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2 GREAT WAYS TO LEARN! 100%
READ OUR GUIDES WATCH THE VIDEOS NIKON
Volume 3
2PAG2ES0OF+
PHOTO ADVICE
PLUS 60 MINU TE S
OF V IDEO!
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Welcome
Welcome to your
digital edition
Four easy ways to read this digital book…
Volume 3
2PAG2ES P0LU+S
W
elcome to the new Ultimate
Nikon SLR Handbook: Volume 3.
In this fully updated and revised
Nikon digital SLR photography 6 0 M IN U T E S
guide we’ve packed even more helpful camera
techniques and inspirational advice.
O F V ID E O !
The first chapter on camera skills offers a range
of features to help you master – and be more productive
with – your Nikon SLR. Learn all about the basics of
photography, then be inspired by our creative projects.
Chapter two is our nine-lesson Nikopedia. This complete
guide to camera techniques and photography concepts
will enable you to get to grips with specifics including
depth of field, exposure, white balance, and much more.
This is followed by 28 pages of expert Q&As. In chapter
four we reveal how to put this technical know-how into
practice with 20 projects you can attempt yourself
including shooting street candids, underwater
landscapes, silhouettes and more. If you get stuck,
watch the included video tutorials.
Finally, in chapter five we provide guides and reviews
of the most useful accessories you can buy for your
SLR, including the best Nikon lenses, tripods,
flashguns, editing software and printers – everything
you need to get the most out of your Nikon SLR.
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LICENSING
Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
CHAPTER ONE Environmental portraits ..........................156
Self-portraits .............................................158
Camera skills 6 Soft-focus portraits .................................160
Boot camp .....................................................8 Low-angle shooting ..................................162
The ultimate guide to exposure ...............20 Foreground interest .................................164
The professional portrait guide ...............32 Underwater photography ........................166
Raw secrets ................................................44 Birds in flight .............................................168
12 Creative home projects ........................56 Painting with light ....................................170
Q&A
80 ways to sell your shots ........................68 Successful silhouettes ............................172
The histogram .......................................... 174
CHAPTER TWO Making a softbox .......................................176
Neutralising orange backgrounds..........178
Nikopedia 78 Macro lighting ...........................................180
Lenses: part 1 ............................................80 Camera user modes .................................182
Lenses: part 2............................................84 Lighting with snoots ................................184
Raw vs JPEG..............................................88 Tilt-shift effects ........................................186
Depth of field............................................. 92 Tethered shooting ....................................188
Exposure.................................................... 96
GEAR CRAFT
Sensor size ...............................................100 CHAPTER FIVE
Getting more from raw ...........................104 Essential accessories 192
The exposure triangle.............................108
The A-Z of Nikon lenses .............................194
White balance ...........................................112
Kit bag essentials ......................................216
CHAPTER THREE
Q&A 116
Our resident expert answers your Nikon
questions and solves your issues. If nobody
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CHAPTER FOUR
Gear craft 148
Magnifying your subject ..........................150
Reducing glare ..........................................152
Telephoto flowers ....................................154
2015 The Ultimate Nikon SLR Handbook: Volume 3 5
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Page 20
NIKOPEDIA
Page 8
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 32
CAMERA SKILLS
Camera skills
NIKOPEDIA
Boot camp ..................................................................8
The ultimate guide to exposure .................. 20
Page 44 The professional portrait guide .................. 32
Q&A
Raw secrets ............................................................44
12 Creative home projects .............................. 56
80 ways to sell your shots.............................. 68
Page 68
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 56
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NIKOPEDIA
Q&A free ebooks ==> www.ebook777.com
Q Get photo
tand at ease troops! Are you ready to work Our course runs over five days, which are split up by
S hard to improve your shooting skills? Are you
going to make this the year that you truly
photographic subject and camera topic. On day one we
head to the hills to get down and dirty with exposure
master your SLR, and get really photo fit? If so, you’ve and landscapes. On day two we learn essential field
come to the right place. This is the Nikon Boot Camp skills – depth of field skills, that is – and use them for
– our intensive five-day course where our crack team of taking portraits of civilians. On the third day, we head
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
camera commandos will take you through the basics, back to camp to learn about why focusing is more a
and get you to think about photography like a true challenge when shooting still lifes. On day four the
soldier. Whether you’re a new photography recruit or a mission is moving targets, and using the right shutter
battle-scarred snapping squaddie, our instructors will speed to avoid disaster from a shaky trigger finger, and
get you through our SLR assault course. And through ensuring that we can freeze even the fastest of targets.
your own hard work you’ll come out the other side as a We finish off our Boot Camp by getting you to lose your
better sharp shooter, with all the essential survival fear of noise and be a master of the push up! So what
skills you need to make the most of your own Nikon SLR. are you waiting for? Grab your backpack and off we go…
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL STERRY
GEAR CRAFT
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
5 60 30
12 15
50
2
8
1000 500
4
Bulb
2 1 2 4
DAY 1 LANDSCAPES
00
20
8
15
00
30 B 40
EXPOSURE
conditions. Here, nightfall combined with a
narrow aperture and a low ISO mean that we
need a very long (95-second) exposure, and so
the moving clouds and sea become a blur.
NIKOPEDIA
land using a neutral density dawn. The light is less harsh and 95 secs, f/16, ISO100
graduated filter. They come in you get more surface shadows,
varying strengths; a good start is and because the light changes
a two-stop soft-edged one. quickly you get lots of variety.
R
The controls for exposure can seem complex,
but it’s just like filling a glass with water!
How far you open the tap is the aperture.
The water pressure is the intensity of light.
The shutter speed is how long you leave the tap
running – if the light is low, you open the tap up
more or let it run for longer (or both).
ISO is the size of the glass. If light is scarce,
you can use a high ISO (a smaller glass).
There’s no fixed ‘perfect exposure’.
CAMERA SKILLS
Give the meter a nudge
Your Nikon’s built-in meter is just
a guide, so be prepared to make
the shot darker or lighter than it
suggests. We recommend you start
using A (aperture-priority) mode and then use
exposure compensation to make this brighter or
darker. If you’ve completed basic training, you can
use M (manual) mode, which lets you tweak the
overall exposure much more quickly.
NIKOPEDIA
Anything but NEF is naff
Q&A
Set the Image Quality of your Nikon to RAW or
NEF. One of the many advantages of this format
is that it gives you more tonal detail, and more
flexibility to tweak the exposure of the image
on your computer back at base.
GEAR CRAFT
this shot) to reveal hidden details in the darkest
corners of the scene.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
ASSAULT
COURSE UNLOCK THE HISTOGRAM EYES TO THE RIGHT TURN ON THE BLINKIES
GET TO Make sure your SLR shows you its
exposure graph, or histogram. Go to
The more exposure you give the
shot, the further the graph goes to
If you don’t have time for graphs,
turn on Highlights in the Playback
GRIPS WITH Display Options in the Playback
menu, and enable this. Press Up as
the right. You want a histogram that
touches the right-hand edge, but
Display Options. You can then
review images so that burnt-out
GRAPHS you review the shot to see the graph. that doesn’t peak at the right. over-exposed areas blink at you!
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
DAY 2 PORTRAITS
Nikon D700, Nikon 85mm f/1.4G,
1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO400
FIELD EXERCISES
For shots with real impact, you need
control of what’s blurred and what’s Format FX
SLRs are better than compact
VKDUS,W·VDOODERXWWKHGHSWKRIÀHOG« cameras and cellphones because
NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
Eyes right!
Minimising the amount of your shot that’s
sharp is one of the most effective tricks
you can play with your SLR. But for this
type of shot to work, something needs
to be in focus that draws the eye of the
viewer and juxtaposes with the blurred
bits. With portraits, of people or animals,
you need to ensure that at least one of
your subject’s eyes is perfectly sharp (it
should be the one closest to the camera).
Then it won’t matter if the rest of the
head is progressively blurred.
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
Mission: Impossible
With some subjects it’s
impossible to get
everything in focus,
however narrow an
aperture you use, or
whatever lens you own.
This is particularly so with
close-range targets. You’ll
soon learn the situations
GEAR CRAFT
where not everything can
be pin-sharp.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
ASSAULT
COURSE 24mm at f/8 85mm at f/4.5 85mm at f/4.5
STAND OUT Getting everything in focus makes
for a dull shot here. A wide-angle
This is better, but you’ll get no
medal! We have now zoomed right
Now we have a portrait that is worth
a mention in despatches. The
FROM THE lens and a mid-sized aperture
combine to give you lots of depth of
out to the telephoto end, and set the
maximum aperture. But that
background has less detail, and our
man is standing further away from
BACKGROUND field, which, frankly, we don’t want. backdrop is still too distracting! it, so it’s perfectly defocused.
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
GENERAL C. GEORGE
a macro, or a wide-aperture prime enough. The AF feeds off contrast,
at it widest aperture and you’ll so you need to point it at
soon find that getting the camera something with an edge or with
to focus accurately and reliably on some texture that it can lock onto.
the right point takes some skill. Most importantly, get into the
Focusing manually by simply habit of checking your shots are
looking through the viewfinder is sharp before you leave the scene
useless on a D-SLR. You have to and lose the ability to reshoot!
Q&A
what’s on the LCD screen more 17-55mm f/2.8G makes it a great controller on the back of the camera to choose the one that you want,
easily by cutting out glare and choice if you want to upgrade the which will light up. The autofocus needs to be awake and working, so you
distracting reflections. kit lens for your DX-format D-SLR. may need to give the trigger a squeeze before you pick your point.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
ASSAULT
COURSE THE SINGLE LIFE WAIT FOR THE GREEN LIGHT LIVE ROUNDS
MIRRORING If your subject isn’t moving, make
sure you don’t use the continuous
Gently squeeze the trigger to get the
autofocus to fire up. When it finds its
In low light, or when you’re very
close to your target, it can often be
A TARGET’S AF-C mode. Your lens focuses faster
and more accurately with the single
target and locks on, a green light
appears in the viewfinder (and you
easier and more accurate to focus
using Live View. You then autofocus
POSITION shot AF-S focus mode. get an optional beep too). on any point in the frame.
CAMERA SKILLS
Pixels on parade IMAGE BY
Don’t just assume
ZACHARY VOO
your SLR has taken a
Nikon D600,
sharp shot. Check it.
Nikon 50mm f/1.4,
Replay the image and
1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO200
zoom right into key
areas to check you
don’t need to reshoot.
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
Close encounters
How close you can go
depends on the lens
you’re using. The 50mm
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
DAY 4 ACTION
MOVING TARGETS
Beat the shakes with our handy
Image is everything
The speed of the subject
doesn’t dictate the shutter
speed you need to use to
freeze the action – it’s the
speed at which it moves across
ÀHOGJXLGHWRWKHEHVWVKXWWHUVSHHGV the frame that counts. If a bike
to suit every shooting occasion is close to the lens you need a
NIKOPEDIA
KIT INSPECTION
FAST-ACTION BOLT-ONS FOR SHARP SHOOTERS
70-200mm f/2.8 1.4x teleconverter
A long lens is the A teleconverter is
tool of choice for a great portable
wildlife and add-on for
sport. How long a giving you more
lens you need will firepower when
vary, but one with a you need to crop in
fast maximum aperture will help that bit closer. They only work
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
Take a selection
In some low-light situations,
you just have to give it a go and
use a shutter speed slower
than the guidelines suggest.
Our tip here is to take several
shots, because one will always
be sharper than the others…
although this only works for
stationary subjects.
NIKOPEDIA
Frozen landscape
Shot with a 16mm lens on
a full-frame camera, the
minimum textbook shutter
speed for this shot would be
around 1/15 sec. However, the
Q&A
fast-moving snowboarder
means we need a much faster
speed to freeze the movement.
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
ASSAULT
COURSE SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1000 sec SHUTTER SPEED: 1/250 sec SHUTTER SPEED: 1/30 sec
PLOTTING A It’s the speed relative to you that
matters, not your subject’s actual
You can get away with a shutter
speed that’s two stops slower (four
You can get away with slower
shutter speeds by keeping the car in
SUBJECT’S speed. If it’s moving across the frame
you need a faster shutter speed than
times as long) if the car is heading
towards you, but be warned, the
your sights and tracking its
movement. These panning shots
TRAJECTORY if it’s heading towards you. autofocus is more likely to fail! artistically blur the surroundings.
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
DAY 5 TRAVEL CA
P TA
IN
A.
PUSH UP SKILLS
NI
CH
OL
S ON
frees you up to use low ISOs even optical stabilisation, such as the 100 400 1600 6400
in low light, and gives you a freer DX Nikon 18-200mm, or FX Nikon the aperture and overall LOW HIGH
exposure stay the same). ISO ISO
choice of aperture and speed. 28-300mm.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
ASSAULT
COURSE WHY YOU NEED WHITE BALANCE TWEAKING THE COLOURS NEUTRALISE THE ORANGE
IMPROVE On the parade ground we like our
whites to look white! The auto white
In artificial lighting, images can look
a touch orange or green. To correct
The Incandescent setting
(represented by a light bulb) is the
YOUR balance (AWB) system can usually
do this for you, but in some
for this cast, switch the white
balance to manual and play with the
one to use to tweak images that look
too orange. To beat a green tinge, try
BALANCE situations, colours can look wrong… different preset options. the Fluorescent strip-light option.
CAMERA SKILLS
IMAGE BY TOM MACKIE
Nikon D800,
Go to extremes
Investigate the highest ISO
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED,
settings your SLR offers (often
1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO3200
labelled H). The grain and
blotchy colour are an artistic
effect in their own right, and
enable you to take pictures in
near total darkness.
Handheld
helper
Tom Mackie shot this
picture at the Taj
Mahal – just the sort of
place where you wouldn’t
be able to use a tripod even if
you had one. His solution was to
NIKOPEDIA
whack up the ISO to 3200 so he
could come home with a sharp
handheld interior shot.
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
Switch to automatic
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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EXPOSURE
NIKOPEDIA
Master the art of exposure, discover the mysteries of the histogram, and get
creative with metering. Ben Brain tells you everything you need to know…
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
nderstanding how exposure works is seascape, you’ll need to understand the get the best out of your exposures, and they
probably the most fundamental basics of exposure. are all without doubt useful, but concentrate
photographic skill you need to master. At first it might seem like there are just too on the fundamental relationship between
Learn how to control your Nikon’s many options with apertures, histograms, aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and maybe
aperture, shutter speed and ISO and you’ll be ISOs, metering modes, f-stops and so on to even restrict yourself to manual mode to
able to take control of how your images look. juggle. However, once you understand the begin with, and you’ll learn the essence of
Whether you want to isolate the subject basic principles you’ll have all the tools you photography. We’re going to take you on a
of your photo from the background with a need to take control and get creative. whirlwind tour of all you need to know to start
shallow depth of field, or capture the misty Today’s digital SLRs come complete with an taking control of your exposures today. So,
Main image: Mario Tarello, www.tarello.it
effects of moving water as part of a moody armoury of functions and features to help you let’s get started!
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
PART 1
BACK TO BASICS
Get to grips with apertures, speeds & ISOs
100
L OW
Creating a harmonious it’s really worth putting in the
RE )
exposure using the aperture, groundwork and getting to grips
(LES
OSU
NIKOPEDIA
shutter speed and ISO is a juggling with the basics of shutter speed
S EX
EXP
act. As soon as you make a decision (how long the camera’s sensor is
POS
ORE
about one element, you’ll need to exposed to the light), aperture (how
URE
W (M
)
compromise with another. The trick much light the lens lets in, which
SL O
is to get all three elements working also affects depth of field) and ISO
together so you get the results you (the sensitivity level of the sensor).
EED
want and not what the camera tells Once you know how to do this,
R SP
THE
ISO
you you can have. Because of that, there’s nothing you can’t do.
HIGH
E)
( MO
SUR
XPO
RE E
The relationship between shutter speed, aperture
SS E
XPO
and ISO is at the heart of all photography. At one
SUR
T (LE
E)
FA S
160
to the next because the ISO was set by the type of
0
film you were using, but the introduction of digital
cameras has made it possible to change ISO on the
fly rather than unloading film or switching bodies. WIDE (MORE EXPOSURE) NARROW (LESS EXPOSURE)
Photographers now have more control over APERTURE
exposure than ever before.
8 15 30
B 4
2
1
40
30
00
50
The length of an exposure is controlled by your only open for a fraction of a second, but this is RULE OF THUMB 0
250 125
60
Nikon’s shutter. The shutter is a mechanism that often all that’s needed to capture an image. Fast It’s a good idea to
opens and closes extremely quickly when you shutter speeds are ideal for freezing action in a use a tripod whenever your shutter speed is
press the shutter release. fraction of a second or in situations that are very slower than the longest focal length of your lens
As you press, the mirror flips out of the way bright, while slow shutter speeds are perfect for because anything slower can lead to blur from
and a curtain opens to reveal the sensor. While capturing the motion of water or capturing detail camera shake when handholding. For example, if
it’s open, it exposes the sensor to the light and an in low-light situations. Moving objects will blur if you’re using an 80-200mm lens, consider using a
image is recorded. In most cases the shutter is your shutter speed is too slow, however. tripod for exposures slower than 1/200 sec.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
BEING OPEN ABOUT APERTURE
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The amount of light passing through the lens is confusing at first, but you’ll soon get the hang of FAST LENSES
controlled by the aperture. The size of the it. In addition to controlling the amount of light Lenses come in different shapes, sizes, focal
aperture can vary in size to let in more or less that passes through the lens, the aperture also lengths and aperture ranges. A lens with a large
light. The size of the hole is measured in f-stop affects the depth of field. This allows you to widest aperture, such as f/2.8 or f/1.4, is often
numbers, and the range usually varies from its control the parts of a scene before and beyond referred to as a ‘fast’ lens. They’re typically more
widest setting, be that f/2.8 or f/5.6, to f/22 the point of focus that also appear sharp. This is expensive too, but their ability to control depth
(which is nearly closed). This can seem a little an exceptionally useful thing to understand. of field is unrivalled.
NIKOPEDIA
f/2.8 f/5.6 f/11 f/22
Wide open for many lenses, f/2.8 At f/5.6, the background is still At f/11 the structure of the fence at At f/22 the background is quite
blurs the background and makes blurred. DOF is partly controlled by the bottom-right begins to reveal defined and the subject no longer
the subject appear to be separated focal length – the longer the lens, itself, and the subject’s separation stands out. Diffraction starts to
from it so it really stands out. the shallower at a given aperture. from the background begins to fade. take hold, softening the image.
Q&A
There’s a bunch of exposure modes to choose
It’s like ‘turning up the volume’ from on your Nikon, but which will work best
in low-light conditions for you? It all depends on what you’re shooting…
ISO allows you to control how sensitive your
Nikon’s sensor is to light. The higher the
APERTURE-PRIORITY won’t be able to flex your creative
You choose the muscles. Ideal if you’re in a ‘point
number (such as ISO1000 or above), the
aperture and the and shoot’ frame of mind.
more sensitive the sensor will be. This is a good solution to low-light
camera will pick a
situations because it allows you to keep your shutter speed up and
use your Nikon without a tripod. However, like all things that sound
suitable shutter speed. Using this PROGRAM
mode will allow you to keep creative This is a little like the
too good to be true there’s a down side. Higher ISOs also introduce
control of your depth of field. Auto mode in that the
the dreaded ‘noise’ – pixels that aren’t the colour they should be
camera determines
– into your images, and sometimes this is not what you want.
SHUTTER-PRIORITY
GEAR CRAFT
the exposure for you. However, it’s
In this mode you select easier in program mode to intervene
HIGH ISO the shutter speed and when you want creative control.
In recent years Nikon has pioneered wonderfully noise-free
the camera will choose
high-ISO photography,
revolutionising low-light
an appropriate aperture. This is SCENE MODES
perfect for action photography These modes are
picture taking. However, if
when it’s important to know your tailored to specific
you still feel there’s too
shutter is at the right speed. shooting situations,
much noise in your images
and it’s pretty obvious from the
you can reduce it a little in
image editing software such
MANUAL MODE icons which one you need to use in a
In manual mode you set given situation. These modes can be
as Photoshop or Nikon’s
the aperture, shutter limiting, though, and they’re no
Capture NX 2.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
speed and ISO without substitute for using your own skills.
any prompting from the camera.
This makes it ideal for creative
photography, but you’ll have to
know what you’re doing.
AUTO
ISO200 ISO6400 You’ll relinquish
exposure control to
your Nikon, so you
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
PART 2
METERING MASTERCLASS
Learn how to use your Nikon’s metering options for perfect exposures
One of the most crucial make everything a mid-tone grey, so light meters, including the one in one tone – it’s probably going to be
things to understand about if you take a piece of white card and your Nikon, have been calibrated to made up lots of areas of bright and
NIKOPEDIA
exposure is how your camera photograph it with the exposure do this, so you need to fully dark tones and colours. This is why
measures light. Get to grips with your camera recommends, the understand this information and there are several metering modes
this and all your exposure anxieties image should appear grey. Likewise, use it to your advantage. to choose from, and, depending on
should disappear in a flash. In if you photograph a piece of black Of course, no scene you’re ever what you’re shooting, you’ll need to
essence your camera is trying to card it too should appear grey. All likely to photograph is going to be use different ones.
-2 EV -1 EV 0 EV +1 EV +2 EV
Q&A
Some subjects are intrinsically Most subjects even out to a With white, or naturally light
dark, so to make them appear that standard mid-grey tone, which is subjects, you need to apply positive
way in the photograph you need to what the camera’s meter is EV compensation to make sure
apply negative EV compensation calibrated to reproduce that they come out that way
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Why your meter sometimes gets it wrong, and what you can do about it
Despite being wonderfully clever, your move the thumb dial to the right to make your
Nikon won’t always know exactly how images brighter (+EV) or to the left (-EV) to
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
you want to expose your scene. It might be that make them darker. It’s quite
you want your image to be light and airy or easy to forget to set it to
dark and moody, or simply that there’s a zero again, so if at a
dominance of bright light that’s fooling the later time you’re
in-camera meter. wondering why your
In cases like this, if you’re working in exposures are looking
program (P), aperture-priority (A) or shutter- too dark or too light, it
priority (S) mode, you can use the exposure could be that you’ve
compensation feature on your Nikon to help still got some exposure
you out. Simply hold down the +/- button and compensation dialled in.
CAMERA SKILLS
METERING PATTERNS EXPLAINED
Why you have a choice of metering patterns, and when to use them
NIKOPEDIA
01 MATRIX MODE 02 CENTRE-WEIGHTED MODE 03 SPOT MODE
A good all-purpose mode. The camera reads the As the name suggests, this mode makes an In this mode, the area being ‘read’ by the meter is
whole scene, but favours readings from the area assessment of the ideal exposure by focusing on focused on a tiny area, typically only a few per
around the active focus point. It’s great for the central area, but it also takes into cent of the whole frame. The reading is very
general situations where the lighting isn’t too consideration data from the whole frame. This is specific, which can be very useful if you want to
challenging, but it can easily get confused. a good default mode to keep your Nikon set to. evaluate a small aspect of your scene precisely.
Q&A
-2 -1 0 +1 +2
The bracketing feature on your Nikon is a great way to
ensure you get a perfect exposure. The basic idea is to take
several shots of your scene and then select the best one. This is
very useful if your subject is static, such as a landscape, but it
doesn’t work so well with moving subjects, such as portraits. It
was a more popular technique in the days of film photography
when there were no exposure aids such as
LCD screens, histograms and clipping
alerts to help you out. Set the
GEAR CRAFT
bracketing amount using the Function
button on your camera.
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
PART 3
the most useful tool you have to left to white on the far right with a composition. The histogram, on the compact cameras have a display
help you capture the exposure you mid-tone (18%) grey in the middle. other hand, is the perfect tool for mode that shows the histogram,
want, every time. And it’s actually While your Nikon’s LCD display exposure assessment. You’ll be and we recommend keeping it on
not nearly as daunting as it appears. can give you an idea of how your able to see in an instant if you’ve got all the time.
01
GEAR CRAFT
UNDERSTAND THE HISTOGRAM THERE IS NO ‘RIGHT’ SHAPE – IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE SUBJECT
HIGH CONTRAST LOW CONTRAST MOSTLY DARK MOSTLY LIGHT
You’ll find most of the tones The tones are mostly in the centre The dark background means a big The white background and high-key
crowded at the left (shadow) or of the histogram, with very little in peak in the shadows, and a smaller exposure means nearly all the
right (highlight) the shadow or peak for the tones are
sections of the highlight areas skin tones in clustered on
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
HIGHLIGHT ALERT HEED YOUR SLR’s WARNING!
Avoid exposure errors with this on-screen option
NIKOPEDIA
find yourself working in a situation where you simply
won’t have the time to stop, analyse and deliberate
over your histogram, such as when shooting a wedding.
In such a situation, activate the Highlights Alert. In this
display mode your LCD will flash in areas where the
highlights are clipped, giving a quick indication as to
which parts of your composition are going to blow out.
It’s then easy to dial in some exposure compensation
to deal with the problem.
EXPOSE TO THE RIGHT EXPERT TIP THE HISTOGRAM AND RAW FIRST TWEAKS
Q&A
:KHQ\RXVKRRWUDZÀOHV\RXFDQPDNHYLWDO
In some instances, this technical tweak could adjustments before the image is processed
improve your picture quality 2 3
Your Nikon’s LCD display isn’t
A great way to maximise your exposure is to use a technique called
the only place where you’ll
‘exposing to the right’. Ideally, you want to shoot so that your
see a histogram. Most decent
histogram graph is clumped as far to the right as possible without
image-editing software, such as
clipping areas that you don’t to appear blown out. The Highlight Alert 1
Photoshop, will feature a histogram
can be useful for this too (see above). When you open your image in a
display of your photo, and better
raw editor such as Adobe Camera Raw it will look too light and
still, allow you to tweak it. 01
washed out, but a few tweaks with the Curves or exposure slider will
Here you can see the histogram
quickly get things looking good again. Working this way essentially
displayed in Adobe Camera Raw
means you’ll be able to get a little more latitude from your initial
GEAR CRAFT
(ACR), the raw-processing plugin
exposure and push it further than if you made a ‘normal’ exposure.
that comes with Photoshop. Like
1 2 the display on your LCD, the graph
(1) shows the distribution of tones
throughout the image with black on
4
the far left and white on the far
right. The green and red triangles (2)
7
and (3) are clipping alerts. You can
use these to see if you’re being 5
overzealous with the sliders (4). In
ACR’s Basic panel there are six
sliders that directly affect 6
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
1
exposure, and they can be used to
recover detail in areas of shadow or
2 brightness (5), fine-tune white and
black points (6) and tweak the
overall contrast (7). No matter how
BEFORE AFTER well you’ve captured an exposure,
Adjust your initial exposure so that the histogram (1) is as far if you’re shooting in the raw format,
to the right as it will go without clipping. Then use Curves (2) which you really should be, it will ABOVE You can make important
to darken the image back for a more natural look most likely benefit from a slight adjustments using the histogram
boost to contrast. in your raw converter
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CAMERA SKILLS
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PART 4
sophisticated digital five stops of exposure, which is However, there’s a cunning solution somewhere between three and
cameras won’t be able to capture a simply not enough to ensure there’s in the form of high dynamic range seven) and merge them together in
full range of tones in every detail in both the highlight and (HDR) photography. The basic the digital darkroom using
situation. Most cameras can shadow areas of many scenes, principle is to shoot several specialist software.
SOLUTION 1 HDR
STEP 1
Set up your Nikon on a
sturdy tripod. Select
Q&A
aperture-priority mode,
so the depth of field
won’t change between
shots. Use a cable
release to avoid
touching the camera
between shots.
STEP 2
Select your Nikon’s
bracketing feature
using the function
GEAR CRAFT
STEP 3
There are
many HDR
programs and
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Photoshop
plugins
available.
Here we’re
using Nik software’s HDR Efex Pro 2. You can get a
free, fully functional trial version of this from
www.niksoftware.com. It’s delightfully intuitive and
produces great results. Whichever HDR software
you choose, it will merge your sequence of images to
create a single image with a full range of tones.
CAMERA SKILLS
SOLUTION 2 SOLUTION 3 ND GRAD FILTER
EXPOSURE BLEND A neutral density
graduated filter (‘ND
HDR photography can have a
grad’) is the perfect tool
rather distinct look. While it
for landscape
can solve issues with exposure,
photographers who want
the overall style is not to
to balance the exposure
everyone’s taste, especially as
between the bright sky
some folk tend to be somewhat
and the slightly darker
overzealous with the sliders.
land. The filter fades
If you’d prefer a more subtle
from dark (dense) to light
NIKOPEDIA
approach, but still want detail
so that less light passes
in shadows and highlight areas,
through the dense area
then shoot two exposures: one
and the exposure evens
for the bright parts, such as the
out. To use, it’s simply a
sky; and one for the darker
case of attaching the
regions, such as the land. Use a
filter (usually a rectangular slot filter) to
tripod, so the images are in
the lens and lining up the area of
registration. In the digital
transition with the horizon. However, if
darkroom, using software such as Adobe
the horizon is uneven or there’s a tree
Photoshop CC/CS6 or Elements, you can easily
poking up it too will become darker,
sandwich the two images together as layers
which isn’t always ideal. It’s also
and then use a basic layer mask to reveal the
important to match the strength of the
best parts of each image.
filter to the brightness of the sky.
PROBLEM 2 MY BACKLIT SUBJECT IS IN SHADE PROBLEM 3 TOO BRIGHT FOR A SLOW EXPOSURE?
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SOLUTION 1 USE A REFLECTOR
In some situations you may find your
subject falls into shadow. Imagine,
for example, a portrait in which your
model is standing in front of a light.
If you expose for the subject’s face,
the background will become too
bright. However, you can ‘bounce’
light back at the subject
using a reflector.
Reflectors come in many
shapes, sizes and
GEAR CRAFT
colours, but they all serve
the purpose of reflecting
light back at your subject.
It’s useful to have a helper
to hold the reflector.
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CAMERA SKILLS
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PART 5
the rules doesn’t merely mean Things that might spoil most delicacy and an ethereal quality to Here are four ways to play with
getting the exposure wrong, it photographs can add a new portraits, for example, while exposure that break the rules.
EFFECT 2
SHAKE DOWN
GEAR CRAFT
Nikon D700, Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8D, 20 secs, f/22, ISO200 Nikon D700, Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G, 1/200 sec, f/9, ISO200
CAMERA SKILLS
EFFECT 4 HIGH KEY
Through a cunning combination of
lighting and exposure it’s possible to
create beautiful high-key images. The
trick is to work on the limits of the
histogram without blowing out the
highlights. There’s a big difference
between a high-key image and an
over-exposed one, so be careful to make
sure you always have just a little detail or
tone to your whitest areas, such as the
fine details in the lace of our model’s top
NIKOPEDIA
in the example here.
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GEAR CRAFT
RIGHT This effect is easiest
to achieve if you have a low
contrast in tones between
the subject and background
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PROFESSIONAL
PORTRAIT GUIDE
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Start taking professional-looking portraits today. Ben Brain reveals how to get
started with his no-nonsense guide to the essential compositional and lighting skills
or many people the idea of shooting to choose a lens and decide which aperture to use, enable you to take complete control of lighting so
F portraits in a studio with fancy lighting
equipment is so daunting that it’s quite
wrestling with reflectors, struggling with
softboxes or panicked by posing, you’ll learn all
you can go into a studio and shoot with
confidence. We’ll also take a look at lenses,
simply off-putting. This is a shame because it you need to get started. apertures, camera angles, posing the model and
really needn’t be intimidating, and the results can Using nothing more than a simple two-head more, skills which will be useful in other
be extremely rewarding. In this feature we’re home studio lighting kit you’ll learn how to create situations too. To finish, we’ll look at creative
GEAR CRAFT
going to guide you through the process of taking several studio set ups, from a classic Rembrandt aspects of portraiture and go off-piste with
studio portraits, with no-nonsense, jargon free to a more contemporary clamshell arrangement. modern crops, basic retouching skills, the
tips, techniques and advice. Whether you’re trying These easy-to-arrange strobe combinations will cross-processed look and more. Let’s get started…
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Image: Ben Brain
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01 Blurred backgrounds
A wide aperture such as f/4 or f/2.8 will create
a shallow depth of field. This means that the
areas before and beyond the plane of focus
that will appear sharp will be very small.
This is ideal if you want to blur the background,
keeping only your subject sharp. However,
you’ll need to make sure your focusing is
accurate because it’s unforgiving. Focus f/4
on the eyes.
03 Everything sharp
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
EXPERT ADVICE THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT
Get the appropriate focal length for the style of portrait you’re planning to take
20mm 105mm
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
01 20mm wide-angle lens 200mm
A wide-angle is not normally the ‘go to’ lens for
portrait photographers. Even the best wide-angle
lenses can be unflattering to your subject, because
if you’re too close, noses and foreheads appear
larger. Wide-angle lenses do have their uses in portrait photography.
GEAR CRAFT
While not great for headshots, they’re perfect for environmental
portraits where you want to show someone in their surroundings,
and can keep them relatively small in the centre of the frame.
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with studio photography, but don’t outside with natural light, a reflector is inexpensive,
you can easily
get too bogged down with this. Our basic extremely handy. Reflectors come in many make one from
studio setup below shows you the essential shapes and sizes, and different colours and card, foam
items that you’ll actually need. surfaces have different effects on a subject. board and foil
When you’re working with two lights, Just like the studio lights, the height, angle
a reflector is useful because it will and distance of the reflector will have an
effectively act as a third light. It can be effect on the end result.
02 Main light 6
03 Camera
You’ll need to connect your Nikon to
the studio lights. This can be done pointing at the hair. Not only
through a sync cable (if your SLR has does this light the hair, it creates a
a PC socket) or with wireless separation from the background.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
triggers. In a controlled
Illustration: Andy McLaughlin
CAMERA SKILLS
REFLECTORS LIGHTEN UP THE DARK SIDE OF THE FACE
All reflectors work in the same way, but the colours make a difference in your shots
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
No reflector Gold reflector
01 Silver reflector
A silver reflector reflects a large amount of
light. It’s best to use these at some distance if
you’re working in the studio, otherwise the light
can look too harsh. If you want to make your
own, silver foil works a treat. However, they’re
GEAR CRAFT
not too expensive and most reflectors come
with several covers, such as white, silver and
gold, so getting one is a good investment.
02 Gold reflector
Gold is best avoided with studio flashlights,
which are usually balanced to daylight,
because the warm glow that it radiates is likely
to create mixed lighting in your final images.
This will only mean more work in the digital
darkroom later on. If you’re working outside,
a gold cover warms up skin tones beautifully.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
03 White reflector
A white reflector is ideal in the studio because
it creates a softer, colour-neutral fill light. You
don’t have to use a specially-made reflector –
a large piece of white card can be just as
effective. Professional studios often use huge
sheets of white foam board. While they’re not
that expensive, they take up a lot of space.
White reflector
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BRIGHT IDEAS
How you place your lights changes the tone
of your images – start with these three setups
ou don’t need a massive pile of The height, angle, power and distance of your
Y sophisticated (and costly) lighting lights will have a dramatic impact on the shape
NIKOPEDIA
equipment to get started with creative of your subject’s face, not to mention whether
studio portraiture. A simple two-head home you use a naked flashbulb, a softbox, a snoot or
studio kit is more than enough. Here we’ve an umbrella. Nearly all studio kits come with
focused on three basic setups, which will be modelling lights, and it’s vital that you keep
more than enough to get you going, but the sky’s these on so you can see how the light is falling on
the limit even with just two heads. your subject. Use your Nikon’s LCD screen too; You’ll want a flash
It’s always a good idea to ‘build’ your lighting. sometimes switching to the monochromatic modifier such as a
softbox or
Start with your main light, and once that’s in the preview mode can help you concentrate on umbrella when
right position, introduce the next light, and then shape, tones and shadows falling on the face you’re taking
position your reflectors. and visualise the end result. portrait photos
01 High
In most cases you’ll want to have your main
light positioned above the model. Notice how
the shadow from the nose falls down the face,
elongating the features. Ideally, you want the
shadow of the nose to point towards the end
of the lips. The triangle of light on the cheek
on the shadow side is often referred to as
‘Rembrandt’ lighting; get your model to move
her head slightly to achieve this.
02 Eye level
GEAR CRAFT
03 Low
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
EXPERT ADVICE LIGHTS, CAMERA, PORTRAIT!
A trio of popular portrait lighting styles you can master in your home studio
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
Classic Rembrandt Rim light
01 Classic Rembrandt
This is a great core lighting setup.
You’re essentially looking to create a
small triangle of light on the shadow
side of the face with the nose shadow
pointing towards the lip. Use the
GEAR CRAFT
reflector to fill the shadow area and a
backlight with a directional snoot
attached to light the hair.
02 Rim light
For this, position two evenly-powered
softboxes slightly behind the subject
and pointing towards the camera. Use
a reflector to bounce light on the
subject’s nose and forehead. This is
good for showing off bone structure,
and is great for men and fine-art nudes.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
03 Beauty
Position one large softbox above the
model and point it down for front-on,
soft and even lighting. To even out the
exposure place a white reflector
underneath the model’s face. This will
bounce light back up and into the face.
This is a good ‘beauty’ lighting setup.
Beauty
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STRIKE A POSE
Non-professional subjects won’t know how to stand,
so you need to direct them to get the best shots
nce you’ve got your studio lights set up tips, but more often than not once you get
O and your camera settings ready you’re started, your subject relaxes in front of the
NIKOPEDIA
all set to start shooting. This can be the camera, the creative juices get flowing, and the
most challenging part of the process, not for shoot will start to evolve naturally. However, it’s
technical reasons, but because this is when you also a good idea to take a look at magazines,
suddenly realise you’ve got to pose your subject. books, art galleries and so forth to get an idea of
For many photographers faced with a family the kind of pose you’re after.
member, friend, or other non-professional model, It’s not just the position of the model that’s
this is the moment when the idea of shooting important. You’ll need to consider your own angle
Remember to
rocks in the landscape suddenly seems much too, because camera height alone can have an consider your
more appealing. We’ll set you up with a few basic enormous impact on your work. own position too
– could you shoot
from a more
flattering angle?
CAMERA SKILLS
EXPERT ADVICE STAND AND DELIVER
These classic poses will get you great results from even the most awkward subjects
01 Female poses
If your subject stands firmly
on both feet facing the
camera, it won’t work well.
Just asking them to shift
their weight to their back
NIKOPEDIA
foot will force a three-
quarter look, which is much
more flattering.
Introducing hands into
the shot is a great way to
enhance the composition.
Be careful they don’t
dominate, though – a hand
is nearly the same size as a
person’s face and can cause
a distraction.
02 Male poses
Feet are just as important
to think about when you’re
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posing men, and straight-on
shots still won’t work
terribly well. However, for a
more dominant and
masculine pose, get your
male subject to put their
body weight forward onto
their front foot, so they’re
leaning forward for a ‘man
from GQ’ effect. Slip one
hand into a trouser pocket
and you’ll complete the
GEAR CRAFT
pose nicely – even if it is a
little corny.
03 Couple poses
Posing couples can be quite
a challenge, and you’ll have
to vary your approach
depending on the size and
shape of your subjects.
However, the basic
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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GET CREATIVE!
Don’t stop there – take your portraits a step further
with effects done in-camera and in post-processing
hen you’ve got to grips with the basics, subject. It’s a good idea to talk to your subject
W why not unleash your creativity and first and get an idea of who they are, what they
NIKOPEDIA
give your portraits even more impact? want their portrait to look like or what you want
Whether it’s using a nifty accessory, indulging in to portray. Whether you’re shooting a model’s
some digital darkroom skullduggery or simply portfolio, a formal corporate headshot, or some
daring to challenge the conventions, there are warm and cheery family portraits, you’ll need to
plenty of ways to make your mark. make creative decisions about lighting, lenses,
The important thing to remember is that every camera angles, lenses and more.
portrait tells a story about the subject, and Here are a few ideas, tips and techniques –
because each subject is different you’ll need to both in-camera and in post-processing – that’ll
adapt the way in which you approach each give your images that extra pizzazz.
impression it evokes can look desirable if Switch your Nikon’s preview mode to removing unwanted blemishes, and there are
applied with caution. However, it’s very easy to monochromatic so you can visualise the end various techniques and plugins that can used to
go the other way, and your shots could easily result at the time of capture. It will help you to smooth skin, whiten eyes and teeth, and even
end up looking like some horrendous flashback get the lights set up for the effect you want, help shed a few pounds. However, it’s crucial
to the 1980s. In-camera techniques such as whether that’s a dark and moody image with that you don’t go over the top – there’s nothing
using filters, Vaseline or even stockings can plenty of shadows or a bright high-key shot worse than seeing an ‘overcooked’ portrait with
work a treat, but you can also get great results against a white background. If you shoot in the hyper-smooth skin. The art of a good retouch is
using blur filters in Photoshop, and you can raw format you can always revert to the colour to subtly improve but celebrate the wonders of
revert to your original if you’ve added the effect file if you or your subject decide that a your subject’s features (even the wrinkles)
in Photoshop and don’t like it after all. monochrome look isn’t actually wanted. rather than obliterate them.
