retro feel. The camera is available in both gray and black finish and the quality of finish in both versions is of high order. The two function buttons at the rear of the camera add to the level of customisation available. So does the Quick Menu mode. Once you are familiar with the controls of the camera, the GX-1 proves to be a pleasure to use. The touchcontrol functions worked quite well and are an added bonus. 84
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ILCC Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 Mahesh Reddy
Performance
The GX-1 acquitted itself honorably on our test bench. Autofocus was quick and precise and metering was also of a high order. The 14-42mm lens attached showed vignetting up to f/4. We also noticed pin-cushion distortion upwards of 35mm. As far as White Balance was concerned, the camera acquitted itself extremely well. Noise levels were controlled up to ISO 800 after which noise reduction comes to play rather vigorously, thereby sometimes affecting image quality. Highlight and shadow details were of a high order. Overall, a very good performance.
Value For Money
The Panasonic Lumix DMC GX1 is available at an MRP of Rs.49,990. At this price, in spite of its good performance, we would consider it a tad expensive.
SPECIFICATIONS
Effective pixels : 16 million : Live MOS, Four Thirds System Image sensor Focus : AF/MF, Face Detection/AF Tracking/23-area focussing/1-area Shutter : Focal plane. 60 secs to 1/4000 sec Bulb mode: Max. 120 sec : Super high speed: 20 fps Burst speed High speed: 4.2 fps Middle speed: 3 fps Low speed: 2 fps No. of recordable : Raw 9; JPEG: Card dependent pics. ISO sensitivity : Auto/iISO/160-12, 800 in 1/3 EV steps White Balance : Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, Flash, White set 1 & 2, K set Exposure modes : P, A, S, M Exp. Compensation : +/- 5 EV in 1/3 EV steps Metering modes : Multiple, Center-weighted, Spot LCD monitor : 3-inch TFT LCD, approx. 460,000 dots. Touch panel Flash : Built-in. GN 7.6m at ISO 160 Flash sync : Up to 1/160 sec Recording media : SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card Image quality : Raw, Raw+ Fine, Raw+Standard; Fine Standard. MPO+Fine, MPO+Standard Motion pictures : AVCHD/MP4 Weight : 274 g (body only) Battery : Li-ion (DMW-BLD10PP)
+
Good overall performer
+
Auto Leveller
+
Very good White Balance
-
Expensive
FINAL SCORE Design and Build Quality
16/20
Key Features
16/20
Ergonomics
15/20
Performance Autofocus 4/5 Distortion/Sharpness
4/5
3/5
Noise Control
Aberrations
4/5
Auto White Balance
4/5
Extra Features
5/5
Sub-Total
24/30
Value for Money
6.5/10
Grand Total
77.5/100
Verdict The GX-1 is a new series from Panasonic that is aimed at retro enthusiasts. It is a high quality camera. However, it is very likely that the GX-2 is in the offing in a few months. H. S. Billimoria October 2012 Smart Photography
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Compact Review Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
Not just a Compact
T
82
he megapixel war in the digital compact sphere has given rise to new problems and challenges to camera designers; the main being the issues of digital noise and limited dynamic range due to the small image sensors. Being the first to introduce the Back-Side Illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensors to counter the noise issues in low-light photography, Sony has now introduced a larger-than-standard
%
Flash Output
sensor in their new release - the Cybershot DSC-RX100. As per Sonyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claim this is the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first camera to feature a 1.0-inch Type sensor. With back-side illumination, 20.2 megapixels and a fast f/1.8 lens, the camera offers impressive specs.
Design and Build Quality Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 is built tough, just like most Cyber-shots. The
Macro
Rs.34,990
Inside the Box Camera Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1 l AC AdaptorAC-UD10 l Micro USB cable l Wrist Strap l Shoulder Strap Adapter l l
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Aperture: f/3.5 Shutter Speed: 1/30. ISO:100
:
Aperture
00
ec. ISO:1
ed: 1/8s
er Spe f/8 Shutt
Compact Review
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 Mahesh Reddy
outer body is made up of metal except for the base plate, which is engineering plastic. The lens has a two-segment construction and there is a control ring around the outer barrel of the lens which can be programmed to control various parameters. The built-in flash is pop-up type and is mounted on the top panel. The tripod mount is metal.
