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REVIEWS: PANASONIC GM1 SONY Į 7 OLYMPUS STYLUS 1 CANON POWERSHOT S200 CANON EF-S 55-250MM F/4-5.6 IS II








RS.125
ISSUE 12
VOLUME 09
MARCH 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!

INTERVIEW PARAG DAMLE
PROFILE BASEL ALMISSHAL

TUTORIALS

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH FLOWERS
FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP
CONVERT IMAGES TO EMAIL RESOLUTION

INDIA IVE
S
EXCLU IEW
REV
PROFESSIONAL TECHNIQUE LIGHTING GLASS

PANASONIC GM1

EDITOR
Hoshang S. Billimoria
TECHNICAL EDITOR
Rohinton Mehta
SENIOR CORRESPONDENT
Sujith Gopinath
COPY EDITOR
Tanika Godbole
PHOTOGRAPHY
Mahesh Reddy
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Atul D. Bandekar
DESIGN
Ajit Manjrekar, Nandkishor Sawant,
Sanjay Awad, Ajay Paradkar
PRODUCTION
Dinesh Bhajnik, Deepak Narkar, Ravi Parmar
PRODUCT MANAGER
Perseus Master
PUBLISHER
Girish Mallya
CIRCULATION AND SUBSCRIPTION
Sanjeev Roy (Asst. Operations Manager)
Sachin Kelkar (Subscription Supervisor)
HEAD OFFICE - MUMBAI
2nd Floor, C Wing, Trade World, Kamala Mills Compound,
Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013
Tel: + 91 22 43525252 Fax: + 91 22 24955394
Email: [email protected]
SUBSCRIPTION
Tel: + 91 22 43525220 Fax: + 91 22 24955394
Email: [email protected]

Welcome

T

he race for top honours in the imaging
industry is going to be between D-SLRs
and mirrorless interchangeable lens
cameras. What bolsters our view are some of the
latest mirrorless cameras to hit the market, the
last being Sony’s full-frame A7. Improvements
in mirrorless cameras are coming in leaps and
bounds and D-SLR manufacturers stand warned.
Let the best players win.

Apple Newsstand & Magzter Queries: [email protected]
Zinio Subscriptions Queries: http://in.zinio.com/help/index.jsp
For Pocket Mags Queries: [email protected]

H. S. Billimoria

MARKETING OFFICES
Ahmedabad
305,3rd Floor, AEON Complex, Near Angira Society, Vijay Cross Roads
Navrangpura, Ahmedabad 380009
Tel: + 91 79 40008000 Fax: + 91 79 40008080
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Unit No. 509, 5th Floor ‘B’ Wing, Mittal Towers, MG Road,
Bangalore -560001 Tel: +91 80 - 66110116
New Delhi
26 B, Side Entrance, Ground Floor, Okhla Industrial Estate,
Okhla Phase III, New Delhi - 110020
Tel: + 91 11 42346600 Fax: + 91 11 42346679
Chennai
Unit No:20,Third floor, Modern Towers, 35/23 West Cott Road,
Royapettah, Chennai 600 014
Tel +91-44-39149889/90/91 Fax +91-44-39149892.
Pune
401B, Gandhi Empire, Plot no.2, 5th flr, Sareen Estate, Kondhwa Rd, Pune
411040, Tel: + 91 20 32930291 Fax: + 91 20 26830465
Hyderabad

Richard G.C. +9199492 17127
Kolkata
Vidyasagar Gupta. Territory Sales Incharge (Circulation).
Mob: 09804085683
Views and opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of Next
Gen Publishing Ltd. Next Gen Publishing does not take the responsibility for returning unsolicited material sent without adequate postal stamps for return postage. No part of the magazine may be reproduced in part or full without the prior
express written permission of the publisher. Printed by Girish Mallya, Next Gen
Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013. Published by Girish Mallya
on behalf of Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala
Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013.
Printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd, 1-1-60/5 RTCX Roads, Hyderabad - 20.
Published at Next Gen Publishing Ltd., Trade World, 2nd Floor, C Wing, Kamala
Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013.
Copyright 2006 SMART PHOTOGRAPHY
All readers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries before
sending money, incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to
any advertisement appearing in the publication. Smart Photography does not
vouch for any claims made by advertisers for their products and services. The
editor, publisher, printer and employees of the publication shall not be held liable for any consequence in the events of such claims not being honoured by
the advertisers. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent
courts and forums in Mumbai only.

HERE’S WHAT
MAKES US

#1

WE ARE GLUED TO THE GLOBAL
IMAGING INDUSTRY
Our team is updated with all the benchmarks
and road blocks that the field of photography
and imaging across the globe experiences.
This helps us record the changes in the global
perspective, thus making us the first to predict
which products will be a rage in the Indian
markets.

OUR TESTS ARE CONDUCTED BY EXPERTS
All equipment go through a series of tests at the
hands of our experts. Our reviewers are experts in
the field of photography across the country and
have many years of experience. That gives us the
foresight to distinguish between a passing trend
and a big change in the field of photography and
imaging. And finally, our reviews are not extended
to just fill up the pages!

WE’RE IMPARTIAL
Loyalty towards our readers is a given, and
their best interests are always on our mind.
Every verdict is honest and not influenced by
advertisers or personal favorites. So when we
say a product is a ‘BEST BUY’, then, it is just
that!

WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU
There is no debate on why we are here. Our
sole goal is to provide you options and better
your judgement in product purchase while,
sharing tips and tricks to improve your images.
Our biggest joy is in building a bridge between
you and your perfect picture!

Editor – Hoshang S Billimoria

March 2014 Smart Photography

5

Contents
MARCH 2014

Kaleidoscope

30

10
28
146

40

Ask Uncle Ronnie

43

Our expert comments on how your pictures can be taken
to another level

REGULARS
8

If I Were You

Your photo queries answered by Uncle Ronnie

Mail Bag
News Watch
Picture of the Month
Tidbits

MasterCraftsman

54

The masters of the craft share their insights and photographs

A platform for budding photographers to exhibit their
talent and get noticed!

Showcase

34

REVIEWS: PANASONIC GM1 SONY Į 7 OLYMPUS STYLUS 1 CANON POWERSHOT S200 CANON EF-S 55-250MM F/4-5.6 IS II








RS.125
ISSUE 12
VOLUME 09
MARCH 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!

INTERVIEW PARAG DAMLE
PROFILE BASEL ALMISSHAL

TUTORIALS

HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH FLOWERS
FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP
CONVERT IMAGES TO EMAIL RESOLUTION

A photographic profile of the person behind the lens
INDIA IVE
S
EXCLU IEW
REV
PROFESSIONAL TECHNIQUE LIGHTING GLASS

PANASONIC GM1

Cover credits
Photographer: Samir M. Mohite
Through: “Abhivyakti: Expression
Through Photography”

Just a moment!

Readers can find the updated Buyer’s Guide, log on
http://smartphotography.in/news/monthly-special
Smart Photography thanks the readers who participate
in the Picture of the Month contest. We would like to
bring to your attention a few changes in the rules for
submission. From now on, you may send in your images
with the longer side measuring atleast 17 inches. Please
note that the images have to be horizontal. This permits
readers to submit panoramic shots, which was not possible
with the current size of 17 x 11 inches.

6

Smart Photography March 2014

62

Making Your Photography Flower!

LEARNINGS
Basics
62

Making Your Photography Flower!

68

Shooting Glass

74

Covert a Digital Image
File to E-mail Resolution

76

68

Fun with Photoshop:

Shooting
Glass

Windows of Light

REVIEWS
82

PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

88

SONY Į 7

92

Olympus Stylus 1

96

Canon PowerShot S200

100

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II

102

First Look: Triggertrap Mobile

74

Covert a
Digital Image
File to E-mail
Resolution

BUYERS’ GUIDE
104

D-SLR Guide

106

ILCC Guide

108

Lens Nomenclature

110

Jargon

114

SP Recommended

76

Fun with
Photoshop:
Windows of
Light

7

Smart Photography March 2014

Mailbag
REVIEWS: NIKON D5300 FUJIFILM X-A1 CANON EF 24-70MM F/4L IS USM SIGMA 24-105MM F/4 CANON SPEEDLITE 320 EX








RS.125

SUBSCRIBER’S COPY

ISSUE 11
VOLUME 09
FEBRUARY 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!
107

INTERVIEW AMIT RANE
PROFILE SANTOSH SALIGRAM

TUTORIALS

UNDERSTANDING DEPTH OF FIELD
HDR FROM A SINGLE SHOT
FUN WITH INFRARED
PROFESSIONAL
TECHNIQUE
IMPORTANCE OF MAKE-UP

EL
TRAV RE
FEATU
IN B&W
LONDON

ALSO REVIEWED

STELLAR PHOENIX PHOTO RECOVERY 6

SPECIAL: SMART PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS 2014

Write to us at:
Mail Bag
Smart Photography,
Trade World, C-Wing,
2nd Floor, Kamala Mills
Compound, Senapati Bapat
Marg, Lower Parel(W),
Mumbai 400013.
E-mail:
[email protected]

Rewarding travels
For the past
few years, I
regularly take
my photography
tuitions through SP
magazine. I am very
impressed by the
detailed discussions
of different
techniques and the
lessons by Uncle
Ronnie. My wife
and children are also avid readers of
the magazine because of the beautiful
pictures published in it.
Recently, I was awarded the Certificate
of Merit for my photograph in

A nature trail
The February 2014 issue was a great read.
I have always been curious about HDR
images and thanks to the article ‘Single
Shot HDR’, I now know how to create
those images. I also loved the images by
Santosh Saligram and Amit Rane. They

Travel / Print by the Photographic
Society of India, at the 64th All India
Exhibition of Photography 2014. Here
is the photograph.

Kalyan Nath

were truly stunning and showed the
majesty of the wild. I also got to learn the
names of the birds from Rane’s photos. It is
great to be able to learn this way.

Amruta Trivedi

Letter of the Month
An appropriate feature
The Photo Feature by Ajay Sood in
the February 2014 issue of SP was
quite unusual. It gave us a glimpse into
photographing streets in black and white.
When we click people in colour, we
photograph their clothes; but when we
click in black and white, we photograph

8

Smart Photography March 2014

WIN

A UNIROSS
1H LCD CHARGER
WORTH Rs.1,095/EVERY MONTH FOR THE
LETTER OF THE MONTH

their souls. Some pictures brought out
the importance of wide angle lenses.
The essay was a practical guide to those
who want to capture people along with
landscape.

Gaurav Mishra

News Watch
International
SNIPPETS
Nikon debuted 4 compact
cameras (Coolpix S2800,
S6700, L29 and L350), and
one ultra zoom camera
(Coolpix L830) with
Dynamic Fine Zoom and the
ability to retain the original
picture quality through a
special algorithm.
Canon patents a number of
pancake zoom lens designs
for Canon EOS M System.
Panasonic has unveiled
its facial recognition
system that can identify
faces in the crowd based
on the pictures stored in
their database. The highperformance WV-ASF
900 Facial Recognition
System’s video architecture
can process 1,000 faces
per second for up to 20
cameras at the same time,
according to Y. Yamasaki,
General Manager of
Panasonic System Solution
Department.
Panasonic, at CES
2014, unveiled 5 digital
camcorders with Full HD
‘Twin Camera’ that enables
users to shoot picturein-picture videos (W850,
V750, V350, V250 and
V130). Panasonic’s new
digital camera Lumix DMCSZ8 comes with 12x optical
zoom lens.

10

Smart Photography March 2014

Nikon to release compact
D-cams
Nikon will begin
marketing in Japan,
new digital cameras
introduced at the CES
2014—the compact
D-cam models Coolpix
S6800, S3600 and L30.
Coolpix S6800 features
an enhanced Make-up
Effect which lets the
user add eye-shadow, eliminate reflection on the mascara and fair skin, etc.
The camera has a back-lit 16 MP CMOS sensor and lens-shift image stabilizing
technology, 4.5-54.0 mm f/3.3-63 (25-300mm in terms of 35mm) 12 x zoom
lens and Wi Fi capability to transfer images immediately to Smartphones,
computers and social media sites. The S3600 model also features Make-up
effects. It has a 20 MP CCD imager and lens-shift image stabilization. The
entry-level L30 features 26-130mm (in 35mm) 5x zoom lens, 20 MP CCD and
uses Li-ion or alkaline AA batteries.

Hasselblad announces
Full-size D-SLR
Hasselblad announced the HV, a 24.3 MP
full-frame Exmor CMOS sensor camera. It
comes with a Carl Zeiss 24 – 70mm lens, a
Sony Alpha A mount and a 2.3 mega-dot
OLED electronic viewfinder. The camera
offers continuous shooting at 6 fps in fullsize capturing or 8 fps in APS-equivalent
crop, sensor-shift image stabilizing system,
ISO sensitivity from 100 to 25600, and
35mm full-frame HD movie-making capability. The HV can function in
extreme weather conditions, from – 40 degrees Celsius to 80 degrees
Celsius. It is expected to cost around 1.2 million Yen including the lens and
the camera case.

News Watch
International

Olympus announces mirrorless
camera OM-D E-M10
Olympus announced the release of
OM-D E-M10 in late February 2014.
This mirrorless interchangeable
lens camera conforms to the Micro
Four Thirds System standard, and
has a metal body equipped with an
electronic viewfinder that has bright,
clear visibility and offers good image
quality. The OM-D E-M10 has a slim
body and when the M Zuiko Digital
ED 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 EZ lens is
attached, the thickness is only 64mm.
It has a 16 MP Live MOS sensor

with a maximum
sensitivity of ISO
25600, a TruePic
VII image processor,
Cat’s Eye Control
which automatically
adjusts the brightness
in accordance with
the environment, 81
point Fast AF and 8
fps maximum sequential shooting,
AF tracking performance on moving
targets, a short shooting time lag,

Hasselblad to
launch mediumformat CMOS
camera
Hasselblad is going to launch
the world’s first 50 MP mediumformat camera using CMOS sensor
technology. The groundbreaking
H5D-50c will go on sale in March
2014. This camera is based on its
H5D-50 model but will offer a faster
capture rate, longer shutter speed
capability and much better ISO
performance. It will have an improved
Live Video in Phocus and will also
offer multi-shot function.

12

Smart Photography March 2014

Wi-Fi functionality etc. The camera
weighs 396 g and measures 119.1 x
82.3 x 45.9 mm.

Leica camera celebrates 100
years of Leica Photography
The year 1914 marked the birth of 35mm photographhy as we know it today. A
hundred years ago, Oskar Barnack created the very first Leica, the Leitz Camera.
This year, Leica will celebrate their centennial with events, exhibitions and innovative
products.
Dr. Andreas Kaufmann, chairman of the Supervisory Board at Leica Camera AG said,
“ No other brand has so crucially shaped and influenced photography for the past
hundred years like Leica has, by continuing to provide photographers with the best
tools and superb lenses to match them. We will be celebrating our centennial with
numerous renowned photographers from around the globe and shining a spotlight
on their work.” Alfred Schopf, chairman of the Executive Board at Leica Camera AG
said, “That Leica today is, as in the past, still synonymous with high-end handmade
products, iconic design, technical innovation and better pictures will be confirmed
by the selected products we will be presenting in the course of our centennial year.”
This campaign will be accompanied by a series of cultural projects, photography
exhibitions and competitions, book presentations and a special issue of LFI, Leica’s
magazine, with the title ‘100 years of Leica photography.’ Leica Camera AG will also
be relocated to the new ultra-modern factory in the LeitzPark in Wetzlar, Germany
this year. The official opening will be in May.

News Watch
International

Nikon announces four new models
in Coolpix series
Nikon announced four new models
in the Coolpix series, set to release
on February 27. The S9700 is the top
model in the series, featuring a 1/2.3inch Type 16 MP BL CMOS sensor
and a 30x 4.5-135mm (25 – 750mm
in 35mm terms) f/3.7-6.4 zoom lens. It
offers faster AF capability at 0.15 sec,
Wi-Fi connectivity, global atlas and
GPS, a 3-inch OEL display etc.
The P340 features a 1/1.7-inch
Type 12.91 MP BL CMOS sensor
and a 5x 5.1 – 25.5 (24 – 120mm in
35mm format) f/1.8-5.6 zoom lens,
Wi-Fi capability and a 3-inch RGBW
layered LCD monitor.
The P600 features a 60x zoom 4.3
– 258mm (24 – 1440 in the 35mm

format) f/3.3-6.5 lens
including a super ED lens
element, Wi-Fi capability,
lens-shift image stabilizing
plus Active mode and
continuous shooting up
to 7 fps.
The S32 is an entry-level
camera which is water-proof till 10
meters and shock-proof against a fall
of up to 1.5m and can be used in
low temperatures to - 10 degrees
Celsius. It offers a 3x zoom (30 –
90mm in 35mm terms) f/3.3 – 5.9
lens, a 1/3.1-inch Type 13.17 MP
CMOS sensor with a 2.7-inch LCD
screen.
The AW120 is a rugged all-weather

camera which is water-proof
up to 18 m depth, shock-proof
against a fall of 2 m, can function
in cold temperatures up to – 10
degrees Celsius and has a built-in
pressure sensor, GPS and a built-in
map. The camera has a 5x f/2.8 –
4.9 lens, 1/2.3-inch Type 16.05 MP
CMOS sensor and a 3-inch
OLED monitor.

Fujifilm launches
Fujifilm X-T1
Fujifilm announced that it will release the
top-of-the-line Fujifilm X-T1 in the Japanese
market, commemorating its 80th anniversary
of establishment. The camera features an
APS-C X-Trans CMOS II image sensor with
16.3 MP resolution, EXR Processor II, a
multi-mode EVF with the world’s highest
viewfinder magnification ratio of 0.77x and
a quick display with a lag time of just 0.005
seconds. It is dust and water resistant and
operates even at -10 degrees Celsius.

14

Smart Photography March 2014

News Watch
International

Portrait Professional
Kenko Tokina
launches magnesium software wins The
Societies Photographic
alloy Quick Shoe
Trade Awards
Kenko Tokina is now offering a magnesiumalloy Quick Shoe ‘DQ-55’ which can be
easily attached to the existing tripod shoe
with a quick lever and a large camera lock
nut. The lever rotates 180 degrees, thus
enabling a quick and firm attachment to the
camera. It has a two-axis horizontal gauze
and can hold up to 2 kg. The street price
would be 8,980 Yen.

Portrait Professional, a retouching software, has won The Societies
Photographic Trade Awards in The Best Professional Imaging Innovation
2013 and The Best Photo Finishing Product 2013 categories. Portrait
Professional is a portrait editing software designed to speed up a
photographer’s workflow. It automatically detects faces and features,
and portraits are improved in seconds. The photographer maintains full
creative control over the process due to the interactive preview of results
and adjustable presets and sliders.

Nissin announces new i40 Strobe
Nissin Japan announced the development
of a compact powerful speedlite i40
for Nikon, Canon, Sony and Four Thirds
System camera use. The new product was
displayed at the CP+ 2014, held from
February 13 to 16 in Yokohama.
The strobe measures 85x61x85mm

16

Smart Photography March 2014

and weighs 203 g excluding batteries.
It offers a GN of 27 m at 35mm or
GN of 40 m at 105mm. It also features
zoom capability to cover 24mm in
wideangle to 105mm in telephoto.
The strobe supports a focal length of
a 16mm lens and the head rotates 180
degrees. It also has a wide-angle LED

videolight for supporting videography,
high speed sychronizong to highspeed shutter operation, wireless TTL
remote mode and runs on four AA
batteries. It will be available from April
2014 for Canon and Nikon cameras
and from June 2014 for Sony and
other Four Thirds cameras.