CAMERA SKILLS
BE INSPIRED 21st CENTURY TRENDS
We’ve come a long way from the stiff portraits of the Victorians…
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
01 CROSS-PROCESSED 02 MONTAGE
The cross-processed look is all the rage, especially after being Using some basic image-editing skills it’s fairly easy to transport your
popularised by smartphone apps such as Instagram and Snapseed. subject into a new scene. Shooting your subject against a plain
The characteristic saturated colours and increased contrast are easily background makes it much easier to create a digital cut out using the
replicated in Photoshop using Curves or Levels. Quick Selection tool and Refine Edge in Photoshop.
GEAR CRAFT
03 GOOD CROP,
BAD CROP
Don’t be afraid to be
bold with your cropping
– either when shooting
(by zooming in or
moving closer), or in
post-production.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
There’s a general
misconception that the
whole of a subject’s
head should be in the
frame, but it doesn’t
need to be, and more
often than not a tight
crop into the head can
work wonders for the
composition.
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JPEGs
This sequence was shot at
a range of exposures to
show the effect on the -3EV -2EV -1EV
colours and tones The JPEG image is three steps The JPEG version is dark and gloomy, The JPEG version looks a little
under-exposed, with little image and large areas of shadow have dark, but it’s still acceptable as
information even in the midtones become a solid black a more ‘low-key’ portrait
PROCESSED
Q&A
RAW FILES
Our pictures were also shot
as raw files, so how much -3EV -2EV -1EV
image data can we recover The recovered raw file looks okay The recovered raw file is very good. The recovered raw file is barely
in Adobe Camera Raw? – there’s more noise in the shadows The definition, smoothness and tonal distinguishable from the
and midtones, but you wouldn’t range isn’t quite as good as a properly correctly exposed version – raw
imagine the original was three exposed raw file, but the loss in files have a very good tolerance
stops under-exposed quality is quite modest for under-exposure
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
It’s well known that raw files retain a wider dynamic range than later on with their image-editing software on the computer. But how
JPEGs, and photographers often rely on raw to hold shadow and much leeway do you really have? Our exposure test reveals just what
highlight detail in high-contrast scenes that they can then recover raw can do... and what it can’t…
NIKOPEDIA
0EV +1EV +2EV +3EV
The correctly-exposed JPEG The JPEG has a high-key look, which is Larger parts of the model’s face are The JPEG file is unusable, with
looks great, although some all right, but areas of the model’s face now blown out in the JPEG file, and it large areas of blank white
highlights are close to clipping are clearly blown out just looks wrong over-exposure
Q&A
0EV +1EV +2EV +3EV
The exposure was optimal, There’s enough exposure The recovered raw file The recovered raw file lacks
so the raw file hasn’t needed latitude in the raw file to adjust has a normal-looking contrast, and the highlights are
any work. Getting the exposure the brightness and recover the exposure, but some of the a muddy grey with no detail in
exactly right has given the best blown highlight areas lost in the highlights have been lost – the them at all. Raw fails here…
overall quality over-exposed JPEG version raw file has reached its limits
GEAR CRAFT
WHAT YOU CAN’T CHANGE
Shutter speed: the duration of the alter the physical zoom setting
exposure is fixed the moment you you chose on the lens
press the shutter – you can’t change
that later! Focus distance: the focus point is
another optical property that can’t
Lens aperture: lens be changed later. Like shutter speed
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raw files, which are very large, fill it at 6fps and capture 100 large JPEGs provide both speed and
up much more quickly. This means at normal quality before the buffer stamina, so is raw really
you might be able to capture a fills up, which is a burst of around 16 the right choice?
sequence lasting many seconds seconds. But if you switch to raw it
when shooting JPEGs, but if you can only save nine raw files, a burst
shoot raw the camera might stop of just 1.5 seconds.
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16 SECONDS AT 6FPS
JPEGs LET YOU SHOOT FOR LONGER SO THAT YOU DON’T MISS THE SHOT!
As we know, raw files give the greatest image quality and flexibility, but they’re slow to process and save. In fact,
even the pros will switch to JPEGs for extended bursts, especially for sports where the action is unpredictable
and they don’t know exactly when the key moment is going to take place.
GEAR CRAFT
Illustration: Andy McLaughlin
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
RAW FILES GIVE YOU QUALITY BUT ONLY FOR A SHORT BURST
Raw files take up much more space in the camera’s buffer, which means the camera can only shoot them in
short bursts. It’s no good getting great quality if you miss the shot! The difference in burst length is much
greater than you might imagine, as our D7100 example demonstrates.
CAMERA SKILLS
WILL I NEED MORE MEMORY?
Nikon doesn’t just offer one type of raw file. You can
save them as 12-bit or 14-bit files in both compressed
or ‘lossless’ compressed forms. As an example, here
are Nikon’s figures for how many pictures you can
store if you’re using a D7100 and an 8GB memory card.
NIKOPEDIA
Note, however, that file sizes differ according to the
content of the images, hence the apparent
discrepancies in Nikon’s official figures below.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
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100 1000
JPEG Large Fine 12MB
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
33
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507
NEF 12-bit 20.2MB
9
compressed
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 260
NEF 12-bit lossless 22.7MB
6
compressed 191
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
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the days of film. Adobe’s idea I used the Monochrome Picture Control and it looked fine
of what your raw files should on the LCD, but on the computer my raw file is in colour.
look like is subtly different to That’s because Nikon’s Picture Controls are simply set of
Nikon’s. And programs like processing ‘instructions’. Your Nikon SLR and Nikon software
Capture One and DxO Optics applications know what they mean, but Adobe Camera Raw and other
Pro will produce different third-party applications ignore Picture Controls and apply their own
results again… generic raw settings to the images.
WHAT YOU SEE WHAT YOU GET WHAT YOU SEE WHAT YOU GET
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
I set the white balance to Daylight in Adobe Camera Raw The histogram on the camera said my highlights and
and now the colours look much too warm. shadows were clipped, but they’re fine in the raw file!
Adobe’s interpretation of ‘daylight’ is quite different to That’s because you’re not really seeing the full raw file in the
Nikon’s. It’s best to set the right white balance when you shoot LCD on the back of the camera. That image is only a rough-
and then choose ‘As Shot’ for the white balance setting in Adobe and-ready JPEG version produced by the camera for viewing
Camera Raw. Alternatively, you could use the eyedropper to click a purposes, whereas when you open the raw file on the computer you’ll
neutral-toned area of the image. be able to access the extra detail.
CAMERA SKILLS
WHY WON’T PHOTOSHOP
OPEN MY RAW FILES?
NIKOPEDIA
We hear this complaint all the time, and
there’s a good reason this happens. The
answer comes in three parts.
2 Adobe Camera Raw is developed
separately, which is why you’ll
periodically be prompted to download
and Elements. From now on,
you’ll need the new versions
before you can get any further
new versions for Photoshop and ACR updates. In the same way,
Which version of Photoshop, Elements or Lightroom will I need to open my raw files?
Q&A
NIKONMODEL ACR VERSION PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS LIGHTROOM
D700 5.1 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.1 or later
D90 5.1 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.1 or later
D3X 5.3 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.3 or later
D5000 5.4 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.4 or later
D300S 5.5 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.5 or later
D3000 5.5 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.5 or later
D3S 5.6 or later Photoshop CS4 or later Elements 6 or later Lightroom 2.6 or later
GEAR CRAFT
D3100 6.3 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 9 or later Lightroom 3.3 or later
D7000 6.3 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 9 or later Lightroom 3.3 or later
D5100 6.4 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 9 or later Lightroom 3.4.1 or later
D4 6.7 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 10 or later Lightroom 4.1 or later
D800 6.7 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 10 or later Lightroom 4.1 or later
D800E 6.7 or later Photoshop CS5 or later Elements 10 or later Lightroom 4.1 or later
D5300 8.3 or later Photoshop CS6 or later Not yet supported Lightroom 5.3 or later
D3300 8.4 or later Photoshop CS6 or later Not yet supported Not yet supported
2014
2015 The Ultimate Nikon SLR Handbook: Volume 3 51
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JPEGs are hassle-free but raw files must be Choose your output options – these include the colour
hand-crafted. No! You can use Adobe space (sRGB or Adobe RGB), bit depth (8-bit or 16-bit)
Camera Raw to batch-adjust and batch- and output size and resolution – usually you’d want
convert whole folders full of images while stick to the
you get on with other things. original size,
but if you’re
producing images
OPEN ALL YOUR for the web, now’s
RAWS AT ONCE a good time to
Select all the resize them.
files you want to
process in Adobe Bridge SYNCHRONISE
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
From the launch of the
D90 onwards, Nikon
D-SLRs have all been
able to process raw
files in-camera
01
02
NIKOPEDIA
03
04
05
06
Q&A
THIS COMPUTER STUFF?
ou can! Your Nikon D-SLR has its own raw converter built in via the Retouch
menu. You can even adjust raw parameters before saving a JPEG conversion
01 IMAGE QUALITY
Use this setting to choose the image
quality (Fine, Normal or Basic) for your
in-camera black-and-white conversion
complete with filters and toning!
GEAR CRAFT
converted JPEG file
06 HIGH ISO NOISE REDUCTION
Change the noise reduction applied to
02 IMAGE SIZE
Choose from Large, Medium or Small
image sizes, just as if you were setting your
high ISO shots – less noise reduction means
more detail but more grain
03 WHITE BALANCE
Your chance to try out different white
balance presets, all exactly matching the
display or web, or Adobe RGB for images being
published commercially
04 EXPOSURE COMPENSATION
Exploits the slightly wider dynamic
range of raw files to make small exposure
Active
D-Lighting
mode, which 07
corrections (up to -1EV or +2EV, say) also changes 08
the exposure,
05 PICTURE CONTROL
Try out different treatments for your
photos, from Vivid to Landscape – or create an
but useful for
lightening
dark shadows
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Adobe DNG
With Adobe Camera Raw, you can also save your edited
raw images as DNG files. One important advantage of
this format is that the adjustments are saved within
the file, so there are no sidecar files to worry about.
When you reopen the file in Adobe Camera Raw, all your
adjustments will be just as you left them. However,
these adjustments will only show up in Adobe Camera
Raw, not in non-Adobe software.
CAMERA SKILLS
WHICH FORMAT IS BEST FOR SAVING MY SHOTS?
When you shoot raw you add new file formats into the mix. So which formats should you
use, and when? Which are the most versatile? All will be revealed…
NIKOPEDIA
01 NEF
Always keep your NEF files!
These contain all the data
on a high-quality JPEG is a myth. Any
artefacts you do see will be from the raw
demosaicing process and the sharpening
manipulation far better than an 8-bit file, so
16-bit TIFFs are good for further editing.
02 JPEG difference, though, and TIFF files are Adobe’s free DNG converter to turn your
Q&A
JPEGs get a bad press as a considerably larger than JPEGs. If you save an camera’s raw files into DNGs, which older
rule, but can you really tell the 8-bit TIFF file you’re already discarding so versions of Adobe Camera Raw can open.
difference between an 8-bit JPEG much data from the raw file that the TIFF/
and an 8-bit TIFF? JPEGs are JPEG debate hardly matters. However, a 16-bit
smaller and just as good, and the TIFF is another matter. This saves much more sRGB or Adobe RGB?
idea that you can see compression artefacts of the original data and survives heavy Digital cameras use the RGB (red, green,
blue) system for recording colours, but
RGB comes in two different ‘colour
spaces’: sRGB and Adobe RGB. In theory,
sRGB is a ‘smaller’ colour space that can’t
describe such a wide range of colours, or
‘gamut’, as Adobe RGB. However, many
devices, printers and computer monitors
GEAR CRAFT
can only display sRGB, and using an
Adobe RGB image with these devices
can produce shifts in tone and colour.
Reserve Adobe RGB is for
professional publication, where the
increased colour gamut can prove
valuable. If you shoot JPEGs, you have to
commit to sRGB or
Adobe RGB when
you shoot, but
with RAW you
can choose
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
which to use
when you convert
your files. For
example, you could
use sRGB for your web
gallery images, and
Adobe RGB when you send
them to a magazine.
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NIKOPEDIA
1 2 3
Q&A
7 8 9
GEAR CRAFT
HOME PROJECTS
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56 The Ultimate Nikon SLR Handbook: Volume 3 2015
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NIKOPEDIA
4 5 6
Q&A
10 11 12
GEAR CRAFT
PROJECT 2 Play with mini models PROJECT 8 Bokeh & light trails
PROJECT 3 Spirographs of light PROJECT 9 X-ray vision
PROJECT 4 Dramatic mono rose PROJECT 10 HDR vegetables
PROJECT 5 Colourful zoom burst PROJECT 11 Catch a water drop
PROJECT 6 Cook up your own rainbow PROJECT 12 Back-lit fruit slices
ometimes it can be hard to get give you a better insight into the
S outdoors with your camera. So
what do you shoot when you’re
workings of your Nikon SLR camera.
Each project uses just a few simple
stuck indoors and are itching to do pieces of equipment, such as commonly
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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HOME PROJECT 1
FROZEN IN TIME
CDSWXUHVWULNLQJZLQWU\ still liIHVWKURXJKLFH
3 QUICK TIPS
PUT THINGS ON ICE
■ Backlight the ice to bring
out the detail – put it on a
he vivid colours of photograph, you need to prepare your ice has frozen, place the tray
lightbox or against a window.
T autumn leaves are your block of ice with a leaf upside down in a basin and run
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
obvious photographic embedded inside. Take a glass some cold water over the base ■ Reboil the water if you
subjects. While the oranges, reds tray with no logo on the base and until the ice block drops out. find that your ice is still full
and yellows make for ideal fill it with boiled and cooled water Now you’re ready to shoot. Put a of bubbles, then let it cool
landscape shots, the leaves that to a depth of 3-4mm, then freeze macro lens (if you have one) on your and replace it in the freezer.
provide such amazing colour can it. (Boiled water contains less camera, and use manual focus so
■ Stretch cling film across
easily be brought home for a more oxygen, so you’ll get fewer bubbles you can focus on the leaf, not on
the tray before freezing – this
detailed photographic study. in your shot.) the surface of the ice. If you want
will make it easier to remove
In this project we’re going to When the water is solid, add a extra light to bring out details in
the ice block from the tray
shoot a leaf in a block of frozen ice. leaf and more cooled water, and the leaf, position a flash to the side
prior to shooting.
Before you can take your freeze the whole lot again. Once of the block of ice.
CAMERA SKILLS
HOME PROJECT 2
MINIATURE FUN
CDSWXUHWR\DQLPDOVLQWKHZLOG
hotographing individuals who are unaffected
P miniature toys and by waiting for hours in sub-zero
NIKOPEDIA
models has captured temperatures to get the shot,
the imagination of internet for most of us a brisk stroll in
galleries. It’s increasingly the winter sun will suffice.
popular on advertising boards A quick walk might not be
and in magazines, but at its enough time to capture real
heart it’s just a bit of fun. wildlife, unless you’re very
At this time of year you really lucky, but there’s no reason not
do need to be a die-hard wildlife to have a bit of fun and take the
fan to brave the cold, and while wildlife with you. All you need is
there will always be a few hardy a small plastic animal.
HOME PROJECT 3
01 Blur it
Normally, when you
want a shallow depth of
field you use a wide
aperture. But because
you’ll be shooting close
SWIRLS OF LIGHT
CDSWXUHFRPSOH[JHRPHWULFVKDSHV
Q&A
to your subject you can
use an aperture as ight spirals make you control it: when you press
narrow as f/16 for this.
L impressive pictures. To
create one you simply
the button the shutter opens
and when you release it the
02 Add flash hang a torch from the ceiling by
a piece of string, then swing the
shutter closes. This makes Bulb
mode great for capturing stars
If your subject is cast in
torch to create the pattern, and anything whose movement
shadow, use your flash
which you capture over a long exceeds your Nikon’s longest
to add fill-in lighting, and
exposure using the camera’s shutter speed. As with any long
balance the exposure
Bulb feature. exposure, it’s best to use a
with the flash
Bulb mode enables you to shutter release to minimise
compensation. Most
lock open the shutter. Unlike camera shake. It’s also best to
Nikons have quick
GEAR CRAFT
other long exposure settings, use a wide-angled lens for this.
access to this feature.
01 Set up
Set your camera to
manual. Turn the main
command dial to change
the shutter speed until
you reach Bulb. Set the
aperture to f/16. Put the
camera on a tripod below
the torch, looking up.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
02 Get swinging
Swing the torch and
open the shutter with a
shutter release. When
the swinging slows,
close the shutter. In
Photoshop, create a
colour gradient and use
this as an overlay.
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HOME PROJECT 4
CAMERA SETUP
Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
We shaped our glow sticks into
HOME PROJECT 5 rings and piled them up. Try
different arrangements for a
variety of results
GEAR CRAFT
taking a long the bottom of the tripod
exposure of some lights is will help to keep things
an easy way to produce stable as you zoom.
stunning results. Fairy
■ Decrease the
lights or a set of cheap
aperture size if you need
coloured light sticks (which
to use a longer exposure.
we’ve used here) are
affordable, easy-to-find ■ Time the rotation of
subjects for this project. the zoom ring to last
Once your Nikon is set through the full exposure
up on a tripod, all you need for the best results, and
to do is shift the zoom 01 Ready to burst 02 BANG! try to rotate evenly.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
during the self-timed Arrange your fairy lights or light sticks Take a shot while smoothly rotating the
■ Hold the zoom for a
exposure and check the on a surface. Set your camera to manual, lens to the widest focal length. Check
split second after
results once the image has with an aperture of f/8 and a shutter the results for exposure – switching on
exposure starts for a
exposed. Each image is speed between ½ and 1 second. Make highlight warning is a good way to check
different effect.
unique so the technique sure that your camera is firmly attached for any burnout. When you’re ready to
becomes really addictive. to a tripod and face it down towards the take your proper shots, set the ■ Experiment with
It takes just a few minutes lights. Use AF to focus on the lights, self-timer for two seconds and start to longer exposure times for
to get one shot, but set then switch the AF mode to manual and rotate the zoom ring just before the brighter results and
aside a good hour or two to zoom the lens to the narrowest (most shutter releases, continuing the fuzzier-looking lights.
do the project justice. telephoto) angle of view. movement throughout the exposure.
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COOK UP YOUR
should look continuous
OWN RAINBOW
SSOLWFRORXUFKDQQHOVDQGFUHDWH
NIKOPEDIA
PXOWLFRORXUHGLPDJHVRIPRYHPHQW
ack in the days of film, then combine the red channel
B Robert Harris of Kodak
invented this complex
from one, the blue channel from
another, and the green channel
exposure technique. It’s one of from the last. The only hard part
those clever effects that can is that you’ll need to use
catch the eye, and digital Photoshop CS or CC to access
technology has made creating the images’ colour channels and
your own Harris effect image put the final image together.
really straightforward. You We’ll show how it’s done with a
simply shoot three near plate of fruit pies and a few
identical pictures of a scene and spoonfuls of falling sugar…
IMAGE ANALYSIS 1
1
The sugar is
Q&A
captured by the
flash light as it falls. 2
2
Three images are
used, with a single
colour channel (red, green,
blue) taken from each to 3
create the final image.
3
Areas that are
different in each
channel appear in a single colour, while static objects appear in full
colour because they’re in the same place in every channel.
GEAR CRAFT
STEP BY STEP Give your fruit pies the kaleidoscopic Harris shutter effect
Any element that moves will change colour, so don’t be tempted to eat one before you’ve finished shooting them!
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
HOME PROJECT 7
SOLAR POWER
MLPLFFRORXUVRODULVDWLRQ
etting an inanimate add more light and shadow, and
G scene to look interesting
can be difficult. When
we’ve also imitated a traditional
darkroom technique called
NIKOPEDIA
it comes to still lifes, the lighting solarisation. It adds visual interest
is key. Even, flat lighting will pick by giving the tones an almost
out all your subjects’ tone and negative and metallic look. The
texture, but it can create a rather process is simple: once you’ve
dull image. taken your shot, you adjust the
For this project we’ve placed a Curves in Photoshop to flip the
blind in front of the light source to tones and get this striking look.
Q&A
Solarisation was one of the first special
effects in photography, being recognised as
early as the 1840s – but now it’s easy to do!
GEAR CRAFT
MANUAL FLASH
It’s best to use a
flashgun in order to
freeze the icing sugar
in every shot, in which
case try setting the
flash to manual for
more flexibility over 01 Adjust the tone 02 Boost the colour
the exposure Open your image in Photoshop CS Flatten and duplicate the layer
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HOME PROJECT 8
EXPERT ADVICE
MAXIMUM BOKEH
■ To max up
the bokeh in
your shot you
need to make
the backdrop
GEAR CRAFT
as out of focus
as you can get it. Use a lens
with the widest maximum
aperture you can find (a
50mm f/1.8 or 50mm f/1.4
would be ideal. Bright
highlights in the background
(fairy lights in our picture)
make the shapes. If you use
any lens at its maximum
aperture, you get circular
shapes. If you close the
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
The clear shapes and
intricate skeletons of fish
make them perfect for this
Q&A
5 QUICK TIPS HOME PROJECT 9
FISHY PHOTOS
■ Note which side faces up
when you shoot your fish and
make sure that this side
X-RAY VISION
LRRNLQJIRUDSURMHFWWKDWZLOOUHDOO\JHW\RXUKDQGVGLUW\"
remains up when you
photograph the bones.
GEAR CRAFT
salmon is a tasty
■ Adjust the bones shot to
fit perfectly over that of the
uncooked fish by going to
A treat, but it also
makes a fantastic
photographic subject.
Edit>Transform>Warp.
However, we used a less
■ Brighten the bones using expensive mackerel for our
a Levels adjustment layer ‘X-ray’ images. You have to
before flattening. shoot the fish before and
after it’s cooked – one
■ Create a Curves
complete with the flesh,
adjustment layer and make
and one stripped to the
an S-curve to boost the tone.
bone with just the head
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NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
HOME PROJECT 10
3 QUICK TIPS
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY
CUHDWHVWULNLQJ+'5OLNHPDFURLPDJHVIURP\RXUIULGJH
FAKE HDR EFFECT
■ Use off-camera flash
positioned at the head of the
vegetables to help illuminate
ou can’t miss the shots The subject matter is important. interesting dishes are other
the textures.
Y
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
that adorn the pages of While you could use almost any possibilities for backgrounds.
supermarket and food fruit or vegetable, one with a good Camera-wise all you’ll need is ■ Strong shadows and
magazines these days. It seems variation of tone, shape, texture your Nikon SLR, a standard lens, a highlights will give the shot
that even the most humble and colour will get you the best tripod and a flash, which we’ll use an HDR effect, making it
vegetable is put through some results. Also, think about the type in Commander mode. If your Nikon much more distinctive.
creative process or another. So of background that you want. We’ve doesn’t have Commander mode
■ Add a dark edge using
why not put some veg through used an old chopping board, which then an off-camera flash cord will
Lens Correction Vignette in
a creative process of your own and shows the colours and scars from do the job and shouldn’t set you
Photoshop to help focus
come up with a macro picture to use, which adds interest. Baskets, back more than £20/$30. So, let’s
attention on the veg.
grace your kitchen wall? battered baking tins and zoom in on our asparagus…
CAMERA SKILLS
HOME PROJECT 11
NIKOPEDIA
master, but the overall bowl at that point, then focus
technique is simple. For this your camera there.
project you’ll spend most of your Take a test shot and check the
time getting set up! exposure. If the image is too
In a darkened room, create a bright, adjust the power of the
rig to let drops of liquid fall into flash. To capture the shot takes
a bowl for you to shoot by timing because you’ll use flash,
suspending a bottle with a not shutter speed, to capture
small hole in the lid above a the image. Once you have the
bowl of water. Once that’s done, timing sorted it’s easy. HOME PROJECT 12
01 Go manual
Set your camera to
manual. Use an aperture
of f/11 and a shutter
speed of 1 sec. Set
JUICY FRUIT
Reveal PRXWKZDWHULQJ colour
Commander mode in
Q&A
Custom Settings>
he different textures, capture the patterns and
Bracketing/ Flash>Flash
Cntrl For built-in flash. T tones and colours of
fruit lend themselves
textures in the cross-sections.
The key is to lay the fruit on a
to macro photography. While light source – we’ve used a light
02 Fire away the outer shapes and variations box. If you don’t have access to
Set aperture and flash of skin details can create one of those, you can achieve
power to get the right instantly gratifying shots, the similar results by placing a slice
exposure, and use a long inner flesh of citrus fruit can upright and shining a torch
shutter speed. Just before come alive with a little through it from behind.
the water drops fire the projected light. Position your camera directly
shutter. Trigger the flash For this project you’re going above the fruit on the light
with the test button as the to shoot sliced oranges to source and let’s start…
GEAR CRAFT
droplet hits the water.
01 Shoot the fruit
Select aperture-priority
mode, f/8 and ISO200.
Set the camera to mirror
lock up and use a shutter
release to avoid blur.
Move the AF point to the
edge of the fruit and lock
onto it, then take a shot.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
02 Brighten it
Open the image in
Photoshop and open
Levels. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+L,
grab the slider
adjustment on the right,
go to Highlights, and
move this to the left to
brighten the image.
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PUBLISH A
PHOTOGRAPHY
BOOK
PULL A
PHOTOGRAPHY
STUNT
NIKOPEDIA
TRY TO FIND A
PHOTOGRAPHY NICHE
TO SPECIALISE IN
GEAR CRAFT
80
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CAMERA SKILLS
SEND OUT REGULAR
PHOTOGRAPHY
NEWSLETTERS
SHARE YOUR
PHOTOGRAPHS
ON FLICKR
MAKE FRIENDS
AND TWEET ON
TWITTER
NIKOPEDIA
CONNECT TO
PHOTOGRAPHERS
ON FACEBOOK
BUILD A CULT FOLLOWING
OR PHOTOGRAPHIC
FAN BASE
GET YOUR WORK
PUBLISHED
IN MAGAZINES
Q&A
WHY NOT JOIN BI-LINGUAL?
PHOTOGRAPHIC DOUBLE YOUR
SOCIETIES CLIENT BASE
00
D52
GEAR CRAFT
1 SHOOT FOR STOCK 2 SELL US A COVER 3 SHOOT WEDDINGS 4 SELL FASHION SHOTS
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5 SNAP HORSES 6 FIND YOUR NICHE 7 SELL TRAVEL SHOTS 10 TAKE THE PLUNGE
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ABOUT THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
Name: Jeff Clow
Location: Texas, USA
Website:
www.jeffclow.com
Cameras: Nikon D800
and D7000
Q&A
▪ What is your
specialist subject?
Landscapes and
photo tours and books.
reason I pursued pro photography. It’s Selling to stock libraries Nikon D-SLR. Wait until you’re making
over 20,000 times
great for getting feedback. It’s where is a great indicator of money before you spend on kit.
without my
someone suggested selling stock. whether you’ve got skill.
permission .
CAMERA SKILLS
MY BEST-SELLING SHOT
This picture of my wife was taken with a
compact, and has sold for stock 1,500 times!
OFFER YOUR OWN
PHOTOGRAPHY
TRY SELF-PUBLISHING TOURS
My first eBook is about what I know best...
the best photo locations in Grand Teton!
NIKOPEDIA
non-stock sales have come from my cent of my participants have come
online portfolios on Flickr, Google Plus back on a tour with me again.
1 3
and 500px. There’s not a week that
goes by that one of those sites doesn’t BE PREPARED
generate a lead for a photo sale. If you’re leading a tour, you
1 0
need to be ready for anything.
BRING YOUR SKILL I don’t leave home without a backup
SET WITH YOU camera and a handful of batteries.
Draw on your current skills
when you’re making it as a
photographer. My years working as a
corporate executive taught me the
value of planning and being thorough.
1 4 PUBLISH A BOOK
Got a clutch of beautiful
shots? Publish a book, but look
for a niche, like my Dirt Cheap Photo
Guide to Grand Teton National Park.
Q&A
Teton National Park I pretend I’m a found out that publishing a
participant and do all the things I’d digital book is simple. I wrote it in Word
want done if I were paying the fee. and it was accepted by Amazon.com.
GEAR CRAFT
A cover photo is a specialised thing – it needs to have room for words, and
then you have to get it into the hands of the people who’ll publish it
Sydney-based
Bhuminan
Piyathasanan’s
18 Sold a cover? Start
shouting about it
My first cover photo was found
20 You don’t need a website
Other photographers
swear by their websites, but I’m
beautiful on 500px, and being published a coding dunce so I find it easier
landscape gave me the confidence to to share my work on Flickr,
images on Flickr (flickr.com/ submit images to other titles. 500px and Facebook. Make sure
people/atomiczen-) have been Since then I’ve been published in your contact details are listed.
featured on magazine covers a lot of photography magazines.
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
and D3000
▪ What is your
specialist subject?
Weddings and
24 VOLUNTEER YOUR
SERVICES
I volunteer as a
photographer for The Barbican,
Plymouth’s historic harbour area. It’s
portraits.
great for diversifying my portfolio, and
they’ve helped promote my work.
▪ What was the first
job you ever made
money from?
It was a wedding, and I
didn’t know the bride
beforehand. I was so
25 DON’T NEGLECT YOUR
PERSONAL PROJECTS
I love shooting macro and
recently completed a 365
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
5 TIPS FOR… MAKING MONEY
FROM FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY
,W·VRQHRIWKHPRVWGLIÀFXOWDUHDV
to break into, but it’s possible to
get into the glamorous world of
fashion photography – just be
prepared for hard work!
Guernsey-based Simon
38 Stay local
NIKOPEDIA
Boucher-Harris quit a career Look out for
in finance to follow his opportunities on your
passion for fashion doorstep. I made a name for
photography. See more at myself locally and now work
www.renegade- as the head photographer for
photography.co.uk Made in Guernsey, a magazine
that showcases the island’s
ESSENTIAL DETAILS
When I first started out I took
a long, hard look at what
other photographers were
39 Join a society
I’m a member of
the SWPP (Society of Wedding
Couples plan every detail of their big day, so
get as many of them on camera as possible offering. The wedding market and Portrait Photographers).
seemed really oversaturated It helps clients find me and
so I decided to focus on lets them know they can trust
fashion, commercial and my portrait work as I come
MAKE IT FAST
The ‘first dance’ tends to be advertising photography. ready-approved!
Q&A
dimly lit, so a fast 50mm comes
into its own here
37 Work like crazy
I love what I do but I’ve
had to work very, very hard to
40 Find models online
If you’re starting out
shooting fashion and beauty,
get to a level where I can you may be able to find models
support myself from my who will pose in return for
photos. Whether I’m editing shots for their portfolios.
images or organising new Sites to check include Model
shoots, I usually work a Mayhem (www.model
seven-day week. I think I had mayhem.com) and Purple
three days off last year! Port (www.purpleport.com)
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The more you can offer in a package, down with my brides to make
the more valuable your time will be. sure that I know exactly what they
3 2
want, and that nothing will be
PRINT YOUR SHOTS missed on their big day.
34
I supply my clients with
their photos in a variety of STUDY PHOTOGRAPHY
formats, including in albums and as My university degree in
framed prints, as part of my service. photography gave me
the time and tuition I needed to
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
3 3
MAKE TIME TO really get to grips with
TALK TO YOUR CLIENT photography. Plus, you can borrow
Communication is key when tons of amazing camera kit! If you
you’re booked for a new wedding. I sit have the time, consider a degree.
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
ABOUT THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
Name: Richard
Dunwoody
Location:
Berkshire, UK
Website: www.richard
dunwoodyphoto
Q&A
graphy.com
Camera: Nikon D4
▪ What is your
specialist subject?
Horses and travel.
magazines.
▪ Best paid
assignment so far?
Animal charity The
Brooke sent me on a
month’s assignment
to Egypt, Pakistan,
India and Guatemala.
▪ Biggest photo
13 KEY POINTS FOR… GETTING YOUR NAME KNOWN
disaster?
41 BE PASSIONATE managed a sports marketing business,
4 4 GET TRAINED UP
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
When you’re starting out, and been a corporate speaker before I There are all sorts of ways
I was photographing
you’ll naturally be more bought a D70 in 2007. There’s always to get training. I signed up to
the Mongol Derby
comfortable shooting something you time to get serious about a new career. a nine-month photojournalism course
when the power cable
know well – for me that was horses. at the Spéos Photographic Institute in
of my Mac blew up!
None of the shops in
Ulaan Baatar had
anything like that. I’ll
A passion for your subject will shine
through in your images.
4 3 USE CONTACTS
If you’re trying to make
money from photography on
Paris. It was intensive but I learned a
huge amount.
CAMERA SKILLS
Don’t stop shooting – regardless
of your niche, you can submit your
photos to a range of magazines
NIKOPEDIA
A telephoto zoom is great
for sports – but you don’t want
to carry more than one
Q&A
sharing PDFs of my work in print. and metadata to magazines, and I’ll usually head out to to spend as much time indoors as
it’ll often yield a printed photo. photograph sport. When I was out – I have days of editing images,
GEAR CRAFT
%HFRPHNQRZQDVDVSHFLDOLVWDQG\RX·OOÀQG\RXUVHOI
the go-to photographer for certain types of shot
sense to photograph sailing events. Working as My first calendar of SEASONAL JOB, ALL YEAR
an events photographer has really taken off, seascapes sold really well and I produce one Even if the subject of your photography is seasonal, items like
and is now a big part of my work. annually. I’m lucky to be married to a graphic cards, prints and calendars will generate income year-round
designer, who helps me design everything!
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CAMERA SKILLS
CAMERA SKILLS
ELEPHANTS IN KENYA
Nikon D700, Nikon 50-500mm f/4.5-6.3
1/640 sec, f/10, ISO400
ABOUT THE
PHOTOGRAPHER
Name: Elisabetta
Rosso
Location:
Turin, Italy
Website: www.
elisabettarosso.com
Q&A
▪ What is your
specialist subject?
I shoot weddings and
teach travel
photography.
65 GET IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE dream job, but the logistics planning
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
66
photography publications like
Nazionale Fotografi di
Matrimonio, an
organisation for
wedding photographers.
63 SHOOT IT FOR FREE
Figure out what you want
to be paid to shoot and do it
for free first to show off your skills.
GO BIG WITH IMAGES
Get a website that gives
your photos pride of place.
They speak a thousand words, after all.
N-Photo: it’s a great way to build up
a relationship with a magazine and
get your name and work seen by
potential tour clients.
CAMERA SKILLS
5 TIPS FOR… TAKING THE PLUNGE AS
A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
It’s not going to be easy, but if
you’re prepared to put the work
in, you can make your
photography hobby into a paying
and rewarding career
PLAN YOUR TRIPS
You can’t get back wasted time on Mark Upfield (www.
78 Follow trends
NIKOPEDIA
location – put in time planning beforehand muphotographic You’ve got to balance
landscapes.com) has spent shooting what you love with
eight years building up his shooting what’s popular.
expertise. He now shoots Keep an eye on magazines,
landscapes and offers websites and competitors to
family portraiture and see what’s on trend in your
wedding photography specialist area.
in Hampshire.
76 Shadow a
professional
79 Don’t give up
I have heard
statements like “That’s not
Gain experience by working a real job” and “You can’t
as a trainee in a studio, or by make money from
shadowing a photographer. photography any more” so
It won’t make you much many times I now switch off
money, but it’ll give you the when conversations head
know-how to start charging that way. I now work longer
Q&A
for your work. hours – I love every minute.
70 INCLUDE A PRESS PAGE pay as well as print, but they’re great
time of year, however! and expert knowledge.
GEAR CRAFT
If you’ve been mentioned or for exposure. I’ve had my shots in the
published somewhere, ask National Geographic web galleries.
for a PDF or a screengrab of your
article and share it on your website.
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CAMERA SKILLS
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Page 80
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 84
CAMERA SKILLS
Nikopedia
Lenses: part 1 .........................................................80
Page 92
Lenses: part 2 ........................................................84
Raw vs JPEG........................................................... 88
NIKOPEDIA
Depth of field ......................................................... 92
Exposure .................................................................. 96
Sensor size ............................................................ 100
Getting more from raw .................................. 104
The exposure triangle .....................................108
White balance .......................................................112
Q&A
Page 100
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 96
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NIKON KNOW-HOW
GEAR CRAFT
LENSES: PART 1
Your choice of lens helps to define your photographic style. Find out how…
“Choice of lens is a matter wide angle for an interior view or a assignments for clients, but for his normal-looking pictures. My
of personal vision and telephoto for wildlife, but for the own work, which consists of his favourite lens is the 28mm because
comfort”. Those are the words vast majority of regular shooting, defining pictures, he used only a it gives me a different perspective
of American photojournalist Mary your choice of focal length depends 50mm, for the simple reason that he with a minimum of distortions.”
Ellen Mark, and pretty well echo the on the visual effect it gives, and on firmly believed that his camera was Others go longer, and as we’ll see
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
way in which most experienced what you feel comfortable with. “the extension of my eye”, and that this month, lenses are personal.
photographers feel about their Most of us have some sort of 50mm gave him the view that he Camera models come and go, but
lenses. And I do mean ‘feel’: the relationship with particular lenses, considered eye-like. your choice of lenses is a part of your
glass in front of the camera has and in some cases the lens has Other photographers have own particular way of making
more to do with defining a become very much a part of a different styles. For instance, Annie photographs. Focal length is usually
photographic style than it does with photographer’s distinct style. Leibovitz said, “I look for images that the decision-maker, though as we’ll
simply being convenient for a type of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the master of are a bit different – a little surreal. see in a later issue, there are also
subject. It’s true that there are street photography, used a selection The normal lens is a challenge to different designs of lens that can
practical considerations in needing a of lenses when he was on paid me. I have to work to avoid getting make the difference.
CAMERA SKILLS
LENS CHOICE
PRIME LENSES
OR ZOOMS?
Should you stick with
fixed focal lengths
or plump for the
flexibility of a zoom?
Zooms are both a
NIKOPEDIA
convenience and a
complication. Long gone are the
days when squeezing a range of
focal lengths into one lens led to
sub-standard optical quality, and PRIME LENSES ZOOM LENSES
Nikon’s ‘professional set’ of
What’s good What’s good
14-24mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm ■ The best have top optical quality ■ Uninterrupted, smooth choice of
lenses enable you meet most about the composition, and to use ■ Usually simpler construction, so framing options across a range of
conceivable needs with just three your feet to change it. Indeed, with less to go wrong lenses, from 14mm up to 200mm
lenses (though admittedly heavy all the other things going on in a ■ Smaller and lighter than a zoom ■ Offer a range focal lengths in one
ones). The inevitable impossibility of shooting situation, you might even covering the equivalent focal length lens, so more flexible
correcting all distortion across the find that tweaking the focal length ■ At matched quality, significantly ■ Optical quality of good zooms is up
less expensive than a zoom to scratch
range by optical design matters very with a zoom ring is a choice too far.
little, as most processing software Zoom lenses actually demand ■ Capable of wider maximum What’s not
apertures at matched quality ■ Typically more distortion and
will automatically correct for this. more attention from the aberrations than primes
Prime or fixed focal length lenses photographer than prime lenses, What’s not
■ You have to move around more for ■ Very cheap zooms sometimes
are making a comeback, however, because turning the zoom ring
Q&A
framing (though this can be helpful) compromise on optical quality
bolstered for some by the appeal of doesn’t just change the angle of view ■ Need more lenses in the bag to ■ Individually much heavier lenses
exquisite optical quality and (see page 83), it also alters the style cover a range of focal lengths than their equivalent primes
character, and for others by being of the image. Some people find that ■ Top quality primes can be really ■ Good quality zooms are expensive
smaller, lighter and neater. A fixed challenge stimulating, but it’s a expensive (but that’s inevitable)
focal length forces you to think more necessary consideration.
