July 2019

N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

N-Photo is the independent magazine for Nikon photographers.

N-Photo: the Nikon magazine9 min read
London Calling
IN ASSOCIATION CEWE NAME: Steven McGrady CAMERA: Nikon D750 Steven started off with Nikon F3 and F5 film cameras back in the day, but his interest was rekindled with the advent of digital when he bought a D70S. A D300 followed, then a D800, he’s sinc
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min readScience & Mathematics
Lightbox
Christian has devoted his life to capturing the astounding beauty of ocean life. He hopes that by photographing these emblematic animals that inhabit the world’s oceans, he can promote awareness and change on our planet. Camera: Nikon D810 Lens: 16-3
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min read
Reader Offer Get A Vanguard Oslo Shoulder Bag
A stylish, compact shoulder bag that will fit a Nikon DSLR or mirrorless and standard zoom, plus other lenses and kit Subscribe from only £28* and get your issues delivered to your door, plus this large Vanguard camera bag worth £39 Each issue, you’l
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min read
Stunning Quality To Showcase Your Best Night-time Shots
There’s no better way to showcase nightscape shots than with a CEWE PHOTOBOOK with photographic paper. Printed on luxurious 300gsm Fujifilm paper, and available in Classic, Gloss or a Matte finishes, photographic paper has a wider colour range compar
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine13 min read
Master The Art Of Manual!
Regular N-Photo contributor James is a pro photographer and award-winning journalist. To see more of his glorious portfolio, head over to his website at www.jdwpaterson.myportfolio.com Cameras are more intelligent than ever these days, but despite al
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Do You Need Your Own Studio To Be A Pro?
couple were walking up the drive of our house to meet us. They were choosing a photographer and this was the first time we’d meet in person. In fact, it was the last time. I was inside and they didn’t know I could hear them, or that I would pick up o
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
What Is Hyperfocal Distance?
– See how setting the hyperfocal distance can maximize depth of field – One hour – Intermediate – Lens with a focus distance scale Setting the focus distance of a lens to the hyperfocal distance will give you the greatest sharpness from infinity to t
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Shoot The Upside Down!
– Capture creative landscape reflections in puddles – Two hours – Intermediate – Wide-angle or standard lens – Puddles – Tripod (optional) Don’t let a little rain stop you from getting out and about with your camera! Just after a heavy rain shower ca
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Take It Wide And Slow
– Learn to use a wideangle lens in conjunction with an ND filter – Two hours – Intermediate – Wide-angle lens – ND filter kit – Tripod – Remote release Wide-angle lenses enable you to cram much more into your scene, with a wide angle of view that suc
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min read
How to Focus Merge with Affinity Photo
– Merge a set of focus stack images in Affinity Photo – 15 minutes – Beginner – Affinity Photo When shooting close-up macro subjects the depth of field (DoF) will be very shallow, and the plane of sharpness may only stretch a few millimetres across t
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Unleash The Power Of Pen
– Create a cut-out with the Pen tool and drop it into a new composite image – 30 minutes – Intermediate – Photoshop CC It might be one of the trickier tools on offer in Photoshop, but the Pen tool rewards those who persevere with a level of control l
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Feast Fore The Eyes
– Learn several ways to frame foreground interest in photos – Two hours – Intermediate – Tripod – Wide-angle lens – Six- or 10-stop ND filter In the last issue we looked at how to cheat at composition by – among other things – faking a foreground. Th
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min readScience & Mathematics
Top Tips
If you want to include foreground interest then you need a lens that’s wide enough to fit in both nearby details and far-off scenery. In this case, I used a 16-35mm. Here it lets me emphasize the powerful line that runs from the rocks just at my feet
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min read
Foreground Tricks
Try and look for ‘layered landscapes’ like this with a clearly defined foreground (yellow grass), mid-ground (red bush) and background (castle and sky). When framing up your foreground interest move around and experiment with the composition. The sec
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min readScience & Mathematics
Enhance A Scene With Sunset Effects
– As new Nikons are introduced, Capture NX-D should be the first software to support them. Another advantage is that it replicates Picture Controls and other settings. Capture NX-D is available as a free download from the Nikon website at http://niko
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min readScience & Mathematics
Foreground Tricks
As far as foreground interest goes, this compositional technique is about as classic and essential as a Deep Purple medley. An attractive rock or two in the foreground of a scene can help give balance and depth to the composition. Here we’ve employed
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Poppy Apocalypse
we live in strange times. I’ve just seen a small town in Southern California brought to a grinding halt by wildflowers. Well, it was actually 50,000 selfie stickwielding tourists that descended upon the area to see the superbloom that brought the cha
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Pastel Power
Camera: Nikon D750 Lens: 18-35mm f/1.8 Exposure: 1/125 sec, f/8, ISO100 Mission: Capture foggy photos to be proud of, using the Spinnaker Tower as a focal point Photographer: Louis Stacey Location: Gosport, Hampshire, UK Kit used: Nikon D750, Sigma A
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine4 min read
Nphoto Photographer Of The Year 2019
BY DAVID SHELLEY This is a fabulous outdoor portrait, subtly balancing daylight with David’s Godox AD200 studio flash head in a softbox to gently light Charlie, his model. Her clothing has been carefully chosen to match the bluebells that surround he
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Island Of Adventure
Camera: Nikon D750 Lens: Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 Art Exposure: 118 secs, f/11, ISO100 Mission: Shoot a series of images while on a road trip all the way around Iceland Photographer: Lee Gale Location: Iceland Kit used: D750, Nikon 16-35mm f/4, Sigma 24-7
