Review Digital Camera World 06-19-2013

Digital Camera World

Best monopod for DSLR photography: 6 top models tested and rated Jun 18th 2013, 23:01 Want support for your camera without lugging a tripod around? We put six sensibly priced monopods to the test to find out which is the best monopod for DSLR photography enthusiasts. Any decent tripod will give a stable shooting platform, but tripods are heavy, bulky and time-consuming to set up. With only one leg, monopods are more manageable. A greater number of leg sections enables a monopod to fold down smaller for carrying. The trade-off is that setup time is slightly longer if you need to extend all the sections, as there are more clamps to operate. Each clamp is also a potential weak point that can introduce unwanted flexing. Another factor to bear in mind is that the more leg sections you have, the thinner and more spindly the bottom sections will be. Monopods that feature tilting heads enable shooting in portrait orientation (upright) as well as in landscape orientation, so are far more versatile. If your chosen monopod is lacking this tilt facility, you may need to factor in the expense of adding a tilt head or ball head separately – unless your lens has a rotating tripod collar. Best monopod for DSLR photography: Velbon Ultra Stick M50 Price: £30, $45 Buy it: www.velbon.co.uk Most of the monopods on test here are sturdy beasts that, by their nature, are quite big and weighty. The Velbon bucks this trend, folding down to only about 32cm. It also weighs a mere 210g, so is very light to carry around with you. The flip side is that it only extends to a relatively lowly 131cm, and its maximum load rating is just 1.5kg. Even so, it's well able to support most SLRs with a standard zoom lens. With a five-section leg, the bottom section is very thin – just 9mm in diameter – and the Velbon feels a lot flimsier than other monopods in the group we tested. It extends through progressive twisting of the foot, so there are no fiddly clamps to operate. Pros… Easily slips into a bag and is very light for carrying. Cons… Relatively flimsy, no tilt option, short maximum height. WE say… A decent lightweight option for the long haul. Score: 3/5 PAGE 1 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Velbon Ultra Stick M50 PAGE 2 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Giottos MML3290B PAGE 3 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Slik Pro Pod 600 PAGE 4 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Benro MP-35EX Kiv PAGE 5 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Manfrotto Compact 680B PAGE 6 – Best monopod for DSLR photography: Vanguard Espod AM-263 PAGE 7 – Five things to look for when choosing a monopod READ MORE 9 secrets to using a tripod like a pro 10 things photographers can do to stop wasting pictures Hands-free photography: 4 ways to take pictures without touching your camera Camera Shake: the ultimate cheat sheet for using tripods, monopods and shooting handheld Family Portraits at Home: tips for taking contemporary family photos on a budget Jun 18th 2013, 11:00 Taking family portraits in unfamiliar surroundings, such as a studio, can make them feel nervous – and you don't want this to come across in your images. By shooting family portraits at home, you'll be able to get more relaxed poses and happy expressions. For this family portrait shoot, we decided to use a simple set-up without expensive and complicated studio lighting. We used three regular flashguns to create our home photo studio. We placed two of them on lighting stands with umbrellas to reflect a soft and more flattering light back onto our subject. We then positioned each light at a 45 degree angle about 6 feet away from the subject and made sure they were switched to manual mode. The third flash was mounted on our camera and tilted it towards the ceiling to bounce the light, but it also worked as a remote trigger firing all three flashguns simultaneously. What gear we used Flashguns We used three Nikon Speedlights: one on the camera and the other two on stands. However, you can still get creative results using only one or two flashguns. Two light stands Jessops Portaflash lighting stands with adjustable tilting brolly brackets. These are easy to use, light and a good size at over two metres tall when fully extended. Two umbrellas A silver umbrella for a good coverage of light and a clear white umbrella, which creates a soft, diffused light. PAGE 1: Great budget gear for shooting family portraits at home PAGE 2: Best camera settings for shooting family portraits at home PAGE 3: 5 tips to give your family portraits an edge PAGE 4: Correcting family portraits post-capture READ MORE Miss Aniela: my top tips for creative portrait photography 14 portrait photography tips you’ll never want to forget 17 romantic couple poses that will make you say, ‘I do’ People Photography: composition tips for more diverse portrait styles The Photoshop Family: understanding the Adobe family tree Jun 18th 2013, 06:50 Let’s face it: there have been a lot of Adobe announcements in the past year introducing new products from Photoshop CC to Lightroom 5, Photoshop Touch, Photoshop CS6, and more. And it can get confusing! So how do all these platforms sit in the Adobe range of photo editing software? To celebrate the official launch today of Photoshop CC, our friends at Practical Photoshop have put together this brilliant cheat sheet illustrating The Photoshop Family. In the infographic below we’ve highlighted each of the platforms on the Adobe family tree and identified their pros and cons and the audience its best suited for. What’s more, we’ve also included the price for each platform. To view the larger version of this cheat sheet, simply click on the infographic or drag and drop it to your desktop. NEXT PAGE: Official Adobe Creative Cloud press announcement READ MORE Photoshop CC: the 10 most important features in Adobe’s new software Adobe Lightroom: what every photographer needs to know about the ‘alternative Photoshop’ 34 Photoshop effects every photographer must try once 101 Photoshop tips you really have to know Best Photo Editing Software? 6 budget alternatives to Photoshop tested and rate

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