March 2019

A lot of manufacturers say that they are dedicated to the small world of macro photography - and they point to one lens in their range with that word on the barrel. Or to a small flower symbol somewhere in their digital menu. Mount the lens or press the icon and all will be tiny and in perfect focus...

The preparation of the new Nikon Z-series mirror-less camera systems must have been a time of furious activity in the Nikon organisation. Leaving aside the marketing questions and the business strategies - forced or otherwise - the idea of a new Nikon lens mount as well as a new type of Nikon camera would have had all departments designing like madmen. How much paper, how many pencils, and how much midnight ( whale ) oil must have been expended is anyone's guess. The chance to start afresh with something like this would have been relished by the lens designers. A new mount - bigger and less complex than the previous F-mount - would have relieved them of a lot of the pressure that they were under in their earlier digital age. The fact that they are now firing their light rays into a larger sensor means exit paths need to spread - but all the years of the 24 x 36 film capture will have been a good experience. Ah, but now there is no mirror box or mirror to stay clear...

My first fiddle with a Nikon Z6 mirrorless camera and Nikkor S zoom lens today. Not a shooting fiddle*, but a chance to handle and picture it. And mighty impressed. Forgive yourself for not being able to see at first glance that this is the Z6 rather than the Z7 - they look so alike. There are internal differences, of course, to do with image resolution and size, shooting speed, and focus points, and the targeting of a less-demanding market with the 6 than the 7. But they look and act very similarly. The standard zoom fitted is 24mm to 70mm in the new Z mount - a Nikkor S lens. Note the stowed position, deployed position, and maximum zoom position. The rotation of the zoom collar into the stowed position will trigger a warning in both the LCD and EVF screen to the effect that you'll need to unlock the lens. The office is as neat as Nikon can make it while still preserving the D-pad as well as the joystick. No surprises there though I do commend the designers for...

Picture taking can be pursued by many different people by many different means - but it is sometimes forgotten that it need not be done at 2000psi with lightning bolts shooting out of the equipment nor blood spurting out of the photographer. There are smaller and calmer circumstances. The lovely blue camera seen in the heading image - the Nikon Coolpix W100 - would be suitable for just this sort of quieter time. It must be said, however, that this camera can indeed stand a great deal - the W in the title indicates that it is to a great extent waterproof. The 13.2 megapixel resolution on a small sensor and the 3X zoom are modest by today's tech standards, as is the HD video capture, but the sealed ease of use found with this camera is the real secret to its success. There's three buttons on the top; off/on, still shot, and video start/stop. Hold it steady and just press and you'll get a picture - you can safely hand it to the children of the family and get it back...

Stan Davies recently wrote us an article for this column that was headed with a wonderful street photography image taken in Norway. You can pop back in the history and look at it - it's worth the read. To get this sort of success he engaged in Stanthinking, and I want to recommend it to the readers - it really is a key to success: a. Stan Thought #1. " I'm going to Norway. This is a long bus ride from Perth and they are going to be fussy about the amount of baggage you carry with you. I need to travel light. But...

The heading image is not manipulated, apart from increasing contrast and dropping tones to give a silhouette. It shows the newest of the Olympus micro 4/3 mirror-less cameras alongside a workshop example of my first digital camera - a Nikon D1x. They are continents apart in digital performance and capability but look how close they are in physical size...

I have just been saved by a super-hero: The Blue Lynx. And we will all benefit. The Blue Lynx, AKA Jennifer Villalobos of our marketing department, came to my rescue when several readers of this column wanted to know the price and internet location of two of the items that had been written up. IT-illiterate as I am, I had no idea how to call this information up save using the phone and talking to a staff member on the sales floor. Hard to do after-hours. Fortunately, Jennifer, who worked for years in the stock control and warehousing section, knew precisely what to do and was able to get the information to the readers. She has promised to review the column in the future and attach the blue hyperlinks or other technical tags to products that are featured. There is a problem with some things, however, in that they may not have a clear maker's name or ID code. We might have a bin of 'em but they may appear to be just fish in a pond. As an alternative, if there's no...

The term " Strobist " was all the rage a few years back - it was applied to people who use small electronic flash units to light their fieldwork. It started out small, then got quite complex as different manufacturers came out with systems of accessories designed to aid it. Frankly, it did the normal thing in photography - like Topsy, it just grew. From a simple website and idea, it got bigger with workshops, seminars, experts, accessories, contests, etc. The amount of gear that you were encouraged to take to cut down on the amount of gear you take with you became enormous. I bought into a system that now sits and sets. And then I just went back to a good old electronic flash unit made by the manufacturer of the camera I use. If you're able to afford the more expensive small systems you may still be on a climb - the newest portable strobes are far and away better than trying to do anything with tiny flash units. You'll be able to make complex lighting setups as well...

Do you have a weekly cleaning day at your house? When you change the sheets, do the laundry, and scrub the floors? Is it a hard day? Down on the knees, hauling heavy baskets, tucking, folding, and scrubbing? Isn't it a real pain? Well, consider the alternatives; dirty sheets, dirty clothes, and sticky floors...