CROP FACTOR
FX, DX AND FOCAL LENGTH
The size of the sensor in your camera makes a difference
GEAR CRAFT
Nikon’s ‘full-frame’ FX sensor camera – not really wide-angle at all.
format has the same dimensions Look at this the other way around and
as a frame of 35mm to get the equivalent of that 28mm
film and when focal lengths are wide-angle view, you’d need 18mm.
described as being standard, wide- Hence the term ‘equivalent focal
angle or telephoto, it’s this format that length’ that’s often listed in a lens’s
everyone refers to. However, the same specifications.
focal length on a smaller-sensor DX
camera behaves as if it were half as A DX sensor has a ‘crop factor’ of x1.5.
Multiply the focal length of the lens by
long again. So, a 28mm wide-angle lens this amount to discover the ‘equivalent
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
on an FX camera would give the view of focal length’ – or the one required to give
a 42mm focal length lens on a DX the same view as with an FX sensor
FX Less than 20mm 20-35mm 40-60mm 70-100mm 150-200mm 300-400mm 500mm and more
DX Less than 14m 14-23mm 26-40mm 46-67mm 100-140mm 200-250mm 350mm and more
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
LENS RANGE
THE POPULARITY STAKES
Nikon’s lens range runs from super-wide to super-telephoto, but which are the most popular focal lengths?
Take a look through Yes,the definition of what qualifies near-standard lenses dominate of sources and arranging them from
practically any serious as standard is vague, but what all the archives of photography. The super wide angle to super telephoto,
collection of notable handheld these images have in common is majority of photographers have the result looks like a bell graph with
photography from the first use of that they offer views that are easy to always concentrated on finding standard focal lengths crowded in
35mm film in the late 1920s right imagine seeing with our own eyes. interesting content, often to the the central peak. This is a bit
NIKOPEDIA
up to today, and you’ll see that the Of course, what is actually exclusion of searching for stronger different from the impression you
great majority of images were, and happening in that view is anything graphics from more extreme lenses. might get from looking at the list of
continue to be, shot with lenses but ordinary in a good photograph, Taking a couple of hundred Nikon lenses (or any manufacturer),
close to standard focal length. and that’s a clue to the reason why mainstream images from a variety but it’s worth pausing for thought.
STANDARD
On the other side of the
Stylistically, the traditional focal
‘standard’ divide, telephoto also
length groupings are based around MILD WIDE-ANGLE MILD TELEPHOTO has shades of meaning, from
a so-called ‘standard’ focal length
mild (between around 70mm
that’s between approximately
and 100mm) to long (between
40mm and 60mm.
200mm and 400mm).
TELEPHOTO
SUPER-WIDE
GEAR CRAFT
SUPER-TELE
05 08
01 07 11
02
06 09
12
03 04
10
01 03 05 07 09 11
INTERIORS The only way PANORAMICS STREET The classic PORTRAIT iPhone ARCHITECTURAL SPORT Shooting
to capture the sense of Sweeping views need lenses vary from standard selfies apart, portraiture DETAIL For picking out positions are rarely closer
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
being in a room with a a super-wide lens to down to wide-angle, tends to look the most decoration and detail than a touchline or
sense of the total space? capture everything appropriate for being flattering with a mild above ground level, a equivalent, making long,
Wide-angle from a corner. in a single frame. in the thick of things. telephoto lens. long lens is essential. fast telephotos ideal.
02 04 06 08 10 12
ARCHITECTURE To show LANDSCAPE Regular STILL-LIFE Content and ACROSS-THE-STREET LANDSCAPE DETAIL WILDLIFE To get
buildings in the context landscape photography is arrangement dominate, A specific kind of street This includes distant, frame-filling shots of
of their settings needs typically carried out using so unobtrusive standard photography that compressed landscapes, skittish or dangerous
much the same wide a moderate wide-angle lenses are usual for demands distant shooting and is a style that calls critters, the longer the
view as interiors. zoom or prime lens. studio-based still-lifes. for candid results. for a regular telephoto. lens, the better.
CAMERA SKILLS
LENS EFFECTS
ANGLE OF VIEW
Wide-angle lenses let you squeeze more in, telephotos help you pick out details… but there’s much more to it than that
NIKOPEDIA
WIDE-ANGLE LENSES ‘STANDARD’ LENSES TELEPHOTO LENSES
GRAPHICALLY STRETCHED AROUND ABOUT 50mm, SO FLATTENED, CROPPED,
YET DRAWING IN THE VIEWER CLOSE TO THE WAY WE SEE COOLER AND DISTANT
With an angle of view wider than about 60
degrees, and as much as 99 degrees before we
reach the strange world of super-wides, shorter
Whether you feel that your normal way of seeing
is a bit wider, like a 35mm lens, or rather more
concentrated, like 60mm, that narrow range
While wide-angle optics pull things apart
graphically, telephotos push them together,
giving a flattening effect that reduces rather than
focal lengths can squeeze a lot into the frame. around 50mm is what most of us think of as exaggerates differences in the size of things. That
Nikon’s 20mm, 24mm, 28mm and 35mm lenses basically similar to our vision. It’s unobtrusive. works for portraits (noses and chins no bigger
are classics, although these lengths are now You could even call it middle-of-the-road, than they should be) and for the compressing
embedded in a number of zooms. Using them on perhaps characterless, and that would for many effect that appears to enlarge the background, as
Q&A
a wide open vista with everything distant misses photographers be very much the point, in that the illustrated above. The longer the lens, the more
the point of wide-angle style; getting in close to a lens optics simply don’t get in the way of the pronounced the effect – and remember to factor
scene is often more interesting. Paradoxically, a subject. Cartier-Bresson, who hated talking much in the ‘crop factor’ of the sensor size. DX sensors
wide-angle separates a foreground from the about equipment, is on record as saying that the record a smaller area of the image projected by
background by pulling the scene apart (see above), 50mm he mainly used “corresponds to a certain the lens; mount a 400m lens on a DX camera and
while at the same time putting the viewer into the vision and at the same time has enough depth of the effective focal length is 600mm, with the
scene when the foreground breaks the frame. focus, a thing you don’t have in longer lenses.” angle of view narrowing from six to 4.2 degrees.
GOOD FOR Environmental portraits, where you can get GOOD FOR Street photography, documentary work, GOOD FOR Situations where you can’t physically get
close to someone but still show their surroundings still-life, low-light pictures – pretty much everything! close to a subject, such as wildlife and sports
NOT SO GOOD FOR Tight portraits. Shooting someone NOT SO GOOD FOR Pictures that ‘shout’ – the NOT SO GOOD FOR Close-up shots; telephotos are
close up will lead to a distorted ‘egg-head’ effect ‘standard’ view creates images that just look natural unable to focus on subjects at very close distances
GEAR CRAFT
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NIKON KNOW-HOW
GEAR CRAFT
LENSES: PART 2
Which optic do you choose when you’re in search of extremes?
It seems to be very much a wide-angle will almost never be assignment and creative brief to distortion. (At the widest end, there’s
personality thing, but some on the camera. I will shoot with the another. It’s no surprise, then, that usually noticeable barrel distortion.)
photographers have always telephoto two or three times before advertising photographers and the Art Kane, for instance, made 21mm,
experimented enthusiastically I ever go to the wide-angle.” Even fast-disappearing breed of general close-and-distorted fashion
with the extremes of focal length, Walker Evans, famous for his magazine photographers are the photography his hallmark, and the
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
at least for periods within their ‘plainspoken’ record of Depression- ones who are most likely to carry a style soon became almost normal in
careers. Bill Brandt, for example, era America, was fascinated wide range of focal lengths in their the United States and Europe. But
shot his famous series of distorted with the compressing effect of a large camera bags. what is ‘fashionable’ can just as
nudes with extreme wide-angle, and telephoto lens, fully stopped down, For instance, when ultra-wide quickly be thrown out again,
American Jay Maisel was well- as part of his style of ‘pure record’. lenses (meaning anything shorter becoming yet one more cliché, as
known for his self-proclaimed Whatever drives this than 28mm) began to be used by indeed happened with the wide
‘telephoto vision’. He said: “If I walk experimentation, it’s found typically professionals in mass-market distorted look. When fisheye lenses
around, as I am used to, with a among photographers who need to publications in the early 1960s, became available, they too were
wide-angle and a telephoto, the be able to jump from one subject, they were controversial for their co-opted in a brief vogue.
CAMERA SKILLS
TAKE A WIDER VIEW
ULTRA-WIDES: WRAPAROUND AND FULL IMMERSION
You’ll get a visually extreme effect from an ultra-wide, and that calls for careful composition
One of the results of to side. This is one of two ways in exaggerates another kind of give ultra-wide lenses their special
increasingly sophisticated which ultra-wide is visually extreme distortion: a stretching outward character. Using an ultra-wide for
lens design is better performance at – an angle of view greater than we from the centre that becomes more style needs minute attention to the
the extremes of focal length. A side experience. The second extreme and more pronounced toward the camera position and angle. At 14mm,
effect of this is that the distinction effect is the inevitable distortion, corners (see The egg-head effect, for example, it’s less a matter of how
between ‘normal’ wide-angle and which can be somewhere between below). The strategies for dealing much distortion than where, and the
NIKOPEDIA
ultra-wide has shifted over the powerful and weird, depending on with this perspective distortion are slightest movement when you’re
years, and most photographers now your taste. One of the lens designer’s entirely in your hands, and depend framing a shot makes a big
consider 20mm to be just ultra-wide. main tasks with an ultra-wide is to on how you compose the shot. difference. An inch to one side can
The defining quality of an correct barrel distortion, in which The exaggeration of geometry is change things dramatically, so
ultra-wide lens is a view wider than straight lines close to and parallel to strongest when you have a close shooting with one of these lenses is
most people would be aware of the frame edges bend outwards, like foreground and a deep shot, but an intensive experience. Doing it
without turning their head from side on a barrel. Achieving this, however, these are exactly the conditions that quickly and well takes practice.
Q&A
flavours: barrel and pincushion.
With wide-angle zooms, the
distortion changes from one to the
other as you zoom in. There’s an
unavoidable price to pay for straight
lines, however, and that’s the
increase in perspective distortion,
the stretching of shapes away from
the centre. The wider the wide-
angle, the more extreme the effect,
so a circular object in a corner
becomes an oval. Familiar shapes, Shot at a focal length of 14mm. When this photograph was A combination of my tilting forward and the man in orange
like a face, fare worst, as this pair of taken I tried to keep heads and other distortion-prone leaning back makes his head oval in shape (note the increase
GEAR CRAFT
images from a racing yacht shows. shapes away from the edges in size of the console)
degrees for the Nikon versions), them a novelty initially, but the
fisheye lenses trade straight-line overwhelming barrel distortion
correction for a wraparound view. can make anything more than
These were in vogue in the 1970s, occasional use repetitive and
and there used to be many different over-the-top. Nikon produces what is
designs, with the basic distinction essentially the same lens in FX and
being between circular (projecting DX format – the Nikon AF 16mm f/2.8
a circular image on the sensor Fisheye and the Nikon AF DX 10.5mm
surrounded by black) and the f/2.8G Fisheye.
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CAMERA SKILLS
Just as ultra-wides define for both photographer and audience, photographing the whole thing”, have somehow ridden upward in
themselves by offering views is the key, and ‘I never saw that’ is adding, “I think if you add too much the frame.
we don’t normally experience the typical reaction. to your picture, you dilute it.” Two huge drawbacks attend this
because they go beyond the eyes’ When first using a super-telephoto, In addition, the essential world of normally unseen imagery:
side-to-side ‘awareness’ field, that is the way most photographers telephoto qualities of compression, weight and cost. A Nikon 600mm f/4
telephotos become super-telephoto work, searching for images with the flattening and plane-stacking are weighs five kilos, making it more or
when they reveal views so small and lens. The more experienced method exaggerated. As you can see in the less impossible to hand-hold, and
distant that they come as a surprise. is to train your vision to search for flamingoes image above, not only is awkward even to walk around with.
That happens for most people at detail. Jay Maisel, who built his the framing all but invisible to the And then there’s the price (£7,000 /
around 500mm, although as it’s to reputation on his use of telephotos, eye, but the scene it covers, probably $9,800). There is an answer of sorts,
do with visual sensation rather than said: “My proclivity is to look at the around 10 metres deep, is visually which is to use a mirror lens (see A
anything scientific, the transition centre and zoom in on something squashed flat, with the distinct Distant Mirror, below) and accept a
GEAR CRAFT
zone is vague. The surprise factor, that I want a detail of rather than impression that the birds behind drop in image quality.
A DISTANT MIRROR
Affordable magnification, with a few drawbacks
Once not just popular but fashionable, mirror lenses, also known as reflex or
catadioptric lenses, seem to be making a limited comeback at the lower end of the
market. The optics are borrowed from telescopes, specifically from a design known
as the Cassegrain, in which internal mirrors are used to achieve impressive focal
length (typically 500mm, but longer lenses have been made) in a short, compact
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lens barrel. They had their heyday in the 1970s and 80s, and were actually liked for
their doughnut-shaped, out-of-focus highlights and slight lack of contrast. Those
doughnuts are now less highly regarded, but new ‘cats’ are still manufactured by
Samyang, Kenko and Opteka, and there are plenty available secondhand on eBay.
No, they’re not as sharp as an equivalent focal length telephoto, but they’re many,
many times cheaper (Samyang’s 500mm f/8, for example, costs around £120/$120).
They pass less light through their fixed aperture – typically an unremarkable f/8 for
a 500mm – but Nikon sensors’ good low-light performance overcomes that issue.
CAMERA SKILLS
FACE FACTS
PORTRAIT LENSES – BLURRING THE BACKGROUND
Portrait photographers often opt for a slightly longer focal length, and specialist lenses...
While ‘portrait’ is modern produces one such lens, the 135mm made in Russia at the Zenit factory It did this at the cost of a narrow
shorthand for the mid- f/2 DC. The DC stands for Defocus for Lomography, and there’s a field of view and pronounced
telephoto lengths of around 85mm Control, which means a separate Nikon-fit version. I say ‘new’ because oval-shaped blurred highlights that
to 135mm, because of the pleasing group of elements with their own the original Petzval lens, launched in gave the out-of-focus areas a ‘swirly’
facial proportions and good working ring control, enabling you to apply 1840, was a breakthrough in design. look. These defects actually
NIKOPEDIA
distance for rapport with the sitter, defocus to the out-of-focus It was the fastest lens of its time, enhanced its popularity among the
there have always been lenses by foreground or background and reduced typical Daguerrotype Pictorialists, and other lenses, like
this name with the special feature On the margins of seriousness studio portrait exposures from the Dallmeyer, were designed to give
of softening the focus. Nikon still is the ‘new’ Petzval lens, which is around 10 minutes to 30 seconds. a deliberate soft-focus effect.
STRAIGHTEN UP
TILT-SHIFT – FOR ARCHITECTURE AND MORE
If you want to avoid converging verticals in your shots of buildings, this is the lens to go for
Most lenses project an image the lens upward, you shift the view
circle that is just big enough upward also, but with all verticals
to cover the sensor, but tilt-shift staying vertical. Adding tilt does
lenses cover a wider area. They work something quite different – it tilts
by sliding the lens elements up, the plane of sharp focus so that you
down or sideways, which has the can align the focus better to a
Q&A
effect of sliding different parts of subject (like still-life objects on a
the scene into view. The main reason table), or do the opposite to throw
for wanting to do this is in parts of the scene unexpectedly out
architectural photography, to keep of focus. We’ll delve into this in a
verticals vertical. Otherwise, if you forthcoming issue, when we look
stand reasonably close to a building, at depth of field.
then even with a wide-angle lens you Earlier Nikon lenses, like the
need to tilt the camera upwards to 28mm f/3.5 PC, offered just shift,
take it all in, and the result is a shot but now the range of specialist
in which the sides of the building lenses combines shift and tilt. The
converge from bottom to top. Nikon 24mm f/3.5 PC-E, Nikon 45mm
The procedure is to aim the f/2.8 PC-E Micro and Nikon 85mm
GEAR CRAFT
camera level, which gives you a view f/2.8 PC-E Micro all boast both shift
with too much foreground and often and tilt. Third-party Nikon-fit lenses
cuts off the top of the building. But include a range by Schneider-
then, by shifting the front section of Kreuznach and Hartblei.
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
RAW VS JPEG
Discover the ultimate guide to file formats…
NIKOPEDIA
These days, it’s the received takes place in the camera, and that’s your camera’s sensor. So the basic are all available to do later on your
wisdom that few dispute – where the answers to the RAW question is, do you want this to be computer, with software like
shoot RAW for better image versus JPEG contest lie. thrown away by the camera in the Lightroom, Photoshop or DxO
quality – but why and how tend to heat of shooting? Or would you Optics. They can do a better job than
be glossed over. If you’re aiming to Take control rather have some control over it your camera, and more than that,
get the best out of your images (and Not that there’s anything later, with the better processing they can recover tones that might
who isn’t?) it’s important to know intrinsically wrong with JPEGs. capabilities of a computer? otherwise be lost – as well as letting
exactly what a RAW file has to offer. They’re the way we see the majority you set whatever white balance you
GEAR CRAFT
Here we’re going to take a look of photographs these days (and your Do it yourself like. This might not be obvious,
under the bonnet of the RAW format, final image will probably be a JPEG), If you retain the RAW file, then the because all in-camera processing
and at the sequence of events that but a lot of stuff gets thrown away key steps of demosaicing, correcting software ‘hides’ the basic steps, so
result in a viewable, and normal- when creating a JPEG from the the colour and applying a human- what comes out of the camera is a
looking, photograph. This sequence original data that is captured by eye-like gamma curve (see below) ‘normalised’ image.
means raw, as in unprocessed. It’s a Photographic Expert Group (the so the quality, can be chosen. In
‘file format’, a digital way of storing people who devised it), is the most practice, there is no visible difference
the information caught by the sensor, common file format for photographs, at a normal viewing size between a
and each camera manufacturer has and was designed for transmitting high-quality JPEG and any other file
its own way of doing this, which is images by keeping the file small. format, such as a TIFF (Tagged Image
why the suffixes are different. It does this by compressing the File Format). TIFF files preserve full
Nikon’s is .NEF, which stands information, and in the process image quality without any of the loss
for Nikon Electronic Format. loses some image quality. associated with JPEGs.
CAMERA SKILLS
HOW AN IMAGE IS MADE
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
01 Demosaicing DxO and other firms put a lot of effort 03 Apply gamma curve 04 Tidying up
Something called a Bayer filter array into getting this right. The sensor records light in proportion Various other jobs include applying
sits in front of the sensor, and each of its to the exposure – that is, in a linear way. some sharpening to take care of the
02
pixel-sized filters are coloured either red, White balance Our eyes are more complex. They have a slight softening caused by demosaicing,
green or blue. This is how the otherwise The overall colour is adjusted according logarithmic response, which essentially and adjusting the overall contrast and
colour-blind sensor records colours, and to the choice selected on the camera. means that they can sense a much wider saturation of the image.
this blocky patchwork of colours in the For reasons which are too complex to go range of brightness at the same time. An
image has to be processed to resemble into here, Bayer filters feature twice as original linear image looks too dark to the 05 Convert or save
the original colours in the scene. This many green filters as red and blue ones, eye, and to appear normal needs to have Finally, if you chose to shoot in the JPEG
is processing-intensive and better which adds a green cast that needs to a strong adjustment curve applied to it, format, the file is now converted by the
tackled by a computer – in fact, the best be removed. The white balance setting known as a 2.2 gamma curve (see below). camera, with all other data discarded.
GEAR CRAFT
demosaicing procedures are iterative, chosen from the camera menu is kept as This effectively expands the darker pixel If you chose to shoot in RAW, everything
and these are too slow for a camera’s a tag which, if the RAW file is saved for levels into a wider range of tones, and is kept, and the various processing steps
processor. Software engineers at Adobe, later processing, you can change. squashes the brighter pixel levels. can be revisited.
IN-CAMERA CORRECTION
natural and straightforward, linear. Twice the brightness is overall increase in brightness, but by a less-than-perfect exposure,
yet it’s anything but. Even our basic recorded as twice the signal. The an increase that favours the dark particularly in the shadows.
response to different levels of result is that a linear image capture, tones. In the form of a graph it is a Applying a stronger gamma curve
brightness is complex. We see twice which is what your camera gets as steep curve, as shown above, known will pull more visible detail out from
the brightness, for example, as only soon as you take a shot, would look as a 2.2 gamma correction. Seen as a those densely packed shadow areas.
a slight increase, and we are aware very dark. You never get to see this, tonal range from black to white, the In other words, most of the
of changes in dark tones much more because the camera automatically correction spreads the tones out information in a just-captured image
than in bright ones. In other words, applies a correction to make it look evenly. This is why a RAW file allows is clumped in the dark areas, and
the response of our eyes to light is normal. To match the way our eyes you to recover details in an image needs to be pulled out.
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CAMERA SKILLS
NUMBER CRUNCHING
usually used (eight bits per channel There are two occasions when
means 24 bits per pixel – eight for red, this happens. It always happens
eight for green and eight for blue). when converting the freshly-
As you can see from the table captured image from linear to
below, even an eight-bit JPEG has viewable (in other words, when
more colour options than we need applying the 2.2 gamma curve,
for viewing an image – it records 16.7 described on page 89), and it may
million colours, and we can only see happen if you process an image
about 10 million. That would be more extremely, for example when trying
than enough were it not for the work to save an under-exposed shot.
that needs to be done on digital This is where having a higher
images. If you make big changes to bit-depth than eight-bit makes a
brightness or colour, for example, difference. The more colours you
GEAR CRAFT
you are essentially increasing the have to play with, the less damage is
differences between adjacent pixels. done when they’re stretched out by
If the bit-depth is low when you do the gamma curve. That’s why some
this (i.e. if there aren’t enough Nikons, like the D810 and D4S, offer
colours and tones to work with), you the choice of 12-bit or even 14-bit
there’s likely to be a noticeable jump, capture. Both take up more space,
and this can appear as a hard line and can slow down the shooting a
separating two areas. This is called little, but they ensure better image
posterisation, because the results quality, especially in the dark areas.
can look like blocky poster art. it RAW, and in particular 14-bit RAW,
occurs across the image, but is most definitely has the edge with very
obvious in areas of subtle variation high-contrast scenes.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
BIT-DEPTH AND THE NUMBER OF COLOURS & TONES Your Nikon captures more than your eyes can see!
Human vision eight-bit JPEG 12-bit camera 14-bit camera 16-bit TIFF
Number of colours/tones about 10 million 16.7 million 68.7 billion 4.4 trillion 281 trillion
CAMERA SKILLS
PUT TO THE TEST
NIKOPEDIA
coloured tablecloth. The dynamic Here, two things enable us to of the Synchronize button). finally, look at the magenta band
range from shadow to highlight is make a direct comparison between Shadow detail that has been that borders the shadow edges on
very high, and the magenta-red is RAW and JPEG: one is that I always preserved in the RAW file, and that the original, unchanged version; on
in an area of colour that is on the shoot RAW+JPEG, so both are enables us to see the smoke that the JPEG it stays, and is if anything
margins of what the camera can available and identical in timing; the has been lost in the JPEG. It just isn’t more exaggerated; with the RAW file
accurately record. So there are three other is that by checking a box in there any more. At the highlight end it blends back smoothly into the
problems that are apparent from Photoshop Preferences, we can the RAW processor makes a decent overall colour of the cloth.
Q&A
Here’s the image as it was shot. The smoke has Because there’s extra data in the RAW file, we’ve The colours have, if anything, got worse in the JPEG
vanished, the highlights are blown and the colours been able to recover the smoke and detail in the after processing, and the information for the smoke
GEAR CRAFT
are a bit off, so we’ll try to recover all that. highlights, and the colours are improved. and highlights simply isn’t there to recover.
FOR AND AGAINST EACH FORMAT It’s no surprise that RAW comes out on top, though JPEG has its advantages
RAW JPEG
Retains full image quality Large files need more storage space Less storage space All other image data is discarded
You control which image data is Saving large files in-camera may slow Immediately available (such
Has some slight image artefacts
kept from the surplus available down shooting as for transmission)
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Can often recover exposure loss Not possible to change your mind
in shadows and highlights about settings such as white balance
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
DEPTH OF FIELD
Q&A
We reveal why depth of field is so crucial, and how to use it more creatively
As everyone knows, depth is a visual effect that we have very usual visual experience. You change typically over a metre away from
of field is defined as the limited experience of with our own the depth of field by changing size of your subject, so will be blurred out.
range of distance in front of the eyes. Healthy, adjusted eyes simply a lens’s aperture (see below). Depth At its most mechanical, depth of
camera in which everything looks see everything as normally sharp. If of field does not change with focal field is used to keep the important
acceptably sharp. It can be deep, you’re short-sighted or long-sighted length, but using a telephoto to parts of a subject sharp, but there
covering the entire scene, or it can (as more than a third of us are) then magnify a small part of the scene are more ways to use it to your
be shallow, with only a narrow band without glasses you’ll have some gives the impression of shallower advantage. You can use it to direct
sharp. It’s a term that we trundle out sense of blur, but it’s unlikely to depth of field. With a wide-angle the viewer’s eye, but equally, by
GEAR CRAFT
as if it explains everything there is to come anywhere near the smooth lens depth of field might be, say, a throwing some things out of focus,
know about aperture, but ‘why’ is blur in a selective-focus shot, or metre at f/4, so everything within a you can disrupt the viewer’s
much more important than ‘what’. in almost any macro background. metre of your subject will be expectations. Using depth of field
And the reason why it needs That’s why well-managed blur can acceptably sharp; with a long lens, means playing with the contrast
explanation is that depth of field be so appealing – it’s beyond our foreground and background are between sharp and blurred areas.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
F/2.8 F/22
CAMERA SKILLS
IS IT SHARP?
DEPTH OF
WHAT SHARPNESS REALLY IS FIELD AND
We all talk about sharpness, but what does the word actually mean? FOCAL LENGTH
Sharpness is not a scientific term, Depth of field doesn’t change with
it’s all about impression – if we focal length – though it looks like it
think part of an image is sharp, then it is.
■ It seems counter-intuitive, but depth of field
Sharpness is influenced by two lens
doesn’t change with focal length. And yet we all
qualities – resolution and acutance – but
experience what seems to be shallower depth of
also by subject, composition and our own
NIKOPEDIA
field when we’re using a telephoto lens, so what’s
expectations. Resolution is the ability of
going on? It’s because telephotos are normally used
a lens to separate fine detail, such as
to magnify a distant part of a scene, and wide-angle
narrowly-spaced lines, while ‘acutance’
lenses to take in more of it.
refers to how abrupt edges are between
If you were to shoot the same part of the scene
dark and light tones – local contrast, in
by moving forward with the wide-angle or stepping
other words. Improving both of these
back with the telephoto, the depth of field would
qualities, particularly resolution, is what
be identical. So, while strictly speaking focal length
lens designers and manufacturers strive
isn’t involved, in practice, because of the way most
for, and lens quality is judged on this
of us use wide-angles and telephotos, it does matter.
more than anything else.
However, beware of thinking of
sharpness as a gold standard. You
would nearly always expect, or want,
some parts of an image to be sharp, but
images can be powerful without this
quality. Maximum depth of field to give
sharpness throughout the frame may be
Q&A
good for some images, but it’s also
predictable, and prevents the creative
use of blur. To quote Henri Cartier-
Bresson: “Sharpness is a bourgeois
concept.”
70mm
HYPER-REALITY
GOING DEEP
When everything is sharp from front to back, it heightens the sense of reality
GEAR CRAFT
Even though focal length per
se has almost nothing to do
with depth of field (see right), one way
to ensure front-to-back sharpness is
to use a wide-angle lens, provided
that it’s stopped down to a small 28mm
aperture, like f/16 or f/22.
The technique really relies on
viewpoint and composition, with a
close foreground and a view in the
distance, and both ends of the scale
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
STAYING SHALLOW
Shallow depth of field is often used to separate a subject from its background, but there’s more to it than that...
The standard use of depth of
field is when a specific area
needs to be sharp, but no more, as in
a head-and-shoulders portrait with
an out-of-focus background. In this
NIKOPEDIA
BOKEH: SOUNDS
FANCY, BUT IT’S STILL
JUST ORDINARY BLUR
■ The Japanese word ‘bokeh’
Q&A
BLUR AS A TOOL
SLICE OF LIFE
You can use selective focus to direct the viewer’s eye towards your subject
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
SOFTER COLOURS
NIKOPEDIA
important, but sometimes they can take over the
meaning and purpose of the image. This can be especially
powerful in colour photographs, where intense blurring not
only smooths the tones in a background or foreground, but
can also ‘mix’ colours, to give an appearance similar to a
watercolour’s graded wash. Complimentary colours lend
themselves to vibrant mixes, while similar hues and pastel
colours, as here, produce a gentler, more subtle effect.
LOOK DEEPER
Q&A
thankfully not yet over-used, is to place the anyone deliberately set out to confuse? One bedecked hairdos of Bulang women at an annual
focus behind the subject, so that it has to rely on reason is to intrigue or surprise the viewer; ritual were important, but could still be conveyed
colour, shape and other clues to make itself another is when focusing on the subject might while looking beyond them at other participants.
GEAR CRAFT
In this shot of a Bulang woman, she’s been deliberately blurred in order to draw attention to the
other participants in the ritual. You don’t always need the main element to be sharp!
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
Understanding
exposure is the key to
capturing details in all
parts of a scene
NIKOPEDIA
EXPOSURE
Q&A
confronting a new exposure situation by relying more or less – that’s one group; or, if it’s flat and example, but is the subject’s skin pale or dark? Or
on their experience, comparing the new scene obviously lacking in contrast, it will easily fit – is the sunlit or shadowed part of a building more
with what they’ve done before. They also tend that’s group two. The third group, where most of important? These decisions are what make your
to stick to one exposure mode so that they’re the problems lie, is when the scene is so contrasty photography personal, so make your own shooting
familiar with its shortcomings, and know when that it’s out of range, and your sensor isn’t able to experience the driver for setting the exposure.
CAMERA SKILLS
THE ‘KEY’ TO EXPOSURE
THE HISTOGRAM
IDENTIFYING THE KEY TONE TELLS (NEARLY) ALL
Once you know the area you want to expose for, you’re halfway there It’s your best friend for judging exposure
The fast track to successful ■ What if you’re still building up your experience, and aren’t
exposure is very much yet sure when to the override your camera’s suggested
based on experience and judgment, settings? That’s where the histogram view comes in. It may
and is simply this: learn to identify look daunting, but once you’re familiar with it, it can be a
the most important tone in the big help in evaluating exposure. Using it typically means
image you’re about to shoot, and taking a picture, checking the histogram for signs of over- or
NIKOPEDIA
then decide how bright you want it. under-exposure, and then adjusting the settings if needed.
This key tone may well coincide This is one of the built-in benefits of digital shooting, so why
with the obvious subject, such as not take advantage of it? Here are two different histograms,
the skin tone in a portrait, but it and the information they provide at a glance.
may just be a part of a subject,
such as the sliver of light around a
backlit subject (see left). The key
tone does not, of course, always
have to be an average, mid-tone.
Just think of the difference in a
portrait between very dark and
very pale: the former needs to be at
least a stop darker than an average
mid-tone, the other a little lighter.
Q&A
TO OVERRIDE OR NOT TO OVERRIDE?
Over-exposed
TRUST YOUR JUDGEMENT A definite exposure error, with the bright tones
squashed up against the right – evidence that significant
You can use the settings suggested on auto as a starting point for your own areas are totally washed out and white. There’s also
underused space at the left where the shadows could
Automation in exposure, as in have been darker without losing information.
other camera operations like
focus, is, of course, a boon, and helps to
reduce the agony of botched shots. But it
carries with it a hidden deficit – it stops
GEAR CRAFT
you thinking about what the exposure
settings should be, so that when a scene
is tricky, even for the camera’s smart
metering, you may get an unpleasant
surprise. Step one to staying in tune with
exposure is to observe and note the three
settings that your Nikon’s automatic
exposure is giving you: aperture, shutter
speed and ISO. Too obvious to mention…?
You’d be surprised at how few
photographers know what settings they
actually use. Step two is to successfully
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
EXPOSURE SITUATIONS
this, the subject, rather than the background, background, while rendering the
usually provides the key tone. subject as a graphic silhouette.
CAMERA SKILLS
IF HIGH CONTRAST...
Recover in RAW
Lose shadow detail
Lose highlights
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Shoot HDR
■ A logical exposure-decision workflow begins with the High-contrast loop means doing one of the following:
Add light deciding which of the 12 scenarios you’re facing and compromising between shadow and highlight detail and
WHICH EXPOSURE SITUATION? acting accordingly. If the light levels are low, this calls for recovering in RAW; exposing for the highlights and losing
IF LOW
a higher ISO, wider aperture or slower shutter speed, or shadow detail; exposing for the shadows and losing
LIGHT... a combination of all three. If the exposure scenarios are highlight detail; taking several exposures to capture
Up the ISO
Increase the aperture ‘Just fits’ or ‘Easily fits’ you only need to decide on your shadow and highlight detail and then processing as an
Decrease the shutter speed
key tone, but if you’re dealing with ‘Out of range’, then HDR image; adding light; or changing the composition.
NIKOPEDIA
JUST FITS CHOOSE FROM AVERAGE, HIGH KEY AND LOW KEY
Q&A
OUT OF RANGE DECIDE ON YOUR KEY TONE AND THEN COMPENSATE AS NEEDED
GEAR CRAFT
No one tone is more important than another, Here the key tone is that of the gilded bank sign, Taking an exposure reading for the small bright
so what are you prepared to lose? An ‘average’ and the exposure should be set for this alone. This area alone would suggest spot metering, which
exposure will wash out the shadows and blow the calls for slight under-exposure, otherwise the can be fiddly. Instead, use matrix metering and
highlights. Most of us would prefer to expose for shadows of the building would be rendered as compensate based on your experience – here,
the sky and let the shadows fall into silhouette. a mid-tone, and the sign would be too bright. we under-exposed by a stop.
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
An FX (full-frame)
sensor enables
you to capture
images with a
narrower depth
of field than a
DX sensor at the
same aperture
NIKOPEDIA
SENSOR SIZE
Here we explore what sensor size means, and why it’s important
Q&A
Every Nikon SLR uses one of the second is to pack fewer, but aperture, making them ideal for weight: if you shoot DX, you’ll save
two different sensor sizes, larger, pixels onto the sensor, which selective-focus shots when you money and your kit will be smaller,
which in Nikon terminology are results in images with less noise (the want to blur out the background lighter and generally more compact
dubbed FX and DX. FX refers to ‘full- larger the pixels, the better they are (with DX sensors the background and convenient to handle, plus you’ll
frame’, meaning 36 x 24mm, or the at gathering light). The result is will be blurred at wide apertures, benefit from one notable advantage:
same size as a frame of 35mm film better image quality in low light. just not as much – see page 103). the same focal length on a telephoto
(hence the term full-frame); DX FX sensors are also able to make All this, however, comes at a price, lens will give you half as much
refers to so-called APS-C sensors, the most of the full coverage of both in terms of literal financial cost magnification again (so, for example,
which are roughly a third smaller, at wide-angle lenses; and they produce (since FX cameras and lenses are a 200mm lens will give you an
23.6x15.6mm (though they do have images with a shallower depth of more expensive than their DX effective focal length of a 300mm
the same 3:2 ratio as full-frame field than DX sensors at the same equivalents) and in terms of size and lens on a DX body).
sensors. APS-C stands for Advanced
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
WHY SIZE MATTERS
LOVABLE GRAIN VS
GRAIN VS NOISE UNPLEASANT NOISE
One’s part of the process, one needn’t be
Digital photography has many advantages over chemical techniques,
■ Here’s a detail of an image shot on Tri-X film side by side
but one distinct disadvantage when it comes to printing and enlarging with one shot digitally on a D4 at ISO20,000, so that the size
One negative contribution of digital The two main problems with digital are first, of grain and noise are roughly the same. Grain is integral to
technology to photography is that many that noise is hard to accept in the same way film and so easy to accept, but noise is external to a digital
photographers now feel more restricted about that film grain was – it’s a digital artefact, like image – the result of a bad signal – and has no merit.
the size at which they can show their final hiss in audio (see right); and second, that image
NIKOPEDIA
images. In the days of film, the only people who size and resolution numbers in programs like
cared about the size at which images could be Photoshop appear at first glance to set strict
printed before film grain became visible were limits on how big images can be printed before
clients and agencies in the commercial and noise and pixelation become noticeable. In
advertising world. For books, magazines and reality, digital images can usually be printed
galleries it didn’t really matter – if the grain much larger than most people think (see Pixel
was going to be obvious at a large size of count, image size and resolution, below, and
reproduction, so be it. It was part of the image. The all-important viewing distance, overleaf).
GOING LARGE
Q&A
How big does an image need pixels per inch (ppi), which is safety margin – it was twice the The other common default
to be? It depends on what you sometimes referred to as dots per resolution of high-quality halftone resolution is 72 ppi, which goes back
want to do with your pictures. Below inch (dpi), but unless you deliberately prints of 150 lpi (lines per inch). to early Mac computers which had a
is a typical Image Size dialog box in resize an image file, the resolution Most photographs that are screen resolution of 72dpi – select
Photoshop, for an image shot on a has no effect at all, and for most printed nowadays go through an this in the dialog, and you’ll see how
D4. The important numbers are purposes you can safely ignore it. It’s inkjet printer. In practice, this means big the image can be displayed on a
overall image size (in MB) and the only useful in as much as it shows that if you select 300 ppi in an Image 72dpi computer screen at full size.
width and height in pixels. At nearly what size an image would be if it Size dialog, it’s overkill, and you can These days, though, all displays
50MB this is a healthy-sized image were printed at that resolution. The print to a significantly larger image have much higher pixel densities
that will print well at most sizes default is 300 for historical reasons. size than the one shown without any than that. And they vary: for
you would ever need. Years ago printers settled on 300 ppi noise or pixelation problems (unless, example, I have a 15-inch MacBook
But what about that resolution as a standard specification for digital of course, your image is extremely Pro with Retina Display, and its
number of 300? It stands for 300 image files because of its generous noisy in the first place). native resolution is 220 ppi.
GEAR CRAFT
The pixel width and Reducing the
height of an image resolution from
come directly from 300 ppi to 100 dpi
the sensor size, shows that the
and do not vary image would print
from image to larger, but at a
image. lower resolution
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CAMERA SKILLS
common sense. Most people sit 40 This means that under normal sized version? Would it hold up? It of the image for the conventional
to 60 centimetres away from a circumstances you can enlarge an would, provided that the ratio of the viewing distance. Then, for the
laptop screen, but stand much image to almost any size and it will viewing distance stays the same. resolution needed, in ppi, we divide
3000 by the viewing distance (this
PRINT SIZE DIAGONAL VIEWING DISTANCE RESOLUTION NEEDED number is approximate, and comes
4 x 6 inches 7.21 inches 14 inches (just over a foot) 214 ppi from the angle of visual acuity – a
measurement of a normal eye’s
16 x 20 inches 25.61 inches 52 inches (just over 4 feet) 58 ppi
ability to resolve detail). As you can
48-sheet poster: 6 ppi see, really large images seen from a
268 inches 536 inches(about 45 feet)
120 x 240 inches
distance need only low resolution.
Image quality isn’t just about pixel count – the size of the pixels is every bit as important
When it comes to image appearance to the eye. The only detail, as in the D810; or a cleaner, finer detail, and as long as the
quality, it’s not just the problem is that smaller pixels catch less noisy image in low light, as with conditions are bright, the smaller
physical size of your camera’s sensor fewer photons of light, so when light the D4S. The sensor sizes are almost photosites that record the light have
that matters. It also depends on how levels drop, electronic noise – which exactly the same: 35.9mm x 24mm plenty of photons to work with. But
many pixels are crammed onto the is the result of the weak signal being for the D810, 36mm x 23.9mm for at dusk, say, or indoors, the much
sensor. The more pixels, the finer the boosted artificially by the sensor – the D4S. However, the D810 has more larger pixels on the D4S’s sensor
detail in the image, and so the larger plays a bigger part in the final image. than twice the number of pixels in capture photons much more
you can print the image while still You can’t have both, and Nikon’s that area: 36.3 million as opposed to efficiently than those in the
keeping the same detailed answer has been to offer either fine 16.2 million. That provides much D810, meaning less noise.
