Table of contents for February 2025 in Digital Camera Magazine

BONUS SOFTWARE EXTRAS! Turn to page 93 ENTER THIS URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc290 Enter the URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc290 into the destination bar of your internet browser – we’re using Google Chrome, but other browsers work in a similar way. Please do not enter it in any search field or search bar. This will take you to a page on our website. JUST CLICK THE HIGHLIGHTED LINK Click on the link labelled ‘Download the files for Digital Camera 290’ and your download will start, delivered from our own server. Please override any browser warnings about downloading from a non-secure source – our server is safe! ACCESS YOUR FILES Open the. zip In your Downloads folder, or wherever you chose to download your files, double-click the dcm290-files.zip file icon. Then when it expands, double-click Digital…

Cathedrals are different from your local church. They are defined as the seat C of power, or administration, for the Bishop who presides over that particular area. The practical upshot of this is that cathedrals are much larger, more ornate and offer a wealth of photographic opportunities, from architecture to interesting objects. For this project I travelled to Salisbury Cathedral, which is certainly one of the most impressive in the country. There are three main challenges in a scene like this: distortion, low light and overly bright highlights. The first one can only be completely overcome by using a tilt-shift lens to correct the converging verticals and avoid having the building look like it’s falling away. If you lack a tilt-shift, get as far away as possible with an unobstructed…

NEW SERIES! Part 3 in issue 291, on sale 31 Jan We all approach street photography differently, so there really is no right or wrong way. However, your mantra when it comes to settings should be ‘keep it simple’. If you have to start fussing around with exposure modes, aperture, shutter speeds, ISO or any of the multitude of menu settings, there’s a good chance you will miss out on that crucial decisive moment. To achieve this simplicity, you need your walkaround setting: a way of preparing your camera so that all you have to do is hit the button to get the shot you need in 98 per cent of situations. Of course, that may not always be perfect, and you can tweak those settings when the situation requires…

A side from its creative and manual control options, one of the biggest benefits an interchangeable-lens camera system, whether DSLR or mirrorless, is the ability to shoot in raw format. Raw refers to the ‘raw’ data captured by the camera’s sensor, whereas the jpeg format that cameras also commonly use is processed in-camera before you even see it. These jpegs are smaller in file size and look more vibrant than unedited raw files – but raw files, however, offer more latitude at the editing stage because their properties can be modified much more effectively. The popular editing software Lightroom Classic CC is tailor-made for working with raw files – so whether you shoot raw already and would like to improve the results you get or you want to give raw editing…

1 CATALOG PANEL This is where you’ll see all of your imported photos, synced images, Quick Collections and previous imports; it’s a fast way to find photos. 2 IMAGE DISPLAY Here you can change the view mode or use the keyboard shortcuts to change between Grid (G), Loupe (E), Compare (C), Survey (N) or People (O). 3 TOOLBAR The Painter tool allows you to apply metadata and keywords to a batch of images, so you can sync important data between pictures quickly. 4 HISTOGRAM The Histogram is a graph that shows all of the tones present in your image, from deep blacks (left) to pure white on the right, and all of the tones inbetween. Tones bunching up on the left would indicate an underexposed image, while bunching on the…

One of Lightroom Classic’s most-overlooked features is its ability to combine multiple raw files into a single file. This is a fantastic way of creating High Dynamic Range (HDR) images from a bracket of under- and overexposed photos for incredible tonal depth, as well as a series of shots you’ve taken to stitch together a panorama. Merging images used to be a process only Photoshop CC could handle, but it makes sense to do it at the raw editing stage, while you have access to all of that lovely extra exposure information before your photos are exported. 1 Import your sequence Import your HDR or panoramic sequence into Lightroom. A top tip is to take a photo of your hand at the beginning of sequences to bookend them and make it…