Key Features The 20.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 uses a 1.0-inch Type (13.2 x 8.8mm) back illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor which, according to Sony, is approximately four times larger than the 1/2.3-inch Type imager used in regular point-and-shoot cameras. A large sensor captures more light than a smaller sensor of similar megapixel resolution. The BIONZ image processor delivers superior results, allowing the camera to shoot up to 10 frames per second in full resolution. It also facilitates high-speed autofocus which, according to Sony, locks on to the target in 0.13 seconds under good lighting conditions. The camera features a fast Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 29 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 105mm f/1.8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 4.9 lens featuring Optical Steady Shot Image Stabilisation. It features a seven-bladed circular aperture, Noise
ISO:80
ISO:6400
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Compact Review Mahesh Reddy
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100
providing D-SLR-like defocussing effects. It features an Advanced Aspherical (AA) glass element which makes the camera extremely compact without affecting optical performance. The lens focusses from approximately 5cm to infinity at the wide-angle end and 55cm to infinity at the telephoto end. The focus modes are Multipoint, Centre-weighted, Spot, Flexible Spot and Manual. Exposure can be compensated up to +/-3 EV in 1/3-EV steps. ISO sensitivity ranges from ISO 125 to 12800 with an Auto option as well. Shutter speeds range from 4 to 1/2000 sec. White Balance options are Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and Flash. Self-timer has options of 10 sec and 2 sec. The builtin flash has a range of approximately 0.3 to 17.1m at the wide-angle end and approximately 0.55 to 6.3m at the telephoto end in Auto ISO mode. 88
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Flash modes are Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Rear Sync, and Flash Off. Face Detection feature can detect up to 8 faces in a photograph. Shooting modes available are Superior Auto, Intelligent Auto, Program, Movie, P, S, A, M, Scene Selection, Picture Effect, and Manual Exposure. Scene Selection modes are High Sensitivity, Twilight, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Landscape, Fireworks, Gourmet, Pet, Handheld Twilight, and Anti Motion Blur. Picture Effects available are HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Toy Camera, Pop Colour, Partial Colour, Soft Highkey, Water Colour, and Illustration. The camera also has unique features such as Auto Portrait Framing and MF assist (magnifies image for fine adjustments), and Peaking function (highlights sharply focussed areas in the image). Still images are recorded in JPEG format
with a maximum resolution of 4896 x 3672 pixels, while videos are recorded in AVCHD format with the best quality of 1920 x 1080. The camera does not have an internal memory, but accepts a Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo/PRO HG Duo or SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card for storage. It uses a 3.0-inch, 1,228,800 dot Xtra Fine TruBlack TFT LCD for display. The display features WhiteMagic technology that uses white pixels in addition to the normal RGB pixels to boost screen brightness. The device is powered by a Li-ion battery pack (NP-BX1 supplied), has dimensions of 101.6 x 58.1 x 35.9mm, and weighs 240g with battery and memory stick.
Ergonomics The Cyber-shot RX100 is comfortable to use. The programmable control ring is a pleasure to use and so is the control wheel at the back of the camera. Images
Compact Review
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 on the LCD appear crisp. Since this is a small camera, the index finger of your left hand is likely to obstruct the flash. So while using the flash, you need to hold the camera like a D-SLR—with the left hand beneath the lens (this will also allow you to use the control ring).
Performance The RX100 produced sharp images. AF was fast and precise even under low light situations. Metering modes worked as expected. Apart from slight mustache distortion, the lens did not produce any discernible distortion. Darkening was observed at the corners at the wide-angle end at f/1.8. Prominent flare was observed along with purple fringing at the wide-angle end at f/1.8. White Balance performed well under most light sources. Though distinct colour cast was observed under Cloudy and Incandescent settings, these could be easily corrected in Photoshop. Native print size was 12.16 x 18.24 inches at 300 ppi. At 25 percent of the screen size, images were noisefree throughout the ISO range. At 50 percent, we observed slight noise from ISO 1600 upwards, but this is observable only if you are looking for it. At 100 percent, slight noise was observed from ISO 800 upwards. But even ISO 800 can be used at 100 percent, especially if the images are printed, since photographic prints are generally less noisy than what is seen on the screen. Overall, the images were perfectly usable throughout the ISO range. We consider this to be excellent control of noise.
Value for Money The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 retails at an MRP of Rs.34,990. At this price, the camera is over-priced. SPECIFICATIONS
Image Sensor : 1.0-inch Type (13.2 x 8.8mm) Exmor R CMOS Effective Pixels : Approx. 20.2 Mega Pixels Lens Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T 29 – 105 mm equivalent f/1.8 - 4.9 Focus Range : Approx. 5cm to Infinity (W) Approx. 55cm to Infinity (T) Monitor : 3.0-inch 1,228,800-dot Xtra Fine TruBlack TFT LCD Imaging Processor : BIONZ Image Stabiliser : Optical SteadyShot Focus Modes : Multi-Point AF, Centre-Weighted AF, Spot AF, Flexible-Spot AF, Manual, Flexible Spot AF (Tracking Focus), Flexible Spot AF (Face Tracking Focus) Light Metering : Multi Pattern, Centre-Weighted, Spot Exposure Comp. : + / - 3.0EV, 1/3EV Step ISO Sensitivity : Auto, ISO 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800 White Balance : Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash : 4 – 1/2000 sec Shutter Speed Self-Timer : 10sec / 2sec / Off / Portrait 1 Portrait 2 Flash Mode : Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Rear Sync, Flash Off : ISO Auto: Approx.0.3m to Flash Range 17.1m(W) Approx.0.55m to 6.3m(T) Auto Macro : Yes Auto Focus : Yes (Auto / Off) Illuminator Aperture : f/1.8 – f/11(W) Face Detection : Yes, up to 8 faces Shooting Modes : Superior Auto, Intelligent Auto, Program Auto, Movie, Panorama, Scene Selection, Picture Effect, Manual Exposure, Scene Selection High Sensitivity, Twilight, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Landscape, Fireworks, Gourmet, Pet, Handheld Twilight, Anti Motion Blur Picture Effects : HDR Painting, Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature, Toy Camera, Pop Colour, Partial Colour, Soft High-key, Water Colour, Illustration Recording Media : Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo/PRO HG Duo, SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory
Card, Memory Stick Micro, Memory Stick Micro (Mark2), Micro SD, Micro SDHC Max. still image size : 4,896 X 3,672 Best video quality : AVCHD - 1,920 X 1,080 (28M, PS) Smile Shutter : Yes : Li-ion battery NP-BX1 (Supplied) Power Source Dimensions : 101.6 x 58.1 x 35.9mm (W x H x D) Weight : Approx. 240g (with Battery & Memory Stick) +
Fast f/1.8 lens (on the wideangle side)
+
Good low-light performance
+
Good distortion control
+
Professional features
-
Auto White Balance could have been better
-
Price
FINAL SCORE Design and Build Quality
18/20
Key Features
18/20
Ergonomics
16/20
Performance Autofocus 4/5 Metering
5/5
4/5
Noise Control
Distortion/Sharpness
4/5
4/5
LCD/VF
AWB Sub-Total
3/5 24/30
Value for Money
6/10
Grand Total
82/100
Verdict The Sony DSC-RX100 is a great choice for advanced amateurs and enthusiasts who need a compact to supplement their existing camera or if you are looking for a fast and bright lens and good low-light performance in a compact camera. The price could pinch a bit, but this does not deny the camera a Best Buy tag.
