Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i Smart Photography

As cameras get more and more complicated with manufacturers packing in all the latest technology, the million dollar question that arises is whether the user really understands this technology or indeed has a clue of what makes a great image. We have come across several ‘reputed’ photographers whose knowledge of the basics of photography is close to zero. A number of them have their cameras set up for them in advance. The real truth is that photography cannot be learnt in a day. Indeed, like any other field, the process of learning is continuous. Properly run training schools are the need of the hour, and we need many more!…

Nikon has announced the Coolpix W150 compact digital camera with waterproof and shockproof design that can be easily handled by adults and children. The user-friendly camera is waterproof up to a depth of 33 feet, shockproof to withstand falls from as high as 5.9 feet and cold-resistant down to -10 degrees Celsius. The camera offers an effective pixel count of 13.2 million, and is equipped with a 3x optical zoom Nikkor lens. The camera is equipped with a Target Finding AF, where the camera detects and focusses on the primary subject, and a function for recording Full HD movies with stereo sound. It also offers a variety of scene modes and editing functions, including “Shoot under water” that applies processing optimised for underwater photography, “Underwater face framing” which automatically detects…

World Photography Association has announced the overall winners of the 2019 Sony World Photography Awards. The Photographer of the Year award was bagged by Italian artist Federico Borella for “Five Degrees”, his series of photographs focussing on male suicides in the farming community of Tamil Nadu in India, which is facing its worst drought in 140 years. Borella was selected from the 10 winners of the Professional competition. As winner, Borella received USD 25,000 along with photographic equipment from event sponsor Sony. Speaking about Borella’s winning series, Judge Mike Trow said, “As global warming changes the face of life ever more rapidly - particularly in developing and undeveloped nations - the work of artists such as Borella becomes ever more needed” . Nashville-based Hawaiian photographer Christy Lee Rogers was named…

Samyang has announced three lenses, one autofocus lens designed for the Nikon F mount, and two manual-focus lenses for the Nikon Z mount, the AF 85 mm f/1.4 F, the MF 14 mm f/2.8 Z, and the MF 85 mm f/1.4 Z. All three lenses are ultra-multi-coated and feature weather sealing to enhance anti-dust and water-protection capabilities. The AF 85 mm f/1.4 F lens features a nine-bladed aperture, and is constructed with nine elements in seven groups, with one hybrid aspherical lens. The MF 85 mm f/1.4 Z lens features an eight-bladed circular aperture for “smooth bokeh” and is constructed with a total of nine elements in seven groups. The MF 14 mm f/2.8 Z lens has a 115.7 degree wide-angle view with ASP, H-ASP, ED and HR lenses.…

Flickr has announced a partnership with online legal tech service Pixsy, to help photographers protect and enforce copyrights. The partnership will allow Flickr account holders to avail of Pixsy’s advanced monitoring and protection platform. Flickr Pro members will get an enhanced service offering access to 1,000 monitored images, 10 DMCA takedown notices, and unlimited case submission, all for free. Whenever a copyright infringement is detected by Pixsy, the photographer will be alerted and can then decide what action to take. Photographers will have access to a comprehensive case resolution service to recover lost licensing revenue and damages, along with the tools to register images with the US Copyright office and send automated DMCA takedown notices. Pixsy partners with an international network of law firms, working on a no win, no…

Born in 1970 in Kütahya, Turkey, Safak Yavuzlar is a professional photographer with a major in architecture. He loves to photograph landscape, industrial, product and aerial photography too. Whenever he finds the time, he escapes to vast landscapes, ancient cities, lost civilisations, canyons, valleys, etc. ‘Straight out of the camera’ is a concept which he is not familiar with. He tries to fill the gap between what the human eye sees and what the camera can see. 1. Please tell us something about yourself. How did photography become your profession? First I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity; it is a great privilege. The idea of freezing time and capturing the moment always amazed me since childhood. My journey to the photography universe began with a…

There are several printing solutions available in the Indian market, but I decided to go with HP printing solution as I believe they deliver the best value. I have visited various facilities before deciding on the printing solution for my requirement. And the main reason I decided to go with HP printing solution was that it produced the best printing result. Quality is of paramount importance to me and my customers. My other company Ishar offset has been in offset printing for the last 15 years. I was exploring new business areas, to diversify my service offering, and I decided to add HP INDIGO PRESS in my portfolio, to print almost anything. I use the HP printing solution primarily for Wedding Album Photo Book Making Printing and Coffee table books.…

