Table of contents for April 2021 in Digital Camera Magazine

The best camera is the one you have with you, so the saying goes. But what happens on those occasions when you need a day off from lugging around a weighty setup? Smartphones can do a decent job in some situations but, as our cover feature argues, you’d be better off with an everyday basic camera and standard lens. Turn to page 60 to discover some pro tips, tricks and hacks for getting great results when you’ve left your tripod and filters behind. There are plenty of other projects to get busy with this month, in Photo Active (p16) and Stay at Home (p43), while smoke art is the hot topic in Camera College (p74). Hotshots (p84) turns its lens on the SWPA 2021 student category, and it’s hard not…

With the onset of the UK’s first pandemic lockdown in March 2020, I found myself spending much more time than usual in my neighbourhood. I live five minutes’ walk from Blaise Castle Estate in Bristol, a public open space of woodland and meadow, overlooked by the eponymous folly. Thus I began to spend my time walking in the same woods and meadows daily. Despite all the madness, I’ve found this time enormously rewarding. I’d normally have spent the year in urban spaces, documenting political rallies, photographing events or simply taking shots of people. I’ve found the events of the natural world no less fascinating. No two days have been alike and, as spring approaches once again, the cycle of photos will, I hope, become a complete illustration of the power…

My inspiration for model-scale photography came from my love of Formula One: I took a photo of a couple of F1 model cars I had. I enjoyed the process of trying to make something small in scale look life-size; after that, I had an image in my head of what I would love to do next, and that’s where this picture came from. I built the set from scratch, mainly from balsa wood and plasterboard. It was then painted and weathered. I picked up the figures on eBay quite cheaply, and they too were painted and weathered. This was all a lengthy process, but the more details that are added, the better the final result. Unlike the F1 model, this picture had many new challenges. After building the set, I…

After a long career in sales in the automotive aftermarket industry, I am now retired. I have much more time to devote to my photography, whether this involves sitting in a popup hide, making a visit to an RSPB site or going on a coastal walk. Fortunately, living in Bristol I’m ideally placed to take advantage of all these opportunities. The extra time I have available has also allowed me to spend time learning post-production, mainly with Lightroom. This shot was captured along the coast path between Daymer Bay and Rock in Cornwall. The path runs along the cliff top, and is a great spot to capture birds from above, with the sands below. I was fortunate to have already grabbed some great images of this particular bird. This gave…

We may have been getting out and about a lot less lately, but home-centric photo projects will increase the likelihood of your lenses gathering dust and dirty marks as well as the odd fingerprint. Lenses are prone to spots and smears, which are an inevitable part of use, after all, so it’s vital to show them some regular TLC and give them a good clean. This should improve image quality – and avoid the possibility of real damage in the future. It’s easy and inexpensive to keep your lenses in tip-top condition, fortunately. Marks on the front element of your lens can be removed with a specialist cloth, and you can keep the rear element (the part that mounts onto the camera body) clear with a dust blower or brush…

1 Increase your brightness and contrast When it comes to editing the image, you need to focus on getting the colours bright and capturing the detail of the reaction through the image.As you can see, you can see the dent of the sandwich box in the original image. Turning Brightness to around 85 can make the background white and enhance the colour. Moving Contrast to around 83 will enhance shadows in the shapes that are created by colours reacting to the oil. 2 Take it further with Curves To enhance the image even further, use the Tone Curve to enhance the detail. I didn’t move the output too much, otherwise it would overpower the colour; you only need to move it up a small amount. Setting the input at 98…

Photography is as much a game of chance as it is a well-planned exercise; you never know when the shot of a lifetime will present itself, so it’s best to always be prepared to capture the unexpected. Always carrying a camera is something many street photographers do as a matter of course, although landscape and portrait photographers can also benefit from the practice despite traditionally using much more gear. However, rather than carrying everything you’d normally use, we suggest adopting a ‘barebones’ set-up comprising just your camera and a single lens carried in a small shoulder bag. Carrying less kit will feel daunting at first, but it’s much more advantageous to do this than carry nothing at all, which is an easy trap to fall into as having your regular…