Q I’m a Nikon user and want to get a really high-resolution, full-frame mirrorless. My budget is around £1,000 but I don’t see what I want among new models. What’s a good pre-owned option? Guy Edwards A Matthew recommends… the Nikon Z 7 Nikon really hit the mirrorless ground running with the original Z 7. It became an instant classic that ushered in the new era of Z system bodies and lenses. Released (year): 2018 Price new: £2,719/$2,499 ‘Excellent’ £1,099/$1,358 ‘Good’ £949/$1,170 Heralding Nikon’s entry into the full-frame mirrorless camera market, the Z 7 was the first of its kind and was closely followed by the lower‑resolution Z 6. Following in the footsteps of the more conventional D850 DSLR, the Z 7 became an instant hit, for its feature set and handling.…

20% OFF ADVANCE TICKETS! To save on entry go to: www.bit.ly/dcm290_tps and use code DCW25 The Photography & Video Show has a new home for 2025: London’s ExCeL exhibition centre. The 2025 event will run for four days from Saturday 8 March to Tuesday 11 March and opens from 10am to 5pm every day. The Photography & Video Show is a must-attend event for anyone with an interest in photography or filmmaking: the biggest players in the industry show off all their latest kit; there are inspiring talks from famous content creators; and show deals where you can pick up all the gear you need for a knockdown price. Launched in 2014, the show has been hosted at the Birmingham NEC, so this year marks the first time it is…

www.canon.co.uk Let’s jump back in time to 2015. Canon launched the EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM for DSLRs and it became a firm favourite with professional photographers all over the world. There are doubtless many who still use this lens via a mount adapter after swapping to an EOS R system camera, simply because it’s still superb. But now there’s a good reason to trade it in. The new RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM brings a feast of new features and handling exotica while being, somewhat remarkably in this day and age, less expensive to buy in the current market. The new RF lens is also designed for hybrid shooters so, with the current vogue for pro photographers to be able to turn their hand to video as well as stills,…

Apple Intelligence made the headlines at launch, but its features are yet to appear in many territories. What you can enjoy in the here and now are the new camera features bestowed across the four iPhone 16 models. The main changes include the largest displays for the handsets, 6.3in and 6.9in, and a dedicated Camera Control Button, which opens and controls the Camera app. The new Fusion Camera is so called because it offers 2x telephoto functionality, there are new A18/A18 Pro chips and improved battery life. Specifications Apple iPhone 16 Processor: A18 chip, 6-core CPU with 2 performance and 4 efficiency cores, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine Cameras (rear): 26mm Wide f/1.6 (48MP); 13mm Ultra Wide f/2.2 (12MP) Display: 6.1in Super Retina XDR Display, 2,556 x 1,179px resolution at…

The digital advantage Digital magazines can travel with you – even if you delete them, they are free to download again later. Subscribers can now access issues of Digital Camera going back to 2009 (iOS) or 2012 (Pocketmags). To subscribe today, go to: www.magazinesdirect.com/categories/photography-and‑design Available on Available on the following: Apple iOS devices Get the free Digital Camera app for your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch at: www.bit.ly/app_DCM (UK) or www.bit.ly/app_DCW (outside UK) Then browse through our back issues or buy a subscription (see page 42 for offers) using the app. Android, PC or Mac Zinio www.bit.ly/DCW_Zinio Pocket Mags www.pocketmags.com Other options Digital Camera is available for Kobo, Kindle, Nook and more (see above). It can also be found on the all-you-can-read Readly magazine app: https://gb.readly.com/ Printed back issues Prefer…

Specialising in shooting sport and fitness, and as passionate about photography as he is about sport, Clarke can draw on over two decades of experience in the sporting world. www.justjamesmedia.com Question: what do you get if you have a sports player posing for a stylised portrait photo? A ‘sportrait’, that’s what. It’s not a Camera Towers, so we were surprised and delighted to discover that a practitioner of sportraits was based within 100 miles of us – and not on the other side of the pond. James Clarke is a big fan of American sport and sporting culture and has imported ‘sportraiture’, for want of a better word, to the UK. He has also given it his own twist, eschewing the studio shoot approach of the US variant and opting…