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Extreme enlargement shows the difference in captured detail between the sensor used in the D810 and that in a D4S. The D810
has more pixels covering the same area. The difference here is between a 12x12-pixel square covering a single chain link, and
an 8x8-pixel square. However, the larger-but-coarser pixel pitch on the D4 allows it to function much better in low light
CAMERA SKILLS
EXTEND YOUR REACH
SENSOR SIZE, THE MIX ’N’ MATCH SWAPPING LENS AND BODY FORMATS
This is what happens when you interchange lenses and sensor sizes, using
lenses of the same equivalent focal length. FX on FX has the same framing
CROP FACTOR AND as DX on DX. An FX lens on a DX camera acts like a longer lens, projecting just
the central area onto the sensor. A DX lens on an FX sensor does not cover the
NIKOPEDIA
The same lens projecting image appears, as the actual focal
an image onto two different length hasn’t changed.
sizes of sensor obviously results in a Another way of expressing this
different amount of the scene being difference is as a crop factor. As FX ON FX FX ON DX
captured. The illustration to the explained above, the effect of using
right shows this more clearly than a smaller sensor on the lens
words can, but essentially the effect coverage is to crop into the image,
of using an FX lens on a camera with and the crop factor of a DX sensor is
a smaller DX sensor is that of 1.5x. Multiply the focal length of any
cropping into the image. lens by 1.5 times, then, and you have
What this means is that the angle the effective focal length.
of coverage is two-thirds less, which Sometimes you’ll see this given as
is also exactly what would happen if the Focal Length Multiplier, or FLM,
a lens of 50 per cent longer focal which is exactly the same thing.
length were being used on the FX But cropping any image surely
camera. Practically, then, FX lenses means a loss, doesn’t it? Yes, it’s
on DX cameras have an effective true that you don’t capture as much
Q&A
DX ON DX DX ON FX
focal length that’s 50 per cent of the scene. However, there’s
longer – so a 100mm FX lens will sometimes an advantage, especially
have an effective focal length of if you’re using an average-quality
150mm when used on a DX body. lens, because most lenses are
This is the case whatever the focal sharper in the centre than they are
length of the lens, so a wide-angle at the edges. In this sense, cropping
lens won’t be quite as wide. Note, can actually improve the overall
however, that this is just in how the quality of your photograph.
GEAR CRAFT
DEPTH OF FIELD FX VS DX THE FINAL SCORE
So, what do you get if you’re prepared to shell out for a full-frame camera,
One advantage of FX cameras is better background blur complete with its larger sensor? Here’s an at-a-glance guide to the ways it
If you’re after selective focus – a major appeal for some photographers will affect your photography, and the pictures you take.
– the larger the sensor, the better. The reason is straightforward: to
get the same framing with the same lens on different sensor sizes, you would FX (FULL-FRAME) DX (APS-C)
need to move closer with an FX camera than a DX. At the same aperture –
Resolution More Less
f/1.4 in the example shown here – that means a shallower depth of field.
Dynamic range More Less
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
GETTING MORE
FROM RAW
Discover how to make the most out
NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
ORDER, ORDER IN THE RAW
Behind the scenes –
DEVELOP A SYSTEM software that digs
into RAW files
Speed up your processing by consistently following a logical workflow ■ You might not realise it, but
RAW files you open in ACR have
There will never be universal generally design the windows on the already been processed. Most RAW
agreement on the best order assumption that users will start at processing software performs
to use tools when processing, not the top and work downward, but so-called demosaicing, corrects for
least because there are so many, there’s no compulsion. The way a green cast, and applies a gamma
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but you won’t go far wrong with shown here starts off like that, curve before even showing you the
the following. Software engineers but backtracks once or twice. image on-screen. Some software,
however, enables you to see the
original incarnations of RAW files
before any of this hidden processing
2 13 10 is applied. RAWDigger is one.
4
7
5
Q&A
6
8
9
11
12
GEAR CRAFT
1 Under Lens Corrections, check bright areas for local adjustments (check the Shadow clipping warning
Color and lens Profile. Color is (Adjustment Brush, Radial Filter or at the top-left of the histogram).
always worth correcting, but treat Graduated Filter).
the lens profile according to your 10 Adjust over-light or over-dark
taste: distortion correction can 6 Brighten up Shadows if needed, areas with the Adjustment Brush,
sometimes lose some of the image but only by a little. As above, save Graduated Filter or Radial Filter.
near the corners, and it may any major adjustment of shadows
eliminate a look you want to retain. for local adjustments. 11 Adjust Clarity only if it’s
Similarly, vignetting is sometimes essential, and very cautiously. It
a good thing. 7 Raise Contrast to compensate tends to give a fake look.
for the flattening effect of steps 4
2 Use the Crop Tool and Straighten and 5 above. 12 Think twice before adjusting
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
UNPROCESSED RAW FILE FLAT RESULT FROM SLIDERS PROCESSED FOR SUNLIGHT PROCESSED FOR SHADE THE FULL RANGE
GEAR CRAFT
Opened in ACR the high A typical one-step procedure To demonstrate only, this is Again for the purpose of Using the full dynamic range
dynamic range is evident, relies on using the Highlights how the image would look demonstration, processing the of the RAW file and a local
but the absence of clipping and Shadows sliders. It works to processed to favour the sunlit image to brighten the shadows selection, both the sunlit and
warnings shows that all the a point, but at the cost of a flat, area. The shadow detail is leaves the sunlit façade of the the shadow areas have been
information is there in the file. not-quite-photographic look. seriously compromised. cathedral badly over-exposed. processed to their full potential.
image. Digital processing, in contrast, enables us the second works only at a certain distance from
to adjust increasingly specific attributes. Many each pixel. This kind of processing can alter the
of these methods are distinctly non-traditional, image – by teasing out shadow detail, for example
in that they can adjust brightness and colour – to a degree that would just be impossible using
according to what neighbouring pixels look like. methods such as Curves. However, if used without
This is called tone mapping, a digital procedure care, the result will look less ‘photographic’. A detail of an image processed with Highlights and Shadows
for mapping one set of tones and colours to It pays to treat localised adjustments like recovery, for a local effect. The sliders are highly effective,
another. And there are two kinds of tone mapping: Highlights, Shadows and Clarity with caution. but traditionalists might not like the over-processed look
CAMERA SKILLS
DIFFERENT STROKES
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One operation that’s much in reality – a shifting quicksand of
demand is the twin adjustment of an idea if ever there was one!
Highlights and Shadows to bring out Next up, an apparently similar
more detail. Even this is disputed, tool is available in the Tone Curve
with some believing that too much window: the Parametric Curve.
detail tends to be teased out Despite its off-putting name, this is
nowadays simply because it very simple in use. The tonal range is
can be (and yes, I think that, too). split into four – Highlights, Lights,
In this architectural interior (of an Darks and Shadows – and by
old colonial house in Singapore) shot selecting these one at a time, you
without any added lighting, the area can adjust the Curve smoothly to
behind the stairs is very bright, as it’s control each one. Despite being
bathed in tropical sunlight. At the similar to the Highlights and Here’s the image as shot: the top of the The Highlights and Shadows sliders use
same time the top of the stairs fades Shadows sliders that we just used, stairs is very dark, losing detail, while local tone mapping, and are effective,
the area through the door is over-bright but at the cost of diluting the contrast
into darkness. It would be good to however, the effect is not quite the
bring more out of each area, and same, and the bright sunlit area
ACR offers three ways to do this. beyond the stairs is pale and
Q&A
In the first, using just the Basic lacking in contrast.
window, the Highlights and Shadows Last but not least is the more
sliders each work on a restricted tedious, but ultimately more
range of tones, lowering or raising successful, method of selecting
the brightness according to which specific areas and then changing
way you drag the slider. Also, their Exposure and Contrast – the
significantly, they can recover digital equivalent of dodging and
apparently lost detail – the burning a negative in a darkroom.
Highlights slider, for example, can Using the Radial Filter, which can
use information in one or two of the now be added to or erased with a
three colour channels (red, green, brush, a total of nine local areas
blue) to ‘reconstruct’ the lost detail. were independently adjusted. This
GEAR CRAFT
Here, used at -100 and +50 involved more work, but gave much
respectively, they do a good job. more control. The differences are
However (there’s always a however obvious when the shots are seen Using the Tone Curve achieves a Working individually on nine local areas
in processing!), if the sliders are used side by side, though perhaps less ‘photographic’ result, but it can’t handle selected with the Radial Filter brings out
too aggressively, they tend to flatten so when they’re seen one at a time. local contrast in shadows and highlights the detail in shadows and highlights
Adobe’s Digital Negative format goes some way to providing a file format that can be read by any RAW processing software
DNG (or Digital Negative) is Most camera manufacturers concern being that it may be RAW files has been simple to date
an Adobe initiative to design a design their own RAW file formats, impossible to read old RAW files in (dcraw does this).
‘universal’ RAW image file that can be and keep improving them to work the future. This is hardly likely, given In practice, DNG polarises opinion,
opened in any RAW software. Using best with their cameras, so there that first, once a RAW file format has but the choice between it and RAW
Adobe software like Photoshop or is no common standard. been opened there is no reason why (in our case .NEF) hinges on workflow
Lightroom, you can save a RAW file This is one of the problems that this ability should ever be lost; and rather than quality, where there is no
as a DNG and retain all the raw data. DNG is designed to solve, the second, that reverse engineering all difference whatsoever.
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
THE EXPOSURE
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TRIANGLE
Let’s take a closer look at the
‘holy trinity’ of photography
It’s not enough to know Because noise, which is the visual
that there is an exposure equivalent of audio hiss, has no
triangle; you have to make use of it redeeming qualities at all, and just
too. Three camera settings control degrades the image, the exposure
the brightness of the image you triangle is lopsided – there are good
capture (aperture, shutter speed reasons for increasing or decreasing
and ISO) and together they enable both aperture and shutter speed,
you to choose a combination to get but raising the ISO is almost always
Q&A
to the way in which the signal is want less or more of either in any
processed and the noise limited. specific shooting situation.
During a funeral in Yunnan, China, light levels in the main interior, lit only by a
doorway and window, were low. I set my ISO to 1600, relying on the D4’s low-noise
capability, and that left me a 1/125 sec shutter speed to freeze any movement. 1/125 SEC AT f/4, ISO1600
CAMERA SKILLS
WHERE TO START
KEY
IT’S A QUESTION OF PRIORITIES SHUTTER
SPEED APERTURE ISO
Which of the settings you prioritise depends on what you’re trying to achieve
TWO PRIORITIES:
FAST SHUTTER
SPEED, BUT
ALSO LOW ISO
At this range,
someone doesn’t
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need to be moving rapidly for a high
shutter speed to be required. Normal
movements travel quickly across the
frame – and the minimum shutter
speeds for freezing motion depend
on speed in the frame, not on actual
speed. I decided to use selective
MAIN PRIORITY: FAST SHUTTER SPEED focusing to make the subject stand
The chef in this teppanyaki restaurant wanted to show off his out, and the de-focused areas needed
juggling skills with a pepper grinder, but it was dusk, so there to be noise-free. An aperture of f/1.4
wasn’t much light. The show involved throwing the grinder up in gave me the blurring I wanted. I then
the air, so my priority was to freeze it hanging in mid-air. Using a had to strike a balance between
wide-angle zoom – a 12-24mm set to 19mm – meant that the keeping the ISO as low as possible,
grinder would cross the frame more slowly than if it took up more space at a longer while keeping the shutter speed as
focal length, but even so, the shutter speed needed to be 1/250 sec. The aperture was high as possible (to minimise motion
f/7.1, to ensure adequate depth of field, and even opening up to f/2.8 would not have blur). In the event, I set a shutter
done much to help, so ISO had to pay the price – ISO12800 on a D4. speed of 1/500 sec at ISO200.
MAIN PRIORITY: TWO PRIORITIES:
REASONABLE SMALL APERTURE,
Q&A
SHUTTER SPEED BUT ALSO A
Pre-dawn at a busy REASONABLE
fish market, working SHUTTER SPEED
with a wide-angle In this shot of a
lens (in this case, 24mm). This is the Chinese tea ceremony, I wanted to
most active time in a market like this, include both the musician playing the
and light levels are low enough for guqin and the tea being poured beyond.
there still to be street lighting in use. I chose an immersive wide-angle
Even though exposures for a shot like treatment which depends on
this can be kept darker than average in order to keep the pre-dawn feeling, the everything being sharp, and so set a
settings will still be challenged. The main subject is people interacting, so aperture fairly small aperture (f/11) for a depth of
can be wide open at f/2.8, provided that the focus is accurately on the faces. The field that extends from the nearest
main priority is to set a shutter speed that will stop most normal arm, body and face hand to the teapot. But the musician’s
movement, so about 1/100 sec. ISO5000, which on a D4 is not extreme, allowed this. hands were moving, and so needed a
moderately fast shutter speed, even
MAIN PRIORITY: though I timed the shot for the least
GEAR CRAFT
VERY SMALL amount of movement. The final
APERTURE settings were 1/80 sec at f/11 and
This is a ISO400. At ISO100 I’d have needed a
juxtaposition shutter speed of 1/20 sec, which would
shot, taken with a have been too slow.
moderate (80mm) telephoto lens,
and because it’s deliberately TWO PRIORITIES:
comparing traditional with new SMALL APERTURE
architecture, everything had to be AND THE LOWEST
sharp, from front to back, which ISO POSSIBLE
meant a very small aperture (f/18). It Interiors almost
was also important to keep the ISO always demand two
low, to capture as much of the fine things: total front-to-back sharpness
detail as possible, without (so a small aperture) and a low ISO
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
QUICK THINKING
CAN
EXPOSURE TRIAGE FOR CRITICAL SITUATIONS
MODES Try to develop the ability to choose a setting to change in a split second – you’ll need it
HELP? This medical term, familiar
to hospital drama addicts,
settings. Also, when it’s a fast-
moving situation and you’re not in
sunlit landscape, then you have
more options – an f/stop here or
Here’s how the so-called means making a quick judgment on a control, which is surely the case there, or a faster or slower shutter
creative modes on your three-way priority, and it may not be with most interesting photography, speed, isn’t going to make much
Nikon help you prioritise… too fanciful to apply the term ‘triage’ you need to do this quickly. difference. However, when things
NIKOPEDIA
to exposure, because every shooting If there’s plenty of light, and you get critical, then one or two settings
P
PROGRAMMED AUTO situation demands that you have a large-scale subject where have to give way, and that’s when
The camera sets both
shutter speed and aperture prioritise one of the three exposure nothing much is moving, such as a you need sound judgment.
for optimal exposure, using
conservative rules for safe
handholding shutter speeds. Nikon
recommends its use when “there is
little time to adjust camera
settings”, but you can speed up the
time available by simply thinking
harder at the time of shooting.
S
SHUTTER-PRIORITY
You choose the shutter
speed, the camera sets the
aperture. This is useful when shutter
speed is your top priority and you’re
concentrating principally on that. As
with all exposure modes except for
Q&A
A
APERTURE-PRIORITY
You choose the aperture,
the camera responds by
altering the shutter speed. Useful
when depth of field is your top
GEAR CRAFT
M
MANUAL
shutter speed (seconds or fractions of a second) are the aperture by a single click to let in enough light to
You set both shutter speed
and aperture, keeping a organised the way they are so that each step or click in compensate for this. This approach makes it easy to keep
close eye on the exposure level either case reduces or increases the amount of light by the same exposure while changing the motion-freezing
indicator (that little arrow with the same amount. So, increasing the shutter speed by a capability of the camera and the depth of field (below).
numbers either side). It demands
more thought, and so, unless you’re
thoroughly au fait with this way of
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
AUTO ISO
AUTO
ISO Not a mode per se, but an
additional control that
allows you to set an upper limit for
ISO that you’re happy with. Again, 2 SECS AT f/32, ISO100 1 SEC AT f/22, ISO100 0.5 SEC AT f/16, ISO100
this can and should vary according
to what’s in the frame and how large I wanted some water streaking for softness in this shot, but was not certain exactly how much, and how much depth of field
the picture will be displayed. around the vase was necessary. In manual mode, and with the camera on a tripod, I tried it at three different shutter speeds,
each time halving the exposure time, which also meant I had to double the aperture to compensate.
CAMERA SKILLS
APERTURE ESSENTIALS
KNOW YOUR LIMITS
A FEELING FOR f-STOPS The exposure settings you use will also be
dictated by what you’re happy to accept in
terms of blur, noise and so on…
You don’t have to understand what they mean to know how they’ll affect shots
If you’re just starting out with an to f/2.8 would require a shutter speed of 1/30 ■ If you do this for a living, from the camera and
you soon learn what results framed with a standard
SLR, the numbers may not seem too sec for the same exposure, so much faster. you can accept in terms of lens so that they fill a third
intuitive, going from f/2.8 to f/4 to f/5.6 and so For the mathematically inclined, this motion blur, depth of field or half of the frame. How
on, but you soon get used to them. The lower sequence is a geometric progression, rounded and noise – and what you much needs to be sharply
the number, the wider the aperture and the out to make it easier to remember, based on can’t. Even if you don’t, it’s focused and how much can
NIKOPEDIA
worth deciding what you’re be blurred? An aperture of
more light that reaches the sensor. powers of the square root of 2. For everyone able to live with for the f/5.6 is a usually a good
The most typical maximum aperture is f/2.8, else, it’s a matter of getting familiar with three settings. But (and this starting point.
but faster lenses can reach f/2, f/1.4 and even certain f-stops delivering a certain degree of is where auto-exposure and
f/1.2, usually for a hefty price premium. They’re depth of field. You’ll find that, soon enough, auto-ISO fail to deliver), HOW MUCH DEPTH
there are variables, even FROM THE SMALLEST
called faster because they enable a faster f/5.6 comes to mean just enough depth of field
within each setting. Here APERTURE?
shutter speed to be set at the maximum for an average subject, f/11 is comfortably are five crucial questions, When you’re aiming for
aperture: so a lens with a maximum aperture deep, and f/16 reliably deep. These are the answers to which it’s deep focus, it’s more usual
of f/5.6 might struggle in low light, because rough-and-ready judgments, as it depends worth working out before to think of it the other way
even wide open, at f/5.6, it might require a on whether you’re using a wide, standard or you go out shooting: round. Knowing that you
want full depth of field, it’s
shutter speed of, say, 1/8 sec for a correct telephoto lens, but as there’s usually little usual practice to start with
HOW SLOW CAN YOU
exposure… in other words, too slow to shoot time to calculate these things, having this SHOOT HANDHELD? your lens stopped down, to
handheld in most situations. An f/2.8 lens set kind of basic feeling for the numbers is useful. It depends on how steady f/16 or f/22, and then find
you are, which is something the camera position that
you can work on to improve, allows front-to-back
but also on the focal length sharpness. Knowing
of the lens. It’s easier to hold roughly what this will be
steady with a wide-angle from experience saves time.
lens than with a telephoto,
Q&A
because the telephoto HOW MUCH NOISE CAN
magnifies everything, YOU TOLERATE?
including your twitches. Even here there are
1/30 sec with a standard variables, because noise is
focal length of 50mm at its most visible on very
should be reliably sharp. smooth mid- and mid-to-
In addition, Nikon’s vibration dark-toned areas. If it’s a
reduction system in some detailed scene, you will be
lenses will give you perhaps able to tolerate more noise
a two-step improvement, so than if you’re shooting a
that’d be 1/8 sec in the case clear sky, smooth skin or
of a 50mm lens – but of a blank wall. And if you
course that will only display the image small,
address camera shake, that too will hide the noise.
not subject movement.
GEAR CRAFT
WHAT SHUTTER SPEED
FREEZES WHAT
MOVEMENT?
There are so many
1/60 SEC AT f/5.6, ISO4600 variables here, from how
fast something is actually
In this image of a woman frying corn arepas, I knew in advance exactly the kind of shot I wanted: wide angle, moving to how fast it’s
close enough to see her hands moving as she cracked an egg into the arepa, and with her hands in sharp moving across the frame
focus. My judgment said the aperture needed to be medium-open, which by my definition is around f/5.6. (this depends on the focal
The background could go soft as long as it was still clear what was going on; 1/60 sec was just fast enough length, its distance from
to freeze the slower parts of her hand movement, as at this moment. you, and on whether it is
moving towards you or
crossing in front of you).
ISO MYTHS AND REALITY STRONGER SIGNALS You need to get used to 1/30 SEC AT f/2, ISO1250
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
WHITE BALANCE
Not sure about white balance and just why it matters so
much to your photographs? Our expert-at-large explains all
So what’s the fuss? While of course it’s might look. (Setting an incorrect white balance in digital techniques use white as the reference
good to know how different light sources camera, by contrast, might convince you that the point, but will drag other colours along with it
Q&A
cast a colour over a scene, and how to get that the scene you’re shooting is cold and uninviting, when when they make the adjustment. Put another way,
way you want it, it is not usually in the end that in fact it might be warm and welcoming). if your whites are white you won’t have a cast on
important – if you shoot RAW files, it can all be other colours, as casts affect the whole image.
tweaked or corrected later on, so it’s definitely not Getting it white In the pre-digital days you wouldn’t find out
a cause for anguish as you shoot. For this reason, White balance is a more precise way of saying whether images had a colour cast until long after
we will spend a little more time than usual here colour balance, but they both refer to the overall you’d left your location, so that focused
with the processing choices. That said, it’s cast of colour across an image, or its neutral lack everyone’s attention on getting it ‘right’. Digital
important to know how white balance works, and of colour (in other words, whites actually being should have made life easier, since you can check
you might as well get it right in-camera, as doing white, rather than slightly cool or warm). White is instantly, but it seems to have made people even
so will mean less time sat in front of a computer, a measurable quantity, and there are a number of more anxious about what ‘right’ is. I blame the
which can only be a good thing. Plus, it has the ways of getting what should be white to be truly camera manufacturers and their obsession with
advantage of giving you a sneak preview – by way white, starting with the camera menu. Whether providing endless features in the camera’s menu,
of the playback option – of how your final image you do it in-camera or during processing, the and software engineers fixated on the numbers!
GEAR CRAFT
WHY COLOUR TEMPERATURE IS OF LIMITED USE ONE SCALE DOESN’T FIT ALL
■ Colour temperature always relevance for photography hinges on
pops up in any discussion of colour the fact that the midday sun in high
balance and photography, but in fact to mid-latitudes is judged by our
it’s a special case and only a part of eyes to give normal, white light (no
the story. Technically, it’s the surprise there, as human beings
temperature at which a theoretical evolved under this light). However,
substance has to be heated to glow there is a lot of lighting that doesn’t
at a particular colour (think ‘red-hot’ work in this way, and even light from
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
and ‘white-hot’) and goes from red a blue sky isn’t exactly on this scale.
through orange, straw colour and Nevertheless, for historical reasons,
white to blue – the higher the colour temperature, on a scale that
temperature, the bluer the colour. starts at -273°C, or 0°Kelvin, is still
Strictly speaking, colour used, but it also has to be modified
temperature applies only to by another scale, from magenta to
incandescent light (light given green (see the two sliders in Adobe
off by things burning, like a candle, Camera Raw). It’s just not something
tungsten bulb or the sun) and its to get hung up about. SHADE PRESET SUNLIGHT PRESET ‘CORRECT’ WB
CAMERA SKILLS
A QUESTION OF TASTE
COLOUR ACCURACY
OR PERSONAL
PREFERENCE?
Why an accurate white balance setting isn’t always the
best one to use…
NIKOPEDIA
There are two ways of sunlight, and that’s reason
adjusting the white enough for wanting to preserve
balance in a photograph. One is that colour cast rather than
for accuracy – getting it right, if neutralise it. There’s a further
you like – and the other is for the sub-division of ‘preferred’
way you prefer an image to look, lighting, into what I would call
even if that means whites aren’t attractive and striking. Aiming to
pure white. These are very be attractive more or less speaks
different concepts, so you first for itself, in that you want to
have to decide whether accuracy please the crowds. This becomes
(zero colour cast) is more important when you’re dealing
important to you, or whether with so-called memory colours
you’re going to follow your eye (see page 115). But you may
and taste. Accuracy means using instead want to play with the
some form of measurement, colour cast, for an effect that is
either in the camera or later, visually striking, even garish, to
Q&A
while the argument for convey a different kind of mood,
eyeballing, as it’s known, is that such as the slightly sickly
the colour in most images will be greenish cast of industrial
judged by an audience at a glance. fluorescent lighting, or the cool,
The classic case is golden light moody cast of dawn light. For
a little after sunrise or before some, colour exists to be used If you ‘correct’ your whites in
sunset. Many of us shoot at that rather than just to be corralled an evening shot like this,
you’ll lose the wonderful
special time of day because of the into an expected space. So feel warmth you’d waited for
warm feel from the golden cast of free to be creative.
GEAR CRAFT
available from a Nikon D4.
SETTINGS They’re made up of colour
temperature, modulated by
a red-green scale. All can
Spoiler alert: you can be accessed in Photoshop’s
safely ignore all of this! AUTO: TEMP 4650 TINT +30 DAYLIGHT: TEMP 5550 TINT +10 CLOUDY: TEMP 6550 TINT +10 Camera Raw interface.
■ Nikon’s camera menus offer several
ways to get the colour balance the way
you want it before you shoot.
Auto white balance works it out from
what the camera can read from the
scene. If there’s one overall source of
light and if there’s what the camera
takes to be a prominent white or neutral
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
SHADE: TEMP 7550 TINT +10 TUNGSTEN: TEMP 2850 TINT 0 FLUORESCENT: TEMP 3800 TINT +21 FLASH: TEMP 5500 TINT 0
area in view, this does a pretty good job.
I shoot RAW, and I use this regularly. are typically greenish in their effect on the Kelvin colour temperature and lighting, such as domestic tungsten
Choosing from one of the presets the image. Direct Sunlight sets the tweaking it with a magenta-green scale. lamps plus weak evening daylight, this
is useful for the most common lighting balance to that of the midday sun, PRE is the Preset Manual ‘white card’ usually gets the mix about right, as long
situations. Incandescent is for standard around 5000° Kelvin. Flash adds a touch setting, in which you aim the camera at as the lighting doesn’t change.
bulb, which are less common in the face of warmth to this, Cloudy and Shade a a sheet of white card and press the You can use Live View to check colour
of the invasion of compact fluorescent bit more still. shutter release. The camera then locks balance when using any of these options,
lamps. Fluorescent assumes the kind of The K Choose Color Temp. setting the colour balance for subsequent shots but see ‘Doing it in RAW processing’ to
lamps in supermarkets and offices that lets you calculate it yourself by selecting to keep that as neutral. If there’s mixed learn why none of it matters!
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NIKOPEDIA
CAMERA SKILLS
the RAW data (see issue 40). It’s adjustment panel – or both.
generally better to fine-tune white If you’re after accuracy and a
balance during RAW processing. neutral colour cast, the basic
You do have to choose some kind approach is to find tones in the
of white balance when you shoot, scene that ought to be grey and click
and I tend to use Auto White Balance on them with the white balance tool.
as it’s a reasonable starting point. You may need to click around, as
Others might prefer the Direct there can be different casts of grey
Sunlight setting, so that they can in a scene, and the final decision will
see at a glance, for example, how come down to your judgment.
golden an afternoon image looks Guaranteed accuracy calls for using
(see ‘Why colour temperature has a calibrated colour target, and that’s
limited use’). In any case, the choice quite a different process (see ‘When This photo was taken using my Nikon’s Auto white balance setting, but as I shoot in
is yours. Once in Adobe Camera Raw total accuracy matters’). RAW I could easily change the white balance in post processing if I wanted to
BE SELECTIVE
Q&A
OR JUST
MAKE LOCAL ADJUSTMENTS ENJOY THE
IN ADOBE CAMERA RAW EFFECT…
Photography is an art, so
Mixed lighting spoiling a you don’t have to strive
for objective accuracy
shot? In Adobe Camera Raw,
■ The problem with the quest for
you can correct multiple accuracy is that it can deliver boring
colour casts with ease… results for those who fancy
themselves as colourists. Mixed
GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
FAMILIAR FACES
COLOUR TARGETS:
MEMORY COLOURS WHY THEY COST
Some colours are more important to get right than others Colour is more complex than it seems,
so you’ll pay to get them totally accurate
Certain colours are either
■ Setting the white in a scene to neutral works for most
familiar to us because we purposes, but it’s still a rough-and-ready approach, with the
see them so often, like the colour of software simply ‘dragging’ other colours and tones in the
grass, or are important for cultural same general direction of your adjustment. Nailing all the
and psychological reasons, like skin colours means having a reference for them, hence the
NIKOPEDIA
Gretag-Macbeth ColorChecker, best-known in its 24-colour
tones. Most of us are so attuned to
patch form, which will set you back around £65 ($69).
what they ought to look like that we There are other targets available, but this is the industry
are highly sensitive to colours that standard, for two reasons: first, the matt squares of colour
are ‘off’. Skin tones – and there are are specially prepared so that they reflect the same colour
many subtle variations in even one in all visible parts of the spectrum; and second, because the
precise specifications of each colour are known throughout
face or one hand – probably top the the graphics and printing industries. The top row contains
list of what are called memory memory colours that include skin tones, blue sky, and
colours, and we don’t need a foliage, the second
spectrometer to see if they look medium-saturated
colours, the third the
right in a photograph, or in some way
three primaries and
‘wrong’. When you judge colour secondaries, and the
balance in, say, RAW processing, bottom row a grey scale
these are the colours to pay from white to black. Even
attention to, and none of them are more expensive is the
ColorChecker SG with
highly saturated. This is why they If skin tones come out with 140 patches (£240, $260).
occupy pride of place on the top a magenta or green cast,
viewers will feel the photo When exact colours are crucial, this reference chart will
row of the Gretag-Macbeth
Q&A
is ‘wrong’ somehow enable you to get all the colours in an image spot-on
ColorChecker target (see right).
TARGETED CORRECTIONS
scene the way you’re going to shoot
WHEN it. It then needs software for the
next stage: Adobe, for example, has
GEAR CRAFT
follows – and remember, the profile
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Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 127
CAMERA SKILLS
Q&A
Our resident expert answers your Nikon
Page 130 questions and solves your issues.
If nobody else can help, ask Chris…
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
Page 133
Page 134
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 145
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
AFTER
Can you give me
some night sky
know-how?
Alan Lewis, Neath, Wales
‘Shoot for the moon’ tutorial When is your f/2.8 macro lens not an f/2.8? The so-called
in N-Photo 25 (£1000/$1660) ‘bellows effect’ can make f-stops confusing for close-ups
or you could look at the
Sigma 150-500mm My Sigma 105mm macro changes
(£750/$1070) – telephoto
lenses with this kind of
aperture with focus distance. Is this the
magnification aren’t cheap. ‘bellows effect’?
The alternative would be to Steven Tweed, Ballymoney, Northern Ireland
BEFORE
use a 70-300mm zoom, but
you would have to crop your Chris says… It is, you’re quite right. Technically, the lens
Duncan Steward’s Kood ND filters gave a lovely slow shutter photos to make the moon fill aperture value is the size of the hole in the diaphragm
effect to this Icelandic waterfall, but they also added a less the frame. divided by its distance from the sensor. In normal
welcome blue shift that had to be corrected later If you’re photographing photography the lens travel is relatively small, but in macro
star fields or constellations, photography you’re moving the lens much further out from
Why did my Kood ND filters turn my your standard kit zoom
should be fine because you’ll
the camera body. The physical aperture size doesn’t
change, of course, but the f-number does (remember, it’s
long exposure shots blue?
Q&A
Lawton has some interesting landscape shots from North the Commander mode options, and
Devon where the blue sky has become an attractive and set the Built-in flash Mode to off, so the box displays ‘– –’. The
completely unrealistic violet colour, thanks to the Cokin ND flash will still fire ‘timing flashes’ which could create faint
grad he was using at the time. shadows behind your subject. Nikon recommends avoiding
You can get great lunar shots
One solution is to do as Duncan did and shoot RAW, so that with a long telephoto zoom, wide apertures and high ISOs to prevent this, but you can
you can correct any colour shifts later. Another is to save up but distant nebulae may need also get an infra-red filter attachment called the SG-31R
those pennies for a professional filter system. a different approach which attaches to the hotshoe and covers the built-in flash.
I picked up my new D610 this week, but I In the meantime, the version
of Nikon ViewNX2 that came
can’t open my RAW files in Lightroom with your D610 will be able to
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ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
Have you done any
tutorials on video with a
Nikon SLR in N-Photo?
Why do my Daniel Dolpire, by email
monochrome shots Chris says… Siân did one in
NIKOPEDIA
come out in colour issue 16, and George Cairns
covered Nikon ViewNX 2’s
when I shoot in video tools in issue 17.
RAW? Can I use a Manfrotto
Steve Shaw, by email To use your old
How can I work with my D610 RAW version of Photoshop grip ball head with a Benro
with your new tripod?
Chris says… When you
shoot using the Monochrome
files without upgrading Photoshop CS5? Nikon’s RAW files,
get Lightroom 5!
Daisuke Koya, by email
David Kemish, by email
Picture Control, your Nikon Chris says… Yes. Most tripod
captures a RAW image heads attach to the tripod via a
Chris says… You could swap to Adobe’s latest version of Adobe Camera Raw built
which it then processes into 3/8in screw.
Photoshop CC subscription plan. It’s in, and currently costs £103/$149 as a
a black-and-white JPEG. If
cost-effective in the long run, and involves regular ‘perpetual’ licence. You can then
you shoot RAW instead, it
a lower initial outlay. Existing Photoshop set up Photoshop CS5 as its external
Is it right that on a DX
simply tags the image with
owners (CS3 and later) qualify to get CC editor, so you get the latest RAW support
Nikon a 35mm lens is
the Monochrome setting.
plus Lightroom 5 for £8.78/$9.99 per from Lightroom, and all the high-powered
equivalent to 50mm?
Nikon software will display Mark Collins, by email
month if they sign up before February 28. editing tools you’re used to from CS5.
it properly, but Adobe
Q&A
If you don’t like the idea of renting your You can download a free 30-day Chris says… It is – you multiply
Camera Raw will display the
software, Adobe Lightroom 5 has the Lightroom 5 trial from www.adobe.com. the actual focal length by 1.5.
full-colour RAW file.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
Key differences 04 Both cameras can shoot Nikon D3200 £320, $390 Nikon D5200 £510, $650
GEAR CRAFT
01 The 3200 has a fixed 1920x1080 movies at 30p, Launched 2012 24.2mp DX sensor Launched 2012 24.1mp DX sensor
three-inch 921,000-dot LCD 25p and 24p frame rates, but It might be an entry-level It’s unusual to get such a It has virtually the The D5200 has a slightly
D-SLR but the D3200’s high-resolution sensor in same size sensor as the different sensor design to
display, but the D5200 has a the D5200 adds high-speed sensor is a match for such a low-cost body. It’s D3200, but the D5200 is the D3200, but the results
flip-out variangle screen, 60i/50i interlaced modes. much more serious capable of excellent results. much more advanced in are much the same.
which can be extremely cameras, and a big step other ways.
up from the D3100’s.
useful with Live View. 05 The D3200 has a mono
microphone built in, but the
02 The D5200 has an Effects D5200’s is stereo. Both
mode and offers many more cameras can take external
customisation options; the stereo microphones.
D3200 is a much more basic
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Help! My D70s
has started giving
me a CHA error…
Albert Ters, via Facebook
exposure sequence. Scopes are also made for the eye, not a flat
As a final touch, you can use the EV compensation button sensor. Our eyes can rove across a
Is your D70s showing a CHA
to apply an initial adjustment to the exposure, which is really error? It could be a problem frame and allow for softness
useful if you suspect your camera is going to under- or with the memory card, or colour fringes and curvature in
over-expose the scene. with the camera itself a way sensors can’t.
CAMERA SKILLS
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
Will movie mode wear
out my camera shutter?
You can use ‘tethering’
software like Nikon Camera
Alan Wright, Wigan
Control Pro 2 to control your Chris says… No, in movie
camera from your computer.
mode the physical shutter
NIKOPEDIA
stays open, and an ‘electronic’
Can I take a shot shutter exposes each frame.
with my D60 and
have it appear What does the ‘lock’ on
Your viewfinder’s
my 18-200mm lens do?
straight away on What does the diopter control diopter dial
compensates for Dave Johnson, W. Midlands
my computer? do on my D3200, and how do I reset it? human eyesight
variations Chris says… This locks the
Christos Panayides, Cyprus lens in the 18mm position for
Dyosephine, via Facebook
storage and transport.
Chris says… This tiny dial simply controls wearing their glasses. There is no correct,
Chris says… This sounds
the focus for the viewfinder eyepiece and or default, setting – you simply turn the
like ‘tethering’, where the
has no effect on the image you capture adjuster until the focus points and the
Can I use a 1.4x TC with
camera is connected to a
with the camera – it’s there to allow for information display underneath the screen
my Sigma 150-500mm?
computer by a cable and is Lance Harris, Canada
variations in individuals’ eyesight. are sharpest.
controlled by it. For your
Some people are long-sighted, some Don’t look at the subject you’re Chris says… Sigma’s 1.4x
D60, you’ll need Nikon’s
are short-sighted, and diopter adjustment photographing, however, because this will teleconverter works, but the
Camera Control Pro 2
Q&A
enables them to bring the viewfinder go in and out of focus as the lens focuses, maximum aperture will drop to
software, which costs
image into sharp focus even if they’re not and could be misleading. f/7.1-9.1 so AF will be a problem.
£136/$180.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
Key differences 04 Both cameras can shoot Nikon D5300 £679, $897 (with 18-55mm lens) Nikon D7100 £879, $1297 (with 18-105mm lens)
GEAR CRAFT
01 The D5300 has a flip-out professional quality 1920 x Launched 2013 24.2 megapixel Launched 2013 24.1 megapixel
vari-angle screen which 1080 movies and have Arriving soon after DX sensor The D7100 is Nikon’s DX sensor
the D7100, the D5300 Nikon dropped the optical top DX-format D-SLR, The D7100 matches the
makes it easier to shoot at external mic sockets, but matches its resolution in offering advanced D5300’s 24MP sensor with
low pass filter to produce the
low angles and in confined the D7100 has an audio-out a smaller, more novice- joint-sharpest APS-C format features aimed at no OLPF. This is state-of-
friendly body. sensor on the market. enthusiasts and experts. the-art for DX sensors.
spaces. The D7100’s screen for sound monitoring.
is fixed.
05 Both cameras use SD/
02 The D5300 has Wi-Fi SDHC/SDXC memory cards,
networking and GPS built in. but the D7100 has dual card
These are available on the slots for extra capacity,
D7100, but only via plug-in separating movies and stills
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
What is
Distortion Control
Data?
Les Pitts, via email
automatically correct any You can use older D-type lenses with a modern D-SLR like the
D90 – just set the aperture ring to its minimum value
barrel or pincushion
distortion using data
supplied by Nikon. It’s a bit
Why does my Nikkor 105mm macro
like the automatic lens lens only work when the aperture ring
corrections offered by
Adobe Camera Raw or DxO
is set to f/22?
John Reed, South Shields
Optics Pro, but it’s built into
the camera. The distortion
Chris says… This is perfectly normal. You’re using an older
is corrected as the image is
‘D-type’ lens, which features an aperture ring, whereas
processed – this means that
modern Nikon D-SLRs control the lens aperture from the
it’s applied to JPEGs
There are online labs for everything from printing your holiday body. These D-type lenses will work on a newer camera, but
snaps to giant exhibition-style enlargements
in-camera, but your RAW
only when the aperture ring is set to its minimum value. This
files will remain
is why your D90 is giving you an error reading when you move
How do you go about getting uncorrected, and you’ll need
to use distortion correction
it away from this setting. Simply leave it on f/22 and control
pictures printed online? the aperture using the camera.
Q&A
enlargements, we recommend Loxley Colour (www.loxley nowhere near as good. Upgrading to the D5300 would offer
colour.com) and WhiteWall (uk.whitewall.com). more megapixels and potential for cropping, but this would
The advantage of using an online lab is that you don’t have also make any camera shake more obvious. There is another
Nikon’s Distortion Control
to invest in a printer of your own and keep it topped up with feature can automatically alternative: a Nikon 1 body and FT-1 adaptor so that Graham
inks – and as a decent printer can cost hundreds of pounds or correct distortion in many could still use his 55-300mm lens. It would have an effective
dollars, it can therefore save you money. Nikon lenses focal range of 149-810mm, with a decent-sized sensor.
