Photography News issue 26

This issue’s news includes Leica’s new full-frame mirrorless SL as well as the RX1R II from Sony. We’re back on Lecia with our tests as we throw the Lecia Q on the test bench, alongside the DxO ONE – a device that turns your iPhone into a 20-megapixel camera. When it comes to technique, we teach you how to use twin lights and give you three still-life techniques to use at home.

Your FREE newspaper packed with the latest news, views and stories from the world of photography news Photography Produced by Issue 26 16 Nov – 15 Dec News Tests Reviews Interviews Techniques Competitions Exhibitions Clubs

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The PN Awards Choose the top kit of the year on page 39

First impressions Hands-on tests of the latest gadgets, page 46

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Who will be Camera Club of the Year? Turn to page 19 for entry and prize details

Samsung memory duo Enter the competition on page 62

Leica launches full-frame SL Iconic German brand launches a new mirrorless camera system

Spendmoney and save Great money-saving offers from Canon, FujifilmandNikon, just intime forChristmas See page 5 for more

In what has been a busy year – Leica has launched a top-end full-frame compact, the Q, and a medium-format DSLR, the S007 – the company has now launched the Leica SL, a full-frame 24-megapixel interchangeable lens camera, too. The SL uses a totally new mount and adapters will be available for other Leica system lenses. Three SL lenses have been announced so

far, the 24-90mm f/2.8-4, the 90- 280mm f/2.8 and the 50mm f/1.4, and more are promised. Leica M users will be pleased to hear that the SL has been optimised for M lenses and, with the adapter, will give full functionality. A fully featured exposure system, an ISO range of 50 to 50,000, the ability to shoot at 11fps and a high-spec AF system all add up to an impressive camera. Of

course, it is true that its appeal is limited because you need £5050 for the body and another £3150 for the 24-90mm f/2.8-4 lens. Look beyond the price and the design though and the build quality and image quality make the SL a very interesting camera. For a hands-on preview of the SL please turn to page 10.

uk.leica-camera.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Spendmoney and save

We expect a few deals this time of year and the photo firms haven’t let us down, with Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon all offering up a helping of tasty cashback offers just in time for Christmas. Canon kicks off with cashback on selected products and the chance to win a VIP trip to St Moritz in Switzerland – registering for your cashback deal will automatically enter you into the competition. Included in the cashback offers are the likes of the EOS 1200D with £20 cashback and the EOS 6D with £100 going straight back in your pocket; amongst lenses there a whole range of zooms and primes to choose from. You could take home the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS with £150 cashback, for example. Offers run until 13 January 2016. Fujifilm ran a cashback offer earlier in the year and it proved so popular that it is running a similar scheme this winter – it applies to products bought from 30 October 2015 to 11 January 2016. Awide range of offers are available. For example, buy a FujifilmX-T1 and XF18-55m lens kit and you get £75 cashback plus a free vertical battery grip. Buy an X-E2 body or the 18-55mm kit and you can claim a free XC50-230mm lens. Buy one XF lens and you get £75 cashback, buy two and get £225, and indulge in three and you get £375. Now to Nikon who are giving you up to £70 cashback on certain DSLRs kits. So for example, buy the Nikon D5500 and SB-700 speedlight and you can claim £70 cashback. Buy the D5500 on its own and you get £50 cashback. Cashback offers are available on these selected Nikon products bought between 14 October and 13 January 2016 inclusive. For full details of these tempting offers please visit the appropriate website. canon.co.uk/wintercashback, fuji-offers.com, nikon.co.uk/promotions Great money-saving offers from Canon, Fujifilm and Nikon, just in time for Christmas

...Continued fromcover

Sigma goes wide Ultra-wide angle and full-frame go together like peas and carrots, and we’ve got Sigma to thank for this top-notch pairing. Its new 20mm f/1.4 ultra-wide angle lens in the Art range is designed to get the most out of your full-frame DSLR. Sigma has designed the f/1.4 lens with two FLD (F low dispersion) glass and five SLD (special low dispersion) glass elements so that there is better clarity edge to edge and to minimise chromatic aberrations. Distortion is another common issue with wide-angle lenses and Sigma has thought of a way around that too, so you’ll find you’ll be getting a much higher quality throughout your images. Ghosting and flare have been attacked, too, so even in backlit conditions you’ll still get sharp, ghost-free results. It’s priced at £849.99, is available in Nikon and Canon fits, and comes with a cover lens and rear lens cap.

sigma-imaging-uk.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

A fast light affair Elinchrom has launched the Quadra HS flash head, a compact flash head compatible with the ELB 400 and all previous generations of Quadra battery packs. The HS in its name tells you it’s optimised for high-speed sync photography and ideal for use with the new EL-Skyport Plus HS transmitter. With this pairing, shooting flash in bright sun is easy with plenty of power. Integrated in the head is a daylight-balanced LED modelling lamp producing the equivalent of 50W tungsten light output. Buy the new head alone or with the ELB 400. The ELB 400 One Head HS To Go Set Li-ion costs £1279 and the Quadra HS Upgrade kit for Canon or Nikon costs £499 – including the head and the Skyport Plus HS transmitter. Elinchrom’s latest transmitter, the EL-Skyport Plus HS – for Canon and Nikon – costs £199 and it’s the most advanced Skyport ever. You can takewireless control of all lights’ power settings directly from this Skyport transmitter, and the Elinchrom’s Hi-Sync technology means you can go beyond your camera’s usual flash sync speed and work at speeds up to 1/8000sec in high-sync mode. It has 20 frequency channels for Normal or Speed mode usage, and you can see each light’s individual settings on the large LCD, which glows green if you’re using Normal sync mode and red for Speed sync so you always know where you’re at.

