Camera的November - December 2014目录

If you add up all the pre-releases and deluge of new products from Leica on the first day, this year’s Photokina should have been as exciting as any other, yet the ‘fizz’ was definitely absent. It could be something to do with the flat-lining of camera sales right now which goes well beyond the impact of the smartphone because it’s not just the point-and-shoot sector that’s suffering. In fact, the P&S camera is now pretty well extinct, but everybody is working hard to generate some excitement in the other categories… especially the high-end compacts with fixed lenses and the mirrorless models. Ricoh is even having a go at jazzing up the D-SLR with the LED-festooned Pentax K-S1. Still, Photokina 2014 didn’t feel like a party. OK, so nobody puts on…

Canon’s EOS 7D Mark II has been much anticipated and was unveiled on Photokina’s press day so it qualifies as a show launch rather than a pre-announcement. It borrows from both the EOS 5D Mark III and the EOS-1DX to create a highly-specced APS-C’ format D-SLR. As expected, it employs Canon’s ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF’ technology, but has a different sensor to the 70D even though the effective resolution is still 20.2 megapixels (slightly up from the 7D’s 18 MP). The native sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 16,000 and can be expanded up to ISO 51,200. The dual pixel arrangement allows for faster and more accurate AF operation with both live view and video. The EOS 7D II gets a next-gen ‘DiG!C 6’ processor (two of them,…

Even before it revealed the K-S1, Pentax had been doing its bit to inject some excitement into the D-SLR market most notably with the huge choice of colour combinations that are available for models like the K-50 (last year’s winner in this category). Beyond the basic fare of black or red or maybe blue that’s usually on offer with an entry-level D-SLR, Pentax offers a veritable palette of colours… how about a yellow body with a pink handgrip? A bit too much? Perhaps try a gold body with an aqua handgrip or, maybe, a mint body with a yellow grip? You can, of course, opt for a more harmonious combination, but the bottom line is that the whole exercise of selecting a colour scheme is a lot of fun and,…

Olympus has been pursuing the idea of a ‘digital OM’ ever since the scaled-down E-400/410 D-SLR, but it’s only with its development of mirrorless designs that it’s been able to get close to achieving the goal.The OM-D system is aptly-named, but ironically it’s neither the flagship E-M1 nor the midrange E-M5 which really capture the true spirit of the original cameras, but rather the entry-level E-M10. Here really is the digital re-incarnation of the OM-1 with all its petite prettiness and effortless effectiveness. In many ways, the E-M10 is the camera of 2014… one of those rare occasions where all the design stars precisely align – style, features, functionality, performance and affordability – to create a masterpiece. Of course, the E-M1 is better equipped and the E-M5 is pretty well…

It’s good news for all of us that the emphasis in fixed-lens compact cameras has switched to higher-end models because now there’s a growing choice of extremely capable pocket rockets. But if we didn’t already know it, recent newcomers such as Panasonic’s LX100 and Fujifilm’s X30, confirm that an essential feature is a built-in viewfinder… or, at the very least, the provision to fit one. Panasonic has also added an EVF to its latest ‘Travel Zoom’ model, theTZ60. Even the best monitor screens are inadequate in bright conditions and, of course, we’re talking about cameras that are designed to be much more than point-and-shooters. Nikon obviously got the message because after the Coolpix P7700 appeared sans viewfinder – following the P7600 which had an optical one – it was superseded…

2014 FUJIFILM SHOWCASE GRAND PRIZE WINNER ! Congratulations to all those entrants who made it into print this year, especially the round winners who all exhibited a good eye combined with great techniques. But the judges were unanimous and the Winner of the 2014 Fujifilm Showcase is Greg Hanlon with his image called The Herengracht Sleeps. It was taken in Amsterdam and combines a well-balanced composition with a ten-second exposure time to create a very atmospheric mood. Greg used a Nikon D800E fitted with Sigma’s ‘Art’ line 35mm f1.4 fast prime lens. Well done, Greg. Once again, many thanks to Fujifilm Australia for its long-term and ongoing support of the Showcase competition. ENTRY GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL IMAGES You can enter digital images into the Fujifilm Showcase and files can be…

