Innehållsförteckning för No. 274 från Digital Photographer

The Sony fun continues with the Sony FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS – the 73rd lens in the E-Mount lineup and the 53rd such full-frame lens, it’s also the 19th G Master lens. It joins the Sony FE 400mm f/2.8 GM OSS and Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS, completing Sony’s trinity of telephoto prime lenses. The 300mm f/2.8 comprises 20 elements in 16 groups, including a single extra-low dispersion and a trio of super extra-low dispersion glass elements to minimise lateral and axial chromatic aberration, with a Nano AR II coating to suppress flare and ghosting. The lens boasts an 11-blade aperture for circular bokeh, with ‘careful control’ of spherical aberration. A pair of XD dynamic linear motors work with an optimised algorithm to drive fast and precise AF…

Sirui is launching a new series of lenses named the Sniper Series. The set of APS-C lenses will be the first autofocus optics set manufactured by Sirui, which usually specialises in anamorphic and cine lens options, available natively for the Fujifilm X-mount, Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount. This set includes 23mm, 33mm and 56mm focal lengths (35mm, 50mm and 85mm full-frame equivalent), each with an ultra-fast f/1.2 aperture. Although available separately, the Sniper Series is marketed as a set – a trilogy of primes that are almost identical apart from the focal length. Each comes in one of three colour schemes – Black Carbon, Silver Aluminum or White Ceramic. Each lens will cost $349 (approx £280) making this lens set an affordable option for APS-C users. However, the low price…

I was recently reading a book on the history of photography and, leafing through its pages, I couldn’t help but appreciate the freedom digital imaging affords us. Looking at early portraits taken on plate cameras – each of which required exposure times of several seconds, if not minutes, due to the low media sensitivity – it was easy to see how restricting that equipment was in terms of composition, backgrounds and lighting conditions. While studio photography is clearly still a large part of the portrait photographer’s workflow, modern technology allows us to take our setups outside, making use of any location as a stage. Of course, leaving the controlled conditions of a studio space introduces its own challenges. It’s those unique quirks I’m keen to explore today and Paula Stopka…

Many photographers look for and appreciate painterly lighting in their images. However, in many ways, this is where the similarities between photography and other types of art end. There are some key differences in the compositional approach to a photograph and a painting. For example, a photographer is accustomed to starting with lots of detail in the world around them, which they must cut back and order into a clean frame. A painter, meanwhile, starts with a blank canvas on which they must build up the detail. Therefore, while busy landscapes are certainly a challenge to get right, it is often the less populated scenes that cause the most confusion. Adapt aspect ratio If you can’t make the scene fit the frame, make the frame fit the scene. Many photographers…

Achieving the perfect winter wildlife shot can be a challenging task that demands patience, skill and perseverance. Waiting for hours in the freezing cold isn’t exactly a photographer’s dream scenario, however, once you’ve pressed the shutter and got the perfect photo, all those difficulties are quickly forgotten. During the winter months, some creatures are more active than usual. As food is scarce, they are drawn out of their hiding places, making this the perfect time to see them. In addition, the environmental changes often give us a better view of the animals. Bare branches, trees and bushes allow us to spot wildlife more easily and also to frame the animals with fewer distractions. Winter wildlife photography is a thrilling experience that not only gives you the opportunity to observe and…

Build up your skills by capturing starter subjects that are commonly found, such as squirrels or robins. Those are often seen in gardens and therefore accustomed to human presence. These animals are generally more hungry during the winter and easy to attract with some food. With time they will return to the feeding station and you gain more chances to practise. Documenting their winter behaviour, including food gathering will add an extra layer to the image, which educates and provides context to the viewer. Remember to respect their space and observe their behaviour. If they move away, don’t harass and follow them. With patience, you will gain their trust and the next time they might get closer to the lens. This is a slow process but in the end, it…

The preservation of printed images is not only important on a personal level but also for museums worldwide that rely on them to educate society on bygone times. However, time can take a toll on old photographic prints, making it a challenge to see the subject in detail and original colour. Generally speaking, black-and-white prints have a longer lifespan than colour ones – this is because most colour processes use dyes on different standards that fade at different rates over time. Often, the blue colour layer fades faster, creating tints after just a few years. For instance, prints from the 1950s tend to have a red tint, while photographs taken in the 1970s will often now feature a yellow tint. Technology has evolved, including print processes, materials and paper quality.…

The Northern Photography Prize 2023 Now in its third year, The Northern Photography Prize encourages budding and established amateur photographers to capture the spirit and heart of the north-east of England through its people and places. Founded and sponsored by international best-selling author LJ Ross through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, the two winners each collected a £1,000 cash prize. In addition, the 16 photographers who made the prize’s shortlist this year had their images showcased at a special free-to-enter exhibition held at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.…