Noise stacking and exposure stacking are shooting techniques that use similar settings and identical processing steps. Noise stacking requires 3-5 shots to be taken of the same scene in quick succession, at a high ISO setting, and then they’re blended in Photoshop to reduce noise. High ISO noise has irregular patterns so blending several exposures together averages out the noise and produces a result that is far superior to noise reduction of a single exposure in raw editing software, for instance. Exposure stacking is a technique that mimics the effect of ND filters: combine about 10 shots of the same scene, merge them in Photoshop and the result looks like a long exposure. The image opposite uses both techniques to reduce high ISO noise and to make it look like…

David Hully In issue 238 of Digital Camera, we challenged our readers to shoot their best light trail photography photo. Well done, David – you have won a copy of Affinity Photo. This photo captures the recognisable red London bus, and is a great example of night light trails. Second place: Jon Allard A super example of star trails, with consideration taken of a colourful foreground to draw the eye in. Third place: Brian Hennessey A great example of light painting, producing a simple but strikingly composed image. Join us on Facebook! We’ll reveal the winner of issue 239’s Liquid Art reader challenge in a live stream on 5 April at 5.30pm GMT. www.facebook.com/digitalcameraworld PHOTO CHALLENGE Closing date: 5 April 2021…

What is dynamic range? A camera’s dynamic range is the amount of tonal variation its image sensor can record, from the very brightest point (pure white) to the darkest point (pure black). Do all camera sensors have the same range? Not all sensors are born equal, so dynamic range will vary from camera to camera. The largest factor that affects this is simply the physical size of the sensor. Typically, a digital SLR or mirrorless camera can capture anything between 12 and 15 stops of dynamic range. Compact cameras have smaller sensors, so capture less tonal range. Does it make any difference to dynamic range whether I shoot JPEG or raw? Yes, it makes a lot of difference. A raw file will always capture a greater dynamic range than a…

Canon announces ST-E3-RT (Ver.2) The new version of the wireless flash controller supports key features of the recently launched Canon Speedlite EL-1, and introduces a new FE Memory mode that targets pro users. www.canon.com;£290/$300 Lomography Atoll Ultra-Wide 2.8/17 Art Ideal for shooting street, travel and landscapes, this manual-focus 17mm optic for Canon, Nikon and Sony full-frame mirrorless cameras offers an incredible 103° field of view. www.lomography.com; £475/$649 Skylum updates Luminar AI to 1.0.1 The latest version of this artificial-intelligence-driven image editor (find out more from page 102) focuses on simplifying the editing workflow, and various bug fixes. www.skylum.com; from £59/$59 Look At This If You Love Great Photography Author Gemma Padley offers insightful opinions on 100 photos that need to be seen. With images from the likes of Duffy, Susan…

Reworking Fujinon’s original XF27mm pancake lens, this new optic retains the excellent optical design of its forebear, but adds some key improvements. These include faster autofocus, a new aperture ring – it’s impressive that Fujifilm has managed to add an aperture ring to such a slim lens – and weather-proofing. There’s even a lock on the ‘A’ position to prevent accidental aperture changes while handling. www.fujifilm.co.uk; £419/$399…

This innovative geared head features a camera interface controller with remote view driving an electromotion system to finely adjust compositions. Enter pitch and pan angles, plus aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings; Polaris also analyses the images and dials in exposure values and sharpens details. With a maximum payload of 7kg, Polaris weighs 1.1kg. Find out more at the Polaris Kickstarter page, until 14 March. www.bit.ly/dc240polaris Special launch prices: from $499 (basic timelapse version); $599 (with star-tracking functionality); $699 (with cellular connectivity)…

With most of the UK likely to remain in full lockdown for weeks to come, the majority of Nikon School courses are now online, and therefore accessible to everyone. Nikon has made it easy to browse, subscribe and book courses on the new site – choose from virtual photography tours that explore scenic landscapes, as well as technical tutorials on both iterations of the brand’s popular Z 7 and Z 6 mirrorless cameras. There’s also an introductory course on the Z 5, plus three ‘how to’ courses that cover black-and-white photography, dog photography and printing fine-art photos. There are also plans for a number of exciting ‘on location’ courses when lockdown eases (Covid restrictions permitting), which will be added over the coming months and announced in due course. www.nikonschool.co.uk; from…

www.nikon.co.uk There are two reasons you might want this lens: fast shutter speeds and a tight depth of field. For anything else, there’s no point lugging around a big, heavy chunk of glass that’s nearly three times the weight of the Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.8 S, and as much as five times the price. The f/1.8 S lens might look basic, but it delivers superb sharpness with negligible colour fringing and distortion, and is a top performer in every way. So the question is, how much do you really need an extra 1.33 stops of aperture width? The optical path is quite complex for a standard prime, featuring no less than 17 elements. Of these, there are two ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and three aspherical elements. Handling is enhanced by…

