Tabla de contenidos para March - April 2020 en Camera

IF YOU TAKE a look at our title page – assuming that you haven’t already eagerly read this issue’s editorial – you’ll notice there’s a new logo at the bottom of what we call the ‘skite box’ (that’s the panel that lists who does what in the mag). In the time between now and the last issue, Camera magazine has been sold by previous owner, Next Media, to the UK-based company Future Publishing. In fact, all the AV Group magazines have found a new home at Future, including sister publication ProPhoto, Australian Hi-Fi, Australian Guitar and Sound & Image. We join a growing stable of tech and photo magazines published in the UK, Canada and the USA so, as they say in business, we’re a ‘good fit’ in terms of…

Now in its 55th year, the Wildlife Photographer Of The Year competition is the premier showcase for the world’s best nature and wildlife photography. The competition is run by London’s Natural History Museum and this year attracted more than 48,000 entries from photographers in 100 countries. The international judging panel managed to distil this down to a set of just 19 category winners and from these was selected the grand title winner; Chinese photographer Qinghai, Yongqing Bao. Titled The Moment, the winning picture captures the stand-off between a Tibetan fox and a marmot, seemingly frozen in life-or-death deliberations. A powerful frame of both humour and horror, it depicts both the drama and intensity of nature. The chair of the judging panel, Roz Kidman Cox, comments, “Photographically, it is quite simply…

Fujifilm’s XF100-400mm f4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR telezoom (equivalent to 150-600mm) is currently the longest lens in the X mount system, but perhaps more interesting is the XF200mm f2.0 R LM OIS WR prime. Yes, that’s f2.0 speed, and the effective focal length is 300mm which makes for a pretty mouth-watering lens for wildlife photography. What’s more, it’s packaged with a 1.4x teleconverter which gives you 420mm at f2.8. Of course, at 300mm (effective) and f1.2, the depth-of-field is going to be very shallow, but the advantages are enhanced low-light capabilities or the ability to use faster shutter speeds. The XF200mm is weather-sealed and has optical image stabilisation so it’s potentially a very versatile lens. Undoubtedly more affordable is Sony E 70-350mm f4.5-6.3 G OSS telezoom which is a recent…

Leica is thriving today, but there have been times in the company’s long history when the future looked bleak. It was at these times that important pieces of the company’s heritage would be sold off to eager collectors around the world – styling models, prototypes, preproduction models and all manner of memorabilia. Additionally, it wasn’t unheard for retiring engineers to souvenir a few bits and pieces… such as a prototype lens that had been serving a paperweight on the desk for years, but was actually a highly-desirable collectible. The modern-day Leica has been actively trying to re-acquire many of these items to rebuild its camera archive, now located in a dedicated part of the company headquarters at Leitz Park, on the outskirts of historic Wetzlar in Germany. The new archive…

Asahiflex (1952) After beginning operations in 1919 in various fields of optics, Asahi Optical launched its first camera in 1952. It was also Japan’s first 35mm SLR. Asahi Pentax (1957) The camera that changed the world by defining the design of the 35mm SLR. The basic configuration is still in use today in the D-SLR. Pentax 6x7 (1969) Asahi Optical adopted the configuration of a 35mm SLR for its first 6x7cm medium format model. Pentax Spotmatic F (1973) The Spotmatic was introduced in 1964 and was the first volumeproduction 35mm SLR with builtin TTL metering. Shown above is the Spotmatic F which added the convenience of full-aperture metering. Pentax ES II (1973) The first ES – short for Electro Spotmatic – was introduced in 1971 and was the first 35mm SLR…

GET AUSTRALIAN CAMERA MAGAZINE FROM ONLY $7.49 AN ISSUE! 12 ISSUES FOR ONLY $89.95 Two easy ways to subscribe to Australian Camera Magazine Visit subscribe.techmags.com.au/aucamera or call (02) 8227 6486 TERMS & CONDITIONS: This offer expires April 20th 2020, and is available to subscribers within Australia only. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery of your first issue. For full terms and conditions, see: http://techmags.com.au/style/images/FutureTC.pdf Please see our privacy policy on page 3. *Twelve issues for only $89.95.…

www.teds.com.au THIS CHECKLIST is designed to allow direct comparisons between different camera models, here listed in price order within each brand. The published prices are mostly supplied by the distributors as recommended retail prices (RRPs). However, some distributors are no longer supplying RRPs to the media so it has become necessary to determine an ‘estimated street price’ derived from the range of prices for a model published by retailers. Where this has been necessary, the letter ‘E’ appears at the start of the entry. A dot appearing in a column indicates that the feature is available on the camera model listed. Where a specification or product detail hasn’t yet been published or confirmed, the letters TBA (to be announced) or TBC (to be confirmed) are used. If a feature is…

