Review Digital Camera World 12-04-2013

Digital Camera World

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Lens Correction tricks for Photoshop: how to correct distortion and optical flaws Dec 4th 2013, 00:01, by jmeyer Correcting distortion and other common lens errors can be a real chore. In this tutorial we show you a few simple ways to use Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop’s Lens Correction filter that can cut your photo editing time down significantly. Creating the perfect lens isn't easy or cheap, and as a result most lenses, even very expensive optics aimed at professional photographers, produce images that benefit from a little correction. Wide-angle lenses, for example, are known for their tendency for barrel distortion – so called because straight lines begin to bow like the wood planks in a barrel. Meanwhile, telephoto optics are more likely to suffer from pincushion distortion. This is where straight lines appear to be much closer together in the middle of the frame than they are at the edge. Vignetting, the darkening of the image corners that can be a plus or a minus point depending upon the shot, can be another issue, especially at very wide apertures. Chromatic aberration, which occurs when a lens fails to focus the different colours that make up white light at the same point, is another common problem. It results in red/magenta or green/cyan fringing along some edges. It tends to be most noticeable along high contrast edges towards the corners of the frame. Tree twigs and branches against a bright sky often exhibit the problem. Photoshop affords two useful methods of correcting these optical flaws. The first is found in Adobe Camera Raw, while the second is the Lens Correction filter within Photoshop itself. Whichever of these methods that you choose, we strongly recommended making the corrections before any other transformations are applied. Now let's take a look at what's involved. Adobe Camera Raw Lens Corrections Profile The easiest way to correct the optical problems associated with a lens is to apply an adjustment profile found under this tab. Once a tick is placed in the Enable Lens Profile Corrections box, the software checks the image EXIF data to identify the lens that was used to capture it. If there is a profile, it automatically applies the necessary corrections. The manufacturer's name and model appears in the drop-down boxes, so that you can verify if the correct one has been used (or select another). If you click on any of these boxes, you can see the alternative options that are available.   Color This tab was added with the upgrade to Camera Raw 7.1, and it's where those nasty magenta and cyan fringes that can appear along the high contrast edges in an image are removed. Selecting small coloured areas to adjust would be very time consuming, but in most cases all you need to do is put a tick in the Remove Chromatic Aberration box in the Color section of Camera Raw's Lens Corrections area. If necessary, the Amount slider can be used to apply more hardcore removal, while the Hue control allows fine-tuning of the colour of the fringing that is targeted.   Manual When there isn't a profile for the lens that you took your shots with, you can use the Distortion control in this area to correct the barreling or pincushioning that it creates in an image. The Lens Vignetting slider is also available to address any corner shading issues. The other controls in this tab allow you to correct aspects such as keystoning, heightened perspective and rotation that are a feature of the angle that the image was shot from. Meanwhile, the Scale slider allows you to quickly resize the image to take account of any of the adjustments that you've made. PAGE 1: Adobe Camera Raw Lens Corrections PAGE 2: Apply vignetting with the Lens Correction filter or ACR PAGE 3: Correcting dramatic distortion with the Lens Correction filter or ACR PAGE 4: Fixing chromatic aberration with the Lens Correction filter READ MORE Dodge and Burn: how to master one of the most vital photo editing skills Professional photo editing tricks: how to get perfect skies in ALL your raw photos Best photo editing tips for beginners: 18 quick fixes to common image problems Image Sharpening: how to bring out more detail in your favourite photos 101 Photoshop tips you really have to know Sony A7R / Sony A7 review Dec 3rd 2013, 10:00, by jmeyer Sony A7R / Sony A7 Review: the Sony Alpha 7 took everyone by surprise, offering full-frame resolution in a smaller body than its competitors. But is it as good as all the hype? Find out in our testing team’s Sony A7 and Sony A7R review video. The Sony A7 comes in two varieties, one with a 24.3-million-pixel sensor and one (the Sony A7R) with a higher resolution, 