elinchrom.com

Fresh Fujifilmglass

A new prime lens is what Fujifilm has in store for you this month in the form of the Fujinon XF35mm f/2 R WR lens. The XF35mm is equivalent to 53mm in 35mm format so it is the perfect standard focal length giving you an angle of view that is similar to that of the human eye. Including two aspherical elements, the 35mm is constructed out of nine elements organised in six groups and features the smallest diameter in the XF line- up as well as a stand-out autofocus time of just 0.8sec. It’s dust-resistant and canwork in temperatures as low as -10°C. Look out for it as of mid- November when you can expect to pick up one for around £299.

Next up from Fujifilm is the XF1.4X TC WR teleconverter. With a seven element in three group construction, this converter is designed to minimise any quality loss fromthe original lens, a common problem with teleconverters. At this time, the only compatible lens is the XF50-140mm f/2.8 which becomes a 70-196mm f/4 with the converter attached – this is 107-299mm in the 35mm format. It costs £329. Firmware updates for Fujifilm X‑series cameras to give full compatibility to the above products are also available to download from the website.

Shorter focal length, wide-angle Zeiss has added to its Otus family of top-end manual focus lenses with the 28mm f/1.4 for Canon and Nikon SLRs. This is one for the landscapers, as even with a maximum aperture the corners of the image are completely usable, leaving no limits to composition. Like the other lenses in the Zeiss Otus range, this one is no exception when it comes to design, featuring internal focusing, a dial window and the well-known yellow-labelling of the dials for easy legibility. It’s constructed in 16 elements in 13 groups with one of the elements having an aspheric optical surface and another being aspheric on both sides. A price has yet to be released but we do know it’ll be out in shops in spring 2016.

fujifilm.eu/uk/

Canonmakes a good impression

There’s a new printer on the market from Canon, the imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 which promises to keep stride with the pro photographers of the world. Its advanced 12-ink pigment-based system features a new series of Lucia PRO inks that includes a photo black, matt black, grey and photo grey to get your monochromes up to scratch with increased black density and uniform glossiness. A L-COA image processing system makes sure that all those inks are delivered to paper in perfect balance and precisely to give your photos the professional finish they’re deserving of. With cameras always packing more megapixels in, this printer keeps up with the best of them accepting 1200ppi high- res image data. It’s a large-format printer that delivers prints up to A2 in size, and being wireless, you can send images to print straight from places like Google Drive and Dropbox. You’ll be able to take one home as of early 2016 and it’ll be the first in a new series from Canon of professional- grade printers.

canon.co.uk

zeiss.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

World’s first from Interfit

Interfit has been hard at work developing the latest addition to its flash line-up, the S1 Monolight flash. It is the world’s first 500Ws output monobloc with the option of mains or battery power and offers HSS (high-speed sync) and TTL flash metering for Canon and Nikon cameras. In manual mode you can fire up the S1’s HSS mode, which works at shutter speeds up to 1/1800sec. Using integrated IGBT technology, flash durations can be made shorter whilst still maintaining colour accuracy keeping a consistent 5700K colour temperature with flash durations ranging from 1/1000sec down to 1/9000sec.

The S1 comes supplied with both AC-power sources and a Li- Ion battery that’ll keep you going for 350 full-power flashes in manual and TTL modes and over 400 flashes in HSS mode. Coinciding with the release of the S1 is aTTLRemote compatible with Canon and Nikon cameras, priced at £79.99, as well as a spare battery at £159.99. The S1 is due out in December and will cost £799.99 and that includes the head, battery, AC power pack and 7in reflector. The S1 on its own is £479.99.

£2600 buys you the highest-resolution compact on the market today. With 42.4 megapixels and many innovative features, it looks a cracker PremiumSony

interfitphotographic.com

The successor to the acclaimed Cyber-shot RX1 and RX1 r compact cameras has been unveiled by Sony, say hello to the RX1 r II. The crowning glory of this latest model has to be its 42.4-megapixel full-frame Exmor R sensor and its lens doesn’t disappoint either being a Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2 lens. Improvements to the hardware include a better AF response speed with 399 focal-plane phase-detection AF points that cover just under half of the image area making it the widest AF coverage on a full-frame sensor. Working with 25 contrast AF points, you’ve got a focus response that is around 30% faster than the original model’s.

Aworld-first optical variable lowpass filter is another stand-out feature, even more so because it can be turned off or adjusted to ‘standard’ which is a compromise between high resolution and removing moiré and colour artefacts, or ‘high’ which places more emphasis on reducing moiré and artefacting. There are bells and whistles as well, with a XGAOLED viewfinder, a tiltable screen and Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity. Available in December, you’ll need to put aside £2600 to get your hands on one.

sony.co.uk

Watch your background Jazz up your studio shots with the new additions to Creativity Backgrounds’ Ella Bella range. Newborn photo shoots to YouTube video backdrops will all look topwith the newbokeh designs, printed on paper with a fade-resistant ink to keep them looking box-fresh for longer. To coincide with the new range and as Christmas is around the corner, Creativity Backgrounds is running a competition to win a set of four of the new Bokeh design backgrounds and a pack of four other Ella Bella designs. Just post five of your best Christmas-themed bokeh images on its Facebook page (search for Creativity Backgrounds) to be in with a chance – the competition closes on 30 November so get them in quick.

