Review Digital Camera World 08-09-2013

Digital Camera World

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Aviation photography: tips for taking first-class pictures of airplanes Aug 8th 2013, 23:01, by jmeyer Aviation photography is one of the more challenging genres you can shoot as a photographer: fast-moving subjects, bright backgrounds, keeping your camera stable at long focal lengths. The list goes on. In this tutorial we explain some of the best aviation photography tips we’ve learned from the pros, as well as our own experience, to show you the best way to take stunning pictures of airplanes. Aviation photography can be great fun, but if you want to capture exciting pictures of airplanes against interesting backgrounds rather than plain skies you need to shoot them during take-off or landing. You'll also need the right equipment for aviation photography – particularly a telephoto lens with plenty of reach – and the right camera settings and shooting techniques. In this aviation photography tutorial we'll show you how to capture all the action in and around a busy airport, as well as offer some expert tips on how to take pictures of airplanes performing their dramatic aerobatics at local air shows. For our main shoot here we were lucky enough to get access to the side of the runway at Bristol International Airport. You may not be able to get quite as close, but you'll be able to capture aviation photography that’s just as dramatic by finding a location close to an airport, or by visiting one of the many air shows held around the country over the summer – but do make sure you're in an area where photography is permitted. Keep an eye on the weather, as this can mean the difference between great aircraft shots and so-so images. A sunny day with blue skies and some cloud is perfect: the clouds will add interest and texture to your backdrops, and the sun will bring out the colour and detail of the aircraft. If you're using a large, heavy telephoto lens, use a monopod to support the weight, as you may be waiting around for some time between shooting opportunities. Best camera settings for aviation photography 01 Aperture Priority mode Set your camera to Aperture Priority (Av) mode for control over the aperture. Lighting conditions can change quickly, so start off with an aperture of around f/8: you need a wide enough aperture to enable a fast shutter speed, but you also want to capture a broad enough depth of field to ensure your subjects are sharp. Start out with an ISO between ISO100 and ISO400.   02 Shutter speed When you're shooting in Av mode the camera will select the shutter speed, so you'll need to keep an eye on this: to freeze fast-moving aircraft, ideally you don't want your shutter speed dropping below 1/1000 sec. Keep checking your exposures, as you may need to stop down to f/5.6 to obtain a faster shutter speed; you can increase the ISO to get a faster shutter speed too.   03 Capturing motion There are a couple of exceptions when it comes to shutter speed. If you want to capture some motion blur to convey a sense of speed you'll need to use a slower shutter speed, and pan to follow your subject; around 1/60 sec should give good results, but you may need a few goes to get the panning technique right. If you're taking pictures of airplanes with propellers, a shutter speed of between 1/100 sec and 1/500 sec will create a slight blur in the propellers while keeping the rest of the aircraft sharp.   04 Accurate focusing Switch your lens to AF, and set the autofocus mode to AI Servo to track moving subjects. You can also set up back button focusing, which enables you to press a rear button – the AF-ON button is the best choice – to meter and focus, so that you can use the shutter button just to fire the shutter, without any delay. When you're taking pictures of airplanes in flight you'll need a telephoto lens with a reach of at least 200mm in order to capture close-up shots with plenty of detail. We used the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens on an EOS 7D. The advantage of shooting aviation photography with an APS-C-format body such as the 7D is that the crop factor gives you extra telephoto reach: at the 400mm setting the 1.6x crop factor gives an effective focal length of 640mm.   05 Drive mode Set the drive mode to High Speed Continuous so that you can fire off bursts of shots. Our 7D is capable of a super-fast 8fps, but even if you have a slower camera make sure you have some spare memory cards with you, as you'll fill up cards quickly – particularly if you're shooting Raw files, which we recommend for maximum quality. PAGE 1: Best camera settings for aviation photography PAGE 2: How to compose pictures of airplanes PAGE 3: How to take pictures of airplanes at air shows PAGE 4: How to edit your aviation photography for best results: steps 1-5 PAGE 5: How to edit your aviation photography for best results: steps 6-10 READ MORE 10 reasons why your photos aren’t sharp (and how to fix them) Famous Photographers: 100 things we wish we knew starting out Banish Bad Pictures: 9 quick fixes for common camera complaints 10 killer photography tips the pros won’t tell you Nikon, Olympus confirmed to attend The Photography Show at Birmingham NEC Aug 8th 2013, 17:17, by jmeyer Nikon and Olympus have confirmed their attendance for the debut of The Photography Show, the major new photo event launched by Digital Camera World’s parent Future Publishing. Scheduled to take place at Birmingham's NEC, between Saturday 1 and Tuesday 4 March 2014, this new consumer and professional event will combine interactive features to entertain and engage consumers, with dedicated conferences and events for the trade and retailer attendees. As well as Nikon and Olympus, more than 50 companies have so far committed to exhibit at The Photography Show in 2014. Nikon UK Group Marketing Manager Jeremy Gilbert says: "The Photography Show is the ideal platform for Nikon to engage with its customers; to give them the opportunity to see and experience new product and be inspired by Nikon. “We're particularly excited by the fresh new approach to an industry show that incorporates some exciting new ideas and consumer-friendly activities that allow us to reach a wider audience. As a key event in our calendar this year, Nikon will be looking to secure a major presence at the show to reflect the hugely successful 'I AM Nikon' brand campaign." Olympus National Marketing Manager Mark Thackara says: "Olympus has signed up to The Photography Show in a big way. Future has a brave and exciting plan to bring fresh faces to the NEC in March with some innovative and comprehensive attractions. “We plan to complement the existing plans with some interactive action of our own. We can’t say too much at the moment but the aim will be to keep people entertained and engaged!" READ MORE 49 awesome photography tips and time savers 10 common camera mistakes every photographer makes DSLR Lenses: 7 questions photographers must ask about their next piece of glass 10 killer photography tips the pros won’t tell you DIY Photography Hacks: how to make a flash diffuser from cardboard (video) Aug 8th 2013, 10:23, by crutter In our latest DIY Photography Hacks post our technique editor Chris teams up with our friends at NPhoto to provide a thorough yet easy-to-follow video demonstration of how to make a simple flash diffuser from cardboard for more evenly lit images. One of the biggest drawbacks of using flash is that it produces harsh, high-contrast light. Strong shadows and highlights aren't ideal for subjects like portraits and some still lifes. You can soften the light from your flash by bouncing it off a wall or ceiling, but these aren't always available, or convenient to use. What you need is a way to soften the light your flash produces. There are loads of commercially available diffusers, bounce cards and softboxes. The latter have one end that fits over your flash, and then get wider, ending in a panel of translucent material that diffuses the light of the flash as it passes through. You can make a softbox at almost no cost from items you've got around your house. All you need is a suitably-sized cardboard box (flattened, but with the top and base flaps intact as you will make use of the folds), some tin foil, some baking parchment (or greaseproof paper) and some tape. Apart from saving you a fair bit of money, the other advantage of a do-it-yourself softbox is that you can make it as large or small as you like. The larger the softbox, the softer the light will be, but it will also reduce the light that reaches your subject from the flash, so bear this in mind when choosing the size of cardboard box. Of course, there are some disadvantages to the DIY photography approach. The main one is that the homemade softbox isn't as portable as commercially available versions as it doesn't fold down, but for indoor use this isn't a problem. Planning your design and marking it out carefully before cutting will make your softbox easier to construct and a much better fit to your flash, so take your time during that stage of the build. The design we've come up with is pretty simple to follow, and only takes around 30 minutes to make. In the video below we show you step-by-step how to make a flash diffuser of your very own! We’ve also written out each step on the next page. PAGE 1: How to make a flash diffuser (video tutorial) PAGE 2: Step-by-step how to make a flash diffuser READ MORE Flash photography tips: external flash techniques anyone can understand Flash photography made easy: master everything from pop-up flash to multiple flashguns DIY Photography Hacks: make a light tent from 3-ring binders to diffuse sunlight Flash photography basics: every common question answered

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