Sujith Gopinath
October 2012 Smart Photography
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Compact Review Fujifilm FinePix SL300
Playing to the Purse
74
S %
Rs.19,499
uper-zoom cameras are budget options for amateurs looking for D-SLR-like functions, without spending too much on lenses and other accessories. Offering upwards of 20x zooms, these cater to the class of people looking for a camera that can capture images from landscapes to wildlife. Fujifilm has been one of the specialists in super-zoom segment, and
Flash Output
the new FinePix SL300 features a 30x zoom equivalent to 24 to 720 mm in the 35 mm format, capable of covering anything an amateur is likely to shoot.
Design and Build Quality The Fujifilm FinePix SL300 is constructed with sturdy engineering plastic. It features a standard accessory shoe to attach an external flash. The lens
Macro
Inside the Box Camera Li-ion battery NP-85 l Battery charger BC-85 l Plug adapter l Shoulder strap l USB-A/V cable l Lens cap and Lens cap cord l CD-ROM l Ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s manual l l
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Aperture: f/4.2 Shutter Speed: 1/30sec. ISO:100
: f/4
Aperture
:100
sec. ISO
ed: 1/40
er Spe .5 Shutt
Compact Review
Fujifilm FinePix SL300 Mahesh Reddy
is constructed with only two barrels, including one that protrudes out while zooming. The lens has focal lengths marked on the barrel both in terms of actual focal length and in 35mm equivalent. It also has an additional zoom lever on the outer barrel. The camera features an electronic viewfinder in addition to the LCD panel. Tripod mount is plastic.
Key Features The 14.0-megapixel Fujifilm FinePix SL300 uses a 1/2.3-inch Type (6.16 x 4.62 mm) CCD for imaging. It features CCD-shift image stabilisation. The camera features a Fujinon 24 to 720 mm equivalent lens with aperture range of f/3.1 to 8 at the wide-angle end, and f/5.9 to 20 (only three apertures) at the telephoto end. In the Normal mode, the lens focusses from approximately 40 cm to infinity at the wide-angle end and approximately 2.8 m to infinity at the telephoto end. In Macro mode, it focusses from approximately 7 cm to 3.0 m at the wide-angle end, and approximately 2.0m to 3.0m at the telephoto end. In Supermacro mode, it can focus as close as approximately 2cm. The camera uses TTL contrast detect method for focussing, and Noise
ISO:64
ISO:1600
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Compact Review Mahesh Reddy
Fujifilm FinePix SL300
focus modes available are single and continuous AF. AF frame options are Centre, Multi, and Tracking. At full resolution, the camera provides a maximum continuous shooting speed of 1.2 frames per second. The SL300 uses TTL 256-zone method for metering with options of Multi, Spot, and Average. Exposure can be compensated up to +/-2.0 EV in 1/3EV steps. Shutter speeds range from 8 to 1/2000 sec, while sensitivity ranges from ISO 64 to 1600 (can be boosted up to ISO 6400 in Small image size) along with an Auto option. Shooting modes available are SR Auto (Scene Recognition), Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Custom, Movie, Panorama, and SP (Scene Position). Scene Position offers options of Zoom Bracketing, Natural Light with Flash, Natural Light, Portrait, Baby, Smile, Landscape, Sport, Night, 92
Smart Photography October 2012
Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, and Text. The FinePix SL300 offers White Balance options of Fine, Shade, Fluorescent (Daylight), Fluorescent (Warm White), Fluorescent (Cool White), Incandescent, and Custom, along with Auto option. Still images are recorded in JPEG format while videos are recorded in AVI format. The maximum recorded pixels is 4288 x 3216 for still images, while videos are recorded with the best quality of 1280 x 720 pixels at 30 fps. The self-timer can be set for a delay of either 2 sec or 10 sec. The builtin flash has a range of approximately 40cm to 8.0m at the wide-angle end and approximately 2.5m to 4.1m at the telephoto end when the ISO is set to Auto. Flash modes available are Auto, Forced Flash, Suppressed Flash, Slow synchro, Red-eye Reduction Auto, Red-
eye Reduction and Forced Flash, and Red-eye Reduction and Slow Synchro. The camera features a standard accessory shoe for attaching an external flash. The camera also features additional photography functions such as Instant Zoom, Face Detection, Multiframe Playback, Protect, Crop, Resize, Slide show, Image rotate, Voice memo, Histogram display, Exposure warning, Photobook assist, Image search, Favourites, Mark for Upload, Panorama, and Erase selected frames. The Fujifilm SL300 uses a 0.2-inch, approximately 200,000-dot electronic viewfinder with approximately 97% coverage. The main display is a 7.6 cm, approximately 4600,00 dots TFT colour LCD, providing approximately 97% coverage. The camera does not feature an internal memory, but accepts an SD/SDHC/SDXC memory
Compact Review
Fujifilm FinePix SL300 card for external storage. The device is powered by a rechargeable Liion battery pack NP-85. It weighs approximately 510g including batteries and memory card and has dimensions of 122.0 x 93.0 x 100.0 mm (W x H x D).