Most of us have felt very limited in our photography of late, unable to get out and about to the kind of places that we love to visit. An upside is that you can shoot millions of miles into the distance from your very own back yard, just by setting your sights on the night sky. Even so, light is arguably the most important raw material for photography, so things get a bit tricky when there’s very little to play with. Naturally, shooting outdoors in the middle of the night is particularly challenging, even when the subject in question is the Milky Way on a clear, star-studded evening. To make matters worse, the night sky is not only very dimly lit, but it’s also large and constantly moving. For good…

Lens mount Canon RF, Nikon Z Unlike the majority of high-tech lenses for mirrorless cameras, this Samyang is an entirely manual affair. A drawback of this is that no lens-related Exif information can be captured and stored within image files. On the plus side, manual focusing often works best for shooting the stars, and you’re unlikely to stray away from the widest aperture anyway. Handling is very good with a silky-smooth action to the long-throw focus ring. The construction feels very solid and includes weather-seals. Performance Sharpness is very good across the image frame, even shooting wide-open at f/2.8, along with minimal coma and astigmatism, so pinpoint light sources of stars are faithfully reproduced. Barrel distortion can look pronounced when shooting architectural subjects, but it’s less of a problem for…

Lens mount Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma SA Available in Canon and Nikon mount options, this Sigma lens beats own-brand legends like the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM III and Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED for image quality, as well as undercutting them for price. Build quality and handling are excellent in both Sigma lenses on test but the zoom gains a full set of weather-seals, whereas the prime lens only has a sealed mounting plate. Performance Even when shooting at the shortest focal length with the widest aperture, sharpness is excellent across the entire frame. Vignetting is remarkably minimal and, in real-world shooting rather than with close-range test charts, barrel distortion is negligible. Lateral and spherical aberrations are very well-controlled, and there’s only slight coma and astigmatism in extreme…

With a generous viewing angle and superb image quality at its widest aperture setting, the Samyang XP 14mm f/2.4 manual-focus lens ticks all the right boxes for astro photography with a full-frame camera. The Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art is a whole f-stop faster but shooting wide-open, coma and astigmatism are noticeable towards the frame corners. For astrophotography with a crop-sensor camera, Samyang’s 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS is the best prime lens on the market. It’s available in a large variety of mount options but only the Nikon-fit version has built-in electronics. For full-frame zoom lenses, the Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG HSM Art leads the field, putting the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 into second place. If you’re after an astrophotography lens for Canon…

Will Burrard-Lucas Wildlife photographer The recipient of many an award for his photography, Will is also the man behind the Camtraptions range of remote camera traps. Find out more from page 132 Bea Lubas Food photographer Polish-born but Britain-based, Bea is an Instagram sensation and the woman behind How to Photograph Food, an ideal entrée to this appetising genre. Page 16 Kira Gardener Photographer The car’s the star – and so’s the background. Kira has carved out a distinctive niche for herself that combines her twin passions in life. Turn to page 22 Sally Davies Photographer The American photographer takes us behind the scenes of her new book, New Yorkers, which captures Manhattan residents in lockdown at home. Page 114 Jon Devo Photographer and writer A photographer as well as…

HOW TO GET YOUR DIGITAL GIFTS STEP 1 ENTER THIS URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc240 Enter the URL above 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 (see the examples above). This will take you to a page on our website. STEP 2 START YOUR DOWNLOAD Just click the highlighted link Here you’ll find all the files, videos and resources to accompany this issue of Digital Camera. Scroll to just underneath the image and click on Download the disc for Digital Camera 240 and your download will start. It should only take a few minutes on most broadband connections. STEP 3 ACCESS YOUR FILES Open the.zip In your…