Quiet as Velcro? Velcro is quite a distinguishable sound, but it’s one that has been silenced by Tenba for its DNA messenger bags making its new range the ultimate stealth photo accessory. In sensitive situations , such as shooting video, no longer does the sound of you going into your bag need to be an issue. The DNA range is a reaction to customer feedback and Tenba has delivered on the secure and silent bag that you’ve asked for. Each bag also has an abrasion and moisture-resistant body armour base panel and a reversible rain cover, as well as removable padded camera inserts and a security strap for bikes. The Tenba Messenger DNA bags come in four sizes, in olive green, cobalt blue and dark copper colours in addition to a graphite grey option, and range in price from £70 up to £115 for the largest.

tenba.com

Rollei protector

A digital camera’s monitor is prone to scuffing and scratching, and it’s also the weakest point when a camera is dropped. The answer may be Rollei’s range of Pro Display Protection screens. These screen covers are made from 0.3mm optical glass and they simply stick onto the camera screen.

They work with touch-sensitive cameras, too. The protective glass is also dust- and sweat-resistant, and are anti-glare. Screens are available for more than 50 camera models from all leading brands. They cost £19.99 each.

creativitybackgrounds.

co.uk

rollei.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Makingmemories A glut of cards from Lexar, starting with its Pro 2933x XQD 2.0 card (prices starting at £139.99 for 32GB), currently the fastest on the market with read speeds up to 440Mbps. Its little brother, the Professional 1400x XQD 2.0 card (prices starting from £96.99 for 32GB) can read at speeds up to 210MB, but both are up to handling high-definition video footage and capturing 4K movies for extended lengths. A 128GB capacity version (£224.99) of the Professional 200X SDXC UHS-II memory card range has been released with read speeds up to 300Mbpsand write speeds of 260Mbps. There’s a new Lexar Professional

Creative HDR

Specialising

imaging

software

for

Apple

Mac

Workflow line (prices from £35.99), too, that is compatible with the Pro Workflow HR2 and HR1 and consists of a selection of memory card readers. Now to mobile USB 3.0 flash drives, Lexar has added the JumpDrive M20c (from £16.99 for 16GB) and the M20i (from £39.99 for 16GB). They feature read speeds of 150Mbps and up to 95Mbps respectively with the M20c delivering write speeds of up to 60Mbps and the M20i, 20Mbps.

PermaJet Open Day

computers, announced

Macphun

has

Aurora HDR, a software developed in collaboration with leading HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff. Aurora HDR can be used as a standalone software or as plug-in through other softwares including Photoshop and Lightroom. Key features include new algorithms for nautral- looking results to much more stylised looks and all at the click of the mouse. Layers, a radiance feature and extensive colour controls let you produce the look you want with minimal fuss. The standard version of Aurora HDR is available at the introductory price of $39.99 (normally $49.99), while the Pro version is $89.99 (normally $99.99).

There is still time toregister for the PermaJet Open Day that is taking place on Saturday 28November at its showroom in Stratford-upon- Avon, Warwickshire. As well as PermaJet showing off its wares which includes its latest FB paper range, Olympus, the RPS, Aaduki and Datacolor, among others, will also be in attendance. The event is free

to attend and that includes the seminars that are happening throughout the day. Register by visiting the PermaJet website and once you have done that you can book onto the talks – places are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

lexar.com

permajet.com

Softbox for small flashguns

SonyA68

The Rogue FlashBender 2 Mirrorless Soft Box kit fits flashguns such as the Nikon SB-500, Nissin i40 and Olympus FL- 600R – or any head with a circumference of 158.8-184mm. It attaches quickly and securely and makes a soft box, bounce flash or a snoot to help control the flash’s output. It packs flat, too, so you can leave it in the camera bag ready for use at any time. It costs £39.95.

Sony’s latest A-mount camera is the A68. It features 4D autofocus with 79 AF points for good AF tracking performance and with its Translucent Mirror Technology, it can track subjects at up to 8fps. The A68 boasts resolution of 24 megapixels, an APS-C Exmor sensor and an ISO range of 100-25,600. No price or availability details have been confirmed at this time.

macphun.com

sony.co.uk

colourconfidence.com

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

It is not every day a whole new camera system is launched so it is a real privilege to spend a couple of days with Leica’s latest arrival Preview Leica SL

Specs

News in brief

Price Leica SL body £5050, 24-90mm f/2.8-4 £3150 Resolution 24 megapixels 6000x4000 pixels, APS-C 10 megapixels 3836x2624 pixels Sensor CMOS, 24x36mm, IR filter but no low pass filter with Maestro II processor File formats 14-bit DNG Raw, 8-bit JPEGs, MP4, MOV Storage 2GB built-in (enough for 33 Raws), two SD cards slots – slot 1 writes at 100MB/s, slot 2 at 30MB/s ISO range 50-50,000 EVF

Newarrival Garmin has launched the babyCam, the first in-vehicle video monitor that works wirelessly with a compatible satnav. It even has night vision so you can keep your eye on your young passengers on journeys. It costs £159.95