News Watch
International

JK Imaging announces Kodak brand mirrorless camera
According to the e-magazine
Digicam Watch, JK Imaging
introduced a mirrorless
interchangeable lens camera
under the Kodak brand name,
the Kodak Pixpro S-1, during
the CES 2014. The camera will
be sold in international markets
from February 2014. The Pixpro
S-1 features a Micro Four Thirds
formatted 16 MP CMOS sensor,

Zeiss
announces
Touit f/2.8
50mm Macro
Lens
Carl Zeiss announced that it will
introduce the Zeiss Touit f/2.8
50mm macro, filling a gap in
the close-up and macro range
for APS-C systems, extending
its Touit line-up. This lens offers
a magnification power of 1:1.
The lens can also be used
for portraits and landscape
photography. With a full-frame
equivalent focal length of
75mm (crop factor 1.5) you
have a moderate telephoto
focal length.
18

Smart Photography March 2014

920 K-dot 3-inch tilting monitor,
sensor shift image stabilizer,
Wi-Fi capability and burst speed
of 5 fps. The street price will
be $499 for a single lens kit, or
$599 for a kit with two lenses.
The company has also lined up
three interchangeable lenses:
a standard 12-45mm f/3.5-6.3,
a 42.5-160mm f/3.5-5.9 and a
400mm f/6.7 lens.

Fujifilm to sell instant printer
for Smartphones
Fujifilm Corp. will be marketing the
‘instax SHARE Smartphone Printer
SP-1’ to produce a card-sized print
(88x54mm / 640x480 dots) in about 16
seconds, using the data stored on the
Smartphone, which can be transferred
wirelessly. A dedicated app allows the
user to edit photos with options of
enlargement/reduction, filter/effect such
as black and white, sepia, adding date/
time, place, weather etc. The images
uploaded to social networking service
sites can be printed with the profile
photo and the number of likes with
the SNS template option. The printer
measures 101.6x42x122.5mm and runs
on two CR2 type Li-ion batteries. This product will be made available in Japan
on February 15 at the expected street price of 19,800 Yen. The company’s
target is to sell 250,000 units of SP-1 in the international market in fiscal 2014.

News Watch
Business

Fujifilm’s April-December Operating Profit rises
Fujifilm Holding’s operating profit for
the April-December period rose by
50% on the year to 98 billion Yen (US
$951.4 million), with office equipment
sales and growing medical business
compensating for a stagnant camera
segment. The sales of low-cost compact
models continued to decrease due to
Smartphones. Fujifilm tried to improve

its product mix, but both sales and
profit declined overall. Low demand
for information technology equipment
caused a slump in sales of film for LCDs.
The medical business sales increased
by more than 10%. Medical
information systems and gastrointestinal
endocsopes sold well. The growth

Canon’s camera
sales for 2013 low

Canon’s group operating profit for 2013 fell
short of its forecast, coming to around 320 billion
Yen (US $3.08 billion), due to disappointing
camera sales undermining the benefits of the
weak Yen and robust office equipment sales.
The net profit was around 224.5 billion Yen (US
$2.16 billion). The company had projected 360
billion Yen (US $3.46 billion) operating profit for
the fiscal year. Compact camera sales decreased
more than 20% in volume, mainly because of
competition from Smartphones.Even sales of
high-end SLRs went down as demand ebbed in
Europe, China etc.
Roughly 80% of Canon’s sales are outside Japan,
so the weak Yen was a boon. This boosted
Canon’s operating profit by some 200 billion
Yen. Office equipment continued to perform
strongly.
Canon expects the demand for high-margin
SLR cameras to recover this year as the US and
European economies will pick up.

20

Smart Photography March 2014

of the pharmaceutical business was
also brisk. Office equipment, which
accounts for half of the Fujifilm group
sales continued to perform well,
particularly in Asia. Stronger sales
of high-margin colour multifinction
printers and reduced production
costs and other expenses boosted
profitability.

Total Production of Nikkor
lenses reaches 85 million

Nikon Corp. announced that the total production of Nikkor lenses for
Nikon D-SLR and Nikon 1 advanced cameras with interchangeable
lenses reached the 85 million mark in January 2014. For more than 80
years, Nikkor lenses, known for their sharpness, reliability and image
quality have been used by photographers of all experience levels.
Nikon expanded this line-up of lenses in the past year, by incorporating
advanced optical technologies.

Sony planning to sell PC
business
Sony Corp is in talks to unload its sluggish personal computer operations
to investment fund Japan Industrial Partners. This is a part of its business
overhaul program designed to shift focus to Smartphones. The sale price
is estimated to be 40 to 50 billion Yen (US $396 to 495 million). On
February 6, Sony and Japan Industrial Partners came to an agreement
that Sony will separate the PC Business and set up a new company which
the latter will purchase.

News Watch
Business

Canon posts
increased
revenue and
profits for Fiscal
2013
Canon Inc. announced its consolidated
financial results for fiscal 2013 ending
on December 2013 posting a 7.2%
gain to 3,731.4 billion Yen in revenue,
a 4.1% gain to 337.3 billion Yen for
operating profit and a net income
of 230.5 billion Yen amid moderate
recoveries of global economies during
the latter half of the year. The company
admitted that the depreciated Yen
contributed to profit gains.
The Imaging System Business Unit
posted sales of 1,448.9 billion Yen, up
by 3.1% while the operating profit was
203.8 billion Yen, a 3.1% fall. Sales of
digital cameras dropped by 21% yearon-year, interchangeable lens system
cameras by 7% to 7.6 million units, due
mostly to sluggish sales in European
and Chinese markets. Compact camera
sales dropped by 28% to 13.2 million
units. Inkjet printer sales enjoyed solid
growth because of the introduction
of new products, despite the harsh
market environment. In 2014, the
company estimates compact digital
camera sales to drop by 20% to 10.5
million units and interchangeable lens
system camera sales will fall by 1% to
7.6 million units.

22

Smart Photography March 2014

Canon celebrates production of
70 million EOS-series SLRs
Canon Inc. announced on
February 6 that it achieved a
camera manufacturing milestone
as the combined production of
the company’s film and digital
EOS-series interchangeable lens
camera surpassed the 70 million
market on February 5.
Production of Canon EOS
SLR cameras began in 1987 at

Canon Inc’s Fukushima Plant
with the EOS 650, later moving
to production bases such as
Oita Canon Inc and Canon
Inc Taiwan. After the spread
of D-SLRs in the early 2000s,
production rapidly increased,
surpassed the 60 million unit
mark in October 2012 and has
now reached the 70 million unit
threshold.

Panasonic , Sharp report net

profits for April – December
Restructuring and cost cuts
helped Panasonic Corp and Sharp
Corp turn net profits for nine
months ending on December 31,
2013, for the first time in three
years. But both will need to find
paths towards sustained growth.
Panasonic reported a group
net profit of 243 billion Yen,
rebounding from the earlier
year’s loss of 623.8 billion Yen.
The weak Yen boosted yendominated sales. The company
also benefited from brisk demand
for onboard vehicle systems
and housing products. While its
major businesses are gradually
recovering, restructuring was the

main contributor.
Meanwhile, Sharp logged a
consolidated net profit of
17.7 billion Yen, compared to
a 424.3 billion Yen loss a year
earlier. All six business segments
posted operating profits for a
second straight quarter. Sales
rose by 21%, partly due to a
large LCD order from a Chinese
Smartphone maker. The company
also gained 20 billion Yen in
one-off transaction from patent
revenue and other sources.
Cost reduction contributed as
well, with steps such as staff cuts
shrinking fixed costs by 100
billion Yen.

News Watch
Business

‘Dreamlike Dimension’ photo exhibition
‘Dreamlike Dimension,’
a photo exhibition by
Fiorenzo Senese was held
from February 11 to 20,
2014 at the Piramal Art
Gallery, National Centre
for the Performing Arts,
Mumbai.The photographs
conveyed various aspects
of dreams and memories
using various effects.

Gurmit Singh appointed as
JCM Circuit
Managing Director, Yahoo India 2014 invites
entries

On February 12, 2014, Yahoo India
announced the appointment of
Gurmit Singh as Managing Director
for Yahoo India. As MD, Gurmit will
oversee Yahoo’s business in India,
responsible for its growth in the
country. He will report to Yvonne
Chang, VP & Head of India and South
East Asia, Yahoo. With over 20 years
of experience, Gurmit brings with him
a deep understanding of the Media
& Entertainment industry in India.
Most recently, Gurmit was the CEO of
Forbes India at Network 18. Yvonne
Chang, VP & Head of India and
South East Asia, Yahoo said, “Gurmit comes to Yahoo with a strong track record of
delivering growth. His understanding of users and advertisers will be a great asset
for Yahoo as we bring a number of product innovations to India. Yahoo is a loved
brand in India, and we are very happy to have a leader of Gurmit’s caliber leading
the team.”
24

Smart Photography March 2014

The JCM Photography Society is now
inviting entries from photographers
for the contest JCM Digital Circuit
2014. The categories in which you
can submit pictures are Monochrome
(Pictorial), Colour (Pictorial), Nature
including wildlife, Photojournalism and
Photo Travel. The entry fee for a single
section is Rs. 200, and an extra Rs. 75
for each additional section. It is also
open to overseas entrants, at US $30
or EUR €25 for a single section and
US $10 or EUR €8 for each additional
section. Log on to their website: www.
jcmcircuits.com/. Download the entry
form from this URL: www.jcmcircuits.
com/Docs/JCMMainForm.pdf.

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News Watch
National

Sandisk introduces two
USB drives
SanDisk has introduced two new
products—The Extreme PRO
USB 3.0 drive and the SanDisk
Ultra Dual USB Drive.

wear and tear. The USB drive is
available at a price of Rs. 16,388
(128GB) with a lifetime limited
warranty.

The high-performance SanDisk
Extreme PRO USB 3.0 flash
drive offers write speeds up to
240MB/s and read speeds up
to 260MB/s. This makes it ideal
for transferring movies and high
resolution images quickly. It
includes SanDisk SecureAccess
software that provides 128bit AES file encryption and
password protection, and also
has an aluminum metal casing,
which protects against everyday

The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive
provides a convenient way to
transfer content via an Androidpowered Smartphone or Tablet’s
micro-USB port and a computer’s
USB connection. Additionally, the
drive’s dual USB ports feature a
retractable cover and integrates
with SanDisk’s Memory Zone
app. The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB
Drive is available in 16GB to
64GB capacities at Rs. 1,199 to
Rs. 3,800.

Tamron announces ‘A million smiles’
workshops all over photography exhibition
India

‘A million smiles’ is a photography
art initiative conceived by Mr. Ashok
Tamron is organizing photography workshops Kochhar to celebrate womanhood
by exhibiting the smiles of more
all over India in the months of March,
than 1000 women across Delhi –
April and May 2014. They will be held in
NCR. This exhibition will commence
Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Goa, Jalandhar,
on Women’s Day, March 8 and
Kolkata, Mumbai, Hubli, Bangalore and nine
continue till March 16, 2014 from
other cities. These one day workshops are
11 am to 7 pm. It will take place
free of cost, and the organizers will provide
simultaneously at the Ambience
tea/coffee and lunch to the participants. To
Mall, Vasant Kunj and Gurgaon.
register or find out more, log on to www.
Ashok Kochhar said, “this is an
tamron.in/workshop.
26

Smart Photography March 2014

initiative to celebrate womanhood
on a humble beginning, where I
wanted to start photographing
101 smiling faces on my innovative
camera setup. Seeing the
response, I and my team ended up
photographing 1000 smiling female
faces. Since the results were beyond
our expectations, we got many
wonderful lady volunteers. And
now we have a collection of 1000
beautiful smiling portraits.”

News Watch

National

T S Nagarajan passes away
Renowned
photographer T S
Nagarajan passed
away in Chennai,
following a brief
illness. He was 82.
A native of Mysore,
Nagarajan was the
younger brother of
another renowned
photographer, late T S Satyan.
Nagarajan began his career as

the photographer for the
Central government in the
year 1956 and later on
became the picture
editor of ‘Yojana’,
a journal of the
Union Planning Commission.
He was also the
director of photography
division, Union
Ministry of Information, and,
consultant photographer to
UNICEF in India.

Nagarajan won PATA Gold
Award in 1987. His works have
been exhibited around the world,
including the Museum of Modern
Art, Oxford in 1982. In 2011,
the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting honoured him with a
Lifetime Achievement Award.
Nagarajan has three books to
his credit, the most recent being
‘Vanishing Homes of India’, released
last month.




 





 
 
 


 
 
 


 

    

    

 
 
 




 
 
      

   

 
 


 
  






 
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March 2014 Smart Photography

27

Photograph by

Sujan Sarkar

PARTICIPATE

&

WIN!

MK 393 PD
Tripod

Sponsored by:

Picture of the Month
We are sure that all of you have a few
pictures that you think are prize worthy. It
happens very often that you don’t know
where to send the image that could put a
feather in your cap. If you have such images
(we’re sure you have many!), send us ONE
such horizontal image. If it qualifies, we
shall publish it as a double-spread.
a. You have to guarantee that the picture
was shot by you
b. If there are people in the picture who
can be identified, we’ll need a model
release

c. The picture should not have been
printed elsewhere (magazine
newspaper, or offered to any
publication)
d. Mark the entry as “Picture of the
Month” and rename the file using
your name
e. You may send images via print/e-mail
to: Next Gen Publishing Ltd.,2nd Floor,
C Wing, Trade World, Kamala Mills
Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg,
Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013 (or)
[email protected]

A note to our readers
1. The picture has to be horizontal.
2. Kindly ensure that the longer side should measure atleast 17 inches, at 300ppi.
3. Low resolution images will not be accepted.
4. We do not check images on online galleries.
5. Kindly ensure complete contact/address details are provided. Winners will have to
collect their prize from SP’s Mumbai office or send an authorised representative
to do so.
6. Please make sure that your picture does not have your name/logo on it.

Finally, a platform for budding photographers to exhibit their talent and GET NOTICED!

Kaleidoscope

Rural Musings

30

Smart Photography March 2014

Tell Tale Trees
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture : f/11
Shutter speed: 1/180sec.
ISO: 100

B

orn in 1979, I grew up in Canning,
West Bengal. Since the age of 13
when I owned my first camera—a
Canon AE-1 Program—I have explored
the myriad images that Indian villages
have to offer. I currently use Canon EOS
7D and Canon EOS 5D Mark III. Hailing
from a village myself, my eyes are drawn
towards those elements that I can identify
with, which are generally hidden from the
perspective of a city dweller.

Udayan Sankar Pal,
Hyderabad
Group, based out of Hyderabad.

I believe photography is all about
the eye; you either see things or are
influenced to see things. Brochures of
photography exhibitions sparked my
interest, and I started collecting them
for posterity since 2001. I now have a
collection of over 15,000 brochures
from across the world. I hope this
collection helps people research,
learn, emulate and be inspired in
photography. With this purpose, I have
established an international archive of
photography exhibition—Threedots

From the bare-foot camera toting village
lad to a frantic shutterbug, to a selective
shooter and an international collector of
brochures of photography exhibitions, I
have come a long way. And through this
journey I have tried to show the world
through my perspective.
You can see my images at
udayansankarpal.com or connect with
me at facebook.com/udayansankarpal
As told to Tanika Godbole

BBest Buddy!
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture : f/1.4
Shutter speed: 1/250sec.
ISO: 4000

March 2014 Smart Photography

31

Shade
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture : f/11.0
Shutter speed: 1/500sec.
ISO: 100

Bowled over!

Stop here, or gently pass!

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Aperture : f/8.0; Shutter speed: 1/100sec.; ISO: 800

Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Aperture : f/11.0; Shutter speed: 1/320sec.; ISO: 1000

32

Smart Photography March 2014

Walk the talk
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture : f/2.8
Shutter speed: 1/45sec.
ISO: 100

Get featured & win an
Epson PictureMate PM245,
worth
Rs.9999/-!

Beat! Beat! Drums!
Camera: Canon EOS 7D
Aperture : f/22.0
Shutter speed: 0.3sec.
ISO: 100

CALLING ALL PHOTOGRAPHERS! Kaleidoscope is the perfect way to jump-start your career... So simply send us a selection of your images along with full
details of your vision and the technical information at [email protected]. We accept both film and digital images.
All pictures that are forwarded to Kaleidoscope should be 8x10 inches in size (or larger) and at 300 ppi. However, we will re-size them according to the layout considerations.
March 2014 Smart Photography

33

Showcase

Painting a Picture

Basel Almisshal is a self-taught professional
photographer based in the UAE / Oman. He currently
runs a creative design firm in the Middle East.
Almisshal is the founder and creative director of the
globally acclaimed “Capture the Spirit of Ramadan”
International Photography Competition. He is also
a member of the United Nations Photographers
Association and has taught photography at the
university level.
34

Smart Photography March 2014

I

am an architect by profession, an artist
and designer, and photography was a
natural interest for me with my particular
background. After all, photography is
‘painting with light’. I am inspired by the
beauty of nature and tend to see things
from a deeper, more detailed perspective.
To be able to interpret a particular
scene into an image that resonates with
beauty is the inspiration for me. I love

Showcase

Glass Works

Grand Mosque, Muscat
March 2014 Smart Photography

35

Showcase

all kinds of architecture; be it modern or
historic and traditional as long as it is good
craftsmanship. When I shoot architecture, I
do it from the perspective of a designer—
focusing on the harmonious relationships
between space and light and highlighting
subtle details and flowing lines.
I love to photograph nature just as much as
I love capturing bustling cityscapes. I try to
find beauty in all of my surroundings, be it
Dubai Cityscape

36

Smart Photography March 2014

the desert or mountains, or in the confines
of a beautifully decorated room. In terms
of actual locations, my favourite location for
photography was Andalucía in southern
Spain. A future spot I would love to explore
with my lenses—well of course India!
With a compelling subject, I often compose
my photographs with light, shade, contrast
in colors and textures as well as appealing
arrangement of the elements in the frame.

I often ‘sketch’ an image in my mind before
shooting it but it is also important to shoot
freely and spontaneously, as you will almost
always come out with something more
spectacular.
Learning is a continuous process, you never
stop. I have learned from many world-class
distinguished photographers and I always
find time to update my skills with practice.
As told to Tanika Godbole

Showcase
Arabian spiced battenburg cake

Sushi rolls
March 2014 Smart Photography

37

E-mail your images at [email protected]

If I Were You
Our Imaging Expert

No one can take a picture that everyone likes. But, almost every picture can have scope
of improvement. Often, we are not our best critics, while others can immediately point
out the faults. In If I were you, our expert comments on how your pictures could be
taken to another level.