36.4-million-pixel sensor and no anti-aliasing filter. As you might expect, the A7 is slightly cheaper than its AA filter-less sibling. However, when you compare both to other full-frame cameras on the market, they suddenly appear to be pretty good value for money. Here Amy Davies of our testing team takes a look at what both cameras have to offer in her Sony A7R and Sony A7 review video. SEE MORE: Nikon Df vs Sony A7R – which full-frame camera should you buy? Sony A7R / Sony A7 Review Video Transcript Hello, I’m Amy Davies from Future Publishing’s Photography Portfolio and I’m here today to take a look at the Sony Alpha 7 and the Sony Alpha 7R. These cameras are the world’s smallest and lightest interchangeable lens cameras to feature a full-frame sensor. The A7 features a 24 million pixel sensor, while the more expensive A7R features a whopping 36 million pixel device and has had the anti-aliasing filter removed for better detail resolution. Outwardly, the two cameras are pretty much identical, however the A7R is marginally lighter as this front plate is made from magnesium alloy, compared to the plastic front of the A7. Here we find a chunky grip, which feels nice and solid and is very comfortable to use for a long time. The camera is impressively small, especially when you consider this camera competes with the likes of the Nikon D600 and Canon 6D, both of which are much larger. There is a good number of dials and buttons on the camera, making enthusiast photographers feel at home. On the top here is a mode dial for choosing the exposure mode, such as full manual, aperture priority or sweep panorama. This handy dial here is easily reached by the thumb when you want to alter exposure compensation, while this dial on the back of the camera is used for altering aperture or shutter speed, depending on the mode you’re in. SEE MORE: Sony A7R vs Nikon D800: which full-frame camera should you buy? The back of the camera has a four way control pad around a scrolling dial and each of these directional keys controls something by default but, like other Sony cameras, they can also be customised depending on what you want to access the most. The same can be said of this small c button on the top plate of the camera. This function button here is used to access the quick menu for accessing your most commonly used settings, Again, there is a default layout, but every single option can be swapped out for something else if you want it to – Sony has really thought about how enthusiast photographers might want to get the most from their cameras. The screen on the cameras tilts upwards and downwards, which is useful for shooting at some awkward angles, or angling the screen away from glare, but because it’s not fully articulated, it’s no help when shooting portrait format images or self-portraits. It’s also not a touchscreen, which means that you’ll need to change the AF point using the buttons on the back of the camera. It’s not too tricky a task, but it’s a bit slower than using a touchscreen. Along with the LCD screen is a viewfinder. As there’s no reflex mirror in either the A7 and the A7R, this is an electronic device. Although EVFs have had a bit of a bad reputation in the past, technology has improved significantly over the last couple of years and the finder found in both of these cameras is very good, giving a number of advantages over using a traditional optical finder. For now there isn’t a huge range of full frame E-mount lenses for the A7 and A7R. Any of Sony’s current E-mount lenses for APS-cameras can be used, with the camera automatically cropping to remove any vignetting. You can also purchase separately an official Sony adapter for converting A-mount lenses, and perhaps most interestingly for existing full-frame camera users, a third party converter for using Nikon or Canon full frame lenses. One big problem with both the A7 and A7R is battery life. Because the camera is always shooting in live view mode, and there’s a full frame sensor, the drain on the battery is significant, and it can’t compete with the life of cameras such as the Nikon D600. Therefore, it’s almost a given that you will need to purchase an additional battery. We had very high hopes for Sony’s innovative mirror less full-frame camera, and, for the most part, we haven’t been disappointed. Images are superb, with excellent colours and great detail reproduction – the A7R particularly of course. READ MORE 32 things photographers say… and what they actually mean Banish bad pictures: 9 quick fixes for common camera complaints 44 essential digital camera tips and tricks 10 ways to drive a photography snob mad 10 common exposure problems every photographer faces (and how to overcome them)

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