Table of contents for April 2023 in Digital Camera Magazine

ENTER THIS URL www.digitalcamera world.com/dc266 Enter the URL www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc266 into the destination bar of your internet browser – we’re using Google Chrome, but other browsers work in a similar way. Please do not enter it in any search field or search bar. This will take you to a page on our website. JUST CLICK THE HIGHLIGHTED LINK Click on the link labelled ‘Download the disc for Digital Camera 266’ and your download will start, delivered from our own server. Please override any browser warnings about downloading from a non-secure source – our server is safe! ACCESS YOUR FILES Open the.zip In your Downloads folder, or wherever you chose to download your files to, double-click the dc266-disc.zip file icon. Then when it expands, double-click Digital Camera 266 Files. The download content…

“Being a major player in the film days makes Fujifilm the perfect partner in what I try to achieve with my hybrid workflow,” says Vince. “Its film simulation modes are inspired by their classic analogue emulsions. How much closer can I get to replicating film using a digital camera? In terms of design and feel in today’s market, the X-Pro rangefinder line is one of the closest to resembling film cameras. Featuring manual dials and an optical viewfinder, it really feels like you are holding a film camera. Adding to this, I use an adapter that enabled me to attach a 1980s Minolta manual-focus prime, completely immersing this camera in being as film-like as digital can be! If you want to really push the boat out, you can turn off…

Spring is the perfect time to try out some fastpaced photography with a sports team near where you live. If you have a zoom lens with a decent range then you have everything you need. Local matches are usually free to attend and you can get reasonably close to the action without being faced by a fluorescent wall of stewards like you find at professional matches. Today, I’m taking my slightly older Fujifilm X-T2 (I don’t mind if it gets a bit beaten up or splattered with mud) paired with a Fujifilm XF 50-140mm F/2.8 R LM OIS WR telephoto lens (a 70-200mm in full-frame equivalent terms). I find that it’s a perfect focal length for this environment, allowing plenty of versatility when the action is in the closer half…

I am lucky enough to be surrounded by beautiful canals and countryside, and often take my camera everywhere with no real expectations of taking anything special while clicking away. Photography is a process to be enjoyed regardless of the final outcome. On this day, the sun was just off to the left, lighting up the canal, particularly the sky, water and side of the long boats. I took a quick snap – a bit dark, I thought. I reduced my shutter speed a little to allow for a bit more ambient light to enter – a bit too bright, I thought, but I had gathered enough data to correct everything in editing later. As long as your two images haven’t strayed too far from each other composition-wise, I know I’ve…

PART 1 OF 3 Part 2 in issue 267, on sale 4 April Once the scourge of film photographers the world over, there are now thousands of free light-leak overlays to download and apply to your images, perfect for digital photographers wanting to achieve that ‘vintage’ look. Like grain and negative rebates (visible edges of the film frame in the final image), these optical imperfections are evocative reminders of analogue technology’s unique idiosyncrasies and offer a quick and easy way to add warmth and individuality to an image, a fact not lost on the likes of Lomography, who have warmly embraced the ‘lo-fi’ aspect of their artistic appeal. If you’re drawn to these unpredictable bursts of fiery oranges and yellows and want to try creating your own light leaks, all…

Food or product photography can be a simple but fun way to add another skill to your bow. Typically, you can set up your shoot on a dining room table, but to go one step further, you can pick up a small cloth backdrop or neutral-coloured piece of card for a finer finish. Dark rooms are not photo friendly – even the best food and most stellar scene won’t matter if the light isn’t right. Natural light is your best friend when it comes to photography. Consider setting up a small table in front of a door or window when taking your pictures – this will allow plenty of natural light in. Avoid using flash if possible, as it is often too harsh, and will create an unpleasant glare or…

OVERALL WINNER FIRST PLACE: Category: Animals ‘Nature’s Pitfall’ Samantha Stephens “Northern Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia purpurea) are carnivorous, allowing them to survive in nutrient-poor bog environments. Instead of drawing nutrients up through their roots, this plant relies on trapping prey in its specialised bell-shaped leaves, called pitchers. Typically, these plants feast on invertebrates, but recently, researchers at the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station discovered a surprising new item on the plant’s menu: juvenile spotted salamanders. “On the day I made this image, I was following researchers on their daily surveys of the plants. Pitchers typically contain just one salamander at a time, although occasionally they catch multiple ones. When I saw a pitcher that had two salamanders, both at the same stage of decay floating at the surface of the pitcher’s fluid, I…