I can open my JPEGs as RAW files in Photoshop Elements, already been processed, you’re seeing the
colour rendition exactly as Nikon intended,
so why bother shooting in RAW at all? whereas the RAW files are being displayed with
John Harrington, Hilton Adobe’s idea of what they should look like, which is
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
slightly different.
Chris says… Elements can indeed open JPEGs ‘as won’t be able to recover lost highlight detail when It’s quite possible that you will prefer the look of
RAW files’ and does appear to offer the same tools you process your JPEGs, and you’ll also find that the JPEGs initially, but the RAW files will, in fact,
for working with them, but this is deceptive. The the White Balance sliders no longer give you contain additional data that makes it possible to
JPEGs have already been processed by the absolute values for Temperature and Tint as they get superior results in post-production, especially
camera, so you simply won’t have access do with RAW files, only relative values. when it comes to recovering detail in very dark or
to the same broad range of tones and colours as I think the reason you prefer the look of the light areas – but you may have to spend some time
the original RAW file contains. For example, you JPEGs to the RAW files is that because they’ve experimenting with the controls to achieve that.
CAMERA SKILLS
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
Can you recommend an
underwater Nikon?
Gecelle, via Facebook
Where is the Chris says… Pros would use a
histogram on my Dynamic Area AF mode is
D-SLR in a special underwater
NIKOPEDIA
housing, but a cheaper option
D3200? best for moving subjects,
but your AF point doesn’t is the new Nikon 1 AW1.
Irv Berliner, via email have to be in the centre
of the frame
Chris says… To view the
Are ‘Normal’ and ‘Active’
two levels of VR?
histogram in Playback mode
press up or down on the
How do I get the right focus point for fast jets? Quintin Gardner, via email
Jason Pountney, via email
multi-selector. This cycles Chris says… Not quite. Normal
through the different image is for hand-holding, Active is if
information display modes. Chris says… It sounds like your problem is choice of autofocus point. Dynamic Area you’re being shaken about.
If the histogram doesn’t depth of field. Are you using your 70- AF mode is ideal for moving subjects, but
appear, it hasn’t been 200mm f/2.8 wide open? If so, try closing although most people use the centre AF
enabled yet, so press the the aperture down to f/5.6 or f/8, and if this point, this isn’t always the best choice –
Which is best: the Nikon
Menu, pick the Playback means the shutter speed is too low, this could be why you’re getting the centre
18-55mm VR or the
menu and scroll to Playback increase the ISO to compensate. of the aircraft sharp and not the nose or
18-70mm?
Mandy Thawe, Lyme Regis
display options. Press right If you’re happy with the depth of field the tail. Instead, think how you compose
on the multi-selector to and just want the camera to focus on the your shots and where the nose or cockpit Chris says… The 18-70mm lacks
Q&A
display the available modes. right thing, such as the nose or the cockpit, will be in the frame, and move the active VR but has a longer range and
The camera will remember you may need to experiment with your AF point over this spot instead. non-rotating front element.
the mode you last used.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
NIKON D3100 VS D5100 Both these cameras are near the end of
their lives and heavily discounted, but
which is the best bargain?
Key differences Nikon D3100 £280, $399 (with 18-55mm lens) Nikon D5100 £350, $430 (with 18-55mm lens)
GEAR CRAFT
01 The D3100’s three-inch 04 Both cameras can shoot
Launched 2010 14.2 megapixel DX Launched 2011 16.2 megapixel DX
LCD display has 230,000 full HD 1920 x 1080 movies, Nikon’s cheapest D-SLR is sensor The D5100 is now three sensor
dots and looks coarse but the D3100 only manages now nearly four years old, Nikon’s 14.2-megapixel DX years old, and has been The resolution advantage
and has been superseded sensor was soon replaced by superseded by the is small, but this is a newer
compared to the 921,000- a frame rate of 24fps at this by the D3200 and D3300. the superior 16.2-megapixel D5200 and D5300, but sensor with better colour
dot display on the D5100. resolution – the D5100 can sensor in the D5100. it’s still a fine camera. rendition and lower noise.
film at 30, 25 and 24fps.
02 The LCD display on the
D3100 is fixed, but the D5100 05 The D3100 has a Guide
has a vari-angle display mode to help novices
which can be flipped out and understand the basics, but
rotated. It’s very good for the D5100 has an Effects
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CAMERA SKILLS
using flash with a Capture NX-D is replacing Capture NX2, but the new program
motordrive setting is that lacks the selective adjustment facilities of its predecessor
the flash does not recycle
Look underneath the flap that covers the USB connector on an fast enough. However, in this Should I buy Capture NX2 while it is
older Nikon, and you’ll see the socket for the mains power cable scenario you would just use
the flash to add a sparkle to
still on sale… or switch to Photoshop?
Can I get a DC coupler for powering my the eyes of the bride and
Hugh Davis, via email
Nikon D700 from the mains? groom, and not to add extra
light to the scene, so you can
Chris says… You were obviously on the verge of buying
Jack Torcello, London Capture NX2 only to read that Nikon is going to stop making it
use the flash on its lowest
(it is being replaced with Capture NX-D). Like Capture NX2,
power setting.
Chris says… Yes, you certainly can, and for once this is NX-D should give you a better straight-out-of-camera
I would leave the camera
something it’s easier to do with older cameras than with conversion of your RAW files than Photoshop, but it lacks the
settings as you would
newer models. With most current Nikon D-SLRs you need selective adjustment facilities. You could buy NX2 anyway,
normally have them, then
two separate accessories to run the camera from the mains but Nikon will no longer support it and if you bought a new
put the flashgun in manual
(rather than from your rechargeable battery). But older camera, the software would not be able to handle its RAW
mode, and reduce its power
models such as your D700 have a DC input socket on the side, files. At £130 ($180) this is an expensive risk. I’d switch!
output to its lowest value
Q&A
($118), but you can find cheaper copies on eBay. secondary’ – and you still get RAW files recorded on both the
The AC adapter proves particularly useful for time-lapse SD card and the CompactFlash card!
sequences, such as star trail set-ups or for capturing a flower I think I have the solution to your gremlins… Irritatingly you
If you just want to add some
opening, where you want to leave the camera running for catchlights to your subjects’ also need to set the Image Quality in the Shooting Menu to
several hours without worrying about the battery power eyes, you can use your flash NEF + JPEG! You get three options on this screen depending
running out and missing the shots you need. on its lowest power setting how compressed you want the JPEGs to be.
I want to use depth of field others that do have a scale have markings
for 1m (for example), 2m and then go to
tables, but how do I set the infinity. That’s not much help if you’ve been
distance accurately on my told to set the focus to 7.999m!
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
You don’t have to be
confined to the sync
speed of your camera
– put your flash in Auto
ANSWERS
FP mode instead
IN A FLASH!
Can I use a teleconverter
with my 55-300mm?
Steve George, via email
How do I set the Chris says… Sadly there are no
dioptric switch? compatible converters for your
NIKOPEDIA
What’s it for? 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom.
Chrissie Murphy,
Southampton, UK Why does my D5100
say that the HDR option is
Chris says… This is a way of not available?
adjusting the viewfinder to I want to replace my SB-600 flash with a budget model Thomas Powell, via email
suit your eyesight, so that
you can see the display
with high-speed sync Chris says… Your SLR is set to
David Green, Israel record NEFs – this option only
without needing glasses.
works if you use JPEGs.
The Diopter Correction is a
Chris says… The good news, in case you should be able to sync up to the maximum
dial to the side of the
hadn’t realised it, is that your Nikon shutter speed of your camera. When it is
viewfinder window, which
SB-600 already has high-speed flash set on your camera (look for Flash Sync
Are Really Right Stuff
you turn to adjust. Turn the
capability. Nikon calls this facility Auto FP, Speed in the Custom Settings menu), the
heads sold in the UK?
camera on, and try to get Mary Whitchurch, Fife
and it simply means you can use faster letters FP appear on the back of the flash.
the LED numbers at the
speeds than the usual 1/250 sec maximum If you’re still keen to replace your Chris says… No, but you can
bottom of the display as
sync speed of your D7000, which in turn SB-600, low-cost Auto FP-compatible get them shipped direct from
sharp as possible – it is the
Q&A
makes it possible to use wider apertures flashguns include the Nissin Di700 and the manufacturer – check
focusing screen you want to
without overexposing. In theory, you Yongnuo YN568EX. www.reallyrightstuff.com
focus on, not the subject.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
Key differences Nikon D800 £1999, $2999 Nikon D4S £5199, $6499
GEAR CRAFT
01 The D4S is built for action, 04 A vertical grip with extra 36.3 megapixel FX 16.2 megapixel FX
Launched 2012 Launched 2014
and can fire off a sequence battery capacity is an Ground-breaking high- sensor Upgrade to Nikon’s sensor
at a phenomenal 11 frames optional extra with the D800 resolution full-frame The highest-resolution top-of-the-range This camera is not about
camera that is still at the sensor of any SLR in Nikon’s model, used widely by out-and-out resolution, it is
per second. The D800 has a (costing £285/$370) but is peak of its game after range – shared with the the world’s top sports all about shooting images
maximum continuous built in with the D4S. two years on the market special-edition D800E. photographers. as quickly as it can
shooting rate of 4fps.
05 Maximum expanded ISO
02 The D4S can shoot up to setting on the D4S sets a
176 RAW files before its new record, topping out at
buffer is full; the D800 pulls ISO409600. The D800 can
up after a 25-NEF sequence. be pushed up to ISO25600
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CAMERA SKILLS
What do the
letters G, ED, IF and
VR stand for?
Roy Marshall, Bristol, UK
quality whichever of the two you pick. Both are sensible first aperture ring (aperture is
SLR choices for a school student like you.
However, there are significant differences between these
adjusted by controls on the
camera itself).
My D5100 won’t fire
two. The spec of the sensor is the big one – the D3100 offers a IF internal focusing. The and displays ‘Error: Press
14-megapixel sensor, whereas the D3200 uses the
24-megapixel CMOS sensor found on most of Nikon’s recent
lens can focus without the
length of the lens changing.
shutter button’. Help!
SLRs. That is a big jump in detail. VR Vibration reduction. Lynne Tucker, Los Angeles, USA
The motordrive also gets a boost when you go a step up, System built into the lens
maxing out at four frames per second, rather than three designed to compensate for Chris says… You probably need to send
frames per second. And there is a small boost in maximum camera shake. your camera to an authorised repair
ISO sensitivity too, from ISO3200 to ISO6400. Perhaps the centre. The message generally indicates the
biggest difference is in the screen on the back, with the shutter mechanism is stuck. However, it is worth having a
resolution jumping fourfold from 230,000 dots to a very look for solutions online. We found this at Nikonites.com:
GEAR CRAFT
reasonable 921,000 dots. “I just had a similar problem on my D5100… The lower-right
The D3200 is slightly more expensive than the D3100 corner of the mirror was binding with the stop. We were able
– although the differential has got less as the D3100 starts to to GENTLY pry the corner of the mirror away from the stop
disappear from more stores. If you can afford to, I’d buy the (from the right) and now it is functioning flawlessly.”
D3200, though the D3100 is still a decent camera that’s Ever wondered what all those It sounds a risky DIY repair, but the solution had worked for
capable of taking excellent photographs. abbreviations mean? three different people with the problem.
CAMERA SKILLS
Find exactly the right exposure length ANSWERS
with the help of a free phone app
IN A FLASH!
I want a camera strap
with a quick-release
What’s the mechanism
difference between Roy Hall, via email
Chris says… I’m a fan of
a polariser and the
NIKOPEDIA
OpTech’s neoprene straps.
Landscape Picture (http://optechusa.com)
Control?
Roy Marshall, Bristol, UK
Recommend a wedding
photography course!
Jimmy LK, London, UK
Chris says… Picture
Chris says… Many of the UK’s
Controls adjust things like
sharpening and contrast.
Is there an app for Android phones to best wedding photographers
The Landscape preset, calculate exposures with ND filters? trained at Aspire (www.aspire
among other things, reduces Gerald Gill, Bristol, UK photographytraining.co.uk).
contrast so there is less risk
of burnt-out skies. A Chris says… These apps are useful for app doesn’t have an Android version, but I
polariser reduces polarised trying to work out an exposure when using think I have tracked down something
How do I become an
light in a scene, and can a Lee Big Stopper or another high-density similar that will do the trick on your Nokia
N-Photo contributor?
Joaquim Pinho, Brighton, UK
intensify the blue colour neutral density filter which can be used to Lumia 625. It is called Exposed, and it is
of a sky. The effect is hard to lengthen the exposure by up to 10 stops. available through GooglePlay for Android Chris says… Send a low-res
Q&A
recreate in processing, so I use LongTime Exposure Calculator on devices. It’s also free, and looks like it is selection of your best shots to
should be used at the time my Apple iPhone. Unfortunately this free highly rated by those who have installed it. mail@nphotomag.com
of shooting.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
they seem so, so similar. So which do you choose?
Launched 2002 Weighs 155g Launched 2011 Weighs 185g
Update of the lens that Made in China with a plastic The AF-S ‘G’ version was Made in China with
Key differences came as standard with exterior and a metal mount. recently introduced to plastic exterior with a
every Nikon SLR back in Optical construction complement the faster, metal mount. Optical
01 The G lens has a built-in you want to use it on an old the days before zooms consists of six elements in costlier 50mm f/1.4G construction is seven
autofocus motor. It can be Nikon 35mm film SLR. ruled the world. five groups. lens in the Nikon range. elements in six groups.
used successfully with all
Nikon digital SLRs. 05 The G lens allows you to
focus the lens manually
02 The D lens has no built-in even if it is switched to AF
motor, so will not offer AF on mode; just turn the focus
the D40, D40x, D60, D3000 ring. With the D lens, you
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
I’m off to
photograph my first
big gig with my
D300s and 16-
85mm. Any tips for
setting up?
Ian Lewer, via email
photography with my mate Russell wants to replace his D300 for wildlife photography –
but which lightweight option will be most suitable?
Kevin Nixon), who I reckon is
Why does my
one of the best music
photographers currently
I’m tired of waiting for the D400!
D300S use up my working in the business, Should I get a D7100 or a V3?
back in N-Photo issue 18. Russell Mander, via email
memory cards The changing light can
quicker than confuse the camera, so he
recommends shooting with
Chris says… You say you want something fast and light,
which can shoot at seven frames per second, and uses your
my D80? manual exposure. He will existing lenses. The D7100 shoots at six frames per second
Paul Moss, then make sure that the and doesn’t have a very impressive buffer. The Nikon 1 V3 can
Wateringbury, UK shutter speed is 1/125 sec or shoot at 20 frames per second, and is much lighter than a
faster, and will use a wide D-SLR. However, to use your lenses with it you will need an
Chris says… It sounds like aperture – which with your FT-1 adaptor (£199/$240). Given the 2.7x crop factor of the V3,
this conundrum has been causing you sleepless nights. You zoom will mean using the I think it ticks all the boxes, though the new crop factor and
tell me that you set up both your Nikons for a shoot with lens wide open at all times. different controls may take a bit of getting used to.
Q&A
newly-formatted 8GB cards, but while the D80 offered you a You will also need to set
capacity of 620 NEF files, the D300S indicated space for 320. your ISO to a minimum of
The D80 has a 10.2-megapixel sensor, whereas the D300s 1600, and push it up further How can we see the LCD screen on our
has a 12.3-megapixel chip, so we would assume that the D80
will be able to fit more shots onto a card. But that does not
if the stage lighting is not
very bright. Don’t bother
J2 when the sun is behind us, without the
explain why the difference in capacity is so great. However, trying to use the flash! glare and reflections?
not all RAW files are the same. The D80 offers only one type: Due to the high contrast Roy Johnston, Johannesburg, South Africa
12-bit compressed NEFs. This is the most memory-efficient and bright highlights, you
setting. The more pro-level D300S gives you a choice will need to shoot in RAW. Chris says… One disadvantage of the J2 is that it does not
between 12-bit and 14-bit and between Uncompressed, have an optional or built-in viewfinder. You need to use the
Lossless Compressed, and Compressed options. LCD for composing your shots, and for all the camera
My guess is that you have your D300S set to the 14-bit settings. As you say, that’s not fun when shooting in sunlight.
Uncompressed option, which gives the best quality but the One solution is to buy a pop-up sunshield. These attach to
GEAR CRAFT
fewest shots per card. Switch to 12-bit Compressed in the the back of your camera using sticky pads, and have three
Shooting menu (look for Type, within the NEF (RAW) Recording flaps that spring up to create a viewing shade around the LCD
option), and you should get 540 shots on your 8MB card. screen. Several manufacturers make these. ( Enhance makes
Back in issue 18, we had a
Nikon SLR instruction manuals have a table at the back masterclass with pro music
a three-inch model that sells on Amazon for around £7/$13.)
telling you the rough capacity for every Image Quality photographer Kevin. His Alternatively, try the Victorian approach, and throw a dark
setting your camera offers. advice? Go for manual… piece of cloth over your head and the back of the camera!
CAMERA SKILLS
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
My friend has a Nikon.
Can I use his lenses on
How can I scan my D5200?
Jerry Murray, via email
old APS-format Chris says… If they’re for an SLR
films?
NIKOPEDIA
If you’re looking for made in the last 30 years, yes!
Peter Salmon, via email a top-quality standard
zoom lens, we’ve already
Chris says… Not many film found it for you! What sort of USB port is
scanners were compatible
on the D7100?
Simon West via Facebook
with APS film. The Konica
Minota DiMage Scan Dual IV,
Which should I buy for my D7100? Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8? Chris says… It is a USB 2.0
the Fujifilm AS-1 and the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8? Or Sigma 24-105mm f/4? port that uses a non-standard
Canon Canoscan 4000 were David Mizzi, Malta UC-E6 plug.
three of the best, and you
may find one on eBay. Chris says… It depends on whether you more pro, I would give this a miss. The
You could take the film want a wider aperture or a longer range Sigma 24-105mm is only a tad faster than a
Are Lee filters
from its cartridge, cut the – and on what you want to shoot. kit lens, so I’d opt for the Tamron 24-70mm
compatible with my Cokin
negatives into sections, You say you would like to become a f/2.8. It is great on both DX and FX bodies,
Z-Pro filter holder?
Karl Fryer via email
then scan them on a flatbed commercial photographer. This makes the and has a pro-spec maximum aperture.
scanner, or rephotograph decision easier. The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is Also, unlike Nikon’s more expensive Chris says… Yes. The standard
them using a D-SLR, macro an innovative zoom lens, but it is not alternative, it has built-in image Lee holder and the Cokin Z-Pro
Q&A
lens and a lightbox. There compatible with FX SLRs, and as you may stabilisation. It came out top in our round are designed for rectangular,
are also scanning firms that well want to get one of those if you go up of luxury kit lenses in N-Photo issue 26. 100mm-wide, filters.
can do the job for you.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
Key differences Nikon Speedlight SB-910 £339, $550 Nikon Speedlight SB-700 £229, $330
GEAR CRAFT
01 Both flashguns have cells, but only the SB-910
Launched 2011 GN 34 (m/ISO100) Launched 2010 GN 28 (m/ISO100)
heads that rotate through has a connector to allow it Daddy of the Speedlight It can recycle in 3.2 secs at One of our favourite It can recycle in 2.5 secs at
360° and tilt through 97°. to hook up to an external range. This is an update of full power. Manual power flashguns, offering most full power. Manual power
the SB-900, tweaked to options go down to 1/128 sec of the features of the SB- options go down to 1/128 sec
However, the SB-910 has a power pack. reduce overheating. (duration 1/38,500 sec). 910 in a smaller package. (duration 1/4000 sec)
greater autozoom range – 04 With more power and
17-200mm on an FX camera zoom range comes added
(11-135mm on DX). The bulk. The SB-910 weighs
motorised zoom head on the 510g with batteries,
SB-700 goes from 24-120mm compared to 450g for the
for FX (16-80mm on DX). SB-700. Dimensions are
02 The SB-910 offers a small 78x145x113mm for the 910,
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
I’m travelling to
Vietnam. Should I
be worried about
the risk of taking
my D7000, and
about humidity?
Tom Ferry,
Ashbourne, England
NIKOPEDIA
Chris says… Your worries To get power into a Nikon SB-600 flashgun you have to use
are not unusual, Tom. If you the terminals in the battery chamber as the connectors
are in a big city or a remote
location there are dangers Do you know anyone who makes a
with carrying your camera
gear in public. As you say in
battery pack for an SB-600 Speedlight?
Mike Patten, via email
your email, you read about
gangs snatching cameras,
Chris says… The SB-600 has no external power connector,
and photographers getting
so a low-cost off-the-shelf option is not possible. There is one
mugged for their gear.
shop-bought option that I know of, and that is the Quantum
I would still always
QB1+ pack, which is designed to work with a number of
recommend taking your
Why couldn’t I get a decent exposure camera on a holiday like
hotshoe strobes that use either four or five AA batteries.
This costs $224, but you will also need an XK6 cable and BQB
when taking a shot of my wife from inside this. The beautiful locations
will inspire you to take some
extension to make it work with your Nikon flash, which will
a canal tunnel? add another $100 to the price. Visit www.qtm.com for details.
Q&A
but this is not a flattering effect for a portrait. as cameras adjust to takes different exposures of the same scene so that they can
Using flash would be a more professional solution as the different temperature be combined, enabling you to retain information in both the
strobe can be set up to light the face in the foreground locations. This typically shadows and highlights.
evenly, without this affecting the background. You can use happens when leaving an The two functions can be used together. However, the
the shutter speed to control the exposure for the daylight air-conditioned hotel in the result is that you will get more noise in the shadow areas of
scene outdoors, and use the flash power to adjust the morning, say. My answer is your image than you usually want. So my recommendation
exposure of the foreground (and tweak aperture and ISO to leave a bit earlier, so your would be to turn off Active D-Lighting whenever you are
to ensure you get the shutter speed you actually need). camera can acclimatise! looking to get a decent HDR image.
Why won’t a faster memory Chris says… The camera’s maximum continuous The camera saves images to its high-speed internal
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
shooting speed is limited by the hardware rather memory buffer before writing them to the memory
card improve my D3200’s than the memory card speed, David. The mirror and card, and it’s like having a tap filling a sink and a
continuous shooting speed? shutter mechanism has to operate at very high
speeds during continuous shooting, and the faster
plug-hole letting the water out. The wider the
plug-hole, the longer it will take for the sink to
David Craddock, Taunton
the speeds, the more complex and expensive the fill up!
engineering needs to be. At four frames per second, When your camera’s buffer does fill up, you can’t
your D3200’s shutter mechanism is running flat out. use the camera until it’s cleared some space, and so
Where faster memory cards do make a difference the faster your memory card is, the quicker you’ll be
is in the number of shots you can take in a sequence. ready to start shooting again.
CAMERA SKILLS
My Tiffen ND
ANSWERS
3.0 filter gives IN A FLASH!
disappointing Does the Nikon AF-S
results, with 50mm f/1.8G work on the
D3200?
greens turning out Ancash Goyal, Kolkata, India
an orangey-brown Chris says… Yes. Unlike
colour. Is this a the older 50mm f/1.8D,
NIKOPEDIA
this standard prime lens
common problem has a built-in motor so can
with filters? autofocus successfully
with bodies like the D3200,
Craig Dalgarno,
which don’t have an AF motor
Aberdeen, Scotland
This is definitely not the result you built in.
should get from an ND filter – it’s
Chris says… You are essentially working as an infrared filter! Can Lightroom 5 or
certainly getting strange Elements 12 recognise
results for an ND (neutral D7100 RAW files? My
density filter), Craig! This screw-in attachment is meant to simply cut down the amount of light reaching the camera copy of Elements 10
without affecting colour (hence the word ‘neutral’ in the name). The purpose is to enable you to take longer exposures doesn’t.
than usual, so that you can blur water in daylight, for instance, or use a wider aperture than the bright sunshine allows. Tim Wells, via email
The problem you are experiencing is caused by infrared contamination. Essentially, your filter is better at blocking
Chris says… Yes, support for
visible light than it is at blocking infrared light (which we can’t see, but some SLR sensors can record). So your neutral
the D7100 was introduced
density filter is effectively working as an infrared filter, creating the strange shifts in colours that you are experiencing,
with Adobe Camera Raw 7.4
which are particularly noticeable in the foliage. The filter can be used to create atmospheric infrared style images, or
(compatible with Elements 11
Q&A
for long-exposure monochromatic images, but it is not much good for the purpose you bought it for. I’d recommend
and later) and Lightroom 4.4.
taking your ND filter back to the retailer and trying to get a refund.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
55-300mm VS 70-300mm
Key differences
Two telephoto zooms that don’t cost the earth
and max out at 300mm. Which do you pick?
Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G £269, $399 Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G £429, $589
GEAR CRAFT
01 What’s the weight? like the D3100 that don’t have
If you are looking to travel light an AF motor in the body itself. £269, $399 58mm filter ring £429, $589 67mm filter ring
the 55-300mm is the obvious However, the 55-300mm has a The focal length makes Another reason that it A bit pricier than the The 70-300mm has a
it perfect for working partners well with the 55-300mm, but it will larger image circle to
solution as it weighs in at just more basic AF-S motor, whereas
alongside the 18-55mm popular 18-55mm – it work on both full-frame enable FX compatibility,
530g. The more substantial the 70-300mm features a more zoom that comes with takes the same-sized FX SLRs and crop-factor so it is wider and needs
70-300mm tips the scales at advanced ring-type motor, many budget Nikons. filter attachments. DX models. wider filters.
745g, nearly half as heavy again. which focuses faster and
more quietly.
02 FX or DX?
The 55-300mm will only work 04 Beating blur
properly with some Nikon Both lenses give an impressive
cameras, as this is a DX model effective maximum focal length
designed for crop-sensor bodies of 450mm when used on a DX
body, but this means holding
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
pan your lens to track the planes. For action subjects like balanced or purposefully theatrical effect.
this, Auto ISO is a godsend. It will ensure you are using the Unfortunately, not all flashguns you can buy
slowest ISO possible, and give you one less thing to keep can be used remotely in this way – and models
changing as the light changes. such as Nikon’s own SB-910 or SB-700 can be
Focusing can be tricky. I’d use the AF-C continuous expensive options as a secondary flashgun.
autofocus option, and set the AF Area mode to 3D (which Low-cost CLS-compatible options include the
you can do using the ‘i’ button and the cursor keys). Nissin Di622 MkII and Yongnuo YN565EX.
How do I get rid of dark ambitious lighting arrangement with the flash
used off-camera. This takes time, however.
backgrounds in my flash shots? You can increase the ISO setting, but this
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Keddie Law, Montrose simply increases the power and range of the
flash, it doesn’t help with the drop off in lighting
Chris says… The reason you’re getting dark with distance.
backgrounds with flash is because of the light There is an alternative, though. If you set the
fall-off. This has got nothing to do with the flash camera to slow sync mode, it will balance the
power or the ISO setting – it’s simply because the flash with the ambient lighting. It does increase
illumination is inevitably going to be brightest for the risk of some movement blur, but you’ll get the On-camera flash on its own produces
light fall-off and dark backgrounds.
objects near the flash. Flash on its own rarely benefit of flash on your main subject while
The secret is to use slow sync mode
gives good results, unless you create a more preserving a more natural-looking background.
CAMERA SKILLS
There is a long delay A delay between shots?
ANSWERS
between shots when using
Your Nikon could be
taking ‘dark’ exposures IN A FLASH!
Bulb. Can I quicken this up? Can I connect my D300
Alan Pestell
to my 3G phone?
Russell Mander, via email
Chris says… Yes, the simple way is to
switch Long Exposure Noise Reduction off Chris says… Sorry, no. A low-
– this is the part of the processing that is cost Nikon Wi-Fi module is
adding the frustrating delay you have not available for this model.
NIKOPEDIA
experienced when you’ve been taking
exposures in a tunnel using the B setting I’d like a low-cost
of your Nikon D3100. tripod for my D3200
Go to the Shooting Menu in your Menu Christos Panayides, Cyprus
options and scroll down to the Long
Chris says… In issue 37, our
Exposure NR, then switch this off.
picks were the Manfrotto
Long exposures that last multiple
BeFree MKBFRA4-BH (£130/
seconds or minutes tend to be noisier than
$200) and the MeFOTO
normal short exposures, and the camera
RoadTrip A135OQ1 (£140/$190).
tries to reduce this unwanted speckling by
taking a second exposure, with the shutter
closed, that is as long as the first. It uses
My husband’s Sigma
the noise information from this second
DC 18-50mm won’t work
‘dark’ exposure to make your main
on his D3200.
Joyce Partridge
exposure look less noisy. However this
means that the exposure time is doubled, Chris says… It probably
and for a 30-second exposure you actually needs to a replacement chip.
Q&A
have a 60-second wait between shots. Contact Sigma at service@
sigma-imaging-uk.com
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 Maximum aperture it’s heavier too. The 70-200mm
Both lenses have a fixed f/2.8 weighs 1540g, while the £949, $1399 67mm filter ring £1579, $2399 77mm filter ring
maximum aperture. The f/4 is 70-200m f/4 is just 850g. The cheaper of the two, A smaller maximum One of the most popular Takes same size filters
it’s popular with travel aperture means that the pro lenses. This is the as other popular pro
about a stop faster than most photographers who do front element is smaller model to choose if you zooms, such as the
budget zooms, letting in twice 04 Length matters
not want the bulk and than on the f/2.8 lens, so are after a telephoto for 24-70mm f/2.8 and the
as much light at the 200mm As well as weight, there is the weight of the f/2.8 lens. filters will be cheaper. restricting depth of field. 16-35mm f/4.
setting. The f/2.8 version is a size to bear in mind – the f/2.8
stop faster still. lens is less likely to fit into an
average kit bag. At 209mm in
02 Softer backgrounds length, it’s 30.5mm longer than
The difference in maximum the f/4, and with a width of
aperture is significant when 87mm, it’s 9mm broader.
you want to restrict depth of
05 Extra support
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Can I use my old I’ve done some training and read the
Ricoh XR Speedlight manual, but I just can’t get it all to sink
400 safely with my into my head! Any suggestions?
Nikon D5200? John Dyson, Fridaythorpe, UK
Pete Bowers via email
Chris says… Just keep
soldiering on John, it will come
Chris says… The worry
in the end! As you infer in your
about putting old flashguns
email, you have lots of time to
on newer SLRs is that the
get to grips with real
trigger voltage used by the
NIKOPEDIA
£225/$330.
John Hall, via email Don’t throw away your
Chris says… The internet means that you can shop for the
Ricoh, though. These old
most attractive prices in a way we could only dream about a
Chris says… There is a lot of sense in this suggestion as a ’guns are great for strobist
few years ago. But you must shop with your eyes wide open.
macro lens can often double as a portrait lens, giving you set-ups, when used
You say you have seen D7100 bodies on sale from between
two useful primes in one. remotely and fired by
£809 down to a tantalising £536. I did my own trawl to see
A portrait lens typically has an effective focal length of a wireless trigger.
what I could find. I use www.camerapricebuster.co.uk to find
around 100mm. That means using a 100mm lens on a full-
the best UK prices for kit. It only uses well-established
frame camera, or a 60mm or 70mm one on a DX APS-C
dealers, and on the day I looked the best price I could find
camera, like your D300S. This angle of view is great for
was £759. But on eBay I found a new body available for
portraiture as it avoids the facial distortion given by wider
£539.99. The catch? If you read all the details carefully, it
lenses, but doesn’t force you to be too far from you subject.
clearly tells you that you are buying
A portrait lens also needs a wide maximum aperture to blur
from Hong Kong. The risk with
GEAR CRAFT
How can I set a minimum the Auto ISO sensitivity to On, you can then
specify the maximum ISO you want the
shutter speed when using camera to use and the minimum shutter
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
long lenses? speed. From now on, it will increase the ISO
just as much as it needs to achieve that
Nick Nikolaiczuk, Ontario
minimum shutter speed (but only up to the
upper ISO limit you’ve set).
Chris says… There is no setting specifically The name is slightly misleading because it
for minimum shutter speeds, but there is one makes you think this feature is all about ISO. In
which will work just as well. It’s the Auto ISO fact, it’s designed for exactly those situations
setting. You’ll find this on the Shooting menu, you describe, where you want to be sure you’re You can use your Nikon’s Auto ISO feature to set the
under ISO Sensitivity settings. When you set shooting at a high enough shutter speed. minimum shutter speed you want the camera to use
CAMERA SKILLS
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
I want to process RAW
files, but have mislaid my
ViewNX disc that came
with my D3100.
Why doesn’t Neil Meredith, Northants, UK
Chris says… Download
Nikon make lenses
NIKOPEDIA
the latest copy for free at
that are as wide as http://nikonimglib.com/nvnx/
it used to? index_en_nsa.html
Paul Bostock, London, UK
I bought a copy of the
Chris says… One reason is
Can Nikon NX-D run on Windows XP – or can Photoshop magazine, but the disc
that manufacturers have to was missing. Should
make two ranges of wides: CS5 work on Vista or later? there be one?
one for DX SLRs, and one for Alan Biggs, via email Dawn Grainger, via
FX models. Nikon once made Facebook
a 6mm fisheye, but its Chris says… Nikon’s new NX-D editing program unfortunately does not work on the
Chris says…Yes, there’s a
current widest DX models Windows XP operating system. You need Windows Vista, or Windows 7 or 8. The full
disc with the printed edition
are the 10-24mm or the system requirements can be found at https://support.nikonusa.com/app/answers/
(videos are streamed with
10.5mm fisheye, and the detail/a_id/19153/~/capture-nx-d-1.0.1---windows-only
digital editions). Email details
widest FX lens is the 14mm, The good news, however, is that it seems that your old copy of Photoshop CS5 will
to support@futurenet.com
or 16mm fisheye. Sigma work with Windows Vista and Windows 7 (see the detail at http://www.adobe.com/store/
and our help desk will mail
Q&A
stretches further, producing en_us/popup/software/photoshop5extended/systemreqs.html ).
you a replacement.
a 4.5mm circular DX fisheye, So you can use NX-D to process RAW files, and then use CS5 for the creative stuff.
and an 8mm FX lens.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 Every mm counts as useful as on a telephoto lens,
£829, $1260 77mm filter ring £519, $750 77mm filter ring
With wide lenses, two where image shake is more A popular pro choice as a Takes same size filters Introduced last year, the Despite being a smaller
millimetres can mean the of a worry, but it is useful for wide-angle all-rounder. It as other popular pro 18-35mm is a low-cost zoom, it has the same
difference between squeezing shooting handheld in low-light is much smaller and less zooms, simplifying the wide-angle. Don’t muddle filter thread as other
the whole room into the shot situations where you may need expensive than the Nikon use of filters or the hunt it with the older, inferior popular pro zooms, such
14-24mm f/2.8G. for a lens cap. 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D. as the 24-70mm f/2.8.
or not. The 18-35mm has a to use low shutter speeds.
maximum angle of view of 100
degrees, while the 16-35mm 04 Aperture difference
gives 107-degree coverage. The 16-35mm has a fixed
Neither is a sensible choice maximum aperture of f/4
for use with a DX SLR, as the through its zoom range. With
effective crop means you lose the 18-35mm, the maximum
the wide-angle effect. aperture reduces from f/3.5 to
f/4.5 as you zoom in. In practical
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Can I convert
JPEGs into RAW
files?
Neil Meredith, Northants
convenience, but the quality will start to suffer, especially Also, whenever a new version of Elements or Photoshop is
with a 2x converter. The new Nikon 80-400mm G lens is good announced, no more updates to Camera Raw will be made
but expensive; if you’re shopping for a used one, what you find available for the old one (occasionally there is some overlap,
is almost certainly going to be the older D-type lens which, You can’t convert JPEGs to but this is basically the system). Updates for Elements 11
RAW files. RAW files (right)
I’m afraid, is not one of Nikon’s finest. contain all the data captured stop at Adobe Camera Raw 8.0. You can see the full version
I’d say the Tamron 150-600mm looks a good bet, Claude, by the sensor, but JPEGs (left) compatibility list at http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/
as you’ll get the right balance of price and features. have already been processed global/camera-raw-compatible-applications.html.
You can use flash Chris says… All digital SLRs use a focal plane shutter design which
to freeze a limits the maximum shutter speed you can use with flash. The way round
fast-moving this is to ensure that there’s no ambient or background illumination at
subject, even all, and the flash is the only light source. When you do this, your water
though your
Nikon’s flash
drops will be sharp because the duration of the flash itself is very short.
synchronisation The lower the flash power, the shorter the flash duration – and at
speed is limited minimum power you can get an effective shutter speed of 1/20,000 sec.
CAMERA SKILLS
I can’t get a ANSWERS
‘milky’ water effect IN A FLASH!
even with a five- Should I replace
minute exposure Capture NX2 with Capture
Joaquín de Iturbide, NX-D? I have a D600
Cozumel, Mexico Geoff Mitchell, Hedge End,
Why is my 18- Chris says… In order to get
Nr. Southampton
Chris says… Stay with
105mm kit lens so
NIKOPEDIA
this ‘milky’ effect, conditions
Capture NX2, Geoff. Nikon
bad at macros? have to be just right. If the
water is relatively still it’s not
won’t update the software
Graham Collins, South for new cameras, but it works
going to work, because it’s
Pacific fine with your D600 and it’s
the movement of the water
actually more powerful than
that creates the blur. Choppy
Chris says… Graham Capture NX-D.
waves give a better effect
explains: “In my film days I
than gentle ripples.
used extension rings to get a
magnified image. My digital
Experiment with the time, as Will Lightroom 5 and
images are sharp with a
well – longer exposures won’t Elements 12 recognise
prime lens. So what’s the
necessarily give the best D7100 RAW files?
effect. We did our own Tim Wells, via email
problem with my kit lens?”
experiments in issue 9 of
Well, probably nothing, except Chris says… For the D7100
N-Photo with a lighthouse.
that modern zooms are more you need Adobe Camera Raw
We got an effect where the
complex than traditional 7.4 or later, and Elements 12
water became smooth, but
primes. By using it with goes up to ACR 8.0. Lightroom
the sea wasn’t rough enough
extension rings you’re forcing 5 is still current so it gets all
Q&A
to give the ‘smoky’ effect you
it to focus much closer than the latest updates.
see in many seascapes.
its optimum focus range.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 Autofocusing 03 ISO range
The D610 uses Nikon’s The D750’s Expeed 4 processor £1269, $1597 Fixed LCD £1799, $2297 Articulating LCD
enthusiast-orientated 39-point does have an effect on its ISO The D610 was a modest The 921k-dot LCD on Launched a year after The D750’s LCD boasts
Multi-CAM 4800 autofocus range, though: the D610 offers a upgrade to the Nikon the D610, measuring the D610 and two years a higher resolution
D600, which was 3.2 inches across the after Nikon D600, the than the D600’s, at
sensor, but the D750 has the maximum non-expanded ISO of plagued by reports diagonal, is very good, D750 boasts a number 1,229k dots, and it’s
professional-level 51-point 6,400, while the D750 goes one of sensor dust. but it’s fixed . of improvements. articulating.
Multi-CAM 3500 FX autofocus stop higher to ISO 12800.
sensor with the latest
enhancements, including Group 04 Movie mode
Area AF. As such, it should be
Both cameras can shoot full
significantly better at handling
HD movies, but the maximum
fast-moving subjects.
frame rate on the D610 is 30p,
02 Expeed 3 vs Expeed 4 while the D750 can go up to
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Why do my
images look
under-exposed on
my computer but
fine on my LCD?
Rodney Collins, via e-mail
histogram before walking price tag, despite lacking the constant aperture of the other
Chris says… The 24-70mm f/2.8 is a wedding staple, being
away from a location. The two lenses. If you can’t afford to buy one of these lenses,
bright, fast and with a focal length capable of both group
histogram is a visual consider hiring one if you’re going on a special shoot.
shots and solo portraits. If
representation of the
you’re looking for one lens
to cover the whole day it’s
exposure of an image, and is
accessible via the display
What’s a good upgrade from a D80?
a great choice. I would also Mike Wallis, Easingwold, UK
options of your D-SLR.
consider the 24-120mm f/4 ED
Most models allow for a
VR, which offers stabilisation Chris says… The direct replacement for the D80 is the D90.
histogram to be displayed
for shooting in low light or With the D90 now discontinued, though, the closest current
on playback.
during the reception, and is equivalent is the D5300 (£550/$700, body only). The size and
almost 200g lighter, with an weight are similar, but you’ll gain a flip-out LCD screen with
extra 50mm of focal length. Live View and HD video recording, plus a 24.1-megapixel
GEAR CRAFT
As the lighting is bound to sensor capable of capturing stunning detail – quite a jump
change as you move from from the 10.2 megapixels of the D80. The only slight concern
outdoors to in during the is that the D80 has a focus motor, which the D5300 lacks,
day, it’s worth opting for a meaning some of your lenses may be incompatible (if they’re
constant-aperture lens so you Your histogram will tell you
missing the vital AF-S designation). In that case, the next
don’t have to worry about the whether your shots really current body with a motor would be the D7100 (£800/$900,
aperture changing if you zoom. are under- or over-exposed body only), which is a robust D-SLR geared towards action.
