With increasingly advanced features, better build quality and impressive image quality, the range of enthusiast camera options is better than ever
William Sawalich
Not long ago, hobbyist photographers who wanted a “serious” camera looked solely to the DSLR. But today, compact cameras and mirrorless bodies complement DSLRs as legitimate options for photography enthusiasts. We’ve now got cameras that pack the power of “serious” DSLRs into the compact form factor of a point-and-shoot.
Whereas photographers...
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Discover some of the printers and services available to bring your digital images into print
Russell Hart
Epson Expression Photo XP-970
Like silver halide crystals in days of yore, pixels have become a photographer’s creative stock-in-trade. Even photographers who still shoot film usually scan their negatives or slides to create a digital file. Then, image files are either printed at home or sent to a lab.
The great majority of photographers who...
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An old style of lighting empowered with new technology
Text & Photography By Mark Edward Harris
I used a Stella CLx8 modified with a Profoto collapsible beauty dish as a keylight and a Stella Pro CL 2000 as a very subtle sidelight to photograph Natu and Joko at the Singapore Zoo for my continuing orangutan portrait series to help spread awareness of the issues between these magnificent great apes and the production of palm oil. The alternative...
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Whatever system you use to back up your photos and video, it’s essential that it meets your needs and is reliable
By Brian Matiash
Photographers will often debate whether you need this type of camera or that kind of lens. “Do you really need the extra megapixels?” and “Can’t you make do with the lens you already own?” are valid questions that you should ask yourself whenever you consider buying new gear.
However, a backup and storage system strategy might be the most...
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A roundup of what was new in lenses in 2019 and what to look forward to in the year ahead
William Sawalich
Cameras get the headlines, but experienced photographers know it’s the quality of the lens that often makes or breaks a kit. That’s because lenses dictate everything from the sharpness of a photograph to the ability to shoot in low light at low ISOs with fast shutter speeds while handholding. In short, good glass will often make or break the shot.
That...
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With great new pro camera bodies hitting the market, it’s no surprise there were quite a number of intriguing professional lenses released in 2019
Brian Matiash
Whenever discussing a new lens, the tendency is to look at its focal length, or range, if it’s a zoom lens, and what its widest aperture is. You’ll often hear photographers discuss lenses in the following manner:
“What lens is that you’ve got on your camera?”
“Oh, it’s a 16-35mm.”
“Ahh, right. Is that the ƒ/4 or ƒ/2.8 version?”
“That’d...
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There were some surprising introductions in high-end digital camera bodies in 2019
Brian Matiash
2019 was a wild year for camera manufacturers as the newest crop of cameras being released continues to expand the technological boundaries of what’s possible. In some cases, iterative updates continue to push the capabilities of camera sensors and other features. Yet, in some instances, manufacturers seem to be suffering from an identity crisis,...
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Here’s a look at the trends that affected photographers and content creators in 2019, which will continue in 2020 and beyond
Terry Sullivan
You’ll be seeing more Internet of Things devices, like the Google Nest Hub, which allows you to connect to Google Photos and play slideshows.
As I write this sentence, the year 2020 is less than three months away, which almost makes me want to throw on a gold-colored “Star Trek” uniform, tap the voice memo mobile app on my iPhone (pretending it’s...
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A hands-on tests of five wide-angle zooms and primes
Terry Sullivan
The Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S ultra-wide zoom lens (for its full-frame mirrorless camera system) provided very good edge-to-edge sharpness throughout the zoom range, from 14mm to 30mm. In this image, shot at the 30mm end of the zoom at ƒ/4.0, the lens provided a wonderful bokeh and blur behind the yellow rose in the foreground.
In our last issue,...
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Sony’s short telephoto lens includes stunning optics and impressive technology
By Terry Sullivan
One of my test shots taken with the Sony FE 135mm F1.8 GM US telephoto lens. With its close focusing distance and wide aperture, the new Sony 135mm lens allows you to produce almost macro-type shots of subjects. Photo by Terry Sullivan.
In the past 12 months (from July 2018 to July 2019), there have been about twice as many pro camera introductions...
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