You will often have an obvious focal point that is the subject of your image. This is typical of wildlife photographs, but can be applied to almost every genre in some way. Your main subject has a direct relationship with what’s around it. Think of the focal point – in this case a flamingo – as positive space (1). The area to the right is passive space (2) and the zone to the left is active space (3). The background reeds and foreground water are negative space (4). Balancing all four elements is important, and the role played by active space – which is the area the subject can look or move into – is critical. As a general guide, it should be bigger than the passive space behind the…

If you imagine a ‘noughts and crosses’ 3x3 grid over your frame, you’ll have four ‘power points’ where the lines intersect, and the idea is to use one of these as a guide for positioning your key point of interest. If the shapes in your scene allow, you can also place a secondary point of interest on a diagonally opposing powerpoint to add extra interest to the frame. Additionally, either of the horizontal lines can be used to place your horizon effectively, so it sits at one-third or two-thirds up the frame, whether you’re holding your camera vertically or horizontally. This rule may be as old as the hills, but it works!…

When shooting fast-moving action, especially when the movement is erratic, it makes sense to worry a little less about the nuances of in-camera composition, as the main challenge facing the photographer is getting the subject in the frame and sharp. We’re not saying that this cannot be achieved on top of the ideal in-camera composition, but merely that it becomes much harder to get a precise, aesthetically pleasing composition while tracking an erratic subject moving at high speed. Most of us have enough to do keeping a subject in the viewfinder and getting our camera’s autofocus system to lock on to it! In these situations, there is a practical solution that works very well, even though it’s not as ‘pure’ as the in-camera approach. If you leave enough room around…

1 ‘In the Clouds’ by Erika Kilic “Sunset over the Scottish Borders taken just after the first snowfall of the year. Cloud inversion made it look even more impressive. How lucky we are to live in such a beautiful country!” Digital Camera says: A return to the gallery for Erika, whose previous image showed another sunset, but on a summer’s evening. Perfectly layered, this shot is a fantastic showcase of the stunning landscapes in the UK. We love the contrast between the darker foreground and vibrant sky. READER SHOT OF THE MONTH Erika Kilic wins a year’s subscription to Digital Camera for this image. Well done, Erika! 2 ‘Across the lake at Arosa’ by David Jenkins “This is the sort of photo that I like, with a strong theme across the image. In…

James Paterson With over a decade as a writer and photographer behind him, James knows exactly which Photoshop and Lightroom tools and techniques matter most. 15 FREE TEXTURES Turn to page 80 to find out more! WATCH THE VIDEO! FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc266 If you’ve been paying attention to photography news, you can’t have failed to notice the furore over AI image generation. Generators like Stable Diffusion, Dall-E and Midjourney make it possible to create artwork from nothing more than a sentence. This has caused excitement and apprehension among photographers, and the way these tools gather and reassemble the substance of existing photos raises real concerns about intellectual property. Whether you see AI as groundbreaking or a threat to traditional photography, we’re entering a new era of image-making. Users looking…

Launched as a kit lens accompaniment to the Canon EOS R8 (see page 98), the Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM can be purchased standalone or bundled with the R8. Canon’s decision to opt for a focal length range of 24mm to 50mm is interesting, as this provides just over two times optical zoom. Kit lenses tend to have a focal length of around 18-55mm for APS-C or 24-105mm for full-frame, which have optical zooms of 3x and 4.4x. This new lens follows the likes of the Sony 20-70mm f/4 G (see p93) and confirms that big brands are starting to experiment with the ‘standard’ zoom lens formula. The RF 24-50mm has a maximum aperture of f/4.5 at the 24mm end, closing down to f/6.3 at 50mm, and an STM…

Upgrades to both flavours of the software (Essential and Elite) allow users to edit JPG and TIFF files within the DxO Wide Gamut colour space, plus the ability to view the entire image area (which goes beyond what is typically displayed by image editing software) when cropping. Other improvements include smoother installation of DxO Optics Modules. Users of the Elite version of PhotoLab 6.3 can simulate papers and inks when soft proofing (simulating how an image will appear on another device). www.dxo.com; £129/$139 (PhotoLab 6.3 Essential); £199/$219 (PhotoLab 6.3 Elite)…