CAMERA SKILLS
Why are the RAW images taken by a Nikon D80 and a ANSWERS
Nikon D7100 different? IN A FLASH!
Dave Garrington, Shropshire, UK
Can I preview in mono
Chris says… While but shoot in colour?
all RAW files have John Teague, Pittsboro,
qualities in common, NC, USA
Why won’t the file type is being
constantly updated
Chris says… If you shoot
Elements 11 in RAW, all the colour
NIKOPEDIA
to cope with
information will be preserved
recognise my Nikon increasing
information and
even if you adopt a monotone
D610 RAW files? any additions to the
picture style. Open the image
in Capture NX2 and it will
John Clydesdale, metadata cameras
appear monochrome. You just
via email produce, such as GPS
need to change the Picture
data. As the two
Control to a colour option.
Chris says… Your version of cameras you’re
Adobe Photoshop Elements referring to have
does not support the D610 or completely different 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 or
the RAW files it produces, so sensors and 24-120mm f/4 lens?
upgrading to version 12 or processors, the Tim Wells, via email
switching over to Lightroom information recorded
Chris says… The extra focal
or Photoshop CC would be – although of the
length is tempting, but it’s
your best course of action. same subject and in
better to opt for a constant
Otherwise the Nikon View a file with the same
aperture, as the focus speed
NX2 software packaged extension – will be
and low light performance
Q&A
Different processors will result in
with your D610 should be fundamentally
different RAW files, even when are usually far superior.
satisfactory for processing different. shooting the same subject
your RAW files.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
Carlier, the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR might seem like an odd
choice over the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II, but there are plenty of £420/$590 VR II £1580/$2400 VR II
advantages to be had... Released in 2006, the 70- VR II is in place rather Released in 2008, the This second-generation
300mm f/4.5-5.6 added than the first-generation VR II version replaced the VR offers an extra stop of
VR and internal focusing vibration reduction, first-generation version, compensation, allowing
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
I have a Nikon
D70 and I would
like to know where
I can buy a printer
to use at home
without my
computer
Mr T E Yates,
NIKOPEDIA
Great Ponton, UK
Camera not aware that it’s got a lens fitted? Cleaning the
contacts on your D-SLR can solve a number of issues
Chris says… There are
A camera like the Nikon D90 might work with an older, film-era
flash, but it could damage it, so it’s usually not worth the risk!
plenty of printers that meet
your requirements. You have
When I use my Tamron 150-600mm
two choices: connect the lens, my Nikon D5200 displays an error
Is it possible to use a non-dedicated camera directly to the
message saying ‘Lens not attached’, and
flash on my Nikon D90 to trigger other printer via a USB lead with
the card in the camera; or it stops working. Tamron’s service center
slave flash units? remove the CF memory card
says the lens itself is fine. What could be
Mike Ball, via e-mail and put it into a compatible
printer. Most modern the problem?
Chris says… You say you’ve got an old adapter from your film printers will include a USB Sanjay Dutt Sharma, via Facebook
days, Mike. It’s advisable to use something more modern connection and Pictbridge
than a film-era piece of kit, especially if you’re unsure of compatibility, so you can Chris says… Sanjay, I would clean the contacts on your body
how it will work with your D90. Some older equipment uses simply plug your D70 in. using a Lenspen or similar, and update the firmware on your
higher voltages than the modern equivalents, and without Some, such as the Canon D-SLR. If the problem persists, your best bet is to take your
Q&A
the correct information you may cause damage to both SELPHY CP810 (£75/$115) D5200 to a verified Nikon repairer.
camera and flash unit. My advice would be to opt for a allow you to plug in a CF
wireless triggering system, which can cost as little as
£30/$40, and will work with your system.
card. It’s also worth bearing
in mind that the increasing
A couple of the buttons
popularity of SD cards on my D800 keep getting
I have a D700 and was wondering if it means CF-compatible
printers are less common.
stuck. Any ideas for
would be possible to use my old Nikon unsticking them or the
SB-25 flashgun with it best way to clean them?
Peter Bennett, via Facebook Louise Law, Northern Territory, Australia
Chris says… Nikon’s i-TTL function won’t be available on the Chris says… Although you tell us that there are no shops in
GEAR CRAFT
SB-25, as it was released before this feature was introduced, your area and you’re reluctant to send your camera away,
so the functionality of the flash will be somewhat reduced. Lou, we’d still recommend sending it to be repaired, as you’ll
You’ll still get some degree of automation, as the flash will probably need to have it taken apart to get the buttons fully
fire at the same time as you press the shutter release, and it working. It’s best to avoid trying to unstick the buttons
will accept settings adjustments from the D90 (rather than The Canon SELPHY CP810
yourself with solvents or anything similar, and there isn’t
having to be controlled manually) but it won’t be as accurate is one of the few modern really anything thin enough to get into the body to clean
as the i-TTL metering on a newer flash. printers with a built-in CF port the buttons without dismantling the camera.
I’m confused about where my D7000 Can I use the Tamron SP Can I use Nikon PK12
takes a meter reading in Spot mode 24-70mm f/2.8 with my and PK13 extension tubes
Nikon D7100? with my D300 and 50mm
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CAMERA SKILLS
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
Your web page is being
redirected. Are you still
using it?
Murray Miller, via Facebook
Elements 11 does Chris says… www.nphotomag.
not recognise my com has moved over to www.
NIKOPEDIA
digitalcameraworld.com,
D5300’s RAW files as part of a consolidation of
as the camera is The Nikon D610 is an
excellent all-round
Future’s photo websites. It’s
got the same great content.
too new. How do full-frame D-SLR
I change that? I have a Nikon D5200 and want to upgrade. Which is In the February issue,
Eduard Vodovoz, via on the first page of your
Facebook better for my needs: D800, D750 or D610? Apprentice feature, Jayne
‘Thomson’, via e-mail has her lens cap on!
Chris says… Unfortunately Peter Wrigglesworth, via
the version of Camera Raw Chris says… ‘Better’ is relative, Thomson, but as you say you want to use your camera Facebook
you need to view the files professionally to shoot a variety of subjects, a versatile body would be best. After a DX
Chris says… Peter, it was
isn’t available for your body, the size and weight of a full-frame camera, not to mention the cost, is likely to be a
down to the weather! The wind
version of Elements, so shock, so the D610 is probably your best bet. It has a useful six-frames-per-second burst
and spray meant leaving the
you’ll need to upgrade to a rate, which is perfect for wildlife, an ISO range that goes up to 6400, which is great for
lens unprotected would have
new version, Eduard. Adobe low-light shooting, and a comparatively small, light frame for a full-frame D-SLR. But
quickly made it too filthy to
Q&A
Photoshop Elements 13 will its main advantage over the other two is the price, which is around £500-£700/$500-
use. Well, that’s our excuse!
be able to recognise the $800 cheaper at the time of writing.
RAW files from your D5300.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 Touchscreen added but the 60g of weight saved, and
The major addition to the the few millimetres shaved off £505/$697 GPS £640/$900 Articulating
D5500, and the one that’s elsewhere, means the D5500 Launched in 2013, the Having the ability to Released around two touchscreen
D5300 offered a larger geotag your images years after the D5300, Touchscreen
grabbed the most headlines, is just as good as the D5300 screen, a longer battery built into the camera is the D5500 has only the functionality turns the
is its touchscreen. Without on long journeys, if not slightly life and a smaller body a significant feature at touchscreen controls 3.2-inch rotating LCD
removing any functionality, the better, making it a great choice than the D5200. such a low price point. as a major advance. into a control method.
3.2-inch flip-out screen can now for your summer holidays.
be used to control the camera,
and its manoeuvrability means 04 Longer battery life
it’s especially useful. The battery life depends heavily
on usage, but the specifications
02 GPS taken away claim the D5500 can take 220
In order to achieve the D5500’s more shots using the same EN-
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Could you
recommend a
scanner for 35mm
slides, negatives
and larger format
negatives?
Edward Laine, via email
the last Nikon Coolscan A D-SLR shutter is very robust, and will normally have a lifespan
scanner was produced in extending into the tens of thousands of actuations
2004, thanks to the growth
of digital photography and What is the typical life expectancy
the dwindling interest in
film photography.
of a D60’s shutter? Mine is approaching
There are a number 10,000 actuations
of third-party options to Martin Shaw, via email
choose from, including the
range from Plustek, which Chris says… A Nikon D60 shutter typically has a life
The different sizes of DX and FX sensors means some lenses
suits a variety of budgets, expectancy of around 50,000 actuations, although many
will be affected if you move from APS-C to a full-frame D-SLR
and Epson flatbed models. models go past that figure without issue when taken care
We haven’t tested film of. If your shutter does fail for any reason, there are repair
I’ve upgraded from a D200 to the D600. scanners in N-Photo, but in options through Nikon or third parties. Whether the cost of
Can you tell me what is the widest lens I our experience dedicated
slide and negative scanners
the repair is beyond what you’re willing to pay is another
matter, but a dead shutter needn’t mean a dead camera.
can use without risking vignetting?
Q&A
image that isn’t big enough for an FX sensor. That said, your the case of the D300 it’s in the EXIF data, so all that’s required
D600 should compensate automatically for this when an DX is a recent image and a program capable of reading the EXIF.
lens is attached, by automatically restricting images to the Actuations aren’t everything when checking the condition
middle of the sensor. The only down side is that resolution of a D-SLR though; Live View only requires a single actuation,
will be reduced, as you’re no longer using the whole sensor. The Nikon Coolscan range of
for example, but can be used to shoot reams of video. Check a
The only instance in which you’ll experience vignetting is if scanners was discontinued camera’s physical condition, and check the returns policy,
you disable this so-called DX crop mode. around 10 years ago before buying used.
Nikon ViewNX 2 doesn’t always checked online, though, and some people suggest
the AF point will not be displayed if your camera is
display the autofocus point for my set to continuous AF mode and the picture is
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
D7000 and D8000 taken before the AF has been confirmed. The AF
point probably won’t be displayed for images that
David McConnell, Kilkeel
have been edited in other software, either.
Are you using the latest version of ViewNX 2?
Chris says… We’ve not been able to reproduce the This can be downloaded free from the Nikon
issue you describe, and all the shots we’ve looked website in the Services & Support section.
at on the computer taken with a variety of Nikon
D-SLRs, appear to display the AF point correctly, ViewNX 2 can display the focus point used by your
both for standard and Live View shots. We have camera, but not if you’ve used manual focus
CAMERA SKILLS
Sigma’s 70-200mm is an
excellent option for the
ANSWERS
aspiring sports photographer
IN A FLASH!
My stepson has been
playing with my D3 and
I’m unsure how to turn
the bracketing off
Why can’t I Lori Scott, via Facebook
Chris says… Hi Lori, if you
import RAW Files
NIKOPEDIA
hold down the BKT button on
from my Nikon the top of the camera, then
D750 into Adobe rotate the dial just below
the LCD display until ‘OF’ is
Lightroom or I have decided to upgrade my lens to photograph shown, that should disable it.
Elements? motorsports and aviation. What would you recommend What are the best
Barry Tetchner, via email
for low, medium and high budgets? settings for shooting
Chris says… You need Dave Hewitt, via email
a football match?
Thomas Sands, via
version 8.7 of Camera Raw, Facebook
and version 5.7 of Lightroom Chris says… The focal length we’d recommend for those subjects is between 70mm
in order to support your and 300mm. The most affordable option within that range is the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm Chris says… I’d recommend
D750’s RAW files. Photoshop f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR, which has Vibration Reduction technology to combat shake and 1/500 sec at f/2.8 or f/4 and
Elements 13 supports the costs around £419 ($639). The Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX DG OS has a fixed aperture auto ISO. Make sure you have
relevant version of Camera and optical stabilisation, and costs around £739 ($1128). The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED a decent zoom lens, such as
Raw, so if you’re using an VR II, which has the second-generation VR technology, is the most expensive option. It the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
Q&A
older version of the costs around £1579 ($2410), and is recommended if you’re taking the step up to a more II and, if possible, use a D-SLR
software you’ll need to professional body as well, but either of the other options will be perfect for you. with a high burst rate.
update via Adobe’s website.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 More of the same 03 Be more discreet
Physically, these two D-SLRs The Quiet Continuous mode £1199/$1497 24 MP FX sensor £870/$1350 Sensor issues
are very similar. The 850g adds a more subtle edge to Being the most affordable The amount of detail The D600 can still be found Issues with the D600’s
FX body Nikon produces that can be captured new in a few places, but it’s sensor were well
magnesium alloy body is the burst mode. It knocks the makes the D610 extremely means the D610 is more likely you’ll be buying publicised, leading to an
convenient to cart around all speed down to three frames per attractive to any DX suitable for every used, due to the camera extended warranty for
day, and robust enough to stand second to minimise the noise photographer stepping up. photographic style. being discontinued. those models affected.
up to professional usage, while caused by mirror movement
the layout of the controls is the inside the camera, which is
same enthusiast-orientated useful for shooting indoors,
design as on the D7100, making especially when photographing
it ideal for users new to full- events such as weddings.
frame cameras.
04 Auto white balance
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Q&A
CAMERA SKILLS
Resetting your
folders can help
Can you
you organise
your images
recommend a
wildlife lens for the
Nikon D3100 for
£450 to £500?
Sean Roberts, via email
on my Nikon D750?
best option for you might be
the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm
Is it possible to rotate a movie shot in
Bruce Templeton, via email f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR portrait orientation by a D800E?
(£420/$590). It offers an Eric Halcrow, via email
Chris says… Bruce, there’s an option within the Shooting impressive focal range,
Menu to reset the folder numbers. It’s within the Storage Vibration Reduction Chris says… There are a number of editing programs that
Folder option, and allows you to rename the folder. There’s technology and internal can rotate a video, such as Adobe Premiere and Final Cut, but
an option below that also enables you to set the first three focusing, making it an option the end result will be reduced in resolution to roughly a
characters of the file name, called File Naming. By using well worth exploring. Prime quarter of the usual 1920x1080 HD format. Because the
both of these together you can set your card before every lenses within the range display format of your television is landscape you’ll need to
shoot, allowing for the images to proceed to 999 before you’d want are far more adapt the video you’ve shot into that arrangement. The only
the folder is filled. If you’re using multiple cards or glancing expensive, and therefore other method is to introduce bars to the left and right of the
across a host of files trying to select a particular one, this you’d be better off aiming existing video, retaining all of the information on screen,
process can be hugely helpful. at a zoom option. but once again at a reduced resolution.
Q&A
Chris says… The GP-1A GPS module is extremely useful for Chris says… As most modern
recording GPS information, but there are other options. The TVs will display 1920x1080 HD To display your photos on
TV it’s best to reduce the
Solmeta Geotagger Pro 2 (£170/$200) does a very good job resolution, and your video will resolution of the images
GEAR CRAFT
of tagging your images in a very similar manner to the GP-1A, most likely be recorded in that
and can be used on a wide variety of Nikon bodies. The other format, it’s best to use that as the end resolution. You can
option is to use a smartphone alongside an app like Motion X, import the images at a higher resolution, then use the Ken
then mark each point with the image number using the Burns effect, which zooms and pans across the still, to
smartphone. Both have benefits and, depending on whether The Nikon 70-300mm
emphasise detail. A package such as Adobe Premiere
or not you already own a smartphone, you can make your f/4.5-5.6 offers excellent Elements or Apple iMovie will be capable of producing a high-
decision based on price and/or convenience. range at an affordable price quality slideshow with as many effects or titles as you like.
Your Nikon D-SLR’s long I want to shoot Chris says… I think I may know what this is,
Ron. You need to check the Noise Reduction
for several seconds or longer. The camera
takes the first exposure, then takes a second
exposure noise reduction
feature will double the star trails, but my setting on your D3200’s Shooting menu. If ‘dark frame’ exposure of the same length
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
exposure time
D3200 takes 36 the noise reduction is turned on, then I think
you’ve found the cause of the problem.
which it can use as a reference image to
‘subtract’ any noise from the first.
seconds to get ready Nikon D-SLRs actually carry out two kinds I suspect the latter sort of noise reduction
for each 30-second of noise reduction. The first is high-ISO noise
reduction, which is designed to reduce the
is what’s interfering with your star trails. You
make a 30-second exposure, and the camera
exposure! ‘speckled’ effect you get at high ISOs. The is automatically taking a second ‘dark frame’
Ron Abbott, by email second is long exposure noise reduction, of the same exposure to use as a reference
which counteracts the random noise you frame. Try turning off the noise reduction to
sometimes get when the sensor is exposed see if that makes a difference to the process.
CAMERA SKILLS
A propeller-driven aircraft can
make an eye-catching subject
ANSWERS
IN A FLASH!
Would you You replied to my email
recommend Adobe in January relating to the
GPS on my D5300. I
Lightroom 5 and downloaded and installed
Photoshop as a the assisted GPS file. It
work a treat.
package, or Nikon
NIKOPEDIA
Wayne Kerry, Sydney,
Capture NX2 and Australia
Chris says… That’s perfect
View NX2? news, Wayne.
Bill Beer, Lowestoft, UK
Q&A
the N-Photo office, but find switching to fewer focus points, such as just the centre one, so a passing obstruction rear element of a DX lens will
Lightroom more versatile won’t cause the autofocus system to become confused. hit the front element.
and powerful than NX2.
HELP ME CHOOSE...
GEAR CRAFT
01 A weight of difference 03 A solid base
Surprisingly for a full-frame Both models benefit from Pro-friendly 36.3MP FX Hard to find 11fps burst rate
body, the Nikon D810 weighs a sealed body, preventing Fitting between the D750 format sensor The Nikon D4 has been This speed-focused
under a kilogram. At 880g it’s both water and dust from and D4s in Nikon’s range, With the highest pixel superseded by the D4S, model has a high burst
the Nikon D810 is more of a count of any current which is very similar in rate and wide ISO range,
far lighter than the 1.34kg D4, infiltrating. This makes both professional-level model terms of specs, and sits at allowing it to capture the
Nikon, the D810 offers an
as well as far smaller, by 10 to the D4 and D810 excellent than those below it. incredible level of detail. the top of the SLR pyramid. action with ease.
20mm all round. This makes choices for shooting anything
the D810 far more portable and outdoors. This, combined with
a preferred option when you’re the reduced bulk of the D810,
shooting subjects that require means that even though the D4
you to do a lot of walking. may look more rugged, both are
equally ready for action.
02 Higher native resolution
The D810’s 36.3-megapixel 04 The price is right
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NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
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Page 166
CAMERA SKILLS
Gear craft
Page 168 Magnifying your subject .................................150
Reducing glare .....................................................152
Telephoto flowers ..............................................154
NIKOPEDIA
Environmental portraits ................................156
Self-portraits ........................................................158
Soft-focus portraits ..........................................160
Low-angle shooting ..........................................162
Foreground interest .........................................164
Underwater photography ..............................166
Birds in flight ........................................................168
Painting with light .............................................170
Q&A
Successful silhouettes ...................................172
The histogram...................................................... 174
Making a softbox.................................................176
Neutralising orange backgrounds ............178
Macro lighting ......................................................180
Camera user modes..........................................182
Lighting with snoots.........................................184
GEAR CRAFT
Tilt-shift effects..................................................186
Tethered shooting..............................................188
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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There are lots of ways in which glasses. This type of filter is available resulting magnification (a +2 filter
THE MISSION you can get your SLR closer to for most square filter systems (such used with a +4 filter gives you a +6
■ Get macro-style
the subject, so that small areas look as Cokin), but round screw types are diopter setup, for example).
close-ups on a budget
big in the image. The most common more common. The optical quality of these filters is
TIME NEEDED solution is to use a macro lens – like Close-up filters are available in not as high as a macro lens – you tend
■ 20 minutes those tested in the next chapter. different strengths, measured in to get more softening at the edges
However, this means buying a new diopters. The higher the number, the and more colour fringing. However,
SKILL LEVEL lens, and having another bulky thing higher the magnification, and the they are more than capable of giving
■ Anyone can do it
to carry around with you, just in case. closer the minimum focus of the lens you a different view of a miniature
■ Some tricky aspects
A less expensive, and less bulky, becomes. These lenses are often sold world. They can provide record shots
■ Advanced technique
solution is a close-up lens (also known in sets with a +1, +2 and +4 diopter lens of stamps, coins and jewellery, for
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED as a close-up filter). This attaches to in a convenient case. Two or more instance – but can be used for artistic
■ Telephoto zoom lens the front of an existing lens, and filters can be combined to increase shots that show texture and detail
■ Close-up diopter works in the same way as a magnification – you just add the that more distant shots fail to show.
lens attachments magnifying glass or a pair of reading diopter values together to get the With a close-up filter, your focusing
range becomes very limited (you can
The effect of the magnification is much greater with a no longer focus on distant subjects).
However, you can still use autofocus,
telephoto zoom than with a standard lens, so a focal length of and because there’s no light loss,
over 100mm is recommended, and one of 200mm is ideal automatic exposure still works.
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STEP BY STEP Get closer with these filter-like magnifiers
How to get the most out of these ultra-portable alternatives to a macro lens
NIKOPEDIA
01 Magnifying glass for your lens 02 Buy the set
A close-up lens screws into the filter thread of your lens The three lenses you get in close-up sets can be combined ONE SIZE FITS ALL!
(or slots into your square filter holder). The effect of the to give you more than just three levels of magnification.
■ Close-up filters are usually
magnification is much greater with a telephoto zoom than The cost of a set increases with its diameter. We used a
the round type that screw
it is with a standard one, so a focal length of over 100mm is 72mm set from Kood, costing £80 – a 52mm set costs £27.
straight on the filter ring
recommended, and one of 200mm is ideal. Other manufacturers include Hoya, Tiffen and B+W
of your lens (rather than
the rectangular filters that
slot into a special adaptor).
Because of this you need to
make sure that you buy a
filter to match the diameter
Q&A
of the lens you are likely to
use it with. But what do you
do if you have more than one
lens – with different filter
thread sizes? The answer is
to buy close-up filters to fit
your widest lens – and then
use stepping rings. These
03 Zoom in for maximum effect 04 Focus in on the detail simple metal adaptors
Picking the right filter, or combination of filters, to get the As with all close-ups, depth of field gets more limited convert the filter thread size
crop that you want is usually a matter of trial and error. the closer you get to the subject, and can be as little as a of your lens – from 77mm
The focus range with the filter in place is limited to a few couple of millimetres. Use a tripod for stability, and if you down to 67mm, say. SRB do
inches at best, and the minimum focusing decreases as the need to ensure as much of the image is as sharp as possible, a full range for £4.50/$6.82
GEAR CRAFT
number of diopters applied increases. keep the camera perpendicular to the face of the subject. each (www.srb-griturn.com).
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polariser
With polariser
Polarising filters are often used were fine with film cameras, they’re multi-selector to choose the best
THE MISSION to enhance blue skies, but this is not suitable for digital SLRs because focus point within the scene.
■ Get glare-free shots
only one of their uses. The light they interfere with the autofocus Make sure the camera isn’t focusing
through glass
reflected from smooth and glossy systems. Instead, you’ll need a newer on the reflection in the glass rather
TIME NEEDED surfaces is polarised too, and you can (and more expensive) ‘circular’ than the object behind it, too. Your
■ 30 minutes use a filter to cut through these polariser. These have the same effect, best chance of avoiding this is to make
reflections to show what’s beneath. but use a more complex optical design sure you set the focus when the
SKILL LEVEL This is really useful if you need to to prevent autofocus issues. polarising effect is strongest, not
■ Anyone can do it
shoot objects that are displayed There are a few things to watch out while you can see glare on the glass.
■ Some tricky aspects
behind glass, so we visited the Victoria for when using polarisers. The image You’ll find that there are some
■ Advanced technique
Art Gallery in Bath to try this out. in the viewfinder will be darker for a reflections that are just too strong to
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED Polarising filters come in different start, making it more difficult to judge get rid of completely, such as bright
■ Nikon D-SLR types, and it’s important to get the the focus manually. Stick to light sources, or patterns of sunlight
■ Tripod ■ Kit zoom right one. You can get older, simpler autofocus, set the camera to and shade. The one thing you won’t be
■ Circular polariser ‘linear’ polarisers, but while these single-point AF mode, and use the able to eradicate is reflections in
mirrors. Polarisers are only effective
The light reflected from smooth and glossy surfaces is on light glancing off surfaces at an
angle. However, follow our advice and
‘polarised’, and you can use a polarising filter to cut through you’ll find avoiding reflections when
these reflections to show what’s beneath taking photos is a piece of cake.
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Cut the pane of reflections!
How to shoot clearly through glass with the aid of a polarising filter
NIKOPEDIA
01 Use a tripod 02 Find the angle
Polarisers cut down the light entering the lens by up to two Turn the polarising filter while watching the image in the
stops. If shooting indoors, the light levels will already be viewfinder. You’ll see the reflections in the glass grow
low, so exposure times will make handheld photography
difficult. Using a tripod lets you adjust the angle of the
fainter and disappear altogether. Tiny adjustments make
all the difference, and it’s worth taking a few moments to
ROUND OR
polariser precisely, without the risk of moving the camera. check you’ve found the optimum angle of rotation. SQUARE?
■ Don’t confuse ‘linear’ and
‘circular’ with the shape
of the filter. Polarising
filters are always round in
shape, but while you can
Q&A
get polarisers that screw
directly into your lens’s filter
thread, they’re also available
for the square filter systems
made by Lee, Cokin, and
others. They slide into one of
the filter holder’s slots, and
can be rotated independently
03 Move further away 04 Shooting handheld of the holder (and any other
If you can’t get rid of all the reflections, you may be too If you can’t use a tripod, increase the ISO to prevent camera filters). This is popular with
close while using a wide zoom setting. The reflections will shake. Your Nikon’s Auto ISO function is best for this landscape photographers,
be coming from a wide range of angles, and the filter won’t because it sets the ISO automatically to achieve a who often use a polarising
be able to counteract them all. Move further away and use minimum shutter speed. We’ve chosen a speed of 1/40 sec filter and graduated filters at
GEAR CRAFT
a longer zoom setting so the reflections are easier to subdue. here, and the camera’s set the ISO to 1250 to allow this. the same time.
polariser has cut through wide-angle because the create a stronger sense
the reflection of the floor. With polariser No polariser effect is uneven. of movement.
02 Shop windows 04 Richer foliage
You can snap some great The glossy surface of
shots through shop leaves reflects light. A
windows if you use a polariser cuts through the
polarising filter to cut sheen and delivers rich
With polariser No polariser through the glare. greens in your landscapes.
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You can get glorious shots of beauty of a telephoto lens is that or 300mm will give you more options
THE MISSION gardens at any time of year, but it allows you to shoot the border because you’ll be able to use a wider
■ Compress
most look at their best in the summer. from further away, and this changes range of shooting positions.
perspective when
So, how do you get a shot that does the perspective so that clumps of With a telephoto lens, it will be
shooting floral borders
the mass of colours in those bright different flowers from the camera impossible to get every petal in focus,
TIME NEEDED borders justice? appear closer together. They’re so don’t even try! Instead, you need
■ 1 hour A standard approach to shooting compressed together more tightly in to aim to get one bloom sharp in the
flowers is to reach for the macro lens. the frame, and this means that you shot and use this as your focal point,
SKILL LEVEL But this approach shows the beauty can really start packing the colour and then let all the others in front
■ Anyone can do it
of individual blooms, not of the whole into your picture. and behind go gently out of focus.
■ Some tricky aspects
bed. Instead, you could shoot with You don’t need a particularly long You’ll therefore need to set your focus
■ Advanced technique
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
a wide zoom setting, and show the telephoto to achieve this effect – a carefully, and choose an aperture that
KIT NEEDED planting as the gardener planned it. 100mm setting on a DX camera is allows you to create a gradated blur
■ Nikon D-SLR However, a more exciting solution more than sufficient to get going. But across the frame.
■ Telephoto zoom is to go long and use a telephoto. The a lens with a zoom range up to 200mm Flowers wave in the slightest
breeze, so you’ll need to set a fairly
You don’t need a particularly long telephoto – a 100mm fast shutter speed anyway, so our
advice is to forget the tripod and shoot
setting on a DX camera is more than sufficient. But a zoom range handheld. Follow our simple steps to
up to 200mm or 300mm will give you more options see how it’s done.
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STEP BY STEP Compress perspective using a telephoto lens
Run for the border and take a long view of the flowers before the summer comes to an end!
NIKOPEDIA
cover – wait for a bright day,
and shoot when the sun
disappears briefly behind a
white cloud. This will give
semi-diffuse lighting, and
01 A narrow view 02 Pick a flower detail in the flowers will
The longer the lens you use, the further away you stand Pick one flower to focus on so this appears sharp and not be lost in shadow. If the
– so this affects the perspective of the flowers. Even a can act as a focal point. In the custom functions for sun is out, you can still take
modest telephoto lets you pack blooms tighter into the autofocus, set the AF Area mode to Single Point. Choose pictures, but concentrate on
frame. And small changes in camera position will allow the AF point you use by half-pressing the trigger and close-ups and get someone
you to change which blooms appear in the background. then using the cursor keys on the back of the camera. to hold a diffuser, to mimic
the effect of a passing cloud!
Q&A
QUICK TIP!
Don’t be afraid
to squa t down or
03 Get up to speed 04 Exposure compensation kneel - a lower
The key thing about the exposure is to ensure that the Check the exposure after each shot, and use exposure poin t of view will
shutter speed is fast enough to avoid camera shake, and compensation to brighten or darken the shot. With white
keep the flower that is in focus as sharp as possible. Use flowers expect to use around +1.0 EV of compensation. make the band s
of colours appea r
GEAR CRAFT
aperture priority, altering the aperture and ISO values With dark backgrounds you may well need to go the other
until you get a shutter speed of 1/500 sec or faster. way, with exposure compensation set to around -1.0 EV. narrower
and fire the shutter as you Choose a wind-free day if shrubs so that their
gently breathe out. you have the option. reflections appear in shot.
02 Hard landscaping 04 Watch your back
It is not just the flowers Pay close attention to the
that make a garden. Take backgrounds in your shots.
shots that include the Just because they are out
paths, statues and other of focus, doesn’t mean they
man-made features too. aren’t distracting!
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Go on people safari
Break out of the stuffy studio to take reportage-style shots of people going about
their everyday business. It’s easy if you follow our guide to environmental portraits
GEAR CRAFT
Add a modern twist to your you’re ever asked to photograph a an ideal place to practise taking
THE MISSION portrait photography by getting business, or if you just want to add portraits because there’s plenty going
Photograph people in
out of the studio and into the big wide something fresh to your portrait work. on and the background is attractive
their everyday settings
world. Environmental portraits are The other great advantage to this and provides a narrative.
TIME NEEDED shots of people taken in their natural type of portrait is that your subject The key to getting good
■ 3 hours surroundings, the places where they will be far more relaxed in their environmental portraits right is
live, work or play. This documentary- everyday surroundings, so it’s easier finding a good balance between your
SKILL LEVEL style portrait photography is used by to get a natural pose from your model. subject and their backgrounds.
■ Anyone can do it
magazines and newspapers because It’s easy to take portraits with impact Remember that the person is still the
■ Some tricky aspects
including background detail and with just your Nikon D-SLR, kit lens focus of the shot, and the
■ Advanced technique
elements of someone’s environment and a bit of patience, and we’re going surroundings are just there to add
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED tells more of their story than a plain to show you how to do it. interest and hint at the subject’s
■ D-SLR ■ 18-55mm portrait shot. As well as dipping a toe We headed to Society Café in Bath personality and life.
kit lens ■ 10-20mm into documentary photography, to snap the coffee shop’s staff at Follow our guide for tips on how to
wide-angle lens environmental portraits are ideal if work. A busy environment like this is use props and different setups to build
a great collection of portraits, how to
A great advantage to this type of portrait is that your subject vary your shots with wide-angle
lenses and monochrome effects, and
will be far more relaxed in their everyday surroundings, so it’s how to pick the right settings for great
easier to get a natural pose from your model images every time.
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Take great environmental portraits GET YOUR
Don’t expect to leap in and get a perfect shot straight away – it will SETTINGS RIGHT
take time for your subjects to forget you’re there ■ Switch to ‘A’ mode
You’ll need to shoot handheld
01 Get candid and be prepared to move
Warm up by snapping quickly to grab great shots in
some candid shots of a busy working environment,
your subject going so shooting in manual mode
about their normal might not be the best choice.
routine – here, barista Switch to A mode so you’ll
NIKOPEDIA
Ash is making coffee. have control over your
Try not to be too aperture, but the camera will
intrusive – the less take care of other settings
your subject notices for you.
you’re there, the
more relaxed they’ll
feel. It takes people a
few minutes to stop 04 Perfectly posed
feeling awkward in When you’ve taken a few candid shots, ask your subject to
front of a camera. pose for you. Position them in their surroundings in a way
that keeps them in the foreground as the main focus of the
shot and keep chatting to them while you snap to keep their
face animated and natural. If the background feels too ■ Bump up your ISO
busy, dial down to an f-stop like f/3.5 to blur it. We’re photographing
indoors, so a higher ISO like
1600 lets us compensate for
the low light. The final
Q&A
images may be grainier, but
it’s worth it for the freedom
to move about and get
photos that are reliably
sharp each time.
02 Add props
Add a prop to show more personality and to give your
subject something to pose with, like Katie’s cake here. This
is also a great solution if you’re working with an uninspiring
background; tools of the trade or even pieces of uniform, 05 Widen up
GEAR CRAFT
such as a chef’s hat, instantly add interest and detail. For a different look, whip a wide-angle lens like our Sigma
10-20mm out of your camera bag and try including more of ■ Pick a narrow aperture
the surroundings in the shot. This is an especially effective You might normally use a
trick if there are multiple people milling around because super-shallow depth of field
you’ll be able to capture them all in one photo. in portraiture, but when
you’re taking environmental
06 Find the light portraits you need to avoid
knocking the background out
If you’re shooting indoors,
of focus completely. If you’re
like us, position your
using your kit lens, choosing
subject near a natural
a narrow aperture such as f/8
light source. We asked
will allow more of the
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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Self-portrait photos, or ‘selfies’, produced on a daguerreotype plate in to compose your photos carefully in
THE MISSION are huge on Facebook, Twitter 1839, was of early photographer advance and have freedom to move
Master self-portraits
and Instagram. Sharing what you’re Robert Cornelius’ own (rather about in front of the camera. When it
TIME NEEDED doing and where you’ve been with your grumpy-looking) face. comes to taking a shot from a
■ 3 hours friends and followers has become fun, Most photography students are now distance, a wireless remote shutter
easy and virtually instantaneous. regularly given self-portrait tasks and release makes focusing and shooting
SKILL LEVEL But self-portraits don’t have to be course work because it’s a brilliant a lot easier. Don’t worry too much if
■ Anyone can do it
shaky instant shots taken with a way for them to hone their skills. It you haven’t got one, though – we’ve
■ Some tricky aspects
smartphone. Since the earliest days of can seem a little intimidating to plan got all the information on how to take
■ Advanced technique
photography, self-portraits have been and take a shot of yourself, but our six shots with a self-timer or
KIT NEEDED taken seriously as a way of expressing simple, easy-to-set-up self-portraits intervalometer instead.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
■ Nikon D-SLR a photographer’s creativity, improving are a great way to get started. Ready to go to Selfie School?
■ Kit lens ■ Tripod camera skills and practising You don’t need more kit than your We’re going to look at how to set up a
■ Wide-angle lens techniques. In fact, one of the first D-SLR, a kit lens and a tripod, but the simple monochrome headshot that’s
■ Wireless remote photos ever taken of a human, latter is essential because you’ll need perfect for a CV, some silly ideas for
Facebook profiles that are a cut above
Since the earliest days of photography, self-portraits have the rest, and some more
unconventional self-portraits that
been taken seriously as a way of expressing a photographer’s play with props, weird angles and
creativity, improving camera skills and practising techniques other creative ideas.
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CAMERA SKILLS
SIX VARIATIONS Self portraits for every occasion THREE GREAT
Different photos suit different purposes, and you wouldn’t want the same picture WAYS TO TAKE
on your CV and your Facebook page, so have a go at all six of these styles THE SHOT
01 Classic ■ With a remote trigger
NIKOPEDIA
useful photo to have,
camera. Hold the remote out
and it makes the
of sight and half-press the
perfect addition to a
remote’s
CV, LinkedIn profile or
shutter
a business website.
button to
Sit or stand in front of
a plain wall with your 02 Go wide focus. Press fully
to take the shot.
camera on a tripod in Pep up your Facebook profile with a fun, cartoony, wide-angle
front of you. Siân shot. You could use a kit lens for this, but if you can get your
used a handheld hands on a wide-angle lens the distortion will be much more ■ Use interval timer mode
Manfrotto LED light to illuminate one side of her face, but pronounced. You can take the shot handheld because the Many Nikon models offer an
natural light from a window would work just as well. camera needs to be close to your face for the effect to work. interval timer mode in their
Shooting menu, enabling you
04 Add props to set up your camera to take
a shot every second or two.
Raid the fancy dress
You need to focus manually
box! The beauty of
on where you’ll be standing,
self-portraits is that
Q&A
so first set up the shot
you’re completely in
exactly as you want, using an
charge, and you can
object to stand in for you.
be as creative as your
Pick an interval time, select
imagination allows.
Now and move in front of
Think about how you
your camera.
want to express
Change your
your personality
pose slightly in
– perhaps you could
03 Shoot your reflection embody a favourite
every shot and
you’re far more
Shots taken in a mirror are a great way for photographers to film or hobby. Face
likely to end up
snap self-portraits because you can show off your Nikon! paints, hats and
with one that
Plus, focusing and composition are simple when you can see comedy glasses are
you like.
GEAR CRAFT
what you’re shooting. Flip the final image horizontally in all fantastic for transforming how you look and adding an
post-processing so that the Nikon logo reads the right way. element of humour to an otherwise plain selfie.
■ Try the self timer
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It’s possible to buy all manner of the lens and extend down onto the apertures, but if there are any experts
THE MISSION soft-focus filter attachments barrel. Fix it down with an elastic band in optics out there who know better,
■ Create a soft-focus
for your camera. Nikon even makes a and start shooting. You’ll need to get please let us know!
look on a shoestring
lens that allows you to defocus areas tights of the right thickness and take There are two reasons we really like
TIME NEEDED of a shot. But for this project we’re the colour into account, and be careful this effect. First, there’s no need to
■ 15 minutes using a cheeky old-fashioned not to ladder the fabric, but that really make any special adjustments to the
technique that works amazingly well. is all there is to it. camera settings – you can just fit the
SKILL LEVEL All you need is a pair of tights or The fine net pattern of the fabric tights and shoot normally. The only
■ Anyone can do it
stockings. You could use ones that the produces the soft-focus effect settings we changed were the sort
■ Some tricky aspects
owner doesn’t want any more, because the image is formed from the you’d use for portrait photography
■ Advanced technique
although they cost so little to buy that light that passes through the tiny anyway. Second, you can see just how
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED we’d recommend you go out and shop gaps between the threads. This may your pictures will come out in the
■ Kit lens ■ Scissors for a new pair. be related to the diffraction viewfinder as you shoot, and on the
■ 10-40 denier tights Take a pair of scissors, and carefully (softening) effects you get when LCD display immediately afterwards.
■ Elastic band cut out an area large enough to cover shooting with extremely narrow Photoshop has its advantages, of
course, but it’s really useful to be able
The fine net pattern of the fabric is what produces the to see these effects as you go along so
that you can modify your settings and
soft-focus effect because the image is formed from the light your composition to get the best
that passes through the tiny gaps between the threads possible results.
