Photography News Issue 32

Photography News | Issue 32 | absolutephoto.com

52 Accessories test

Buyers’ guide

TAMRON all-in-one zoom lens

Your ultimate travel kit Special trips require special gear to make the most of them, so seek out travel- specific photo equipment and other accessories that’ll bring back the photo goods wherever you’re headed

From £549

From £399

SIGMA fast wide- angle

NEST Explorer EX100S

Tamronall-in-one zoom lens from£399

wide-angle scope on APS-C DSLRs, and has a maximum aperture of f/1.8 throughout the entire zoom range. This gives you the option of shooting handheld in low light and also filling thebackgroundwithbeautiful bokeh when shooting wide open. The lens’s nine-bladed aperture design helps with the latter, and image quality is kept high with a wide glass moulded aspherical lens. It’s available to fit Nikon DX and Canon EF-S DSLRs. If you’re looking for a wide-angle fast lens for full-frame DSLRs, try the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 DG HSM A at £629. Available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma fits, this prime has an f/1.4 maximum aperture and its wide-angle view makes it perfect for urban landscapes and architecture. You might think a prime is restrictive when travelling, but shooting with one lens is an opportunity to refine your skills and this approach provides a consistent look and a coherent set of images. With very high image quality and low distortion, shooting at or near its widest setting, this lens is especially useful for shooting starry skies if you’re travelling to dark-sky locations, and for low-light scenes. sigma-imaging-uk.com day’s shooting is a decent shoulder bag, especially if you have a small DSLR or CSC and don’t plan on needing too many lenses. Despite some clever tricks employed in backpack design in recent years, shoulder bags are also still the best way to keep your camera safe while getting to it fast. Offeringexcellent storage capacity and a comfortable carry thanks to its thickly padded strap and low 580g weight, the Nest Explorer is also a rather stylish number available in a vibrant blue, orange or green as well as the traditional black. The bag will swallow up a medium-sized DSLR or large CSC body with a lens attached and up to threemore lenses, plus a flashgun. Via removable, velvet padded dividers, the main compartment can be customised, so you could carry larger kit, up to 3 Nest Explorer EX100S £60 Sometimes all you need for a

Sure, the beauty of owning a DSLR or CSC is that you can change lenses depending on the subject or style you’re shooting. But when you’re travelling you might not feel like you want to take all that extra glass with you, or you might not feel comfortable changing lenses. That’s where all-in-one zoom lenses come in, offering you a wealth of focal lengths. For full-frame DSLRs, look for a 28-300mm, which will cover landscapes to wildlife with just a few twists of the zoom ring. Try the Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD at £499, which comes in Canon, Nikon and Sony fits and features Piezo Drive (PZD) for a faster, quieter AF and Vibration Compensation (VC) for sharper handheld shots at slower shutter speeds. What’s more, it weighs 540g and is under 10cm long, so won’t fill up your bag and has a moisture- resistant construction for greater protection from the elements. Offering even more scope, and designed for APS-C DSLRs, is Tamron’s 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro at £399. Still highly portable at 540g and available in Canon, Nikon and Sony mounts, the lens boasts the same PZD and VC features as the 28-300mm and gives an amazing 18.8x zoom– a full-frame equivalent of 25-465mm. Thanks to its close focusing distance of just 39cm, the lens also offers brilliant macro-style close-ups, so you can enjoy recording exotic details on your travels, too. tamron.eu/uk Sigma fastwide-angle from£549 On our travels, most of us shoot a range of landscapes and architectural images, including interiors. In all these cases, and particularly the last, light levels can be unpredictable, whichmakes a fast lens a good option, especially if you want to avoid shooting at higher- than-usual ISO settings or don’t have the time/freedom to set up a tripod. For £549, the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM will give you plenty of 2

FUJIFILM X70

£60

£540

270mm long, albeit less of it. The bag has several other small pockets internally for filters and cards, along with space for a ten-inch tablet. The main flap closeswithVelcro so access to your camera is fast and although the bag’s outer is water-resistant 210D rip-stop nylon, it also has a rain cover included for any deluge you might encounter. nest-style.com camera or a backup to your CSC or DSLR kit, there’s a lot to be said for travelling with a high-quality compact. If it’s your only camera, it’ll cut down the size and weight of what you’re carrying, and if it’s a backup, it can provide alternative focal lengths or a shooting option in places where a DSLR would attract too much attention. Ifyou’reaftersuchanoption,check out the Fujifilm X70, a beautifully designed, lightweight (340g) and feature-packed compact that uses Fujifilm’s excellent 16.3-megapixel X-Trans CMOS II sensor and EXR Processor II as found in its X-Series CSCs. The X70 has a fixed focal length 28mm equivalent lens, so it’s a great fit for subjects that need 4 FujifilmX70£540 Whether it’s as your main

while using the top for regular items. Gear is accessed from a body-side opening so it’s not only more secure, but also lets you lay the bag down on its front, so any moisture will stay there and not get on your clothes once it’s donned. Capacity stretches to a DSLR with a typical 18-105mm zoom attached, plus a couple of extra lenses and accessories, and kit is safely gripped by modular dividers. In addition to the main all weather cover, the camera compartment has its own storm flap for added protection. By removing the padding the bag becomes a regular rucksack, and there’s also room for a ten-inch tablet or notebook, which sits suspended in an elasticated ‘CradleFit’ pocket. Stretchy mesh side pockets allow extra items to be fitted in and at 29x23.5x50.5cm it’s within most carry-on luggage restrictions. lowepro.co.uk Hähnel HL-EL15 £39 So you’re on a once-in-a- lifetime trip and obviously taking a lot of pictures. That’s going to take its toll on your camera’s battery, especially if you’re using power-hungry features like live view or image stabilisation all day. 6

the wide-angle treatment, but if you need to crop tighter, there’s a digital teleconverter, that effectively gives you three lenses in one; 35mm and 50mmcan be set via a control ring on the lens barrel. The array of manual inputs, such as the shutter speed and exposure compensation dials and the aperture and focus rings, will please creative photographers, and being made from milled aluminium, they have a classic and prestigious feel, but the X70’s tilting LCD touchscreen is right up to date. fujifilm.co.uk Like any other purchase, when you’re choosing a bag for travel, you should take into account what you’re using it for, and where. On some occasions you’ll be packing a lot of kit; others less so. Sometimes you’ll be heading to inhospitable climes; on others you might face the hazards of a city. For the latter, the Lowepro Photo Hatchback BP 250 AW II is an excellent partner. Made from lightweight but strong 210D nylon and 600D polyester, the bag weighs only 930g and is of the daypack design, letting you safely store photo kit in the lower section 5 LoweproPhotoHatchback BP250AWII £99