WE’VE BEEN BIG fans of the X-T100, but its compact size and excellent affordability came with some limitations. With the new X-T200 model, it looks like Fujifilm has addressed all the gripes and thrown in a lot more as well. The X-T200 has the same 24.24 megapixels (effective) ‘APS-C’ size sensor as before but it now uses copper wiring – which has a lower resistance – for speedier data transfer. This, in part, contributes to an increase in the maximum shooting speed to 8.0 fps (up from 6.0 fps) and also enables 4K UHD video recording at the full-motion speeds of 25 fps (PAL) or 30 fps (NTSC), or 24 fps. What’s more, the X-T200 records 4K video using the full width of the sensor so initial capture is at…

WHILE A PRO-LEVEL EOS R mirrorless camera is an inevitability, Canon is keeping faith with its dedicated pro D-SLR users who will no doubt be mightily pleased with the new EOS-1D X Mark III. It’s targeted at high-speed shooters who still prefer to use an optical viewfinder rather than an EVF. Canon has gone all-out to make its new reflex flagship the fastest D-SLR ever, able to match the fastest mirrorless cameras… at least in terms of full resolution. The -1D X Mark III has a new FP shutter assembly and a new reflex mirror mechanism to enable faster recycling with reduced black-out periods between frames. With the optical viewfinder, it’s capable of 16 fps and, with mirror lock-up, this increases to an impressive 20 fps… and both with continuous…

AS EXPECTED LEICA has introduced a B&Wonly version of its current M10 digital rangefinder camera. The new M10 Monochrom also gets the Leica ‘stealth’ treatment so there’s no red-dot logo and no badging on the top panel beyond a very discreet “Monochrom” engraving which isn’t painted in. While the Monochrom version has the same bodyshell as the standard M10, it has an all-new 41 megapixels CMOS sensor which Leica says has been specifically designed to achieve “…an entirely new level of quality in black-and-white photography”. The new sensor has neither an RGBG Bayer filter nor a low-pass optical filter and delivers a maximum image size of 7864x5200 pixels with RAW capture (in the Adobe DNG format) and 7840x5184 pixels for JPEGs. There are also two smaller JPEG capture sizes. The…

FUJIFILM’S CLASSIC X100 fixed-lens ‘APS-C’ format camera arrives in its fifth-generation form, embodying a myriad of updates including a new sensor and an improved electronic viewfinder. Following the ‘if it ain’t broke…’ principle, the basic X100 formula remains the same with a high-class all-metal bodyshell, Fujinon Super EBC 23mm f2.0 prime lens (equivalent to 35mm), hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder and traditional control layout. However, the X100V is now weather-sealed (which requires an adapter and protective filter on the lens), the sensor is the 26.1 megapixels ‘X Trans CMOS 4’ currently doing service on the later X mount bodies, and the EVF switches from an LCD panel to an OLED-type with a resolution of 3.69 megadots. The LCD touch screen monitor is now adjustable for tilt and has a resolution of 1.62…

Just about anywhere on the planet – even at sea – birds are part of everyday life and we tend to take them for granted, but if you choose to become more involved with the avian world, you’ll find it’s a truly fascinating place. Many people who take up bird-watching as a hobby inevitably decide that they’d like to extent their interest to include photography. You don’t necessarily have to be a ‘twitcher’ to take great photographs of birds, but you will get better pictures if you know your subjects in terms of behaviour and habitats. And, in most cases, after you’ve exhausted all the ‘backyard bird’ opportunities, you’ll be keen to move further afield and look for other species (there’s estimated to be around 10,000) which is when Just…

With both Canon’s and Nikon’s full-35mm mirrorless camera systems still comparatively new, you have to turn to their D-SLR systems for very long lenses. In fact, Nikon has just added a new telezoom to the line-up in the shape of the AF-S Nikkor 120-300mm f2.8E FLED SR VR. Note the constant aperture of f2.8 – so no zoom-related speed limitations here – and the 25-element optical construction includes two fluorite types and one ‘SR’ type. ‘SR’ glass has been newly developed by Nikon and is designed to significantly refract short-wavelength light to provide more effective suppression of all chromatic aberrations. Importantly, the minimum focusing distance is just two metres across the full zooming range, giving a maximum reproduction ratio of 1:6.3 at 300mm. Not long enough? What about the AF-S…

