Innehållsförteckning för 245 från Pro Photo

Trawling through the archives to compile the ‘ProPhoto 50 Years Ago’ snapshot for this issue, I came across a particularly interesting short article. Bear in mind that this was written in 1975 – probably a bit before, as this was the first issue of the year – and in reality, well before digital imaging was anything but a very small, indistinct blip on the radar. Here’s an early quote, “While the pessimists and the photographic doomsdayists predict our future lies with Electro Magnetic imagery, the manufacturers of photo-sensitive materials predict a rosy future for photographic employers and employees alike”. The pessimists and doomsdayists were, of course, absolutely right and, to some extent at least, this author was right to describe them as such because the digital imaging revolution has been…

As a number of the longer-lived mirrorless lens systems are undergoing upgrades of key models, Fujifilm’s Mark II version of its XF 16-55mm f/2.8 zoom is a good example of what can be achieved using the latest design and manufacturing techniques. The original was introduced in early 2015 so quite a lot has happened in mirrorless lens design since then. Apart from significant reductions in size and weight, the Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR II has new features, including an 11-blade diaphragm and the option of switching the aperture collar between click-stopped and seamless setting – both are firsts for an X mount lens. Quantitatively, Fujifilm says the new model has 37.8 percent less bulk overall and, at 410 grams compared to 655 grams, is 37.2 percent lighter……

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 early 1970s, medium and large format cameras were considered the only choice for professionals, especially for studio work. Thirtyfive millimetre film was mainly the domain of press and sports photographers. Black-and-white film was still in extensive use for many applications and, although colour was no longer thought of as the work of the devil, many pros ran their own darkrooms for processing and printing B&W. Here’s a selection of what was on the pages of this magazine 50 years ago when it was called Professional Photography In Australia. This is a snapshot of the January/February 1975 issue. Test Reports: Pentax…

The much-anticipated return of the Pentax brand to 35mm film photography comes in the shape of a half-frame fixed-lens compact called the Pentax 17. Doubling the number of frames obtainable from a roll makes the Pentax 17 more economical to run which remains an important consideration while film and processing costs remain comparatively high due mostly to the low volumes involved. Due to the half frame’s vertical orientation, the camera’s optical viewfinder is this way too, and its central location gives the Pentax 17 a distinctive look which further enhances its appeal. As with any half frame 35mm camera, it needs to be turned on its side to shoot in the landscape format. The frame size is 24x17 mm – hence the ‘17’ model designation – and a total of…

The latest addition to the Hasselblad XCD P (Portable) lens series, the 75mm f/3.4 – equivalent to 59mm in the full frame format – is a very compact and lightweight prime lens ideal for portraiture, street photography, travel, still life and documentary work. The 75mm joins the existing XCD Portable series primes – the 28mm f/4.0 and the 45mm f/4.0. The 75mm model’s optical construction comprises ten elements in ten groups and includes one aspherical type and three with extra-low dispersion characteristics to minimise chromatic aberrations. The sophisticated optical design not only contributes to the lens’s compact size, but also delivers an optical performance that meets the resolution demands of a 100 megapixels sensor. Particularly notable is the uniformity of sharpness across the frame from the centre to the corners,…

More details about any of the products featured on these pages are available from; C.R. Kennedy & Company Pty Ltd, 300 Lorimer Street, Port Melbourne, Victoria 3207. Telephone (03) 9823 1555 or visit https://crkphotoimaging.com.au Alternatively, contact your nearest C.R. Kennedy & Company state office in NSW, Queensland, South Australia or Western Australia. C.R. Kennedy & Company is the Australian distributor for many of the most respected names in photography and video; including Sigma, Hasselblad, Phase One, Pentax, Ricoh, Ilford, Harman, dji, Profoto, Barber Shop, Cokin, Hähnel, Harman, Hoya, Lomography, BlackRapid, HPRC, Kenko, Kowa, LensBaby, Lume Cube, SLR Magic, Elmo, Flir, ONA, Paterson, Red Wing, Tokina, Slik, SanDisk, Shootools, Studio Assets, Vanguard, Vixen, Western Digital, X-Rite, Zeiss, Zhiyun and ZILR.…

“I’ve been a director of photography in the film business pretty much since graduating in 1979. I lost my right eye in a surfing accident at Whale Beach in 1998 and it took me about three months to get my brain used to monocular vision, a strange period where you feel a bit sea sick part of the time. During that period of recovery, I did a bit of book-making. My first book was called Australienation: Portrait Of A Bi-cultural Country with some of my photographs. “Portraits From A Land Without People – A Pictorial Anthology Of Indigenous Australia 1847-2008 [on the cane table] is my second book and the one that I’m most proud of. The seed for this book goes back to when I was at Curtin University…

