Table of contents for March/ April 2021 in Camera

FIRST STAGED IN 1950 – when Germany was at the centre of the camera industry – the Photokina trade exhibition has been officially put on hold “until further notice” and, consequently, is unlikely to be held again, at least not at its traditional location in Cologne. The event’s organiser – Köln Messe – says that the “massive” decline in the market for imaging products has made staging Photokina unviable. “Unfortunately, at present the framework conditions in the industry do not provide a viable basis for the leading international trade fair for photography, video and imaging,” states the organisation. “This hard cut after a 70-year shared history was very difficult for us. The trend in this industry, with which we have always had a close and trusting partnership, is very painful…

A VOTE OF confidence in photo retailing, CameraPro has opened a new camera store in Sydney which, it says, is a direct result of a Covid-related expansion of its business. The store is located in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, and conveniently right on the light-rail stop at the corner of Crown and Devonshire Streets. Founded in 2007 in Queensland, CameraPro is a leading, independent photographic retailer and caters for both professionals and enthusiasts, selling a high-end range of photography and video products both in-store and online. Over the years, CameraPro has become known as the go-to destination in Queensland for photographers and creatives, “For a number of years our business in NSW via the web has continued to grow and now makes up for a sizeable share of…

“We are all about the management of motion,” says Anthony Gordon of his film production company, which is prepared to take on any challenge anywhere in the pursuit of a compelling story. Filmmaker Anthony Gordon was in a remote part of South Australia when Camera caught up with him. He was there to document the recovery of Hayabusa 2, a Japanese satellite that successfully landed on an asteroid, scooped up some dust and returned to Earth, dropping into the Woomera Prohibited Area about 500 kilometres northwest of Adelaide. It’s not an everyday assignment and Anthony is there because of his vast experience filming from helicopters, not to mention his vast experience shooting documentaries and commercials in all sorts of challenging locations. For a man on a very particular mission, he’s…

Format: Full frame (i.e. 35mm format) digital sensors. Angle-of-View: 4.1 degrees (diagonal on 35mm). Construction: 10 elements/7 groups. Minimum Focus: 4.5 metres. Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:7.1. Aperture Range: Fixed at f/11. Overall Length: 199.5mm retracted, 269.5mm extended. Maximum Diameter: 93.0mm. Filter Diameter: 82mm. Weight: 930 grams. Lens Mount(s): Canon RF. Features: Multi-function lens control ring (aperture, shutter speed, ISO or exposure compensation), one Diffractive Optics element (DO - gapless dual-layered diffractive optics), Stepping Motor (STM) autofocus drive with Dual Pixel CMOS AF II support, optical image stabilisation (with ‘Dual Sensing IS’, three modes and up to five stops of correction, six stops with EOS R5/R6 camera bodies), focus limiter switch (full/12 metres to infinity), built-in tripod mounting foot. Compatible with RF Extenders 1.4x and 2.0x. Price: $1,399, average estimated street…

Sony has gone for solid specs and functionality with the A7S III rather than bling, essentially with the objective of making it as good as is possible for 4K UHD and Full HD recording, which is still the real world for the vast majority of videographers. So, at the top of a long list of frame rates and codec options is 4K UHD recording internally at 100/120p with audio and 10-bit 4:2:2 colour, giving a bit rate of 280 Mbps… and still retaining full autofocusing capabilities. Plus the clip length limit is 20 minutes, which is undoubtedly longer than anybody is going to need for these sorts of clips. There’s a small crop of 1.1x at 120fps which is for slow-mo effects anyway, but at 50/60p the full pixel read-out…

While the transition from film to digital was a major upheaval for the photo industry, it was arguably the demise of the compact camera that had the biggest economic impact. Many of these cameras may have been cheap and cheerful, but they sold in vast numbers and all the major manufacturers promoted extensive ranges of models. Compared to the compact camera business, the SLR was small fry, but the revenue generated by the sales of point-and-shoots financed the development of higher-end products, many of which would not have been financially viable otherwise. At the height of the 35mm compact camera’s popularity – spanning from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s – the choice of models available at any one time would easily have been a couple of hundred with prices…