1 Source good props To keep everything as authentic as possible, I try to pick up extra accessories for the models, then use the same paint and weathering across all the items to tie everything together. 2 Shoot steady You’ll need to shoot on a tripod: not only will it give you a steady shot, but also you can shoot from a wired trigger, allowing you to stay near the models and concentrate on moving them around the scene. Try to keep your camera on a level similar to the scene, or lower. 3 Smoke it up For the explosion, a smoke machine was set up behind the broken door. I also had a hand pump, which I kept filling with cement dust and ballast to simulate debris. The lesson…

Great photographs are not always about waiting for a fantastic sunset or special occasion. Exploring the world around you and changing your thought process around photos can lead you to capture interesting and unusual shots. Explore angles, shapes and compositions, and objects of interest to expand your portfolio. Turn the mundane and boring into interesting shots. Venture out on a bright day with strong sunlight to get the most from this project: the light will help you find strong contrasting colours, shapes and textures to create your own collection of abstract imagery. WHAT YOU’LL NEED ● Camera, any lens ● Time: Over any period you like! THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR CONTRASTING IMAGERY Find new angles Try tilting your camera or looking at subjects from different angles. Capturing these steps from…

Spending more time at home has given me the opportunity to use everyday objects to create interesting and unknown images. I particularly wanted to focus on how I could experiment creatively with colour, and started to ponder some sources of inspiration. After some research, I found what I was looking for in a collection of Jackson Pollock work. This led me to envisage the kinds of colours that I could produce by mixing together items in my kitchen – water, oil and food colouring – then capturing the results with my camera. In this project I’ll show you how to create abstract shapes, colours and reactions using materials and objects you will have to hand in your kitchen. These can be used in simple ways to create intriguing images, but…

After spending your hard-earned cash on all the lenses, filters and accessories you need to shoot your favourite subjects the way you want to, reducing your kit down to the bare minimum will naturally seem counter-productive; you bought those items to be able to respond to a range of situations, after all. But what we’re suggesting isn’t a permanent solution; instead, it’s a way of making your camera more manageable so you can carry it with you most – or all – of the time, in situations where you can’t or don’t want to lug your main set-up around. Here we outline the medium zoom lens and premium compact camera options available to help you to create a barebones camera kit that you can carry all of the time, but…

You don’t need a lot of space to take smoke shots, but you do need to work in a room with a window, so that you can let fresh air in at regular intervals. I set up in a bathroom; I blocked the gap under the door with a towel to prevent draughts pushing the smoke around, but opened the window and operated the extractor fan between takes. A piece of black cloth draped over some scrap wood formed the backdrop, with an incense stick as the smoke generator. I didn’t allow the stick to burn right down, as the thicker wisps of smoke would have been too far out of shot. Having a sink to hand meant I could extinguish the lit stick when needed. Some photographers prefer to…

Use a crop Crop your shot to get rid of excess space and tidy up the composition. Cropping also reduces the amount of retouching you may need to do. Consider rotating and flipping the image, too. Add contrast You’ll probably want to increase the depth of the blacks and pump up the highlights a little to add some contrast. Start with some global adjustments that affect the whole image, but avoid making the smoke too bright. Brush up Use the Brush Tool to hide smoke in other areas. In Affinity Photo you can use the Overlay Paint Tool to paint in darker areas around the smoke. Reduce the hardness so you can feather the effect near the plume. Retouch Your image may have a few white dots caused by floating…

With over a decade’s experience as a writer and photographer, James is also an accomplished image editor – and an expert in Affinity Photo. When you want to craft a creative composite like this, Affinity Photo offers all the tools that you will ever need. In the past, this kind of action was best done using Photoshop, but these days Affinity Photo can give you results that are just as good, as long as you learn a few simple skills. In this project, we’ll explain a workflow for creative composites that you can use time and again. No matter what images you want to combine, you’ll be able to apply the same techniques. Our composite workflow begins by copying layers on top of one another, in preparation for blending them.…

Jon is a professional photographer and writer. He also provides one-to-one and small-group tuition in both digital SLR and Photoshop image-editing skills. Whether you’re shooting portraits, arty still-lifes or packshots, a broad array of backgrounds is a must for any studio photographer. But for most of us, a permanent studio space isn’t possible, and even if we can take over the lounge for an occasional photo session, we won’t have the storage space for dozens of photo backdrops. The good news is that if you have the right image-editing skills and can make an accurate cutout, you can place your subjects on any background. On this issue’s download, there are no fewer than 48 photographic backdrops to choose from. As well as adding a creative new look to a subject,…