Ergonomics The Fujifilm SL300 is very comfortable to hold with a deep and rubberised hand grip. The back also features a protruding thumb rest, which helps you to hold it firmly. Images appeared crisp on the LCD, though we could observe some pixel jitter. The EVF suffered from tunnel vision, nevertheless it will aid you to take shake-free images in low light while the camera is hand-held. All the controls were easily accessible and the slightly inclined mode dial is easier to use.
Performance The Fujifilm FinePix SL300 performed reasonably well in our tests. All metering modes worked well. The camera produced sharp images. Darkening of corners was controlled well. Though slight darkening was observed at the corners at the wideangle end with wide-open aperture, we would consider it to be good enough. Barrel distortion was observed up to 48mm equivalent, while pincushion distortion was evident from 60 to 300 mm equivalent. The camera was slow in autofocussing even under fairly good lighting conditions. We observed prominent flare along with slight purple fringing at the wide-angle end with the lens wide open. The SL300 disappointed us on the White Balance front. The camera produced distinct colour casts in most
White Balance modes except under Shade in Auto White Balance and Fluorescent light under Fluorescent 2 setting. Though the colour casts could be corrected easily in Photoshop, Fujifilm needs to improve on out-ofthe-box image quality. Native image size was 10.72 x 14.29 inches at 300 ppi. At 25% of the native size, images were noise-free up to ISO 800. Images from ISO 400 upwards appeared soft as well. Observed at 50%, Noise appeared from ISO 800 onwards. At 100% view, ISO 64 was noise-free. Overall, images were perfectly usable up to ISO 400. But, we think even this could do with some improvement.
Night, Night (Tripod), Fireworks, Sunset, Snow, Beach, Party, Flower, Text Shutter speed : 8 to 1/2000sec AF Modes : Single, Continuous AF frame selection : Centre, Multi, Area, Tracking Electronic Viewfinder : 0.2-inch, approx. 200,000 dots, colour LCD Display : 7.6cm, approx. 460,000 dots, TFT colour LCD Power supply : Li-ion battery NP-85 : 122.0 x 93.0 x 100.0 mm Dimensions Weight : Approx. 510 g (incl battery & card) +
Competitively priced
+
Excellent grip and control
+
Good zoom range
+
Accessory shoe
-
Overall image quality needs improvement
-
Slow Autofocus
-
Optical Quality (other than sharpness) below par
Value for Money The Fujifilm FinePix SL300 retails at an MRP of Rs.19,499. At this price, this super-zoom camera is competitively priced.
FINAL SCORE
SPECIFICATIONS
Effective pixels : 14.0 million : 1/2.3-inch Type CCD with Image sensor primary colour filter Image stabiliser : CCD shift type : 24 - 720mm equivalent Lens Aperture range : f/3.1 -8 (Wide-angle) f/5.9 -20 (Telephoto) Lens constitution : 15 elements, 11 groups Focus distance : Normal: Wide: Approx. 40 cm to ∞ (from lens surface) Telephoto: Approx. 2.8 m to ∞ Macro: Wide: Approx. 7 cm - 3.0 m Tele: Approx. 2.0 - 3.0 m Super Macro: Approx. 2 cm - 1.0 m Storage media : Internal memory: none External Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC File format : Still image: JPEG; Movie: AVI Max. recd. pixels : 4288 x 3216 Sensitivity : Auto, ISO 64 – 1600 Exposure control : TTL 256-zones metering Metering modes : Multi, Spot, Average Shooting modes : SR Auto (Scene Recognition), Auto, P, S, A, M, Custom, Movie, Panorama, SP (Scene Priority) Scene Priority : Zoom Bracketing, Natural Light with Flash, Natural Light, Portrait, Baby, Smile, Landscape, Sport,
Design and Build Quality
16/20
Key Features
17/20
Ergonomics
17/20
Performance Autofocus 1/5 Metering
5/5
2/5
Noise Control
Distortion/Sharpness
2/5
4/5
LCD/VF
AWB Sub-Total
2/5 16/30
Value for Money
8/10
Grand Total
74/100
Verdict The Fujifilm FinePix SL300 is an affordable camera in the superzoom segment. However, the camera requires some serious refinements on multiple fronts to pose serious challenge to competitors.
Sujith Gopinath
October 2012 Smart Photography
93
Compact Review Canon IXUS 510 HS
A Touchy Affair
80
D %
Rs.22,995
igital cameras have been constantly evolving with new technologies emerging, especially in the professional and semi-pro segments. While the changes are more pronounced on the interchangeable lens category, the point-and-shoots have also been improving in terms of image quality and ease of use. In fact, many of these
Flash Output
point-and-shoot cameras now provide excellent image quality even without manual controls. The IXUS 510 HS is a 10-megapixel model which embodies the above improvements. It comes with a touch-screen interface.
Design and Build Quality The Canon IXUS 510 HS is built stylish, as is the case with all cameras carrying
Macro
Inside the Box Camera Battery Pack NB-9L l Battery Charger CB-2LB l Interface Cable l Wrist strap l Getting started guide l CD-ROM l Warranty card l l
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Aperture: f/4 Shutter Speed: 1/60sec. ISO:100
: f/3
Aperture
:100
sec. ISO
ed: 1/40
er Spe .4 Shutt
Compact Review
Canon IXUS 510 HS Mahesh Reddy
the IXUS stamp. It resembles a large matchbox and can easily slip into a shirt pocket. The camera does not have any projection apart from the shutter release button/zoom lever unit. The front part is made of metal, while the back panel features only the LCD. When switched on the two-segment lens protrudes outward. The camera features a metal tripod mount. Overall, the device appears sturdy.
