smartphotography_Nov. 09_teaser

ISSUE 08 I VOLUME 05 I NOVEMBER 2009 I RS.100

WEDDING SPECIAL

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MASTER CRAFTSMEN I Bandu

Gunaratne I Sephi Bergerson I Prakash Tilokani I Arambhik Ghosh I Venkat Ramana

LEARNINGS Basics of Photography (Part-X) An Introduction to Layers Tips for Wedding Photography Wedding Photographer’s Kit Bag Get Started in Lightroom 2 (Part-IV) Adding Noise

REVIEWS

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ISSUE 08 | VOLUME 05 | NOVEMBER 2009

Nikon D300S Olympus E-P1 Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZR1 Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1

Kaleidoscope Finally, a platform for all photographers to exhibit their talent and GET NOTICED!

Victoria Memorial HDR Image Camera: 1000D Lens: Canon 18-55mm kit lens

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The Spirit of Festival Camera: Kodak Z740 Lens: 38-380mm Sensitivity: ISO 200 Aperture: f/8 Shutter speed: 1/125sec

STRIVING FOR PERFECTION

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hinmoy Banerjee, a post graduate in Physics and currently in a Government Service, had long realized his passion for photography. He believes that it is not the equipment, but the person behind them that counts more.

Banerjee never had a formal training in photography, and the only cameras he used till 2005 were Olympus XA 10 and Zenit 122 SLR. He recollects his trip in 2005, where his Zenit broke down and for the first time reluctantly clicked snaps with the Kodak Z 740. And since then, there was no looking back for him, as he started experimenting and clicking shots, which he had only imagined earlier. “Gradually my interest in the digital world grew and one day came across Macro photographs in Smart Photography,” he says.

“The subject fascinated me so much that my main focus went towards Macros. I tried out a number of Compact P&S cams. In June 2009 I bought the Canon 1000 D along with a 55-250mm IS and a Canon 100mm Macro lenses. Many of my friends would not believe that the Macros I had taken were with a Compact P&S,” says Banerjee.

Banerjee’s transferable job allows him to travel to various parts of India, and he is keen on honing his skills in wildlife and landscape photography. “I would like to write a book on my travelogues with photos about the flora and fauna of that place.”

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If I were You

E-mail your images at sp@nextgenpublishing.net

Edited Image

Original Image

Picture info Camera: Nikon D90 Shutter speed: 1/200sec Aperture: f/6.3 ISO: 200 White Balance: Auto

MONITOR LIZARD This picture of the monitor lizard comes from Saptarsi Sharma. Here is the description he has given: Monitor Lizard ( Varanus Bengalensis) Bengal Monitor Lizard, also known as the Common Indian Monitor, is found throughout Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The lizard is known as Guishaap or Goshaap in West Bengal and Bangladesh, and as Ghorpad in Maharashtra.

Saptarsi has done well to take the shot showing the tip of the monitor’s tongue flickering out, though it could have been better if more of the tongue was seen. The gradual softening of focus in the background helps to concentrate the viewer’s attention on the most important

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part of the monitor — the head. It is a nice picture, but could it have been improved? What would I have done if I were you?

Though I like the curve that the body has formed, I would have liked to see the full tail (I think a small part of it is cut off). Alternately, if you want to show a close up, a sort of ‘head and shoulders’ portrait could be considered. In the Edited Image, you can now better see the tongue flicking out and the overall feel is better. I have also sharpened the image.

IF I WERE YOU

Our Imaging Expert

Rohinton Mehta, Technical Editor, Smart Photography

No one can take a picture that everyone likes. But, almost every picture can have a scope of improvement. Many-a-times, we are blind to our own faults, while others can immediately point them out. In If I were you, our expert comments on how your pictures could be taken to another level.

Edited Image

Picture info Camera: Sony DSC-H9 Shutter speed: 1/125 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO: 100 Original Image

BRAHMINY KITE Reader Sarath R. S. from Kerala has sent us this lovely picture of a Brahminy Kite, also known as red-backed sea eagle.

Photographing birds is not as easy as it seems and Sarath has done a good job. The bird’s head is turned sideways and the powerful looking beak gives us an idea of what this raptor could do to its unfortunate prey. The picture is sharp and the exposure on the bird is dead on.