Jon Devo instagram.com/gadgetsjon Jon is a professional photographer, videographer and technology journalist. In the past year, the use of hashtags relating to I #digitalcamera has skyrocketed, amassing well over 250 million views on TikTok alone. The term ‘vintage digital camera’, referring to pocket digital cameras released in the noughties, is also now a thing. But what has sparked this resurgence in popularity for products that camera companies long gave up on as sales dwindled year-on-year in the face of fierce competition from smartphones? The reasons may be complex. It’s natural for younger generations to seek nostalgia in things that were around when they were children. It’s the reason I loved 7-inch vinyl records when I was a teen in the noughties. They felt more real, more rare and therefore more…

www.nikon.co.uk Specifications Mount: Nikon Z Full-frame: Yes Lens construction: 19 elements in 13 groups Angle of view: 6.2º Autofocus: Yes Image stabilisation: Yes Max aperture: f/4.5 Min aperture: f/32 Diaphragm blades: 9 Min focusing distance: 2.5m Max magnification ratio: 0.16x Filter size: 95mm Dimensions (L x D): 235 x 104mm Weight: 1,245g Sure, it doesn’t have a super-fast aperture rating, but the Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR sticks every other box on a photographer’s wish list for a super-tele prime. While many of us switching from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras were dreaming of downsized kit, that hasn’t been the case with many mirrorless lenses. By contrast, this lens is refreshingly compact and lightweight for a super-tele prime. Indeed, the easily manageable size and weight are the first thing that hits…

www.sony.co.uk Specifications Sensor: 61MP full-frame back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS Image processor: BIONZ XR + AI unit Mount: Sony FE ISO range: 100-32,000 Shutter speeds: 1/8000-30 sec Image stabilisation: 5-axis IBIS, Active mode, up to 8 stops Max image size: 9,504 × 6336 pixels Max video resolution: 8K 24p Continuous shooting: 10fps Viewfinder: 9,444k dot EVF, 0.9x magnification LCD: Tilting/vari-angle touchscreen, 3.1-inch, 2,095k dot Memory cards: 2x SD UHS-II/CFexpress Type A Size: 131.3 x 96.9 x 82.4 mm Weight: 723 g (incl battery and memory card) The Sony A7R V is Sony’s ‘resolution’ specialist, though its 8K video capability, improved burst capacity and new AI autofocus will likely drive a wedge into the sports/action and video markets. This camera has the highest resolution sensor available for full-frame cameras. Some will have…

Luc Kordas Photographer New York Unseen is a new book that lives up to its title – we catch up with its author to chat about what inspired the project and how it came together, from page 118 Vince Lowe Photographer & videographer Don’t go against the grain, says this hybrid photographer – embrace it instead. Lowe takes us behind the curtain of his shooting style, from page 8 Benjamin Rasmussen Documentary photographer The Good Citizen is a work that explores what it means to be American today. Rasmussen discusses how the new book came together, on page 94 Jon Devo Photographer & writer Our resident tech columnist considers the latest photographic trends. What’s behind the rediscovery of early digital cameras, he wonders? Page 96 Liza Kanaeva-Hunsicker Photographer In part…

T day we’re heading to the outer edges of Weston-super-Mare, in the height of summer. It tends to be far quieter in the spring months, lending itself to landscape photography, which makes it a great time for joining analogue and digital hybrid photographer, Vince Lowe. Vince is a film fanatic in every sense of the word, whether it’s shooting 35mm analogue stills or cinematic videos for YouTube camera reviews. Vince’s passion originates in filmmaking – he studied at Weston College’s Westcliff Campus, ironically just a stone’s throw away from today’s shooting location near the abandoned Birnbeck Pier, but recently has been more focused on creating cinematic stills. Owning several 35mm film cameras, Vince has opted to bring along a half-century-old Yashica Electro 35 GTN. As we make our way down…

For those young enough to not remember film, there are some important things to consider that may not cross your mind with digital. One of them is choosing the right ISO for the scene, time of day or purpose. You will be stuck with that ISO for the whole film, affecting your shutter speed and aperture settings. Film is pretty forgiving, however, and pushing and pulling techniques like setting the camera at a different ISO to the film used, then countering the difference with adjustments in developing time can help, although results can depend on the film. 400 ISO film is a safe-bet all-rounder that can be used in the majority of lighting situations, and it can usually deal quite well in low light if pushed. www.cinestillfilm.com…