James is a professional photographer who specialises in landscape and portraits. He’s an advanced Photoshop user and has created hundreds of tutorials. Less is often more when it comes to editing. The simplest of adjustments we apply to every photo can lead to highly creative effects in images when you approach them in a less linear way than usual. Contrast is one such adjustment – it serves an important purpose, but there are many more ways of using it than using simple sliders or the Levels command to control it. Using a mixture of adding Adjustment Layers, duplicating Background Layers and merging all visible layers into a new layer, we’re going to explore four completely different ways of using contrast as the base adjustment for applying effects. The ultimate aim…

This latest Fujifilm compact inherits the form factor of its predecessor, the X-E3. And apart from the omission of image stabilisation, the new camera has much in common with the brand’s X-S10, including the same 26.2MP APS-C sensor. Other key features include hybrid contrast/phase AF, a 2.36m-dot EVF and a 180-degree tilting rear screen for vlogging and taking selfies. Shutter speed and exposure compensation dials adorn the top plate, the former of which echoes the external controls on previous X-mount cameras. Sleek enough to fit in a jacket pocket, the X-E4 shoots uncropped DCI 4K/UHD up to 30p, saving it to a SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I card. It’s also available in a kit with the XF27mm f/2.8 R WR lens (right). www.fujifilm.co.uk; £799/$949 (body only); £949/$1,049 (with XF27mm f/2.8 R WR kit…

If image editing can sometimes feel like you’re painting a house through its letterbox, then blow the door off by treating yourself to one of these. With its 3,440 x 1,440 pixel-resolution IPS LCD panel, BenQ’s PD3420Q offers 33% more horizontal screen area than a 16:9 monitor – just imagine the number of editing palettes you could have open at any one time. Thanks to BenQ’s AQColor technology, factory colour calibration and Pantone/Calman verification, colours will be accurate right out of the box; and as the PD3420Q also supports Picture in Picture (PIP) and Picture by Picture (PBP) split-screen modes, you’ll definitely get the most from its extra screen width. www.benq.com; £989/$900…

Common to all three monopods are a flip-lock top section for easy and rapid height adjustments, and they all ship with a shoulder case and carry strap. The entry-level MSD36C collapses down to 42cm in height but can extend to 164cm; it weighs just 0.5kg with a payload of 40kg. The mid-range MSD46C extends to 1.83m and folds down to 45.5cm, weighs 0.59kg and has a 40kg payload; the flagship MSDPL46C’s maximum height is 1.57m, with a folded length of 48.2cm. Its weight is 0.9kg, with a maximum payload of 32kg. www.benroeu.com; from £110/$120…

This special edition of the Leica M10-P rangefinder camera has been inspired by pro photographers working in war zones. On assignment in Syria, Gabriele Micalizzi was hit by shrapnel and only escaped serious injury or death when the two Leica cameras he was using literally took a bullet for him. It is a moving story, and one of several that inspired the iconic German brand to bring a bullet-proof camera to market. Headline specs include a 24MP full-frame CMOS sensor, manual focus, a 3-inch fixed LCD screen and 5fps max burst rate. uk.leica-camera.com; £7,100/$8,795…

www.sony.co.uk Remarkably, the FE 35mm f/1.4 G Master is Sony’s fourth 35mm prime for its full-frame FE-mount mirrorless cameras. One is the relatively plain but affordable Sony FE 35mm f/1.8 and two are Zeiss-badged lenses – the compact Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA and the hefty Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA. The FE 35mm f/1.4 G Master is like a bigger brother to the FE 35mm f/1.8, with a faster maximum aperture, better build and G Master optics. In keeping with its premium G Master branding, the 35mm f/1.4 is pretty sophisticated. The optical design includes two ultra-high-precision XA elements and two ED (extra low dispersion elements). An 11-bladed circular diaphragm is used to produce the best possible bokeh, and twin XD linear motors provide friction-free autofocus with…