1 “You need to use a camera that performs well at high shutter speeds. You don’t need to adjust the ISO because you can just adjust flash power, so keep the ISO low and the shutter speed fast.” 2 “Know the sports you’re photographing. Knowing the lingo and certain positions will help you create a better relationship with the subject or model in front of you.” 3 “The photographers who inspire me get into each team or individual’s story. One works with Navy football in the US, and all his shoots take place on aircraft carriers or submarines, so for this style you don’t have to be based in a studio.” 4 “You don’t need an expensive lighting setup – you can shoot sportraits with one speedlight and a diffuser – but it needs…

Ice skating for fun takes place all year round – but in the depths of winter, outdoor spaces join in with custom rinks. Whether you’re inside or out, try your hand at capturing the movement and colour of people skating by combining the exposure with flash. Ideally you’ll need a flashgun, but a pop-up flash can do a good enough job if the subjects are close by. The idea is to use the camera settings to record the ambient light, then move the camera during the exposure to blur the background a little, using the flash to freeze the skaters in position. This should result in some light trails behind them, too. Flash technique Set the camera’s flash mode to second-curtain, slow-sync; it will fire at the end of the…

Natural light makes for a great source for still-life photos such as food, but you need to remember that the quality of light changes throughout the day. If you photograph under an overcast sky, in the morning or in the afternoon, the light creates soft shadows and reflections, which is ideal for food photography. However, the midday sun, even through a thin layer of cloud, tends to create more harsh effects. That’s not great for food photography, as the deep shadows and harsh spotlights will make the dishes look unappealing. 1 Set the location Build the set close to a window and avoid extraneous light sources. This avoids yellow colour casts and benefits from soft light, reflections and shadows. If needed, use a reflector or white card to brighten up…

Make the most of wintery conditions by combining wildlife with snowfall. Wendy Evans packs her thermals While the obvious thing to do when it snows is to head for the hills and mountains, consider an alternative, which is to photograph the wildlife that doesn’t shut up shop for the winter. One such creature is the fox, which can be found roaming the countryside as well as the urban jungle. Foxes don’t hibernate and eschew fruit and berries during winter for more meaty fare, in the shape of mice, rabbits and small birds. As they don’t use a den except for raising young (mating season is January-March, so cubs are born in early spring) foxes will often sleep out in the open, though urban foxes will be more secretive and use…

Lightroom Classic CC has a vast variety of post-processing options. It requires you to import your images before you can start working on them, which can make it a bit overwhelming and harder to use than a program such as Photoshop CC. Once you get the hang of it, though, it can be a brilliant workflow solution. The software is divided up into different modules. The two main areas you’ll be using to edit your images are the Library module, where you sort, organise and import your pictures; and the Develop module, where you carry out your edits. 1 Modules Navigate between the Library, where you import your shots, and Develop, where you edit them. The additional modules here give you access to even more tools. 2 Main image This is where…

Lightroom Classic CC has many tools, features and sliders to help you extract every nugget of exposure information and polish your pixels to perfection in your raw files – but this is a double-edged sword, as it can be a little overwhelming if you’re not familiar with the software. One of the best places to start is to enter the Develop module, then head to the Basic panel on the right side of the interface. This panel allows you to make global settings to the entire image so it’s a good starting point. We’ll explain how to target more specific areas of your photos later on. TOP TIP Clipping warnings Click the highlight or shadow clipping warnings in the Histogram and hold the Alt/Option key while dragging the Exposure slider…

1 Saturation and Vibrance The easiest way to tweak colours in your photos is with the Saturation and Vibrance sliders found in the Basic panel. Saturation will boost all colours equally, while Vibrance will boost the least saturated colours first, so it’s more subtle, and a safer bet for not oversaturating colours. 2 HSL sliders The HSL sliders can be found in the Color Mixer panel. HSL allows you to tweak the Hue (colour), Saturation (depth) and Luminance (brightness) of eight individual colour channels. You could boost the intensity of the reds while muting the blues using the slider for each colour channel. 3 Colour grading The Color Grading panel allows you to apply a bias to specific colours in either the Shadows, Midtones or Highlights. This is handy if you want to…