FUJIFILM CONTINUES TO fine-tune its X-mount camera lineup, and the X-E series has been given a reset with the much more compact X-E4. The X-E cameras have rangefinder-like styling, but the X-E4 is actually closer to the X-A series in size while still having a built-in EVF and tilt-adjustable LCD monitor. Just 32.7mm in thickness (without a lens) and weighing 364g, the X-E4 is slim enough to be easily carried in a jacket pocket. The X-E4 also steps up to the current-generation 26.1 megapixels X-Trans CMOS 4 BSI sensor and the X Processor 4 engine. With the newer sensor, the X-E4 inherits a 425-point hybrid phase/contrast- detection autofocusing system that gives virtually full-frame coverage and is sensitive down to EV -7.0 (albeit with the super-fast 50mm f/1.0 prime lens only).…

MAKING THE MOST of what can be achieved in designing lenses for mirrorless cameras, Sigma has introduced a new line of compact premium primes in the Sony FE mount and the L mount (which it shares with Leica and Panasonic). Designated the I series, there are three new lenses joining an existing model, the 45mm f/2.8 DG DN, that now becomes an I series lens. All four are part of Sigma’s Contemporary line – one of the three ‘Global Vision’ classifications that the lens maker uses to primarily signify the application (the other two are Art and Sports). The three new I series lenses are a 24mm f/3.5 DG DN, a 35mm f/2.0 DG DN and a 65mm f/2.0 DG DN. All three have all-metal barrel constructions with weather sealing,…

What’s going on here then? It’s a Fujifilm X-mount camera, Jim, but not as we know it. Initially, the X-S10 looks a bit like the answer to a question that’s nobody asked. Fujifilm says it essentially represents a new category of X-mount camera with a key objective, apparently, to make it more approachable for the users of Canon and Nikon APS-C format DSLRs – essentially all that’s left now – who are ready to go mirrorless. Of course, just about everybody is chasing this market – Canon and Nikon included – with an emphasis on selling them up to the bigger full-frame sensor. Nevertheless, the X-S10 is still a very curious mix of the high-end and the low-end. In essence, it’s a lot of the X-T4 repackaged in an X-T30…

Fritz Victor Hasselblad was born in the Swedish port city of Gothenburg (Göteborg) on 8 March, 1906. The Hasselblad family were successful merchants who, since 1841, had mostly specialised in textiles and clothing, but in 1885, branched out into the fledgling medium of photography. In 1888, F.W. Hasselblad & Co became the exclusive Swedish distributor of Eastman Kodak products. A couple of years after Victor was born, in 1908, the family company established a new division called Hasselblads Fotografiska AB – Hasselblad Photographic Limited – which created a chain of retail outlets and photo processing facilities all over Sweden. Not surprisingly, the young Victor developed a keen interest in photography from an early age, along with a great enthusiasm for anything to do with nature, but in particular birds. These…

WINNER Sometimes distilling an image down to the simplest of elements will actually make it much stronger. Here the soft tones of the predawn light and softer rendition of the waves creates a very atmospheric study. Colin Haigh was the man behind the camera, which was a Fujifilm X-H1 fitted with the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4.0 R LM OIS zoom lens. FUJIFILM SHOWCASE 2021 The 2021 Fujifilm Showcase runs until 31 August 2021. You can enter the Fujifilm Showcase as many times as you like during the year, submitting up to four photographs each time. Entries received after this date will be automatically entered in the 2022 competition. Please make sure you provide all the necessary camera and film/capture details on the entry coupon (which can be copied if you don’t…

ESSENTIALLY A REPLACEMENT for the original 24MP Leica SL, the new SL2-S shares the same more compact body as the existing SL2, but has an all-new 24MP sensor and significantly enhanced video capabilities. The SL2-S joins a growing line-up of L-mount full-frame mirrorless camera bodies which includes four from Panasonic and one from Sigma. The body construction is the same as that of the SL2 with the top and bottom plates machined from blocks of aluminium, and weather protection to IP54 standards for sealing against the intrusion of moisture and dust. It’s also insulated to enable shooting in subzero temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius. The main differences externally are a nameplate picked out in gloss black rather than white, and the inclusion of a small sensor that measure exposures…

Due to the social distancing requirements demanded by the on-going COVID-19 pandemic, galleries, many exhibition spaces and museums are only allowing limited admission or are open for shorter times, depending on the local situation. However, many are still staging online events or virtual tours. Check with the individual venues for which exhibitions are open for physical visits and any changes to normal opening hours. Current to 25 April: Exhibition. Photos 1440, press photography from the last decade by the photographers of The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. At the Exhibition Galleries in the State Library of NSW, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000. Exhibition hours 10.00am to 5.00pm daily (but 10.00am to 8.00pm on Wednesday and Thursday until 21 March). Entry is free of charge. For more information call (02) 9273 1414…