Picture Info

Camera: Canon EOS 550D
ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/30 sec
Aperture: f/16

Original Image

A Macro Shot
Satverg Singh from Mumbai is a
photographer who is very devoted
to his hobby. When I saw him
recently at the Rose Show at Dharavi
Nature Park in Mumbai, I could
immediately make out his dedication
– not only was he armed with a
Canon D-SLR with an external Canon
MT24 EX Twin lite flash – he was also
taking his shots from various angles.
Along with the picture he sent us,
he mentioned that in the unusual
picture he had placed the spider in
the centre of the frame (which is not
normally done) because the spider
kept moving and by keeping it in
the centre, he could have a choice
when it came to cropping the image.
Argument accepted!
I felt that his image was overly sharp
(at the spider’s mouth parts) and so I
asked him to send us the original Raw
capture, which he did. The edited
image that you see here is from the
original Raw file. You may feel that
the edited image is in fact sharper,
but that feeling could be because
of better overall contrast and also
due to the fact that I have increased
the sharpness on the hairs by using
the Sharpen Tool. Satverg, you
have done well and with a bit more
practice in post-processing, you will
definitely do much better.
40

Smart Photography March 2014

Edited Image

Rohinton Mehta,
Technical Editor,
Smart Photography

If I Were You

Buzzzz
Abhinav Gupta from
Jammu is a nature
lover who has been
trying to improve his
photographic skills
since the last two
years. He wants to
know how his picture
could be improved.
Abhinav, the subject
you have tried to
capture is difficult and
credit goes to you
for trying. Pictures
showing close-ups of
Original Image
Edited Image
flowers should ideally
be taken when the
Picture Info
Camera: Nikon D3200
light is diffused or not
ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/200 se
too harsh. Secondly,
Aperture: f/7.1
in situations such
as in your shot, you
should take several
pictures if possible. There is no
my camera), set the
guarantee of proper sharpness or of
aperture to f/16 (for
tonal separation between the insect
increased depth of
and the background since the insect
field) and taken some
keeps buzzing around. You can notice shots. Flash light falls
in your picture, the wasp is somewhat off as per the Inverse
merging with the background. The
Square Law (For a
background too is disturbing.
point source of light
– a flashgun is a point
So, what would I have done if I were
source – doubling the
distance between the
you?
point source and the
subject, the illumination
Besides taking several shots with the
falls to a quarter). Note that the
stops, making the background almost
ambient lighting (with a hope that one
would be good or near perfect!), I
illumination falls to a quarter and not by black. (See the sketch).
would also have tried using electronic
a quarter. This means that if the distance
flash with the intention of making the
between the flash and the subject is say, But won’t the black wasp also merge
with the dark/black background?
background very dark/black (to avoid
x-feet, then x-feet behind the subject,
Depending on what angle the flash-light
a disturbing background). I would
the illumination becomes one-quarter
have set my shutter speed to 1/250
(2 stops less). Another x-feet away (that hits the wasp, it is very likely that there
would be a tonal separation.
sec (which is the x-sync speed on
is 2x), the illumination would fall by 4
March 2014 Smart Photography

41

If I Were You

Note: If I Were You is meant to encourage and guide readers,
and help them improve their photography. Please ensure that the
required camera/exposure details are sent to us (or are available
in the EXIF data). We shall not accept images for this section if the
required data is not available. Readers are requested to send their
images at 300ppi for 8 x 10-inch size. If they are too small, working on
them is difficult, and hence they may be rejected.

Sunset and Boat
Chandreyi Ray is an amateur
photographer. She photographed
this boat at sunset time at
Mandarmani, a local sea beach near
South Bengal. Says she “I would
really like my photograph to get
reviewed.”
Chandreyi, the first thing to
remember is that you should never
use Auto White Balance (AWB)
when photographing sunrise or
sunsets (Try keeping the WB to
Daylight). By setting AWB, you
are telling the camera that in this
yellowish-orange light of the setting
sun, please make the whites appear
as whites. When you do that, all the
beautiful colours of the scene just
vanishes, as it has done here (I felt
that you must have done that since
the sunset colours are washed out.
I then checked the Raw Data in EXIF
data and confirmed my doubt).

Original Image

Second point: The horizon line
is tilting ( a bit). When it comes to
water, you should avoid this at all
costs.
Third point: The guidelines
for composition says that the
centre of interest (in this case the
boat) should not be placed in the
centre of the frame. However, in
this case, I actually like the idea of
breaking this guideline as it shows
‘isolation’.
42

Smart Photography March 2014

Edited Image

Fourth point: There can be several
ways a scene/subject can be depicted.
Look at my edited image. By cropping
part of the sky, the viewer’s attention
is concentrated on to the boat, which
is the principal element in the picture.
I have also tried to put back the lost
colours using Photoshop.

Picture Info

Camera: Nikon D5100
ISO: 100
Shutter speed: 1/80 sec
Aperture: f/4.5

Ask Uncle Ronnie
How can I reduce noise in
my low-light landscapes?
I am a landscape photographer
who loves to shoot in very low
light – early mornings just when
the sun is about to rise and late
evenings just when the sun is
about to set and even after it sets.
Whichever digital camera I use, I
am forced to increase the ISO and
this leads to increased noise. Is
there a solution?
A. S. Patankar, Ahmedabad
There is a solution. Shoot the same
scene with identical exposure/focus
settings in a quick burst (minimum 5
frames, camera on a firm tripod) and
load the images in Photoshop.
(If you work through Bridge, just
select the frames and go to Tools
> Photoshop > Load Files into
Photoshop Layers).
1. Copy and paste one image on to
another.
2. Similarly copy/paste all the images.
3. Select all the layers. Go to Edit >
Auto Align Layers. Select AUTO from
the Auto Align Layers menu. (This step
is not mandatory since we have used
a tripod for the shots. Even then, for
safety sake, you may use it).
4. Ensure that all the Layers are selected
and convert them to Smart Objects
(Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to
Smart Objects).
5. Go to Layer > Smart Objects >
Stack Mode > Median.
Watch the noise disappear.

Did you know... Ronnie has over 35 years of experience
in photography?
In fact, he has taught several thousand photoenthusiasts in various institutions and through
workshops, as well as judged many national and
international photo contests, including the prestigious
International Photo Contest held at Colombo, Sri
Lanka. So, if you have any photo-queries, whether
conventional or digital, don’t hesitate. Just go ahead
and Ask Uncle Ronnie at [email protected],
‘cause he knows it all!

Canon 600D or
Nikon D3200?

I am going to buy my
first D-SLR camera for
both, nature/wildlife and
fashion photography.
But I need your valuable
suggestion. Should I buy a Canon
600D or a Nikon D3200? Other than
the difference in megapixels, what
are the other differences? If you have
a better model to suggest, please let
me know. Will these cameras support
the lenses like EF 70-200mm, EF 200400mm, EF 16-35mm, wide-angle
lenses ? What is the significance of
megapixels in a D-SLR when its lens
focal length can be increased? When
I buy these kind of cameras, shall I go
for combo kit lens like 18-55mm & 55250mm together ?
Nabarun D, via email
EF lenses are designed for full-frame
Canon EOS D-SLRs (but can be used on
APS-C models like the EOS 600D that you
mention).
Both the models you mention use APS-C
size imaging sensors. Our review ratings
of the Canon 600D (April 2011) and
Nikon D3200 ( July 2012) were 83%
and 82% respectively. The Canon has a
fully articulated LCD with a resolution of
1,040,000 dots while the Nikon has a fixed

LCD with 921,000- dot resolution. The
Canon has a slightly more powerful built-in
flash. Because of the fully articulated LCD on
the Canon 600D, taking low-angle, highangle shots would be more convenient.
Other than that, what you really have
to consider is the user interface and the
availability of lenses that you may require in
future. I suggest you go to a Canon Image
Lounge / Nikon showroom and see for
yourself which model you find convenient
to handle.
Which lenses you should buy depends on
your budget and the kind of photography
you are likely to do. But generally speaking,
the two focal lengths (18-55mm and 55250mm or thereabouts) should do well for a
start. Note that for wildlife photography, you
will need longer focal length lenses.
Megapixels and focal length have no direct
connection. More megapixels mean larger
files and larger possible images without
interpolation. Focal length gives you an
idea of the angle of coverage and the
magnification that the lens offers.
March 2014 Smart Photography

43

Ask Uncle Ronnie

Full-time Photography?
I am pursuing my graduation
in management and want to
make my career in photography.
Should I join an institute for
it or assist a photographer,
and if assist a photographer,
how should I do it? I have been
practising photography since
more than a year now and want
to continue with it for the rest of
my life.
Rishabh Mahendru, via email
I take it that you are studying to be an
MBA. So why do you want to get into
full-time photography? Earning out of
full-time photography is difficult (in
this country at least). As an MBA, you

Relative Humidity
I have recently purchased a
BENRO LB038 Dry Cabinet.
Regrettably, the Instruction
Manual is sketchy. It says that
the optimum relative humidity
for storing lenses is 45% to 55%
whereas Rohinton Mehta in July
2012 issue of SP suggests that
ideal RH is between 45% and
55%.
My questions are:
(1) What is the ideal relative
humidity for optical lenses?
(2) Should the white LED lights
inside the cabinet be kept on
24/7?
(3)Whether the lenses be stored
with front/back caps on?
(4) Whether the lens be stored
with the U/V filter on?
(5) Whether the lenses should

44

Smart Photography March 2014

Having given you my frank advice,
the final call is yours. There are
some photography institutes in the
country where you could do a longterm course and then set up your
own studio. You can find out those
institutions from the Internet.

Joining a professional photographer
as an assistant is another choice.
But keep in mind that these pro
photographers will accept you as
an assistant only if you are good
in photography; they are not
running their studios to teach you!
That is not their job. If you are
lucky enough to be accepted by a
professional photographer, you have
to make mental notes of how they
communicate with their clients, how
they set up their studio lights, how
they pose their models for fashion
photography and how they pose and
light up for studio shots of people/
products. The learning initiative
should come from you.

be stored in a supine position or
front down?
(6) Whether the camera body
should be stored with lens on or
separately? And if separately,
whether the body cap be placed?
Or none or any of the above do
not really matter?
Chandrahas Sirpurkar, Jabalpur (M.P.)
1. Please go over the article (Fungus,
page 74, July 2012) once again. I have
mentioned that “The ideal Relative
Humidity (RH) for optical lenses is
between 40-45%”. (Actually, due to a
typing error, you have mentioned the
same figures both times). And I stand
by my statement.
2. You could write to Benro for the
answer.
3. According to me, when using a
commercially available dry cabinet,
it shouldn’t matter whether or not

you store the lenses with their front/
back caps on. If you were using a
home-made dry box that uses a very
low-wattage bulb + silica gel, it could
probably make sense to keep the
caps off. Fungus tends to grow in dark,
humid places but the low-wattage
bulb in the home-made dry box
ensures that the box is not dark and
also allows some light to pass through
the lenses. The silica gel lowers the
RH.
4. Your choice.
5. Lay the lenses horizontally.
Vertically stored lenses stand a
chance of damage if the lens were to
accidentally topple over.
6. Again, the choice is yours. You can
also store the camera body separately
within the dry box but ensure that the
body cap is attached to prevent any
dust getting into the body.

are likely to earn better. Remember,
those professional photographers
who have made it to the top had
very little competition in those days,
equipment was relatively much
cheaper, and studio spaces did not
cost the earth. If I were you, I would
pursue my studies and simultaneously
do photography but as a hobby and
not as a profession.

Ask Uncle Ronnie

And the Battle
Continues...
1. Is Canon better than Nikon or
vice-versa because my friend, a
printer, says that Nikon is better
and easy to handle. The reason is
that when you click a photo, what
you see on the LCD and computer
monitor varies; you see darker
picture or there will be lot of
noise in picture.
2. Which is better, shooting in
Raw or Raw+JPEG?
Nileesh Rao, via email
1. Canon and Nikon are equally good,
though image quality, build quality
and ease of use with both, vary with
the amount you shell out. Some users

Camera Conversion
I have a film based Minolta
camera, model X-700,
with a 70mm lens. I
wish to convert this camera
into a digital one. What  are
the  possibilities?
Manmohan  Cheema, via email 
Sorry, not possible.

find Canon’s interface to be better
while others find Nikon’s interface to
be better.
I take it that you are implying that
Canon’s LCD images don’t match what
you see on the computer monitor.
Please note that LCD images on every
digital camera appear brighter than
what you’ll see on the computer
monitor. Also, there is no truth in
implying that Canon images are
noisier. Please do not pay heed to
‘wild statements’.
2. When you shoot in Raw+JPEG, the
JPEG image (which opens on your
computer without the need for a Raw

A Question of Contrast
Does using higher ISO give more
contrasty pictures, or lower
ISOs?
Sanjay Kapur, Nagpur.
With film, lower the ISO, greater the
contrast; with digital, it makes no
difference. Higher ISOs with digital
will also cause more ‘noise’ just like
higher ISO films produce more
‘grains’.

Converter) can be used to identify
and select the particular Raw file.
You cannot see the Raw image, but
you can see the JPEG image (see the
printscreen). Hence, in my opinion,
having Raw+JPEG makes sense.
There is yet another point to
consider, and that is the JPEG
compression. JPEG is a ‘lossy’ format
(to make the files smaller, it throws
out data that it does not consider
important). So if you intend to edit
only your Raw files, then you could
simply select the lowest quality
(maximum compression) JPEG. The
‘working’ files will be the Raw files.

Just for information, photographers
also increased contrast by
underexposing film and
overdeveloping it (Push-Processing);
reduced contrast by overexposing
film and then under-developing it
(Pull-Processing). With digital, the
user can increase/decrease contrast
(as well as many other parameters)
by using an image editing software,
like Photoshop.
March 2014 Smart Photography

45

Book Review

Life in the Jungle: Memoirs of a Forester

A

lifetime in the forests of the
Indian subcontinent is hard to
compile into one coffee table
book, and retired IFS officer M. N.
Jaykumar’s photographs and anecdotes intend to do just that. Apart
from being a nature and wildlife
enthusiast, the author is also an avid
photographer. A career in the forest
services has given him exposure to
some of the rarest and most wonderful sights in the national parks. These
are documented in Life in the Jungle:
Memoirs of a Forester.

The book begins with some opening
words from two of his peers as well as
a foreword from Dr. P. J. Dilip Kumar
and Anil Kumble. This gives us a
glimpse into the author’s background.

the book are those of the jungle cats.
Jayakumar has a knack for capturing
just the right moment, and has shot
wonderful images of these animals
in action, during mating season or
just lazing around. The pictures also
give perspective about the kind of
landscape, vegetation and other
conditions that prevail. Apart from
being aesthetically pleasing, the
photographs are highly informative.
Jayakumar also incorporates a few tips
for wildlife photographers. There are
some images that make you wonder
about the story behind them and
thankfully, the author’s notes and essays
about his personal adventures provide
that information. There are some rare
shots too, such as that of a fruit bat
skimming through water.

The book has around 250 images shot
across more than 25 national parks in
India and Sri Lanka. The vast collection
of images in the book consists of a
wide variety of mammals, reptiles, and
birds. But the most striking images in

The pictures are exquisitely captured. They
are sharp, well composed and highlight
the colours of the jungle. Some images are
engaging enough to make you linger for a
few moments, and the commentary about
them adds to the charm.

48

Smart Photography March 2014

Throughout the pages, M.
N. Jayakumar comes across
as someone who’s love for
nature’s glory is as deep as his
understanding of the subject. As
a photographer, he manages to
transport the viewer to a world
which he may not have access to.
He maintains the subject’s beauty
and delivers images that are worthy
of being picture postcards. As a
writer, Jayakumar has the ability
to answer the inquisitivity that
his pictures raise. This book may
just inspire you to visit one of the
wildlife reserves or national parks,
and might even motivate you to do
your bit towards protecting and
conserving this treasure.
Photographs and text: M.N.
Jayakumar
Design and Publication: Krab
Media and Marketing
Price: Rs. 3,995/Reviewed by Tanika Godbole

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Book Review

Unveiling India –
The Early lensmen 1850 - 1910

T

he Alkazi Collection of Photography
has archived the
evolution of photography
in India, and this book
represents a mere fraction
of it. Colonial India was
full of contrasts. Due to
the arrival of photography
in India around 1840, the
unique blend of urbanization and a traditional society could be documented.
The 1850s also mark the
birth of photographic societies in the presidencies of
Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. The Kodak Number
One was introduced in 1888, making
this art more accessible to people.

Unveiling India – The Early lensmen
1850 – 1910 is a document of those
times, featuring Bombay, Calcutta,
Madras, Agra, Rajasthan Vijaynagari,
Hampi and so on. The images
clicked by several photographers
are from the collection of the
Alkazi Foundation. Many of the
photographs are taken by Alexander
Greenlaw and John Murray, army
men from the East India Company.
Their style of capturing an image
bears the inquisitivity of an outsider
and therefore has elements that a
local might have overlooked due to
familiarity. An image by John Murray
highlights not just the structural
beauty of the Taj Mahal but also
50

Smart Photography March 2014

contrasts the construction to its illmaintained neighbouring structures.
Another photographer featuring
prominently is Deen Dayal. His images
build a general view of daily life and
include some long shots with lakes
and palaces from Rajasthan. There are
some nature photographs by Samuel
Bourne, which have a serene and
poetic quality to them.
Though majority of the photos are
Albumen prints, there are waxed
paper negatives that give a vintage
yet surreal feel to the architectural
images. Ethnic groups in their
traditional attire such as the Bhatias,
the Rajputs, the Khumbars are indeed
very intresting subjects. One can also
find tinted phototype postcards,
some of which were printed in

Germany. Information about
photographic and printing techniques
along with images that depict these
methods make for a very interesting
read. It is not just the architecture,
daily life and social life that gets
highlighted in these pictures, but also
the journey of imaging and printing
techniques. These photos pay
homage to an era gone by and take
you on a walk down memory lane.
Image Courtesy: The Alkazi
Collection of Photography
Contributors: Michael Draguet,
Rahaab Allana, Davy Depelchin
Publisher: Mapin Publishing
Printed by : Parksons Graphics
Price: Rs. 1950
Reviewed by Tanika Godbole

Parag Damle

© Parag Damle

Mastercraftsman

Parag Damle,
Mumbai

An R & D Manager
by profession, Parag
Damle is a bird lover.
This hobby led him to
explore the world of
photography. He now
is an expert in bird
photography and has
several stunning and rare
images to his credit.
54

Smart Photography March 2014

The
Bird-watcher

Parag Damle

Brown Fish Owl

March 2014 Smart Photography

55

Parag Damle

Mastercraftsman

© Parag Damle

Short-Eared Owl

56

Smart Photography March 2014

© Parag Damle

Parag Damle

day after school instead of going out
to play I use to sit quietly, watching
the activities of the pigeons. I tried
to understand their body language
with great curiosity. I never realized
that with time, this turned into a
deep passion. As the days passed
by, I started observing other birds
and their sounds, thus enhancing my
identification skills. My eyes were
tempted to see birds more closely and
I bought my first SLR camera. Simply
put, I am mad about the wilderness
and I like to explore Indian geography
to get closer to different species.

You obviously are a nature
lover and you specialize in bird
photography. What made you to
specialize in this genre?
The journey of photography actually
started with bird watching. For many

Bee-eater with bee

Tell us a little about your
life. How did you get into
photography?
By profession I am an R&D Manager
with Johnson & Johnson. My passion
for birds was born long back, when
I was a child. I still remember my
childhood days when my father
often used to throw off all the eggs
laid by pigeons. Unfortunately these
eggs were laid in the nest made in
our kitchen loft , just above our gas
stove. I couldn’t bear to see this. I
wasn’t mature enough to think much
but I still tried to make a proper
place in our kitchen for the pigeons
to build a nest so that they don’t
create nuisance for my parents. Every

Take Off
March 2014 Smart Photography

57

Parag Damle

Mastercraftsman

© Parag Damle

© Parag Damle

Fan-tailed Monarch

Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher
58

Smart Photography March 2014

years I used to watch birds through
binoculars. I bought my first camera
to take record shots of birds which
were difficult to identify at first sight.
My first entry-level camera and my
deep passion for birds drew me into
serious bird photography. Slowly, I

Parag Damle
Black chinned Babbler

© Parag Damle

started spending most of my time
browsing bird photography websites
which helped me to shape my skills.

