Past Issue : December 2012
Nikon announces D5200
Vikram Bawa presents solo Exhibition: The Other Side
PRO-PROFILE - When luck and craft combine
Photo Printer Shootout
DSLR Shootout
Mirrorless Camera Shootout
Tips and Techs - The 'little' things in life
Tips and Techs - DIY flash gel
Nikon India recently announced the launch of the D5200 DSLR camera, a compact and lightweight entry-level model that delivers performance via Nikon's new DX-format CMOS sensor, which has a pixel count of approximately 24.1-million pixels. The camera possesses enhanced optical technologies, including an optimised EXPEED 3 image-processing engine, based on the one built into Nikon's D4 flagship camera. The D5200 has a swing out style Variangle LCD and flaunts a number of features such as 39 focus points, Scene Recognition System, i-TTL balanced fill-flash and auto white-balance control. Equipped with D-Movie function, the camera supports recording of full-HD 1920 × 1080 50i/60i movies. "The D5200 is a versatile and compact DSLR that is well suited for photo enthusiasts looking for high-end features and full HD video with selectable frame rate of 60i-24p," said Sajjan Kumar, Vice President- Imaging, Nikon India. The D5200 is also equipped with Special Effects mode that enables the application and adjustment of special effects while shooting. The camera also sports a broad range of standard sensitivities, from ISO 100 to ISO 6400, with even higher available settings; (Hi 2) is equivalent to approximately ISO 25600.
Vikram Bawa, a commercial photographer for the last 15 years, presented his solo exhibition titled The Other Side on 24th November 2012 at Gallery Art & Soul in Mumbai. The Other Side is a collection of Vikram Bawa's Art works, some of which have been shown internationally and in India. Fallen Angel, a series which is a part of this collection, had been egged on by Bawa's dear friend Brinda Miller, starting the process of exploration. Voyeur, another series of this collection, blurs gender lines. Vikram Bawa says, "Having been a commercial photographer for the last 10-15 years, it felt like I had sort of lost track of shooting simple pictures, making it very difficult to think without a client or a brief. Fallen Angel is a series about soul searching and trying to find a way to fly out from where you have been trapped artistically. Voyeur is a series exploring the male and the female form, the connect, the disconnect, the similarities, the illusions, the intensity, the need for each other.
If there was one word to describe how Colston Julian got into photography, it would be chance. From the beginning, his journey has been sprinkled generously with tremendous luck, which Julian has backed with immense talent and skill. This month he tells Asian Photography about the chance encounters that led him into this field and his work thereof.
A lot of things, including photography, happened to him by chance, Julian says. He was assisting a cinematographer who had to take a break owing to health issues, and during that time a friend of Julian casually asked him to shoot for a computer magazine. He did, and the magazine loved it. This was followed by a chance meeting with the then young designer and now close friend of Julian, Savio Jon who introduced him to fashion photography. That was almost immediately followed by a call from Anita Shroff, who was then the fashion editor at Elle India. She knew Julian from his cinematography days, and gave him his first fashion feature in Elle; a 12-14 page feature, which was followed by a season campaign for the Lifestyle store, then Sony Ericsson phones, and then L'Oreal. The rest, as they say, is history.
DSLR Wide Zoom lenses
Following last month's kit lens shootout, this month we put the wide zoom category to test. Wide zoom lenses are in high demand these days and so we felt that the shootout should feature the best wide-zoom lenses that each company has to offer. Nikon, Canon and Tamron sent us their best lenses for the shootout and we exercised the same method of testing the wide zoom lenses as the kit lenses, but with one shot at their least focal length and the other shot at their maximum focal length.
Compact System Cameras – Wide Zoom lenses
We've spoken at length about mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras and the role they essay in today's imaging market in our past issues. Camera manufacturers are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to lenses. Today, there are a lot of lenses to choose from depending on your camera make. Aside from the kit lens, there are prime lenses and wide zoom lenses being made available by almost all Compact System Camera (CSC) manufacturers. The wide zoom category of lenses, owing to their all purpose nature, is fast gaining popularity. Buyers very often seem to want more than the standard 28 – 88 mm (in 35 mm equivalent terms) lenses that most cameras come bundled with. Insufficient zoom is a common complaint a lot of buyers have with kit lenses.