What are the chances of improving this picture?

I see from the EXIF data that Sarath has used a Sony H9 camera that has an equivalent focal range from 31-465mm, and this picture has been shot at an equivalent focal length of around 334mm. I wonder why Sarath did not zoom in closer, which would have avoided the bald sky to the right. May be, he wanted to show a bit of the surroundings.

What about the electrical cable running across the picture?

Obviously, that is not Sarath’s fault. But if the idea is to create a pictorial image, the cable needs to go! If the idea is to document, the cable should remain.

I have taken the liberty of cropping the image. After cropping, the composition that I liked unfortunately included a part of the bald sky. I tried to put in a bit of blue in the sky area, but the effect seemed unnatural. Hence, using Photoshop, the Mangalore-tiled roof in the background was carefully extended to cover the area of the bald sky (Please note that I am not documenting; I am enhancing the image!). The bird was selectively brightened (again, just a wee-bit) so that the whites improved. I then cloned out the offending cable. I also cloned out the twig close to its head because I felt it too was somewhat disturbing. The next step was to slightly strengthen the highlights in the bird’s eye. Saturation was then increased a bit so that the bird’s colorful feathers would become more prominent. And finally, the Brahminy kite and its perch was selectively sharpened.

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MASTER CRAFTSMAN

Freezing Everlasting Memories in Time...

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MASTER CRAFTSMAN

Bandu Gunaratne

© Bandu Gunaratne

It is said that immortality is the key to modern-day photography, and the Sri Lankan-based wedding photographer, Bandu Gunaratne, is one such visual artiste who balances the fine line between creativity, emotion, and business. After beginning his creative journey as an art photographer in the 80s, this banker turned professional has never looked back. Over time, he has been bestowed with laurels, including awards at prestigious international competitions, which speak for his creative artistry. Gunaratne’s art is beyond superlatives and he has come a long way, for he doesn’t believe in shooting, but simply freezing the magical moment for posterity.

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Š Prakash Tilokani

MASTER CRAFTSMAN

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MASTER CRAFTSMAN

Prakash Tilokani

ani

Wedding photography has evolved from being as direct as ‘bride-standsmile-hold-posed portrait’, to the age of fairy tale glamor images that capture the couple at their candid best. What we admire the most in, the Vadodarabased professional, Prakash Tilokani’s photography, is the way he adapts his creativity with the changing trends, yet retaining the essence and flavor of age-old traditions. This is because he is one celebrity wedding photographer whose images are pure unadulterated display of love, emotion, and passion that leaves the viewer mesmerized.

© Prakash Tilok

When Art Married Craft...

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LEARNING

Tips for

y h Wedding Photograp T

he number of wedding photographers in India is almost unfathomable. Weddings, being a seasonal affair, provide the enthusiast photographer an excellent avenue to cash in on his hobby. However, wedding photography is not as easy as it seems and given the importance of the event almost suicidal to mess up. It is important, therefore, that wedding photographers make a lot of preparation in order to avoid pitfalls that are typical to this aspect of photography.

1. Ideally, the person engaging the wedding photographer should be the bride or bridegroom or their parents. It is important to understand their requirements and expectations before accepting the engagement. The photographer’s fee should also be outlined very clearly and if necessary, confirmation for the same should be obtained.

@ Bandu Gunaratne

2. Preparing for the big day in advance is very important. If possible, the venue of the wedding should be visited to discover

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vantage points for photography as also any problems that may arise. Religious sensitivities of the wedding family also have to be taken into account. For instance, there may be some restrictions on photography during the wedding service. The size of the wedding venue along with the seating plan will give the photographer a good idea of what is required.

3. Getting ready with the equipment - Most, if not all, wedding photographers these days are equipped with D SLR cameras along with a battery of lenses. A Canon or Nikon D SLR along with flash guns and a good standard zoom (say, a 24-105mm) should be adequate for most purposes. More importantly, the photographer should carry things like spare batteries, memory cards, and white balance cards in order to be equipped to cope with any situation. It would also be a wise thing to clean all the lenses and cover them with protective filters before the event. A lens cleaning cloth should always be kept handy.

