Table of contents for 2016 Special Edition in Camera

“The first camera that really helped me to fall in love with photography was a Hasselblad 501C that I bought second hand in Honolulu.” STILL ONLY 27, Stephanie Gilmore already has a decade of professional surfing competition behind her. In that time she’s won more than 20 elite world tour events and been crowned women’s world champion on six occasions, including in 2007 which was her first full year on the tour. In recognition of her many achievements, Stephanie was awarded the Laureus World Sports Award – considered the most prestigious award in action sports worldwide – in 2010 and the ESPN ESPY for Best Female Action Sports Athlete in both 2011 and 2013. Despite her demanding competition program, she still finds time for the two other great loves in…

FOUNDED IN 2010 and based in New York City, ONA bags are designed for (and inspired by) creative professionals, and hand-crafted using premium materials. ONA’s design process is driven by a desire to create products that complement your style as well as protecting your valuable camera equipment. In Swahili, the word ona (pronounced o’na) means “to feel,” “to believe” and “to experience with the eyes”. This is the essence of photography and style. Made from water-resistant waxed canvas and detailed with full-grain leather, the ONA Brixton is a messenger-style camera bag designed to hold a camera body – D-SLR or CSC – with two or three lenses and up to a 13-inch laptop. As an alternative to the classic canvas, the Brixton is also available in full-grain Italian-tanned leather with…

1 SIGMA ART 24mm f1.4 DG HSM SIGMA CLASSIFIES ITS lenses according to the main area of application, and these categories are Art, Sports and Contemporary. The Art series lenses are designed and built with optimum quality and performance as the primary objectives yet somehow Sigma manages to factor in a degree of affordability without any compromises. Make no mistake, the Art primes are a match for anything from the prestigious German marques in terms of both their optical performance and the mechanical fit and finish. The 24mm f1.4 joins the 35mm and 50mm Art primes in the winner’s circle and – along with the 24-35mm f2.0 zoom – Sigma has collected just about every major product design award there is. While largely traditional in its concept and design, the…

Fujifilm unveiled the original X100 compact camera at the 2010 Photokina – and digital photography was changed forever. No other digital camera has created quite such a sensation, and the first of the Fujifilm X Series cameras went on to gain a cult following, as have its successors, including the current X100T (below). There’s now a whole line-up of Fujifilm X Series cameras, and they all embody the same philosophy of providing photographers with the tools to effortlessly and efficient achieve their creative goals. The Fujifilm X Series cameras blend all the best elements of traditional design and ergonomics with the very latest in digital technology, including important innovations such as the exceptional X Trans CMOS sensors. FUJIFILM X100T The X100T maintains all the key ingredients of Fujifilm’s original recipe…

Type: Fully automatic, interchangeable lens digital camera with Micro Four Thirds System bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic 81-point wide-area system using contrast-detection measurement via imaging sensor. Focus points may be selected manually or automatically by the camera. Manual switching between one-shot and continuous AF modes. Face/eye detection and auto tracking. Continuous manual override available with single-shot mode. Low light/ contrast assist via built-in illuminators. Focus assist via magnified image (3x/5x/7x/10x/14x) and focus peaking display (Red, Yellow, White or Black; High, Normal or Low intensity). Metering: 324-point ‘Digital ESP’ (i.e. multi-zone), centre-weighted average, spot (2.0%) with highlight/shadow bias, and TTL flash. Metering range is EV -2.0 to 20 (ISO 100/f2.8). Exposure Modes: Continuously-variable program with shift, shutter-priority auto, aperture-priority auto, metered manual, TTL auto flash and TTL flash. Plus 25 subject/scene…

