Photography News issue 28

Photography News Issue 28 absolutephoto.com

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News

Compacts fromCanon New models for the respected PowerShot bridge and IXUS compact ranges

News in brief

Sony in action The HDR-AS50 is Sony’s latest action camera. With a resolution of 11.1 megapixels from its back-illuminated CMOS sensor and a 3x Zeiss Tessar zoom, this action cam can shoot high-quality stills and video. The guide price is £170 and it will be available from February. sony.co.uk

Canon has introduced two compact bridge cameras, the PowerShot SX540HS and PowerShot SX420 IS, selling at £299.99 and £219.99 respectively. The PowerShot SX540HS has a 20.3-megapixel sensor working in conjunction with a DIGIC 8 processor and has Full HD movie capability. The integral optical zoom has a massive 50x range and an ultra wide-angle lens. With the long lens the Zoom Framing Assist feature will help ensure accurate framing and it includes an image stabilisation mode. The PowerShot SX420 IS has a 20-megapixel sensor and a

DIGIC 4+ processor. The lens is a 40x optical zoom with an ultra- wide lens and it features a host of creative filters including fisheye and miniature effects. As well as the two PowerShot models, three versatile compact models join the IXUS range. The IXUS 175, 180 and 285 HS are priced at £99.99, £129.99 and £169.99 respectively. These three models are all highly specified, pocket-sized cameras and each one features an optical zoom – 8x, 10x and 12x respectively. All five cameras are on sale now.

canon.co.uk

Olympus go long

Olympus’s line-up of pro spec lenses for its Micro Four Thirds systemhas gained a long telephoto, the M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO. This is equivalent to 600mm in the 35mm format with the Micro Four Thirds 2x crop factor. Its guide price is £2199.99. Lens construction comprises 17 elements in ten groups adding up to

a total weight of 1475g which suits handheld shooting; although there is also a tripod adapter if needed. For sharper results its five-axis Sync IS system also claims a benefit of 6EV. Teaming the lens with the latest OM-D models, autofocus is claimed to be accurate, responsive and fast – Olympus states it’ll lock on in just 300ms.

It boasts a robust construction and the body is dust, freeze and splash proof. Minimum focus is 1.4m, which is impressive for such a long lens, and the filter fitting is 77mm. A neat extra function is the L-Fn switch that can be customised to one of 27 different functions.

olympus.co.uk

PermaJet launch Fine Art range

PermaJet its collection of fine art inkjet papers with five new surfaces to join the existing range. New technology allows superior coatings to deliver an even better Dmax rating with the latest inkjet printers. The new papers are Portrait Rag 285gsm and Photo Silk 290gsm in the Smooth Art range, and in the Textured Fine Art series there’s also Museum Heritage 310gsm, Artist Watercolour 250gsm and Gallery Etching 310gsm. The revised Fine Art range is also available in ten-sheet packs, as well the usual larger sheet packages and roll sizes. For full availability details and information about the finishes that remain the same or have now have been withdrawn, please see the PermaJet website. has updated

The papers will be launched at the SWPP Convention, 22-24 January, in London.

permajet.com

Memorymoves fromSamsung

Electronics giant launches new card and portable drives

Samsung’s latest memory card is the PRO Plus 128GB microSD, joining the 32GB and 64GB versions already in the range. Featuring Samsung’s MLC NAND technology, UHS-1 Class 3 and Speed Class 10 support for high- speed recording, this card is ideal for action cameras and drones, as well as for DSLRs shooting 4K video. Shooting 4K UHD video, the card has a recording capacity of close to four hours. The new card has a ten-year limited warranty and features

Samsung’s features, which include protection from X-rays, magnetic fields, water and temperature – it has an operating range of -25°C to 85°C. The price of the new 128GB card is £85.49 without an SD adapter and £85.99 with. Samsung has also announced an addition to its range of solid state drives (SSDs). The Portable SSD T3 drives are compact (smaller than the average business card), palm-sized external units, available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. four-proof

With Samsung’s Vertical NAND and SSD Turbo/Write technologies they give super-fast read/write performance with transfer speeds of up to 450MB/secs. Interface compatibility is USB 2.0 and 3.1. One of the key benefits is durability, as SSDs do not have any moving parts. The T3 drives can withstand up to 1500g of force and a drop from two metres, while an integrated Thermal Guard prevents overheating at high temperatures.

samsung.com

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