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP The stocking truth
You can get amazing results using this cheeky professional trick
NIKOPEDIA
01 Advice from an expert 02 A bit of a stretch
Our model Sam helped us pick out suitable hosiery for our You need to cut out a section from the tights which is at
soft-focus effect. The colour makes a difference, of course, least twice the size of the lens, so that you can fold it back
but the key factor is the thickness, or the ‘denier’ value. We along the barrel and secure it with an elastic band. An
settled on 15-denier tights, which gave the perfect soft- extra pair of hands is useful! Once the elastic band is in
focus look but still showed enough detail in Sam’s features. place, pull on the edges to smooth out the wrinkles.
SHOOTING
SETTINGS
■To make the most of the
hazy, soft-focus effect we set
the camera to A, or aperture-
Q&A
priority, mode and set our
18-70mm lens to its longest
focal length and maximum
aperture (f/4.5 at 70mm).
This gives shallow depth of
field so that the background
is thrown out of focus. We
used Auto White Balance
03 Shades of grey 04 Smile please because our tights were a
Our tights are a charcoal grey colour. The shade of grey Now we just shoot as normal. These 15 denier tights are neutral colour. If you use
won’t make any difference to the pictures – darker tones quite thin, and the autofocus on our D300S copes perfectly coloured tights, set a
will reduce the exposure, but the camera’s exposure meter well even though the image is a lot hazier. Normal portrait manual white balance preset
will compensate automatically. Different-coloured tights photography rules still apply: use a longer lens for a more to stop the camera trying to
GEAR CRAFT
will affect the colour balance, though. flattering perspective, and always focus on the eyes. ‘correct’ the tint.
increase the shadow or edges than the centre. and-skew Lensbaby Spark
highlight contrast. (£69/$80).
02 Screw-on diffuser 04 Defocus control
Hoya’s Diffuser filters It’s not a soft-focus lens as
(£35/$23 for 67mm version) such, but Nikon’s old but
are designed specifically fabulous 135mm f/2 DC
for taking soft-focus (£1050/$1300) creates
portrait photographs. controllable bokeh.
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CAMERA SKILLS
Get down
and dirty
NIKOPEDIA
Flowers make perfect subjects for this technique because the viewer expects to see them from above
03 Aim
straight up
Another method for
shooting a
worm’s-eye view
photo is by setting
the self timer and
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
placing your
camera lens-up on
01 Aim up from lower ground 02 Go wide the ground. This
Clumps of flowers are perfect for a attempting a Once you’ve mastered composing and shooting technique works
worm’s-eye effect. Look for lower ground to from a worm’s-eye view using a telephoto lens, really well with
position yourself on, because lying a little below switch to a wide-angle one, like our Tokina canopies of trees
the flowers will make composition easier. Make 12-24mm, for a different effect. When it’s used (see main image). If you’re
sure you get your camera right under your close up, a wide-angle lens will distort struggling to get the shot to work, try lying on
subject and shoot at an upwards angle. perspective for an even more dramatic look. your back and shooting upwards.
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fore
After
Landscape photography is all another option – search out a vantage be framed to fill gaps and create a
THE MISSION about finding incredible views. point that means you can include stronger overall composition.
■ Improve your
Spot one and your natural inclination something interesting in the bottom There’s no need for the object to
landscape photos
is probably to zoom out as far as you part of the picture. be big. An interestingly shaped rock
TIME NEEDED can, or fit a wide-angle lens to squeeze With wide landscapes, you can can give you all the interest you need,
■ 1 hour the whole glorious scene into one often move quite a long way without while a wild flower can be engineered
image. The trouble with this approach affecting how the distant view to fill the empty space in the frame,
SKILL LEVEL is that your compositions can end up appears in the frame. This means you even if it’s relatively small.
■ Anyone can do it
looking rather empty – the bottom have plenty of opportunity to hunt The secret to making the most of
■ Some tricky aspects
half of the picture is likely to have out the much-needed foreground smaller foreground fillers is to get as
■ Advanced technique
little of interest to look at. interest. Take a good walk around close to them as possible so you can
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED You can, of course, crop out the and s earch out the possibilities – farm use perspective to your advantage,
■ Kit lens or a lens with acres of grass, sand or bush, leaving gates, weathered trees and dry-stone making a stone or flower appear
a wide-angle setting yourself with the more interesting walls are perfect examples of what larger in the frame. To do this, get low
■ Tripod (optional) top half of the frame. But there’s you’re looking for, because they can – you might need to lie on the ground.
You now need to make sure your
An interestingly shaped rock can give you all the interest new foreground and the view on the
horizon are both in sharp focus. Follow
you need, while a wild flower can be engineered to fill the the steps here, and on your free video
empty space in the frame, even if it’s relatively small guide, to see how it’s done.
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GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Find and shoot the perfect scene
Discover what to look for and how to capture a landscape full of interest
NIKOPEDIA
01 Explore the scene 02 Get close to nature
Finding good foreground interest means doing a bit of Unless your foreground object is large, you’ll need to get
legwork! Don’t settle for the first spot where you find a close to it if it’s going to fill enough of the photo to make
clear view – just think of this as the backdrop for your shot. an impact. Get down low so you can use perspective to
You now need to look around for a suitable foreground that ensure that your foreground subject is large enough. Use
will work well and fill the bottom half of the frame. a t ripod so you can check and correct your framing.
WHATEVER
Q&A
THE WEATHER…
■ Don’t let the weather stop
you shooting! A grey sky
might make pictures look
drab if you shoot in colour,
but overcast conditions can
often create the best black-
03 Add depth to focus 04 Stay sharp and-white pictures. This is
A tripod will enable you to choose an aperture and ISO Your aperture should give you enough depth of field to particularly true if there’s
to g et the best results. Set the ISO to about 100 and then make everything in the frame look sharp. However, to plenty of detail in the cloud
use aperture priority (A) mode to set a narrow aperture of maximise the depth, focus on a spot just behind your cover, as on the day we went
GEAR CRAFT
about f/22. This might mean a slow shutter speed, but this foreground subject. You can check the sharpness by to the Mendips for the shots
won’t be an issue because the camera is stable. reviewing the image and zooming into it on-screen. shown on these pages.
to frame the subject and working in mono, look for angle, and pick out detail
add foreground interest. textures and patterns. from the whole view.
02 Man-made objects 04 Look for lines
Stiles, farm gates and Paths or walls can be shot
benches can be very so they lead across the
eye-catching, particularly frame. These are visually
if they’re in-keeping with intriguing, but you’ll need
the surroundings. to get in close to them.
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Taking your camera underwater that you can get results where you
THE MISSION can give you a completely new have a view both of the landscape and
■ To take frog’s-eye
perspective on the landscape, but it what’s lying beneath the water.
view landscape shots
would normally involve buying an This technique works best when you
TIME NEEDED expensive housing or waterproof use a wide-angle lens. You’ll also need
■ 30 minutes camera. This isn’t really a viable to set the camera to manual to get
option if you just want to have a go at consistent results. Once the camera is
SKILL LEVEL shooting underwater images, so here’s in the fish tank and the tank is
■ Anyone can do it
a low-cost, do-it-yourself alternative. submerged in the water you’ll have to
■ Some tricky aspects
Putting your camera inside a take plenty of photographs from
■ Advanced technique
watertight fish tank and using this as slightly different positions because
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED a waterproof housing may get you you won’t be able to see the viewfinder
■ Nikon D-SLR some odd looks, and it’s not for the or screen to compose your shot unless
■ Remote release faint-hearted. However, with a bit of you have a flip-out screen.
■ Fish tank care and preparation you can get Finally, remember to check (and
amazing images simply by shooting double check!) that your camera is
with the camera half-submerged in going to be safe once you get in the
Commercially made fish tanks are best
the water. There’s an element of water, and make sure that you have a because they’re designed to hold water
chance to the results, but with a bit of very firm grip on the fish tank before inside without leaking – and so will also
practice and a little luck you’ll find you start. hold it out without getting your Nikon wet
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Dunk your camera
Do your safety checks first – you don’t want to end up with a wet Nikon
NIKOPEDIA
01 Prepare the tank 02 Set up your camera
Before you start, check that the tank is watertight. Switch to manual focus and manual exposure. Set a
Without putting the camera in it, submerge it so that the narrow aperture, such as f/11, to give plenty of depth of
water reaches halfway up the sides. If this is successful, field, and set the shutter speed to give the correct
dry the outside of the tank and make sure that the side exposure. Using a wide-angle lens, set the focus to
that you’re going to shoot through is clean. around three metres. Finally, attach a remote release.
Q&A
KEEP IT STILL
This isn’t a technique for the
faint-hearted, so the first
time you use the fish tank
you’ll find it easier to hold it
steady if you simply float it
03 Final preparations 04 Go underwater on the top of the water,
Now put the camera into the tank. Keep the lens as close Enter the water slowly. You don’t want to stir up mud and rather than submerge it. You
to the glass as possible to reduce the effect of reflections dirt. Gently push the tank under the water until the lens should also only try this out
and marks on the glass. You may need to find something to is half-covered. Take several shots, keeping the tank on still, calm water because
keep the camera in position. Make sure that you can easily level. If you get water drops on the glass you may need to spray and waves can easily
GEAR CRAFT
reach the remote release while holding the tank. take it out of the water, clean it and start again. enter the top of the tank.
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Forget sports. If you want a real longer focal length with full-frame
THE MISSION test in action photography, try SLRs than you will with DX models.
Shoot birds of prey in
getting a great shot of a bird in flight. Location is probably just as
flight in the wild
Unlike at a stadium or race circuit, you important as the equipment and to get up on a hill, so that you can
TIME NEEDED have to track down your feathered settings that you use. We chose to shoot these big birds as they ride the
■ 3 hours subject in the first place, then try to shoot Red Kites because they can be thermals – and so that as they dip you
freeze its movements against a found reliably if you go to the right can frame them against fields or
SKILL LEVEL distracting background. This is a true spot (see opposite) in the UK. But trees. To avoid these backgrounds
■ Anyone can do it
challenge for both you as the finding the birds is not enough, you becoming distracting you need to use
■ Some tricky aspects
photographer and for your SLR. also need a good vantage point to your lens wide open, minimising the
■ Advanced technique
How close you can get will depend shoot them from to see them in flight. depth of field. This is a bonus, because
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED on the species, but with almost all You want to avoid shots of the birds you’ll need to use a fast shutter speed
■ Nikon D-SLR birds you’ll want to get the longest feeding on the ground, or against a (we recommend using 1/2000 sec).
■ Supertelephoto lens lens that you can sensibly afford – and bland, featureless white cloudscape. But the disadvantage of the narrow
due to the crop factor, you’ll need a To avoid a silhouette, your best bet is band of depth of field is that your
focusing will need to be even
The Red Kite is a British conservation success story. It was more accurate. A smooth panning
technique is needed to track the birds,
a common scavenger in towns and cities in Shakespearean along with the choice of the right
times, but had almost disappeared from the UK by the 1990s autofocus settings.
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Stack the odds of success in your favour IN SEARCH OF
Sharp frame-filling shots are not guaranteed – but these six steps will give you better odds THE RED KITE
The Red Kite is a British
conservation success story.
It was a common scavenger
in towns and cities in
Shakespearean times, but
had almost disappeared
from the UK by the 1990s.
Thanks to successful
NIKOPEDIA
reintroduction
programmes,
it can be
found in
significant
01 Location! Location! Location! 02 Big is best quantities if
you head to
You may chance upon an owl flying over your head, but to You need a long lens. Even though Red Kites have a five-foot
the right spot…
maximise your chance of getting a good shot you need to wingspan they will be some way from you when they fly past.
find a location where your chosen species is seen regularly. A lens with an effective focal length of 600mm (600mm on ■ Gigrin Farm, Wales
Spend some time on Google researching locations, and find an FX model, or 400mm on a DX SLR) is ideal. We used a Near Rhyader, this sheep
out where other photographers have had success. Sigma 150-500mm, set to 500mm, on a DX Nikon D300S. farm feeds the kites at a set
time, so you are guaranteed a
good show (www.gigrin.
co.uk), and there are hides
available to hire.
■ Chilterns, England
Q&A
The best places are in the
villages where the M40 cuts
through the Chilterns
(www.chilternsaonb.org).
We went to Aston Rowant
National Nature Reserve.
■ Argaty, Scotland
03 The need for speed 04 Manual exposure with Auto ISO Feeding station on the
Trossachs Bird of Prey Trail
The long lens and the fast-moving subject means you need Set both the aperture and shutter speed in manual mode,
(www.argatyredkites.co.uk).
to use a fast shutter speed, however dull the day. A speed of and then set the ISO to automatic. This means you get the
1/2000 sec is the bare minimum. But similarly, to ensure the precise settings you need even if the lighting changes
background is as blurred as possible, you should use your suddenly, and the camera adjusts the sensor sensitivity so
GEAR CRAFT
lens wide open (that’s f/6.3 on our Sigma 150-500mm). you don’t have to worry about under- or over-exposure.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
■ Advanced technique your Nikon and go searching for image. It’s a fun photographic trick in Bristol – but monuments, small
things that go bump in the night on that you can get really creative with, buildings, trees, and rock faces can all
KIT NEEDED cold dark evenings. We’re going show and it’s easy to master in a few hours. work really well too.
■ Shutter release
you how to capture statues after dark, A long exposure is essential, so a You don’t need a specific type of
■ Tripod ■ Torch
without using any harsh flash or fancy tripod is a must to keep your shots torch – any will do – although different
off-camera lighting set up. sharp, and a remote shutter release is kinds will produce different effects,
Light painting is essentially using a a big help against camera shake. You’ll and the more concentrated the beam
beam of light during a long exposure need a subject that will keep still for of light is, the more focused your lines
to ‘paint’ the surface of a subject, you, too. We used these very patient of ‘light paint’ will be.
you’ll need to tweak your shot. Switch your lens to auto focus and the longest exposure your camera allows
your settings as the ensure your focal point is sharp, then switch (usually 30 seconds). We started off with an
night gets darker. the lens to manual to lock the focus in place. f–stop of 8 and an ISO of 100.
06 Get creative
The beauty of light painting is that every shot
is different, and there are easy ways to get
creative once
you’ve mastered
the basics. Try
lighting from the
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
BEFORE
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
STONE SUBJECTS
■ If you’re keen to head
to your nearest cemetery
to hunt out angels like
ours, make sure you ask
permission to shoot first –
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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NIKOPEDIA
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Sometimes it is the simplest that can be identified by its that can be isolated against the sky or
THE MISSION pictures that work the best. And two-dimensional shape. by a plain bright backdrop – it’s much
■ Find suitable
in terms of composition and lighting, A strong outline is not enough: you harder to get a silhouette of a building
subjects for
shots don’t come any simpler than a also need to photograph the subject in a built-up area than of one that
silhouettes, and
silhouette. A silhouette is a subject from the right angle to accentuate stands in an open space.
expose them correctly
that has been photographed with this shape. A silhouette of a person, Although you can shoot silhouettes
TIME NEEDED backlight so that you only show its for instance, works better if you shoot in practically any weather, they look
■ 1 hour outline. As the subject is thrown into their profile rather than shooting more impressive when shot against
shadow due to the position of the them head on. For a bigger subject, a deep blue sky or a dramatic scarlet
SKILL LEVEL lighting, you can’t see texture, you such as a building, you’ll need to hunt sunset or sunrise.
■ Anyone can do it
can’t see its three-dimensional form, out the best angle to shoot from by The biggest problem with
■ Some tricky aspects
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
and you can’t even see its colour. What walking around it, and then possibly silhouettes is getting the silhouette
■ Advanced technique
you’re left with is the shape alone. coming back when the sun is in front to look dark enough. If you shoot in
KIT NEEDED To shoot a successful silhouette of you and behind the structure. To get auto modes, your camera will refuse
■ Nikon D-SLR you first need to choose a subject a clear silhouette, you need a subject to give you a perfect exposure. You
want the shadowy outline to be as
A strong outline is not enough: you need to shoot from the black as possible, and not a muddy
grey. Because of this you need to take
right angle to accentuate the shape. A silhouette of a person control of the settings yourself. Here’s
works best if you shoot them in profile rather than head on how to do just that…
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GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Take control of exposure for jet-black silhouettes
Avoid wishy-washy results by taking control of your camera’s contrast and compensation settings
SUNSET SUCCESS
■ A spectacular sunset can
be guaranteed to take most
NIKOPEDIA
people’s breath away. But the
glorious fiery skies can be
hard to capture successfully
in your photograph. The
secret is not to photograph
01 Find your position 02 Turn off Active D-Lighting the sunset alone – you
need a focus to the shot.
The best time for shooting silhouettes is at the beginning By default, your Nikon will have Active D-Lighting turned
You’re shooting into the sun
or end of the day, when the sun is low in the sky. You don’t on. This essentially adjusts the contrast in your picture,
anyway, so a silhouette is the
necessarily need to have the sun directly behind the helping you to pull maximum detail from shadows. For
obvious answer. So when you
subject, it just needs to be in front of you. Hunt out the shooting silhouettes, you need to turn this off. You’ll find
see a fantastic sunset and
camera angle that shows the best outline of your subject. the options for Active D-Lighting in the Shooting Menu.
grab your camera, your first
mission should be to find a
foreground subject that will
create a strong silhouette.
Q&A
03 Get up to speed 04 Exposure compensation
Set your camera to aperture priority mode, and use a With the settings you have now, silhouettes will not be
low ISO setting of between 100-200 to avoid noise. Set a dark enough, so you must use exposure compensation.
mid-aperture of around f/8. This should help minimise the You’ll typically need to dial in a setting of between -1
GEAR CRAFT
amount of chromatic aberration (colour fringing), which can to -3 EV (the more sky in the shot, the less negative
be a particular problem when shooting into the sun. compensation you’ll need).
on a bike. Even a lone tree brightness by partly hiding edge of your silhouette
makes a great subject. it behind the subject. glow, as with these sheep.
02 Turn sideways 04 Fill flash
Victorians loved silhouette Try a burst of flash to light
portraits, and it is a great up the foreground, while
way of photographing keeping the silhouette in
friends and family. Just the distance – as in this
shoot their profile! portrait of Editor Chris.
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CAMERA SKILLS
■ Some tricky aspects The RGB histogram is one of plots the brightness of each pixel in The RGB histogram displays
■ Advanced technique the best-kept secrets on your a graph from the deepest black on separate graphs for the three
Nikon D-SLR. This display of the left to the brightest white on the colours – Red, Green, and Blue.
KIT NEEDED multi-coloured graphs may look a bit right. This luminance histogram is These are the primary colours that
■ Nikon D-SLR
scientific, but it can be a godsend fine for most subjects, giving a your camera sees and measures, and
with colourful subjects… if you know useful way of checking the exposure the three colours that the trillions of
what to look for. of an image you’ve shot, and a way of different shades and hues your Nikon
Most photographers look at a assessing the range of tones, or can record are made up of. Let’s see
black-and-white histogram, which contrast, that you have in a scene. how these graphs can be used…
01 How old is your Nikon? 02 Make a colourful display 03 Spot the difference
You don’t need a top-of-the-range Nikon to get To get the RGB display, go to the Playback All four graphs will often be similar because
a more detailed RGB histogram. All recent Menu, then the Display Mode options, and most subjects are made up of a mixture of
Nikon SLRs from the D3000 upwards offer check the RGB histogram option. Now when colours. You may also see that the Luminance
GEAR CRAFT
the option of displaying one. Essentially, that you review your pictures, use the up or down (white) graph is almost always identical to the
means any SLR launched in the last five years arrows to toggle through the display modes Green graph, because the standard histogram
has this facility. But you need to switch it on… until you see the one with four coloured graphs. looks predominantly at the green channel.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
BEFORE
GEAR CRAFT
AFTER
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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NIKOPEDIA
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One of the biggest drawbacks of wider, ending in a panel of translucent The larger the softbox, the softer the
THE MISSION using flash is that it produces material that diffuses the light of the light will be, but it will also reduce the
■ To make your own
harsh, high-contrast light. Strong flash as it passes through. light that reaches your subject from
flashgun softbox
shadows and highlights aren’t ideal You can make a softbox at almost the flash, so bear this in mind when
TIME NEEDED for subjects like portraits and some no cost from items you’ve got around choosing the size of cardboard box.
■ 30 minutes still lifes. You can soften the light your house. All you need is a suitably Of course, there are some
from your flash by bouncing it off a sized cardboard box (flattened, but disadvantages to the DIY approach.
SKILL LEVEL wall or ceiling, but these aren’t always with the top and base flaps intact The main one is that the home-made
■ Anyone can do it
available, or convenient to use. What because you’ll make use of the folds), softbox isn’t as portable as
■ Some tricky aspects
you need is a way to soften the light some tin foil, some baking parchment commercially available versions
■ Advanced technique
your flash produces. (or greaseproof paper) and some tape. because it doesn’t fold down, but for
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED There are loads of commercially Apart from saving you a fair bit of indoor use this isn’t a problem.
■ Flashgun ■ Tape available diffusers, bounce cards and money, the other advantage of a Planning your design and marking it
■ Cardboard box ■ Foil softboxes. The latter have one end do-it-yourself softbox is that you can out carefully before cutting will make
■ Tissue/baking paper that fits over your flash, and then get make it as large or small as you like. your softbox easier to construct and a
much better fit to your flash, so take
You can make a softbox at almost no cost from items you’ve your time during that stage of the
build. The design we’ve come up with
got around your house … apart from saving you a fair bit of is pretty simple to follow, and only
money, you can make it as large or small as you like takes around 30 minutes to make.
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GEAR CRAFT
CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Get crafty
Find a large table or area with plenty of floor space, and build the box!
NIKOPEDIA
01 Measure it 02 Cut the cardboard
Measure the flashgun head. Mark its position on one end Once you’re happy with the design, cut away the excess
of the box – it needs to be in the centre of the finished cardboard. Next, trim the flaps at the opposite end of
softbox – going right up to the flap fold. Leaving a 2-3cm the box to make an opening for the diffuser material.
gap from the fold at the opposite end, draw a diagonal The sides should fit together to make a pyramid shape
line to meet the line marking the position of the flash. with a rectangular opening for the head of the flashgun.
DIY REFLECTOR
Q&A
For small-scale still life
subjects you’ll find that
reflectors are handy for
lightening the shadows. The
folding models from
manufacturers such as
Lastolite are often circular,
03 Add some foil 04 Final assembly so they can be difficult to
Before you finish the softbox you need to cut out some Now tape the softbox together using gaffer tape. Tape hold in position. It’s often
tin foil to match the shape of the interior. Glue it in both inside and outside of the openings to make it as easier and more convenient
position using a glue stick-type adhesive. The foil will solid as possible. Finally, cut out a piece of greaseproof to make your own from white
ensure that you don’t lose too much of the power of the paper the same size as the opening at the front of the or silver card, which you can
GEAR CRAFT
flash from using the softbox. softbox, and tape this in place. simply prop in position.
back, effectively increasing most effective when there You do need a free hand or there are plain surfaces to
the size of the light source. are lots of clamp to hold the diffuser. reflect light back.
plain
surfaces
04 Buy a softbox
These work just like the
to bounce
home-made version, but
light back
look more ‘professional’,
into the
and fold up for easier
shadows.
storage and transportation.
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AFTER
NIKOPEDIA
BEFORE
Q&A
CTO is go!
of the reasons that simple flash fit an orange filter to your flash –
images don’t look great is that the this gel is known as CTO (or Colour
colour of flash is so different from Temperature Orange). With this gel
the ambient lighting. Shoot indoors in place you then turn the white
at a party or out on the high street, balance to its Incandescent setting,
and the background will look and use the flash
Neutralise orange backgrounds with a gel unnaturally orange, due to the as usual.
GEAR CRAFT
THE MISSION
■ Use colour correction
gels for more natural-
STEP BY STEP Use an orange CTO gel on your flash
looking flash portraits Correct colour temperature mismatches when using flash – indoors and out!
TIME NEEDED
■ 15 mins
SKILL LEVEL
■ Anyone can do it
■ Some tricky aspects
■ Advanced technique
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED
■ Nikon D-SLR
■ Flashgun (or pop-up) 01 Get gelled up! 02 Stick on an orange 03 Set white balance
■ Orange CTO gel Coloured gels are available in rolls You put the orange-coloured CTO gel Adding the gel corrects the colour
from pro dealers and stage lighting over the diffuser panel on the flash temperature of your flash from
specialists. Companies such as head. You can use masking tape or a daylight to tungsten. Make sure your
Rosco, Honl and Rogue make kits of rubber band to hold in place if taking SLR doesn’t give you completely
pre-cut gels for photographers. You lots of shots, but holding it over the orange pictures by adjusting White
can also buy them cheaply on eBay. flash is easier for one-off shots. Balance to the Incandescent setting.
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Take control of
INCLUDES
FREE
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Even on a sunny day, a flashgun ordinary flash, the lens itself casts the forensic stars of TV’s CSI, or in
THE MISSION is a useful accessory for a shadow across the picture. The orthodontists’ surgeries.
■ Learn how to use
the close-up photographer. As solution is to use a specialist macro There are two types available.
ring flash for close-ups
you carefully frame flowers and flashgun known as a ring flash, with A genuine ring flash uses a circular
TIME NEEDED butterflies with your macro lens, it’s the flash tubes attaching to the front flash tube to provide even lighting
■ 20 minutes all too easy for you and your camera of the lens. This means there are no around the subject. The advantage is
to cast a shadow across the very thing problems with shadows created by that it creates doughnut-shaped catch
SKILL LEVEL you want to shoot. What’s more, the the camera. The unit also creates lights in eyes if you use it for portraits.
■ Anyone can do it
flash gives you more scope to use the even lighting to maximise detail The alternative is a twin-flash design,
■ Some tricky aspects
narrow apertures that will ensure you and c olour in the subject. which uses two small flash tubes
■ Advanced technique
get enough depth of field to keep the Ring flashes aren’t just for keen on opposite sides of the lens. These
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED whole subject sharp. nature-watchers, though – they’re usually have large, semi-circular
■ D-SLR ■ Macro lens Unfortunately, pop-up flash or a a must-have for many medical and diffusers to mimic the all-round
■ Ring flash ■ Filter high-power hotshoe gun is of little scientific photographers. You’ll lighting of a genuine ring flash. The
ring adaptor help. When you’re up close with an often s ee them in the hands of advantage is that you can vary each
tube’s output independently, so you
A genuine ring flash uses a circular flash tube to provide even can create a side-lit effect that can
look better than the flat lighting of a
lighting around the subject, and it will create doughnut-shaped genuine ring flash. Now let’s see how
catch lights in your subjects’ eyes if you use it for portraits ring flashes should be used…
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STEP BY STEP One ring flash to rule them all
A specialist macro flash will light up the smallest subjects in an even-handed way
NIKOPEDIA
01 Ring flash anatomy 02 Evenly does it
Most ring flashes have four components. The capacitor
and control unit fit onto the hotshoe of your camera.
Typically, macro ring flashes have two tubes – one on
each side of the lens, behind semi-circular diffusers.
WATCH THE
Via a lead, they link to the circular unit containing the These can be set to provide the same amount of lighting, BACKDROP
flash tubes and a diffuser. The flash tube clips onto the providing shadowless illumination of the subject that’s
■ When you’re shooting
front of the lens using a screw-on adaptor. just in front of the lens.
flowers at an ultra-close
range, you have very little
depth of field, even if you
use a narrow aperture
such as f/22. Therefore,
choose the spot that
Q&A
you focus on with care!
Irritatingly, backgrounds
can be distracting even
if they’re out of focus, so
watch out for these too.
Look for an angle that gives
you a uniform, uncluttered
backdrop to shoot your
03 Power up 04 Vary the ratio close-up study against.
Ring flashes have a guide number of about 15 (m/ISO100), As you would expect, you can vary the power of a ring
so are no more powerful than pop-up flashes. However, flash automatically or manually. However, you can
because they’re used much closer to the subject, this also alter the strength of the two tubes independently.
GEAR CRAFT
is more than enough power to let you use the narrow Using a ratio of 4:1, say, rather than 1:1, will give your
apertures that are needed for many macro pictures. images a more three-dimensional lighting effect.
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U2
Q&A
Nikon cameras have got a lot of choice can mean that it takes you a
THE MISSION cleverer over the years, but they good minute or two to set up your
Create your quick-
have also got a lot more complex. camera with all the right options for
access settings banks
Look down the list of menu options your next shoot. Fortunately, some full set of custom settings, shooting
for different subjects
that you have on your SLR and there SLRs in Nikon’s range provide some options and exposure preferences
TIME NEEDED are literally thousands of different great shortcuts for getting you from with just the turn of one button. They
■ 10 minutes permutations for how you could set up one preferred setup to another are a godsend for those that shoot a
your camera. without dozens of button presses. variety of different subjects, or
SKILL LEVEL Of course, you can ignore most of You get a much better facility for regularly use specialist setups. And
■ Anyone can do it
these options, but some are very memorising your favourite settings if they can have unexpected benefits.
■ Some tricky aspects
useful for specific types of shot. you have a D7000, D7100, D600 or The two pictures above, for
■ Advanced technique
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Customising the autofocus is much D610. These four cameras have two instance, look as if they need similar
KIT NEEDED more important with action subjects, special exposure modes on the main setups. But as one is shot with studio
■ Nikon D7000, for instance, than if you are a dial, labelled U1 and U2. These User flash as a light source, and the other
D7100, D600 or D610 landscape specialist. But this amount setting modes allow you to switch a with daylight. The exposure mode,
white balance, default aperture and
It takes you a good minute or two to set up your SLR for your much more need to be changed to
switch from one type of lighting to
next shoot. Luckily, some Nikons have shortcuts to get from one another. So even here the U1 and U2
set of settings to another without dozens of button presses modes prove useful.
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Set up your U1 and U2 modes CUSTOM &
It takes a bit of effort to get your User modes set up, but they save time in the long run SHOOTING BANKS
■ Switch to ‘A’ mode
Pro models like the D800
don’t have the U1 and U2
modes, but they do have an
alternative system for
memorising ‘banks’ of your
preferred settings from the
Shooting menu and Custom
NIKOPEDIA
Settings menu. This split
system is less than perfect,
but can be well worth making
use of for the types of
photography you do the most
01 Get ready for the light 02 Essential exposure settings – or the ones that make you
do the most menu shuffling.
You need to make a surprising number of changes to the First set your exposure mode. For studio flash we want the
Make sure you activate the
camera setup to switch from studio lighting to natural manual mode, so turn the dial to M. Set a shutter speed of
Extended Menu Banks in the
light. We’re going to save settings for off-camera flash around 1/100 sec and an aperture of f/11 at ISO100, so every
Shooting menu, so you can
lighting under the U2 user mode, and options for the less time you use the U2 mode you start with these settings. Set
save metering modes and
technical daylight shots under the U1 option. white balance, AF and metering preferences too.
exposure modes as long as
the actual menu
preferences. My D800 has a
shooting menu for studio
photography, for instance,
and another for sport, which
Q&A
saves my preferences. And I
have a Custom settings bank
with all the wireless flash
controls optimised for
strobist flash. You can set up
to four banks for each menu.
Nikon models that have this
facility include the D200,
03 Customise the menu 04 Get set to memorise D300, D300S, D700, D2X, D3,
Now go through the Shooting and Custom Settings modes When you’re happy with this basic camera setup for your D3S, D3X and D4.
to choose your studio preferences. We choose 39 autofocus studio work (or any favourite subject), go to the Setup Menu,
points active – it means you can focus on a point in the shot scroll down to Save user settings, press OK, select U2 and
without having to move the tripod head. We also set EV then press OK to save. Now every time we turn the main dial
GEAR CRAFT
steps in third-of-a-step intervals for precise exposure. to U2, our camera is set up with our studio settings.
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Spotlight on snoots
Create theatrical lighting with your hotshoe flash by controlling the spread of light
with a simple add-on tube. Here’s how to create this dramatic special effect
GEAR CRAFT
A flashgun is always a handy wall. Even though most add-on background is much further away the
THE MISSION tool to have in your camera bag, strobes have a zoom head that allows wide coverage of the flash tube isn’t
■ Narrow the spread of
but it can often be like using a you to narrow the spread of light, the an issue, because the light power falls
light from a flashgun
sledgehammer to crack a nut. For this flashgun will still light up the majority off so sharply with distance. With a
TIME NEEDED reason, you almost always need extra of the frame. A snoot restricts the portrait, if the wall or backdrop is just
■ 20 minutes add-on accessories to turn the flash spread to a narrow beam, so that behind the subject, the background
into a useful creative effect. some areas of the frame are not lit at becomes as well lit as the person. The
SKILL LEVEL The flash accessory with the most all by the flash. It’s an effect that’s not result is a cold, analytical shot that
■ Anyone can do it
unusual name has to be the snoot. just useful for portraits, it can also be lacks any atmosphere. Use a snoot
■ Some tricky aspects
This is just a long tube or funnel that used for still-life arrangements, and just the person’s face is lit,
■ Advanced technique
attaches to your flashgun, converting where you only want one thing on your creating a much more theatrical
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED it from a floodlight into a spotlight, table top to be highlighted. effect. Commercially made snoots are
■ Nikon D-SLR picking out a small area of the scene. A snoot is of most use in available to fit most add-on flashguns,
■ Flashgun ■ Snoot A snoot is very handy when you’re circumstances where the background but there’s no need to spend money on
■ Wireless trigger photographing portraits against a is very close behind the subject. If the one to get this cool effect, because
you can make your own light funnel
A snoot is just a long tube or funnel that attaches to very easily. Whether you buy one or
make one, there are some things to
your flashgun, converting the flash from a floodlight into watch out for to get successful
a spotlight, picking out just a small area of the scene results with a minimum of fuss…
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CAMERA SKILLS
STEP BY STEP Take a moody, spotlit strobist portrait
Set the exposure manually for a dark background, then pop just enough flash for drama!
TRIGGER OPTIONS
■ You can use a snoot with
the flashgun mounted on the
NIKOPEDIA
hotshoe, but you get more
dramatic results if the flash
is used off-camera to create
a side-lit effect. Nikon’s own
Creative Flash system can be
01 Backs against the wall 02 Base exposure used with some flashguns,
A snoot is particularly useful when there’s little option With off-camera flash it’s wise to use manual exposure but it isn’t reliable in bright
but for the subject to stand or sit near the backdrop you’re mode, particularly when lighting just a small part of the light. A wired flash sync
using. It’s the best option if you don’t want the whole frame. Settings of 1/125 sec at f/6.3 at ISO200 are a good cord is another option, but
background to be as well lit as the person. The theatrical starting point. Take a test shot of the backdrop without this may not be long enough
lighting effect is very well suited to male portraiture. flash (as above) to see that the shot looks dark enough. to give a full range of flash
positions. The best solution
is to use a two-part radio
trigger. Low-cost options
are available on eBay, and
top pro options include the
Pocket Wizard range. We
Q&A
used a mid-priced Hähnel
Combi TF (£50, $90).
GEAR CRAFT
in the right position (we used a tripod). reduce the power, or if too dark increase it!
on with Velcro strap. Also notebook or newspaper, or used with a snoot. A set
works as a bounce card. a piece of card. from Rogue costs £40/$50.
02 Interfit Strobie 04 Use a Pringles tube
Metal snoot with add-on This potato chips can was
grid, just one part of a just the right size to make a
bargain kit of Strobie flash snug-fitting snoot for our
portrait accessories (£103, Nikon SB-900 flashgun.
$135) from Interfit. You need to cut the end off!
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CAMERA SKILLS
the only option. and making sure that the camera is level and the sensor is vertical, frame
your basic image. But at this stage the shot won’t include the top of the
To find the right tilt-shift
subject, and there will be too much foreground, so you shift the lens
lens for you, see our lens upwards, which will alter the framing of the shot to include the top of the
tests in the next chapter subject while keeping everything straight in the frame.
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
02 Panoramic shots 03 Avoiding obstructions or reflections
Using the shift movement you can produce a series of images that can Sometimes it’s impossible to position the camera to avoid obstructions
easily be stitched together in software such as Photomerge in Photoshop. such as fences appearing in the frame. However, it’s often possible to use
Q&A
Once you’ve positioned the camera, all you need to do is to take three shots, the shift movement to alter the viewpoint enough for the obstruction to be
one with the lens shifted left, one centred and one right. This technique just out of the frame. The shift can also be handy for avoiding including a
can’t produce the extremely wide panoramas that can be done by rotating reflection of yourself when shooting shiny surfaces. You simply move to
the camera, but because the camera is in a fixed position they are easy to one side (or up or down) and then compensate for this change in viewpoint
set up and stitch together. by shifting the lens to let you recompose the shot without the reflection.
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with your PC
Use Nikon Camera Control Pro 2 and you can save images direct to your hard
drive, get a live preview and control your camera from your computer
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Two of the main reasons on your subject. Another advantage 30-day free trial (http://nikonimglib.
THE MISSION commercial studios use of controlling the camera from your com/nccp/). After the trial period
■ To get set up for
tethered shooting are that it enables computer is that once you’ve set it you’ll have to buy a licence key if you
tethered shooting
faster workflow and gives you the up, there’s no danger of moving or want to carry on using it, though, and
TIME NEEDED ability to store images directly to your jogging the camera because all of the that costs £140 ($150). There are some
■ 30 minutes computer’s hard drive. However, there settings are done remotely. This is other software options available, such
are several other advantages that are perfect for taking completely as Capture One 6 Pro and Adobe
SKILL LEVEL even more useful in your home studio. shake-free shots and precise framing Lightroom 4, although neither offer
■ Anyone can do it
First, tethered shooting gives you if you want to overlay images or the live view preview.
■ Some tricky aspects
the ability to check the focus on the construct HDR images. Using the Camera Control Pro 2
■ Advanced technique
live view preview display on the You’ll need special software to software is pretty simple, but you do
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
KIT NEEDED computer screen rather than the allow you to control your camera from need to make a few choices before you
■ Nikon D-SLR smaller viewfinder or rear LCD screen. your computer. Camera Control Pro 2 start shooting. In the Storage tab you
■ Nikon Camera This preview also allows you to check is Nikon’s own option, and is available can choose the image quality settings,
Control Pro 2 software the shadows, lighting and reflections to download from Nikon’s website as a and also whether to record the images
on the computer, memory card or
Tethered shooting gives you the ability to check the focus both. Then you need to go to the Tools
menu and use the Download Options
on the live view preview display on the computer screen rather to select the folder on your computer
than the smaller viewfinder or rear LCD screen to save your images.
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STEP BY STEP Get connected
How to set up your camera and subject, and take your first tethered shot
NIKOPEDIA
01 Set up the camera 02 Connect to the computer
While you can control your Nikon remotely when tethered, To connect the camera to the computer you use the
you can’t move it or change the focal length of a zoom lens. standard USB lead supplied with the camera. These leads
Because of this you first need to position the camera on a are normally around 1.5 metres long, which should be long
tripod and frame the shot. It’s also worth making sure that enough for most home studios, but you can buy longer
the battery is fully charged. leads if you need to shoot from further away.
Q&A
03 Control the camera 04 Preview the image
Once the Camera Control Pro software is opened you first To show the live view image preview on your computer
need to go to Camera on the top menu and make sure that monitor, click the button marked LV. This will bring up a
the Enable Controls on Camera Body is deselected. After new window. Similar to using Live View on the camera, you
that you can use the two Exposure tabs to operate all of the can move the focus point around the screen by simply
GEAR CRAFT
normal camera controls. clicking the preview image.
LEAD ON
■ The length of the standard
USB lead can be limiting
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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Page 206
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
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ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 213
CAMERA SKILLS
Essential accessories
The A-Z of Nikon lenses ..................................194
Standard zoom lenses....................................206
Prime lenses ........................................................207
NIKOPEDIA
Wide-angle DX lenses .....................................208
Wide-angle FX lenses .....................................209
Telephoto lenses ................................................210
Superzoom lenses ............................................. 212
Macro lenses .........................................................213
Tilt-shift lenses ...................................................214
Fisheye lenses .....................................................215
Kit bag essentials ..............................................216
Q&A
Heavyweight tripods ........................................218
Lightweight tripods ..........................................219
Flashguns ..............................................................220
Image editors........................................................221
Printers ................................................................... 222
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Page 221
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
Page 219
2015 The Ultimate Nikon SLR Handbook: Volume 3 193
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Q&A
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Image: Merca Michael
CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Your lenses are the eyes of your camera.