Now that you have an idea of what is going on in the market and what you need to look at if you want to go mirrorless, it is possible that you still have a few more questions. The following FAQs might help answer some of those. • Should I buy these first generation products? This is really a question that is put forth by photographers who wish to buy Canon, Nikon or Panasonic mirrorless cameras as other mirrorless cameras have gone through a few iterations already. Though all three of them have just introduced full-frame mirrorless cameras, they have been in the mirrorless camera design and manufacture for quite some time. So, they are really not new to the mirrorless world. • Should I buy the new mirrorless lenses…

Canon EOS R Sensor Type/Size : CMOS, Full Frame Effective Pixels : 30.3 million File Formats : JPEG, Raw, C-RAW, Raw (Dual Pixel), C-RAW (Dual Pixel) Metering Modes : Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centre-weighted average Exposure Modes : Auto, Scene, P, A, S, M, Bulb ISO Equivalence : ISO 100 to 40000 sec Shutter Speed : 30 to 1/8000, Bulb Best Video : 3840 x 2160 (4K); MP4 Storage Type : SD, SDHC, SDXC Weight : 660 g Price: Rs.174,995 Canon EOS RP Sensor Type/Size : CMOS, Full Frame Effective Pixels : 26.2 million File Formats : JPEG, Raw, C-RAW Metering Modes : Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centre-weighted average Exposure Modes : Auto, P, A, S, M, Bulb, Custom ISO Equivalence : ISO 100 to 40,000 (expandable from ISO 50 to 102,400)…

Write to us at: Smart Photography, Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Mafatlal Chambers B, Ground Floor, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel (E), Mumbai - 400 013 E-mail: sp@nextgenpublishing.net Enjoyed Anniversary Issue Dear Editor, Delighted with the anniversary issue! Loved the mix of learning articles and photo features. The landscape photos by Christian Heeb were breathtaking and perfectly captured. I hope to improve my photography to reach that level. Yours faithfully, Prakash N., via email Vertoramas Dear Editor, I like the concept introduced by Dhritiman Lahiri for capturing vertical panoramas. This is a good approach to capture beautiful interiors of a setting in one image. I cannot wait to try this out next time I’m visiting such a location. Yours faithfully, Rupak K., via email Learning Techniques Dear Editor, The…

Nikon has announced that photographer, adventurer and alpinist Cory Richards will join its Nikon Ambassador Program. Richard is renowned for his extreme adventure and climbing photographs, from the Okavango Delta of Botswana to the peaks of Antarctica. As part of the program, Richards will lend his expertise and experience to Nikon. He will soon embark on an expedition with fellow Nikon Ambassador Keith Ladzinski to attempt to summit Mount Everest for the second time, where he will document his journey with the help of Nikon’s Z series full-frame mirrorless cameras (the Z6 and Z7 cameras). The entire expedition will be captured on the latest Nikon cameras and lenses. The Nikon Z7, Z6 and Nikkor Z lenses, like the Nikkor Z 14-30 mm f/4 S and Nikkor Z 50 mm f/1.8…

Sony has released firmware update 3.0 for the a7R III and a7 III. Real-time Eye-AF provides human eye detection and animal eye detection. Drew Geraci, a Sony Artisan of Imagery and top time lapse creator, said about the time lapse update, “The introduction of the low, mid and high levels of automatic exposure sensitivity is great, especially if you’re in a city situation where the lights are always changing and you want to make sure that the scene is metered properly or if you’re in a darker situation out in the wilderness and you’re watching the moon rise, you can set it so the exposure will change more gradually. They’ve also added a playback function that allows you to actually get an in-camera playback of the time lapse instantly. It’s…

Photoquip India has announced the launch of KLIK Speedflash FL40 and Speedflash FL60. The KLIK Speedflash FL40 is a simple manual flashgun crafted to give photographers control over creative lighting with a wireless trigger. It can be used both on-camera flash as well as a wireless slave flash. The Speedflash FL40 is compatible with various camera brands. The KLIK Speedflash FL60 camera flashgun is incredibly easy to use, and with features such as TTL and HSS the photographer can get the perfect exposure effortlessly. This camera flash is compatible for Canon, Nikon and Sony. KLIK SPEEDFLASH FL 40 FOR VARIOUS CAMERAS Technical specifications  Power source: 4 x AA batteries GN: 40 m (132 ft) at ISO 100, 105 mm lens Flash light illumination range: Zoom 24-105 mm Flash mode: M,…

Chetan Pardeshi is an IT professional successfully running his IT business since the last 15 years. Since the last five years, he has been actively pursuing his love for photography and travel. His photographs have been exhibited in several leading exhibitions across India and have also been published in magazines. Chetan loves to try his hand at different genres of photography. He is very interested in travel and wildlife photography. Besides travelling to new places, he loves to meet new people from various cultures, understand their traditions and try to capture them through his lenses. And of course, Chetan also loves to relish local delicacies! Theyyam or Kaliyattam is a popular ritual form of worship that originated in North Kerala, predominantly in the Kannur and Kasaragod districts. It’s a living…

