Innehållsförteckning för 244 från Pro Photo

The more advanced AI-based functions introduced in Canon’s EOS R5 Mark II have, inevitably, again raised the question about whether camera tech is dumbing down photographer skills and techniques. These new capabilities are also aboard the R1 flagship, but since the R5II is here first, it’s the pioneer. You can read our comprehensive test of this camera in this issue, but in a nutshell AI analysis is extended beyond simply subject types to also recognise the actions or plays associated with various sports. The autofocusing then prioritises the key player (or players) involved in the action and ignores the others. Obviously this is a plus for sports photographers as is another new capability which trains the AF system to recognise specific individuals – such as, for example, the star players…

OM Digital Solutions Australia has announced that the special ASTRO version of the E-M1 Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera is now available in Australia. The ASTRO model has an IR-cut filter in front of its sensor and which is designed to transmit 100 percent of the Hα rays, enabling the capture of the diffuse red nebulae that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. The camera comes as a kit along with two body-mount filters that extend the capture capabilities. The MF-LPC01, is advantageous for astro-photography as it cuts down on the light pollution from artificial light sources such as city lights. As the area near the horizon is most easily affected by light pollution, this filter is particularly effective when shooting constellations rising in the eastern sky or setting…

Sony’s program of updating its key FE mount lenses continues with the arrival of the Mark II version of the much acclaimed 85mm f/.4 G Master series prime. The new model is both smaller and lighter than its predecessor, weighing in at 642 gram which represents a 20 percent reduction. At 107 millimetres in length, it’s only fractionally shorter, but the new lens’s overall volume is reduced by 13 percent. The weight savings are partially achieved by employing a physical construction that employs both metal alloys and high-grade composites. The barrel is sealed against the intrusion of water or dust, and there’s a fluorine coating on the exposed surface of the front element to help repel moisture and grease. Some weight savings are also achieved in the optical design which employs…

Newcastle Beach in 1983, and 21-year-old Dave Kelly is shooting surfing photos from the rocks, when a guy walks over for a chat. He told Dave that he had seen his photos in surfing magazines, and he took Dave’s telephone number. This was Brad Farmer – a gregarious, likeable person with the gift of the gab – and he was staying in Newcastle while he was writing a book. Dave’s plan at the time was to become a professional photographer and, for his surfing work, he built himself a couple of custom underwater housings. However, the word was starting to get out about these housings. Shortly after, Farmer telephoned Dave and asked him to travel around the Australian coastline with him, taking photographs for Nat Young’s book, Surfing And Sailboard…

Canon’s RF mount mirrorless flagship has some big shoes to fill as one of its key roles is to replace the most consummate DSLR ever made… the EOS-1D X Mark III. The EOS R1 has to convince a very discerning audience, but it’s not all that hard to see why sports and action photographers will be wooed by some seriously superior specifications. At the top of the list has to be the R1’s continuous shooting speed of 40 fps even with 14-bit RAW capture and with full AF/AE adjustment between the frames. This is twice as fast as the DSLR flagship and its 20 fps is only achievable with the mirror locked-up so you don’t have an eyelevel viewfinder in play. The R1’s EVF, on the other hand, delivers blackout-free…

Following its 35mm f/1.4 Z mount full frame prime lens, Nikon has introduced a 50mm f/1.4 model that’s identical in dimensions and is also quite affordable for such a fast lens. The new Nikkor Z 50mm f/1.4 weighs in at a modest 420 grams and is just 87 millimetres in length which means that it’s also comparatively compact. The lens’s external construction is sealed to protect against moisture and dust. In addition to a manual focus collar, the 50mm has a customisable control ring which can be set to adjust apertures, shutter speeds or ISO values. The optical design comprises ten elements in seven groups which includes one aspherical element to help reduce distortion and also optimise sharpness across the image frame. Autofocusing is performed via twin stepping motors (STMs)…

There’s nothing like a dip into the archives to reveal just how much things have changed in the professional photography industry, especially over the last couple of decades. In the late 1970s, the 35mm film format was now being widely used by professionals, but medium format cameras were still the preferred choice for many. Colour film now dominated – as demanded by clients – but as it was more difficult to process and print than B&W, the pro photofinisher was on the rise, some specialising in wedding/portrait work on C41 colour negative film, and others in processing transparency film and making Cibachrome prints. Here’s a selection of what was on the pages of this magazine 45 years ago when it was called Professional Photography In Australia. This is a snapshot…

FROM THE MARK II EDITION OF THE EOS 5D (2008) onwards Canon has established itself in the digital video world and subsequently cemented its position with the Cinema EOS line of dedicated video cameras (launched in 2011). There have been a number of ‘crossovers’ between the systems over the years, notably the EOS 1D C (2012) and, in the mirrorless era, the EOS R5C (2022) which is a more video-orientated version of the original R5. This camera’s issue with overheating – in reality mostly only when recording 8K video – was probably one of the reasons behind the Cinema EOS version which has a built-in cooling fan, enabling 8K recording at up to 50/60 fps. However, it also combined the EOS R form factor with a number of Cinema EOS…