OM SYSTEM M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 150-600mm f/5.0-6.3 IS The cropped sensor formats are holding their own with lenses like OM System’s 150-600mm telezoom one of the reasons. The focal length multiplier means that you can go longer – 300-1200mm in this case – without paying the price or carrying the load. OM Digital Solution’s resistance to adopting a bigger sensor size – probably a financial consideration more than anything – means that the Micro Four Thirds format has benefited from its renewed emphasis, post Olympus – on developing lenses which make the most of the 1.97x increase in the effective focal length. While Panasonic promotes M43 for video-makers (for whom it’s perfectly suited), OMDS has put photographers first and, specifically, those whose natural habitat is the great outdoors. Effectively a…

LEICA SL3 Leica’s third-gen full frame mirrorless body is its most competitive yet, but it retains a distinctive character and delivers a class-leading imaging performance. While its rangefinder cameras have always had a strong professional following right from the very beginning, it fared less well in this sector with its reflex offerings which really couldn’t compete with market leaders Canon and Nikon. After the aborted hybrid 35mm/digital SLR system – great idea, but well night technically impossible to implement successfully – Leica didn’t even bother with full frame DSLRs (instead there was the medium format S system), but it’s been a different story in the mirrorless era. Ahead of everybody except Sony with a full frame mirrorless system, Leica took the opportunity presented by the new configuration to broaden its…

Still using the previous model’s 50.1 megapixels stacked ‘Exmor RS’ CMOS sensor, the upgraded Mark II version of the Sony Alpha 1 now includes the key features that have been introduced with the A7R V and the A9 III, including the dedicated ‘AI Processing Unit’ for enhanced subject recognition, and pre-capture buffering. The subject recognition expands to include cars, aircraft, trains and insects while there’s improvements to the detection of eyes with humans, animals and birds. The recognition of also includes ‘pose estimation’ using the position of the head and/or torso. New to the Sony Alpha line is an Auto recognition mode which covers all the detectable subjects, but can also be fine-tuned to include only the subjects that you want. The A1 II has blackout-free continuous shooting with full…

The trade-off is a focal range of 28-70mm rather than the 24-70mm that’s typically considered the ‘staple’ standard zoom, but many may prefer the extra stop of lens speed (as per Canon’s similar RF mount L series model). An f/2.0 constant-aperture zoom is quite an optical challenge, and the Sony FE 28-70mm f/2.0 G Master’s optical construction comprises 20 elements in 14 groups with a total of ten special types. These comprise three ‘eXtreme Aspherical’ (XA) elements, three with aspherical surfaces, and four with extra-low dispersion (ED) characteristics… three of these classified as ‘Super ED’. The aspherical elements are designed to optimise centre-to-corner sharpness across the full zooming range while the ED types correct for chromatic aberrations. Sony’s ‘Nano AR Coating II’ antireflection multi-coating reduces ghosting and flare. Focusing is…

Back in 1948, Victor Hasselblad revolutionised medium format photography with his innovative modular rollfilm SLR camera design. It combined unmatched portability with high image quality and, after it evolved into the legendary 500 Series, was extensively used by professional photographers in many fields for over 60 years. The spirit of the original Hasselblad V system lives on in the classicallyinspired 907X camera body which, along with the ultra-high resolution CFV 100C digital capture back, delivers 100 megapixels imaging performance in a compact and portable package. Retro camera designs have proved to be very popular in the smaller sensor sizes, and Hasselblad is drawing on its substantial heritage in medium format photography to offer a very similar experience in the digital era. The 907X is a slimline camera body which accepts…

Sigma’s DG DN lenses for full frame digital mirrorless cameras are specifically designed to exploit the optical and mechanical design advantages of the configuration’s short flange back distance. All these lenses are currently available in the Sony FE mount and the L mount (for the Leica SL series, the Panasonic Lumix S series, and the Sigma fp L mirrorless camera bodies). The DC DN lenses are for ‘APS-C’ cropped sensor digital mirrorless cameras, and currently available in the Sony E mount, the L mount, Fujifilm X, Nikon Z, Canon RF and Micro Four Thirds. Sigma DC DN Lenses For The Canon RF Mount Sigma is now offering six of its DC DN zooms and primes for Canon’s ‘APS-C’ format RF mount mirrorless cameras – currently comprising the EOS R100, R50,…

FUJINON XF 500mm f/5.6 R LM OIS WR X mount shooters now have a handy supertelephoto prime which, while effectively delivering 760mm, is still surprisingly easy to use hand-held. Telephoto primes – and supertelephotos too – are staples of any lens system, but they seem to have been a bit low on the lists of priorities for mirrorless cameras. Telezooms have been a more popular route to longer focal lengths, especially with the cropped sensor systems probably because it’s easier to go even longer with a smaller and lighter lens. Until now, the longest prime in Fujifilm’s X mount line-up has been the very yummy but pricey Fujinon XF 200mm f/2.0 R LM OIS WR – effectively 305mm at the same super-fast f/2.0 maximum aperture – but there’s the XF…