Key Features The 10.1-megapixel Canon IXUS 510 HS uses a 1/2.3-inch Type (6.16 x 4.62mm) CMOS sensor for imaging. The camera sports a 28-336mm equivalent lens with an aperture range of f/3.4-6.3 at the wide-angle end and f/5.6-6.3 at the telephoto end. It features Optical Image Stabilisation. In Normal mode, the camera focusses from 5cm to infinity at the wide-angle end and 1m to infinity at the telephoto end, while in Auto mode, it focusses from 1cm to infinity at the wide-angle end and 1m to infinity at the telephoto end. In Macro mode, it focusses from 1 to 50cm. Autofocus is through TTL method and it provides Continuous and Servo options. AF frame options are Face Detect, Fixed Frame and Noise
ISO:100
ISO:3200
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Compact Review Mahesh Reddy
Canon IXUS 510 HS
Touch AF. Metering methods available are Evaluative, Centre-weighted average, and Spot. Exposure can be compensated up to +/-2 EV in 1/3stop increments. Shutter speeds range from 15 to 1/4000 sec, while sensitivity ranges from ISO 100 to 3200 with an additional Auto option. White Balance options are Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, and Custom. The built-in flash has a range of 50cm to 2.5m at the wideangle end, and 1.0 to 1.5m at the telephoto end, but as usual, Canon’s specifications don’t specify at what ISO. Flash modes are Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, and Flash Off and it has a recycling time of less than 10sec, when the battery voltage is 3.7V. The self-timer has delay options of 10 sec, 2 sec, and custom. The 510 HS’s maximum continuous speed is approximately 6.1 frames per second. 96
Smart Photography October 2012
Shooting modes of the IXUS 510 HS are Auto, P, Movie Digest, Portrait, Smooth Skin, Smart Shutter, HighSpeed Burst, Handheld Night Scene, Low Light, Fisheye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Soft Focus, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour Swap, Snow, Fireworks, Long Shutter, iFrame Movie, and Super SlowMotion Movie. The camera features photo effects such as My Colours Off, Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin, Darker Skin, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, and Custom Colour. Still images are recorded in JPEG format with a maximum size of 3648 x 2736 pixels, while videos are recorded in MOV format with the best quality of 1920 x 1080 at 24 fps. The IXUS 510 uses a 3.2-inch, approximately 461,000-dot touchsensitive TFT colour LCD with a
wide viewing angle. The camera uses a microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC memory card for storage. It is powered by an NB-9L battery pack. The device weighs 163g including battery and memory card, and has dimensions of 85.8 x 53.5 x 19.8mm (WxHxD).
Ergonomics The IXUS 510 HS features the usual uncluttered Canon interface, but with an additional touch screen control. Touch response is good, but not as smooth as the capacitive models. If you are not used to touch interface, you could find it cumbersome to operate this camera. The LCD occupies the entire back panel and as such you need to place your right hand thumb on the base plate. Also, the LCD is liable to scratches is the camera is placed on its back. Images on the LCD appeared crisp and clear.
Compact Review
Canon IXUS 510 HS Performance The Canon IXUS 510 HS performed reasonably well in our tests. Autofocus was fast and precise even under lowlight conditions. The lens exhibited good control over darkening of corners. In fact, darkening was rarely seen. The camera produced sharp images and controlled distortion well. Though slight barrel distortion was observed throughout the zoom range, you will not observe it in day-to-day images unless you deliberately look for it. We observed prominent flare along with magenta-violet chromatic aberration. The metering modes performed as expected. The camera reproduced colours true to the original. Both auto and pre-set White Balance modes performed very well, except for the auto option under incandescent light. Native image size was 9.12 x 12.16 inches at 300 ppi. At 25 percent of this screen size, images were noise-free up to ISO 1600, but images were usable throughout the ISO range. Observed at 50 percent screen size, slight noise was observed from ISO 800 onwards, though not so much to be of concern. At 100 percent of the screen size, all images showed noise, but images were perfectly usable up to ISO 800.