Tell us how you did it! When you enter the Fujifilm Showcase competition, remember to explain any tips and techniques you used to achieve the result. Also, let us know the type of camera and film. Please return entries. Self-addressed postage and packaging is included. I do not want my entries returned. Should you be successful, please nominate your prize preference (tick the appropriate box) Preferred memory card format: SecureDigital Film Post your entry to: Fujifilm Showcase, Camera Magazine, Locked Bag 5555, St Leonards, NSW 1590…

Like the EOS 7D Mark II, Nikon’s D750 has been a long time in the making, but it’s further contributing to what’s been a stellar year for Nikon D-SLRs (and it ain’t over yet). As a replacement for the venerable D700, it slots between the D610 and the D810 in the company’s expanding line up of full-35mm D-SLRs. The D750 has the same 24.3 megapixels (effective) sensor as the D610, but uses the later-generation ‘Ex-peed 4’ processor and has features such as a tilt-adjustable LCD monitor screen which is a first for a Nikon ‘FX’ format D-SLR, as is its built-in WiFi module. It gets the 91,000 pixels RGB metering and 51-point autofocusing from the D810 (albeit with the AF system actually updated), but has a slightly faster continuous focusing…

With the low end of the compact camera market on its last legs, attention has turned to higher-spec models, the sector Canon pioneered with its first PowerShot G Series model. Canon is calling them “high performance large sensor compact cameras”. The new – and very compact – Power-Shot G7X combines a ‘1.0-type’ BSI-CMOS sensor with a fast f1.8-2.8 zoom equivalent to 24-100mm in focal range. This lens incorporates an optical image stabiliser and an ND filter. The sensor has an imaging area of 13.2x8.8 mm and an effective pixel count of 20.2 million. The G7X has a flip-up LCD monitor screen with touch controls and a resolution of 1.04 megadots. However, unlike a few of its likely competitors, it doesn’t have a built-in EVF. Other features include WiFi (with NFC),…

Compared to the hoopla that surrounded the launch of the controversial Lunar system at Photokina 2012, Hasselblad had a much quieter show this year. And with the chief architect of the tie-up with Sony (which has so far yielded Lunar, Stellar and HV) now departed, there’s a noticeable return to the marque’s traditional products. This started with the CFV-50c CMOS-based digital back for the classic V System camera bodies (i.e. 500 and 2000 series) and continues with the H5X which allows for either film magazines or digital capture backs to be fitted… and this includes the backs from other manufacturers. Apparently there was an H4X, but we’re not sure anybody actually knew about it while the H5X incorporates all the latest-generation upgrades introduced in the H5D series, including the improved…

In addition to the new Loxia Series primes introduced for Sony’s FE mount cameras, Zeiss also introduced a new ultra-fast Otus Series model and a new M mount lens.The Loxia models – a 35mm f2.0 and a 50mm f2.0 – feature similar external designs which, like the Otus lenses, are more contemporary looking, but manual focusing and a traditional aperture collar are retained. Both are comparatively compact designs – being just over 65 mm in length – and have a ‘DeClick’ feature which allows the aperture rings to be operated continuously when shooting video. The new Otus Series lens is an 85mm f1.4 which is similarly styled to the existing 55mm f1.4 model. According to Zeiss, “The optical correction of the Otus 1.4/85 completely eliminates almost all possible forms of…

If the D-SLR is a dying breed then somebody has obviously forgotten to tell Nikon, which over the last year, has been launching new models at the rate of about one every two months. Consequently, it has two finalists in both this category and that for pro-level D-SLRs which, as far as we can tell, is a first in the 33 years of these awards. Mind you, even if the shortlist was ten times as long, it still would have taken something pretty amazing to beat the Nikon D810. Nikon set the bar high with its predecessors and, since nobody else has subsequently managed to vault it, decided to ramp it up a few notches anyway. At first glance, the D810 doesn’t look to be such a significant advance over…

Perhaps there was a similar reaction when Leica unveiled its very first 35mm camera back in 1925, but in recent times there has been nothing to quite match the response to its model T. The German marque’s first foray into mirrorless camera designs took everybody by surprise… firstly because it wasn’t a reprise of any classic design and, secondly, because instead, Leica embraced a contemporary design more comprehensively than any other manufacturer in this category. There is nothing of Leica’s past in the T beyond its precision engineering and pristine finish. It is unashamedly and wholeheartly of the here-and-now; a thoroughly modern interpretation of the mirrorless camera brief that has virtually no traditional design elements at all. For example, the way Leica has thrown itself into an exclusively touchscreen interface…