recommended retail price Format: Micro Four Thirds. Focal Length Multiplier: 1.97x. Effective Focal Length: 300-1200mm. Angle-of-View: 8.2-2.1 degrees (diagonal). Construction: 25 elements in 15 groups. Thirteen special elements – four Super ED (Super Extra-Low Dispersion) type, six HR (High Refractive Index) type, two ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) types, one HD (High Definition) type. Minimum Focus: 56 centimetres at 150mm, 2.8 metres at 600mm. Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:2.8 at 150 mm, 1:5 at 600mm (35mm equivalent). Aperture Range: f/5.0-6.3 to f/22-29. Length: 264.4 millimetres at 150/300mm. Maximum Diameter: 109.4 millimetres. Filter Diameter: 95 millimetres. Weight: 2065 grams. Features: Weather-sealed construction to IPX1 standard (dust, moisture and subzero temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius), fluorine moisture repellent coating on the exposed surface of the front element, optical image stabilisation (up to 6.0 stops…

IF YOU WANT AN L MOUNT FULL frame mirrorless camera primarily for video production, you might be tempted to look at one of Panasonic’s hybrid offerings with all their bells and whistles, but the SL3 is still very wellfeatured and has plenty of appeal, starting with its heavy-duty construction that’s not afraid of the wet (or the cold). The ultra-high res sensor and more powerful processor mean that 8K is on the menu and both 4K and 2K are available at faster frame rates. The 8K recording is available in the DCI and UHD aspect ratios and uses the more efficient HEVC/H.265 codec with LongGOP compression to keep file sizes and data rates manageable The colour sampling is 10-bit 4:2:0, but you can have 4:2:2 with 4K recording – again…

Not so very long go, lenses for medium format camera systems were big, bulky and usually very heavy, especially the zooms. Furthermore, a model such as Hasselblad’s XCD series 20-35mm ultra-wide zoom would have been hard to conceive, let alone achieve with such compact dimensions. It’s equivalent to a 16-27mm focal range (full frame) and is the first ‘E’ model in the XCD lineup. The ‘E’ designation stands for Exclusive and these models represent superior optical performance. The maximum angle-of-view is an expansive 108 degrees at 20mm. The optical construction employs 16 elements in 12 groups and includes three aspherical types and four with extra-low (ED) dispersion characteristics to effectively suppress chromatic aberrations and minimise distortion, delivering the high-resolution demands of a 100 megapixels sensor. Exceptional centre-tocorner sharpness is maintained…

Ilford Galerie Cotton Fine-Art Papers Photographers and print-makers can rely on these 100 percent cotton fine-art inkjet papers to produce the highest quality digital prints in either colour or B&W. Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Sprite A 100 percent cotton rag fine-art paper with a weight of 280 gsm, Smooth Cotton Sprite has an ultra-smooth surface with a natural base tint. With no optical brighteners, a medium weight quality and excellent image stability, Galerie Smooth Cotton Sprite is ideal for interior décor applications and art reproduction of fine-art, pop art and artistic illustrations. It is compatible with pigmented ink photo printers. It is available in cut sheet sizes up to A2+ size and paper rolls in 17, 24, 36, 44 or 50 inches widths. Ilford Galerie Textured Cotton Sprite Ilford Galerie…

Format: ‘APS-C’ digital sensors. Effective focal length is equivalent to 762mm. Angle-of-View: 3.3 degrees (diagonal on ‘APS-C’). Construction: 24 elements/14 groups. Seven special elements – five extra-low dispersion (ED) types and two ‘Super ED’ extra-low dispersion types. Minimum Focus: 275 centimetres. Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:5. Aperture Range: f/5.6 to f/22. Overall Length: 255 millimetres. Maximum Diameter: 105 millimetres. Filter Diameter: 95 millimetres. Weight: 1335 grams (without lens hood or tripod foot). Lens Mount: Fujifilm X. Features: Weather-sealed external construction including insulation for operation in subzero temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius, fluorine coating on front element, optical image stabilisation (up to 5.5 stops of correction for camera shake), internal focusing, high-speed linear AF motor, ‘Focus Preset’ button, four ‘Focus Control’ buttons (for AF-on, focus hold or recall focus distance preset),…

body only, recommended retail price Type: Enthusiast/professional mirrorless digital camera with L bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Hybrid phase/contrast-detection measurement with 315 focusing points. Contrast detection via Depth-From-Defocus (DFD) calculations. Manual and automatic (‘Intelligent AF’) switching between one-shot and continuous AF modes, the latter with auto tracking. Area modes for Spot, Zone (nine points), Multi-Field, Field, Tracking, Eye/Face/Body Detection for humans and Eye/Face/Body Detection for animals. AF Profiles for Children/Pets, Team Sports, Runner and Wildlife. Touchpad AF point/zone selection available via touch screen monitor. Focus assist via magnified image (three settings) and focus peaking displays (Red, Green, Blue and White; and two levels of intensity). Sensitivity range is EV -6.0 - 18 (ISO 100, f/1.4). Low light/contrast assist provided by built-in LED illuminator. Metering: Multi-zone, centre-weighted average, highlight-weighted average, spot and…