What are the difficulties that
you face when doing bird
photography?

Patience is the biggest challenge for
me while doing bird photography.
As we all know birds usually don’t sit
in one place unless the environment
around them is conducive. On
the other hand, if the creature is
stable then sometime nature plays a

challenging role—bad light, object
hindrance, disturbing people
around so on. My wife jokingly asks
me, “how do you manage to be
patient only during photography,
since it is against your normal
behaviour?”
March 2014 Smart Photography

59

Parag Damle

© Parag Damle

Mastercraftsman

Are any special skills required
when doing wildlife/nature
photography?
I believe that in order to get the best
wildlife shots, the most important
thing is to have knowledge about
animal behaviour. It is critical to
understand their body language and
understand how close we can get or
when the creature will spring into
action, etc.
Secondly, choosing right background
is very important, as it can make
or break pictures. In nature
photography, it is not always possible
to get a favourable background. It is
up to the photographer to overcome
the difficult situations and get the
best out of it.

Do you think that equipment
plays a major role in capturing
wildlife/nature?
I believe nowadays with modern hitech equipment sometimes one can
overcome complex situations like low
light conditions or photographing
in the rain. But basic skills such as
composition, choosing the right
background and a proper angle are
still important.

Flame throated Bulbul

What are your views on editing
images?
What advice can you give to
Personally, I don’t like to edit images. budding photographers in this
My philosophy is that one should be field?
able to click such images that only
minor changes like sharpening, and
correcting colours should suffice.
I am sure natural beauty is always
appreciable.
60

Smart Photography March 2014

Rather than making corrections using
Photoshop, I would advise them to
utilize more time in the field to get
the best shots through the camera
itself.

Also, there is no direct correlation
between high-end equipment and
the best photographs. One should
always be ready to get closer to the
ground for eye-level shots or to get
the right background.
As told to Tanika Godbole

Learnings
Learning

Understanding Photography

Understanding Photography
itself as some compositional element
(Picture 2).

Picture 2

Arrangements: Most flower
photographs are of a single flower but
it need not be this way. You can arrange
flowers in a simple way and yet a nice
composition. One such composition
showing strong lines is in Picture 3.
Another arrangement is shown Picture 4.
You can always take the help of an expert
in ikebana if you are interested in a more
sophisticated arrangement.

Picture 2: Here the stamen of the flower forms a strong diagonal and makes your eye move along with it. This gives the
picture a certain dynamism.

One of the challenges in flower
photography is that each of these
important characteristics to be brought
out need lighting that is somewhat
contradictory in nature. For example,
diffused light brings out colours best but
a highly diffused source does not reveal
texture. So, it is up to the photographer to
seek out the best compromise.

Considerations for flower
photography:
Composition: You may ask, other than
keeping the flower at “rule of thirds” what
can I do about composition in flower
photography? Actually you can do a lot!
For example you can use stem of a plant
bearing the flower as a leading line. Or
you can you use a feature of the flower

Picture 3: Row of roses! A simple yet strong composition.

Background: A great many
photographs (of any type) are ruined
because of bad backgrounds. The most
common problem with backgrounds in
flower photography is that there is too
much clutter. These are items like stray
branches, other flowers which are not
the main subject, twigs, etc. that do not
contribute to the image yet are distracting
as they compete for attention. Before
you release the shutter look carefully in
the viewfinder and clear the background
of all these unwanted elements. Please

Picture 4: An arrangement with different types of flowers.

Picture 3

Picture 4

Image © Rahul Rallan

64

don’t think you can remove them later
in Photoshop. If the background has a
colour that is same or close to that of the
flower, there is chance for it to merge with
the background. Bright patches also draw
the attention of the viewer away from the
subject.
A simple black background serves
very well as you can see in many of
the examples given here. You can also
position yourself so that the background
will be in shade and hence considerably
darker than the subject. If you are
venturing out for flower photography, I
advise you to carry a sheet of black chart
paper with you to use as a background. If
the flowers are up, you can even think of
using the blue sky as a nice background!
For this make sure that the sky is in the
north or south direction.

Sharpness: A flower picture must be
sharp (unless you want it otherwise for
artistic purposes, as we will see later). A
blurry flower will simply not be visually
attractive. The texture will not also be
visible unless the image is sharp. Assuming
that the focus is correct, unsharp images
are due to two reasons. The first is camera
motion and the second, movement of
the subject, flowers in this case. The
simple and most effective remedy for the
former, (well you know it isn’t it?), is to use
a tripod. In fact I will say that for flower
photography a tripod is an absolutely
must. It will do wonders even for your
composition (by slowing you down and
making you think) apart from making your
images sharp. In case you don’t have a
tripod then use a high enough shutter
speed, at least 1/(crop factor X focal
length) of a second.

The crop factor is 2 for micro 4/3 format,
1.5/1.6 for APS-C format and 1 for full
frame.

important, it will do nothing to stop the
movement of the subject! Be aware of this
limitation.

Mind you, this shutter speed is the
absolute minimum. Due to higher
magnifications involved, it is better you
use a speed one or two steps faster. In
case the light is not sufficient to support
this high shutter speed, bump up ISO.
That will make your picture more “noisy”
but a noisy picture is a lot better than
a blurry flower. The other reason for
blurriness, as already mentioned, is due
to the movement of flowers. This is
very common when you photograph
outdoors. Wind is normally the culprit
here. There are a few ways to prevent
this. The most obvious one is to use
a fast shutter speed. The second is to
build a small wind breaker around the
subject. You can use sheets of plywood
or cardboard for this purpose. However,
make sure that the wind breaker does
not appear in your image. Alternatively
you can ask someone to hold the stem
bearing the flower. Also, wind normally
comes as gusts. So, if you wait for a few
minutes, there will be a pause during
which time the wind will be very less.
That is time for releasing the shutter!
Early morning hours also have calm
weather and the light too is ideal. These
are in fact the best times for flower
photography. If the conditions are totally
bad, then you can consider bringing the
flowers indoors, if possible.

Depth of field: As you may recall
depth of field (DOF) is essentially a zone
where all the elements in the image that
fall within that zone will be acceptably
sharp. This is dependent on two factors
- magnification and aperture. Due to the
not so low magnification factors in flower
photography, the DOF will be limited
but this is not a problem as this will help
the background to be blurred. In general,
once you have chosen the subject and the
composition, magnification will be fixed
and only aperture will be available for you
to control DOF.

Note: One question that you might have
is - will the Image Stabilization / Vibration
Reduction (IS/VR) feature of your lens/
camera help? Yes, it will. IS/VR will reduce
your camera shake. However, and this is

You can also decrease the DOF by
choosing wider apertures (small f/
numbers). This can be done more
effectively if you have a fast lens (like
f/2.8 or so). Generally, you should not
decrease the DOF so much so that
even parts of the flower are not sharp.
(Once again this is not a rule)! However,
this may happen if you are taking a
photograph very close since DOF will
be very shallow as the magnification will
be higher now. This effect is shown in
Picture 2. Here, you can see that some
parts of the flower are out of focus,
but in this case it helps as it makes the
viewer concentrate on the main subject
which is the tip of stamen.
You can increase the DOF by choosing
narrower apertures that is larger
f/numbers like f/8, f/11, etc. However, do
not make the aperture narrower beyond
f/11 since diffraction effects will set in
reducing the overall sharpness.
March 2014 Smart Photography

Smart Photography March 2014

Learning
Picture a

Having crossed over 20 active years in commercial photography, Dilip Yande says his forte is Fashion and
Portrait photography. He believes variety is the spice of life, and to keep himself motivated he does a lot of
tabletop as well. For Dilip, names like Rembrandt, Renoir, Gauguin, Picasso, Turner, Monet are household
names because of his childhood that was spent in a lineage of fine arts. This ‘fine art’ reflects in his work
because he feels that there is always a little bit of ‘you’ in everything one does. Having shot for many
advertising agencies, juried a few competitions, mentored many workshops, and guided many photographers
in their formative years, for Dilip, photography is just another way to romance his first love – art. He may be
contacted at [email protected].

White bg

Flashlights

Marbles
Table

Shooting Glass

Camera

Diagram a

Ca

m

er

a

Picture b

68

Shooting Glass

T

here is always a thrill in doing
a challenging shoot. Whether
it is a well-settled ‘pro’ or just
an ‘out of the institute’ photographer,
a challenging assignment always gives
a ‘kick’ to that person. It also boosts
his self confidence, giving him the
pleasure of tackling a problem and
then the joy of having won another
battle.
There are several products or
objects which are tough to shoot.
For example, jewelery, shiny metallic
objects, diamonds, automobile tyres,
glass, and many others. In this article
let me take ‘glass’ as the topic of the
day and reveal to you the techniques
used in shooting objects made of
glass.
While photographing any object and
deciding the lighting, one needs to
observe and also assess a few things
pertaining to the object, for example:
1) Size of the object.
2) Shape/ Molding of the object.
3) Surface reflectivity of the object.
4) Colour or tone of the object.
68

5) Transparency/ Opacity of the
object.
6) The result you wish to achieve –
whether a plain shot documenting the
truth or a ‘creative lighting shot’ or a
high key or a low key picture etc.
7) One should observe, if any
texture is present on the object
i.e. a basic ‘object contrast’ that
exists. For example, a simple white
handkerchief has a low ‘object
contrast’ while a white Turkish towel
has a higher ‘object contrast’ than the
handkerchief.
In case of glass objects one has to
remember that the reflection of the
light source is bound to be seen
clearly in the object you shoot.
Reflections of umbrellas look very
bad in a picture, hence avoid using
them totally. Reflections of soft-boxes
or strip- lights appear as ‘windows’
and hence appear natural, and are
certainly of great use while lighting up
such products.
As a thumb-rule, while shooting
tabletops, one has to first compose

the frame. After all the elements which
form the composition have been
neatly adjusted, one has to proceed
with the lighting.

Marbles
White acrylic
Grid

The position of the main light (also
known as the ‘Key’ light) is very
critical; decide this position by taking
into considerations several factors
like molding of the object, reflection
caused by the light source etc. It
should be noted that a reflection at a
wrong place, or a wrong highlight, can
completely mar your shot. Highlights
can act as indirect elements in a
composition and hence play a very
important role for ‘garnishing’ a shot
and even enhance the beauty of the
shot.

Diagram b

Light on floor stand

Picture c
White textured surface

Let me explain with few examples on
how to light up glass products1) In pictures a, b, and c, I have shot
the same product – glass marbles –
but I have lit them up in 3 different

ways, just to show that lighting
depends on what you need to
emphasize.
Diagram a, b, and c show the light

Learning

Smart Photography March 2014

T

The reason for such emails not reaching
us is that your attachments are too large.
To prevent blocking up of Internet
bandwidth due to very large digital files,
some users set a maximum limit for the
size of email attachments, beyond which
emails are automatically rejected. With
SP, the attachment size limit is 2MB per
email. This does not apply to Picture of
the Month ( POM). For POM, the image
should be sent to sphoto.india@
gmail.com at high resolution.

In case of picture
b, the emphasis
was to show the
translucency of the
marbles. A meter
reading was taken
of the light that had
passed through the
marbles, and
this reading was
Diagram c
underexposed by 1.5
stops to enhance the
details of the bubbles present within
the marbles.
In picture c, light was passed
through the marbles, and the
meter reading was taken by almost
touching the marbles and facing
the camera.
March 2014 Smart Photography

Covert a Digital Image File
to E-mail Resolution
ime and again, we get emails
from readers saying that the
images that they have sent us via
email attachments have not reached us.
They want to know why this happens
and what is the way out.

positions for the
corresponding
pictures. In picture
a, the emphasis is on
the spherical form
of the marbles. Two
studio flashes were
fired directly on a
white background,
which then acted as
the light source. The
reflection of the same
can be seen in the
marbles. An incident
light meter reading
was taken by placing
the meter over the
marbles, and to
create a little more
drama, the exposure
was reduced by 1
stop.

Flashlight on floor stand

Marbles
Magnifying
glass

Camera

While shooting glass it is very
important to keep the glass surface
absolutely clean. One needs to check
for any oil stains, finger-prints, dust
particles or lint fibers sticking to the
surface. Hand gloves made of cloth
are highly recommended for the
person arranging the layout for the
table top.

69

the Pixel Dimensions (it currently shows
34.5MB).
3. Change the Resolution from 300ppi
to 72ppi as shown in Printscreen 2,
opposite page. This is the resolution
used for emails. Note that Constrain
Proportions box must be checked
(ticked).

Printscreen 1

4. Change the longer side (in our case
14.187 inches) to 8 inches. The shorter
side will automatically change to the
correct proportion since you have ticked
Constrain Proportions (in our case, it has
changed to 5.323 inches). At this time
you will see that the Pixel Dimensions
which earlier showed 34.5MB, now
shows 646.3KB. If you are using a
version other than Photoshop CS6,
you must select Bicubic Sharper (best
for reduction) in the box below; if you
are using Photoshop CS6, you may use
Bicubic Automatic. Click OK.

Printscreen 4

5. Go to File > Save As and give this
file an appropriate name. Click on Save.
When the new dialog box named JPEG
Options appears, change the Quality
setting to 8 and click OK (Printscreen
3).

Printscreen 2

6. If you now right-click on the thumbnail
for this image, you will see the actual size
for that particular file (in our case, it is
84KB). (Printscreen 4) This is a very small
size image and you will have no problem
in sending this image as an attachment.

1. Open the image in Photoshop.
2. Go to Image > Image Size
(Alt+Ctrl+I). The Image Size dialog box
will open (See Printscreen1). Observe
that the Resolution is 300ppi (pixels per
inch) and the Document Size (same as
Print Size) is 9.44 x 14.187 inches (If your
dialog box shows these dimensions in
Centimeters or Millimeters, click in the
box and select Inches). Also observe

Learning

March 2014 Smart Photography

Fun with Photoshop:
Windows of Light

76

Fun with photoshop:
Windows of light

Now we need to
darken the room. For
this, duplicate the
background layer. Take
the Brush tool and
set suitable values for
hardness and size. I
have used Hardness:
85%; Size: 700px.
Once this is done, set
the foreground colour
in the Toolbox as
Black and paint over
the area, excluding
the main subject. If
you have accidentally
painted over the
person, switch to
White foreground and
re-paint over the error.

Brush Presets

Duplicate Layer

76

Smart Photography March 2014

To illustrate the method, I am using
an image of Uncle Ronnie that I shot
at a function
(Please take prior
permission from
the person before
using his or her
image for such
manipulation).
Here we are trying
to simulate a dark
room illuminated
by a streak of
light. For this,
open the image in
Photoshop.

You could send multiple images in the
same attachment as long as you don’t go
over the permissible limit.
Rohinton Mehta

74 Smart Photography March 2014

First, let us put all the ‘create or not
to create’ and ‘manipulate or not
to manipulate’ questions aside for
some time. Adobe Photoshop offers
immense possibilities to improve
or create upon your photographs.
So now let us do some fun ways of
‘manipulation’. Here I stress the word
manipulation because this is not a
serious photographic technique, but
rather, a fun method that can also
be used in creating patterns of light.
This simple manipulation can be
done in any version of Photoshop
including Elements. Here I have used
Photoshop Creative Cloud.

Learning

Printscreen 3

So how do you convert the file size of
your image so that it remains under
2MB? Here’s how:

Learning

Open Image

62
Making Your
Photography Flower!

65

Learning

Darken the room

To create the streak of light, select
the Polygonal Lasso Tool and
draw a closed figure (resembling
a light streak) as shown. Now
feather this selection using
Selection>Modify>Feather. The
smoothness of the light streak will
depend on the figure you enter in
the box for radius. I have used 30 as
radius.
Now to lighten the selected area,
access the Levels adjustment and
pull the middle slider towards the
left. This will lighten the selection
without affecting the dark area
around. Do this till you are satisfied
with the effect. If any portion is too
bright, add a layer mask to the layer
(by clicking the dark rectangle with
a white circle in the layers palette)
March 2014 Smart Photography

77

75

74

Covert a Digital Image File
to E-mail Resolution

Learning
Understanding Photography
Smart Photography has been continually receiving requests to start a basic course for beginners. With this in mind, we have asked
a very knowledgeable photographer from Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, to take over writing these articles. We have also requested
him to be as jargon-free as it is possible, so that newcomers to photography feel comfortable to pursue the hobby.
The author, Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three decades and has extensive experience in both film
and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique and deep insight
into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment. He has published several articles on photography and some of his
writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography.
An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest in the history of photography and a passion
for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He is presently working as a Management and Engineering
consultant. You can see his work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashok_kandimalla. He can be reached at [email protected]

Making Your
Photography Flower!

F

lowers are unhesitatingly one of
the most popular subjects for
photography. There is a good
chance that you already tried your hand
in photographing flowers. Thousands
of flower photographs are taken
every day. However, most of them are
snapshots rather than good, aesthetically
pleasing images. To take a good flower
photograph you need to know about
the important characteristics of a flower,
understand how to use them to your
advantage and then of course employ
the proper technique. These are the very
topics that you will read in this article. It
will also explain to you the equipment you
need and camera settings that you should
use. So, read on!

Equipment needed: This is perhaps
the best part since you really don’t need
any specialized equipment for flower
photography. Any camera that can focus
close (the so called macro feature) can be
used. This means that any point and shoot
camera or a D- SLR with a kit zoom lens
will do wonderfully well. Only if you want
to photograph a small part of a flower
62

Smart Photography March 2014

would you need a specialized macro lens.
Since you will be fairly close to the flower
the magnification factor will not be low.
It will perhaps be of the order of 1:8 or
even more. At these magnifications, even
the slightest movement of the camera will
cause a loss of sharpness. Hence, after
the camera-lens combination, the most
important accessory is a sturdy tripod.
This will do wonders to your flower
photography!
Two more accessories that are helpful are
a lens hood and a polarizing filter. You will
read about their application later in the
article.
You will be photographing flowers often
in bright sun. This in turn will cause harsh
shadows and also bright reflections from
the flowers. The latter will result in blown
out highlights. You can prevent these by
using a diffuser. This can be any translucent
white material like a shower curtain placed
between the sun and the flower. If nothing
is available on hand, wait for the natural
diffuser which is a cloud! Also, when

shadows are present (they will be there
even with diffused light), you can reduce
the depth of shadows by using a simple
reflector (like a sheet of Styrofoam).

Characteristics of flowers:
Here we mean characteristics from a
photographer’s point of view – not the
botanical features! For a photographer
the three important characteristics
are colour, texture and translucence.
Understanding and exploiting them is the
key to good flower photography. Let us
look at these in more detail.
Of these, colour is the most prominent
factor as this is what makes flowers so
photogenic. So, what should you do
to record that great colour? First, make
sure that no direct sunlight falls on the
flower. This causes glare which in turns
reduces the saturation of the colours
making them look paler than they are.
Using a polarizing filter will reduce glare.
Also, a diffuser as already explained
helps. Next, set your camera controls to a
high saturation level for punchy colours,
especially if you don’t want to post-

Understanding Photography

process the image. You can do this by
choosing an appropriate Picture Control
(also called Picture Style by some camera
manufacturers) to “VIVID” or equivalent.
However, do not over do this as very high
saturation levels destroy details and if this
happens, the next important characteristic,
texture, will be lost.