Value for Money The Canon IXUS 510 HS retails at an MRP of Rs.22,995. Considering that this is only a 10 MP model, we would consider the camera a little on the expensive side. SPECIFICATIONS
Effective Pixels : 10.1 Million Sensor : 1/2.3-inch (6.16 x 4.62mm) CMOS Lens Focal Length : 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 336mm equivalent
Focus : Normal: 5cm to infinity (W) 1m to infinity (T) Auto: 1cm to infinity (W) 1m to infinity (T) Macro: 1 to 50cm (W) Image stabilisation : Lens-shift Autofocus System : TTL Autofocus Monitor : 3.2-inch TFT Touch Panel Colour LCD with wide viewing angle LCD Resolution : Approx. 461,000 dots Maximum Aperture : f/3.4 (W) - f/5.6 (T) : 15-1/4000 sec. Shutter Speed Sensitivity : Auto, ISO 100/200/400/800/1600/3200 (in P mode) Metering Method : Evaluative, Centre weighted average, Spot Exposure Comp. : +/-2 stops in 1/3-stop increments White Balance : Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Tungsten, Control Fluorescent, Fluorescent H, Custom Built-in Flash Modes : Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Flash Off Flash Range : 50cm - 2.5m (W), 1.0 - 1.5m (T) Recycling Time : 10 sec. or less (battery voltage: 3.7V) Shooting Modes : Auto, P, Movie Digest, Portrait, Smooth Skin, Smart Shutter, High Speed Burst, Handheld Night Scene, Low Light, Fisheye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera Effect, Soft Focus, Monochrome, Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour Swap, Snow, Fireworks, Long Shutter, iFrame Movie, Super Slow Motion Movie : My Colours Off, Vivid, Neutral, Photo Effects Sepia, Black & White, Positive Film, Lighter Skin, Darker Skin, Vivid Blue, Vivid Green, Vivid Red, Custom Colour Self Timer : 10-sec or 2-sec. Delay, custom Continuous Shooting : Approx. 6.1 shots/sec. (in High-Speed Burst mode) Storage Media : microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC memory card File Format : Still: JPEG Video: MOV (Image: H.264; Audio: Linear PCM Max. Recording Pixels : Still Images: 3648 x 2736 Video: 1920 x 1080 (24 fps) Computer Interface : Hi-Speed USB Power Source : Battery Pack NB-9L Dimensions : 85.8 x 53.5 x 19.8mm (W x H x D) Weight : 163g (With battery and memory card)
+
Sleek and Stylish
+
Good zoom range
+
Reasonably good performance
-
Flare and Chromatic aberration
-
Slightly pricey
FINAL SCORE Design and Build Quality
17/20
Key Features
16/20
Ergonomics
15/20
Performance Autofocus 4/5 Metering
5/5
4/5
Noise Control
Distortion/Sharpness
4/5
4/5
LCD/VF
AWB Sub-Total
4/5 25/30
Value for Money
7/10
Grand Total
80/100
Verdict The Canon IXUS 510 HS is a compact touch screen camera that provides a powerful 12x zoom range in a stylish, ultra compact body. If you are a fan of touch interfaces, and do not mind some smears and smudges on the LCD, this camera would certainly impress you.
Sujith Gopinath
October 2012 Smart Photography
97
Lens Review Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
Star Performer
L
enses in the (equivalent) focal range of approximately 70-250 mm are considered very useful for day-to-day photography – be it portraits, table-tops, or general outdoor shooting. Combine that with a reasonably fast aperture (like f/2.8), and you get an efficient workhorse. That’s exactly what Sigma’s APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is. Incidentally, this is the second 50-150mm f/2.8 lens from Sigma; the earlier version had no optical stabiliser. Let’s see how the new lens fares on our test-bench.
Design and Build Quality
80
%
Rs.73,500
Inside the Box Lens Lens hood LH850-02 589 l Front and rear lens caps l Carrying case l l
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Designed for APS-C size sensor cameras, the Sigma APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is beautifully crafted in matte black and looks very elegant. The outer body is made from engineering plastic and metal and feels adequately strong. A removable tripod mounting collar with a large, comfortable knurled knob is provided. The lens mount is made from metal. Filter diameter is 77 mm. The lens is available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts.
Key Features The Sigma APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens we reviewed had a Nikon mount and was tested using a Nikon D80 body. On compatible Nikon bodies, the equivalent focal length is 75-225 mm (would be equivalent to 80240 mm on compatible Canon bodies).
The angle of view is 27.9-9.5 degrees. The lens is constructed with 21 elements in 15 groups (includes 6 SLD – Super Low Dispersion – glass elements to counter possible chromatic aberrations). It is compact in size (about 7.8 inches without the supplied lens hood) and weighs approximately 1410 g (Nikon mount, including the lens hood but without the front/rear lens caps). The zoom ring is nice and broad (40 mm), clearly marked at 50, 70, 100 and 150 mm settings and the focussing ring is well-damped. A distance scale, legibly marked in feet and meters is placed under a plastic window behind the focussing ring. Super multi-layer coating helps to reduce flare and ghosting and ensures sharp images with good contrast even with the lens wide open. The lens incorporates an inner focussing / inner zooming system (maintains the same length during focussing and zooming), whilst the Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) ensures fast and quiet auofocussing. A Focus Mode Switch (AF-M) allows you to choose between autofocus and manual focus and full-time manual focus override is possible during autofocussing. The Sigma APO 50-150mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens incorporates a 2-mode Optical Stabiliser (OS) which helps to reduce hand-shake by up to 4 stops. Mode 1 is for general work, while Mode 2 detects vertical movements. At its minimum focussing distance of 80 cm /31.5 inches (at 150mm setting), the lens offers a magnification of 1:6.4.
Lens Review Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
This picture is shot with the Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM Shutter speed 1/160sec, Aperture f/4.5, ISO 400
Mahesh Reddy
Its rounded 9-bladed diaphragm provides a nice ‘bokeh’ of out-offocus background elements. Sigma’s 1.4x and 2x DG-series teleconverters can be used to extend the zoom range to 70-210 mm f/4 and 100-300 mm f/5.6 respectively (Sigma, in the accompanying leaflet, clearly mentions not to use teleconverters from other manufacturers).
Ergonomics The Sigma APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens was easy to handle and balanced perfectly well on our Nikon D80 body. The tripod collar is placed at the perfect point of balance but was a bit ‘sticky’ on our review piece (rotating the camera/lens combo from horizontal to vertical was a bit jerky). The location of the AF-M switch and the OS ‘on/off’ switch is very convenient, allowing you to operate the switches using the left hand thumb. Since the front element does not rotate during focussing and zooming, using polarizing filters and graduated neutral density filters is convenient.
