Table of contents for May - June 2023 in Camera

Watching from the sidelines it's looked pretty messy as Canon has struggled with the transition from DSLR to mirror, so it must have been even more torrid on the inside. As the mirrorless revolution took hold, Canon was in the unique position of being – by a country mile – the biggest seller of DSLRs. It was a hugely profitable business and when the early direction in mirrorless cameras was on the most compact designs possible – think Nikon 1 and Pentax Q – it didn't seem remotely under threat. Canon, quite rightly under the circumstances, thought it was invincible no matter what. In mid-2012, the ‘APS-C’ format EOS M system was launched, but it looked very much like a token effort because Canon felt it just had to do…

COMPETITION Since launching back in 2011, the Pink Lady® Food Photographer Of The Year competition has grown to attract many thousands of entries from all over the world… this year submissions came from over 65 countries. Food is, of course, a vital part of life and so it's a huge subject with many diverse aspects from production to presentation to consumption. This is refl ected in the competition's many categories which include Bring Home The Harvest, Food In Action, Food For Celebration, Politics In Food, Food For Life, and Moments Of Joy. There are also dedicated categories for wine-making which cover the people, places and products involved in this industry. “Every year, the incredible winning images act as witness to the centrality of food in every culture and every people…

Using the K bayonet lens mount and retaining a body-based focusing motor, the Pentax K3 III is compatible with a huge selection of legacy lenses, both AF and MF. Many are as cheap as chips on the second hand market. Functionality varies from stop-down metering only to full AF and AE. The mount was designed for 35mm film so there's a 1.5x focal length magnification factor with the K3 III, but this doesn't diminish the sheer variety of what lenses can be used on the camera. Originally created by Zeiss with the objective of being a universal fitting which didn't quite happen, nonetheless the K mount did subsequently end up being quite widely used. It was adopted by a number of brands for their 35mm SLRs; including Pentax, Ricoh, Agfa,…

SAMYANG AF 75mm f/1.8 X $829 Format: ‘APS-C’ digital sensors. Focal length is equivalent to 112.5mm. Angle-of-View: 21.9 degrees (diagonal on ‘APS-C’). Construction: 10 elements/9 groups. Five special elements – three extra-low dispersion (ED) types and two high refractive index (HR) types. Minimum Focus: 69 centimetres. Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:7.7 Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/22. Overall Length: 69.3 millimetres. Maximum Diameter: 70.0 millimetres. Filter Diameter: 62 millimetres. Weight: 257 grams (without lens hood). Lens Mount(s): Fujifilm X. Features: Weather-sealed external construction, linear STM (stepping motor) AF drive, ‘Preset Aperture Control’ function, ‘Custom’ switch (two user-selected functions), ‘Ultra Multi Coating II’ (UMC II) antireflection coatings, nine-blade diaphragm. Bayonet-fit lens hood supplied. Lens pouch supplied. Price: $829. Distributor: Maxxum Pty Ltd, telephone (03) 9314 4979, visit www.maxxum.com.au…

CANON EOS R8 $2,499 Body only. Recommended retail price. Type: Entry/Mid-level full frame digital mirrorless camera with Canon RF bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic via 4897-points wide-area system using phase-difference detection measurements via ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF’ giving 100 percent vertical and horizontal coverage (4067 points for video). 1053 focus points available for automatic selection. Area modes are Spot AF, 1-Point AF, Expand AF (above/below/left/right), Expand AF (around), Flexible Zone AF 1(square), Flexible Zone AF 2 (vertical rectangular), Flexible Zone AF 3 (horizontal rectangular), Whole Area AF. Eye/face/head/body detection for tracking people. Eye detection is selectable for right or left eye priority, or auto. Eye/face/body detection for tracking animals. Adjustable AF point size (small or large). AI-based subject tracking for People, Animals (dogs, cats, birds and horses) and Vehicles (cars/motorsport,…

ZOOM M3 MICTRAK $349 Design: Mid-side configuration. Mid mic = supercardioid with 133 dB SPL. Side mic = bidirectional with 119 dB SPL. Dual /AD converter circuits, so no input gain control necessary. Outputs: Line = 3.5 mm stereo minijack. Phono = 3.5 mm stereo minijack. Digital Recorder: Four channel recording (stereo recording and simultaneous line out), WAV format, 48 kHz, 32-bit floating point sampling. Recording Media: microSD memory cards (up to 1.0 TB microSDXC). Interface: USB Type C (2.0 High Speed). USB power bus is supported. Power: Two AA size batteries (alkaline, lithium or rechargeable NiCd). 12 hours power supply (alkaline). Power Consumption: 1.5 watts maximum. Dimensions WxHxD: 71.6x38.0x201.3 mm. Weight: 135 grams (with batteries). Price: $349. Distributor: Dynamic Music, visit www.dynamicmusic.com.au…

NOW THAT VLOGGING cameras are officially A Thing, Canon has launched a new line of PowerShot digital compacts specifically designed for this application. In fact, the PowerShot V10 has a whole new form factor – so it looks like no other PowerShot model that you've ever seen before – with a vertically orientated body that incorporates a built-in stand and a flip-up monitor screen. This means that the camera is easy to place on a desk or table to video yourself, but also use one-handed as the video start/stop button is right alongside the lens. With everything folded away, the slimline body is pocket-sized and it weighs just a shade over 210 grams The V10 is, first and foremost, a video camera (although you can take stills if you really…