Image © Ashok Kandimalla

Texture: If you look at a flower closely,
you will find that petals are not smooth
but have a sort of pattern or detail on
them. This is the texture. When captured
properly, texture in the picture gives that

tactile feedback visually. This is a subtle
but important characteristic that must be
captured. Texture is revealed best under
less diffused light that is angled rather low
at the surface, like early morning or late
afternoon sun.
Translucence is the last character that
gives the petals a sort of glow when lit
from behind. This naturally means that
the light source has to be opposite the
camera. This by itself creates a lot of
problems like causing the lens to flare
thus reducing the overall contrast of the

image. Sometimes, what is called ghosting
appears. In this case you will see shapes of
polygons in the image which are nothing
but reflections of the aperture blades.
If this happens you need to shift the
camera position. Using a lens hood is a
must in these situations as it helps greatly
in reducing both flare and ghosting. Also,
exposure setting is tricky when the subject
is back lit. So, carefully check histogram
and highlight tools after you take a picture
and correct exposure accordingly. Picture
1 shows all the three characteristics of a
flower.

Picture 1
Picture 1. In this image the flower was partially back lit. This helped to bring out the translucency. Note the vibrant colour and the texture on the petals.
This photograph was taken during the early hours of the morning, the ideal time for flower photography.

March 2014 Smart Photography

63

Learning
Understanding Photography
itself as some compositional element
(Picture 2).

Picture 2

Arrangements: Most flower
photographs are of a single flower but
it need not be this way. You can arrange
flowers in a simple way and yet a nice
composition. One such composition
showing strong lines is in Picture 3.
Another arrangement is shown Picture 4.
You can always take the help of an expert
in ikebana if you are interested in a more
sophisticated arrangement.

Picture 2: Here the stamen of the flower forms a strong diagonal and makes your eye move along with it. This gives the
picture a certain dynamism.

One of the challenges in flower
photography is that each of these
important characteristics to be brought
out need lighting that is somewhat
contradictory in nature. For example,
diffused light brings out colours best but
a highly diffused source does not reveal
texture. So, it is up to the photographer to
seek out the best compromise.
Picture 3: Row of roses! A simple yet strong composition.
Picture 3

Considerations for flower
photography:
Composition: You may ask, other than
keeping the flower at “rule of thirds” what
can I do about composition in flower
photography? Actually you can do a lot!
For example you can use stem of a plant
bearing the flower as a leading line. Or
you can you use a feature of the flower

Background: A great many
photographs (of any type) are ruined
because of bad backgrounds. The most
common problem with backgrounds in
flower photography is that there is too
much clutter. These are items like stray
branches, other flowers which are not
the main subject, twigs, etc. that do not
contribute to the image yet are distracting
as they compete for attention. Before
you release the shutter look carefully in
the viewfinder and clear the background
of all these unwanted elements. Please

Picture 4: An arrangement with different types of flowers.
Picture 4

Image © Rahul Rallan

64

Smart Photography March 2014

Understanding Photography

don’t think you can remove them later
in Photoshop. If the background has a
colour that is same or close to that of the
flower, there is chance for it to merge with
the background. Bright patches also draw
the attention of the viewer away from the
subject.
A simple black background serves
very well as you can see in many of
the examples given here. You can also
position yourself so that the background
will be in shade and hence considerably
darker than the subject. If you are
venturing out for flower photography, I
advise you to carry a sheet of black chart
paper with you to use as a background. If
the flowers are up, you can even think of
using the blue sky as a nice background!
For this make sure that the sky is in the
north or south direction.

Sharpness: A flower picture must be
sharp (unless you want it otherwise for
artistic purposes, as we will see later). A
blurry flower will simply not be visually
attractive. The texture will not also be
visible unless the image is sharp. Assuming
that the focus is correct, unsharp images
are due to two reasons. The first is camera
motion and the second, movement of
the subject, flowers in this case. The
simple and most effective remedy for the
former, (well you know it isn’t it?), is to use
a tripod. In fact I will say that for flower
photography a tripod is an absolutely
must. It will do wonders even for your
composition (by slowing you down and
making you think) apart from making your
images sharp. In case you don’t have a
tripod then use a high enough shutter
speed, at least 1/(crop factor X focal
length) of a second.

The crop factor is 2 for micro 4/3 format,
1.5/1.6 for APS-C format and 1 for full
frame.

important, it will do nothing to stop the
movement of the subject! Be aware of this
limitation.

Mind you, this shutter speed is the
absolute minimum. Due to higher
magnifications involved, it is better you
use a speed one or two steps faster. In
case the light is not sufficient to support
this high shutter speed, bump up ISO.
That will make your picture more “noisy”
but a noisy picture is a lot better than
a blurry flower. The other reason for
blurriness, as already mentioned, is due
to the movement of flowers. This is
very common when you photograph
outdoors. Wind is normally the culprit
here. There are a few ways to prevent
this. The most obvious one is to use
a fast shutter speed. The second is to
build a small wind breaker around the
subject. You can use sheets of plywood
or cardboard for this purpose. However,
make sure that the wind breaker does
not appear in your image. Alternatively
you can ask someone to hold the stem
bearing the flower. Also, wind normally
comes as gusts. So, if you wait for a few
minutes, there will be a pause during
which time the wind will be very less.
That is time for releasing the shutter!
Early morning hours also have calm
weather and the light too is ideal. These
are in fact the best times for flower
photography. If the conditions are totally
bad, then you can consider bringing the
flowers indoors, if possible.

Depth of field: As you may recall

Note: One question that you might have
is - will the Image Stabilization / Vibration
Reduction (IS/VR) feature of your lens/
camera help? Yes, it will. IS/VR will reduce
your camera shake. However, and this is

depth of field (DOF) is essentially a zone
where all the elements in the image that
fall within that zone will be acceptably
sharp. This is dependent on two factors
- magnification and aperture. Due to the
not so low magnification factors in flower
photography, the DOF will be limited
but this is not a problem as this will help
the background to be blurred. In general,
once you have chosen the subject and the
composition, magnification will be fixed
and only aperture will be available for you
to control DOF.
You can also decrease the DOF by
choosing wider apertures (small f/
numbers). This can be done more
effectively if you have a fast lens (like
f/2.8 or so). Generally, you should not
decrease the DOF so much so that
even parts of the flower are not sharp.
(Once again this is not a rule)! However,
this may happen if you are taking a
photograph very close since DOF will
be very shallow as the magnification will
be higher now. This effect is shown in
Picture 2. Here, you can see that some
parts of the flower are out of focus,
but in this case it helps as it makes the
viewer concentrate on the main subject
which is the tip of stamen.
You can increase the DOF by choosing
narrower apertures that is larger
f/numbers like f/8, f/11, etc. However, do
not make the aperture narrower beyond
f/11 since diffraction effects will set in
reducing the overall sharpness.
March 2014 Smart Photography

65

Understanding Photography

Picture 5

Colour or black and
white (monochrome):
The word flower itself conjures
colour in your mind. So,
will a monochrome picture
of a flower be attractive?
While such images are not
very common, a flower of
right shape and with proper
lighting will still make a good
photograph. Pictures 5 and

6 show the same image in colour and
monochrome. Which is better? You decide!

Abstracts, patterns and Other
Artistic expressions: Flower beds
allow you to photograph nice colourful
patterns. So when you are scouting
around for individual flowers look at the
big picture – the whole flower bed for
example and look for interesting patterns
made of flowers.

Picture 7: Coloured comets? Not really! Here a slow shutter speed of ¼ sec was chosen and the
camera moved a little diagonally while the shutter was open to produce streaks of colour.
Picture 7

Picture 5: The colour version.
Picture 6: Same image as Picture 5 but converted to monochrome
through post-processing.
Picture 6

Picture 8: Something more abstract. Here the camera was moved in an arc to produce this wavy
abstract image. Shutter speed was 1/6 sec.
Picture 8

66

Smart Photography March 2014

Understanding Photography

Picture 9

CONCLUSION
As a reader of Smart Photography, you must
have already photographed flowers. Now
that you have read this article, you must be
having some new ideas to improve on what
you already know. As explained, prepare
first, take a few precautions regarding the
sharpness, background, etc. and I am sure you
will see a marked improvement in your flower
photographs. And don’t forget to experiment!
Good luck!
Picture 9: Texture and pattern on the leaf makes this an attractive
picture in its own right, though the colours are muted.

You have seen earlier why image sharpness
is important. However, photography is an art
and hence there are no rules. You can get
some interesting abstracts and patterns by
moving your camera intentionally during the
time of exposure (that is, while the shutter is
open) to create artistic blurs (Pictures 7 and 8).

Picture 10: Water drops simulate dew and enhance the beauty of the flowers by giving them a look of
freshness. This photograph was taken indoors with a single torch light as the light source.
Picture 10

Why only flowers? Well, why not others
All text and images © Ashok Kandimalla unless otherwise noted.

like leaves or stems? Yes, these may not have
the same attractive colours like flowers but
you can exploit other properties like texture
and get great images (Picture 9)!

Preparation:
Even though flowers are naturally occurring,
preparing the flowers will improve a
photograph greatly. First use only fresh
flowers. Withered or moth eaten flowers
are not good for photography! Also, there
should be no dust on the flowers. If there
is dust, spend a few minutes cleaning the
flower carefully with a damp cloth. Flowers
look a lot better with a few water drops
on them. If you are photographing early
morning during winter, then you will naturally
get dew drops on the flowers. Otherwise,
carry a small spray bottle and spray a little bit
of water (Picture 10).
March 2014 Smart Photography

67

Learning

Having crossed over 20 active years in commercial photography, Dilip Yande says his forte is Fashion and
Portrait photography. He believes variety is the spice of life, and to keep himself motivated he does a lot of
tabletop as well. For Dilip, names like Rembrandt, Renoir, Gauguin, Picasso, Turner, Monet are household
names because of his childhood that was spent in a lineage of fine arts. This ‘fine art’ reflects in his work
because he feels that there is always a little bit of ‘you’ in everything one does. Having shot for many
advertising agencies, juried a few competitions, mentored many workshops, and guided many photographers
in their formative years, for Dilip, photography is just another way to romance his first love – art. He may be
contacted at [email protected].

Shooting Glass
T

here is always a thrill in doing
a challenging shoot. Whether
it is a well-settled ‘pro’ or just
an ‘out of the institute’ photographer,
a challenging assignment always gives
a ‘kick’ to that person. It also boosts
his self confidence, giving him the
pleasure of tackling a problem and
then the joy of having won another
battle.
There are several products or
objects which are tough to shoot.
For example, jewelery, shiny metallic
objects, diamonds, automobile tyres,
glass, and many others. In this article
let me take ‘glass’ as the topic of the
day and reveal to you the techniques
used in shooting objects made of
glass.
While photographing any object and
deciding the lighting, one needs to
observe and also assess a few things
pertaining to the object, for example:
1) Size of the object.
2) Shape/ Molding of the object.
3) Surface reflectivity of the object.
4) Colour or tone of the object.
68

Smart Photography March 2014

5) Transparency/ Opacity of the
object.
6) The result you wish to achieve –
whether a plain shot documenting the
truth or a ‘creative lighting shot’ or a
high key or a low key picture etc.
7) One should observe, if any
texture is present on the object
i.e. a basic ‘object contrast’ that
exists. For example, a simple white
handkerchief has a low ‘object
contrast’ while a white Turkish towel
has a higher ‘object contrast’ than the
handkerchief.
In case of glass objects one has to
remember that the reflection of the
light source is bound to be seen
clearly in the object you shoot.
Reflections of umbrellas look very
bad in a picture, hence avoid using
them totally. Reflections of soft-boxes
or strip- lights appear as ‘windows’
and hence appear natural, and are
certainly of great use while lighting up
such products.
As a thumb-rule, while shooting
tabletops, one has to first compose

the frame. After all the elements which
form the composition have been
neatly adjusted, one has to proceed
with the lighting.
The position of the main light (also
known as the ‘Key’ light) is very
critical; decide this position by taking
into considerations several factors
like molding of the object, reflection
caused by the light source etc. It
should be noted that a reflection at a
wrong place, or a wrong highlight, can
completely mar your shot. Highlights
can act as indirect elements in a
composition and hence play a very
important role for ‘garnishing’ a shot
and even enhance the beauty of the
shot.
While shooting glass it is very
important to keep the glass surface
absolutely clean. One needs to check
for any oil stains, finger-prints, dust
particles or lint fibers sticking to the
surface. Hand gloves made of cloth
are highly recommended for the
person arranging the layout for the
table top.

Learning

Picture a
White bg

Flashlights

Marbles
Table

Camera

Diagram a

C

am

er

a

Picture b

Marbles
White acrylic
Grid

Diagram b

Light on floor stand

Picture c
White textured surface

Marbles
Magnifying
glass

Camera

Let me explain with few examples on
how to light up glass products1) In pictures a, b, and c, I have shot
the same product – glass marbles –
but I have lit them up in 3 different

ways, just to show that lighting
depends on what you need to
emphasize.
Diagram a, b, and c show the light

positions for the
corresponding
pictures. In picture
a, the emphasis is on
the spherical form
of the marbles. Two
studio flashes were
fired directly on a
white background,
which then acted as
the light source. The
reflection of the same
can be seen in the
marbles. An incident
light meter reading
was taken by placing
the meter over the
marbles, and to
create a little more
drama, the exposure
was reduced by 1
stop.

In case of picture
b, the emphasis
was to show the
translucency of the
Flashlight on floor stand
marbles. A meter
reading was taken
of the light that had
passed through the
marbles, and
this reading was
Diagram c
underexposed by 1.5
stops to enhance the
details of the bubbles present within
the marbles.
In picture c, light was passed
through the marbles, and the
meter reading was taken by almost
touching the marbles and facing
the camera.
March 2014 Smart Photography

69

Learning

Picture d

Picture e

White bg

Picture f

White bg

White bg

Lights 2
Bottle

Bottle

Camera

Bottle
Lights 1

Light tilted down
with 32 degrees grid

Table

Camera

Black cutters

Flash Light with
16 degrees grid

Camera

Diagram d

2) In pictures d, e, and f, only the
white background was lit – no direct
light was allowed to fall on the
bottle. I have only changed the light
modifiers (grids) in the shots.
However in picture g, I have used an
incident light source to light up the
bottle. Black strips at the backside
have helped in providing an edge to
the bottle.
70

Smart Photography March 2014

Diagram e

In picture h, a very dramatic lighting
was done as shown in diagram h. A
rotating strip light and a mirror were
used to create these highlights.
3) In picture i, I have shot microscope
slides made of absolutely transparent
glass. The slides were placed on a
black plastic sheet and the lighting
for the same has been shown in
diagram i.

Diagram f

4) Picture J is a very important studypurpose shot for which I created
a very dramatic and controlled
lighting. Many photographers who
only shoot models may not realise
the importance of learning to shoot
tabletops – especially, difficult
subjects like glass. Here is an excellent
example as to where this knowledge
could be of use. The lady model was
made to lie down on a table, her

Learning

Picture g

Picture h

Mirror

Camera

Cutter below
the strip light

Rotating
strip lights

White bg

Bottle kept in
a tilted manner

Camera

Bottle

Light with 16 degrees grid
and yellow gelatin on it

Cutter
Flash Light with
16 degrees grid

Diagram h

Diffuser 2

Strip lights

Picture i
Diagram g

BG of black
imported velvet

Black plastic Sheet

Camera

Mirror

Microscope slides

Soft box

Diagram i

March 2014 Smart Photography

71

Learning

Picture j

White bg
Cutter 1 and 2

Light
with grid

Light on floor
stand with grid

Soft box on
boom stand
Smoke

Bottles with
colored liquid

Model

Hair kept
on wire net

Diagram j

Camera

hair was spread on a wire net, so as
to allow the ‘aromatic’ smoke to pass
through. The face was lit from the
top with a soft box and the spill of
this light was controlled by ‘cutters’.
A back-light was used to light up the
smoke. The top light used for the
model’s face served a dual purpose
of lighting up the ‘ribbed’ glass bottle,
and thus clearly showing the molding
of the bottle. The rest of the lighting
was as per diagram j. The picture was
later edited in post-production to
provide the tone that you see here.
I am sure that if you follow the tips
that I have provided to you and recreate the lighting, you will certainly
gain confidence in shooting what you
once thought was tough - ‘Glass’.

Credit line:
Photography – Dilip Yande.
Editor – Pratik Prabhu.
72

Smart Photography March 2014

Learning

March 2014 Smart Photography

73

Learning

Covert a Digital Image File
to E-mail Resolution

T

ime and again, we get emails
from readers saying that the
images that they have sent us via
email attachments have not reached us.
They want to know why this happens
and what is the way out.
The reason for such emails not reaching
us is that your attachments are too large.
To prevent blocking up of Internet
bandwidth due to very large digital files,
some users set a maximum limit for the
size of email attachments, beyond which
emails are automatically rejected. With
SP, the attachment size limit is 2MB per
email. This does not apply to Picture of
the Month ( POM). For POM, the image
should be sent to sphoto.india@
gmail.com at high resolution.
So how do you convert the file size of
your image so that it remains under
2MB? Here’s how:
1. Open the image in Photoshop.
2. Go to Image > Image Size
(Alt+Ctrl+I). The Image Size dialog box
will open (See Printscreen1). Observe
that the Resolution is 300ppi (pixels per
inch) and the Document Size (same as
Print Size) is 9.44 x 14.187 inches (If your
dialog box shows these dimensions in
Centimeters or Millimeters, click in the
box and select Inches). Also observe
74

Smart Photography March 2014

Printscreen 1

Printscreen 2

Learning

Printscreen 3

the Pixel Dimensions (it currently shows
34.5MB).
3. Change the Resolution from 300ppi
to 72ppi as shown in Printscreen 2,
opposite page. This is the resolution
used for emails. Note that Constrain
Proportions box must be checked
(ticked).

Printscreen 4

4. Change the longer side (in our case
14.187 inches) to 8 inches. The shorter
side will automatically change to the
correct proportion since you have ticked
Constrain Proportions (in our case, it has
changed to 5.323 inches). At this time
you will see that the Pixel Dimensions
which earlier showed 34.5MB, now
shows 646.3KB. If you are using a
version other than Photoshop CS6,
you must select Bicubic Sharper (best
for reduction) in the box below; if you
are using Photoshop CS6, you may use
Bicubic Automatic. Click OK.
5. Go to File > Save As and give this
file an appropriate name. Click on Save.
When the new dialog box named JPEG
Options appears, change the Quality
setting to 8 and click OK (Printscreen
3).
6. If you now right-click on the thumbnail
for this image, you will see the actual size
for that particular file (in our case, it is
84KB). (Printscreen 4) This is a very small
size image and you will have no problem
in sending this image as an attachment.
You could send multiple images in the
same attachment as long as you don’t go
over the permissible limit.
Rohinton Mehta
March 2014 Smart Photography

75

Learning

Fun with Photoshop:
Windows of Light

First, let us put all the ‘create or not
to create’ and ‘manipulate or not
to manipulate’ questions aside for
some time. Adobe Photoshop offers
immense possibilities to improve
or create upon your photographs.
So now let us do some fun ways of
‘manipulation’. Here I stress the word
manipulation because this is not a
serious photographic technique, but
rather, a fun method that can also
be used in creating patterns of light.
This simple manipulation can be
done in any version of Photoshop
including Elements. Here I have used
Photoshop Creative Cloud.
76

Smart Photography March 2014

To illustrate the method, I am using
an image of Uncle Ronnie that I shot
at a function
(Please take prior
permission from
the person before
using his or her
image for such
manipulation).
Here we are trying
to simulate a dark
room illuminated
by a streak of
light. For this,
open the image in
Photoshop.