This month, it’s time to take the stalemate out of your macro photography with some focus stacking. One of the more challenging aspects of macro photography is working with a shallow depth of field afforded to you by macro lenses and close working distances. For this project, we’ve borrowed a Nisi Macro Photography Focusing Rail (NM-180) with a 360º rotatable clamp, which gives you the ability to accurately adjust your camera when shooting smaller subjects in any direction. The rail itself is only 180mm long but that’s plenty of length to shoot enough images for the final blend. Focus stacking refers to an image that is made up of multiple shots with different focal points. Each one has the same exposure and aperture – all you’re doing is moving the…

By using filters in post-processing you can take your photo editing to the next level of proficiency and quality. Applying the effects of the thousands of filters available is the best and fastest way to get better edits rather than spending hours on a single image. Filter Forge allows you to try a variety of styles on your photos. It can take photographers years to test and master a variety of editing styles to create an aesthetic they like. Filters can transform a good photo into an absolute work of art if used properly. Using pre-made filters usually produces results that look better and are easier to obwwtain than what woud be achieved by manually editing your images with the same vision in mind. For example, with ‘Old Photo’ (which…

If there’s a single thing that separates a good photo from a not-so-good one, it’s composition. Whether it’s a scenic landscape, a portrait, an architectural study or a wildlife picture, how you frame up and arrange your shot is the most defining element in terms of impacting the viewer of the image. We all know that a smartphone in the right hands will capture a better shot than a top-end camera in the wrong ones, and this is because composition is the photographer’s primary weapon. Other factors play their part, like having good light and sharpness in the right areas, but none of that matters if you haven’t framed the shot effectively to tell the story. As the great Ansel Adams once said, “There are always two people in every…

Once you have an understanding of the shapes within your scene, you can start to consider details and where they should sit within the frame. Where you position your camera in terms of angle and height is critical – don’t shoot all your images from eye-level at your standing height. This may be a comfortable way to work, but it means that your pictures will all have a predictable regularity to them, and you want to engage your viewer with more interesting perspectives on the world than ones they’re already familiar with. Consider the landscape image below: the shot on the left is perhaps the typical way to shoot this scene from a standing position. There’s nothing wrong with it, except perhaps there is too much ‘empty’ ground between the…

Placing your subject bang in the middle of the frame is often seen as pretty dull (it’s something the ‘rule of thirds’ avoids), but if you have lots of lines converging on this point, it can be really striking. The power of symmetrical framing comes from the way it grabs a viewer’s eye and leads them towards the centre point. With lots of converging lines, they have nowhere else to go, so are inexorably drawn into the frame. It can work with a positive, strong centre point, or even an implied one, but the key is to make sure you have those converging lines leading to it. Without these lines coming from the bottom or top corners, you’ll just have a bland, centre-based composition.…

When framing up, we tend to automatically lift the camera and shoot with it held horizontally. It’s the most natural and comfortable way, but is it always the best? Some scenes lend themselves to shooting this way, but ignore composing with the camera held upright at your peril! Even landscapes, where you think the horizontal format would always be best, can benefit from shooting vertically. When using a heavy telephoto lens, loosening the lens collar will allow you to spin the camera body easily from horizontal to vertical, so there’s no excuse not to compose a scene upright, even with a bulky zoom. It’s also worth remembering that with some cameras, the standard aspect ratio of your image can be changed in-camera, as well as cropped afterwards in post-processing. For…

Focal point Rounding up what’s new and exciting Nintendo Switch gets another instax tie-in The brand’s latest Nintendo crossover is a Splatoon 3 video game tie-in with its Mini Link printers and Nintendooriented smartphone app. The Mini Link for Nintendo Switch app offers integration with a console so that in-game captures can be printed. instax.com; free (app) Cristina de Middel helms new Magnum course Brazilian photographer de Middel allows access to her photographic universe in this new online offering. Over 4.5 hours of teaching, de Middel will share a wealth of tips, advice and exercises drawing on her life as a visual storyteller. www.magnumphotos.com; $99 Societies London Photo Trade Show The Societies of Photographers Convention Trade Show runs from 16-18 March at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith. Leading…

Expanding its SL lens portfolio with these two new optics has “unlocked even greater creative freedom”, says the iconic German brand. While retaining a high speed and very shallow depth of field, both lenses are compact and low in weight, making them especially useful for travel and everyday photography and videography. To ensure “high optical performance”, aspherical lens elements have been used. Both of these new SL primes are also being sold in kit combinations with Leica SL2 or SL2-S bodies. leica-camera.com; £1,950/$2,195 (Summicron SL 35 f/2 ASPH); £1,700/$1,895 (SL 50 f/2 ASPH)…

