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Photography News | Issue 50 | photographynews.co.uk
Manfrotto Nitrotech fluid head Tripod heads are like lenses; they all have a different specialism. And there’s your ready-made excuse for buying this beauty, Manfrotto’s Nitrotech N8. It’s a fluid head, meaning that it lets you move your camera with perfect smoothness and precision, vital for video work, but also very handy for action and wildlife photography. The N8 uses a nitrogen pistonmechanism,whichenablesvariable but perfectly stable, judder-free control of cameras up to 8kg. It uses a quick release plate and side-lock mechanism for quick and safe camera attachment, and mounts to legs, sliders, cranes and so on using a 3/8in thread. £449 manfrotto.co.uk
Novo CBH-40 ball head Many tripods come with a basic ball head included, but upgrade to a pro- standard model, like Novo’s CBH-40 and you’ll soon feel the difference. Made from lightweight, aviation-grade aluminium, the head has a distinctive two-tone black and silver finish and the anodised 40mm ball gives very smooth control without judder or sticking. Position is controlled using a large anatomical lock knob with tension control and there’s a smooth, independent turn with graticule markings for shooting panoramas. The head uses an Arca-Swiss compatible quick release plate with safety lock and will take a load of up to 15kg. There’s a five year warranty, too. £84.90 novo-photo.com
Serif Affinity Photo for iPad If you have a recent iPad model and want to take your photo editing on the move with you, Serif’s Affinity Photo of iPad should be on your Christmaslist.Theappiscompatible with iPad Air 2, iPad 2017, iPad Pro 9.7in, 10.5in and 12.9in devices, and delivers professional-level editing tools, just like the desktop version. There’s Raw processing, non-
destructive adjustments like levels and curves, all of which are shown in real time; andyou canuse layers, accurate selection tools, and effects like blurring, liquefying, tilt-shift filters and more. There’s even HDR tonemapping and focus stacking, making a highly versatile app for photographers. £19.99 affinity.serif.com
Rotatrim Professional M24 If you make prints at home, you’ll know the need
ThinkTank StreetWalker Pro V2.0 ThinkTank’s StreetWalker series is the choice of many professionals and has recently been updated to V2.0. The Pro version (there’s also a smaller Basic and larger Harddrive model), has external dimensions of 25x47x21cm, and a single, large internal compartment of 24x44x19cm, allowing you to fit two large DSLRs with a grip and telephoto lenses attached. There’s lots of other storage, including a padded pocket for a 10in tablet, and the main flap has inner and outer pockets: the outer of which is pleated to allow thicker items. A tripod canbemounted to themain flap, too and the bagweighs only 1.5kg empty. £194.99 thinktankphoto.com for a good quality trimmer; investing in a good one will provide a lifetime of service and perfectly crisp results. Rotatrim’s Professional M24 is an exceptional product, using high-quality materials and precision-engineered components, meticulously hand assembled by skilled technicians in England. Its Sheffield Steel self- sharpening blades cut up to 610mm (24in) A2 landscape papers in size and slice through thicknesses up to 3mm, while its twin guide rails to deliver a smooth action. Metal end frames, head, and a solid laminate gridded baseboard with aluminium side rule give an assured feeling of quality. £224.99 rotatrim.com
Voigtlander VCMeter II light meter If you use a rangefinder or older unmetered camera, or you simply want the most accurate light reading you can get, and therefore better exposures, Voigtlander’s VC Meter II is here to help. Being small and light (42g and 42.5x37x19.5mm in size), it’s designed to fit onto the camera’s hotshoe, and features a series of separate LEDs for ISO, aperture, and shutter speed, which illuminatewhen the correctmeasurements have been achieved. Readings are taken using a 30º angle of view and it uses two LR44 or SR44 batteries. Available in black and silver finishes, it’ll look great on your Leica (hint, hint). £229 voigtlaender.com
BenQ SW271 4Kmonitor Processing is a huge part of photography these days, and if yourscreenisn’tuptoscratchit could be spoiling your editing, both in quality and enjoyment. If you’re after a new monitor, take a look at BenQ’s brilliant SW271. At 27in in size, there’s plenty of real estate for panels and windows, and the 4K UHD 3840x2160 resolution gives a wonderfully detailed look, with superb clarity and texture. The 16:9 format IPS panel also provides wonderfully true-to-life colour with 99% Adobe RGB, 100% sRGB color space coverage as well as supporting HDR content. £1050 xpdistribution.com
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