(not including a satnav). garmin.com/babyCam

Sony firmware Firmware version 2.0 is

available for the Sony A7R II. This enables uncompressed 14-bit Raw capture. esupport.sony.com Manfrotto get busy Manfrotto’s BeFree One is an ultra compact, four-section travel tripod, folding down to just 32cm. The tripod is priced at £124.95. Inspired by selfie sticks Manfrotto has launched the Compact Xtreme, a four section monopod that can be turned into a pole. It is lightweight but it can hold up to 1kg of kit thanks to its aluminium and Adapto construction. It comes in at £39.95 and is available now. That’s not all from Manfrotto though, and the NX bag collection is designed to carry CSCs. There are nine models, ranging from a small and simple pouch right through to highly organised multipurpose backpacks, prices start from £15.95. Lastolite by Manfrotto is a co-branding project with Lastolite’s product range. Here, two new products have also been announced, the Ezybox Speed-Lite priced at £49.99 and the Perspective Collapsible Backgrounds are priced at £169.99 manfrotto.co.uk Stay powered up With action cameras so popular, this new PNY Action Charger powerpack will prove very popular. It has two battery bays so you can charge two HERO4 batteries and a phone at the same time via the USB output. The battery can charge a HERO4 battery three times before it needs recharging. An LED display shows the battery power level. It costs £39.95 and that includes micro and mini USB cables. PNY also has microSD Elite performance cards available. Capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB – the 16GB costs £19.99. pny.eu

4.4-megapixel resolution Dimensions (wxhxd) 147x104x39mm Weight 771g

The SL uses a totally new lens mount but adapters for Leica T, S, R and M fit lenses will be available. With many M-system users out there, the good news is that Leica has optimised the SL for M lenses. The SL is a great-looking camera in a chunky, minimalist and, dare I say it, manly sort of way. I like its looks but am slightly perplexed by the raised plinth on the left-side top- plate which seems to have no useful purpose – apart from giving extra headroom for internal components – and it does tarnish the look. Much as I like the minimalist design, Leica has put form over function. Only three controls have any markings – the on/off switch, the dioptre correction control and the movie record button. The lack of markings does slow down handling to start with but with familiarity and practice this should not be a long-term issue. The feel of the controls is excellent. Solid, responsive and a pleasure to use. That includes the multiway control joystick placed

Written by Will Cheung

There is no getting away from the fact that the Leica SL is an unexpectedly large camera considering that it is mirrorless. In fact the first thing I did when unpacking the body was to peer inside to confirm the lack of a reflex mirror – there definitely isn’t one, and you get a lovely, slightly scary view of the full-frame 24-megapixel CMOS sensor. There is a built-in cleaning systembut its effectiveness has yet to be confirmed. One good thing is the large sensor and wide lens throat mean that if the sensor needs a clean, it is easy to get at with swabs – if you’re brave enough! Fit the 24-90mm f/2.8-4 zoom and you have a combination that weighs in at 2.02kg, so it’s quite a weight – well into full-frame DSLR territory here. You certainly know it’s around your neck, and hold the camera up to your eye for any reasonable length of time and it’ll give your muscles a good workout.

The SL is a great-looking camera in a chunky, minimalist and, dare I say it, manly sort of way

to the left of the input dial. For navigating and selecting menu items it is very good indeed. Push the shutter button and the exposure is made accompanied by a decisive and very low-pitched shutter sound. If a shutter noise ever sounded like quality, this is it. The large LCD monitor provides an impressively bright image and you have the option of whether you want live view, the EVF or auto switchover between the two when the camera is raised to the eye. Leica makes much of its EVF and it is good and highly detailed. It has a resolution of 4.4 megapixels giving a highly detailed viewing image and that is helped by the big eyepiece. The image is clear but not the brightest I’ve seen. Also, on my sample the image was not totally flicker-free but it wasn’t bad enough to be off-putting. Camera data is aligned across the top and bottom of the image and out of the picture area, in the case of the EVF. There is plenty of information if you want it and there is also the option of image only. The focus zones can be shown or hidden so you have plenty of choice. One anomaly is that the menu is not visible in the EVF so if you are using the EVF only and need a menu item you have to make the monitor active. In this short preview, the camera’s multizone meter and AF system performed very well giving excellent-quality images. The AF system has 49 or 37 zones that you can set for all to be active, in zones

or just the single zone. AF area is moved with the joystick or with the touchscreen and the focus points can be visible or switched off. Exposure mode is changed by pressing in the input dial. This shows the set mode on the top-plate LCD and rotating the dial alters the mode. The same dial is used to alter aperture or shutter speed, depending on which mode you’re using – it’s aperture in manual too. I didn’t have much time with the SL but took enough shots in a variety of lighting and at different ISO settings to know that image quality is excellent. I shot in DNG RawandLarge JPEG, andprocessed files in Lightroom CC. The 24-90mm lens is a corker, too, and no concerns using it at maximum aperture. Just make you sure your handholding skills are up to it – or use a tripod. I did a quick test of the camera’s stabilisation system with shutter speeds down to 1/8sec. The weight of the camera/lens helped and I was getting pin-sharp shots at this speed which I thought impressive. To sum up the preview, I enjoyed my short time with the SL, probably more than I thought when I first clapped eyes on it. I thought it would be too big and clunky, especially with the 24-90mm lens, and the unmarked controls seemed bizarre but the quality of the results and the camera’s overall feel did impress. I’m looking forward to testing it more fully next issue.