Boasting outstanding image quality, says Sony, plus supreme autofocus performance and impressive operability, this new standard zoom is on sale now. The FE 20-70mm F4 G is a compact and lightweight full-frame optic, with a constant f/4 aperture throughout the zoom range. Its image quality, high-speed accuracy and AF tracking will make the lens ideal for meeting the needs of a variety of content creators, including vloggers and movie makers, as well as stills photographers capturing portraits and landscapes. Comprising 16 optical elements in 13 groups, the new zoom has a nine-blade aperture for pleasing bokeh, the latest linear motors to drive fast, low-vibration focus, plus optimised coatings for high flaring and ghosting resistance. www.sony.co.uk; £1,399/$1,098…

www.sigma-imaging-uk.com Specifications Mount: Sony E, Leica L Full-frame: No Lens construction: 13 elements in 10 groups Angle of view: 76.5-31.7º Autofocus: Yes Image stabilisation: No Max aperture: f/2.8 Min aperture: f/22 Diaphragm blades: 7 Min focusing distance: 0.12m (W) 0.3m (T) Max magnification ratio: 0.36x (W) 0.2x (T) Filter size: 55mm Dimensions (L x D): 75 x 65mm Weight: 290g The Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | C bucks a trend. Think constant-aperture f/2.8 ‘trinity’ zooms and you’re probably thinking chunky, heavyweight lenses. This Sigma is a more compact proposition, designed for Sony E-mount and Leica L-mount APS-C format cameras. It’s amazingly small and light for an f/2.8 zoom, even by APS-C standards. Even the price tag is refreshingly lightweight. Top of the list of desirable features is the fast…

DSLR and mirrorless camera setups have a habit of growing. Once you get beyond, say, a camera and a kit lens, an additional telephoto zoom and a flashgun, regular shoulder bags often run out of room. You can find yourself leaving bits of kit at home, inevitably missing something when a great photo opportunity presents itself. One solution is to buy a bigger shoulder bag, but it’s less than ideal. Carrying its full weight on one shoulder can be uncomfortable, and the strap may slide down your arm. Backpacks provide more room for expansion while helping to spread the load. Both shoulders share the burden, and weight is distributed to your upper and lower back, making them more comfortable and secure. Many backpacks add versatility by including additional pockets for…

It’s common to concentrate on the I external dimensions of a backpack when considering your purchase, but the internal size of the main camera compartment can be more important. Lay out your camera bodies, lenses and other accessories on a table in the rough configuration that they’ll go into your prospective backpack. Leave a little space for internal dividers, then measure the size of the overall width, depth and height. This gives a much clearer idea of whether your complete photo kit will fit into a prospective backpack and how much space you’ll actually need. Naturally, if you’ve got a large collection of gear, you might not want to take everything with you at the same time, which can weigh you down anyway.…

It’s hard to pick one winner from this collection. We chose the best I options we could find for price and performance, so it’s no surprise that the ratings are so similar. A lot comes down to the size of your kit, both in terms of individual items and the overall collection. When it comes to backpacks, style and personal taste are also factors. Even taking this in mind, the Toxic Valkyrie won us over most conclusively. It’s packed with useful features, and it’s slim, lightweight and easily manageable while being able to hold a sizeable photo kit. It’s also impeccably manufactured and immaculately turned out. Both Lowepro backpacks are excellent options. The ProTactic is a great full photo backpack, while the Whistler is a rugged split photo/daypack. The same…

9 PHOTO TIPS CARDS TO TAKE ON LOCATION! Our latest selection of tips cards gives wallet-sized advice on how to take better photos Transform your images with the latest batch of sofware extras for Lightroom and Photoshop This month, choose from our latest selection of presets and actions to give your shots a professional look. Plus, we’ve created a pack of textures that you can add to your images. See below for how to download them. RADIANT PHOTO READER OFFER Our tutorial series on this new image editing program concludes this month – turn to page 76 to find out how to get a free three-month trial of the software Buyer’s Guide ebook Over 290 pages of camera and lens reviews, plus buying advice for accessories! See the Gifts folder…

Modern lenses are great but when it comes to vintage glass, they just can’t reproduce the look of something that has been weathered by time. Old camera lenses have different glass and aperture blades when compared to modern alternatives. You’ll experience just how much magic is in the lens without doing too much in post processing. Using a vintage lens can force you to become more intentional when practising your photography – how creative can you be if the camera does everything for you?…