In the automotive world the pursuit of speed is an expensive exercise. There’s a lot of physics working against you which is why the 400 km/h Bugatti Chiron – powered by a quad-turbocharged W16 engine, by the way – cost in the region of $4,000,000 when it was launched. Getting more speed out of an imaging sensor is similarly challenging – there’s physics to overcome here too – and consequently the solutions are all costly. So, if you really want to shoot at 30 fps or even faster, you’re going to have to pay for it. Not surprisingly, a lot of work is going into finding out if there are cheaper options. The stacked sensor was devised to enable a much faster read-out of the imaging data, but these are…

THE ‘PARTIALLY STACKED’ SEN-sor’s speed arguably has more benefits for video-makers than photographers. The fastest frame rates at all resolutions increase compared to previously while the ability to handle more data internally delivers 6K video – using the full width of the sensor – in 12-bit N-RAW or Apple ProRes HQ RAW quality… and at up to 50/60 fps. The bit rate in N-RAW, by the way, is a massive 3730 Mbps with the high quality recording option switched on. The N-RAW options is also available for 4K (at 4032x2268 pixels) up to 50/60 fps and for 4K (at 3984x2240 pixels) with the ‘DX’ format crop (i.e. 1.5x) at up to 120/100 fps. Likewise for Apple ProRes HQ RAW. From here it’s onto the compressed codecs, starting with ProRes 422…

With a body size and styling similar to that of the top-end EOS R mirrorless bodies, the Cinema EOS C80 is a dedicated cinema camera which also uses the RF mount and has a full frame, stacked BSI CMOS sensor with a resolution of 26.7 megapixels. The body design makes it very compact and also lightweight for a high-end video camera, and the high-res sensor enables 6K video recording. The sensor also features triple-gain output circuitry with the three base ISOs set at 800, 3200 and 12,800 in order to deliver enhanced low-light shooting capabilities by minimising the gain-related noise at the higher sensitivity settings. The full sensitivity range is equivalent to ISO 100 to 102,400. Canon claims a dynamic range of 16 stops with the Canon Log2 gamma profile.…

It’s likely that the huge success of the EOS 5D line of DSLRs far exceeded Canon’s wildest dreams. Particularly from the video-capable Mark II model onwards, they delivered a particular combination of features, performance, handling and rugged reliability that appealed to both professionals and enthusiast-level shooters alike. The popularity of the EOS 5D series has been a good thing in terms of giving Canon a stranglehold on the high-end sector of the ILC market for a very long time, and for gaining the brand a loyal following among video shooters which had since extended to cinematographers via the Cinema EOS dedicated pro video cameras. The downside is that plenty of photographers don’t want to give up their 5Ds, particularly the still-current – at least for now – Mark IV model.…

body only, recommended retail price Type: Enthusiast-level/professional digital mirrorless camera with Canon RF bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic via 5850-points wide area system using phase-difference detection measurements via ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF’ giving 100 percent vertical and horizontal coverage. 1053 focus points available for automatic selection. Area modes are Spot AF, 1-Point AF, Expand AF (above/below/left/right), Expand AF (around), Flexible Zone 1/2/3, Whole Area AF, Whole Area Tracking/Spot AF, Whole Area Tracking/1-Point AF, Whole Area/Expand AF (above/below/left/right), Whole Area/Expand AF (around). Adjustable AF point size (small or large). AI-based subject detection and tracking for People, Animals (dogs, cats, horses and birds), Vehicles (motorsports cars and motorcycles, trains and aircraft) and Auto. Eye detection (auto, left or right). ‘Register People’ priority. ‘Action Priority’ (for soccer, basketball and volleyball). Eye Control AF.…

The Nikon Z 6III has a native ISO range of 100 to 64,000 with extensions down to ISO 50 and up to ISO 204,800. The sensor’s dual-gain design means the noise reduction at the higher sensitivity settings starts from a higher base ISO and noise is inherently lower. The two base ISO settings are at 100 and 800, and the output circuits optimised for dynamic range and colour saturation (i.e. low gain), and sensitivity (i.e. low noise). These images were captured as JPEG/large/fine files with the aperture set to f/11 and the exposure time varied to compensate for the adjustments to the ISO. High ISO and Long Exposure noise reduction processing are both switched off. Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4.0 S zoom lens.…

body only, recommended retail price Type: Enthusiast-level or semi-professional digital mirrorless camera with Nikon Z bayonet lens mount Focusing: Automatic via 299 points using hybrid phase/contrast detection (273 points available for manual selection). Area modes are Pinpoint, Single-Point, Dynamic Area – Small, Dynamic Area – Medium, Dynamic Area - Large, Wide Area AF – Small, Wide Area AF – Large, Wide Area AF – Custom 1 and 2 (with 77 shape/size options from 1x1 to 21x13 points), Auto Area, 3D Tracking, Subject Tracking. Manual switching between one-shot and continuous modes for photography with auto switching in AF-F mode for video. Subject recognition for humans (body/head/face/eye), animals (body/head/eye, and which includes dogs, cats and birds), cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trains and aircraft. Auto subject detection. 3D Tracking. Adjustable tracking sensitivity. Sensitivity range…