“Still photographers are still the most powerful weapons in the world.” EDDIE ADAMS, US PHOTOJOURNALIST “Photography is an itch that won’t go away. No matter how much you scratch it.” DARA MCGRATH, IRISH PHOTOGRAPHER “Shooting at high ISOs without noise really is something to shout about.” NIGEL ATHERTON, EDITOR, AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHY “I wish anyone trying to make a living out of stock photography the best of luck.” DAVID CROSSLAND, BERLIN-BASED PHOTOGRAPHER “Reality is to photography what melody is to music.” RALPH GIBSON, AMERICAN ART PHOTOGRAPHER “Canon & Nikon’s share of the Japanese D-SLR market is 96.7 percent.” NIKKEI “Ever since the first cave painting, humans have liked hard copy. The e-reader has not replaced the book.” DAVID HEALEY, ARPS, BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHER AND MENTOR “Being photogenic has nothing to do with…

This article gives you an idea of the current market scene. We have not covered specific products as the information on them is available easily everywhere. Nor have we delved into the subject of pros and cons of mirrorless cameras, as we had covered that earlier. What we wanted to bring to you are the points that you should be aware of in case you want to purchase a mirrorless camera. Also, many older D-SLRs have not been updated in the recent past. However, certain mirrorless cameras are being positioned as replacements for the older D-SLRs, and hence the latter may not see a direct upgrade soon.…

The 70-200 mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM | Sports lens has probably been the most anticipated Sigma Global Vision lens apart from the 60-600 mm Sports lens. This lens completes the ‘f/2.8 zoom trio’, as Sigma calls the combination of the 14-24 mm Art, 24-70 mm Art and 70-200 mm Sports lenses. Design and Build Quality Like all Sports series lenses, the 70-200 mm has a magnesium alloy barrel and features a dust and splash-proof construction. It is sealed at mount connection, manual focus ring, zoom ring and cover connection to prevent dust and water ingress. In addition to this, the front and rear elements have been provided a water- and oil-repellent coating. The lens has a fixed tripod mount, with an Arca-Swiss compatible foot. The 70-200 mm Sports lens…

Canon EOS M6 Sensor Type/Size : CMOS, APS-C Effective Pixels : 24.2 million File Formats : JPEG, RAW Metering Modes : Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centre-weighted average Exposure Modes : P, A, S, M ISO Equivalence : ISO 100 to 25600 Shutter Speed : 30 to 1/4000 sec, Bulb Best Video : 1920 x 1080 (FHD); MOV / MP4 Storage Type : SD, SDHC, SDXC Weight : 520 g (body only) Price: Rs.45,995 Canon EOS M5 Sensor Type/Size : CMOS, APS-C Effective Pixels : 24.2 million File Formats : JPEG, RAW Metering Modes : Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centre-weighted average Exposure Modes : P, A, S, M ISO Equivalence : ISO 100 to 25600 Shutter Speed : 30 to 1/4000 sec Best Video : 1920 x 1080 (FHD); MOV / MP4 Storage…

Tokina has announced the FiRIN 100 mm f/2.8 FE Macro Lens for Sony full-frame E-mount mirrorless cameras. Constructed of nine elements in eight groups and with a nine-bladed aperture diaphragm, the lens features 1:1 maximum magnification at a minimum focussing distance of 30 cm from the sensor plane. Minimum aperture is f/32. The lens has a 55 mm filter size and an extending lens barrel, featuring a printed magnification scale. It has a lens length of 123 to 163 mm and a width of 74 mm and weighs 570 g. The lens will be available for USD 599, along with front and rear lens caps and a BH-533 lens hood.…

Camera lens manufacturer Venus Optics has announced the launch of a Micro Four Thirds variant of its Laowa 9 mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens. The 9 mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens provides a more natural perspective for videography purposes. It features a compact and lightweight body, weighing 210 grams and 60 mm long, with a 100-degree angle of view that makes it perfect for vlogging and recording with gimbals, according to Venus Optics. Venus Optics states that the new MFT variant has the same specifications and optical performance as the existing Fuji X, Sony E, Canon EF-M and DJI DL mounts. All of them feature an ultra-wide 113-degree angle, cover Super35-sized sensor and have close to zero distortion. The Laowa 9 mm is significantly wider than most wide-angle rectilinear lenses in the…