The term “game changer” is bandied around a little too much in relation to many new cameras, but as far as the Panasonic GH4 is concerned, it’s pretty well on the money. Firstly, Panasonic’s mirrorless flagship is invading territory that was once the exclusive domain of D-SLRs, offering a more compact (but no less capable) alternative to the models popular with video makers. Secondly, it’s mounting an attack on the camcorder market by adopting all the video-related features that are standard on pro-level or semi-pro models, but haven’t been found on the still camera platforms to date. Thirdly, it’s the first non-camcorder (or dedicated video camera) to offer 4K resolution video recording. While it’s early days for 4K video, it already looks very much like it’s destined to a lot…

TTL exposure control has always represented the great divide between on-camera flash units and off-camera systems. The on-camera flash units have it, but even the most powerful is still a wimp compared to even the least powerful studio flash monobloc. Yes, multiple flashes in wireless TTL set-ups help provide more grunt, but there’s still the issue of the smallish light sources and, frankly, juggling a brace of speedlights is less convenient in practice than it always seems in theory. So, the monobloc has the power and the capacity to accept light shapers, but exposure control is back in the Dark Ages with flash meters or possibly just trial-and-error. So a flash monobloc with wireless TTL flash control is the answer to all our prayers and Profoto has obliged with the…

In 1798 Matthew Flinders and George Bass spent 16 days exploring the Tamar River and, just six years later, a settlement at Outer Cove, called George Town, had been established. In search of a better source of fresh water, the settlers soon moved across the river to York Cove and finally, in 1805, a permanent settlement was established at Launceston, originally named Patersonia in honour of Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson, the founder and first commander of the town. The Tamar River is Australia’s longest navigable tidal river and there are dozens of interesting towns and many beautiful natural attractions throughout the Tamar Valley on both sides of the river. Using Launceston as your base, a one hour drive will have you taking images of stunning beaches, wildlife in Narawntapu National…

While it was gratifying to be spot-on with quite a few of our predictions for new product announcements at this year’s Photokina, we were wrong about one thing… hardly any of them were announced at the show itself. No sooner had we gone to press with our September/October issue than the flood gates opened – Fujifilm X30 and X100T, Nikon D750, Canon EOS 7D Mark II, Sigma dp1 quattro and more. Only Leica actually waited until the show opened and then rewarded us with – as we had predicted – a CMOS-equipped version of its S medium D-SLR and a production version of the (very) limited edition M-A… it’s been a long time since there was a new film camera announced at a Photokina. But Leica didn’t stop there… there…

After using the last couple of Photokinas as the launch pad for significant new product launches, this year Fujifilm joined the rush of pre-show announcements and unveiled – in quick succession – the X30, the X100T and a ‘Graphite Silver’ version of the X-T1 plus two new X-mount lenses. The X30 is the third generation version of Fujifilm’s fixed-lens X Series compact camera and it retains the 12 megapixels ‘X-Trans II’ CMOS sensor and 28-112mm f2.0-2.8 zoom (35mm equivalent) of its predecessor, but has a larger 7.62 cm monitor screen adjustable for tilt, a fully electronic OLED-type viewfinder with 2.36 megadots resolution, and a new control collar around the lens. This can be set to make a variety of adjustments, including apertures or shutter speeds, ISO settings, white balance settings…

After all the effort that went into its 100th anniversary celebrations and the opening of its new factory in Wetzlar back in May, Leica could have been forgiven for taking things easy at Photokina. Instead it launched the most extensive range of new products we’ve ever seen from the famous ‘red dot’ marque. Count ’em… S (Typ 007), S-E (Typ 006), M-A (Typ 127), X (Typ 113), X-E (Typ 102), D-Lux (Typ 109), V-Lux (Typ 114), M Edition 60, a new range of Summarit-M lenses (35mm, 50mm, 75mm and 90mm), a 100mm f2.0 lens for the S System and the two additional lenses for the T System (11-23mm and 55-135mm) that were promised back at the camera’s launch. OK, so let’s sort out this little lot. Firstly, Leica has dropped…

