Monday, 19 May 2014

Review Digital Camera World 05-19-2014

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Seascape photography: how to shoot smooth stormy seas
May 18th 2014, 23:01, by jmeyer

Seascape photography: how to shoot smooth stormy seas

In this tutorial we're going to show you how to capture long exposure seascape photography with the aid of a neutral density filter.

An ND filter is simply a semi-opaque piece of glass or other material that reduces the amount of light reaching your sensor, enabling you to obtain slow shutter speeds that turn moving water and clouds into a silky blur– perfect for dramatic seascape photography.

There are a variety of ND filters on the market. Circular threaded screw-in filters are the simplest to use, but these can be limiting in terms of the shutter speeds you can obtain unless you use the variable kind, as we have for this project.

The other option is slot-in filters. These can be fiddly to set up, as they require you to first attach a filter holder to your lens via an adapter, and then slot square or oblong filters into the holder.

The advantage, however, is that, once you've done this, it's easy to swap filters, stack ND filters to get the required density, or add different kinds of filter (for example a graduated ND filter) to the mix.

Both types of filter come in varying densities, and reduce the light by between one stop and ten stops. Confusingly, different manufacturers calibrate the density differently, but you can find tables online that enable you to compare these ratings, to help you decide what density you need.

This will of course depend on the lighting you're shooting in. We headed to Porthcawl on the South Wales coast, to use an ND filter to capture dramatic slo-mo seascape photography…

SEE MORE: The 10 Commandments of Landscape Photography (and how to break them)

Seascape photography step by step – steps 1-3

01 Location and weather

Neutral density filters are widely used in seascape photography, as they enable you to use a slower shutter speed to blur the movement of water and clouds. Find a suitably rugged and dramatic-looking stretch of coastline, and for the best results shoot on a day when there are clouds in the sky, ideally with enough wind to create some movement.

 

02 Tripod and remote

When you're shooting long exposures it's crucial that the camera remains completely still for the duration to avoid camera shake, so you'll need to mount it on a tripod. It's also a good idea to use a remote release to fire the shutter, as even the act of pressing the shutter can be enough to disturb the camera and cause blurred shots; if you don't have a remote use the 2-sec self-timer setting.

 SEE MORE: Using filters – the only cheat sheet you’ll ever need to get beautifully balanced exposures

03 Compose and focus

Use Live View to compose your shot, as you'll be able to see more clearly on the rear LCD. Use the rule of thirds to position the horizon, and include some foreground interest, such as rocks, to lead the eye into the scene.

Live View also makes it easier to focus, as your camera's autofocus is likely to struggle once the ND filter is fitted. Switch your lens to manual, zoom in and adjust the focus ring so that key detail is sharp.

Seascape photography step by step – steps 1-3
Seascape photography step by step – steps 4-6
Seascape photography step by step – steps 7-9
Seascape photography step by step – steps 10-12

READ MORE

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10 tips for using your 10-stop ND filter

This Week In Photography – 12-18 May 2014
May 18th 2014, 20:23, by jmeyer

Welcome to our new weekly photo news round-up, with the stories that matter to serious photographers, along with pithy comment and insightful analysis

AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR: Nikon's new £10,400 super-telephoto lens

New Nikon superzoom

Nikon has introduced a new 400mm super-telephoto lens aimed at sports and wildlife pros. This latest Nikkor ‘long tom’ has a self-explanatory SPORT Vibration Reduction (VR) mode and new optical design, featuring 16 elements in 12 groups.

The lens is fast too, with a fixed maximum aperture of f/2.8 – ideal for blurring out messy backgrounds while keeping the subject sharp. The lens is lighter than its predecessor, with two fluorite lens elements to enhance performance and reduce weight for better handling.

The AF-S Nikkor 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR costs £10,399.99, and is available August.

SEE MORE: Best compact system camera: 5 premium CSCs tested and rated

Nikon D800 review

Nikon D800 new firmware

Owners of the mega-pixelled behemoth that is the D800/D800E should check out the latest firmware releases. Highlights include support for CompactFlash cards with capacities greater than 128Gb, and an HTTP server mode. This enables you to view images on the card, or to take photographs, from the web browser on a computer or iPhone.

 

Nissin lit up by flashgun gong

Nissin’s budget flashguns are proving popular, and now its i40 ‘gun has won top honours in the ‘Best Portable Lighting System’ category at the 2014 TIPA Awards.

"The Nissin i40 offers a combination of impressive flash power and an innovative LED fill-in light in a small and lightweight package," said a spokesman for the TIPA awards, which is a kind of camera, lens and accessory Oscars.

Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Four Thirds and Fujifilm, the i40 can cover a lens angle of view from 24-105mm, with additional coverage to 16mm with the supplied diffuser. It’s keenly priced at £204.

SEE MORE: 10 camera techniques to master in 2014

Olympus compact sales plummet

While losses at Olympus’s Imaging Division have slowed, the company is clearly being hammered by the unstoppable rise of smartphones – it’s now predicting it will sell 1 million compact cameras in the next year, four million less than in 2012.

Olympus now plans to increase compact system camera sales by about 40% in the next year, and also to raise average selling prices of its flagship OM-D series.

Sony’s latest results also show that camera sales dropped by 5.5 million units year on on year, a fall of over 30%.

 

Irish photographer wins Deutsche Borse

Think there are no longer any novel ways to capture great images? Irish photographer Richard Mosse has proved the doubters wrong by taking amazing images from the Democratic Republic of Congo on discontinued military surveillance film. Its the perfect marriage of form and content for this war-torn region. Mosse trousers a well-deserved £30,000 prize.

READ MORE

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