BenQ has launched PhotoVue SW271, a 4K UHD 27” professional photographer’s monitor offering industry-standard HDR10 support and advanced colour performance. Covering 99 percent of Adobe RGB, the SW271 delivers the colour accuracy of Delta E≦2 performance with its 10-bit IPS panel and advanced 14-bit 3D lookup table (LUT) according to BenQ. The SW271 monitor is also Technicolor Color Certified to meet the colour accuracy standards of Hollywood and entertainment media. BenQ also states that the monitor clearly displays high-resolution images from D-SLRs and other HDR-source devices by expanding the dynamic range between true darkness and high brightness. Datacolor calibrators and BenQ Palette Master Element calibration software. Equipped with USB Type-C connectivity, the SW271 utilises a single cable for calibration and video transmission. Standard-equipment detachable shading hood blocks ambient glare for…

After working in the IT industry for 12 years, Sreeroop KT started a company called Tripeps Management Pvt. Ltd. due to his passion for travel and photography. Sreeroop tries to experiment in different genres of photography and loves photographing nature subjects whether they are birds, animals, reptiles, landscapes or underwater subjects. His interest is in soulful photography, capturing scenes that have an emotional connect with the viewer. He states that he photographs to develop a love for life as it makes him feel instantly at peace.…

Silver-halide quality photo cut print production on the sheetfed HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press is supported with photo paper, B2-sized sheetfed laminating solutions. The High Definition Imaging System for the B2-sized HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press doubles image resolution for sharper, smoother, finer print, enabling print service providers to surpass offset quality and open new digital possibilities in high-end photo including for photo prints, photo books, holiday cards, and calendars. HP also offers dedicated photo inks, such as HP Indigo ElectroInk Light Light Black and Light Cyan and Light Magenta. The wide portfolio of the HP Indigo digital processes aims to provide solutions for transforming photo production to digital from silver-halide processes. Photo production on the sheetfed HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press is supported with silver-halide quality…

Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment. He has published more than a 100 articles on photography and some of his writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography. An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest in the history of photography and a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He is the only Indian photographer to be featured on the Nikon Centenary website. He is presently working as a Management and Engineering consutant. He…

Vipin Gaur is a Delhi-based commercial photographer and an educator, besides being a director of photography. His tryst with a camera began during his college days when he directed and produced several short films and was lucky enough to learn from the masters of the trade. A brief stint with the Mumbai film industry was enough for him to understand his calling. In fact, thanks to this experience, today his strength lies in understanding the need of the art directors, and thus getting them the results they had visualised. Breaking the Rules of Light! “For me, the camera is a sketch book, an instrument of intuition and spontaneity.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson Vipin’s work has been published in several national publications like Femina, Cosmopolitan, Grazia, Hindustan Times, Wedding Affaires, Asiana Weddings,…

In spite of a few nigglings as noted above, the Fujifilm X-T30 is a very capable camera. The body is very small, light in weight (383 g) and has great build quality. The body does not have IBIS (in-body image stabilisation), which is a pity, but I suppose including it would make the camera larger and would also add to the cost. Still image quality is great, and those who love Fujifilm’s Film Simulation modes will surely love that feature in the X-T30. Video capture is also of very high quality. Personally, I wish the hand-grip was deeper, but again, if you have small hands, you may find the X-T30 very comfortable to hold. All in all, an excellent camera at a reasonable price. Best Buy!…

Gimbal stabilisers have very much become part of videography now. The Moza Air 2 is a professional quality gimbal that can fit D-SLRs. The gimbal offers three axes of pan, tilt and roll, allowing you to film from all possible angles and precisely track, follow and pan. The Moza Air 2 offers, in addition to regular features of a D-SLR gimbal, Smart Time-lapse mode, which incorporates up to 20 optimisations to help users set up various types of timelapse videos, such as motion-lapse, tracking time-lapse, zoom time-lapse and so on. The free combination of eight follow modes with movement along three axes allows shooting modes such as Inception Mode, FPV Mode, Sport Gear Mode, Panorama and Tracking. The iFOCUS function acts as the fourth axis of Moza Air 2 by…

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Sensor Type/Size : 4/3 Live MOS, MFT Effective Pixels : 20.4 million File Formats : RAW, JPEG Metering Modes : Digital ESP, Centre-weighted average, Spot Exposure Modes : Auto, P, A, S, M ISO Equivalence : ISO 64 to 25600 Shutter Speed : 60 to 1/32000 sec Best Video : 4096 x 2160 (C4K); MOV; AVI Storage Type : SD, SDHC, SDXC, Eye-Fi Weight : 498 g (body only) Price: Rs.134,990 Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II Sensor Type/Size : 4/3 Live MOS, MFT Effective Pixels : 16.1 million File Formats : RAW, JPEG, MPO Metering Modes : Digital ESP, Centre-weighted average, Spot Exposure Modes : iAuto, P, A, S, M ISO Equivalence : ISO 100 to 25600 Shutter Speed : 8 to 1/8000 sec Best…