While it’s not possible to change the focus of an out-of-focus image, pretty much all images can benefit from a little bit of sharpening, which is effectively boosting the contrast of edges in your shots to increase the illusion of sharpness. A slightly blurry image can often be rescued with sharpening, while a pin-sharp shot may require a smaller change to get it looking razor-sharp. Masking can then be used to restrict the sharpening effect to just your subject, rather than risking making noise in the background more prominent. TOP TIP Clarity and Dehaze The Clarity slider is brilliant for boosting contrast, but use it sparingly, as it’s easy to overdo. Dehaze is also great for cutting through mist, fog and haze.…

Unlike with Photoshop CC, you need to import your shots into Lightroom Classic CC to work on them, then export them when you’ve finished editing them. This helps keep all of your edits safe and stored, and makes it ideal for professionals working on large groups of images. Here, we run through the basic export options – but be sure to experiment with the other export options, too. There’s a huge amount of flexibility on offer, including adding a custom watermark, choosing which metadata you want to include and applying some final sharpening. 1 Begin your export Select your finished edits in the Filmstrip, then go to File > Export. In the export dialog box, you can set presets on the left. Find where you want to save your images under…

1 ‘Poppy G’ by Paul Adams “Thorpe Bay seafront at Southend is littered with small fishing boats, so it’s quite hard to get a clean composition. However, I was able to isolate this small boat named ‘Poppy G’. The water acts as a good leading line to the subject.” Instagram: @pauladams1964 Digital Camera says: This colourful little fishing boat is a great example of how you can break some compositional rules to great effect. The reflection and pink tones in the sky add to the scene. 2 ‘Universal Stella Nova’ by Shannon O’Shea “These artisans are hand-placing 144,000 acid-washed tiles to the stunning exterior of the Universal Stella Nova Resort hotel in Orlando, Florida, USA. The tiles were designed by the Universal Creative team and the Universal Stella Nova Resort opened in…

Sony launches A1 II Brand’s new flagship camera retains the 50.1MP full-frame sensor from the original version but a new image processor drives improvements to the autofocus system The A1 II carries much over from its predecessor, including the excellent 50.1MP sensor, while other improvements come from the addition of features that have debuted in other Sony models since the original A1’s launch – in particular last year’s Sony A9 III. The biggest internal change comes with the addition of Sony’s BionzXR processor, with its AI co-processing powers, to add the latest in subject recognition technology. Catching up with the rest of the Sony range, the A1 II can now recognise human poses, heads, faces and eyes, as well as animals and birds (also down to their eyes), insects and…

ENJOY DIGITAL BACK ISSUES DATING FROM 2009!* Read issues 90-289 of Digital Camera on your computer or mobile device when you subscribe! Page 42 *2012 when using Pocketmags iOS users can access our back issues archive dating from 2009 by downloading the Digital Camera app from the Apple App Store (www.bit.ly/app_DCM). Android and desktop computer users can access our back issues archive dating from 2012 by using the Pocketmags app (www.pocketmags.com) or the Pocketmags website. Find out more at: www.magazinesdirect.com/digital-instructions/…

www.fujifilm.eu Specifications Lens mount: Fujifilm X Sensor: 26.1 MP X-Trans CMOS 4 (APS-C) Image processor: X-Processor 5 Autofocus: Intelligent Hybrid AF ISO sensitivity: ISO 160-12800 (exp to 80, 100, 125, 25600 & 51200) Image stabilisation: None Max burst: 5fps manual shutter/30fps (1.25x crop) 20fps (no crop) electronic shutter Video: 6.2K 30p, 4K 60p (1.18x crop), HD 240p, 4:2:2 10-bit, F-Log, F-Log2 Viewfinder: None LCD: 3.0-in 1.04m-dot vari-angle touchscreen Memory cards: 1 x UHS-I SD slot Dimensions: 112 x 67 x 38mm Weight: 355g (incl battery and memory card) When the Fujifilm X-T50 turned out to not quite be the X-T30 II replacement many had expected, some speculated Fujifilm might be turning its attention away from the entry-level camera market and towards more premium models. However, just months later, Fujifilm has…