Above There is much to enjoy in the Leica SL and it showed itself to be a very capable, consistently good performer. For a mirrorless camera, though, it is big and heavy – and highly priced, too.

leica.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

News

Scenic splendour The results of one of the UK’s most popular competitions, the Landscape Photographer of the Year, have been unveiled

CBREwinner announced This year’s CBRE Urban Photographer of the year contest (featured in issue 20 of PN ) attracted over 21,000 entries from 113 countries. The theme of this year’s contest was Cities at Work, and the contest was open to amateur and professional photographers. This year’s contest was also the first to feature a category for images shot on mobile imaging devices. The overall winner of the contest was judged to be Oscar Rialubin from the Philippines for his image Xyclops. Oscar wins a luxury trip to the destination of his choice. “To be named as the CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year is a great accolade,” says Oscar. “I have been passionate about street photography for a number of years and I knew my shot of a watch repairman in the middle of his work fitted the brief fantastically. The urban environment is a fascinating subject as it is one of constant change and activity; capturing that one perfect moment is a great feeling.”

cbreupoty.com

The Landscape Photographer of the Year is one of the country’s most popular imaging contests and this year’s winner of the £10,000 prize is Andy Farrar. Founder of the awards and leading landscape photographer Charlie Waite said: “Andy’s winning photograph of this beautiful area of Dorset’s Jurassic coast is a gentle image with a simple, effective composition that reflects the mood of a cold, winter’s morning. It is believable and appealing, with the snow adding an interesting dimension to a classic scene.” Andy was understandably delighted. “When Charlie called I must admit that I was a bit bewildered and didn’t really dare allow myself to think that this was the fabled ‘Charlie phone call’,” Andy says. “I thought I was hearing things when he said I was the

overall winner, and I’m not sure that I was terribly coherent after that point.” You can enjoy all the winning entries for yourself on the Balcony at London’sWaterloo station. Photographs will be in display stands but pictures will also make an appearance on Motion@Waterloo, a 40m wide LCD screen that spans platforms seven to 11. The exhibition opens on 23 November and closes 7 February. Admission is free. The winning and commended images can also be enjoyed in the accompanying book, Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 9 , published by AA Publishing and out now.

take-a-view.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

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Images in the Lakes

Newbooks

MasteringPortrait Photography

Travelling Light is an exhibition of 30 pictures by leading landscape photographer Steve Gosling. It is being held at the Friends Gallery, Theatre by the Lake in Keswick, Cumbria. It opens 28 November and closes 20 January 2016. Entrance is free and the show will be open 9.30am to 5pm on non- performance days and from 9am on performance days. Contact the theatre on 017687 74411 for specific opening times. Steve is hosting a talk associated with the exhibition on 5 December at the same venue. Tickets cost £4 and can be obtained from the theatre’s box office using the phone number above. You can read more from Steve about the exhibition and his approach to landscape photography later in this issue.

By Paul Wilkinson & Sarah Plater, it is out now and is available at £19.99 (softback). Paul and Sarah are professional photographers and this book is full of practical advice illustrated by a wide selection of their lovely images. Shooting by natural light, with flash, posing and what kit to use are just some of the many areas discussed in the book. Next issue, we’ve a home studio feature featuring advice and images from Paul and

Sarah, so don’t miss it. ammonitepress.com

stevegoslingphotography. co.uk

Olympus’s Annual Student Photography

©EmilyAnderson

WildWorld Published by Lonely Planet, it costs £29.99 (hardback). It features a collection of 198 full-page pictures curated by Lonely Planet experts and features some the world’s wildest areas. Perhaps not quite so wild, five areas of the UK are featured, too. It is the ideal book for armchair travellers as well as those more adventurous souls looking for new places to explore with their camera. lonelyplanet.com

Anyone who is in full- or part-time education and 16 years or older is eligible to enter this contest, and any brand of equipment can be used to take the entries. Entry is free and there is also no limit to the number of entries you can submit. The theme of the competition is Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle and the overall prize is an Olympus OM-D E-M1. Second prize is an

Olympus PEN E-PL7 and third place scoops a Stylus TG-860 Tough compact camera. The judges for this contest are Olympus ambassadors Jay McLaughlin, RClevelandAaron and Nicholas Goodden. Entries for the contest closes 8 January 2016.

blog.exhibtr.com

©PeterBobby

In Place of Architecture is an exhibition featuring the work of 13 contemporary photographers. The exhibited images explore the role that photography and film play in our interpretation, perception and understanding of the architectural environment. It is on now and hangs until 11 December and you can see it at Nottingham Trent University’s Bonington building, Shakespeare Street in Nottingham city centre. Entry is free. Building blocks

Books for Christmas Hoxton Mini Press has a range of photography books featuring subjects from around East London, but the great thing is that their appeal is far wider than the featured area. Check out the website for full details. hoxtonminipress.com

boningtongallery.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Tell us your club’s latest news, email: clubnews@photography-news.co.uk

Clubs

Camera club news If your club has any news that you want to share with the rest of the world, this is the page for it. Your story might be about your club’s success in a contest, or a member’s personal achievement; it could be about a group outing you had recently or when the annual exhibition is on show. Any news is eligible for inclusion, so club publicity officers please take note of the submission guidelines and get your stories in

How to submit

Deadline for the next issue: 8December 2015

We need words and pictures by 8 December for the next issue of Photography News , which will be available from 15 December. Write your story in a Word document (400 words maximum). Please include contact details of the club, exhibition or event – website, meeting times, opening times, whatever is relevant. Images should be JPEGs, 2000 pixels on the longest dimension, any colour space, and image credits should be included. If the story is an exhibition or event, please send a picture from the exhibition (not the publicity poster) or

one from the event. If it includes people please identify them. Attach the Word document and JPEGs to an email and send to clubnews@photography-news.co.uk.

