Review Digital Camera World 05-05-2013

Digital Camera World

Photo Anatomy: why Dan Chung used a tilt-shift lens to capture Usain Bolt May 5th 2013, 01:00 In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work. In our latest instalment award-winning press photographer Dan Chung reveals how he captured Usain Bolt’s 100m final victory at the Beijing Olympics using innovative tilt-shift lens effects. Freezing the action "I handheld my Nikon D3, which was fitted with a Nikon PC-E Micro-Nikkor 85mm lens," Dan says. "I used an exposure of 1/500 sec at f/2.8 with the ISO set to 800." 'Toytown' effect Dan used his tilt-shift lens to create a narrow depth of field, making the runners stand out from the blurred background as if they were a group of miniature-scale models. Decisive moment This frame was captured just after the runners had crossed the finish line, and Bolt's holding out his arms in celebration. The display board shows his record-breaking time. Alternative viewpoint "I'm always looking for a different perspective on an event," says Dan. "This photo was part of a series of tilt-shift images I took during the Games." Press ethics As a press photographer, Dan had to create this effect entirely in-camera. "I was shooting for The Guardian and wouldn't have been allowed to use software to simulate it," he says. We Say "Tilt-shift lenses have a variety of technical and creative uses and are great fun to experiment with, but they're expensive. As an alternative, the miniature-like appearance shown here can be created at the post-capture stage. Chris Rutter, Technique editor READ MORE Famous Photographers: 100 things we wish we knew starting out The best lenses for sports photography (and ideal focal lengths to use) Sports photography: tips for setting up your camera to shoot anything 30 celebrity photographers who are actual celebrities Bessel WP6 400Ws review: can you really take studio-grade lighting anywhere? May 4th 2013, 13:00 In our Bessel WP6 400Ws review we test whether this new portable flash system can deliver the results you need and give you quality studio lighting anywhere you choose to shoot. The Bessel WP6 portable lighting system has a 4500mAh Li-ion battery that can churn out up to 400 flashes per charge, while maintaining fast sub-2-second recycle times at full power. At 3.5kg it's light enough to sling over your shoulder on its carry strap, and it also comes with a hard case, a full-size flash head stand and a handle for mobile use. It features a powerful 400Ws flash head complete with 35W modelling lamp and spill kill. For outdoor use the modelling lamp isn't really up to the job, but the flash itself has enough poke to overpower all but the brightest direct sunlight. As it's a budget kit, you don't get a second output socket for splitting power over two heads, so if you want to create a key and fill light set-up, you'll need to fork out for another kit. Although Bessel's offering can't match the polished build quality of some prestige brands, it packs quite a punch for a very reasonable price. Buy it: www.bessel.co.uk Price: £399 Score: 5/5 READ MORE 6 simple lighting set-ups for shooting portraits at home: free photography cheat sheet Best studio flash kits: 6 top models tested and rated Best camera flash for portrait photography: 6 models tested and rated Flash photography made easy: master everything from pop-up flash to multiple flashguns

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