SLOWLY BUT SURELY LEICA IS MOVING more into the mainstream as it works to expand its customer base and building on the reputation of its marque. The classic M-based digital range-finder range continues and the S digital medium format system has its loyal followers, but it’s on its mirrorless camera systems that Leica is basing any future expansion.. Following the consumer-level T is the pro-level SL which is partly targeted at the users left high-and-dry when Leica abandoned its 35mm SLR system, and partly at current users of high-end D-SLR users who might like a change from Canon or Nikon. Similar in styling to an R Series SLR – specifically the R3 according to Leica – the SL employs a new version of the T mount – introduced in 2014…

As the ranks of appealing mirrorless cameras steadily swell, the D-SLR makers are having to do a bit more to attract your attention.There’s no question both Canon and Nikon are doing this very well at the top end of the market, but some of their lower-priced D-SLRs are… well, a bit ho-hum compared to a comparable mirrorless model. However, this is where Pentax is at its strongest and, in fact, always has been since the legendary Spotmatics. And Pentax has also been doing its bit to keep the D-SLR in the spot light with its unmatched programs of create-your-own colour schemes (a huge hit in Japan) and, most recently, the light show and funky styling that made the entry-level K-S1 something a bit different. It’s a return to a more…

If you haven’t already made the move to mirrorless, the ongoing activities of both Olympus and Panasonic – as well as a growing choice of lenses from a variety of makers – give the Micro Four Thirds format plenty of ammunition to combat the larger sensor alternatives. If it’s enough to convince you of MFT’s merits, then the choice between Olympus and Panasonic is a little harder to pin down – the latter has demonstrated a remarkable capacity for giving photographers exactly what they want, but if you have any sense of camera design heritage and aesthetics, then the former’s OM-D Series models tick all the right boxes. Each successive OM-D model seems to channel the spirit of the legendary OM System 35mm SLRs more definitively than before and the…

“THE D7200 MOVES UP TO NIKON’S LATEST-SPEC ‘EXPEED 4’ PROCESSOR WHICH NO DOUBT MAKES A CONTRIBUTION TO THE INCREASED SENSITIVITY RANGE VIA SUPERIOR NOISE REDUCTION PROCESSING.” While full-35mm D-SLRs have been making headlines recently, there are still plenty of good reasons for going with an APS-C’ size sensor instead. In the Nikon world, this is the ‘DX’ format and for a little while there it looked like it might be becoming the poor cousin as the company launched a steady stream of shiny new ‘FX’ format models. But, in quick succession, Nikon has launched the D5500 – currently the world’s most compact D-SLR – and the D7200 which, as the new ‘DX’ flagship, gives aficionados of the smaller format some serious fire power comparable to the likes of the D610…

THE HIGHLIGHTS M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 8mm f1.8 PRO • 16mm fish-eye (35mm format equivalent) • World’s fastest aperture of f1.8 • 17 elements (in 15 groups) optical construction which fully minimises comatic and chromatic aberrations • Special elements optimise image quality, including high sharpness across the entire image field • Olympus’s ‘ZERO’ high-performance multi-coating to effectively reduce ghosting and flare • A minimum focusing distance of just 2.5 centimetres • Weather-proofed construction, including against sub-zero temperatures (down to -10 degrees Celsius) THE NEW M.ZUIKO Digital ED 8mm f1.8 PRO is the world’s fastest fish-eye with a 180 degrees angle-of-view so it’s a whole lot more versatile than you might expect. We’ve sampled its expansive capabilities for astrophotography. If you think a fish-eye lens is just a bit too specialised, Olympus…

REGARDLESS OF THE advances being made with smaller sensors, big is still better when it comes to laying the foundations for superior imaging performance. This means a digital medium format camera system, but this can also mean a price tag that’s hard to justify for many photographers. Pentax’s 645Z is not only the most affordable digital medium format camera on the market, it’s also the most capable, matching all the features and capabilities of a high-end D-SLR with a full-35mm size sensor. At the heart of the 645Z is a 53 megapixels (total) CMOS sensor with an imaging area of 43.8x32.8 mm. It allows for live view and, for the first time on a digital medium format camera, Full HD video recording. Continuous shooting is possible at up to 3.0…