Swannell visits Cheltenham Join Cheltenham Camera Club for an insight into the career of John Swannell

News in brief

Earl Shilton’s newhome Earl Shilton Camera Club has moved to a new venue. It now meets at The Earl Shilton Constitutional Club for its regular Wednesday evening meetings, and the club hopes to host some exciting competitions and other events in the new facilities. earlshiltoncameraclub.org. uk

Portrait and fashion photographer, John Swannell started out at Vogue and assisted David Bailey before going it alone. He’s since established a glittering career, photographing the good and the great – some of those photographs he’ll be showing at Cheltenham Camera Club on Thursday 26 November. He’ll also be regaling members and visitors

with some of the stories behind his shots and give an insight into his approach to portraiture. Tickets for the event at the Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham are available from the Town Hall and the club’s website. The evening begins at 7.30pm.

Above Farnborough member John Childs with Photo-Cirkel members.

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Farnborough Camera Club members, John Childs and Ken Whalley visited Photo-Cirkel inOberursel, Germany last month. The two towns are twinned and the camera clubs have forged strong links with each other. This year, Photo-Cirkel invited Farnborough CC to enter photos in their autumn exhibition. John and Ken attended the exhibition, which attracted many visitors. The pair spent a week with Photo-Cirkel members, visiting and photographing the local area. Photo-Cirkel also submitted entries to Farnborough CC’s Set Subject competition, which was won by Jill Williams.

Are you our Camera Club of the Year? It’s that time of the year again – no, not Christmas! Time to enter your club into our Camera Club of the Year competition is what we mean. Turn to page 19 for all the details. absolutephoto.com PhotographyNews issue 27 Issue 27 of PN will be out in time for Christmas. It’s being distributed from 19 December – perfect for a bit of holiday reading. name the top gear as we’re launching the PN Awards. And you could win a case of wine if you take the trouble to tell us which kit you think deserves an award. Find out more on page 39. absolutephoto.com Kempsey Camera Club If you’re in the Worcester, Pershore and Tewkesbury area, Kempsey Camera Club could be your club. Established in 1989, it meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at Kempsey’s Community Centre. kempseycameraclub.co.uk What’s the best kit? Now is your chance to

farnboroughcameraclub.org

Perfect score

Since getting the season underway, the Potters Bar & District Photographic Society has enjoyed a presentation of images that have been taken by its members in the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain as well as an internal club competition. The internal competition was on the theme of A Rainy Day and from all the entries, one was awarded the perfect score of 20. That image was Rainy Day Stork by Fiona Patterson, who, on finding out her score, was “surprised that the judge thought my image worthy of such a good score – it almost made getting soaked worthwhile!”

Above Memories by Jenny Clark was one of the eight images that secured a win for Tonbridge Camera Club in this year’s Ross Cup. The club last won the Cup in 2011, and this year’s win marks their 20th success in the competition. Established in 1951, the Ross Cup is run by the Kent County Photographic Association and this year was hosted by Eastbourne Photographic Society.

pottersbarphotosoc.org.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

16 Interview

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Pro focus Science lessons In this exclusive extract from Professional Photo magazine, find out why a trip to Bradford’s National Media Museum will help you brush up your science and history knowledge We don’t often think of science and photography together, but maybe we should. Trace photography back to its earliest roots and you find scientists like Henri Becquerel creating photographs of radioactivity and inventors like William Henry Fox Talbot working with solar microscopes. The pioneers of early photography were scientists, and it’s the connection between them and today’s art photographers that Revelations: Experiments in Photography demonstrates. The exhibition at the National Media Museum grew out of a three-year dialogue between Dr Ben Burbridge, from the University of Sussex and GregHobson, theMuseum’s curator of photography. Their shared interest in the relationship between contemporary art and early scientific photography underpins this fascinating display. Ben explains that the premise behind the exhibition was specific: “To show the capacity of photography to go beyond the naked eye, to lend visibility to phenomena that would ordinarily remain invisible.” Take for example Andrew Ainslie Common’s Orion Nebula image. Before such images were captured we didn’t knowwhat space looked like. “It demonstrates beautifully howwenegotiate and thinkaboutwhatweknowabout theworld through its photographic representation,” says Greg. “When we think about what the universe looks like we think about what we see in images. Photography gives something an appearance.” And such images are still being captured; in the exhibition, Trevor Paglen’s 2010 shot of a distant military drone follows on from Ainslie Common’s Orion image from 1883. This “making the invisible visible” weaves through all the images in the show, like Ori Gersht’s modern explosions, which slow down time to capture motion, just as Eadweard Muybridge and Harold Edgerton did in the 1880s and 1950s respectively. Given the wonderful archive of early photography at the Museum, this could have simply been a display of fascinating early science images, but Ben and Greg wanted to “make a unique contribution”. The contrasts and comparisons between the historical and contemporary images offer insights into photography and our perception of it. Many of the older images are fromtheMuseum’s own archive, but the contemporary shots had tobe sourced, some fromprivate collections. Deciding what to include was no mean feat. Ben explains that “among our criteria for selecting the contemporary work were its links with early science – we wanted them to be

