Photography News Issue 53

Photography News | Issue 53 | photographynews.co.uk

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CameraClubof theYear in associationwith

It is Round 5 already and the last chance to qualify for this year’s Camera Club of the Year in this year’s epic competition. What we are looking for this month is great interpretations of natural beauty Camera Club of the Year 2017-18

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. Please make sure that your files are the right size. We have this year seen several entries that were very low resolution and received low scores. 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

Words byWill Cheung

There are plenty of contests, salons and challenges for camera clubs and photographic societies that 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 this May will have to face something very different if they are to walk off with the title. ‘Daunting’, ‘stressful’ and ‘scary’ were some of the words used by the members of New City Photographic Society before going on to win last year’s shoot-out. To win, your club first has to qualify for the final by coming top of the pile in one of the five monthly rounds, and this is the last chance to enter. 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 Meet the new top-of-the-range Fujifilm X-series camera, the X-H1. With a remodelled body including a 25% thicker magnesium alloy shell, 94 seals and durable top coating, the X-H1 is designed to perform reliably in challenging conditions. The body’s design has evolved, too, with a larger handgrip that will attract DSLR users. Gone is the exposure compensation dial to be replaced by a push button, so now compensation is set by pressing this and adjusting the input dial. In the dial’s place is a large, full info LCD panel so it is very easy to check your camera settings at a glance. Also new on the body is an AF-ON button perfect for current DSLR users who prefer to autofocus using a rear thumb button rather than the shutter release. Big news is Fujifilm’s new five-axis in-body image stabilisation system called IBIS. This system gives five-axis IS on some non-IS lenses or a total of five-axis IS with IS-equipped lenses. IBIS even gives three- or five-axis IS on non-Fujifilm lenses, such as those from Zeiss. The degree of benefit offered by IBIS depends on the lens fitted but up to 5.5EV is possible. Helping to shoot pin-sharp pictures at low shutter speeds is an ultra smooth shutter release and a shock-free, very quiet shutter. About Fujifilm

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.

X-H1

Above The FujifilmX-H1 is a highly capable stills camera but it is also a seriouslywell equipped 4kmovie camera.

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