Photography News | Issue 51 | photographynews.co.uk
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CameraClubof theYear in associationwith
There are still three finalist spots waiting in the grand shoot-out so don’t delay and get your club’s entry in now – it’s time to enjoy the decisive moment Camera Club of the Year 2017-18
Words byWill Cheung
There are plenty of contests, salons and challenges for camera clubs and photographic societies and they get huge support, and rightly so because they challenge their members and there’s the chance of glory. Our Camera Club of the Year contest is a serious challenge, and those five clubs that qualify for the final shoot-out in the spring of next year will face something very different if they are to walk off with the title. ‘Daunting’, ‘stressful’ and ‘scary’ were some of the words usedby themembers ofNewCityPhotographic Society, before going on towin last year’s shoot- out, capturing images with a range of Fujifilm camera equipment. To win, your club first has to qualify for the final by coming top of the pile in one of the five monthly rounds. Once we know the five finalists, the details of the shoot-out will be released simultaneously to them. Your club’s competition secretary (or whoever is going to enter each month) must sign up at photographynews.co.uk. Terms and Fujifilm’s X Series was unveiled to the unsuspecting world six years ago. It was a world dominated by the single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, the tool of choice for keen photographers at all levels. But how the scenario has changed in the intervening period, as photographers are ditching their big, heavy DSLR cameras in favour of the mirrorless system. In the early days of the mirrorless revolution one constraint was the relative lack of lens support. That was hardly surprising given that the SLR camera had a massive headstart; but six years is a long time in modern imaging and the Fujifilm X Series, having started with just three lenses, now features 14 prime lenses, nine zooms and two teleconverters, so almost every subject can be tackled. The latest arrival is the XF80mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR Macro (tested in this issue’s First Tests), a high-end lens and the first XF lens About Fujifilm
conditions are also available on the website. Any club or group is eligible to enter so long as there are at least five members. Online groups, internal company clubs and those clubs not affiliated to the PAGB are eligible to enter. Once you have signed up, go to ‘Members’ on the top menu bar and you will see ‘CCOTY’ (Camera Club of the Year 2017-18) on the drop- down menu. Select that, then register your camera club and followtheupload instructions. JPEG files should be at least 1500 pixels on the longest dimension and, preferably, in the sRGB colour space. A club can only enter one set of five images and the five images must be from five different members. Failure to enter five shots will mean the missing shot(s) scores zero points, so it is crucial to enter the full number of images. After the closing date, each picture will be scored out of 20 points by the experts at Photography News and the highest scoring club will qualify for the final. In the event of tied scores, for those two clubs we will ignore the
highest and lowest scores and average out the three remaining scores – the club with the highest averaged score wins. If scores are still tied, all five scores will be averaged out. When the issue with that month’s result is published, the scores for every picture entered will be published on the website and each member can see howwell they have done. There is no monthly prize apart from qualifying for the final shoot-out, and once a club has qualified for the final it need not enter again. Of course it can do so for the challenge and pictures will still be scored, but there is no
reward for winning in this instance. In effect, because each monthly contest is self-contained, ie. it is not a league systemover the period of the contest, you do not have to enter every month – perhaps it is a theme the club is less strong at. Clearly it makes sense to give yourself as many winning chances as possible, however. So, good luck. Read the entry details again, check out the theme and start gathering your entry. Qualify for the final and your club could be joining us for a very special photography event, with the title of Camera Club of the Year 2017-18 to be won.
construction ensures critical edge-to-edge sharpness at all aperture settings. Also, to assist sharp handheld shooting, even when you are close-in to the subject, there’s an integral OIS (Optical Image Stabilization) system with a claimed 5EV benefit. This immensely exciting lens is just one of a great many highlights in the XF system and the system is set to grow further in 2018 with the arrival of the XF8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR and XF200mm f/2 R LM OIS WR. For more information on all Fujifilm imaging products please go to the website.
XF80mm f/2.8
fujifilm.eu
X-T2
capable of a lifesize (1:1) magnification without any additional accessories. With the innovation of front and rear focusing groups, this lens, equivalent to the 122mm focal length in the 35mm format, gives a very swift, responsive autofocus performance throughout its range without any change in the lens’s overall size. Furthermore, the use of one Super ED element and three ED elements in its
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