Open Image

Learning

Now we need to
darken the room. For
this, duplicate the
background layer. Take
the Brush tool and
set suitable values for
hardness and size. I
have used Hardness:
85%; Size: 700px.
Once this is done, set
the foreground colour
in the Toolbox as
Black and paint over
the area, excluding
the main subject. If
you have accidentally
painted over the
person, switch to
White foreground and
re-paint over the error.

Brush Presets

Duplicate Layer

Darken the room

To create the streak of light, select
the Polygonal Lasso Tool and
draw a closed figure (resembling
a light streak) as shown. Now
feather this selection using
Selection>Modify>Feather. The
smoothness of the light streak will
depend on the figure you enter in
the box for radius. I have used 30 as
radius.
Now to lighten the selected area,
access the Levels adjustment and
pull the middle slider towards the
left. This will lighten the selection
without affecting the dark area
around. Do this till you are satisfied
with the effect. If any portion is too
bright, add a layer mask to the layer
(by clicking the dark rectangle with
a white circle in the layers palette)
March 2014 Smart Photography

77

Learning

and use a soft brush with black
foreground to bring back the details.
Next step is to create the window
on the wall. For this, we need to
draw three rectangles using the
Rectangular Marquee tool. An
easy way to do this is to draw a large
rectangle using the Rectangular
Mark the area with Polygonal Lasso tool
Levels Middle Slider

DECLARATION
Statement about ownership and other particulars about
SMART PHOTOGRAPHY, as required to be published in the first issue of every
year after the last day of February.
Form IV (See rule 8) (Press and Reg. Of Books Act, 1867)
Place of Publication : Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills
Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013
Periodicity of Publication : Monthly
Printers Name : Mr. Girish Mallya, Nationality : Indian, and printed at Kala
Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd, 1-1-60/5 RTCX Roads, Hyderabad - 20
Publisher’s Name : Mr. Girish Mallya, Nationality: Indian,
Address: Next Gen Publishing Limited, Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor,
Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W),
Mumbai 400013
Editor’s Name : Mr. Hoshang S. Billimoria, Nationality: Indian,
Address: Next Gen Publishing Limited, Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor,
Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W),
Mumbai 400013
Names and addresses of individuals who own the newspaper and partners
or shareholders holding more than 1% of the total paid up equity capital:
Next Gen Publishing Limited, Trade World, C-Wing, 2nd Floor, Kamala Mills
Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai 400013
Details of shareholders of Next Gen Publishing Limited who are holding more
than 1% paid up equity capital of the company as on January 31, 2014.
i. Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Limited, 70, Nagindas Master Road, Fort,
Mumbai 400023
ii. HDFC Limited, 5th Floor, Ramon House, H. T. Parekh Marg, Backbay
Reclamation, Mumbai 400 020
iii. Rajpal Singh Sethi, Green Gate, 693, Flat 702, Perry Cross Road, Bandra,
Mumbai 400 050
iv. Zubin N. Kamdin (Executor of Estate of late Sam Nariman Polishwala),
29/A, Naoroji Seth Street, Thakurdwar, Mumbai 400 002
v. Aditya Chitale-(Executor of Estate of late C.N.Mistry), F-19,0-1, Bridge
View C.H.S.Ltd., Sector-10, Airoli, Navi Mumbai 400 708
vi. Hoshang Billimoria, B-221, Grand Paradi,572, Dadyseth Hill,
August Kranti Marg, Mumbai 400 036
I, Girish Mallya hereby declare that all particulars given above are true to the
best of my knowledge and belief.
Sd/
Girish Mallya
Date: January 31, 2014
Signature of the Publisher

78

Smart Photography March 2014

Move the Levels slider and finetune after applying a Layer Mask

Learning

Marquee tool and cut
off two narrow sections
using ‘Subtract from
Selection’ option in the
tool presets.
Now feather the
selection with a radius of,
say 20 pixels. Next step is
to lighten the selection.
For this, open the Layers
palette and move the
middle slider to the left
till you are satisfied with
the result.

Draw the window using Rectangular Marquee tool

Final Image after levels adjustment

The final step is to flatten
the image. You may finetune the image using
levels or brush.
So with a few simple
steps and a bit of
creativity, we have put
Uncle Ronnie under
‘solitary confinement’.
As I mentioned earlier,
doing this kind of
manipulation can easily
offend the person in the
image. It is my luck that
the person in my image
is himself a Photoshop
expert and an advocate
of creativity.
Sujith Gopinath
March 2014 Smart Photography

79

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REVIEWS: PANASONIC








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ISSUE 12 | VOLU

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2014

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Reviews
82 88
92 96
100 102

D-SLR Review
PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

D-SLR Review
SONY Į 7

Compact Review
Olympus Stylus 1

Compact Review
Canon PowerShot S200

Lens Review
Canon EF-S 55-250mm
f/4-5.6 IS II

First Look
Triggertrap Mobile

Change in Rating System
Smart Photography’s new rating
system exercises stricter evaluation
in view of improvements in the
overall performance of photographic
equipment. Marks will be awarded for
the following parameters...

Final Rankings
Recommended ......................................... 75-80%
Best Buy .........................................81% and above

D-SLR CAMERAS

LENSES

COMPACT CAMERAS

Design & Build Quality .................... (out of 20)

Design & Build Quality .................... (out of 20)

Design & Build Quality .................... (out of 20)

Key Features........................................... (out of 20)

Key Features........................................... (out of 20)

Key Features........................................... (out of 20)

Ergonomics ............................................. (out of 20)

Ergonomics ............................................. (out of 20)

Ergonomics ............................................. (out of 20)

Performance
Autofocus ....................................................(out of 5)
Metering ......................................................(out of 5)
Noise control ...........................................(out of 5)
Distortion/Sharpness..........................(out of 5)
LCD/Viewfinder.....................................(out of 5)
Auto White Balance...........................(out of 5)

Performance
Autofocus ....................................................(out of 5)
Sharpness.....................................................(out of 5)
Distortion control .................................(out of 5)
Aberrations ................................................(out of 5)
Darkening of corners.........................(out of 5)
Extra Features............................................(out of 5)

Performance
Autofocus ....................................................(out of 5)
Metering ......................................................(out of 5)
Noise control ...........................................(out of 5)
Distortion/Sharpness..........................(out of 5)
LCD/Viewfinder.....................................(out of 5)
Auto White Balance...........................(out of 5)

Value for Money ....................... (out of 10)

Value for Money ................................. (out of 10)

Value for Money ....................... (out of 10)

Grand Total ............................... (out of 100)

Grand Total ......................................... (out of 100)

Grand Total ............................... (out of 100)

D-SLR Review
PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

Mighty Mini!

81

%T

Rs.65,000

(Expected Price) with the 12-32mm kit lens

Inside the Box
Camera
Lens (Lumix G Vario 12-32mm f/3.5-5.6
Asph./Mega O.I.S.)
z Lens cap
z Battery cap
z Battery charger
z AC Cable
z USB cable
z CD ROM
z Shoulder strap
z Basic Owner’s Manual
z
z

82

Smart Photography March 2013

alk about miniaturization!
The Panasonic Lumix
DMC-GM1, which may
be launched soon in India, is the
smallest interchangeable lens mirrorless compact camera that we have
ever reviewed! The body is smaller
than the palm of an average adult
man. Though there could be some
compromises in functionality due to
the small size, the GM1 will satisfy
most users. The camera will be
available in black-silver grey and
fawn-silver grey combinations.

Design and Build Quality
A mere 274g with lens, battery and
memory card, the GM1 is not only the

smallest, but also the lightest mirrorless Micro Four Thirds camera to
date. The build quality is good; the
body is made with tough magnesium
alloy and aluminium. The tripod
receptacle is made of metal and is
placed in line with the central axis
of the lens. A built-in flash stays flush
with the top plate till you pop it up
using a slider switch next to it. There
is no provision to attach an accessory
flash. The zoom ring on the 12-32mm
kit lens needs to be rotated clockwise
to extend the lens. The lens, which
has an aperture range from f/3.5 (W)
/ f/5.6 (T) – f/22, has 8 elements in 7
groups that include 3 aspherical and
1 ED lens element.

D-SLR Review

PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

Key Features
The Panasonic DMC-GM1 is a
16-megapixel, interchangeable
lens, mirror-less, Micro Four
Thirds System camera utilizing a
Live Mos 17.3 x 13mm imaging
sensor. The GM1 includes a
specially designed Lumix 1232mm f/3.5-5.6 G Vario zoom
lens with Mega Optical Image
Stabilizer (Mega OIS) builtin. The lens has 37mm filter
thread. The crop-factor for
Micro Four Thirds being 2x,
the equivalent focal length in
35mm parlance is 24-64mm,
which is ideal for landscapes,
interiors, other cramped
locations and for full-length
figure studies. The lens is
marked at 12, 14, 18, 25 and
32mm settings.
The top plate offers a
Mode Dial, ‘On/Off ’ switch
surrounding the shutter release
button, and a Focus Mode Dial
that includes Fn 1 – a Function
Button. (There are 6 Function
Buttons on the GM1 but only one is
physical, the rest are on-screen touch
buttons). At the left is the pop-up
flash which can be popped-up using
a small sliding switch. You’ll also see
two sets of three small holes – under
which are the stereo microphones.
The GM1 offers Wi-Fi connectivity
but does not offer NFC (Near Field
Communication), which Panasonic’s
own GX7 offers.
The GM1 offers a maximum

Sharpness &

Aperture: f/8.0

Noise at 100%

Detail

Shutter Speed:

0

1/30sec. ISO:20

JPEG Compression

JPEG, Fine Quality,
100% (8.6 MB)

JPEG, Standard Quality,
100% (4.3 MB)

resolution of 4592 x 3448 pixels at
4:3 aspect ratio. The other aspect
ratios available are 3;2, 16:9 and
1:1. Pictures can be shot in Raw,
Raw+JPEG Fine, Raw+JPEG Standard,
JPEG Fine, and JPEG Standard.
Pictures can also be shot in 3D if
you use a 3D lens (requires a TV
with 3D capability to view the 3D
images). Focussing can be done
manually or using autofocus (Facedetection, AF tracking, 23-area
focussing, 1-area focussing and
Pinpoint selection using the 3”

ISO:200

ISO:25600

Colour Accu

racy

Colour checker
shot using Auto
White Balance
in daylight. Auto
Levels applied.

touch-screen). The touch-screen
LCD, by the way, is fixed and offers
a resolution of 1040k dots. To
facilitate focussing, Focus Peaking
is on offer, which shows a coloured
outline surrounding the subject in
focus. The user can opt for blue,
green or yellow colouring and the
colour saturation can be set to Low
or High.
The GM1 uses a hybrid mechanical
and electronic shutter system.
Shutter speeds available are from
March 2013 Smart Photography

83

D-SLR Review
PANASONIC LUMIX GM1
60 seconds to 1/500 sec
(mechanical shutter) and
from 1 sec to 1/16,000
sec (electronic shutter).
Recording modes are
Program (P), Aperture
Priority (A), Shutter
Priority (S), Manual (M),
intelligent Auto (iA),
intelligent Auto+ (iA+),
Creative Video Mode,
Custom Modes (C1
and C2), Scene Guide
Mode (23 scenes), and
Creative Control Mode
(22 creative effects).
Exposure compensation
is up to +/- 5EV. The
Burst Mode (when shooting Raw) is
limited to 7 frames. A feature known
as Silent Mode is included in the
GM1 which is unusually quiet and
when combined with Super High
Continuous shooting mode, allows
you to fire 40 frames per second,
albeit at only 3.8 megapixel rating
and only when using JPEGs. The
camera also offers HDR imaging,
wherein it fires off several frames
and combines them in-house to
produce details in highlights as
well as shadows when shooting
under very contrasty lighting. ISO
sensitivity can be set to Auto,
Intelligent ISO, 125 (Extended), 20025,600 in 0.3 or 1 EV step. White
Balance settings are Auto, Daylight,
Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, Flash,
White Set 1 and 2, and Kelvin
temperature.
The Lumix GM1 can shoot movies
84

Smart Photography March 2013

in HD with a resolution of 1920 x
1080 at 60i/30p/24p; 1280 x 720
at 60p/30p; and 640 x 480 at 30p.
Movie file formats are AVCHD and
MP4. The built-in pop-up flash has
a Guide Number of 4m/13.1 feet at
ISO 100. Flash can be compensdated
up to +/- 2EV in 0.3 EV steps. Images
are stored in SD/SDHC/SDXC card.
The camera is PictBridge compliant.
It uses a 680 mAh rechargeable
Lithium -ion battery, which, under
CIPA rating, should last for 230 shots.
The camera weighs 274g with its kit
lens, battery and card and comes
bundled with the following software:
PHOTOfun STUDIO9.2 AE
SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.1 SE
LoiloScope (trial version)

pocket. The design is clean and
uncluttered. If you are used to large,
heavy D-SLRs, you may take some
time getting used to the GM1’s
diminutive design and button layout.
Speaking of buttons, there aren’t
many. The LCD is touch-screen and
covers most of the camera back. The
user interface may feel daunting if
you have never used a Lumix model
before but once you get a hang of
it, things are pretty straightforward.
Users with large hands may find the
controls a bit fiddly but again, its
just a matter of getting used to. The
12-32mm lens and body combo
balanced well but since the body is so
small and lightweight, we wonder how
large telephoto lenses will cope up.

Performance
Ergonomics
The GM1 with its 12-32mm kit lens
can be easily carried in a trouser

The overall performance of the
Panasonic GM1 can be termed
‘outstanding’. Control over digital

D-SLR Review

PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

Aperture:f/6.3 Shutter Speed: 1/25sec . ISO:200

Aperture:f/3.2 Shutter Speed: 1/100sec . ISO:400

noise was very good. At native
image size of 15.307 x 11.493 inches
at 300ppi, we did not notice any
noise all the way up to the maximum
sensitivity of ISO 25,600. At 50%
screen size, some noise could be
seen at ISO 12,800 but was in no way
troublesome. At 100% screen size,
we could see noise at ISO 3200 but
again, perfectly usable. Larger images
at higher ISOs will show noise, but
in a pinch, I wouldn’t hesitate to

use even the highest ISO (25,600)
if my print size is limited. Autofocus
was reasonably fast in good light;
in low light, it did take a while but
nevertheless, latched on accurately.
Note: Digital noise depends not
only on the ISO used, but also on
the way you expose your shots.
Underexposed areas will always
show more noise; with soft lighting,
shadows often show more details,
resulting in less noise.

Flare could be seen in strong againstthe-light shots that included the sun,
but there was no trace of chromatic
aberration, which is a very good
thing. White Balance performance
too was excellent. Other than
a slight yellow cast under Flash
preset, and slight reddish cast under
Incandescent lights, White Balance
performed most satisfactorily. Some
users may feel that the images on
GM1’s LCD are not as ‘punchy’ as
March 2013 Smart Photography

85

D-SLR Review
PANASONIC LUMIX GM1

those on the LCDs of some other
cameras but this could be due
to the less contrasty LCD on the
GM1 (in fact I would consider
the contrast in GM1’s LCD to
be ‘normal’, whereas most other
cameras have comparatively
‘contrasty’ LCDs).
Darkening of corners was noticed
at all apertures at the widest end
(24mm equivalent). Barrel distortion
was seen at 12mm and just a bit
at 14mm; there was no noticeable
distortion at other marked focal
lengths. In terms of sharpness, the
GM1 performed very well. Images
out of the box were reasonably
punchy and with good colours.
The GM1’s smaller capacity battery
(680 mAh) may not pose a problem
to every user but if you intend
going for a overnight shoot, don’t
forget to carry the battery charger;
better still carry an extra battery.

to be launched soon) and our
guess is that the Indian price will be
around Rs. 65,000 with the 12-32mm
kit lens.
SPECIFICATIONS
Camera type
Effective pixels
Image sensor
Focus

ILCC, Mirrorless
16 million
4/3” Type Live MOS
AF/MF, Face detection/AF
Tracking/23-area focussing/1-area
focussing/Pinpoint (Touch
focus area selection possible)
Burst speed
: Mechanical shutter: 5fps (High
speed); 4fps (Mid speed); 2fps
(Low speed)
Electronic shutter: 40fps (Super high
speed); 10fps (High speed); 4fps
(Mid speed); 2fps (Low speed)
No. of recordable : Max. 7 (when there are Raw files)
pics. during Burst
JPEGs: Depends on the card capacity
ISO sensitivity
: AUTO/iISO/200-25,600
ISO 125 possible when Extended
ISO is set
Shutter speeds
: Mechanical shutter: 60 sec - 1/500 sec
Electronic shutter: 1 sec – 1/16,000 sec
White Balance
: Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Shade/
Incandescent/Flash/White Set 1 &
2/Kelvin settings
Exposure modes
: P/A/S/M; Auto
Exp. Compensation : +/- 5 EV in 1/3 EV step
Metering modes : Multiple/Centre-weighted/Spot
LCD monitor
: 3-inch, approx.1,040,000 dots,
Touch Screen
Flash
: Built-in, Pop-up. GN: 5.6m at

Value for Money
The Panasonic DMC-GM1 is not
yet launched in India (expected

:
:
:
:

-

Users with large hands may find
the camera too small

-

No accessory shoe

-

No viewfinder

-

Limited buffer for Raw images
(only 7 frames)

-

40fps burst rate with electronic
shutter at mere 3.8 megapixels and
only with JPEGs

+

Clean, compact, uncluttered design

+

Lightweight

+

Very good image quality

+

Reliable White Balance

+

Wi-Fi (but no NFC)

-

Limited battery capacity

Silent mode

-

HDR shooting only with JPEGs

In-built HDR

-

Errors in Basic Owner’s Manual

+
+

86

Smart Photography March 2013

ISO 200. Sync speed: 1/50 sec
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
: Raw. Raw+Fine. Raw+Standard. JPEG
Fine JPEG Standard
Dimensions (WxHxD) : 98.5 x 54.9 x 23.5mm
Weight
: 274g with 12-32mm kit lens,
card and battery
Recording media
Image quality

FINAL SCORE
Design and Build Quality

18/20

Key Features

16/20

Ergonomics

16/20

Performance
Autofocus

4/5

Metering

4/5

Noise Control

4/5

Sharpness

4/5

LCD/EVF

4/5

Auto White Balance

4/5

Sub-Total

24/30

Value for Money

7/10

Grand Total

81/100

VERDICT
The Panasonic Lumix GM1 is a fine
camera. Its small size can be an
advantage as well as a disadvantage.
Yes, some concessions had to be
made in terms of features and
ergonomics to create such a tiny
camera, but to the majority of users,
these would be inconsequential. If
you can live with its diminutive size,
remembering that physically larger
lenses may pose some handling
problems, then the GM1 could be
the right back-up camera for you.
Best Buy!
Rohinton Mehta

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an elaborate multi flash system.

