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Profoto’s can-size beauty
Light specialist’s range of battery-powered flash units has gained a new baby
Analog Efex and Color Efex are getting serious revamps The Nik Collection 5 of stand-alone apps or plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom is popular and powerful. Analog Efex and Color Efex are improved this time, bringing them in line with Silver Efex and Viveza, the two most recently updated. User interfaces were rebuilt from scratch and there’s smarter U Point technology. Color Efex has ClearView, which improves image clarity with a slider control. There’s the potential of 29 new film grain effects, for photographers wanting to impart a true cinematic look to their creations. Nik Collection for Windows and Mac is available at £135. Owners of Collection 4 can upgrade for £69. nikcollection.dxo.com More from Nik Internally, construction includes two large aspherical and five FLD elements, to reduce weight and suppress chromatic aberration. Advanced optical correction gives excellent image quality for a lens of such small stature. It’s selling at £749, in L-Mount and Sony E-mount. sigma-imaging-uk.com Sigma’s 16-28mm f/2.8 DG DN is a full-frame, constant aperture zoom in popular wide-angle focal lengths, and a delightful form. It weighs 450g and measures a little over 100mm in length, with internal zooming that stays consistent. It’s an ideal walkabout lens. The latest lens offering brings uncompromising performance in a compact form – at a great price Sigma goes walkabout
The Profoto A2 is a 100Ws flash unit, fully compatible with the brand’s Clic light modifiers and A-series accessories, including remotes, apps, batteries and chargers. Add the Clic OCF Adapter II and more than 120 light-shaping tools are available. A big selling point is its form. The A2 is super-compact, about the size of a drinks can, weighing just 770g with battery and stand adapter. It’s Profoto’s smallest monolight, so ideal for location shooting. The Forza 150B is a potent LED light May the Forza be with you Ideal as a main or fill light, the Nanlite Forza 150B is a powerful and mobile bi-colour LED. This weighs in at only 1.56kg, giving 23,130 lux output at 1m and 5600K. There are 15 integral effects including police car and disco, and its adjustable colour temperature range is 2700 to 6500K. The light can be mains- or battery-powered via V-Mount – and onboard Wi-Fi/Bluetooth mean it’s wirelessly controllable. The Forza 150B is available from August at £560. nanlite.co.uk
Its 100Ws output is 5800K and controllable over 10EV, from 0.1 to full power. Recycling is 0.1 to 1.6secs, and TTL and HSS modes are available with a remote control. The A2 has a continuous light source, 2.1W max power and 3500K colour temperature. A charged battery can give up to 400 full-power flashes and a flat battery takes two hours to recharge. The Profoto A2 is available to order now at £849. profoto.com/uk
New in the bag world A fresh range of bags and accessories designed by photographer Peter McKinnon is available in the UK. It includes the McKinnon Camera Backpack 25L that retails at £289.99. This can adapt to suit a full location shoot, or for use as a daysack with its adjustable ladder system and accessories such as extra cubes and dividers. gomatic.co.uk
Sony’s wide threesome A trio of Sony wides promise peak portability, flawless bokeh, stability for dynamic movies and stills. The E 11mm f/1.8, E 15mm f/1.4 G and E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G are priced at £500, £750 and £750, respectively, available in-store now. The E 11mm f/1.8 assures outstanding corner-to-corner resolution, with an aspherical element carefully positioned to compensate for distortion and deliver excellent resolution, even at maximum aperture. Its large f/1.8 maximum aperture makes it easy to get deep background bokeh, blurring it for a backdrop when vlogging, or beautiful for ultra-wide night-time scenes. This aperture is also impressive in a compact lens. It weighs 181g and is only 66mm in diameter and 57.5mm in length. Next up is the E 15mm f/1.4 G, a compact APS-C format lens that brings gorgeous bokeh and vast creative potential. Distortion is
controlled via three aspherical elements and minimum focusing distance is 17cm, giving a maximum magnification of 0.15x. Finally, the E PZ 10-20mm f/4 G is a constant maximum aperture powerzoom with fast AF. It is lightweight, too, knocking 20% off the weight of its predecessor – and is the smallest in its class at just 178g. What’s more, the optic uses internal zoom and focus mechanisms, ensuring that the length remains constant when zooming or focusing. sony.co.uk
Issue 100 | Photography News 7
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