LEARNING

@ Bandu Gunaratne

4. Background - Most Indian weddings have a floral background. This can add or subtract to the picture depending on the angle of lighting etc. Whilst a lot can be done through editing software, it is better that you shoot the pictures initially in such a manner that offending or inadvertently appearing backgrounds are removed.

5. Usage of Flash - Most weddings in India take place at what are considered to be auspicious times. This can range, therefore, from any time in the morning to late evenings.

Depending on the hour of the day and the venue, the photographer will have to be equipped with a variety of flash guns or studio lights. Fill-in flash can also be very useful when taking intimate portraits of the bridal couple. For evening weddings, the use of studio lights is recommended to achieve uniform lighting.

6. Avoiding Red Eye and Blinking - If shooting indoors, red eye can become a big issue and the effect of red eye is more prominent, the closer the camera to the flash. The flashgun should be set in the anti red eye mode, which works by firing a series of pre-flashes which gets human eyes’ pupil to reduce in size thereby avoiding the occurrence of red eye. Red eye, of course, can also be removed in photoshop so can blinking.

7. Timing - Most weddings have their special moments and the photographer has to be ready to capture them. A moment missed is a moment missed for ever. Moments like the first kiss or first dance needed to be captured the moment they occur and any delay on this front would not be acceptable.

8. Add to the event - Whilst the wedding couple is of prime importance, it is also important to get a flavor of the environment and the ambience of the event. It is, therefore, important to capture the reactions of the people present as also little details that serve as a reminder of the day.

9. Keep your exposure right - This means trusting your exposure meter. For this reason, never take a new camera to a wedding. You should know your camera inside out so as to feel comfortable using it. Important settings like ISO and white balance need to be determined in advance. Most brides dress in white. It is, therefore, important that the camera’s white balance is set correctly. It would be a good idea to take a spot meter reading from the bride’s sari or gown. Try and avoid high contrast scenes which may create burning out of highlights. The dynamic range of your camera should be clearly understood. It is also important to realize that dark shadows can be lifted a bit to reveal detail; burnt out highlights, however, are hopeless.

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NIKON D300S

Arguably The Best!

Price: Rs.1,09,950/- Final Score: 91%

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he D300 from Nikon was the SP Camera of the year 2008. It also was a run-away sales success.

In the APS-C sized sensor market, the D300 was probably the first choice for most photographers. Two years since its launch, the competition has come up with several challenges. The most notable being the new EOS 7D from Canon and the K-7 from Pentax. Both these cameras boast effective pixels that are much more than the 12.3 million pixel of the D300, Nikon had to provide an answer and this has come in the form of the D300s. Instead of bringing out an all new camera, Nikon has chosen to improve the previous camera and accordingly this review will focus on how Nikon has made a good camera even better.

KEY FEATURES Since the D300s shares the same chassis as the D300, there is nothing further that we need to add to our previous review as far as design and build quality are concerned.

Power Switch 2 Shutter Release Button 3 Mode Button 4 Exposure Compensation Button 5 Control Pannel 6 Main Command Dial 7 Sub-Command Dial 8 Release Mode Dial 9 Release Mode Dial Lock Release 10 Quality Button 11 White Balance Button 12 ISO Button Accessory Shoe 14 Flash Pop-up Button 15 Flash Mode Button 16 AE/AF Lock Button 17 AF-On Button 18 Diopter Adjustment Control 1

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Inside the box • Rechargeable Li-ion Battery EN-EL3e • Quick Charger MH-18a • USB Cable UC-E4 • Video Cable EG-D2 • Strap AN-DC4 • LCD monitor cover BM-8 • Body cap • Eyepiece Cap DK-5 • Rubber Eyecup DK-23 • Software Suite CD-ROM • Power Cable • Accessory shoe cover BS-1

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The CMOS sensor fitted on the D300s is the same 12.3 million pixels sensor that was fitted on the D300; the only difference being that the sensor in the D300s records (1280x720 pixels) high definition video at 24 frames per second for a maximum duration of 5 minutes. The D300s also has a mono microphone to record sound along with an option to connect an external stereo

microphone via an audio jack.