1 Use a super-telephoto lens For images this close up, you’ll need a focal length of 200mm, ideally upwards. Shot at 255mm on a Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, this lens allows you to achieve frame-filling images of your subject across the entire screen. This shot size will take your bird photography to the next level. 2 Use continuous focus You’ll want to use continuous autofocus when photographing things that are moving. This is a great choice for things like wildlife photography, sport and portraits. This focus mode works while you have the shutter button held halfway down, because it continues to hunt for focus. 3 The right focus mode Continuous autofocus mode (AI Servo AF on Canon cameras) can be tailored easily to suit your subjects or situations. You can…

A busy, cluttered frame can be confusing for a viewer, so when you come across a scene that you think has potential as a shot, think about why it has potential – what are the major ingredients that attracted your eye and made you reach for your camera? Make a mental note and log these elements, as they are the things that made you consider picking up your camera in the first place, and are therefore what your shot is about. Just as important as what your shot is about is what it is not about! When you frame up – balancing the key elements within the viewfinder (more on that over the page) – look carefully around the edges. If you have included any components that are not part…

1 Canon viewfinder grid display To bring up viewfinder guides on a Canon camera, select Grid display in the menu. Choose from 3x3, 6x4 or 3x3+diag, which is the 3x3 grid plus two lines running diagonally to each opposite corner, crossing in the centre of the frame. 2 Nikon viewfinder grid display To access viewfinder guides on Nikon cameras, enter the Custom Setting menu, select Shooting/Display then Viewfinder Grid Display. Switch it on to get horizontal and vertical guidelines at 25% increments. 3 Electronic Level indicator Most cameras have a level indicator that can be seen in the viewfinder or on the Live View screen. These are useful for preventing wonky horizons when shooting scenics – showing as green when the camera is held level, but yellow (or red) when it isn’t.…

We’ve already looked at how using active space can bring harmony to a scene, but by turning the concept on its head and having more space behind the main subject than in front (right), we can create tension. Breaking the rules like this won’t always work, yet when you have a subject that lends itself to it, the result can be effective. But even here, not all the rules have been broken, because other compositional devices have been used to ensure the image works. While the passive space in the ‘tension’ picture is given more weight than the active space, the natural framing created by the red blur to the left and the punchbag on the right locks the frame together. But in the image below, we have a ‘harmonious’…

French documentary photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson is credited with coining ‘the decisive moment’, a term that has come to epitomise the art of firing the shutter at just the right time. Whatever type of photography you enjoy, there is always the perfect moment to press the shutter button, when all the elements come together in a harmonious way. Cartier-Bresson’s photography certainly displays this approach, whether the main subject is moving or relatively static. With a created still-life image, we can make little design tweaks as slowly as we like, but when shooting a scene you have no direct control over, there is a large element of anticipating what might happen. This is certainly the case with Cartier-Bresson’s photography, and his images show it’s the human eye and speed of brain that…

No one is immune from making compositional errors. Sometimes we can’t physically get into the ideal camera position, and at other times we capture a great moment with a one-handed grab shot on the run! Whatever the reason for a less-than-perfect frame, there are some options for making big improvements, or even restoring the image to get the shot you would have taken, had the conditions been in your favour. This method uses Transform mode in Photoshop (other image editors also offer this feature), and because the pixels within the image will be enlarged and distorted, the shape of the picture or the overall resolution of the image will not be changed. In fact, this technique is so handy that you may well find yourself using it all the time…

40 MINUTES OF VIDEO PHOTOSHOP Generate backdrops using AI Download 40 minutes of video training for Lightroom and Photoshop FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc266 LIGHTROOM Enhance portraits with panel sliders PHOTOSHOP Using the Clone tool PHOTOSHOP Apply blur to replicate lens effects PHOTOSHOP Create brilliant black and white images RADIANT PHOTO – NEW TUTORIAL SERIES Get your copy of this new image editing software Page 76 PHOTOSHOP How to use the Harmonization filter…