Although continuous light can be used,
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as a halfway decent telephoto lens.

Inside the box
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Technical Specification
Flash output (w/s) Max.- 250w, Flash output (w/s) Min.- 125w,
Dimmer-No, Half n Full-Yes, *F.Stop 1meter with 21cm.
55 degree metal ref. with silver reflective- 45 1/3, Recycling Time-0.3
Sec, Modelling Lamp-100w, Flash Duration- 1/2500 Sec., Twin-Tech-Yes,
Body-Metal, Weight- 2

About Photopro

Based in India, Photopro belongs to the family IN PHOTO BUSINESS FROM LAST 80 years. PHOTOPRO Design, manufacture and
market a wide range of PHOTOGRAPHIC PRODUCTS professional photographic Market. The experience helps to fulfill the needs and
requirements of a professional and give them the best quality products to use. Double sensor, half and full technique in video lights,
triple diffusers in soft boxes, few innovations by Photopro. PHOTOPRO philosophy before developing a product is to verify the need of
the customer and latter provide them with products that will not only enhance their work but will make the work easier .
Photopro equips to offer good, affordable, easy-to-use and superlative quality products in future as well so as to make your work pleasurable and deliver paramount results. Research and development is going on worldwide to boost the technological advancement in
the field of photography whereas Photopro proved itself to be one of the major contributors to the photographic industry with the new
“Twin Tech Technology” popularly called ‘3T’ which brought a major change in the way of using studio flash system. The innovation will
continue from the house of Photopro as India’s contribution to the world.

D-SLR Review
Sony Į 7

Marvel from Sony

81.5% S
Rs.Including
1,14,990
28-70mm lens
Inside the Box
Camera, with Eyepiece Cup attached
AC Adapter
zPower Cord
zBattery Pack
zMicro USB Cable
zShoulder Strap
zBody Cap
zCover for Accessory Shoe
zInstruction Manual
zSony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
zLens Front & Rear Caps
zLens Hood
z
z

88

Smart Photography March 2014

ony entered the imaging space
after the acquisition of the Minolta
D-SLR manufacturing line in 2006.
Initially, the D-SLRs on offer were largely
based on Minolta designs. Very soon,
Sony realized that it was proving to be
extremely difficult and costly to break
the duopoly of Canon and Nikon in the
D-SLR field. Sony, therefore, decided
to enter the field of mirrorless cameras,
that had been pioneered by Panasonic.
The NEX-series was launched amidst
mixed reviews worldwide. Sony opted
for the APS-C size sensor and one of
the major criticisms of the NEX-series
was that whereas the body size had
been reduced, the lenses tended to be
bulbous and therefore the package as a
whole did not gel.

Meanwhile, the world market was slowly
thawing in favour of mirrorless cameras.
Models from the likes of Olympus,
Panasonic, Fujifilm and Samsung were
being well received and according
to some, the days of D-SLRs were
numbered. Sony has now taken the
first daring step of putting a full-frame
CMOS sensor in a mirrorless camera.
The models introduced are called the
Sony Α 7 and 7R, the R standing for
the fact that there is no anti-aliasing
filter. With the Α 7, Sony has started an
entirely new system with a new mount
called the E-mount. Only Sony’s new
FE lenses can take advantage of the
full-frame sensor. Other lenses can be
used with an adapter. Does the new Α
7 deliver? SP had the camera on its

D-SLR Review

Sony Į 7

test bench, so read on for our
detailed report.

Sharpness &

Noise at 100%

Detail

Design and Build Quality
As far as design goes, the Α 7
is just about OK. It does not
have, for instance, the retro
charm and perfect balance of
the Olympus OM-D EM-1. The
body is made from metal alloy,
the top cover from magnesium
alloy and the rest from
polycarbonate. Both weather
and dust sealing is provided. At
416g for the body only, the Α
7 is on the lighter side.

Aperture: f/16.0

Shutter Speed:

1/5sec. ISO:100

JPEG Compression

ISO:100

ISO:25600

Colour Accu

racy

Key Features
The full-frame Α 7 comes with
a 24.3 million effective pixel
CMOS sensor. The 7R has a
36.4 million pixel sensor. The
camera is filled with all the
features that one would find
in a typical enthusiast D-SLR.
The Bionz X processor in the
7 is claimed to be three times
faster than the previous Bionz
system and allows the camera
to have a sensitivity range of ISO 50
to ISO 25600. The Α 7 can fire away at
a maximum 5 fps (focus and exposure
are locked on the first frame) or at 2.5
fps if focus and exposure are to be
adjusted between shots. The camera
can shoot in RAW or JPEG or both
simultaneously. Shutter speeds vary
from 30 sec. to 1/8000 sec. A variety
of metering options are available, viz
Sony’s 1200 zone evaluative metering,
centre weighted metering and spot.
Both exposure compensation and

JPEG, Fine Quality,
100% (9.9 MB)

JPEG, Standard Quality,
100% (7 MB)

White Balance bracketing are also
available. The 3” LCD sports 921,600
dots and can be tilted forwards or
backwards. It however, does not swivel.
Sony has adopted a hybrid AP system
with 25 Contrast-detection and 117
Phase-detection points. Autofocus
points can be selected manually
as well. The camera can accept SD/
SDHC/SDXC cards, shoot in high
definition video (AVC HD or MP4)
and has a depth of field preview as
also diopter adjustment. Full HD video

Colour checker
shot using Auto
White Balance
in daylight. Auto
Levels applied.

recording is available. There is no
built in flash. However, the Sony Α 7
has built in Wi-Fi and NFC (Near Field
Communication). Unlike the 7R, the 7
features a hybrid AF system and syncs
with flash at a faster 1/250 sec.

Ergonomics
Although, Sony claim that its new E
mount is compatible with all other E
mount lenses, other E mount lenses
have been designed for APSC size
sensors and therefore have a smaller
March 2014 Smart Photography

89

D-SLR Review
Sony Į 7

+

Compact body with full frame sensor

+

Excellent electronic viewfinder

+
+

Good White Balance performance
Good sharpness

+

Good value for money

-

Aesthetics could be better

-

Autofocusing is slow in low light/low
contrast situations

-

No touchscreen

-

Large aperture and telephoto lenses will
affect the balance of the camera

-

Instruction manual not in detail
90

Smart Photography March 2014

image circle. In such cases, the Α 7
will automatically crop the image to a
lower 15 million resolution. The hand
grip of the Α 7 was adequate but not
as comfortable as the hand grip of
the Olympus OM-D EM-1. The ‘Auto
Dynamic Range’ feature, whereby at
the push of a button, the camera shoots
three exposures and picks up the best
details from them to create a single
image, is a definite plus point. One
of the drawbacks of the NEX-series
was that the body was far too small
compared to the lenses. This problem

would be accentuated with the fullframe sensor of the Α 7. Sony will have
to use all its technological prowess to
produce lenses that match the smaller
body of the Α 7 in weight and size.

Performance
On the test bench the Sony Α 7
performed extremely well. The
camera produced extremely
impressive pictures with very good
central sharpness at all focal lengths.
Expectedly, corners were slightly
soft. Darkening of corners was seen

D-SLR Review

Sony Į 7

VERDICT

at all apertures at the wide-angle
end. Distortion control was excellent
with only slight barrel distortion at
28mm. Noise control was impressive
although noise reduction sets in very
early after ISO800. Flare control was
impressive and control over chromatic
aberration was also very good. White
Balance performance was overall very
satisfactory though we did not check
the WB performance in fluorescent
lights. Autofocus worked well except
in low light and low contrast situations.
Continuous autofocus was not as fast
or precise as the normal mode. The
camera takes a while to be ready
after the on/off switch is put ‘on’.
Overall, Sony put in a very impressive
performance.

improve. At around this price, the
camera is good value.
KEY SPECIFICATIONS

Hoshang S. Billimoria

Camera type

: Interchangeable Lens Mirrorless

Lens mount

: E-mount

Imaging sensor

: CMOS

Sensor size

: 35.8 x 23.9mm

Effective pixels

: 24.3 million

Design and Build Quality

AF system

: Phase-detection/Contrast-detection

Key Features

Viewfinder

: EVF, 2,359,296 dots

Frame coverage

: 100%

LCD

: 3-inch, 921,600 dots

Metering method : 1200-zone Evaluative metering by
image sensor
ISO sensitivity

: Still: Auto, 50-25,600
Movies: Auto, 200-25,600

Multi-frame NR

: ISO Auto, ISO 100-51,200

Exp. Compensation : +/- 5EV
Shutter speeds

: Still: 30 sec to 1/8000 sec, Bulb

Flash sync

: 1/250 sec

Value For Money
The MRP for the Α 7 along with the
28-70mm lens is Rs.1,14,990/-. Expect
prices to ease as soon as supplies

The Sony Α 7 is a significant launch from the
Sony stable.
1. It implies that very soon Sony will say
goodbye to D-SLRs.
2. Sony with the Α 7 has reaffirmed its
commitment to mirrorless cameras.
3. All of Sony’s mirrorless cameras henceforth
will be christened Alpha (Α ) and not NEX.
4. For the first time in the imaging business,
Sony has put its foot forward and done
something radically different and new.
Sony deserves to be rewarded for its efforts.
Highly recommended except for applications
like action photography and where telephoto
lenses are necessary.

Movies: 1/4 sec to 1/8000 sec
Recording format : Still: JPEG, Raw (Sony ARW 2.3 format)
Movie: AVCHD (version 2.0)

FINAL SCORE
17/20
17.5/20

Ergonomics

16/20

Performance
Autofocus

3.5/5

Metering

4/5

Noise Control

4/5

Sharpness

4/5

LCD/VF

3.5/5

AWB

4/5

Sub-Total

23/30

Value for Money

8/10

Grand
Total
81.5/100
Aperture:f/7.1 Shutter Speed: 1/400sec. ISO:400
March 2014 Smart Photography

91

Compact Review
Olympus Stylus 1

The Pied Piper

83

%

Rs.44,990

Inside the Box
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
z

Camera
LC-51A Lens cap
BLS-5 Li-ion battery
BCS-5 Li-ion battery charger
USB cable
Shoulder strap
CD-ROM (OLYMPUS Viewer 3)
Instruction manual
Warranty card

92

Smart Photography March 2013

T

his is the age of premium
compact cameras. With the
worldwide success of the OM-D
series, Olympus appears to have
finally found the formula for winning
the market in terms of design and
performance. The Olympus Stylus 1
boasts a 12-megapixel 1/1.7-inch Type
sensor, Raw format capture, constant
maximum aperture of f/2.8, 10x zoom,
and built-in Wi-Fi.

switch on the camera without removing
it. The front of the cap has four shutter
panels fixed on hinges, which open
outward when the lens extends. The
camera has a control ring around the
lens in addition to the command dial
on the top panel. The LCD screen can
be tilted up and down. The built-in
flash pops up about a centimetre just
enough to reveal the flash head and a
metal tripod receptacle. The camera has
a standard accessory shoe.

Design and Build Quality
The Stylus 1 is built with tough
engineering plastic and is designed like
the OM-D E-M5. The first thing you will
notice with this camera is the innovative
lens cap. Olympus has designed this
screw-in cap in such a way that you can

Key Features
The 12-megapixel Olympus Stylus 1
uses a 1/1.7-inch Type (7.60 x 5.70 mm)
CMOS sensor for imaging. The camera
features a 28-300mm equivalent lens

Compact Review

Olympus Stylus 1

Shooting modes available are iAuto,
P (Program AE), A (Aperture priority
AE), S (Shutter priority AE), M
(Manual), Custom (C1 and C2), Photo
Story, Scene select AE, and Art Filter.
Scene select mode provides options
of Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape,
Sport, Night, Night + Portrait, Sunset,
Documents, Panorama, Fireworks,
Multiplex exposure, and Beach &
Snow. Art Filters included are Pop Art,
Soft Focus, Pale & Light Colour, Light

Mahesh Reddy

offering a constant maximum aperture
of f/2.8 throughout the zoom range
(f/2.8-8). The lens is constructed with
12 elements in 10 groups including
eight aspherical elements to eliminate
spherical aberration, and has built-in
optical image stabilisation system. The
lens focusses from 10cm to infinity
at the wide-angle end and 80cm
to infinity at the telephoto end in
normal mode, and from 5 to 60cm
in Super Macro mode. Focus modes
available are Single AF (S-AF), Super
Macro Mode, Continuous AF (C-AF),
AF tracking (C-AF + TR), and Manual
Focus (MF) with Face Priority and Eye
Detect AF available. The focus sensor
uses a 35-area multiple AF. Focus point
options are All target, Group target
area (9-area), and Single target. The
camera uses the usual three metering
modes—Digital ESP, Centre-weighted
average, and Spot. The Stylus 1 records
still images in Raw (12-bit lossless) or
JPEG format with an option to record
both simultaneously, the maximum
size being 3968 x 2976 pixels. Videos
are recorded in MOV format (MPEG4AVC/H.264) or Motion JPEG with the
best quality of 1920 x 1080 at 30p.
Videos can be recorded for a maximum
time of 29 min per clip.
Aperture:f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/60sec . ISO:400

Tone, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama,
Cross Process, Gentle Sepia, Dramatic
Tone, and Key Line. In addition to
this, the camera provides five Art
Effects — Soft Focus, Pin-Hole, White
Edge, Frame Effect, and Star Light. The
Stylus 1’s ISO sensitivity ranges from
ISO 100 to 12,800. exposure can be
compensated up to +/-3 EV in 1/3
EV steps. Shutter speeds range from

60 to 1/2000sec, along with a Bulb
mode which provides up to 30 min
of exposure. The camera has a built-in
flash and accepts compatible external
flashguns via the accessory shoe (hot
shoe). Flash intensity is controlled by
TTL Auto, Auto, and Manual methods.
Flash modes available are Auto, Redeye Reduction, Fill-in, Off, Red-eye
reduction with slow sync, Slow sync,
March 2013 Smart Photography

93

Compact Review
Olympus Stylus 1
Flash Output

s
harpnes

S

Aperture: f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/30sec. ISO:100

ISO:12800

Full, and Manual. Flash intensity can
be compensated up to +/-3EV in 0.3
EV steps. Th camera offers wireless
flash control with compatible external
flashguns, triggering the external flash
with the built-in flash. It provides 4
channels and 4 groups to control
the intensity of connected flashguns.
The built-in Wi-Fi feature allows you
to share your images and trigger the
camera remotely using the Olympus
Image Share application on your
Smartphone. The Stylus 1 features
drive modes of Single, Sequential
shooting, BKT, and Self-timer.
94

:100

00sec. ISO

Speed: 1/2

Aper

Performance

Noise

ISO:100

Shutter
ture: f/2.8

housing in addition to the one along
with the shutter release button. This
and the flash button can be operated
easily using the left thumb. Olympus
has provided a lever on the front panel
along with a function button, which is
easily operable with the right middle
finder. The function buttons and the
lever can be assigned various functions
to suit your requirement. The lens does
not extend much on zooming.

Smart Photography March 2013

The Olympus Stylus 1 uses an eyelevel electronic viewfinder with
approximately 1,440,000 dots. The
monitor is a 3.0-inch tilting capacitive
touch LCD with approximately
1,040,000 dots. The monitor can be
tilted up to 80 degree upwards and up
to 50 degrees downwards. The camera
uses an SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
for storage and also accepts Eye-Fi
cards. The device is powered by a
rechargeable BLS-5 Li-ion battery
(included). The camera has dimensions
of 116.2 x 87 x 56.5mm and weighs
approximately 402g with battery and
memory card.

Ergonomics
The Olympus Stylus 1 is very
comfortable to use with a protruding
rubberised grip in the front and a
similar thumb rest at the back. The
controls are all placed for easy access.
The control dial is accessible with
the right thumb and so is the small
function button on top panel. There
is an auxiliary zoom lever on the lens

The Stylus 1 performed well in our
tests. Autofocus was fast and precise,
and it locked on to the subject without
any problem even in low light. Images
were sharp out of the box, and the
metering modes performed well.
Images appeared sharp on the LCD.
The electronic viewfinder provided
good eye relief and images were crisp.
We noticed a momentary pixel jitter
(noise) in both the LCD and the EVF,
but this vanishes by the time the camera
focusses.
The Olympus Stylus 1 did not produce
any darkening of corners even at 28mm
with the lens wide open, which is very
good. The lens produced slight barrel
distortion up to 55mm equivalent
focal length. Auto White Balance
performed reasonably well under
most lighting conditions and any cast
produced could be easily corrected
in post-processing. The images were
9.92 x 13.23 inches large at 300 ppi. At
25 percent of this native size, images
were noise-free up to ISO 1600. We
observed slight noise at ISO 3200,

Compact Review

Olympus Stylus 1

and ISO 12,800 was not usable due to
chroma noise. Viewed at 50 percent,
images were free of noise up to ISO
800, and were perfectly usable up to
ISO 1600. Enlarged to 100 percent,
all images showed some noise as
expected, but it became a concern only
from ISO 1600. On the negative side,
the lens produced prominent flare in
strong against-the-light shots, along with
purple fringing. But how many times do
you
point your
camera
at a light
source
Aperture:f/3.2
Shutter
Speed: 1/100sec
. ISO:400
peeping from the corner of the lens?

