4
Photography News | Issue 49 | photographynews.co.uk
News
Hands on: Olympus OM-D E-M10Mark III
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III was announced last month and with the camera now available in the shops, PN editorWill Cheung got the opportunity to take some pictures with it on a river Thames boat trip with Olympus. “I used the Mark III with the kit 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, the original 14-150mm f/4-5, and the 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO, shooting both Raw and large JPEGs. The camera was left mostly in aperture-priority, multi-zone metering although I did venture into other modes and art filters, too. “In an hour I shot 300- odd pictures in changing light. I thought the camera performed really well, giving consistent exposures and even potentially tricky situations were dealt with skilfully. I expected close- up head shots of a singer
performing inside the boat against a daylit background to be drastically underexposed, but I was surprised most of the shots looked okay and the shadows didn’t need correcting. “Autofocusing seemed efficient, too. I tried the camera’s 121 AF points system and also tested the optional nine-zone group AF target
and single zone. Being able to select the AF point on the touchscreen using my thumb while the camera was up to my eye was very useful. “Equally useful is the camera’s very efficient image stabiliser, which works in five dimensions and has a claimed 4EV benefit. Its effect can be very nicely demonstrated by shooting some handheld video footage – you can see the system adjusting to any camera movement quickly and giving an
of all levels. It proved really user friendly, making it suitable for those with less experience, yet it has enough headroom to keep those who want to take their photography to the next level, too. While it’s true that it is not much of an advance compared to the Mark II, the few changes available seem to me to be very worthwhile. For example, the AP setting on the mode dial: this is the camera’s Advanced Photography setting and makes accessing some of the camera’s more exciting features easy and quicker than digging around in the menus.” The Mark III is priced at £629 body only or £699 with the 14-42mm WZ f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. We’ll be putting it to the full test in the next issue of Photography News, due out from 27 November.
image that seems to float on the monitor/EVF. “In the brief time I hadwith the E-M10 Mark III I found it a capable camera with great potential for photographers
The E-M10Mark III handled the day's tricky light situations extremely well, giving consistent exposures across a number of images, taken both indoors and outside
olympus.co.uk
Hands on: FujifilmX-E3
Fujifilm’s ever- growing lens collection will gain two high spec lenses in the near future. The XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR gives a 12-24mm equivalent coverage in the 35mm format, making it the widest lens in Fujifilm’s lens family. Together with the XF16-55mm f/2.8 and XF50- 140mm f/2.8, that means the wide, standard and telezoom ranges will be covered by high-spec f/2.8 optics. The second lens is the XF200mm f/2 R LMOISWR. This optic gives a 305mm in the 35mm format and its superfast f/2 aperture makes it ideal for sports and wildlife photography. It will be compatible with Fujifilm 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, too. Two new optics will also arrive in Fujifilm’s medium- format GFX system in the near future. The GF250mm f/4 R LM OIS WR gives the 35mm format equivalent of 198mm, so this is a telephoto lens ideal forportraits, scenics and action. This lens’s potential can be furthered with the addition of the second new product, the GF1.4XWR teleconverter. Fit this onto the 250mm f/4 and you get the 35mm equivalent of a 277mm f/5.6 telephoto for even greater pulling power. Fujifilm updates lens roadmap X-series
Out and about on the streets of New York, PN ’s Roger Payne got the chance to use the new FujifilmX-E3, announced last month and in the shops soon. This is his report... “The X-E3 represents familiar territory for the X-E series, taking technologies already proven eleswhere in the range andwrapping them up in a compact, lightweight body. Perfect for a day's street photography in New York! “First impressions of the X-E3 are positive, although I did initially struggle with the absence of the quadrant of buttons on the rear of the camera that have graced every X-series interchangeable lens model to date. It’s been removed to reduce size, of course, but you soon realise that the functionality has simply
method even easier, but the X-E3’s is fixed, presumably for size reasons. “While I shot in Raw and JPEG, at the time of writing I haven’t processed the Raws, but the JPEGs are trademark Fujifilm straight out of camera. With minimal post- production tweaks I was producing vibrant images full of colour and detail, no surprise given what we know about the capabilities of the X-Trans CMOS III sensor. “Lens-wise, I shot for much of the time with the new XF80mm but in the shops, the X-E3 is being packed with the XF23mm f/2 and the XF18-55mm f/2.8-4, and those options make this a fine camera/lens combination.”
beenmoved elsewhere, most notably to the touchscreen LCD. “Design aside, the touchscreen LCD is one of the most significant changes on the X-E3 and I think it’s a real boon. Shooting on the street, I was able to hold the camera at waist level and tap the screen to both focus and shoot in one, getting some great results in the process. An articulatedLCDwouldmake this
fujifilm.eu
Samyang’s fourthAF lens Tamron unveils new ultra-telephoto zoom
With a fast maximum aperture and useful focal length, the Samyang AF 35mm f/1.4 FE is sure to appeal to Sony E-mount owners, and at £599 it is very attractively priced, too. Lens construction includes 11 elements in ninegroupsandfeaturestwoaspherical lenses, and two high-refractive lenses to deliver high resolution images free of optical aberrations – plus there’s Samyang’s Ultra Multi Coating to combat flare and ghosting. This Samyang lens will be available from November onwards.
With a weight of 1115g, the Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD is the lightest lens in its class of 100- 400mm f/4.5-6.3 lenses for 35mm full-frame DSLR cameras. This ultra-telephoto zoom lens from Tamron has an advanced optical design which includes three low dispersion lens elements and eBAND coating to defeat aberration and anti-reflection. Designed for use with full- frame DSLR cameras, the Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD is compatible with
Tamron's teleconverter, and the Tamron TAP-in Console. The lens has a minimum focus distance of 1.5m and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:3.6. It also boasts a high-speed DUAL Micro-Processing Unit control system which helps deliver fast and precise autofocus, and a powerful VC (vibration compensation) feature to ensure sharp shots at slower shutter speeds. The price and availability are yet to be confirmed. 1.4x
Intro2020.co.uk
fujifilm.eu
tamron.eu/uk
Powered by FlippingBook