James Abbott James is a professional photographer who specialises in landscape and portraits. He’s an advanced Photoshop user and has created hundreds of tutorials. FILE & VIDEO www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc266 WATCH THE VIDEO! GET YOUR DYNAMIC BLUR ACTIONS PACK Turn to page 80 to find out more! Adding blur to photos at both the shooting and editing stages can produce incredibly creative results. However, the problem with applying them in-camera is that the image you create is fixed firmly to whatever effect has been applied. Conversely, with editing-based blur effects, you can apply them to any image and still have the original left untouched and ready for use in other ways. Creating effects in-camera is often considered the best way of working, and it certainly is if you have the lenses…

What is backlighting? This is when your subject is predominantly illuminated by a light source that’s behind it. Unless you are using artificial lighting, such as studio flash equipment, this is obviously going to be the sun. Why use backlighting? Shooting with the sun behind your shoulder is the accepted way of doing things, but shooting towards it can give a photograph more drama and atmosphere. Can I shoot backlit at any time of day? If you’re introducing the light then potentially, yes. But if you’re using natural light then you need the sun to be low in the sky, so it is both softer and more direct. Will the camera’s meter work as normal? Yes, but because the way the meter works is weighted towards standard front-lit subjects, the…

Sporting a matte black finish with grey buttons and labelling, the Panasonic Lumix S5 IIX was released at the same time as the S5 II. But aside from the case finish and a slightly higher price tag, what’s the difference between the two bodies? If you only shoot stills, the answer is not much – both cameras feature the same 24.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor and processing engine, and Hybrid Phase Detection AF. The specification of the two models converges in the video department, however. In terms of bitrate and compression, the S5 IIX betters the S5 II, and has enhanced external recording capabilities, including 5.8K Apple ProRes capture to an SSD drive with All-I compression – the latter will be desirable for serious filmmakers. The S5 IIX has also been…

benjaminrasmussenphoto.com The Good Citizen is the debut book by Faroese-American photographer, Benjamin Rasmussen. As a selfconfessed ‘outsider’, Rasmussen wanted to explore how American society came to be what it is today and the complexities that make up the American identity. For the last eight years, he has travelled through 43 different states and met with over 500 people to create the images used in The Good Citizen. During his documentation of this diverse nation, Rasmussen has photographed everything from beauty queens and activists to abandoned everyday items and even a president. In a project first, Rasmussen shot using large-format film and a Polaroid instant film camera so that his subjects could instantly have input about how they were being represented. Accompanying Rasmussen’s photos are a series of essays by legal…

www.canon.co.uk Specifications Sensor: 24.2MP full-frame CMOS Image processor: Digic X Lens mount: Canon RF ISO range: 100-102,400 (exp 50-204,800) Max image size: 6,000 x 4,000 AF points: 4,897 AF positions (4,067 for video) Metering modes: 1,728-zone multi-pattern sensing system, centre-weighted, spot Video: 4K up to 60p (6K oversampled), 1080p up to 180fps, C-Log3, HDR PQ, 4:2:2 10-bit Viewfinder: 0.39 OLED EVF, 2.36 million dots, 120fps Memory card: 1x UHS-II SD LCD: 3-inch fully articulating touchscreen, 1.62 million dots Max burst: 40fps electronic shutter, 6fps first curtain electronic shutter Connectivity: USB-C, Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz), Bluetooth (4.2), micro HDMI, microphone, headphone, RS-60E3 terminal, Multifunction Shoe Size (W x H x D): 132.5 x 86.1 x 70mm Weight: 414g body only (461g with card and battery) The EOS R8 reminds us of just what a…

www.fujifilm-x.com Specifications Sensor: 40.2MP 23.5mm x 15.6mm (APS-C) X-Trans CMOS 5 HR with primary colour filter Image processor: X-Processor 5 Lens mount: Fujifilm X ISO range: 125-12,800 (exp 64-51,200) Shutter speeds: 1/180000 sec-30 secs (electronic) Image stabilisation: Up to 7 stops  Max image size: 7728 x 5152 pixels AF points: 100% phase detection autofocus pixels. -7EV. Video: 10-bit 4:2:2 video at 6.2K/30p, 4K/60p webcam mode Viewfinder: 0.5-inch, 3.69M-dot OLED EVF, 100fps refresh Memory cards: 2 x SD/SDHX/SDHC slots LCD: 3-inch tilting touchscreen Max burst: 15fps mechanical, 20fps electronic (1.29x crop) Connectivity: USB-C, Micro HDMI, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Size (W x H x D): 129.5 x 91 x 63.8mm Weight: 476g (body only) The Fujifilm X-T5’s compact body is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, and the resolution has bumped up considerably…

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