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Tokina supports Fujifilm-X Leading independent lens brand Tokina has announced two great-value, fast aperture primes for Fujifilm X Series cameras

HAPPY 2021 AND good riddance to 2020 – fingers crossed this year will be kinder to us all. For millions of people, 2020 was a complete write-off and the repercussions of the pandemic will be with us for some while yet, but let’s park all that depressing stuff for now and look forward to what awaits you and your camera. So, in terms of your photography, what are your ambitions for 2021? Traditionally, the new year is a time for planning ahead and booking trips, shoots and maybe thinking of new kit, as well as pushing back creative horizons. My usual thing at the start of a new year is to make a few resolutions only for most of them to get broken a short while later. The thing is, I have been on the earth long enough to know that new year’s resolutions are a total waste of time, yet I persist. Why? Well, for me a resolution is the start of a plan and I have had several great ideas for photo projects come to me because I resolved to do something or other. My self-set project on the London Docklands Light Railway came about just because I resolved to get out of the house every Saturday, rather than spend the day in front of the horse racing on TV or editing pictures. Yes, I know it’s sad that I had to almost force myself out of the house, but the end result was exploring a part of London I knew little about, and I’ve got a whole bunch of decent pictures. By the way, I was going to wind the DLR project up last year on the simple premise that I was getting bored, so the enforced break might have helped and I might find my ‘seeing’ has been revitalised in the time away fromworking on it. We’ll see, so finishing that project is on my to-do list. Top of my to-do list, however, is to use the movie features of my cameras and actually create a few videos for my website and perhaps to use in my camera club talks. I create in stills and that’s how I see the world, so I figured it is perhaps about time I explored moving pictures. I already have the editing software, so all I have to do now is do some filming and put it together in an entertaining fashion with some appropriately moody music. Say it quickly and it sounds really easy, but of course it isn’t. I mean,

EDITOR’S LETTER WILLCHEUNG

for instance, what do I film in the first place? The other day I watched an incredible, simply jaw-dropping video of mountain biker hurtling down the side of a mountain. It was brilliant and you’ve probably seen similar examples. Thing is, I don’t do adventure sports of any sort and I don’t know anybody who does, and besides, there aren’t any mountains in Cambridgeshire. So at least to get me going I’ll probably start by joining the millions of people who are into vlogging and just video myself doing something. Then there are all the technical and hardware issues to sort. What resolution, frame rate, compression rate and file type to use? For lighting stills I have flashguns, but they are no use for video. And what about sound? Because on-board microphones aren’t great. There’s a buyers’ guide to essential vlogging kit in this issue, which helped me, so should help you, too. Then there’s how to shoot. I’m used to capturing a moment in time, not a series of events that come together in editing to make something enjoyable to watch. You probably know all this stuff, which is probably why you haven’t touched the camera’s video record button either, but I think there is every reason to mesh the two mediums together and enjoy them both. Many of you will be on this particular journey already, so have been through these early learning stages, but it’s new to me – and exciting, too, so let’s see how long this resolution lasts. If you have any thoughts on all this, please email me or use podcast@photographynews.co.uk and we can feature your hints and tips on The Photography News Podcast, which is now fortnightly. Well, I’m off to video my walk to Morrisons! Ridley Scott, eat your heart out! See you next month.

to A and the f/stop can be adjusted from the camera body. The atx-m 23mm f/1.4 X has a construction of 11 elements in ten groups, with two super-low dispersion (SD) lenses used to minimise aberrations and help maximise edge-to-edge sharpness, even at the wider lens apertures. Other key features are a 52mm filter thread, 30cm minimum focus and multi-coating, and it weighs 276g. The atx-m 33mm f/1.4 X boasts a similar feature set, with the same focus motor, filter size and aperture ring. The optical make-up is slightly different, with ten elements in nine groups with two SD lenses, and the minimum focus is 40cm. 13 Photography News Awards 2020 Your last chance to vote for the year’s best imaging kit 18 Make the Switch Mary Matthews tells us why she’s so happy having moved to Fujifilm 23 Superzoom lenses Is one lens for every occasion and subject a reality? Well, definitely maybe 26 Filters buyers’ guide Make the most of scenes with the help of camera filters. Here’s a few names to check out

Japanese lens brand Tokina has an extensive selection of high-quality lenses for full-frame and APS-C format cameras, but its new atx-m 23mm f/1.4 X and atx-m 33mm f/1.4 X are its first offerings for Fujifilm X Series cameras. Both are compact and lightweight, so are ideal as take-everywhere lenses and feature a fast and responsive ST-M AF motor that meshes fully with the camera it is fitted to, so you can use face detect and other advanced focusing features. That applies to image stabilisation, too, with Fujifilm cameras that have IBIS. Lens aperture can be controlled in 0.3EV steps using the lens ring, but set this

The 23mm f/1.4 and 33mm f/1.4 lenses are in store now priced at £449.99 and £399.99 respectively. It looks like Tokina is going to have a busy 2021 too, with its roadmap showing some exciting products due. For Fujifilm X and Sony APS-C E-mount, there’s a 56mm f/1.4 short telephoto. And for full-frame Sony E-mount, a 35mm f/1.8 E and 50mm f/1.8 E are on the way. tokinalens.co.uk

3 News Catch up with all the new year’s breaking news from the world of photography 6 Word search Your chance to win a Samsung 256GB microSD card 8 Software update Want to tweak your images? Read our round-up from the world of editing software 9 Club news What’s happening in the world of camera clubs

29 Vlogging buyers’ guide Get geared up and join the millions who are into vlogging 30 Big test: Fujifilm X-S10 Fujifilm’s latest camera launch targets non-Fujifilm users – and very impressive it is, too 35 First tests l Think Tank Essentials Convertible Rolling Backpack l K&F TC2535 tripod l Laowa 11mm f/4.5 FF RL lens l Benro Rhino 34C+VX30 tripod

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