WHAT'S ON Current to 13 August: Exhibition. Steve McCurry ICONS. More than 100 large-format photographs of McCurry's most iconic images, including the legendary 1984 portrait of the Afghan Girl, Sharbat Gula. The images are shown over a one hour presentation. Admission Is $29 with concessions for students. At Pier 2/3, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, 13-15 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, Sydney 2000.. Exhibition hours are 10.00am to 8.00pm on Mondays to Wednesdays, 10.00am to 9.00pm on Thursday and Friday, and 9.00am to 9.00p on Saturdays and Sundays. Session time bookings are essential, visit https://stevemccurryicons.com/sydney Current to 2 October: Exhibition. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2023. The 47 finalists and winning images. At the National Portrait Gallery, King Edward Terrace, Parkes, Canberra, ACT 2600. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. Bookings are…

WITH AN EFFECTIVE focal length of 12mm and an angle-of-view of 121 degrees diagonally, the new Fujinon XF 8mm f/3.5 R WR is the widest-angle prime lens in the X mount system (there's already the XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR zoom which is considerably bulkier and more expensive). Weighing in at just 215 grams and measuring just under 53 millimetres in length – so it's comparatively compact for an ultra-wide prime lens – the XF 8mm f/3.5 R WR has a fully weather-protected construction which includes insulation to allow shooting in the subzero temperatures down to -10 degrees Celsius. There's a total of ten seals to prevent the intrusion of moisture or dust and the exposed surface of the front element has a fluorine coating to help repel water…

PENTAX K-3 III $2,699 body only, recommended retail price. Type: Enthusiast-level digital SLR with Pentax K-AF2 bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic via 101-point wide-area system using phase-detection type CCD sensor arrays (41 are manually selectable, including 25 cross-type arrays). Spot, Select Small, Select, Expanded Area (Small/Medium/Large), Zone Select and Auto area modes. Eye/face detection for humans and animals with AI-based ‘Real Time Scene Analysis’ for subject tracking. Manual switching between one-shot and continuous modes, the latter with a predic-tive function. Sensitivity range is EV -4 – 18 (ISO 100 and f/2.8). Low light/contrast AF assist provided by built-in illuminator. AF micro-adjustment available for selected lenses. Contrast-detection AF in live view with eye/face detection, and manual focus assists via a magnified image (up to 16x) and focus peaking display. Metering: Dedicated…

CANON EOS R50 $1,399 with the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM zoom lens Recommended retail price. Type: Entry-level+ digital mirrorless camera with Canon RF bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic via 4503-points wide-area system using phase-difference detection measurements via ‘Dual Pixel CMOS AF II’ giving 100 percent vertical and horizontal coverage. 651 focus points available for automatic selection. Area modes are Spot AF, 1-Point AF (adjustable frame size), Expand AF (vertically/horizontially), Expand AF (surrounding), Flexible Zone AF 1 (square), Flexible Zone AF 2 (vertical rectangular), Flexible Zone AF 3 (horizontal rectangular), Whole Area AF (21x31 points). Face/eye detection for tracking people and animals available with each area mode. Adjustable AF point size (small or large). Al-based subject tracking for People (eye, face, head, torso), Animals (dogs, cats, birds; face or…

SIGMA SHOWCASE WINNER The eyes have it with Steve Genesin's compelling portrait of a curious Currawong taken in the Victorian High Country. A key element of wildlife photography is making sure that the eyes are sharp and here the yellow also really contrasts with the black plumage. The tight cropping also gives added strength to the composition. Steve used an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II with a M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4.0 IS PRO zoom lens. SIGMA SHOWCASE Tell us how you did it! When you enter the Sigma Showcase, remember to explain any tips and techniques you used to achieve the result. Also, let us know the type of camera and lens. Enter by email {see next page). Email to: camera@futurenet.com HIGHLY COMMENDED A hapless fly meets its end…

THERE OFTEN SEEMS to be a significant lag between the introduction of a new technology and its widespread adoption by the market. It's happened in photography quite a few times, but is particularly noticeable right now with interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs). Mirrorless is the future, and the choice of new DSLRs is in rapid decline, but the number of photographers still using the latter is quite significant, both amateurs and pros. Why? Because aside from the various advantages of the mirrorless configuration, the DSLR still does the job that many photographers ask of it. The DSLR is being labelled ‘old technology’, but the current models still share quite a lot of tech with mirrorless cameras. Their AF systems – especially those of the higher-end models – are extremely capable (we…

WEIGHING A FEATHERWEIGHT 120 grams, the Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM ‘pancake’ prime is the most compact and lightest lens in the current RF mount line-up. It's got plenty of potential applications too, including landscapes, street photography, interiors and travel plus… you guessed it… vlogging. On the ‘APS-C’ cropped sensor EOS R bodies, the effective focal length is 45mm so it makes a neat little standard lens. The overall length is a mere 24.7 millimetres. It's very affordable too, part of Canon's ongoing efforts to increase the appeal of its EOS R mirrorless system. The optical construction comprises eight elements in six groups of which three are aspherical types to correct for distortion and optimise centre-to-edge sharpness. These aspherical elements are PMo – or plastic moulded – types made from…

THIS CHECKLIST is designed to allow direct comparisons between different camera models, listed here in price order within each brand. The published prices are mostly supplied by the distributors as recommended retail prices (RRPs). However, some distributors no longer supply 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 irrelevant to…