With the All-In-One (AIO) printer shootout concluded last month we move to our annual photo printer shootout. We changed a lot of parameters last year for the AIO shootout, but we have kept the same parameters as every year for the photo printer shootout. This year we feature two printers with a capability to print up to A3+, the Epson R2000 and the Canon PIXMA iX7000, from brands which are pioneers in photo printing technology, and test them against each other to see which comes on top.
Cameras today have broken out of traditional technology to provide endless features to the users, be it amateurs, serious enthusiast or pros. When it comes to performances, the Digital Single Lens Reflex Technology (DSLR) out beats most of the other variations in terms of features and performance. An average DSLR is as good as an option as it gets in terms of image quality and flexibility for the users to experiment with. Today one can find DSLRs across entry level, mid level to professional level. The DSLRs combine large sensors that boost image quality, and interchangeable lenses with advanced image stabilization control. The DSLR cameras are designed with extensive controls that allow the user to take full control over the picture-making process. But not all DSLRs are created and designed on the same lines. We have split the shootout into three categories; entry, mid and professional level. For the shootout, we made sure we kept it fair and even, hence we made a list of parameters as to how the camera manufactures could send in the respected camera models. Since lot of the manufacturers have shifted their focus onto the CSC category, we received products from Canon and Nikon.
Mirrorless cameras have certain advantages over DSLRs, especially for people who don't like to carry bulky cameras. Compact and lightweight, these cameras now come with a whole array of accessories to go with them, which include lenses, adapters and even dedicated flash units. Virtually all major camera manufacturers now have at least one such product in their portfolio. In fact, for certain manufacturers, DSLRs have taken a backseat, as they focus all their attention towards the development and improvement of this new category of cameras. Keeping in mind the vast range of preferences and expectations of our readers, we have split the Mirrorless camera shootout into two categories; entry level and professional cameras, hoping not just to introduce you to these cameras but also v help you make an informed decision if you're planning to buy one.
Shooting children is a popular genre of photography nowadays. Be it making a full-fledged online photo-essay on one's own kids or photographing a toddler for an advertisement, more and more photographers are experimenting with children photography. If you're planning to delve into this genre or are just looking to improve your technique, we give you some tips on how to shoot children efficiently. We also tell you about the challenges you might face in the process, and how to overcome them.
Location Location is one of the primary factors which dictate nearly all kinds of photo shoots, but in case of kids you have to be extra careful about it. Choosing something like a playground or an amusement park, rather than an exotic beach, can prove to be the key factor setting your portfolio apart from the others. The subjects around the kid in the frame should not be distracting, and should contribute to the composition rather than conflicting with it. Traditional children photography composition techniques involve just the primary subject (the kid) with minimal surroundings an absolutely no secondary subjects. You can try to experiment with different sub-subjects too if you want, but we advise you stick to normal composition till you get a little more comfortable with this genre.
The quality and intensity of light play a very important in a photograph. In most situations, the intensity can still be controlled in many ways, but controlling the quality of light needs skill. The temperature of the light plays a significant role in creating a perfect photo. While shooting with ambient light you can directly control the white balance settings in the camera, but while using flash with ambient light, you need to adjust the temperature of light emitting from the flash to match that of the light (for a better understanding of white balance, refer to the previous issue of Asian Photography Magazine Vol. 24 No. 2 article, "Getting your White Balance right"). A flash or strobe unit produces a light temperature of 5500 K which is equal to that produced by the sun during the day. If you are shooting during sunset or under fluorescent lights, or even tungsten lights you would need to use colour correction gels on the light to balance the light. Without it a scene may have a mix of various colours. Applying colour correction gels in front of the light sources can alter the colour of various light sources to match. The use of colour gels is used in stage lighting, photography, television and cinematography. We teach you how to make your own flash gel.