David duChemin Photographer and adventurer Comedy’s loss was photography’s gain – this month’s interviewee tells us about his career swap and what has inspired his deep thinking about the medium, from page 118 Will Cheung Photographer and writer A fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and the former editor of many photography titles, Cheung is the man behind Camera Clinic, which continues on page 64 James Clarke Sports and fitness photographer Inspired by a distinct style of portraiture born in the USA, American football fan Clarke has imported it and given it his own spin – find out more on page 8 Jon Devo Photographer & writer Our resident tech columnist considers the latest developments in photography and digital imaging. Could 2025 be a pivotal year for camera makers? Page…

“A sportrait is simply a portrait but in sports kit,” explains Clarke. “It can be static, like most of the shots today, or it can be dynamic action – in some of today’s pictures, someone was throwing a ball in the air and someone was diving onto a mat and catching it. “For me, especially the way I want to shoot them, a sportrait is also about showing off people’s hobbies while they’re in sports kit. While that wasn’t what we were doing today, on a previous shoot I’ve photographed someone reading a book with their sports kit on, which captured their personality quite well. “Sportraits are really big in America, obviously, not just at professional level but also in university sports and all the way down to junior level…

Well, that’s Christmas over with – a Bacchanalian orgy of consumption and, of course, whatever pirate-themed film was showing on the TV and streaming services. Well, it was in my household, anyway. But if thoughts of golden treasure and peak Johnny Depp have been distracting you from the cold and rain outside, then why not involve your favourite pastime (not eating – photography, remember?) and have a go at this project? You can either approach it from a still-life perspective, or get close-up and focus on a key element to make it a macro shot. In fact, once you’ve got the scene all set up, why not try both? For the still-life, a candle is an essential component, but that’s really more for effect: reflections, highlights and shadows. Unless you…

The accurate reproduction of colours is crucial in creating a high-quality photograph. Colour casts can be corrected with editing software, but this procedure can be demanding. To avoid this, use the right white balance setting in-camera to start with. It isn’t always easy to know what the colour temperature of a specific setup is, though. If a specific white balance is not used, the camera will use Auto White Balance to try to guess what the conditions are. It can easily be fooled, especially indoors. However, when the white balance is set manually, the camera understands the lighting conditions the photo is being taken under, and responds accordingly. The solution, then, is to generate a custom white balance reading for your interior shot, which you create before starting your interior…

At one time, you would have needed to travel to the A Arctic or far north latitudes to witness the phenomenon known as the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) in the northern hemisphere, or south to the Antarctic to see the Southern Lights (Aurora Australis). The term ‘aurora borealis’ was coined by Galileo in 1619, combining the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn with the Greek god of the cold, north wind. 2024 saw an upsurge in disturbances in the magnetosphere, caused by the solar winds, with spectacular displays far further south than usual. But how do you go about photographing this display of electrical ionisation and excitation? Well, start by finding a dark area that has some foreground interest – a body of water, maybe a derelict building…

OVERALL WINNER & WINNER, WETLANDS: THE BIGGER PICTURE ‘The Swarm of Life’ Shane Gross (Canada) Shane Gross looked under the surface layer of lily pads as a mass of western toad tadpoles swam past. He had been snorkelling in the lake for several hours, through carpets of lily pads. This prevented any disturbance of the fine layers of silt and algae covering the lake bottom, which would have reduced visibility. Western toad tadpoles swim up from the safer depths of the lake, dodging predators and trying to reach the shallows where they can feed. The tadpoles start to become toads between four and 12 weeks after hatching. An estimated 99 per cent will not survive to adulthood. Location: Cedar Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada Technical details: Nikon D500 and Tokina…

Find the raw images on your hard drives you wish to edit 1 Begin importing your raws Open up Lightroom Classic CC and head to the Library module. Go to File > Import Photos and Videos, or click the Import button in the bottom left. 2 Locate your files You’ll now see a Source panel appear on the left which you can use to browse through your hard drives to find the images you wish to work on. 3 Import settings There are Copy, Move, Add or Copy as DNG at the top. On the right, choose handling options and apply settings or metadata while importing.…

