Photography News Issue 35

Photography News | Issue 35 | absolutephoto.com

50 Accessories test

£40

Wild for gear Buyers’ guide

SAMSUNG 64GB Pro+ SDXC card

£35

There’s loads of kit you can use to improve your wildlife shots and stay comfortable out in the elements; here’s a selection of our favourites...

SRB Photographic Digiscoping kits

Samsung 64GB Pro+ SDXC card £40

Compact range. The XP Compact 10x26 model has a versatile 10x magnification, high-definition optics, weighs only 349g and has a folding body mechanism so they can be easily stowed in a pocket or the included case. Not that you need to worry about their durability; protected by non-slip NBR long-life rubber armour and a Makrolon polycarbonate housing they’re impervious to oils, acids, waterproof to two meters, and nitrogen-pressure-filled making them fog proof from -20°C to +70°C. They even come with a 30 year guarantee. In use, the stepless focusing wheel operates super-fast, allowing you to get perfect sharpness quickly and not miss an important sighting, while ergonomic thumb rests and eye cups create a comfortable view. steiner-binoculars.co.uk demands that you’re in touch with nature as well as well as your gear. These MacWet gloves allow both with a truly ‘second-skin’ feel that keeps your hands warm and dry without affecting dexterity thanks to the palm’s Aquatec material. What’s more, unlike many gloves, they’re virtually silent, so there’s no chance of your hand movement scaring the subject. All the intricate tasks you’d normally associate with operating your camera or scope can be done without removing the MacWets, and with an enhanced grip even in the wet; you can basically forget you’ve got them on and enjoy your hobby to the full. These long-cuff versions provide generous coverage; being elasticated just above the wrist and tucking neatly under your jacket they attach with a durable Velcro strap. They’re available in sizes from six to 12 and four colours; black, brown, green and navy. macwet.com When you’re using the long lenses often required for wildlife photography, you need a bag that can fit them in while still attached to the camera. The alternative is either splitting camera body and lens each time you want to pack up and move 4 MacWet Climatec long-cuff gloves £30 Wildlife photography 5 Nest Falconer EB600 Pro Backpack £130

So you don’t miss that perfect moment, it’s often a good idea to shootwildlife subjects inContinuous drive mode, but with many DSLRs now offering very high-resolution images and blistering frames-per- second rates beyond ten frames-per- second, that’s a lot of data to transfer. So, you also need a card that will keep up. A great option is Samsung’s impressive Pro+ 64GB SDXC UHS-I memory card, which has a Class 10, Grade 1 U3 maximum read/write transfer speed of 95/90MBs. It’s also waterproof, shockproof, protected from x-rays and magnetic fields, and able to function in temperatures from the Arctic to the hottest deserts, so you can keep shooting wildlife in themost challenging conditions. The Pro+ SDXC card is also available in 32GB versions, too. samsung.com/uk Got a spotting scope and a DSLR? Then the world of digiscoping is just one step away; with the right adapter you can enjoy high-quality, incredibly detailed super-telephoto wildlife shots and SRB Photographic supplies a rangeofDSLRdigiscoping kits to do it. There’s a wide variety of mounts including Canon (EOS and EOS-M),Nikon (FandNikon-1), Sony (A and E), Four Thirds, Micro Four Thirds, Fujifilm X, and Pentax K. Kits include a digiscoping sleeve, T2 digiscoping insert and a T2 mount, and are operated by screwing the T2 insert into the digiscoping sleeve then attaching the T2 mount to the opposing side. Sleeves are held in position using grub screws and the camera clips into the T2 mount just like it would to a regular lens. All you need to do is select the version that corresponds to the next size up from your scope’s eyepiece when ordering (so, for a 37mm eyepiece, you’d pick a 40mm kit. And from 4 to 31 August, you can get £5 off of everyDSLRDigiscopingKit with the code ‘PNBF5’. srb-photographic.co.uk 2 SRB Photographic Digiscoping kits £35

Stand 18, Outdoor Display

£30

£200

Stand 11, Marquee 8

STEINER OpticsWildlife XP Compact 10x26

MACWET Climatec long- cuff gloves

on, or just carrying the whole set-up, which leaves you at the mercy of the environment. Coming to the rescue is Nest’s Falconer EB600, given its ability to swallow a large DSLR with 600mm prime lens attached. Gear is accessed from a YKK-zippered main section and there’s lots of space for other kit in the large front and Velcro-closed side pockets. A tripod or monopod can be attached to the top and it also comes with a padded waist belt, which can hold another pouch. For protection, the inner benefits from thick and adjustable 10mmpadding and the outer ismade from 750Dwaterproof twill (for very heavy downpours or dust storms, there’s also a dedicated waterproof cover). There’s an EB800, which takes an 800mm lens. ukdigital.co.uk An affordable, top-quality lens for wildlife (as well as range of other subjects like portraits, sports and action), the EF 100-400mm f/4.5- 5.6 II improves upon its predecessor with increased sharpness, a closer focusing distance of 98cm and Canon’s redesigned Image Stabilizer. 6 Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM£1800

The latter provides a four-stop advantage insofar as you can shoot at shutter speeds four times slower than normal and still avoid camera shake; what’s more, it has three modes to suit your shooting style. For tip-top optical quality there’s one fluorite element and one Super UD (ultra- low dispersion) element while an Air Sphere Coating (ASC) reduces flare and ghosting on backlit subjects. All this comes in a weather-resistant, streamlined and lightweight package with the lens weighing 1.64kg and only 19.3cm long with no extension of the front element. When fitted to Canon DSLRs with smaller APS-C sized sensors like the EOS 7D Mark II you’ll get an massive equivalent focal length of 160-640mm. canon.co.uk Vanguard’s latest range of Endeavor binoculars is the perfect addition to your camera kit, allowing you to seek out subjects, or just take a break from shooting and enjoy the natural world in all its splendour. This 8x42 pair offers an8xmagnification andplenty of light-gathering from the big 42mm objective lenses. The Endeavor range 7 Vanguard Endeavor ED II 8420 binoculars £330

uses extra-low dispersion (ED) glass like that found in top-quality camera lenses and also employs phase- corrected BaK4 prisms and anti- reflection multicoated elements to produce natural colours, enhanced contrast and virtually no fringing. These bins also handle superblywith an open-bridge design that reduces weight and gives plenty space for your grip. Complementing this is a tough but light magnesium-alloy housing that’s filled with nitrogen and uses o-ring seals to protect from water and fogging. Rubberised outer armour also protects against impact and further improves hold. vanguardworld.co.uk Telephoto Lens Support £280 Although there’s nothing to stop you using a tripod for wildlife photography, a monopod and the right kind of head can offer more flexibility, especially if you’re on the move or dealing with unpredictable subjects. Here’s a great combination from Manfrotto: the XPRO Prime four-section carbon-fibre monopod (£150) and Heavy Telephoto Lens Support (£150). Themonopod (which 8 Manfrotto XPRO Prime monopod and Heavy

Steiner OpticsWildlife XP Compact 10x26 £200

If you’re after a top-class, lightweight set of binoculars perfect for hiking and birding, you needn’t look much further than Steiner’s XP