104 Sony A7CR Peter Fenech takes a close look to see if the extra resolution is enough to separate this camera from its A7C II stablemate – especially as it costs over £850/$800 more 108 Godox V1 flashgun Fully rounded in more ways than one, can this speedlight offer a genuine alternative to a studio strobe? Matthew Richards investigates 110 Lenses Every month, we take two pro optics out into the field. Matthew Richards tests the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S while Gareth Bevan tries the Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM 112 Accessories It’s the little things that can enhance your photography, so we’ve rounded up the best photo gadgets and gifts to add to your kitbag Our ratings Our team of trusted and expert reviewers score…

Price: £2,849/$2,998 Sony has long adopted a ‘cover every base’ approach to its marketing strategy. Since the DSLR days, the company’s business model has seen it flood the market with an array of outwardly similar models, the point being that whatever a prospective buyer may be looking for, in terms of both spec and budget, there is likely to be something with an Alpha logo on it to suit. Occasionally, this involves simply leaving an older model on sale once a natural successor is released, essentially repurposing it as a lower-range option at a newly reduced price. Every so often, two products appear at the same time, both of which seem to be aimed at the same customer, complicating matters if you thought you knew what you wanted. This is…

Whenever we went on holiday, my ex-boyfriend would complain about me bringing my camera. “Put it away,” he’d say. “Enjoy the moment! Take in what’s in front of you with your eyes!” But he couldn’t have been more wrong. Far from being a distraction, photography helps you immerse yourself far more fully in a destination than aimless sightseeing ever could. Ever since explorers took photographers with them to record their discoveries, travel and image-making have gone hand in hand. Today, with the rise in quality cameraphones and digital equipment and picture-sharing sites like Instagram, photography tourism is booming. There’s a reason – and it isn’t just to brag about our adventures on social media. The act of photographing a place makes me experience it more richly: from the way I…

The recently announced Sony A9 III will feature the first full-frame global shutter on a professional mirrorless camera. It will also have a top shutter speed of 1/80,000sec and can shoot in RAW format at 120 frames per second. Having a global shutter is a game changer for mirrorless cameras using an electronic shutter and for video use. It means that instead of scanning the sensor line-by-line, it can process every photosite at the exact same time to eliminate distortion and rolling shutter. The full-frame chip is a BSI Exmore RS CMOS type with a resolution of 24.6MP. Dual Bionz XR processors give the Sony A9 III a ground-breaking continuous burst rate of up to 120fps and means that flashes can be synced at up to 1/80,000 sec – these…

The Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS | Sports lens has been developed exclusively for fullframe Leica Alliance L and Sony E-mounts for mirrorless cameras. Sigma’s lenses are renowned for offering exceptional performance, for a more affordable price than native lenses, and this new release is no different. It will be released at an enticing price of £1,499, especially compared with the native Sony E-mount equivalent that costs £2,599. The Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 DG DN OS | Sports will be the go-to tool for sports, wildlife, weddings and live events offering exceptionally sharp detail. Designed using ultra-high performance low-dispersion glass, which includes six FLD and two SLD elements the lens’s image quality is consistent throughout the zoom range, even wide open at f/2.8. This lens falls into Sigma’s Sports category…

In the Digital Photographer office, we often joke that Ansel Adams ruined landscape photography for the rest of us. Long before the first digital camera was created, Adams produced masterful scenic shots that would set the benchmark for almost every landscape composition for the next half-century. That’s a tough act to follow. However, the beauty of photography as a creative medium is that we can draw inspiration from our idols, including Adams in many cases, but still find something original and interesting to try ourselves. One of the biggest draws of landscape as a genre is the sheer diversity of colours, textures, shapes and light conditions on offer. Every location is subtly different – the topography varies, the arrangement of vegetation controls the foreground interest, the elevation dictates how water…

In the UK, we have the fortune of living fairly close to the ocean wherever we call home.Furthermore, all of that rain we complain about has the effect of keeping our lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, becks and brooks filled for the majority of the year, so when it comes to shooting landscapes with water, we are spoiled for choice. Once you are accustomed to working bodies of water into your landscapes, shots without them can seem oddly dull. This is due to the reflective properties of water, which bounce much of the light from the sky back into the scene, filling in shadows and applying washes of reflected colour. Reflections add a symmetry that can produce a feeling of balance in otherwise sparse frames. Even the smallest of puddles can…