EVER SINCE IT introduced the original GR series of 35mm cameras back in 1996, Ricoh has earned a reputation for building high-performance compacts for the enthusiast-level photographer. The latest model, the GR II, continues the tradition. It matches a large ‘APS-C’ size CMOS sensor with a high-quality 18.3mm f2.8 prime lens which is equivalent to a 28mm wide-angle. The GR II has a slimline magnesium-alloy bodyshell with a built-in pop-up flash and a 7.62 cm LCD monitor screen with a resolution of 1.23 million dots. The 16.9 megapixels (total) sensor is supported by Ricoh’s latest-generation ‘GR Engine V’ processor which enables continuous shooting at 4.0 fps and Full HD video recording at 25 or 24 fps. Images can be captured as JPEGs in choice of aspect ratios and sizes, or…

COLLABORATING WITH PROFESSIONAL outdoor photographers, the designers at f-stop have rethought what’s required to carry camera or video equipment in to remote locations or extreme environments. F-stop has created a range of heavy-duty photo backpacks that are designed to keep protecting equipment in challenging conditions as well providing a variety of design innovations to make them more comfortable and convenient to use in any location from inner city to the outback. F-stop’s Mountain Series of packs combine durability with practicality so they work efficiently and effectively on location, ensuring that photographers can focus on getting their pictures rather than worrying about the safety of their equipment. SHINN SERIES Specifically designed to haul larger camera systems, the 80-litre Shinn is the largest camera pack f-stop has ever created. It’s especially suited…

If ever there’s a case of history repeating, it’s the stories of Olympus’s OM and OM-D systems. Separated by 40 years, they have both had pretty much the same effect on the market. Back in 1972, Olympus was nowhere in 35mm SLRs, but after the arrival of the revolutionary OM-1 and OM-2, it became a major player. In 2012 Olympus wasn’t quite nowhere in the emerging category of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras because it had enjoyed reasonable success with the Digital Pen series, but it was the OM-D cameras that really put the brand back on top of its game… and the sales charts. While the OM-D models have very successfully channelled the key attractions of their analog namesakes – compact dimensions, oh-so-pretty styling and no-nonsense operation – Olympus hasn’t…

Probably after reading yet another observation along the lines of “… this is the camera Leica should have made” – usually in a review of one of Fujifilm’s X100 models – the Germans decided to go ahead and do their own proper fixed-lens, big sensor, retro-styled model. It’s not quite a case of anything-you-can-do-we-can-do-better, but let’s face it, if anybody has real legitimacy in this space, it’and Leica. Despite its heritage being in interchangeable lens cameras, when the technological stars all eventually aligned, Leica was always going to build something like the Q. Think of it as a digital M with a fixed prime lens and an electronic viewfinder – costing considerably less than going down the interchangeable lens route – you can start to see the appeal. And Leica…

While new digital cameras arrive at a rapid rate, it can be several years between an A3+ printer and its updated model. After four years, the Epson SureColor SC-P600 is the successor to the venerable Stylus Pro R3000. The new SC-P600 (the “P , by the way, stands for “Photo”) is essentially the same as the out-going Stylus Pro R3000, but comes in a revised casing and has a new inkset, extended connections to remote devices and a 6.8 cm LCD tilt-adjustable touch screen to control most functions. As a ‘prosumer’ printer, it is the entry-level A3+ pigment model in the SureColor range which is progressively going to replace the Stylus Pro models. However, the word “entry” could be an inappropriate classification as this printer is by no means basic.…