We show you how you can use them to
change the way you see and capture
the world around you…
Q&A
ven the most versatile lens pages provide a quick introduction to
E has its limits, and before
long you’ll find you need to
the features and effects you can
expect from the whole range of lens
invest in new lenses to get more from types you can buy for your Nikon.
your photography. The next ten Following this you’ll find our pick of
the best Nikon lenses in nine
categories. Don’t visit your camera
dealer before reading this essential
guide from start to finish!
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ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
ngle of view dramatic rock formations and the hot air – the shorter the focal length of a lens, the
B This is a Japanese
word used to
describe the precise
the lens. Digital SLRs have larger
sensors than compacts, which
leads to shallower depth of field
quality or appearance of out-of- and more pronounced and
focus areas in a picture. It’s controllable ‘bokeh’ effects.
sometimes used to describe blur
in general, but that’s an over-
simplification – there’s much more
to blur than that! The appearance
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
onverging lines
NIKOPEDIA
horizontal, such as a road or
railway tracks leading into the
distance, or the edges of this pier.
This shot works because the
camera has been positioned in the
middle of the pier to preserve its
perfect symmetry. The camera has
also been tilted upwards, which
works here, but sometimes can
look like a mistake, when capturing
a tall building, for instance, where
the effect is less effective.
Q&A
epth of field
GEAR CRAFT
D Depth of field is the zone of sharp
focus in front of the camera.
Telephoto lenses and wide lens
apertures give the shallowest depth of field, so
that there’s only a narrow plane of sharp focus ffective focal length
in the picture. However, landscape
photographers often want as much depth of
field as possible, so that both nearby objects
E The focal length of a lens is
used to work out its angle of
view and what kind of
and the distant horizon are sharp. You can photography it’s suited for, but the size of
achieve this with narrow lens apertures and the camera sensor makes a difference. DX
wide-angle lenses. The smaller sensors in Nikon DX D-SLRs
FX
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isheye lenses
CAMERA SKILLS
yperfocal distance
NIKOPEDIA
right at the far limit of the depth of field, and bring the
near limit of depth of field as close to the camera as
possible. You can use a smartphone app to do the
calculations for you, or just look up hyperfocal
distances on a table. Here’s an example for a DX-format
Nikon D-SLR using a focal length of 18mm.
f/4 2m Infinity 4m
f/8 1m Infinity 2m
Q&A
ris oiner
GEAR CRAFT
series of pictures that overlap by
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ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
to your camera to help you get started. aperture, which drops to f/5.6 at their
The build quality may not be quite up to longest zoom settings.
the standard of Nikon’s other lenses,
but Nikon’s kit lenses do actually
perform very well, and while you can
replace them with better-specified
‘standard zooms’ (see our picks of the
crop on page 206), many people are
perfectly satisfied with the
quality and don’t bother.
Current Nikon DX D-SLRs
come with one of two kit
lenses: the Nikon
18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR
found on the entry-level
D3000- and D5000-
series cameras, and the
Q&A
ive View
CAMERA SKILLS
acro lens
NIKOPEDIA
you need to be careful to get super-sharp
close-ups. You should always use a tripod where
possible, not just to prevent camera shake but
to keep the camera locked precisely in position.
The depth of field available at close focusing
distances is tiny, and any slight camera
movement can send your subject out of focus.
You can solve depth-of-field problems by
shooting your subjects ‘head on’ so that they’re
on a single plane of focus rather than being
angled away from the camera. This is the
technique used for this photo of a butterfly
with its wings outstretched. Generally
speaking, for macro wildlife shots, you should
always focus on the eyes of the creature, just
like you would with regular wildlife shots.
Q&A
pen wide! accuracy that the human eye would find
N Lens makers add special coatings But times have changed! Today’s digital We love this shot of a simple park
GEAR CRAFT
to their lenses. A coating zoom and prime lenses are often razor bench. If all the detail on the bench had
minimises internal reflections sharp at or near their maximum apertures, been sharp it would only have a fraction
within a lens, and maximises light transmission and modern AF systems can focus with an of the impact.
through it so that the image is as bright as
possible. This is why modern lenses deliver such
clarity and contrast. Each lens maker has its
own formula for lens coating, and Nikon’s latest
invention is its Nano Crystal Coat. This is a
unique ‘granular’ coating using microscopic
particles too small to interfere with the image,
but with the ability to reduce the amount by
which the light is refracted
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CAMERA SKILLS
inhole photography
uality control
ounded diaphragm
CAMERA SKILLS
uper-telephoto
NIKOPEDIA
those closer to the camera.
They also appear closer
together. Telephotos are
particularly effective when
shooting cityscape detail
shots with buildings on
several planes.
ilt-shift lens
Q&A
two key movements these lenses provide.
The tilt movement swivels the lens
sideways, up or down, which has the effect
of changing the plane of focus. You can use
it to keep the whole of an object or a scene
sharp, even when it’s at an oblique angle to
the camera, and when stopping the lens
down to its minimum aperture still doesn’t
provide enough depth of field. This harbour
shot was taken using the tilt mechanism
while pointing the camera downwards,
creating the popular model-village look.
See page 186 for more on this technique
GEAR CRAFT
and other tricks you can achieve using
tilt-shift lenses.
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V filters
ignetting
ide-angle lens
CAMERA SKILLS
-factor
NIKOPEDIA
magnification. The x1.4 converter means a loss of 1
f-stop, so an f/2.8 lens becomes an f/4 lens. The x1.7
converter reduces the aperture by 1.5 stops, and the
x2 converter brings a two-stop penalty. There are
other limitations. Nikon’s teleconverters can only be
fitted to its fast aperture, professional telephoto
lenses, and if you use Sigma lenses, say, you’ll need
a Sigma teleconverter instead. Caveats aside,
teleconverters offer an extremely affordable way
to take telephoto shots.
Q&A
need, however, is a steady hand and a could try putting it on a tripod. For an
willingness to experiment. The idea is added twist (literally), try turning the
that you quickly zoom the lens from its camera as you zoom. This is a tricky
shortest to its longest focal length technique to master, but if you get it
while the exposure is being made. This right you produce a ‘spiral’ zoom burst
means you’ll need shutter speeds of half which is even more intriguing. The
a second or longer to give yourself time great thing
to zoom in, so you can’t expect all your about digital
ellow filter shots to come out sharp. But what you SLRs is that you
GEAR CRAFT
where the yellow colour blocks some of the light from You can try this out on a range of and it won’t cost
blue skies, which gives them a darker tone, but doesn’t subjects, from portraits to flower shots. you a penny!
affect the appearance of leaves and grass. They’re not
used so much these days because digital sensors work
in a different way – there’s no advantage in filtering the
colours before the image is recorded, and it’s easier to
shoot in colour and apply the ‘filter’ effect on the
computer later on.
But why limit the good old yellow filter to black-and-
white work? Here, it’s been used to add a warm, retro
tone to this Instagram-style colour picture. It’s given
the colours a faded, old-style look without the need for
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A top-flight lens, complete with stabilisation – Unbeatable zoom range and upmarket features
that’s something of a bargain at this price make this a desirable DX-format lens
Tamron is best known and the build quality feels Reigning supreme in is true of the dual-mode optical
for its ‘budget’ lenses, excellent. The design includes terms of zoom range, the stabiliser. It includes normal
but a couple of recent designs a weather seal on its metal Nikon 16-85mm gives you extra and active modes, available via
demonstrate its commitment to mounting plate. at both the wide-angle and a switch on the lens barrel. The
the enthusiast and professional telephoto ends, with effective latter is great for shooting from
markets. One of these is the SP Performance focal lengths of 24mm and vibrating platforms, like planes,
70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD, Sharpness is excellent across 127mm respectively. Telephoto trains and automobiles.
the other is this 24-70mm. the zoom range, and a close reach doesn’t match that of
Similarities include a constant match to the Nikon 24-70mm. the 18-105mm kit lens, but the Performance
GEAR CRAFT
f/2.8 aperture, ring-type This is true not only for centre increase in angle of view at the Autofocus is fast, accurate and
ultrasonic autofocus and sharpness but also towards short end is noticeable. Build practically silent, and features
Tamron’s proprietary four-stop extreme corners of images, quality is superior to DX-format full-time manual override,
optical stabiliser, or ‘Vibration even at very wide apertures. kit lenses as well, feeling almost which is precise in operation.
Compensation’ system. Indeed, The Tamron produces slightly as robust as in the more pro- Sharpness is generally excellent
this is the only FX standard lens greater barrel and pincushion oriented Nikon 17-55mm. even at the widest available
we’ve seen with a stabiliser. distortion, but differences are Advanced features include apertures, which is useful.
The Tamron has a large front GLIÀFXOWWRVSRWLQPRVWLPDJHV ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, However, the sharpness drops
element and an oversized 82mm At this price the Tamron is very which is absent from cheaper off a little at the longest end of
ÀOWHUWKUHDG,W·VDFKXQN\OHQV good value for money. lenses in this category. The same the zoom range.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
FEATURES FEATURES
BUILD QUALITY BUILD QUALITY
IMAGE QUALITY IMAGE QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL OVERALL
The Tamron delivers superb image WE SAY… It’s a fabulous lens that’s This Nikon lens is big on image quality and WE SAY… If you want extra zoom
quality for an excellent price also extremely good value zoom range, but sharpness could be better range, this is the lens to go for
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PRIME PRIME
NIKOPEDIA
IN
CLASS
Q&A
A fast yet affordable 85mm lens, this fast This chunky option is a heavyweight in
prime is refreshingly lightweight as well its class, and it’s strong on features too
Considering that Nikon’s some of the competition isn’t In many respects, the Autofocus speed is a fair bit
85mm f/1.4G lens costs much of an issue. In practice, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 goes faster than on Nikon 35mm
around £1200 ($1650), this you can get a really tight depth toe-to-toe with the Nikon and 50mm lenses, yet matches
f/1.8 edition looks a bargain at RIÀHOGDWDIRFDOOHQJWKRI f/1.4G. Both feature a rounded, Nikon lenses for retaining a high
less than a third of the price. 85mm when using f/1.8. nine-blade diaphragm, ring-type degree of accuracy.
That said, this lens has more in ultrasonic autofocus and a fast
common with Nikon’s 50mm Performance f/1.4 aperture. In the details, Performance
f/1.8 than the 50mm f/1.4 Sharpness and contrast are very however, there are some notable As with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4,
when it comes to features. good, right into the corners differences. sharpness is uninspiring when
GEAR CRAFT
For example, it has seven of the frame at just f/2.8. The Sigma has a rear-focus shooting at the widest aperture.
rather than nine blades in its Autofocus is a fair bit speedier system in which the front However, the Sigma takes longer
diaphragm. Even so, there’s than most other prime lenses, HOHPHQWLVÀ[HG,W·VPXFKODUJHU to sharpen up as you go through
still plenty to get excited about. too. Bokeh is wonderfully soft and heavier than the Nikon, the aperture range, only really
The front element remains and smooth. Despite only having having a 77mm rather than getting into its stride at f/4.
FRPSOHWHO\À[HGGXULQJIRFXVLQJ a seven-blade diaphragm, PPÀOWHUWKUHDGDQGWLSSLQJ The plus side is that bokeh
and gives fast, ring-type defocused highlights remain the scales at 505g compared is particularly smooth, with
ultrasonic performance. quite well rounded down to with the Nikon’s 280g. As such, minimal fringing and very good
The fact that this lens is f/2.8. Overall, this lens is a truly it feels more like an 85mm lens retention of circular shapes for
two-thirds of a stop slower than excellent buy for the money. when mounted on a camera. defocused highlights.
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Sharpness and contrast are impressive, WE SAY… Great handling and Colour fringing around defocused edges is WE SAY… Delivers the best bokeh
even at the widest f/1.8 aperture sharpness, with beautiful bokeh kept to an absolute minimum of any 50mm lens we’ve seen
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IN WIDE-ANGLE DX WIDE-ANGLE DX
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
It’s much pricier than the competition. Why does The Sigma ultra-wide-angle offers more
the Nikon DX-format lens deserve its price tag? refinements than it’s nearest competitors
Expensive for a DX-format impaired. Handling is good, This lens has been on the doesn’t rotate during autofocus,
ultra-wide with a variable with smooth, precise operation. market for eight years and so you don’t need to worry
aperture through its zoom still holds its own against the about fouling its action during
range, the Nikon costs nearly Performance newer, more expensive, Sigma handheld shooting.
twice as much as the Sigma 10- Contrast is good even at the 10-20mm f/3.5. It’s smaller,
20mm. The build quality feels as widest available apertures, and lighter, has a 77mm rather Performance
robust as that of the Sigma lens, sharpness is maintained into WKDQPPÀOWHUWKUHDGDQGLV This lens is actually a little
although the Nikon also has a the corners of the frame. The nearly £100 cheaper. It lacks a sharper than Sigma’s pricier,
weather-seal ring around its lens wasn’t an over-achiever constant aperture throughout constant-aperture counterpart,
GEAR CRAFT
mounting plate. This is lacking for sharpness in our lab tests at the zoom range, but it features especially at the short end of
on most other DX-format lenses f/8, but it is consistent across PRVWRIWKHVDPHUHÀQHPHQWV the zoom range. Distortions are
in this category. the aperture range and gives including fast, near-silent, ring- quite similar between the two,
Moreover, only the Nikon lens superb real-world results. Barrel type ultrasonic autofocus. although this cheaper model has
has its zoom ring at the forward distortion at the 10mm focal The autofocus system comes less distortion at mid-zoom focal
end of the lens, and the focus length is typical for a wide- with full-time manual override lengths. The only real downside
ring towards the rear. This puts angle lens, but being a genuine and increases the handling is that colour fringing is fairly
the focus ring within easy reach, Nikon lens, there’s an option for qualities of the lens compared pronounced at the short end, but
and because it doesn’t rotate automatic correction in recent with the Tamron equivalent. that’s automatically corrected in
during autofocus, handling isn’t Nikon bodies. This is because the focus ring current Nikon cameras.
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Sharpness is maintained particularly well WE SAY… Well worth the purchase There’s no lack of sharpness or contrast WE SAY…Compact with impressive
into the extreme corners of images price if you want the best from this relatively low-priced lens performance – it’s unbeatable value
CAMERA SKILLS
WIDE-ANGLE FX WIDE-ANGLE FX
NIKOPEDIA
IN
CLASS
Q&A
A fully pro, constant-aperture lens for full-frame Samyang’s offering for full-frame Nikons is really
Nikon SLRs, with build and image quality to match cheap, but can it compete with the big boys?
This Nikon lens doesn’t focus ring is further forward. Compact and lightweight ring at the rear of the lens
quite match the Sigma The focus ring is substantially for an FX-format ultra- is redundant on all Nikon
12-24mm for angle of view, but larger and wonderfully precise, wide lens, the Samyang is SLRs, and needs to be set to
it comes close. The maximum despite having a short travel. one of the cheapest lenses in the narrowest setting of f/22.
works out at 114 degrees Autofocus is blazingly fast. our roundup. Our test sample Unfortunately, there’s no switch
compared with the Sigma’s 122 Around the back, the lens was supplied by UK Digital, to lock the aperture ring.
degrees. The Nikon is bigger features a weather-seal ring on a popular online retailer of
and weightier, and you certainly its mounting plate. Samyang lenses. Intro 2020 Performance
get a lot of premium glass for KDVMXVWWDNHQRYHURIÀFLDO Sharpness and contrast are
Performance
GEAR CRAFT
your money. The enormous, distribution in the UK. disappointing at the widest
bulbous front element stretches Contrast is excellent even at the There’s no autofocus facility, aperture of f/2.8, but pleasing
almost to the forward edge of widest available aperture, which but that’s not a problem because between apertures of f/4 and
the built-in petal-shaped hood as remains constant. Sharpness is the manual focus ring is smooth f/16. Colour fringing is minimal
you zoom to the shortest focal superb, right into the extreme and has a long travel, enabling and overall, the lens produces
length. Even so, ghosting and corners of the frame, especially very precise adjustments. The good image quality considering
ÁDUHDUHZHOOFRQWDLQHG if you narrow the aperture a IRFXVDVVLVWDQGFRQÀUPDWLRQ its low price. However, barrel
Unlike the Nikon 10-24mm little. Colour fringing is rather ODPSVLQWKHYLHZÀQGHUDUH distortion has quite a complex
DX lens, the zoom ring is placed better controlled than with the based solely on the camera’s and irregular shape, which
at the rear of the barrel and the Sigma 12-24mm lens. central AF point. The aperture PDNHVLWGLIÀFXOWWRFRUUHFW
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Sumptuous image quality is available WE SAY… Undeniably expensive, Results are very good overall but there’s WE SAY… A good budget buy for
from this lens even at wide apertures but you get what you pay for an irregular shape to barrel distortion FX-format cameras
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IN TELEPHOTO TELEPHOTO
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
featuring a tough magnesium it’s reasonably comfortable for a nine-blade diaphragm. The The Tamron does remarkably
alloy rather than plastic barrel, prolonged handheld shooting, outer casing feels robust, and well to maintain sharpness at
complete with weather seals. and the construction really does unlike Sigma’s 70-200mm, its widest aperture of f/2.8,
As with the Nikon 70-200mm feel the most robust. comes with a focus limiter throughout the zoom range,
f/4, the VR system includes both switch and weather seals. almost matching the Nikon
normal and active modes, the Performance Further attractions include 70-200mm f/2.8 in this respect.
former of which has automatic There’s an excellent consistency fast and near-silent USD Compared with the Sigma
panning detection. As well as in sharpness and contrast, not (UltraSonic Drive) autofocus 70-200mm, it’s also slightly
the usual A/M mode (autofocus only throughout the zoom range and Tamron’s four-stop Vibration sharper at 200mm, and contrast
with manual override), there’s but also at differing apertures. Correction system. Size and is very impressive.
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OVERALL OVERALL
Superb image quality is assured, WE SAY… For a fast 70-200mm Excellent image quality is a close match WE SAY… With image quality this
throughout the zoom and aperture ranges zoom, this is as good as it gets for the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 good, it’s unbeatable value
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IN SUPERZOOM SUPERZOOM
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
Is this still the best DX option, or has the Nikon New and improved, the ‘Macro’ edition of this
18-200mm been eclipsed by newcomers? superzoom lens is a complete redesign
A little bigger and heavier and Tamron superzoom lenses. Following the lead set Sigma 18-200mm lens, handling
than the Sigma and Other features include a weather by the latest Sigma 18- is pretty much identical in both
Tamron DX-format superzoom seal on the mounting plate, and 200mm and Tamron 18-270mm, lenses. This is reinforced by
lenses, the Nikon 18-200mm a four-stop Vibration Reduction this recently launched lens is negligible differences in size and
is still manageable, measuring system with normal and Active much smaller than the original weight between the two.
less than 100mm in length and modes. The current Mark II edition. It’s almost identical in
tipping the scales at 565g. It’s edition of the lens has new size and weight to the Tamron Performance
well-balanced on any Nikon coatings to reduce ghosting and 18-270mm, and it comes very There are some pleasant
DX body, and it feels more ÁDUHLWVXIIHUVVOLJKWO\OHVVIURP close in terms of zoom range. surprises in key areas. Despite
GEAR CRAFT
UHÀQHGWKDQLWVFRPSHWLWRUV)RU zoom creep than the original, However, despite sporting a having a bigger zoom range
example, autofocus is ring-type and it has a zoom lock switch. ‘Macro’ badge, the maximum than the Sigma 18-200mm,
ultrasonic, which is fast, near- PDJQLÀFDWLRQIDFWRURI[LV barrel distortion is slightly less
silent and has full-time manual Performance barely any larger than with the noticeable at the wide-angle
override in Single AF mode. As expected, the handling of Nikon 18-300mm or 28-300mm end and pincushion is no worse
The focus scale is neatly WKHOHQVLVYHU\UHÀQHGDQG lenses, which are 0.31x and at the maximum telephoto
positioned beneath a viewing image quality is very good 0.32x respectively. length. Sharpness is also good
window, whereas it’s simply RYHUDOO7KHRQO\Á\LQWKH With the same ultrasonic at wide-angle and mid-zoom
printed around the outside of ointment is that sharpness at motor autofocus and optical settings, although it suffers at
the focus ring on all Sigma PPLVQ·WWHUULÀF stabilisation systems as the the telephoto end.
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Sharp through most of the zoom range, WE SAY… Good features and build, There’s none of the under-exposure WE SAY… Compact and capable,
there’s only a dip at 200mm and the size is perfectly manageable tendency suffered by other lenses the Sigma offers good value
CAMERA SKILLS
MACRO MACRO
NIKOPEDIA
IN
CLASS
Q&A
This completely new design delivers rock-solid build This old stalwart fends off newcomers to maintain
quality and top-notch features at a sensible price its position as an excellent budget choice
Not just a revamp of adaptor ensures the lens hood Tamron couldn’t get a price. Handling is excellent,
Sigma’s older 105mm JLYHVPD[LPXPHIÀFLHQF\RQ review sample of its new with extremely smooth, precise
macro, this totally new design is either type of body. 90mm macro lens to us in manual focusing. A push-pull
brimming with features. It has time for this test, which is a mechanism in the focus ring
Sigma’s four-stop stabilisation Performance shame because it has Vibration enables you to switch quickly
system, and ring-type ultrasonic Autofocus speed is fast and well Compensation and UltraSonic between autofocus and manual
autofocus driving an internal able to track moving objects. Drive autofocus. By comparison, focus. The front element is
focus system that retains the The lens therefore works well as this older 90mm macro looks deeply recessed within the outer
lens’s standard physical length a short telephoto lens for sports quite dated. It has only a basic barrel, making the supplied lens
GEAR CRAFT
at close focus settings. Inside and wildlife, especially as the electric autofocus motor and the KRRGODUJHO\VXSHUÁXRXV
there are two SLD (Special Low image stabiliser has a selectable lack of internal focusing means
Dispersion) glass elements. mode for horizontal panning. it practically doubles in length Performance
Build quality feels every bit as To improve autofocus speed at its closest focus setting. Autofocus is quite slow, but it’s
strong as in the more expensive even further, there’s a three- However, there’s still plenty to boosted by a focus limit switch
Nikon 105mm lens, although position focus limiter switch. love about it. that can operate on either
the Sigma lacks a weather seal Manual focusing is silky smooth As one of Tamron’s SP side of a 40cm focus distance.
ring on its mounting plate. The and precise, while image quality (Super Performance) lenses, There’s plenty of sharpness and
lens is equally at home on FX- is quite simply stunning. It’s a it’s designed with an eye on contrast, which is why this lens
and DX-format cameras: a hood great lens. quality despite its competitive has always been a favourite.
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It’s practically impossible to find fault in WE SAY… A wonderfully versatile, High image quality is maintained very WE SAY… Handling and image
any aspect of image quality well-engineered lens that delivers well at narrow apertures quality are superb. It’s a real bargain
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CAMERA SKILLS
IN TILT-SHIFT TILT-SHIFT
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
Arguably the most desirable of Nikon’s PC-E Samyang serves up another bargain in the shape
lenses, and also the most expensive of this fully-functioning tilt-and-shift lens
To be fair, there’s not DX bodies, the front of the This tilt-and-shift optic is a to rotate the aperture ring
a massive difference SRSXSÁDVKPRGXOHFRPHV real money saver. It’s only on the lens to its widest f/3.5
between the prices of all three extremely close to the section about two-thirds of the price position for brightest viewing
of Nikon’s PC-E lenses, but the of the lens that shifts upwards. of the competing Nikon 24mm when focusing and adjusting
24mm PC-E is nevertheless On the D7000 and D7100, it PC-E lens, or just half the price if tilt or shift, then rotate it again
the most expensive lens. Its obstructs the shift mechanism you’re buying in the USA. Even to the desired aperture before
big advantage for architectural and limits upward shift to so, there’s no hint of skimping shooting.
shooting is its relatively wide 8.5mm of the lens’s total on build quality. The lens is
angle of view. This enables upward travel of 11.5mm. robust and all of its controls for Performance
GEAR CRAFT
you to get closer to buildings adjusting tilt, shift and rotation It’s not as sharp as the Nikon
that you’re shooting while still Performance have a really high-precision feel. PC-E lenses, but it’s not far
avoiding perspective errors Image sharpness is exemplary As with Nikon’s PC-E lenses, behind, and sharpness is
thanks to the shift function. This at medium apertures, and a focusing is a strictly manual maintained into the corners of
often helps to avoid foreground slight improvement over the affair, but the Samyang’s focus the frame. Barrel distortion is
clutter. The focal length works Nikon 45mm and 85mm PC-E ring has a smooth, precise more noticeable than with the
really well on FX bodies, and is lenses. Colour fringing is also operation. It lacks the aperture Nikon 24mm PC-E lens, and it
by far the most suitable if you’re low, and despite the generous stop-down button featured on has the same issue with limited
using a DX body. However, there angle of view, barrel distortion Nikon PC-E lenses, but this isn’t upward shift on D7000 and
is one word of caution. On some is only marginal. a major omission. You just need D7100 bodies as that lens.
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Barrel distortion is remarkably well WE SAY… For shooting architecture, Image quality comes pretty close to WE SAY… A tilt-and-shift lens at a
contained for such a wide-angle lens it’s the best money-no-object choice Nikon’s dearer 24mm PC-E lens refreshingly reasonable price
CAMERA SKILLS
FISHEYE FISHEYE
NIKOPEDIA
IN
CLASS
Q&A
It’s beautifully sharp, but Nikon’s DX-format fisheye Cheap but definitely cheerful, this fisheye from
is surprisingly not fully compatible with all bodies Samyang will put a smile on your face
Despite being designed Similar care is needed not to The Korean corporation ÀVKH\HLWFODLPVWKHXVXDO
for DX camera bodies, JHW\RXUÀQJHUVWRRFORVHWRWKH Samyang now has a UK angle of view measured between
the Nikon 10.5mm lacks AF-S front of the lens barrel, or they distributor for its lenses, which opposing corners, although it
autofocus, so you have to focus can creep into the image. It’s a are backed by a three-year squeezes a little more into the
manually on cameras like the UHPLQGHURIKRZVPDOOÀVKH\H warranty. Despite being the frame than the Nikon 10.5mm.
D3100, D3200 and D5100. lenses are compared with cheapest lens in this category
$VZLWKWKH6DP\DQJÀVKH\H rectilinear ultra-wide lenses of (and well under half the price of Performance
which can’t autofocus on any similar focal lengths. HLWKHURI1LNRQÀVKH\HVEXLOG Sharpness and contrast are
body, this isn’t too much of a quality feels robust. impressive and there’s very little
Performance
GEAR CRAFT
problem in practical use. On Handling is enhanced by a vignetting. It also produces little
bodies like the D7000 and There’s plenty of sharpness and smooth yet precise focus ring, colour fringing, even at the
D300s, which feature a screw- contrast, and the Nikon 10mm which you’ll need to use because extreme corners of the frame,
drive, autofocus is pretty quick PDQDJHVWRUHVROYHÀQHGHWDLO there’s no autofocus facility on and is resistant to ghosting and
and very accurate but a bit noisy. convincingly, even towards the any Nikon body. At least there’s ÁDUH7KHODFNRIDXWRIRFXVDQG
The lens is very compact and extreme corners of the frame. electronic communication with the fact that there’s no focus
lightweight, and you have to It does a good job of fending off the host camera for aperture, FRQÀUPDWLRQLQWKHYLHZÀQGHU
be careful not to foul the focus JKRVWLQJDQGÁDUHDVZHOOEXW so this can be controlled isn’t an issue due to the extreme
ULQJZLWK\RXUÀQJHUVDWOHDVW colour fringing can be apparent automatically or manually in all GHSWKRIÀHOGRIIHUHGE\WKH
on cameras that offer autofocus. towards the edges of pictures. shooting modes. As a diagonal lens. Overall, it’s a bargain.
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Image quality is excellent, even in the WE SAY… It’s well made and well It’s almost as sharp as the Nikon lenses, WE SAY… The Samyang’s image
extreme corners of the frame worth the money with very low colour fringing quality is excellent for the price
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ESSENTIALS
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CAMERA SKILLS
NIKOPEDIA
Q&A
GEAR CRAFT
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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IN
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
Big and strong but still lightweight, this Impeccably turned out with an impressive set
carbon fibre tripod is one for the road of advanced features, and at a budget price
Weighing in at 1.65kg, the automatically retracting section 6PDUWO\ÀQLVKHGZLWK at 66cm, but extends to a useful
FDUERQÀEUH&;352 RIWKHEXWWKHSD\RIILV aluminium leg sections 175cm with the centre column
is easy to carry around, but has a few extra centimetres of and magnesium alloy castings, fully extended. A bubble level
a strong maximum load rating maximum operating height. the Benro comes complete with on the shoulder comes in handy,
of 8kg. Its carrying length is a There’s a useful bubble level on a carrying bag, and there’s no as does the supplied toolkit if
modest 65cm, and it reaches a the centre column, which also skimping on design or build anything should need adjusting.
lofty maximum operating height features three grub screws for quality. Features include three-
of 175cm. It’s also well endowed ÀUPDWWDFKPHQWRIDKHDG position multi-angle legs and a Performance
in the clever tricks department. particularly good pivoting centre The clip locks for the three-
Performance
GEAR CRAFT
There are four leg angles column system. The latter is section legs operate effectively,
available via a spring-loaded With chunky, wide-diameter leg very quick and easy to use, has a enabling smooth leg extension
clip. It’s not quite as fancy as sections, rigidity is excellent, IXOOGHJUHHVRIURWDWLRQDQG DQGVROLGORFNLQJ5LJLGLW\
WKHOHYHURQWKHQHZVHULHV and it remains so even when the features splines in the locking is impressive, even at the
tripod, but it’s still very quick legs and centre column are fully mechanism to keep the column maximum operating height.
and easy to use. The pivoting extended. The locking clips are ÀUPO\FODPSHGLQSODFH The platform to which a tripod
centre column system is also slightly further apart than on :LWKDNJORDGUDWLQJWKLV head attaches features three
an older generation design, WKHQHZHU0DQIURWWREXW tripod is no lightweight. It tips grub screws, which further help
but again is very speedy and it’s still possible to release and the scales at 2kg and is longer to ensure that everything is
easy to operate. It lacks the close them all with one hand. than most when folded down, locked down tight.
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The column mechanism
and leg angle locks OVERALL The pivoting centre
OVERALL
aren’t the latest, but WE SAY… A superb carbon fibre column system is really WE SAY… Smart design, clever
they work well tripod that’s light and rigid well implemented features and solid performance
CAMERA SKILLS
IN
CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
LIGHTWEIGHT TRIPOD LIGHTWEIGHT TRIPOD
Q&A
Brilliantly conceived and beautifully executed, A radical rethink on travel tripod design, the
the carbon fibre Giottos is a travel tripod classic Vanguard makes for very compact carrying
7KDQNVWRLWVÀYHVHFWLRQ Performance Vanguard has often Performance
legs that outdo Leonardo The Giottos is a wonderfully impressed us in the past Speedy setup is aided by
da Vinci’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ by versatile tripod. It enables you to with its innovative designs and twist-lock leg sections, which
SLYRWLQJWKURXJKGHJUHHV remove one of the legs and use good build quality. The Nivelo operate by progressive twisting
the Giottos is lightweight and it as a monopod with the ball 245BK follows the trend, with a of the tripod feet. The system
compact when folded. For KHDG5LJLGLW\DQGVWDELOLW\DUH pivoting centre column. works well and is a time-saver
VWRZDJHWKHNLWLVRQO\FP very impressive for a combined Unlike the pivot system compared with using 12 clip
long. That’s 22cm shorter than legs-and-head kit that weighs in some full-sized Vanguard locks. Stability is pretty good
the Jessops Major tripod, even RQO\NJ tripods, you can’t use the centre and better than with its rivals.
GEAR CRAFT
though the Giottos extends to The quality of the tripod column at any angle through its The head also has a similarly
a maximum height of 165cm, head is excellent. It’s very GHJUHHDUFEXWLQVWHDG\RX quick action, although it’s not a
which is 4cm taller. solid and has a main knob that are limited to vertically upwards ball-and-socket head. Instead,
The twist locks on the legs serves for both locking and or downwards positions. two clamping screws enable
are smooth yet they enable adjustable friction damping. Upwards is ideal for regular independent movement for pan
YHU\ÀUPVXSSRUWZLWKDKHIW\ A separate pan-only lock knob, shooting, while downwards is and tilt. To swivel the camera
maximum load rating of 6kg. complete with calibrated scale, great for ultra-low-level shots for portrait shooting, you need
There’s also a multiple-angle leg and two spirit levels on the and compact carrying, because to remove the square quick-
facility that offers two locking camera platform aid speed and the head rests between the feet UHOHDVHSODWHDQGUHÀWLWDWD
positions for safety. versatility. when folded. GHJUHHLQFUHPHQW
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IN
CLASS FLASHGUN FLASHGUN
A spectacular flashgun that’s ideally suited to the This handy flashgun is big on power and has some
most demanding of photographers. advanced features, but it’s small in price
2QHRIWKHWKLQJVWKDW to GN49, compared with the The Gloxy is barely more generous automatic zoom range
sets fully professional 6%·V*17KHPRWRULVHG expensive than basic RIPP7KHKHDGDOVR
ÁDVKJXQVDSDUWIURPWKHPRUH zoom head also has extra ÁDVKJXQVOLNHWKH1LNRQ6% features a wide-angle diffuser
mainstream models is that telephoto reach, with a zoom DQG6XQSDN3=;EXWLVPXFK DQGSXOORXWUHÁHFWRUFDUG
adjustments for almost any UDQJHRIPPLQVWHDGRI more powerful and packed with
parameters need to be available PP/LNHWKH6% clever features. In the States, Performance
in double-quick time. As such, DXWRVHQVLQJLVDYDLODEOHIRU'; DQLGHQWLFDOORRNLQJÁDVKJXQLV In our tests the maximum power
WKH6%IHDWXUHVDURZRI DQG);FRPSDWLELOLW\ VROGDVWKH9LYLWDU')3RZHU output didn’t live up to its GN54
context-sensitive control buttons =RRP6SHHGOLJKW claims, but equalled that of the
Performance
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FEATURES FEATURES
BUILD QUALITY BUILD QUALITY
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VALUE FOR MONEY VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL OVERALL
Precision, accuracy and even illumination WE SAY… Very good, but expensive TTL exposure accuracy is pretty good, and WE SAY… A feast of high-end
are assured by wide-ranging features and has no zoom versatility illumination is even across the frame features at a knockdown price
CAMERA SKILLS
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CLASS
NIKOPEDIA
IMAGE EDITOR IMAGE EDITOR
Q&A
It’s the T-Rex of image editors, but does the new Lightroom offers a whole new way to work
Photoshop CC face the same fate as the dinosaurs? with your images, from editing to organisation
3KRWRVKRSKDVWDNHQ correcting converging verticals Lightroom isn’t simply will do, you can export images
a few knocks recently. and other perspective issues. an image editor. It’s to it directly and have them
3URJUDPVOLNH$GREH/LJKWURRP <RXFDQDOVRDSSO\&DPHUD5DZ an all-in-one photographic returned to your Lightroom
have made photographers DGMXVWPHQWVDVOD\HUÀOWHUVLQ ZRUNÁRZVROXWLRQWKDWFDQ library automatically as new
realise there are newer, 3KRWRVKRSLWVHOIWKHUH·VDQHZ organise your photo collection images when you’re done.
cheaper, simpler ways of and improved Smart Sharpen using a searchable library. All /LJKWURRP·VQHZ6PDUW3UHYLHZ
HGLWLQJDQGPDQDJLQJWKHLU WRRODQGDFOHYHU&DPHUD6KDNH image-editing adjustments are option means you can edit your
photos, and while the switch 5HGXFWLRQWRRO non-destructive – they’re saved images even when they’re on a
to a subscription model might +RZHYHUWKHFKDQJHV in the library as processing disconnected external drive.
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make sense for professionals, it’s DUHQ·WKXJHDQGVXSHUÀFLDOO\ instructions and no changes are The problem with Lightroom
stirred up plenty of debate. 3KRWRVKRS&&LVOLWWOHGLIIHUHQW made to your original photos is that it can only take you so
3KRWRVKRSLVQRZSDUWRI WRLWVSUHGHFHVVRU&6,W·VWKH at all. Lightroom can edit raw far. If you need to work with
$GREH·V&UHDWLYH&ORXGVHUYLFH LQWHJUDWLRQZLWK&UHDWLYH&ORXG ÀOHV7,))V-3(*VDQG36' layers, masks, composites and
– so you get more for your that could have a longer-lasting 3KRWRVKRSÀOHVDQG\RX advanced effects, you’ll still
money than a simple software impact for photographers. simply export edited versions of QHHG3KRWRVKRSRU(OHPHQWV
package, and as soon as Adobe your images as you need them.
can address user concerns, such You can create as many versions
DVKRZ\RXRSHQ36'ÀOHVZKHQ of an image as you like without
you no longer subscribe, the PROS… It’s still the ultimate FUHDWLQJQHZÀOHVWKDWÀOO\RXU PROS… Lightroom’s powerful tools
objections may fade away. image-editing powerhouse, and the hard drive. are fast, efficient and effective
This is not the only new interface is clean and efficient The editing tools are identical
CONS… You’ll still need Photoshop
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
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CONS… Adobe Bridge can’t compete (or Elements) for layers, selections
course. It comes with Adobe ZKLFKFRPHVZLWK3KRWRVKRS
with the tools provided by rivals and more advanced effects
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three important new tools: the more accessible, streamlined
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used to highlight your picture’s
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focal point, the Advanced WE SAY… Photoshop is still the best Upright perspective correction WE SAY… Lightroom 5’s all-in-one
+HDOLQJ%UXVKFDQQRZFORQH image editor out there, and its move tools push it even further into workflow works brilliantly, and it’s
out irregular shapes and the to the Creative Cloud marks an 3KRWRVKRSWHUULWRU\²DQGIRU a much cheaper option than
8SULJKWWRROGRHVDWHUULÀFMRERI interesting new phase WKRVHMREVZKHUHRQO\3KRWRVKRS Photoshop CC
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ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
CAMERA SKILLS
IN
PRINTER CLASS PRINTER
Black and white or colour? Glossy or matte? This An A4 photo printer that excels in every area,
A3+ printer aims to give you the best of everything there’s a lot to love about this Canon
With 11 pigment-based magenta, yellow and red. In You already know that A4 printers, brings the prospect
inks plus a ‘chroma VKRUWWKH3URDLPVWRJLYH\RX Nikon makes the best of high-quality black-and-white
optimizer’, which works in the best of both worlds – black FDPHUDVLQWKHZRUOGEXW&DQRQ photo printing as well as an
essentially the same way as a and white and colour. With the holds its own when it comes to extended colour range.
JORVVRSWLPL]HUWKH3URKDV combination of pigment-based printers. This Wi-Fi all-in-one
a class-leading 12 cartridges inks and the chroma optimizer, LVIXOORIUHÀQHPHQWZLWKERWK Performance
under the cover. Going one it seeks to prove itself equally pigment- and dye-based black &RORXUUHQGLWLRQLVDFFXUDWH
EHWWHUWKDQWKH(SVRQ5LW well on matte and glossy media. inks, the former making it ideal DQGWRQDOÀGHOLW\LVLPSUHVVLYH
features three grey cartridges for printing documents. Auto in shadows and highlights.
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plus both a photo black and GXSOH[&''9'SULQWLQJDQGD Landscapes look vivid yet
matte black. Better still, both 7KH3URGHOLYHUVÀQHFRORXU touch panel where icons light up entirely natural, while skin
black inks have their own and black-and-white prints. only when they’re active make tones are simply beautiful.
separate channels within Glossy prints are silky smooth WKH&DQRQHDV\WROLYHZLWK There’s a greenish cast to black-
the print head, so there’s no and matte ones are exceptional. You can keep your plain paper and-white photo prints in the
wasteful purging required when The only sticking point is the stashed in a slot-in lower tray standard quality setting, but it
swapping between glossy and price. It’s expensive, and a full and reserve the upright rear disappears if you switch to high
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2WKHULQNFRORXUVDUHF\DQ back about £275. It’s also slow at addition of a grey dye-based ink select greyscale printing but this
photo cyan, magenta, photo outputting small-format prints. cartridge, almost unheard of in is more than 2.5 times slower.
ESSENTIAL ACCESSORIES
FEATURES FEATURES
BUILD QUALITY BUILD QUALITY
IMAGE QUALITY IMAGE QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY VALUE FOR MONEY
OVERALL OVERALL
Superb colour and dramatic black and WE SAY… It’s currently the best From landscapes to portraits, the WE SAY… Stunning output from
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