Many of the older images are from the Museum’s own archive

saying something specific – and its connections with the early scientific photography.” They were also at pains to ensure that the hanging was structured and thought out. “When we started out there wasn’t such a clear chronology, we were mixing contemporary with historical, but that was felt to be a bit too obvious,” says Greg. “Which is why we started to look at a chronology.” “It’s a more meaningful way to tell a historical story,” says Ben. “Cultural and social change come through with this hanging.” For example, the first X-rays in the 19th century were groundbreaking, now they’re commonplace. Our reactions to photography now are different from those of our predecessors, and photographers aren’t scientists, but the medium still offers sight of things the eye can’t see. Which is why a trip to Bradford should be in your sights. Revelations: Experiments in Photography is at the National Media Museum, Bradford, from 20 November 2015 until 3 February 2016. nationalmediamuseum.org.uk Above X-ray of Angelfish and Surgeon fish, 1896 by Eduard Valenta and Josef Maria Eder. Above right Proboscis of the Hummingbird Hawk Moth, 1928 by Carl Strüwe. Belowright Blow Up, Untitled 1, 2007 by Ori Gersht

You’ll findmore insight in the latest Professional Photo – the onlymag dedicated to full-time and aspiring pro photographers

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

Camera Club of the Year 2015-16 Glory and great prizes from Canon await the camera club who wins this year’s challenge. It’s easy to enter so what are you waiting for?

How to enter

First, your club’s competition secretary (or whoever is going to enter each month) must sign up at absolutephoto.com . Next, click on Members’ Area in the menu bar, then choose Camera Club of the Year 2015-16 from the drop-down list. Simply register your camera club and follow the upload instructions.

Welcome to the launch of this year’s search for the UK’s most talented camera club. Last year, with more than 50 clubs fighting it out, Amersham Photographic Society emerged victorious winning by a single point. It was a close run thing so well done to Amersham PS. In association with Canon, this year’s Camera Club of the Year competition promises to be bigger and better than ever. After feedback from last year, the contest’s process is changing.

To start, register your club on absolutephoto.com. Next, click on Member’s Area in the menu bar and choose Camera Club of Year 2015-16 from the drop-down list. Follow the instructions to upload images. Each month we’ll set a subject theme and we want to see five images from five different club members on that theme. Any club or group is eligible to enter so long as there are at least five members and that includes online groups and internal company clubs.

After the closing date each month, the images will be judged by the experts at Photography News and the top scoring club from that month will qualify for the grand final andwin a Canon PIXMAPRO- 100S A3+ printer worth £499.99. Once a club has qualified for the grand final they needn’t enter again – they can if they want but they are not eligible for the monthly prize. Clubs can enter at any point even at the fifth and final round. After the five monthly rounds, we’ll have

five grand finalists and they will be asked to submit a further selection of pictures and it is from these images that the overall winning club will be decided. The themes for the final judging will be made known to the finalists at the same time after the five rounds. The overall winners earn the accolade of the Photography News Camera Club of the Year 2015-16 and a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000, a professional, 12-ink A2 printer worth £1199.99.

Canon EOS 5DS

The Camera Club of the Year wins… … a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000. This brand-new professional quality A2 printer is worth £1199.99. It uses a 12-colour Lucia PRO inkset that includes four blacks for excellent monochrome output. On appropriate media, Lucia PRO inks have impressive lightfast qualities. … an exclusive day with renowned professional landscape and travel photographer David Noton, enjoying a workshop and an illustrated talk.

The game-changing Canon EOS 5DS boasts 50.6-megapixels, the highest resolution available on any 35mm camera. The EOS 5DS R has the same features list as the 5DS but uses a low-pass cancellation filter that gives even more detailed pictures. The incredible resolution is only one

exciting aspect of this highly featured camera. Its AF system employs 61 points that can be used together or grouped into movable zones for off-centre shooting. Exposure is deadly accurate thanks to the 150k RGB+IR metering sensor and there is a full range of exposure modes available. Add weather sealing, dual memory slots, Full HD movies, a programmable interval timer and much more, and you have an amazing DSLR that can deliver the most critical image quality.

Overall winner prize: CANON imagePROGRAF PRO-1000

Specs

Street price

Metering system 150k pixel RGB+IR sensor. Evaluative, partial, centre-weight and spot metering patterns Exposuremodes PASM ISO range 100-6400, with expansion to 50 and 12,800

Shutter range 30secs to 1/8000sec, B Continuous shooting Up to 5fps Monitor 3.2in LCD, Clear View II TFT, 1040k dots Dimensions (wxhxd) 152x116.4x76.4mm Weight 845g body only

Overall winner prize: DAVID NOTON exclusive day

£2999

Resolution 50.6 megapixels Sensor

24x36mm CMOS with Dual DIGIC processor Autofocus system TTL-CT SIR with dedicated CMOS sensor. 61-point AF system that works down to -2EV

Monthlywinners

The five monthly winners each get a Canon PIXMA PRO-100S worth £499.99. This is a professional quality A3+ printer, featuring an eight colour inkset with excellent lightfast qualities.

Its built-in Wi-Fi capabilities means wireless connection is possible so prints can be made from tablets and phones as well as the computer. canon.co.uk

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

20 Camera Club of the Year IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

Low light presents all sorts of technical

challenges to the keen

photographer but conquer those and great pictures are there to be had

Below Interiors can be very contrasty so metering needs to be done with care. Here a tripod was used. Bottom Entries for this theme can include low-light shots taken in markets and interiors.

Round 1: low light To kick off this year’s camera Club of the Year contest we want to see five stunning low-light pictures

Above While night photography is best done with a tripod, using a high ISOmeans that the camera can be handheld for low-light street shooting.