Uniquely, the D300s accepts both SD and Compact Flash Cards and there are dedicated slots for each type in the card compartment. Further, video can be shot in one card compartment and still images in the other.

The 3inch LCD monitor of the D300s comes with 920,000 dots and provides 100 percent frame coverage in Live View mode. Similarly, the viewfinder of the D300s shows 100percent of the image.

On the autofocus front, 51 autofocus points with 3D tracking have been provided. The D300s can detect human faces, recognize landscapes and thereby bias the metering and white balance systems for correct exposure.

A separate Live View button is provided on the back plate to access Live View quickly. The D300s also provides faster continuous shooting of 7 frames per second versus 6 frames per second of the D300. A OK button has been provided in the multi controller on the back plate which definitely improves the handling of the camera.

Finally, Nikon has leaned on the D700 to provide a quiet drive mode(silent shutter) and a virtual horizon setting in the D300s.

Left: Picture showing Flash sync terminal (top) and Ten-pin remote terminal (bottom) Right: Dual card slots for CF and SD cards

Mahesh Reddy

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OLYMPUS E-P1

Reliving the Legacy Price: Rs.49,995/- (with kit lens) Final Score: 80%

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On/Off Switch 2 Shutter Release Button 3 Lens 4 Exposure Compensation Button 5 Mode Dial Accessory Shoe 7 SSWF (Super Sonic Wave Filter) Indicator 1

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he Olympus brand is synonymous with two legendary series of cameras, viz. the PEN series of half frame cameras and the OM series of film SLRs. Innovation and miniaturization were the two distinctive features of these models. It is natural for manufacturers to fall back on their past successes and Olympus has done precisely that with its first Micro Four Thirds model, the new Olympus E-P1.

The E-P1 is clearly based on legendary designer Maitani’s PEN compact camera, which was introduced in 1959. Olympus has opted for the retro styling in order to distinguish itself from Panasonic’s G1 and GH1, which look more like D-SLRs. Unfortunately, for Olympus, Panasonic has announced the GF1 barely a couple of months after the launch of the E-P1.

standard. Both the E-P1 and the 17mm f/2.8 lens have been manufactured by Olympus in China. A minor grouse was that the screen printing on the back plate of our sample piece was already showing signs of disappearing.

DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY

Autofocus on the E-P1 is of the contrast detection type and any one of 11 points can be selected for autofocus purposes.

Single or continuous autofocus mode can be selected and there is also a combined autofocus + manual focus mode, which magnifies the view on the LCD screen for precise focusing.

We chose to pair our sample of the E-P1 with the 17mm f/2.8 compact pancake lens of Olympus. The E-P1 body sports an attractive silver metal cum leather finish. Build quality is solid and the body, which is a metal body, alone weighs 335g. The main body is made of stainless steel, whilst the top and bottom plates are made from aluminium. Dimensions of the E-P1 at 120.5x70x35mm are hardly micro and the E-P1 even with the pancake lens is not a pocketable camera. The 17mm f/2.8 Zuiko lens has a filter size of 37mm and is finished to a very high

KEY FEATURES The E-P1 uses a 13.1 megapixel live MOS sensor chip that delivers an effective output of 12.3 megapixel.

Like all other Olympus D-SLRs, you get a crop factor of 2x. Therefore, a 17mm lens effectively works at 34mm.

We wonder why Olympus chose a focal length of 17mm rather than the more ‘standard’ 25mm. The E-P1 uses Olympus’ latest True Pic V image processor, that is claimed to improve processing speed and allows the E-P1 to offer a top ISO speed of 6400.

On the exposure front, the camera gives you a choice of program, aperture priority, shutter priority, and manual.

In addition, there are 10 Scene modes, an intelligent auto mode as also a selection of 6 art filters that can give various effects like soft focusing, grainy

Left: Battery compartment and SD card slot

Inside the box • Camera • Body Cap • Strap • PS-BLS-1 Li-ion battery • Battery Charger • USB • Cable • AV cable • Software CD ROM • Instruction Manual • Warranty Card

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Right: Multi-connector and HDMI mini-connector

Mahesh Reddy

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