When it comes to capturing wildlife, framing and aperture settings are crucial factors to consider. By using the right techniques, you can convey your message through two different photographic directions. Sometimes, it can be challenging to find the right composition, as the nature in the background may distract from the subject but cannot simply be removed. In such cases, it’s recommended to zoom right into your subject and work with open apertures like f/2. The reason is that the lower your f-stop number, the shallower the depth-of-field appears, meaning that the background gets blurred out. This helps in smoothing out any distracting image elements and keeping the viewer’s attention on the subject. Take care, because the shallower the depth of field, the narrower the focus area, meaning fewer image elements…

Difficulty level: Intermediate Time taken: 1.5 hours In many ways, sunset is the best time to shoot landscape photography. While dawn is the other golden hour for capturing scenic images, providing warmer light and softer shadows than midday, atmospheric factors often result in more saturated colours towards the end of the day. The other advantage of staying out later, rather than getting up early, is that the light is getting progressively better as the sun lowers in the sky and so the window for the best images is generally longer. However, capturing golden hour shots at the coast comes with several unique challenges. The close proximity of the sun to the reflective surface of the ocean often results in easily blown highlights. To make matters worse, these clipped areas are…

Tell me about yourself and how you got to where you are today... I was born and raised in Germany but moved to Scotland in July 2005, when I was 23. For the first eight years, I worked in hotels, but my health kept declining due to an autoimmune illness. I couldn’t handle the hours and stress of hospitality anymore, and I was really unwell. I left the hotel scene in around 2012, and a friend offered me a part-time job in her grooming salon. It wasn’t really for me but it just reminded me how much I love dogs and with that, Chantal’s Walkabout, my wee dog-walking business was born. At the same time, I took in my dog Jack, who I credit for the person I am today,…

WIN! SAMSUNG 256GB PRO PLUS MICRO SDXC MEMORY CARD WITH SD ADAPTER Every issue, one Digital Photographer reader wins a Samsung 256GB PRO Plus MicroSDXC memory card with SD adapter. Boasting up to 160MB/s and 120MB/s read/write speeds, the card is perfect for high-res stills and Ultra HD video. It is the go-to card for the modern content creator using mirrorless, smartphone, action cam and drone cameras. Find out more at samsung.com/uk/memory-storage Photographer: James Allen Title: Minimalistic Slow Exposure Location: Corton Sands, Suffolk, UK @jamesthephotographeratsnapz About the shot: “This stretch of coastline in Suffolk offers a variety of interesting objects, such as battered and well-worn sea defences that stick up out of the water when the tides are low, and these can make for some truly unique compositions. I set…

There are many occasions when we can’t get as close as we’d like. If you’re shooting anything from small timid birds to planes at an air show, from athletes to motorsports or wildlife on safari, you’ll need a lens that really covers the distance. A super-telephoto lens will get you there, and a zoom beats a prime for flexibility when your movements are limited. That’s especially true if you’re confined to a hide for shooting wildlife, or in a spectators’ area at a sporting event. A super-telephoto zoom can also come in handy for shooting candid portraits at events, so you can be unobtrusive and pick people out from a distance, while also blurring the background with a fairly tight depth of field. They can even provide a creative alternative…

PRICE: £379/$329 FOCUS DISTANCE: 0.14m WEIGHT: 150g Build and handling Since it first came onto the scene, the RF-S mount has struggled a little to find its place. The Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM, however, has come along to fill a muchneeded hole in the existing lineup. This is one of the shortest zoom lenses I have used; the entire zoom range only moves the front of the lens in and out a couple of millimetres. This lens is the perfect pocketable-sized companion for a camera such as the Canon EOS R50 or Canon EOS R100. Build quality is good as always with Canon. The lens is made of robust-feeling plastic, although at this price, don’t expect to find any weather sealing. The zoom ring is small, but I…

Woodlands and forests are wonderful locations to explore in search of landscape images. They are highly atmospheric places, due largely to the micro-climates you’ll commonly find when surrounded by respiring trees. Mist, carpets of flowers and vibrant colour, especially in the autumn months, mean there is always some reason to turn your camera on. With lots of detail comes the risk of overly ‘busy’ images, however. One of the staples of a landscape image is a clear subject, which can be difficult to define among the tangle of branches, ground-level shrubs and colourful mosses and lichens, all of which compete for attention. A mistake you’ll often see in forest photography is a focal length that is too wide, bringing excess detail around the edges of the frame. The regimented trees…

Landscape composition is about more than simply choosing a spot from which to shoot a scene. The glory of landscape as a genre of photography is that, as the light changes throughout the day and across the four seasons of the year, the terrain alters in appearance. The direction, intensity and brightness of light impact how texture, shape and colour look in an image and, as such, we must adjust our camera techniques to match. Contrast is, by definition, the difference in luminance or colour of one object or area of a photo from another. Absolute black and absolute white might represent the greatest contrast of exposure, but these are rarely seen together in the same frame. Similarly, colours on opposite sides of the colour wheel provide the greatest contrast…