Low light presents all sorts of technical challenges to the keen photographer, but conquer those and great pictures are there to be had. We want to see pictures that show creative and skilful use of low light and how the photographers recognised the potential of the moment, overcame any problems and produced awesome images. Camera shake and/or subject movement are obvious issues when light levels drop and the slower shutter speeds that come with such situations require careful management. It might mean using the camera’s image stabilisation system to help get sharper pictures. Canon’s Image Stabilisation (IS) system is a brilliant innovation and features on many of its EF lenses giving a benefit of several f/stops. A 3EV benefit means that if you can take sharp pictures at 1/60sec, using IS means it is possible to shoot at a shutter speed three f/

stops slower and get equally sharp shots, ie. 1/8sec in this example. While IS is no substitute for a tripod, it does have a massive benefit to handheld shooting. Of course, once you really start to explore the potential of subjects like light trails, a tripod has no peer. Dealing with camera shake is all well and good, but if the subject is moving – or perhaps you are – no IS systemwill cope so here is where you can take control of the camera’s ISO setting. Modern cameras are amazingly good at the high ISO settings, with ISO 1600, 3200 and even 6400 capable of low noise performance and good enough for exhibition quality images. Go beyond these high ISO settings and there is the inevitable compromise with image quality, but with cameras such as the Canon EOS-1D X with ISO 51,200 and the option of expansion to ISO 204,800, low light should no longer hold any fear for photographers.

Left The great ISO performance of modern cameras means shooting in the poorest light is possible.

Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com

Camera Club of the Year IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

Masterclass: Low light David Noton Canon ambassador and landscape shooter David Noton dishes out advice to help you and your club take home the top prize. For his first masterclass, we turn the lights down low

David’s kit for low light

Canon EOS-1DX The low-light capabilities of this pro DSLR are formidable. Generally speaking cameras with high pixel

densities are less capable at high ISOs than ones with big sensors with fewer pixels.

Canon EF 85mmf/1.2L If you’re into travel portraiture in dark huts or markets (as I am!) this lens is the tool for you. The combination of the fast f/1.2 maximum aperture with a camera like the EOS-1D X enables me to shoot hand-held in the darkest alleyway.

Gitzo 3542 Shooting under the night sky requires a good stable tripod you can trust;

compromising on your legs is always a bad move.

With his camera in hand, David Noton has travelled the world to find and capture some of the most breathtaking views. From the Yorkshire Dales to the French Pyrenees to Nepal, David’s photo albums make for envy-inducing viewing. He started off capturing on film and one of the great liberations he’s found with shooting digital is the ability to take his camera into the darkest corners or out into the starry night and come back with pictures that are astonishing and worth every bit as much as those taken in daylight. “When I’m travelling now, I know I can walk into the dingiest dwelling in Burma lit only by candlelight and still be able to make worthwhile pictures of the inhabitants,” says David, speaking of the benefits of working with his Canon kit. And your kit is everything when it comes to making low-light photos shine. “To make an image in low light, we either need a long exposure with the camera locked off on a tripod or a camera capable of super high ISO setting, sometimes, as is the case with night sky photography, both.”

sensor comes a tripod and a torch. “Fast lenses with wide maximum apertures are also handy, enabling evocative portraits for example to be made in the dimmest of light,” he says. “My EF 85mm f/1.2L and EF 35mm f/1.4L are particularly useful in this regard.” One late night shoot in Argentina at Iguassu Falls particularly stands out in his mind as one of the most memorable experiences shooting in the dark. “I was on the lip of the gorge with my heart in my mouth and the water roaring all around me in the darkness all night until dawn,” he recalls. “It was a truly awe-inspiring experience. I’ll never forget that night as long as I live.” Youdon’t have to travel far though to capture something amazing after hours, the key is just getting out there and having a go. “I’d urge readers to experiment and push the boundaries using the evocative low light to be found in the shadows of life, under twilight and at night for landscapes, cityscapes, wildlife, even portraits.”

Taking pictures in low light is not an easy task, but the results aremore than worth putting in the time and effort to achieve. “Making pictures in total darkness takes considerable planning, meticulous preparation and skilled camera craft, but that’s all part of the fun,” he explains. Knowing your equipment inside out is one of the most crucial factors in getting low-light photography right, something that’s come naturally to David with his Canon EOS-1DX and EOS 5DMark II, both of which he praises for achieving “amazing image quality” even at sky high ISO settings. “I often use an ISO setting as high as 12,800 to capture a night sky,” he begins. “When I consider that I used to think of ISO 400 as high, that’s pretty incredible. Of course the downside to high ISO settings is noise, that gritty grainy look which can spoil a picture, but then again if it’s the price of capturing an image or not, I’d always opt for raising the ISO and going for it.” For his must-have kit list on a darkened shooting trip, after a camera with a super-sensitive

A practical and inspirational guide from behind the lens of an internationally recognised landscape and travel photographer, Photography in the Raw examines the fundamentals of how to improve as a photographer; how to read the light, be in the right place at the right time and make the most of a situation to produce the best picture possible. Photography in the Rawby David Noton

Head torch It goes without saying, setting a shot up in the pitch black is not easy so a torch is a must. I keep mine permanently in my camera bag.

Above left A lady, Inle Lake, Myanmar, Burma. Canon EOS-1D X and 85mm f/1.2L, 1/640sec at f/1.2, ISO 800. Above right The Milky Way over the Sierra Nevada from Hanging Rock, Sequoia National Park, California, USA. Canon EOS- 1D X and 14mm f/2.8L, 20secs at f/4, ISO 12,800.

davidnoton.com

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