CONSTRUCTION: Not surprisingly, it’s very similar in size, styling and control layout to the Mark II… but is actually 90 grams lighter in weight at 1.44 kilograms. External covers are magnesium alloy with weather sealing at all junctions and insulation to enable shooting in sub-zero temperatures. Diecast magnesium alloy chassis. New ‘Smart Controller’ is an optical touch-type control integrated into the AF-On buttons to enable faster AF point selection than the conventional joy-stick type control (which the Mark III retains). As on the Nikon D-SLR flagship, various buttons now have built-in backlighting. SENSOR: Newly-developed Canon CMOS with an imaging area of 24x36 mm and a total pixel count of 21.4 million. The effective pixel count is 20.1 million, giving a maximum image size of 5472x3648 pixels. New four-layer ‘High Detail’…

Video is, of course, the S1H’s big party trick, but there are good reasons why we now have so-called hybrid cameras, especially in the mirrorless category. These days professional photographers – especially in the areas of sports and news gathering – are being called up to take both stills and video clips. And there’s still a demand for high-quality stills on video productions even if we are edging ever closer to the convergence which means a video frame grab will deliver a still image with enough resolution for most applications. As a case in point, the S1H has Panasonic’s ‘6K Photo’ high-speed capture mode which delivers a 5184x3456 pixels still from a 30 fps burst, but it also records full-frame 6K video with 10-bit colour which is going to give…

So far, all the L mount mirrorless cameras have been on the beefy side – Leica’s SL and SL2, and the Lumix S trio from Panasonic. All are as big – if not bigger – than the more compact full-35mm format D-SLRs such as Nikon’s D750 or the Canon EOS 6D Mark II. So now for something completely different… Sigma’s near pocket-sized fp. Sigma has gone all-out to make the fp as small and as light as possible in the true spirit of the mirrorless camera concept. Not surprisingly, it’s easily the most compact L mount camera on the market (actually, it’s the most compact full-35mm mirrorless camera on the market, full stop) but it’s also a good deal smaller than many ‘APS-C’ and Micro Four Thirds format mirrorless cameras…

WITH THE ARRIVAL of the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S, there are now eight Z mount lenses in Nikon’s full-35mm mirrorless system and they now pretty well cover all the essentials. The new 70-200mm f2.8 – a staple for many photographers – has internal zooming and focusing plus a built-in optical image stabiliser giving up to five stops of correction for camera shake. As the Z 6 and Z 7 cameras have in-body stabilisation, the lens’s ‘Vibration Reduction’ optical correction works in conjunction with this system. The optical construction – comprising 21 elements in 18 groups – includes a total of ten special types, including one of Nikon’s recently-developed ‘SR’ elements. The initials are short for “Short Wavelength Refractive” and these specialised-refractive elements are designed to provide enhanced correction…

SWEDISH FLASH AND lighting company Profoto has announced that its A1X on-camera flash unit is now available for Fujifilm’s mirrorless cameras. Profoto bills the A1X as “the world’s smallest studio light”. Compatibility comes via the A1X AirTTLF version and the Off-Camera Kit with its Profoto Connect-F wireless and buttonless remote trigger which fits to the camera hotshoe and enables fully-automatic point-and-shoot flash photography. Compatibility covers all the current Fujifilm GFX series medium format mirrorless cameras; the X-T2 and X-T3, X-Pro2, X-H1, X-T20, X-E3 and X100F. Profoto’s AirTTL radio trigger operates at 2.4 GHz and has a range of up to 300 metres. In total, 20 wireless sync channels are available. In addition to the AirTTL remote exposure control, the A1X also supports high-speed flash sync (HSS) at shutter speeds of…

Current to 29 March: Exhibition. Petrina Hicks – Bleached Gothic. The first major survey exhibition for the photographer, featuring her large-scale, hyperreal photographs that subvert and disrupt the photographic language of advertising and portraiture. At Level 3, NGV International, 180 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. Admission is free. For more information telephone (03) 8620 2222 or visit www.ngv.vic.gov.au Current to 29 March: Exhibition. Olympia: Photographs By Polixeni Papapetrou (1960–2018). Photographs of Papapetrou’s daughter, Olympia, taken between 1997 and the artist’s death in 2018. During this time Olympia acted as model and muse, collaborator and champion. At The Ian Potter Centre, Level 3, NGV Federation Square, corner Flinders and Swanston Streets, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. Admission is…

The Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera format really comes into its own with longer telephoto lenses when the 1.97x magnification factor allows for much more compact external designs without sacrificing magnifying power. Panasonic’s brilliant Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm f4.0-6.3 delivers the equivalent of 200-800mm in a lens that is just a shade over 17 centimetres in length and weighs 1.1 kilograms. It’s weather-proofed with a built-in optical stabiliser so you can even shoot hand-held at 800mm. If you want more lens speed, there’s Panasonic’s Leica DG Elmarit 200mm f2.8 Power OIS prime telephoto which has an effective focal length of 400mm yet it weighs in at 1.245 kilograms and is also just over 17 centimetres in length. What’s more, Panasonic is packaging it with a dedicated 1.4x teleconverter which delivers…

The Picture The Hay Plains of New South Wales usually conjures up images of vast wide-open, flat spaces with big blue skies and a near-barren dusty surface. On one crossing between Hay and Goolgowi on the Mid Western Highway, heavy rain had dramatically changed the landscape to something completely different and one that presented some great photo opportunities. Apart from the very temporary ponds, the dark skies and occasional sunshine turned the generally dull drive into something most photographers would cherish. The Photographer Trevern Dawes has been a contributor to Australian Camera since the first issue was published in June 1979 (then titled Camera Craft). An avid landscape photographer (and also our digital printing guru), Trevern still travels extensively through Australia and New Zealand, taking pictures for magazines, books and…

Our bulging archive of Pentax press photos provides a dramatic indication of just how prolific the camera maker was, particularly in the latter half of the 20th century. Pentax is, of course, best known for successfully commercialising the 35mm SLR – and for creating the basic design configuration which has been in use ever since – but it was a pioneer in a number of other key areas; most notably the 35mm zoom compact. While its successes in the 35mm format were numerous, Pentax was also a forward thinker in medium format photography – 6x4.5cm and 6x7cm – and in the miniature categories too; the remarkable Auto 110 SLR system being a case in point. Not surprisingly then, Pentax was a powerful member of the ‘big five’ leading Japanese camera…

The S1H’s extensive video capabilities warrant an entire article to themselves so we’re only going to be touching on the highlights here… and there are plenty of those alone. A key headline is the uncropped 6K recording – which represents a frame resolution of 5952x3968 pixels – in the 3:2 aspect ratio at 24 fps with 10-bit 4:2:0 colour and interframe compression which gives a bit rate of 200 Mbps. Perhaps not surprisingly, this uses the more efficient H.265/HEVC codec to avoid monstrous file sizes. At 5.9K – 5888x3312 pixels at 16:9, using the full sensor width – the additional frame rates of 25 fps and 30 fps are available, but it’s still with 10-bit 4:2:0 colour and LongGOP compression (using H.265 codec again). However, step into the 4K DCI…

It’s fair to say that Sigma is targeting the fp at video-makers ahead of photographers, even if it is actually an excellent stills camera. The form factor has clearly been designed with rig-based applications in mind as has the passive cooling via a heat sink and the provision of a 10- or 12-bit CinemaDNG RAW output to an external SSD via USB-C (and 4K or 2K with 8-bit 4:2:2 colour via HDMI). Additionally, the single card slot obviously saves a bit of space in the body, but also indicates that Sigma thinks many fp users will be using external recorders. The passive cooling enables recording durations of up to two hours. Because of the amount of data being generated (with bit rates of up to 2500 Mbps), both 10-bit and…

BODYSHELL: Similar styling and size to the X-Pro2, but the construction has been strengthened and given improved weather protection. The chassis is still magnesium alloy, but the top and bottom plates are now titanium. Weather sealing is enhanced via a total of 70 seals at the joins and junctions (versus 61). Insulation allows shooting at temperatures down to -10 degrees There’s the standard black-painted gloss finish as on the X-Pro2, but with the option – at an increased price – of a heavy-duty scratch-resistant surface protection for the titanium panels called ‘Duratect’ which utilises cold plasma technology and is extremely tough. Special ‘Dura Silver’ and ‘Dura Black’ versions of the camera are available. 1. MONITOR SCREEN: Here Fujifilm is daring to be different. To promote a more film-like camera experience,…