Performance The zoom ring as well as the focus ring was well damped. Autofocus was quick even with our ageing D80 body. The lens produced good sharpness throughout the zoom range though edge sharpness felt a tad less sharp, especially at f/2.8. This is quite normal, especially for a ‘fast’ zoom lens. The images could be further sharpened effectively in Photoshop. Barrel distortion at 50mm (effectively 75mm) was easily noticeable, which reduced to a minimal as the focal length changed towards the longer end. Corner darkening with the lens wide open (at October 2012 Smart Photography
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Lens Review Sigma APO 50-150mm F/2.8 EX DC OS HSM
The old model Model under review
f/2.8) was also noticed, which reduced quite a bit by f/4, and was negligible by f/5.6. Most users may not notice the slight darkening this lens produced at f/5.6. Normal amount of flare could be noticed in strong against-the-light shots and magenta fringing was noticed when the against-the-light shots were enlarged to 200%. We would rate the overall performance as very good.
Value for Money The Sigma APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is available at an MRP of Rs.73,500. At this price, we consider the lens rather expensive. SPECIFICATIONS
Lens construction : 21 elements in 15 groups (includes 6 SLD glass elements)
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Coatings Focussing Angle of view Diaphragm blades
: Super Multi-layer coatings : Internal : 27.9-9.5 degrees : 9
FINAL SCORE Design and Build Quality
17/20
Key Features
17/20
Ergonomics
17/20
Aperture range : F/2.8-22 Min. Focussing distance : 80 cm (31.5 inches) Filter size : 77 mm dia. Max. Magnification : 1:6.4 : 86.4 x 197.6 mm Dimensions (D X L) (3.4 x 7.8 inches) +
Good image quality
+
4-stop Optical Stabiliser
F/2.8 available throughout the + Performance focal range Autofocus 3.5/5 - Expensive Sharpness 3.5/5
Distortion Control
Aberrations
4/5 3.5/5 4/5
Darkening of Corners
Extra Features
3.5/5
Sub-Total
22/30
Value for Money
7/10
Grand Total
80/100
Verdict The Sigma APO 50-150 mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens is a very good performer. Its 4-stop advantage optical stabiliser performs as expected, and the lens has a good build quality. Had the price been lower, it would have deserved our Best Buy.
Rohinton Mehta
Lens Review Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11-16mm F2.8 (IF) DX-II
Extending the Reach we reviewed in 2009. The improvements are limited to a silent focussing motor on the Nikon model that allows the lens to autofocus on bodies that do not have an AF motor, such as the D3100 and D3200 and improved internal coatings.
Design and Build Quality
A
late entrant into the Indian thirdparty lens market, Tokina has not introduced a barrage of products, but instead stuck to their strict standards of quality. The Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11-16mm f/2.8 (IF) DX-II is the latest wideangle lens from Tokina’s stable. The lens is a minor upgrade to the award winning AT-X 116 PRO DX, 11-16 f/2.8 lens, which
76
%
Rs.45,000
Inside the Box
Tokina ATX-Pro 11 – 16mm f/2.8 DX-II lens BH-77B Dedicated Lens Hood
l
The lens bears the nomenclature of AT-X (Advanced Technology Extra), indicating that it is of professional quality and features the best optics available in Tokina models. The company claim superior material selection and micronunit quality control in the manufacture. The DX-designated lenses are specially made for D-SLRs with APS-C sized sensors and hence if used on D-SLRs with Full-Frame sensors, the image circle will not cover the sensor area. The lens is constructed to provide a tough professional feel. The zoom and focus rings have rubber grips and the lens uses Duralumin in metal parts to provide better durability and tensile strength. The lens mount is made of chromeplated brass. The exterior of the lens has a hardened Alumite (armalite) finish.
Key Features With a short zoom range, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens maintains a high optical quality. The fast and bright f/2.8 provides good background defocussing and enables faster autofocus in low-light situations. The lens features Tokina’s original One-touch Focus Clutch mechanism. The mechanism allows you to switch between AF and MF by pushing the focus ring forward for AF, and
backwards for MF. One-touch mechanism means that you do not need to toggle the AF/MF switch on the camera body to switch between AF and MF. The lens has Internal Focussing mechanism, which focusses the image by moving a group of elements instead of the lens barrel. This means that the length of the lens remains the same throughout the focal range. It also allows for faster focussing and use of circular polarisers and graduated filters since the front element does not rotate. The lens focusses as close as 30cm. Tokina has a technical collaboration with Hoya, which accounts for the high optical performance of their lenses. The 11-16mm DX-II is constructed with 13 elements in 11 groups. The elements are multicoated to resist flare and ghosting. It uses two Aspherical all-glass elements to minimise spherical aberration which causes loss of sharpness towards the edges, and distortion, which are common in wide-angle lenses. The lens bears the SD mark which means that it uses Super-low Dispersion glass (Fluorite). In fact, it uses two such SD elements. These provide Apochromatic properties to the lens, correcting chromatic aberration and eliminating secondary spectrum. The lens weighs 550g, which makes it lighter than its predecessor by 10g.
Ergonomics The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX-II has a combination of optimum size and excellent grip, which makes it a pleasure to use. The One-touch Focus Clutch
l
October 2012 Smart Photography
101
Lens Review Canon EF 24mm F/2.8 IS USM Rohinton Mehta
mechanism is very convenient when you need to change quickly from auto to manual focus. The smooth, but slightly dampened focus and zoom rings provide the apt amount of friction. The focus ring rotates less than 90 degrees from the nearest to farthest focus points in manual mode, which is very good.