Lens mounts Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K Designed in Switzerland and built in Korea, the Irix 15mm is available in Firefly and Blackstone options for Canon, Nikon and Pentax. They’re optically identical, but the Blackstone has a magnesium alloy rather than plastic casing, four weather-seals instead of three, and engraved fluorescent markings. As a manual-focus lens, the focus ring has a typically smooth and precise operation with long rotational travel. A secondary ring enables you to lock the focus ring at any position. Performance Image quality is mostly excellent, with minimal lateral and spherical aberrations, and well-controlled distortion. Vignetting isn’t bad at f/2.4 but coma and astigmatism are pronounced, giving an irregular shape to stars. Both factors are much improved by going down a stop. Sharpness Sharpness is excellent…

Lens mount Canon EF, Nikon F Uniquely in this group, Tamron’s wide-angle zoom for full-frame Canon and Nikon cameras sports an optical stabiliser, with 4.5-stop effectiveness. That’s useful at dusk or indoors, but of zero benefit for long exposures in astro photography, where it’s best switched off. There’s little change from the original lens edition in the optical line-up, although the G2 gains an additional anti-glare coating and a more durable fluorine coating on the front element. Performance Like the Sigma 14-24mm zoom, the Tamron delivers little barrel distortion and vignetting at its shortest focal length, although it can’t quite match the Sigma for viewing angle. Sharpness is less impressive away from the centre, and there’s a little more coma and astigmatism towards the corners. Sharpness At 15mm from f/2.8…

9 ALL-NEW TIPS CARDS Our collectable shooting tips cards enable you to carry handy settings and suggestions around in your kit bag, ready for when you need them. This issue, get wallet-sized advice on wood textures, creative cut-ups, birds in flight and taking our seven-shot challenge! NEW-LOOK TIPS CARDS! ✔ 9 subjects ✔ Techniques ✔ Settings ✔ Kit list Virtual backdrops for Photoshop Transform portraits with 48 virtual studio backdrops – see page 94. Buyer’s Guide ebook 258 pages of the latest camera and lens reviews, plus buying advice for accessories! See the Gifts folder in your download. 48 VIRTUAL BACKGROUNDS digitalcameraworld.com/dc240 To our overseas readers: issue 239’s print edition contained 13 bonus gifts, and not 14 as stated. Apologies for this error, and for any inconvenience.…

Picture this: you walk into your favourite bakery to buy a sandwich. Enticing scents fill the space. Your eyes move from one colour and shape to another. You can hear the crunch of freshly baked bread being sliced, and as you take the sandwich in your hand, you feel its texture. And then there’s the taste… that incredible taste! Eating is a multi-sensory experience, and so is great food photography. But there is no sound, smell, touch or taste in a photo to support your message, so you need to get to your viewer’s tastebuds through their eyes. You do this by drawing attention to visual details in your images to wake up their imagination. Your viewer is not there with you, so you’ve got to show them what you…

Alfa Bile is known for his photos of landscapes, which feature vibrant colours and perfect details. The self-taught photographer explores several techniques in his images, such as HDR (high dynamic range), long exposures, panoramas and vertoramas, in addition to photographic work done with smartphones and drones, which has already earned him awards in contests and major festivals. “Your landscape photos can enchant the world,” he says. “Photographing landscapes has always been a passion, even before I realised that photography had already chosen me. I always woke up very early, even before dawn, and went to the beaches and places here in my city and neighbouring cities to photograph the sunrise with my cellphone. Photographing landscapes requires a lot of dedication, little or no laziness, and the sensitivity to know how…

“Subscribe to Digital Camera for a year and get this brilliant bag to store your camera grear Editor, Digital Camera Great features of the Vanguard Veo Discover 38 shoulder bag It’s a discreet messenger bag that fits a DSLR or mirrorless camera with lens There’s also enough room for 1-2 lenses, a flash, essential accessories, an 11in laptop or tablet, and a tripod W 41 x D 14 x H 28cm inside, W 42 x D 16 x H 29cm outside Top reasons to subscribe now! ✓Great savings Subscribe for 12 months and get your 13 issues delivered to your door, your digital device, or both! Just choose between the three options below ✓Vanguard Veo Discover 38 shoulder bag A contemporary shoulder bag for your DSLR or mirrorless camera with…