THE LATEST ADDITION to Leica’s Classics range of M-mount lenses is a reprise of one of its most famous. The new Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH is a re-issue of the original Noctilux-M 50mm f1/1.2, which was made between 1966 and 1975, and was the world’s first interchangeable camera lens to employ aspherical elements. And, of course, at that time, aspherical elements had to be cut and then polished by hand, a process that took in the order of 40 hours. In fact, this is the way Leica still makes its aspherical lens elements. Essentially replicating the original optical design, the new Noctilux-M 50mm f/1.2 ASPH is available in two versions. Before the introduction of the original Noctilux in 1966, silver was the customary colour for M mount lenses - with…

The Picture It can be quite a challenge to achieve effective images from deliberate camera movement. Many photographers like to try their hand, if only as a mild diversion from main pursuits. In fact, the practice now has a name - ICM or ‘intentional camera movements’. This particular study was taken in the Weddin Mountains National Park, not far from Grenfell in central-west New South Wales. There is actually nothing new about this technique… in fact, photographers were making these impressions well before 1900 by kicking their tripods during long exposures. The Photographer Trevern Dawes has the rare distinction of being a contributor to the very first issue of this magazine when it was launched back in June 1979. He is still as passionate about photography now as he was…

Fujifilm clearly also has videomakers in its sight as potential users of the X-S10 which offers plenty to keep them happy. In essence, it’s same suite of capabilities as the X-T30, but with extras such as proper 3.5mm stereo audio input and a supplied dongle to convert the USB-C port into a 3.5mm stereo audio output. More importantly perhaps, is the in-body image stabilisation that can be supplemented with electronic stabilisation which shifts the image on the sensor (resulting in a small 1.1x crop). Again, it’s the value proposition that’s likely to win buyers over more than anything else, although many here will also like the less idiosyncratic control arrangement. The X-S10 shoots 4K video in the cinematic 17:9 aspect ratio with the Cinema 4K resolution of 4096x2160 pixels (4K…

Supertelephoto primes have always been specialty lenses. Unless you were regularly shooting sports or wildlife, it was virtually impossible to justify the cost. Of course, a smaller sensor size makes it easier to get to the supertelephoto focal lengths – essentially anything longer than 300mm – but even these lenses can still be quite expensive, especially the faster primes. As with 35mm film, supertelephotos for full frame sensors are big, heavy and very expensive regardless of whether the camera body is a DSLR or mirrorless. How expensive? Well, Sony’s 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS for the FE mount will set you back just under $20,000 and the FE 600mm f/4.0 GM OSS is yours for $22,000. Nikon will happily sell you the F mount AF-S 600mm f/4.0G ED VR for somewhere…

Among the various incentives for ditching the long- serving reflex configuration for interchangeable lens cameras is what can be achieved with lens designs once the mirror box is out of the way. The shorter flange distance – or back focus distance – makes it easier to achieve more uniform centre-to-corner sharpness and consequently there is more flexibility with what lens designers can do with an optical construction, including making them more compact. When Canon first launched its RF mount full-frame mirrorless system, there were a couple of early lenses that looked like its optical engineers had missed that memo… the RF 28-70mm f/2.0L USM zoom for one which, at the time, we described as “truly massive, but magnificent”. Since then Canon has really started to exploit all the potential of…

What exactly is a hybrid mirrorless camera? You’d think it was a model that appeals equally to photographers and video-makers by virtue of its feature set and performance with both of these applications. Strictly speaking then, by this definition, only a small number of models would qualify as truly hybrid, as most are more photographic in design and a few are more video-orientated, the most notable of the latter being Panasonic’s Lumix S1H and GH5/ GH5S, and Sony’s A7S line. In reality though, really every mirrorless camera is a highly capable stills camera and it’s essentially just the video functionality that varies. So while the latest-generation A7S III is designed to wow video-makers with its massive suite of pro-level features and specifications, it also offers plenty of attractions for still…

www.teds.com.au THIS CHECKLIST is designed to allow direct comparisons between different camera models, listed here in price order within each brand. The published prices are mostly supplied by the distributors as recommended retail prices (RRPs). However, some distributors are no longer supplying RRPs to the media so it has become necessary to determine an ‘estimated street price’ derived from the range of prices for a model published by retailers. Where this has been necessary, the letter ‘E’ appears at the start of the entry. A dot appearing in a column indicates that the feature is available on the camera model listed. Where a specification or product detail hasn’t yet been published or confirmed, the letters TBA (to be announced) or TBC (to be confirmed) are used. If a feature is…