PENTAX’S UPGRADED top-of-the-range ‘APS-C’ sensor D-SLR, the K3 II, not only boasts a high level of features and specifications, but a number of highly innovative new capabilities. For starters, the sensor-based image stabilisation system has been significantly upgraded and now gives up to 4.5 stops of correction for camera shake. Pentax is also using the enhanced precision of the new IS system to drive a pixel shift function whereby the sensor is fractionally moved as multiple exposures are made. This enables full colour information to be recorded at each pixel location, thereby eliminating colour moiré effects and interpolation artefacts while improving both the sharpness and colour fidelity. To achieve this, the K3 II’s ‘Pixel Shift Resolution’ function records four exposures with the sensor shifted by one pixel up, down, left…

ZEISS OTUS IF LOOKS ARE anything to go by, then Zeiss’s Otus Series of fast prime lenses are winners even before you mount them on your camera. The three models in the line-up all feature contemporary styling, featuring a manual focusing collar that’s fitted completely flush with the barrel and covered with a plain matte rubberised grip material to give a very sleek appearance. However, they maintain the Zeiss tradition of using heavy-duty metal barrel tubes and all-glass optical constructions. The Otus 28mm f1.4 wide-angle delivers the quality and look of a medium format lens. Its 16-element optical construction employs an advanced retrofocus design to give exceptionally high levels of correction for distortion, both axial and lateral chromatic aberrations and spherical aberrations. Additionally, it delivers exceptional uniformity of centre-to-edge sharpness.…

It’s been a few years since Fujifilm’s S5 Pro disappeared, and since then the ranks of D-SLR brands have continued to thin as the product planning emphasis has switched to the mirrorless compact system cameras. Yet it’s also taken a while for anybody to actually come up with a truly credible alternative CSC to the D-SLR, partly because the early emphasis was on upgrading compact camera users, and secondly because electronic viewfinders simply weren’t good enough. Fujifilm’s solution to the latter was its hybrid optical/electronic arrangement, introduced in the original X100 and reprised in the X-Pro1. Subsequently, there have been all sorts of improvements to ‘pure’ electronic viewfinders – OLED panels being one of them – so it’s now possible to move away from the rangefinder-style cameras such as the…

How important is it for photo enthusiasts to shop at a speciality store for their cameras and other equipment? Nic Peasley: It’s critical in terms of the incredible range that specialist imaging retailers carry, but more importantly, the staff are the most qualified and well-educated people in terms of providing the right advice on what is the best product plus making sure that the experience is one of great service. How much emphasis does Ted’s place on continuous staff training? N.P.: Our training programs are extensive covering the three key areas of product knowledge, service and selling. Our point of difference in such a price driven market is our staff, their knowledge and ability to deliver the right solution for our customers in the most professional way. Our training programs…

IT’S HARD TO DETERMINE WHEN digital medium format photography turned the corner towards a future that hasn’t looked so bright since the heady days of when it was the only digital capture game in town. It almost certainly has something to do with the arrival of the ultra-high resolution 35mm-style D-SLRs. Nikon’s original D800 – especially in the D800E variant – looked more threatening than anything that had come before with 36 megapixels looking like the ‘sweet spot’ for a sensor of this size. But the move to even higher resolutions has really only served to confirm that there’s no substitute for big pixels… at least not when it comes to optimising dynamic range. As we’ve noted previously, not all 50 MP sensors are created equal. Phase One can’t really…

The release of Epson’s first compact ‘dry film’ mini-lab printer, the SureLab SL- D700, opens up opportunities for commercial photographers, photo mini-labs and general businesses, organisations, institutions, clubs, etc., to own and operate a relatively small, on-site and portable facility for fast on-demand printing. Mini-lab type operations are a prime target for this printer. It’s a compact, portable, economical and low-maintenance unit with no chemicals involved, no ventilation provisions required, no awkward waste disposal problems and requiring nothing more than a standard power supply. Print longevity rates are higher than conventional wet D&P systems. The SureLab SL-D700 is a stand-alone printer that links via a high-speed USB 2.0 cable to either PC or Mac computers. Description With dimensions of 430 millimetres in depth, 354 millimetres high and 460 millimetres wide,…