1 ‘Construction Skyline by Night’ by Tom Barker “I put a little twist on the example of using screws to create a landscape shot with a sky background [issue 236, page 66]. The background here is a black splashback with glitter flecks above a cooker, and the screws are on a black granite chopping board with a little water poured on – the idea was to give it a night effect.” Digital Camera says: We love the thought you’ve put into setting up the background here, Tom, taking our original example and making it your own with a simple yet effective technique. There’s great control of lighting, too. 2 ‘Oil & Water’ by Steve West “I used a magazine underneath the glass to get a mix of colours, then added…

There’s an effective technique that you can use to capture lots of information: high-dynamic-range photography. This is where you shoot a series of bracketed exposures to capture detail from the shadows all the way to the highlights, and these are then merged into a single image in Lightroom or specialist HDR software. The technique is typically shot with the camera on a tripod, but with a steady hand you can also successfully shoot handheld. Shooting HDR images handheld requires keeping the camera as still and steady as possible, while the three exposures are taken using automatic exposure bracketing; this reduces the amount of cropping required when Lightroom automatically aligns and crops the three exposures during processing. You also have to set the ISO high enough that the shutter speed for…

With over a decade as a writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter most. The Skin Smoothing Filter is part of Adobe’s Neural Filters command: a range of new filters that employ artificial intelligence to analyse image content and determine which areas to affect. Skin Smoothing can automatically recognise people and faces in your photos, isolate the skin and let you apply a softening effect. Pimples, spots, wrinkles, eye bags and rough skin can all be de-emphasised within a few clicks. Even a model with great skin like this can benefit from some subtle smoothing. Skin Smoothing gives better results than many other smoothing techniques, as it lets you smooth out tones while retaining texture in the pores, which is essential…

New year, new game-changing camera – Sony has been quick out of the blocks in 2021. The Alpha 1 can shoot bursts of 50MP images up to a blistering 30fps, boasts 15 stops of dynamic range, and offers real-time animal eye AF. This heft comes courtesy of a brand-new stacked, back-illuminated 50.1MP Exmoor RS image sensor and Bionz XR processor, which also allows the A1 to support 8K video with up to 8.6K oversampling, and 4K video up to 120fps. The high resolution isn’t just limited to the sensor, though; the EVF is also cutting-edge and packs an astonishing 9.44 million dots and a refresh rate of up to 240fps. And while the resolution of the rear touchscreen has yet to be confirmed, it is a tilting design, rather than…

The fourth telephoto in the X-mount line-up, the Fujinon XF70-300mm f/4-5.6 R LM OIS WR offers an effective focal range of 107-457mm in full-frame camera terms. It’s also compatible with Fujifilm’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters, so the new optic will become a 140-600mm f/8-11 with the 2x converter attached – that’s a 900mm super-telephoto in full-frame terms. The lens features include an aperture ring, weather-resistant build, 5.5 stops of image stabilisation, a linear motor for fast autofocus and a 67mm filter thread. www.fujifilm.co.uk; £729/$799…

Comprehensively revamping the GFX 100, the GFX 100S uses smarts deployed in the creation of recent X-Series cameras, including the X-T4 and X-S10. Fujifilm has therefore been able to shrink the size – and the price – of this 102MP camera. The pricing is significant: the GFX 100S delivers the benefits of medium-format – heightened depth of field, smoother tonal gradations and increased resolution – at the same price point as a flagship full-frame DSLR or mirrorless. The GFX 100S also offers up to six stops of image stabilisation, 5fps of continuous shooting, a fixed 3.69m-dot OLED EVF, a 3.2-inch tilting touchscreen and dual SD/SDXC UHS-II card slots. Far AF tracking and Face/Eye detection have been improved. Also launched at the same time was the GF80mm f/1.7, which boasts nine…

With a distinctive camo finish available on many lines, Hex camera bags don’t always look like camera bags – and that’s a great way of avoiding undue attention when you’re out and about or on your travels. But there’s also practicality to go with the discretion: the Back Loader Backpack (pictured, right) will happily accommodate and protect a DSLR or mirrorless camera setup plus a 15in laptop, with additional access from the top of the bag into the storage compartment beneath. We’ve partnered with Hex to offer Digital Camera readers the chance to win a Back Loader Backpack, plus a Ranger DSLR Sling, worth a total of £305/$290. The Ranger DSLR Sling (above) is designed to carry a street-ready camera setup. www.hexbrand.co.uk; £199.95/$190 (Back Loader Backpack); £104.95/$99.95 (DSLR Sling) •…