Olympus is actually calling this a “relaunch” of the hot-selling OM-D flagship so a new body colour, silver, is only part of the story. Additional features – which will also be in the black versions from now on – include a capacity for tethered shooting (Mac and Windows), digital perspective control (a.k.a. ‘Keystone Compensation’), a ‘Live Composite’ for building up long exposures from multiple frames, and two new Art Filter’ effects called Partial Colour and Vintage (plus a new Art Effect called Shade). All this is embodied in firmware upgrade Version 2.0 which will be available for updating the existing black E-M1 bodies. Along with the silver E-M1 comes the second M.Zuiko PRO lens which is a constant aperture f2.8 40-150mm telezoom. This focal length is equivalent to 80-300mm on…

Panasonic continues to exhibit an uncanny knack of understanding the photography market, as evidenced by its two main announcements at Photokina 2014; the Lumix GM5 and the LX100. The GM5 takes everything that’s good about the pocket-sized GM1 and adds an EVF (capable of reproducing 100 percent of the Adobe RGB colour space) and a hotshoe (plus a bundled compact flash unit) to give it more enthusiast-level appeal. The GM5 has a 16 MP (effective) sensor with a maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600 and it can motor along at up to 5.8 fps… all this in something that snuggles in the palm of your hand. It’s priced at $1099 with a sub-compact 12-32mm zoom (24-64mm equivalent). Arguably more interesting though, is the LX100 which is a fixed lens compact with…

We probably shouldn’t be surprised that Fujifilm has produced a string of great cameras over the last few years such as the X100, X-Pro1 and X-E2. It’s done it in the past, but back then really didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Even when it was working with somebody else’s D-SLR platform, Fujifilm still came up with winners such as the S5 Pro which was a big hit with pros and enthusiasts alike. The X-T1 is designed to be the S5’s successor – in the same way as Olympus’s OM-D E-M1 has taken over from the E-5 – so it provides all the capabilities of a D-SLR combined with the advantages of a mirrorless design… most notably that it’s a lot smaller.The X-Pro1 has already made a few converts to…

With the days of big leaps in inkjet printing technology now well and truly over, it’s the little steps that make the difference now… and perhaps not just one, but a collection of them. And this is what makes Epson Expression Photo XP-950 multi-function photo printer a winner this year. There’s no ‘big bang’, but the XP-950 brings together a lot of capabilities and it executes all of them well. Firstly, it’s an A3 photo printer – borderless if you want – printing at 5760x1440 dpi using Epson’s ‘Variable Sized Droplet Technology’ (with a minimum droplet size of 1.5 picolitres) to optimise image quality. It uses Epson’s Claria Photo HD inkset with six colours (available in standard or high capacity cartridges) and, for A3 printing, supports Epson’s premium photo papers…

Most professional photographers are no harder on their cameras than amateurs, but they’re using them a lot more frequently so longer-term wear and tear can be an issue. And if you’re regularly shooting sports or news stories then you’re going to have to work in whatever conditions exist… you can’t decide to stay at home because it’s raining. Consequently, professional-level cameras are built to levels of toughness which generally aren’t required by amateur photographers, even adventurous ones. Even cameras that are considered semi-professional aren’t in the same league when it comes to the durability of the construction which is one reason why there’s a significant price difference. Well-built though it still is, Nikon’s D810, for example, couldn’t take nearly the same punishment as the D4S… and nor is it designed…

If you aren’t earning good money from your photography, moving up to a digital medium format system is generally pretty hard to justify. For a fraction of the cost, you could buy a D-SLR with a full-35mm size sensor (plus a kit of lenses) and you’d certainly have a better-featured camera plus, in many cases, probably all the imaging performance you’re likely to need. But what if you could have a medium format D-SLR that was just as well equipped as one of the best ‘small format’ D-SLRs on the market, but offered all the benefits of having a sensor that’s around 1.7x times larger than a full-35mm imager (and in the order of 2.5x larger than APS-C’)? Pentax’s original 645D started to make more sense as a digital medium…

I It’s likely that the wish lists of many photographers look a lot like the Lumix LX100. For starters it’s a compact camera with a big sensor. Tick. It’s fitted with a high-performance and fast zoom lens. Tick. It’s classically styled. Tick. It has a built-in viewfinder. Big tick. And it doesn’t cost a lot more than a comparable D-SLR. Tick. The LX100 wasn’t the only high-end fixed-lens compact camera at Photokina, but it was the one that attracted the most attention even over Fujifilm’s latest version of the hugely popular X100. Put simply, Panasonic has got the recipe right. The Four Thirds sensor is a good balance between size and performance so the LX100 is compact, but not too compact even with a zoom lens. Sony’s RX1, with its…