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Ask Matthew…
Q I use a Sigma 12-24mm with my D750. How much viewing angle would I lose if I swap to a Z 6 and 14-30mm lens? Hank Stevens A As reviewed last issue, the new Nikon Z 14-30mm certainly doesn’t come up short in quality, although its minimum focal lengt
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Little Light Shaper, Big Difference
I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with photographers who want or need to work super simple, fast, carry very little and still have a good result with flash work. Being at the The Photography Show recently in Birmingham, UK, I had the p
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine11 min read
Donna Crous
Camera: Nikon D750 Lens: 105mm f/2.8 Exposure: ⅛ sec, f/5, ISO200 It’s been a month of birthdays for food photographer Donna Crous – special ones at that. “I’ve got my daughter’s 18th birthday tomorrow,” she says, “so between trying to work and tryin
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
The Brides Of Horror
The Brides of Horror is an ongoing passion, which has so far been going strong for five years now. The project spawned from my love horror films, something that’s been present since my early childhood. Most of the iconic characters that I’ve always a
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine5 min read
Readers’ Letters
Until recently getting our son Ben, aged 12, off his computer for a day out was a hassle. A few months ago I tried a bribe, “I’ll let you use my Nikon.” His eyes lit up. “Really? I can carry it and use it and you won’t touch it?” With trepidation I a
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Try A Typology
Even though I’ve never been completely convinced by this one, I’m duty bound to offer it up because… simply, it works in my section of the market. My doubts are about just how actually creative it is, but the word ‘creative’ does have different inter
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine5 min read
New Gear
£799/$799 www.tamron.eu The Tamron 35-150mm f/2.8-4 Di VC OSD comprises an unusual focal range for what the company described as a “fast, compact portrait zoom”. The idea is this is a do-it-all lens for portraiture and wedding shoots, incorporating p
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine3 min read
Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 Pro DX £499/$599
Tokina has a strong tradition in wide-angle zooms, its popular 11-16mm lens for DX format cameras dating all the way back to 2008. A Mk II edition was launched in 2013, adding an autofocus motor to enable autofocus with Nikon D40, D3xxx and D5xxx ser
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Superzoom Shootout
A joy of any interchangeable lens camera is that you can fit the right kind of optic for the task at hand. The drawback is that a big bag of lenses can eat into your baggage allowance when travelling, as well as weighing you down when you’re out. A s
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine2 min read
Superzoom Design
Any zoom lens represents a bit of a compromise in image quality, compared with a fixed focal length prime. It’s only natural that the bigger zoom range of a superzoom lens tends to result in a greater compromise, especially in terms of sharpness and
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine5 min read
Roller Bags
RC1188 Rolling Camera Case £169/$219 www.wexphotovideo.com This may be one of the cheaper options, but the RC1188 feels pleasingly rugged. You get reinforced outer corners, rigid sides, and plenty of scuff protection underneath. However, all this tou
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
What To Look For…
Most superzoom lenses for DX format cameras have a shortest focal length of 18mm, equivalent to a 27mm on a full-frame camera. The Tamron 16-300mm shrinks to an effective 24mm focal length. The DX format lenses on test stretch to 200mm, 300mm or 400m
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC £199/$199
If you’re going to splash out on a ‘holiday lens’, it makes sense to keep the price down and buy something that you’re not going to be too precious about. With the least expensive price tag in the group, the Tamron 18-200mm is low-cost and, at 400g,
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min readScience & Mathematics
Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C £279/$399
Measuring just 71x86mm and weighing in at 430g, this Sigma is the smallest lens in the group. It’s only slightly heavier than the competing Tamron 18-200mm, despite having a metal rather than plastic mounting plate. The Sigma is also significantly sm
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C £369/$399
The larger of Sigma’s two lenses on test, this one is only 16mm longer at its minimum zoom, but has a focal length that stretches to 300mm. The length also stretches more at the long end of the zoom and has more girth, with a 72mm filter thread. In a
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min readScience & Mathematics
Nikon AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II £429/$647
A subtle refresh of Nikon’s original 18-200mm lens, this one get a zoom lock switch but keeps the same optical design and image stabilizer. For image quality and performance, it’s our favourite Nikon superzoom. There are three ED (Extra-low Dispersio
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Tamron 16-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Macro £499/$629
A shortest focal length of 18mm has become a standard in DX format superzooms, but this Tamron bucks the trend. Shaving off a couple of millimetres gives an ‘effective’ wide-angle focal of 24mm in full-frame terms, compared with the 27mm of other sup
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD £649/$649
Following on from the Tamron 16-300mm, which offered an extra-wide viewing angle, Tamron’s latest superzoom goes extra-long instead. Stretching to 400mm, it beats every other DX format superzoom on the market for telephoto reach. Aiming to keep the s
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR £669/$697
Nikon’s first 18-300mm lens was a hefty affair that was less than ideal for a travel or holiday lens. This is the second one to come to market and, while it has a narrower aperture rating at the long end, of f/6.3 instead of f/5.6, it’s much more man
N-Photo: the Nikon magazine1 min read
Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR £929/$947
The extra quality enabled by an FX rather than DX format camera comes at the cost of extra weight and price. It may seem counter-productive to hang a superzoom lens on the front of such a camera, but it helps you react to wide-angle and telephoto sho

N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

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