http://uk.leica-camera.com Like any new camera from Leica, the SL2-S might be expected to have both exceptional build quality and an eye-watering price point. But while the Leica SL2-S is more expensive than Panasonic alternatives like the Lumix S1, it’s considerably less expensive than the original SL2. Leica is pitching the SL2-S as a more video-focused alternative to the Leica SL2; these cameras look as if they have a similar relationship to the Panasonic Lumix S1 and the Lumix S1R. Panasonic and Leica are longstanding technology partners, so it’s no surprise to see parallels between these two sets of cameras. The only sacrifice is the resolution, which has almost been halved from 47.3MP to 24MP in the new camera. For some, this lower resolution may prove to be a benefit, because…

www.fujifilm.co.uk The XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS WR is a new version of a lens that’s been in the Fujifilm line-up for a while. It keeps the optical configuration of the original XF 10-24mm, but adds an aperture ring, weather-sealing and improved optical stabilisation. The lens has an effective focal length of 15-36mm, a standard ultra-wide zoom range. It goes wide enough to squeeze in tall buildings, expansive interiors and narrow streets, but it also goes long enough for regular semi-wide-angle photography. It’s not the widest there is, but you won’t have to keep changing lenses so often. The aperture ring is really pleasing. It’s fairly light, but has definite click-stops both at full aperture settings and at 1/3-stop increments. There is an automatic setting past the minimum aperture of…

Lens mounts See table This manual-focus Samyang has an astro-friendly ‘effective’ focal length on crop-sensor cameras, ranging from 15-16mm on APS-C format bodies to 20mm on Micro Four Thirds. It’s available in many mount options, but only the Nikon-fit version has built-in electronics. Manual focusing is precise, with the focus ring operating smoothly and with long rotational travel. It comes complete with a focus distance scale and depth of field markings. Performance Nano-structure coatings help to keep ghosting and flare to a minimum. Performance is good in terms of coma, spherical aberration and vignetting, helping stars to retain their natural shape, even shooting wide-open at f/2.8. Sharpness isn’t great, however, and lateral chromatic aberration is a little worse than average. Sharpness Centre-sharpness is mediocre, but it doesn’t drop off much…

Lens mount Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E, Sigma SA This recently launched full frame-compatible prime lens for Canon, Nikon and Sony E cameras is a full f-stop faster than the Irix 15mm and Samyang 14mm lenses on test. And whereas the others are manual-focus lenses, the Sigma adds super-speedy ring-type ultrasonic autofocus. The wide aperture comes at a price, however: the large-diameter elements are more expensive to manufacture, and result in a comparatively big and heavy build. Performance Image quality is fabulous when you shoot wide-open, at least in terms of sharpness, contrast, colour rendition and the absence of spherical and lateral chromatic aberrations. However, there’s noticeable coma and astigmatism towards the corners of the image frame, which give stars an irregular shape. Sharpness Sharpness is exceptional for such…

Lens mount Sony E Designed for full-frame Sony E-mount cameras, the Firin 20mm is available in two versions, either with or without autofocus. The design of this autofocus edition looks much cleaner, simpler and more in keeping with Sony mirrorless cameras. Autofocus is reasonably quick and generally accurate. When focusing manually, the large focus ring operates with smooth precision. Compared with all of the other lenses on test, the Firin has a reduced viewing angle of 92 degrees but its f/2 aperture rating is second-fastest Performance Shooting wide-open, astigmatism and coma are apparent towards the corners of the frame. Narrowing the aperture by an f-stop cures the problem. Corner-sharpness is disappointing at apertures wider than f/4, but vignetting is minimal. Sharpness It’s excellent across most of the frame, but corner…

Determination is essential to taking outstanding wildlife photos, but Will Burrard-Lucas takes determination to the next level. Not only does he work on long-term projects, often photographing rare and endangered species, but he has also produced his own equipment for that task, including camera trap systems and the BeetleCam remote-controlled buggy camera. “You just have to go as far as it takes to get the photos you have in mind,” he says. Will’s most recent project saw him go to even greater lengths: he spent over two years searching for and photographing a rare black leopard in Kenya’s Laikipia County. The stuff of myth and legend, black leopards (also referred to as black panthers) get their striking colouration from an excess of the dark pigment melanin, a recessive genetic variation…