Performance We received the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX-II in the Nikon mount, hence we used a Nikon D80 body. The lens performed well in our tests except in extreme situations. Images were sharp, though the sharpness reduced from the centre to peripheries. Sweet spot was around f/8 and f/11, though this depended on the focal length. At 11mm, f/5.6 produced the sharpest images while at 12, 15, and 16mm f/11 delivered the sharpest results. At 13 and 14mm, f/8 was found to be the sharpest. This can vary from lens-to-lens even if their specifications are identical. The lens coatings did not introduce any discernible cast. AF was smooth and fast, though quite audible while refocussing between close and far off subjects. Prominent darkening of corners was observed at the wide-angle end at f/2.8. This could be reduced by stopping down the lens. The 11-16mm f/2.8 produced flare along with purple fringing at the wide-angle end at f/2.8. The flare characteristic was reduced considerably, thanks to the new improved coatings. Lateral chromatic aberration was observed , but this was much less compared to the previous version. The lens produced barrel distortion throughout the zoom range, which is pardonable for a wide-angle lens. Mustache distortion was observed till 14mm. 102
Smart Photography October 2012
This picture is shot with the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 16mm F2.8 (IF) DX-II Shutter speed 1/50sec, Aperture f/18, ISO 100.
SPECIFICATIONS
Value for Money The Tokina AT-X 116 PRO SD 11-16mm f/2.8 (IF) DX-II lens retails at an MRP of Rs.45,000. Though this might sound fair for a fast wide-angle, the zoom range of 11-16mm does not do justice to this price. The previous version debuted at Rs.26,800, and the new lens does not feature many improvements to warrant such a steep price rise. FINAL SCORE Design and Build Quality
17/20
Key Features
16/20
Ergonomics
17/20
Mount Availability : Canon EOS, Nikon-D : 11-16mm Focal Length Maximum Aperture : f/2.8 : f/22 Minimum Aperture Optical Construction : 13 Elements / 11 Groups SD Glass : 2 Elements : Multi-layer coatings Coatings Angle of View : 104 to 82 degrees Minimum Focus Distance : 30.0cm Reproduction Ratio : 1:11.6 No. of Diaphragm Blades: 9 : 77mm Filter Size Max. Outer Diameter : 84mm : 84mm (dia.) x 89mm Dimensions Weight : 550g
+
Good build quality
+ One-touch focus clutch mechanism Performance + Autofocusses with all Nikon bodies Autofocus 4/5
Sharpness
4/5
-
Only superficial improvements
2/5
-
Price
Distortion Control
Aberrations
3/5
Darkening of Corners
3/5
Extra Features
4/5
Sub-Total
20/30
Value for Money
6/10
Grand Total
76/100
Verdict The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 DX-II features little improvements over the previous version. So if you are a Canon user or have a Nikon body with an internal motor, buy the older version while it is still available.
Sujith Gopinath
First Look Sandisk Extreme 128GB SDXC UHS-I
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ith the megapixels race showing no signs of slowing down, file sizes are becoming larger each day. If you are a professional wedding photographer or a photojournalist covering sports events, you are most likely to outgrow those 8GB memory cards, which seemed like an abyss a couple of years back. Well, having a high capacity card might get you enough space, but the new megapixel monsters come with buffers that get filled in the matter of a few seconds when used in ‘continuous high’ mode. The possible solution would be a high capacity memory card with very high writing speed so that the camera can free the buffer by continuously writing files to the memory card at high speeds. Here comes Sandisk Extreme SDXC UHS-I cards, aimed to relieve you of this headache. These cards are available in two capacities—64 and 128GB. The Extreme UHS-I cards offer 300x, or 45 MB/sec read/write speed, so that you can capture fast action in still images or Full HD videos without worrying too much.
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Sujith Gopinath October 2011 Smart Photography
103
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Tidbits Market Projections Post Photokina, it is time to touch base with reality. According to CIPA, worldwide shipment of compact digital cameras in 2012 are projected to decline 0.8%, to 99 million units. Prices are under challenge and smartphones are stealing some market share. The Japanese camera manufacturers can be split into three camps: a) Canon, Nikon and Fujifilm are expected to fare better and also make more money. b) Sony and Panasonic are expected to produce flat results with flat sales. c) Olympus, Casio and Pentax are struggling to increase sales and get into the black. Shipment projections for 2012 from the top Japanese manufacturers are shown below: (000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of Units)
Canon 30,200
Nikon 25,000 Sony 18,000 Fujifilm 12,300 Panasonic 11,000 Olympus 8,200 Casio 2,000 Pentax 2,000 Samsung Not Available
Samsung 23.8% +1.4%) LG 13.7% (+0.2%)
The decline in demand for compact digital cameras is beginning to affect OEMs like Ability and Altek of Taiwan. Both are trying to increase their smartphone manufacturing capacity and moving into new areas like car electronics and medical devices. With the market still growing at 15-18%, what are we in India complaining about? Meanwhile, listed below are the top ten cameras in the UK in August 2012: 1. Panasonic Lumix TZ30 2. Nikon Coolpix L120 3. Canon EOS 600D 4. Nikon Coolpix P510 5. Canon Powershot SX40 HS 6. Nikon EOS 550D 7. Nikon D7000 8. Fujifilm HS30 EXR 9. Panasonic Lumix FZ 48 10. Nikon D5100
138
Smart Photography October 2012
H. S. Billimoria
RNI No. MAHENG/2005/14978