1 Exposure In the Develop module, head to the Basic panel on the right of the interface. Raw files contain much more data than jpegs, so you can use the Exposure slider to change the global brightness of your images. 2 Highlights and Whites The Whites slider controls the extreme brightest tones within your images; Highlights targets light tones that sit more towards the midtones, so won’t affect the very brightest parts of your photo. 3 Shadows and Blacks Similar to Highlights and Whites, the Blacks slider controls the darkest tones in your images, while boosting Shadows is better for controlling darker areas in the midtone region and adding a little ‘fill light’.…

Cropping an image can drastically change its look and feel, and is an increasinlgy powerful option given the super-high-resolution sensors in modern digital cameras, which make it much easier to significantly crop in. In fact, a crop is so powerful that it warrants its own Crop Tool (R), found in the Toolbox in the Develop module. Here, you can press X to switch between landscape and portrait orientations or choose a specific aspect ratio to crop to. Drag the corners of the crop bounding box to recrop your image. The Straighten Tool allows you to draw over the horizon in your image, to make sure it’s perfectly straight.…

Noise is the grainy artifacting you’ll see when you boost the ISO of your camera too high, and is particularly evident in shadows. It also becomes more prominent if the raw file is underexposed to begin with, and you try to bump up Exposure at the editing stage. New cameras are getting really good at producing clean files at higher ISO values, and having a camera with a larger sensor such as full-frame or even medium-format should provide increasingly cleaner results. If your images do have a little noise present, here’s how to clean it up… 1 Soften luminance noise Luminance noise is the gritty grain effect. While it can look filmic, you may not want to include it – in which case, soften the image by going to Detail >…

1 Sharpen your shot Most images benefit from a bit of sharpening. Raw files will have the Sharpening Amount set to +40 by default. You can boost this if needed, and tweak the Radius and Detail to refine the sharpening effect too. 2 Apply a mask Use a mask so that only in-focus areas are sharpened – sharpening a background that’s supposed to be blurry just adds noise. Hold Alt as you drag the Masking slider, and you’ll see sharpened areas in white. 3 Sharpen specific areas To sharpen a specific object in your photo, go to the Masking Tool and use your preferred selection tool to select your focal point, then use the sharpening options in the Detail panel on the right to make them pop.…

An imaging journalist and freelance photographer based in London, Cheung has a wealth of experience over several decades. www.williamcheung.co.uk This month: Architecture Challenge your camera skills by tackling buildings, structures and skylines Architecture is a huge subject in photography. Whether you enjoy tall, shiny buildings or something more classical, there’s something for you. Not only is there plenty of choice with subject matter, but there’s also the chance to express yourself creatively in a distinctive style. Better still, you don’t need specialist equipment. While it is true that professional architecture shooters will use perspective-control (PC) lenses to enable verticals to be recorded correctly, as an enthusiast creator, you don’t need such specialist and often expensive optics. However, if you do get bitten by the building bug and a PC lens…

WIN! DJI NEO FLY MORE COMBO WORTH £299/$289 Win a DJI Neo in our drone competition Open for entries until the spring, submit your best drone shot to be in with a chance of winning this new camera drone worth £299/$289 (Fly More Combo). For full details, and how to enter, go to: www.bit.ly/dcm289_drone Tamron 11-20mm for Canon RF now on sale Tamron’s first lens for the RF-S mount is an ultra-wide-angle that will suit a variety of different uses for stills and video, according to the brand. The 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A1 RXD is 84.2mm long and weighs 340g. www.tamron.eu; £650/$659 MPB to launch in four new markets MPB, the largest global platform for buying, selling and trading photo and video kit, recently launched in Ireland, Austria, Belgium and…

7artisans.co.uk Many photographers love the huge viewing angle and funky-looking distortion of fisheye lenses. This new option from 7Artisans is a ‘diagonal’ rather than ‘circular’ fisheye, so it delivers a frame-filling image on the full-frame cameras for which it’s designed. Like most of 7Artisans’ range, the 10mm f/2.8 II is a fully manual lens, with no built-in electronics. The lack of autofocus isn’t really a problem because, as you’d expect with a fisheye lens, the depth of field is gigantic. The only real issue is that no lens-based EXIF data is recorded in the images you capture. A bonus of this being a fully manual lens, however, is that it’s available in a wide range of mount options, including Canon RF, Leica L, Nikon Z and Sony FE. The other…