To coax winter wildlife to come out in front of the lens, you must become one with nature, being almost invisible and blending in with the surroundings by choosing clothing with muted colours and avoiding materials that make noise. Camouflage clothing is your ticket to remaining unnoticed and reliable waterproof quality gear will protect you from the cold and mud. Accessories such as a camouflage lens cover or crim net will help to stay hidden and protect the expensive equipment in unpredictable weather conditions. SHOW RESPECT As photographers, we are guests in the animal’s habitats. Don’t get too close to the species, and let them be themselves. For the most captivating shots, the wildlife has to accept you and your lens first. Leave the environment as it was when you…

MAKE COLOURS POP To captivate the viewer, choosing subjects that boldly stand out against the white canvas is a great strategy. Squirrels or foxes are excellent choices, as their orange fur adds a splash of colour. During the editing process, enhance this colour using the selective colour layer option or by increasing vibrancy and saturation – Take care not to overdo the colours, as this can result in unnaturallooking subjects. During the winter season, natural light is a precious resource. To frame winter wildlife at its best, aim to take photographs during the golden hours of sunrise and sunset. In the morning, face east and, in the afternoon, position yourself towards the west to catch the warm glow of the winter sun – your smartphone’s compass will help locate the…

BEFORE AFTER When taking a portrait, it is important to include catchlights. These are reflections of the light source in the subject’s eyes that can add life, depth and a captivating sparkle. They make your subject look more vibrant and engaging and can turn a mundane portrait into an eye-catching one. The shape and intensity of catchlights can vary depending on the shooting environment. When shooting in a studio, the most effective way to create catchlights is to direct a light source towards your subject. This can be easily accomplished using a softbox or beauty dish to diffuse light for flattering effects. Similarly, when shooting outdoors, the sun creates natural catchlights, even when the weather is overcast. In fact, on overcast days, the clouds act as a natural softbox, creating…

When editing skin tones, it is best to avoid too much retouching. We often focus on removing spots with the clone or smoothing tools, but these can affect the skin texture. To avoid unnaturallooking results, Affinity Photo 2.0 has a Frequency Separation filter, where low and high frequencies are separated, so that colour spots (Low Frequency) and skin texture spots (High Frequency) can be edited separately. What you’ll be using ✤ Frequency Seperation ✤ High Frequency ✤ Low Frequency ✤ Paint brush 1 Copy Background layer It is crucial to keep track of the retouching edits you make. To do this, start by duplicating the original background layer. This will create a copy that you can use to compare the ‘before’ and ‘after’ versions of the photograph. It also helps…

For our latest competition in association with Photocrowd, we challenged you to submit your best Autumn Atmosphere images. After working through all the entries, the winners have been selected. As a prize, the expert winners will get a licence for Affinity Photo professional editing software. Congratulations to all of the winners – the standard of submitted images was extremely high, and it was a difficult task to select the best ones. 1ST PLACE WINNER Beauty in the woods Photographer Jaz72 What an absolutely gorgeous image! We like the creativity in this image – it’s an interesting take on the brief, managing to blend landscape and macro photography into an unusual perspective. The colours are seasonal, but there is more to the shot than autumnal hues. A well-thought-out and executed shot!…

Sony has come up trumps with its FE 200- 600mm. Building on the success of the FE 100-400mm G Master, the newer, bigger lens adds a third stabilisation mode and a more effective autofocus range limiter switch that can lock out both the short and long sectors. Image quality and all-round performance are superb, as are handling and build quality. For Canon and Nikon DSLRs, as well as for full-frame mirrorless cameras via adapters, the Sigma 150-600mm Sports is our top choice for performance at a reasonable price. However, the Canon RF 100-400mm is a more compact and lightweight option for EOS R system mirrorless cameras and is relatively inexpensive. The Nikon Z 100-400mm is an excellent but comparatively pricey lens for Nikon’s mirrorless Z system cameras. The Tamron G2…

PRICE: £13,499/$13,997 FOCUS DISTANCE: 2.5m WEIGHT: 2,950g Build and handling Lenses with built-in teleconverters are rare but not unique. This prime combines a native 400mm f/2.8 configuration with a 1.4x extender that gives you 560mm at f/4. Sure, it’s a heavyweight lens but that comes with the territory. Build quality is exceptional with a tough, weather-sealed construction incorporating a magnesium alloy barrel and fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. There are handling refinements aplenty. The three control rings include a customisable ring that you can assign to step-less aperture control, exposure compensation or ISO, for example. Performance The image quality is absolutely spectacular in all respects. Moreover, while teleconverters are notorious for downgrading image quality and all-round performance, the lens remains scarily sharp at 560mm with epic autofocus…