Value for Money
The Olympus Stylus 1 retails at an MRP
of Rs.44,990. At this price, the camera is
fair value for money.
SPECIFICATIONS
Effective pixels
Memory
Sensor type
Lens Construction
Focal length
Image Stabilization
Maximum aperture
Focus range

Recording format
File format
Max. image size
Viewfinder Type
Field of view
Diopter adjustment range
Monitor
Touch function

Tilting angle

: 12 million
: SD/SDHC/SDXC Memory Card,
Eye-Fi Card
: 1/1.7-inch CMOS
: 12 elements in 10 groups
(8 aspherical elements)
: 28 mm to 300 mm equivalent
: Optical (Lens shift image
stabilization)
: f/2.8
: W: 10 cm to infinity
T: 80 cm to infinity
Super Macro: 5 cm to 60 cm
: DCF, DPOF compatible / Exif,
PRINT Image Matching III
: Still: Raw (12-bit lossless
compression), JPEG, Raw+JPEG
: Still: 3968 x 2976 pixels
: Eye-level electronic viewfinder,
approx. 1.44 million dots
: Approx. 100%
: -4 - +2 m-1
: 3.0-inch tilting capacitive touch
LCD monitor, Approx. 040k dots
: Touch shutter release, Touch
Live Guide, AF area selection,
Frame advance/backward,
Enlargement playback, Touch Super
Control Panel
: Upward: up to 80 degree

Downward: up to 50 degrees
: Single AF (S-AF), Super Macro
Mode, Continuous AF (C-AF),
AF tracking (C-AF + TR), Manual
Focus (MF)
Face Priority AF
: Available
Eye Detect AF
: Available (Off/Nearer eye priority/
Right side eye priority/Left side
eye priority)
Focusing point
: 35-area multiple AF
Focusing point selection : All target, Group target area (9area), Single target
Metering system : Digital ESP, Centre-weighted
average , Spot
Exposure mode
: iAuto, P (Program AE), A (Aperture
priority AE), S (Shutter priority AE),
M (Manual), Custom (C1 and
C2), Photo Story, Scene select AE,
Art Filter
Scene select AE
: Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Sport,
Night, Night + Portrait, Sunset,
Documents, Panorama, Fireworks,
Multiplex exposure, Beach & Snow
Art Filters
: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Pale & Light
Colour, Light Tone, Grainy Film, Pin
Hole, Diorama, Cross Process, Gentle
Sepia, Dramatic Tone, Key Line
Art Effects
: Soft Focus, Pin-Hole, White Edge,
Frame Effect, Star Light
ISO sensitivity
: Auto, 100 – 12800
Exposure compensation : ±3 EV in 1/3 EV steps
Shutter speed
: 60 to 1/2000 sec., Bulb
Flash intensity control method : TTL Auto, Auto, Manual
Built-in flash
: Available
Flash mode
: Auto, Red-eye reduction, Fill-in, Off,
Red-eye reduction slow sync.,
Slow sync, Full, Manual
Flash intensity control: Up to ±3 EV in 0.3 EV steps
External Flash control mode : TTL Auto, Auto, Manual
Wireless Flash Control : Available with compatible external
flashguns
Control method : Triggered and controlled by
built-in flash
External Flash control : TTL Auto, Auto, Manual
Channels/ Groups : 4 channels / 4 groups
Drive mode
: Single, Sequential shooting, BKT,
Self-timer
Movie Recording format : Full HD/HD: MOV (MPEG4AVC/H.264), HS: Motion JPG
Best Movie quality : 1920 x 1080, 30p
Maximum recording time : 29 min
Picture Mode
: Mode i-Enhance, Vivid, Natural,
Muted, Portrait, Monotone,
Art Filters
PC interface
: USB2.0 Hi-Speed
TV interface
: HDMI (HD/Stereo Sound),
VIDEO-OUT (SD/Mono Sound)
Power Requirements Battery: BLS-5 Li-ion battery (included)
Dimensions
: 116.2 x 87 x 56.5 mm

Focus mode

Weight

: Approx. 402g with battery and
Memory card

+

Good build quality

+

Excellent handling

+

Raw format

+

f/2.8 throughout the zoom range

+

10x zoom

+

Good Performance

-

LCD not fully articulated

-

Heavy flare

FINAL SCORE
Design and Build Quality

18/20

Key Features

17/20

Ergonomics

18/20

Performance
Autofocus

4.5/5

Metering

4/5

Noise Control

4/5

Sharpness

4/5

LCD/EVF

3.5/5
3/5

Auto White Balance
Sub-Total

23/30

Value for Money

7/10

Grand Total

83/100

VERDICT
The Olympus Stylus 1 is clearly
aimed at the serious photography
enthusiast who wants a camera that
can capture Raw format and having
a fast all-purpose lens. A constant
maximum aperture of f/2.8 makes it
all the more attractive. Easily a Best
Buy!
Sujith Gopinath
March 2013 Smart Photography

95

Compact Review
Canon PowerShot S200

Back to Basics?

80

%

Rs.19,995

Inside the Box
z
z
z
z

Camera
Wrist Strap
NB-6LH Battery
Battery Charger

96

Smart Photography March 2013

C

anon’s feature-filled premium
compacts have been
very successful, and the
PowerShot S110 was no exception.
Though many users can misjudge
the 10.1-megapixel S200 as the
successor to the S110 with its higher
price tag, it is in reality, a strippeddown version of the S110 with a
couple of features left out. Here is
our take on this small compact.

Design and Build Quality
The Canon S200 is built with
a combination of metal and

polycarbonate. The camera features
a control ring around the lens
housing. The built-in pop-up flash
can be raised with the help of a
switch on the left side panel. The
camera has a fixed LCD screen
with the control panel on its right.
The control panel consists of five
buttons, four-way controller, and
the vertical command dial. The
mode dial is on the top panel
towards the right with the shutter
release button-zoom lever unit close
by. The S200 has a metal tripod
receptacle.

Compact Review

Canon PowerShot S200

Key Features
The 10.1-megapixel Canon
S200 uses a 1/1.7inch Type
(7.60 x 5.70mm) sensor
for imaging. This sensor is
complemented by a DIGIC
5 image processing engine,
believed to reduce processing
time and noise at higher
sensitivities. The camera sports
a 24-120mm equivalent lens
with Optical Image Stabilisation.
The lens focusses from 3
to 50cm at the wide-angle
end and 30 to 50cm at the
telephoto end. Aperture ranges
from f/1.8 to 8 at the wideangle end and from f/5.7 to 8 at
the telephoto end. The camera
features three focussing modes
— Continuous AF, Servo AF,
and Manual. AF frame options
are Face AiAF, Tracking AF,
Centre, and FlexiZone. The
S200 features the usual three
metering modes — Evaluative,
Centre-weighted average, and
Spot. Shutter speed ranges from
15 to 1/2000sec and sensitivity
ranges from ISO 80 to 6400.
The S200 features several
shooting modes such as
Shooting M (Manual), Av
(Aperture Priority), Tv (Shutter
Priority), P (Program), Auto, Live
View Control, SCN (Scene), and
Creative Filters. Scene modes
include Portrait, Smooth Skin,
Smart Shutter, High-speed
Burst, Snow, Fireworks, and
Stitch Assist.

Aperture:f/4.1 Shutter Speed: 1/200sec . ISO:400

March 2013 Smart Photography

97

Compact Review
Canon PowerShot S200

Creative Filters available are Fish-eye
Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy Camera
Effect, Soft Focus, Monochrome,
Super Vivid, Poster Effect, Colour
Accent, and Colour Swap. Smart
Shutter provides options of Smile,
Wink Self-timer, and Face Self-timer.
The built-in flash has a range of 50
cm to 7.0 m at the wide-angle end
and 50 cm to 2.3 m at the telephoto
end. Flash modes available are Auto,
On, Slow Synchro, and Off.

Ergonomics

Noise

ISO:100

The PowerShot S200 provides a
continuous firing speed of up to
4.5 frames per second in Highspeed Burst mode. Still images are
recorded in JPEG format with a
maximum size of 3648 x 2736 pixels,
while videos are recorded with the
best quality of 1280 x 720 at 24 fps.
The camera features built-in Wi-Fi. It
is powered by a rechargeable Li-ion
battery pack NB-6LH. The device
weighs approximately 181g including
battery and memory card and has
dimensions of 99.8 x 59.0 x 26.3mm.

ISO:6400

We received a glossy white unit of
the S200, which has a slippery grip
compared to the matte black S110
we reviewed last year, which offers
a firm grip. Canon has provided a
plastic thumb rest on the back panel,
which provides some grip. The
interface and menu are intuitive and
so are the buttons. The control ring
provides an easy way to change the

Flash Output

ess

Sharpn

Aperture

: f/

98

Smart Photography March 2013

tter Sp
7.1 Shu

:100

sec. ISO

eed: 1/6

Aperture: f/4.5 Shutter Speed: 1/60sec. ISO:100

parameter assigned to it. The LCD
is fixed flat on the back panel, but
the thumb rest and the protruding
four-way control unit provides some
protection to the screen. The display
quality seemed quite ordinary.

Performance
The Canon S200 performed well
in our tests. Autofocus was fast
and precise even under low light.
Images were sharp out of the box.
All metering modes performed as
expected. The lens produced slight
barrel distortion up to 100mm
equivalent focal length.
Auto White Balance performed very
well with the camera reproducing
cast-free images under most lighting
conditions. The slight casts produced
under a few artificial light sources
could be removed easily in postprocessing. The camera produced
images of native size 9.12 x 12.16
inches at 300 ppi. At 25 percent
of the screen size, images were
noise-free up to ISO 1600. ISO
3200 appeared soft due to noisereduction, while ISO 6400 was
noisy. But all images were usable in a
crunch. At 50 percent enlargement,
images remained usable up to ISO
3200, though we observed mild
noise at ISO 1600. Viewed at 100
percent, we found slight noise at
ISO 800, but not so much to be of
concern. In fact, the images were still
usable up to ISO 1600.
The S200 produced prominent

Compact Review

Canon PowerShot S200

Aperture:f/3.2 Shutter Speed: 1/100sec . ISO:400

+

Fast Autofocus

+

Built-in Wi-Fi

+

Good noise control

+

Pocketable size

-

Limited F-stop control at
telephoto end

-

No Raw format

-

No User Manual (even PDF)

-

No interface cable

FINAL SCORE

flare along with purple fringing in
strong against-the-light images at
the wide-angle end, with wideopen aperture. We also observed
prominent darkening at the corners
of a uniformly illuminated surface at
the above setting.

Value for Money
The Canon PowerShot S200 retails
at an MRP of Rs.19,995. We wish the
price was a couple of thousands less
considering that the premium S110
retails at Rs.17,995.
SPECIFICATIONS
Effective Pixels
Imaging Processor
Sensor size
Lens Focal Length
Focusing Range

Image Stabilization
Display
Aspect Ratio

:
:
:
:
:

Approx 10.1 Million pixels
DIGIC 5
1/1.7 inch (7.60 x 5.70mm)
24 – 120 mm (35mm film equivalent)
Normal: 3cm – infinity (W),
30cm – infinity (T)
Macro: 3 - 50cm (1.2in. – 1.6ft. (W)
30- 50cm (12in. – 1.6ft. (T)
: Lens-shift type System (IS)
: 3.0-inch type, Approx.
461,000-dot TFT
: 4:3

Focus Control system : Continuous AF, Servo AF, Manual
AF frame
: Face AiAF, Tracking AF, Centre,
FlexiZone
Metering System
: Evaluative, Centre-weighted
average, Spot
ISO Sensitivity
: Auto, ISO 80 – 6400
Shutter Speed
: 15 – 1/2000sec.
Aperture Type
: Iris
Maximum Aperture : f/1.8 (W) to f/5.7 (T)
Flash Modes
: Auto, On, Slow Synchro, Off
Flash Range
: 50cm – 7.0m (W), 50cm – 2.3m (T)
Shooting Modes
: M, Av, Tv, P, AUTO, Live View
Control, SCN, Creative Filters
Scene Modes
: Portrait, Smooth Skin, Smart Shutter,
High-speed Burst, Snow, Fireworks,
Stitch Assist
Creative Filters
: Fish-eye Effect, Miniature Effect, Toy
Camera Effect, Soft : Focus, Monochrome, Super Vivid,
Poster Effect, Colour Accent, Colour
Swap
Smart Shutter
: Smile, Wink Self-timer, Face Self-timer
Continuous shooting : Approx. 1.9 shots/sec. (In P mode)
Approx 4.5 shots/sec. (in High-Speed
Burst mode)
Max. Recording Pixels : Still Images: 3648 x 2736
Movies: 1280 x 720 (24fps)
Max. Movie Recoding Time
Approx. 50mins
Other Functions
: WiFi, Eco Mode
Power Source
: Battery Pack NB-6LH
Dimensions
: 99.8 x 59.0 x 26.3mm
Weight
: Approx. 181g including battery
and memory card

Design and Build Quality

18/20

Key Features

16/20

Ergonomics

17/20

Performance
Autofocus

4.5/5

Metering

4/5

Noise Control

4/5

Sharpness

3/5

LCD/EVF

3/5

Auto White Balance

4.5/5

Sub-Total

23/30

Value for Money

6/10

Grand Total

80/100

VERDICT
The Canon S200 is a toned down
version of its premium compact
camera, S110, without Raw format
and lower ISO range. This camera
offers a good focal length for
general purpose photography and
occasional family trips and portraits.
Sujith Gopinath

March 2013 Smart Photography

99

Lens Review
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II

Up One
More Step
A

ll-purpose lenses are
budget options for amateur
photographers who cannot afford
to spend big bucks on premium lenses,
but want to have a long-range option for
portraits to wildlife. The Canon 55-250mm
has been a popular choice, being an ideal
extension to the 18-55mm kit lens. This lens
has recently been upgraded with a second
generation Image Stabiliser.

Design & Build Quality

79

%

Rs.17,995
Inside the Box
z
z
z

Lens
Front and back cap
Instruction booklet

100

Smart Photography March 2014

The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II lens
is constructed with tough polycarbonate
material. The lens has the same dimensions
of its predecessor and features an AF/MF
switch and Image Stabiliser switch on its
outer barrel. It has a wider zoom ring and
narrower focus ring, both featuring rubber
grips. The mount is also made of plastic.
Though we do not consider a plastic
mount to be fragile, we have seen worn
out and scratched mounts, which could
compromise weather sealing.

Key Features
The EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II lens is
specially designed for APS-C bodies and
provides an equivalent focal length of 88400mm. It cannot be used with Full Frame
cameras. This is an upgrade to the earlier
version of the same focal length lens, with

an optical image stabiliser added to it.
Canon claims an advantage of 4 stops in
the shutter speed with the image stabiliser.
Aperture ranges from f/4 to 22 at 55mm
and f/5.6 to 32 at 250mm. It features a
7-bladed diaphragm and features Super
Spectra coating. The lens is constructed
with 12 elements in 10 groups including a
UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) glass element to
minimise chromatic aberration. It offers a
maximum magnification of 0.31x. The lens
provides a diagonal angle of view of 27°
50’- 6° 15’. It focusses as close as 1.1m.
The markings on the lens are not etched
into the material, but printed in white.
This can possibly fade with constant rough
use. The lens has dimensions of 70 (dia.) x
108mm and weighs approximately 390g.

Ergonomics
The 55-250mm IS II lens is lightweight and
comfortable to use. The smooth zoom ring
makes zooming effortless. The lens does
not have internal focussing or zooming,
and hence the barrel extends while
zooming and focussing. The front element
also rotates while focussing, which makes it
difficult to use CPL and graduated filters.

Performance
We tested the lens on a Canon EOS 600D
body. It produced sharp images and the

Lens Review
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II

sweet spot was consistent at f/5.6 at all
focal lengths. Autofocus was slow and
loud, compared to Canon’s premium
lenses, but since this is a budget super
zoom, this is expected. The AF system
latched on to the subject without any
problem even under low light. The lens
produced slight pincushion distortion
from 100mm (approximately 160mm
equivalent) onwards, but you will notice
it only if you deliberately look for it.
Darkening was observed at the corners
at 55mm with the lens wide open. The
lens produced flare with prominent
purple fringing when it was subjected
deliberately to extremely strong againstthe-light situations. The above ‘flaws’ were
not noticeable in everyday situations.
Optical Image Stabilisation performed
well, as claimed by Canon. The lens
coatings did not introduce any unwanted
cast in the images.
Aperture:f/5.6 Shutter Speed: 1/400sec. ISO:400

Value for Money
The Canon 55-250mm IS II lens retails at
an MRP of Rs.17,995. At this price, the
lens is good value for money.
SPECIFICATIONS
Focal Length
Maximum Aperture
Lens Construction

: 55-250mm
: f/4-5.6
: 12 elements in 10 groups,
including one UD-glass
element
Diagonal Angle of View : 27° 50’- 6° 15’ (with APS-C
image sensors)
Focus Adjustment
: DC motor, gear-driven
(front focusing design)
Closest Focusing Distance : 1.1m
Maximum magnification : 0.31x
Filter Size
: 58mm
Max. Diameter x Length : 70 x 108mm (maximum
lens length)
Weight
: 390g

FINAL SCORE
+

Design and Build Quality

15/20

+

Great value for money
Excellent zoom range

Key Features

16/20

-

Plastic lens mount

Ergonomics

17/20

-

Barrel extends while zooming
Front element rotates while
focussing

Performance
Autofocus

4/5

Sharpness

4/5

Distortion Control

4/5

Aberrations

3/5

Darkening of Corners

4/5

Extra Features

4/5

-

Slow and loud AF

VERDICT
The Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS
II lens provides an affordable option
to those looking for an all-purpose
lens to complement the standard kit
lens. Certainly recommended.
Sujith Gopinath

Sub-Total

23/30

Value for Money

8/10

Grand Total

79/100

March 2014 Smart Photography

101

First Look
Triggertrap Mobile

Capability Booster
for Cameras

S

martphones have become so
smart that they have started
replacing many other gadgets.
Triggering a digital camera through
a Smartphone is the latest trend. But
Wi-Fi–based triggers can work only
with cameras and other devices with
built-in Wi-Fi. Triggertrap offers a smart
solution that can trigger even your old
digital cameras and flashguns, expanding the creative possibilities.
Triggertrap Mobile app can be used
to trigger either a compatible D-SLR
or an electronic flashgun with the help
of the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle as
an interface device. To trigger a D-SLR,
you need to purchase a connection
cable compatible with your camera. If
you need to trigger a flashgun using the
device, you have to purchase the Flash
Adaptor. The Mobile Dongle can be
102

Smart Photography March 2014

connected to your Smartphone via the
3.5mm audio jack.
The Mobile app can be used to
trigger the camera in various ways.
The options include Time Warp, Time
Lapse, Vibration/Shock Sensor, Sound
Sensor, Distance Lapse, Star Trail, Bulb
Ramping Time Lapse, Cable Release,
Long Exposure HDR, Long Exposure
HDR Time Lapse, Wi-Fi Slave, and
Wi-Fi Master. Cable Release offers
four options—Simple Cable Release
(Tap the button to release shutter),
Press and Hold (Touch to start, release
to stop), Press and Lock (Touch to
start, Touch again to stop), and Timed
Release (Choose your shutter speed
and tap on the button). Timelapse
mode allows you to trigger the device
at set intervals. Time warp, on the
other hand, allows you to trigger it

with precisely set timings. Distance
lapse allows you to trigger the device
at set intervals of distance. For this,
the app uses the in-built GPS of the
Smartphone to calculate the distance
travelled. In Star Trail mode, you
can set the number of exposures,
duration of exposure, and the time
interval between successive shots.
Bulb Ramping allows you to make a
time lapse exposure with precisely
varying exposures to take care of
the change in daylight as the day
progresses. Sound sensor makes use
of your Smartphone’s microphone to
detect the surrounding sound and
trigger the device when the sound
level crosses a set threshold value. You
can even finely adjust the sensitivity of
the microphone so that it matches the
triggering sound.
Both the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle
kit and the Flash Adaptor carry an MRP
of Rs.3500 each, while the camera
connection cable is priced at Rs.1100.
For details contact UrbanByte on +919860269323,+91-9923110080,+918888522220. Email: support@
UrbanByte.in Web site/online store:www.urbanbyte.in
Sujith Gopinath

READERS CAN CHECK THE ENTIRE BUYER’S GUIDE,
THAT FEATURES SPECS AND PRICES OF
D-SLRS, ILCCS, DIGITAL COMPACTS AND LENSES VIDE LINK

http://www.smartphotography.in/buyers-guide

March 2014 Smart Photography

103

Buyers’ Guide - Digital SLRs
CANON EOS-1D X
Sensor Type/size

priority AE, Manual
ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speed
White Balance
LCD Monitor
Storage Type
Weight

: Full Frame 36 x
24 mm CMOS
Effective Pixels
: 18.1 million
File Formats
: RAW /JPEG
Metering Modes : Multi, Centerweighted,
Average, Spot
Exposure Modes : Program AE,
Shutter priority
AE, Aperture
: 100-51200 (50, 102400 and 204800
with boost)
: 30 sec-1/8000 sec.
: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten,
White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom
(up to 5), Color Temperature (Kelvin)
: 3.2 inches/ 1040000 pixels
: Compact Flash (Type I or II),
UDMA compatible
: not announced

Sensor Type/size
Effective Pixels
Supported
File Formats

Metering Modes
Exposure Modes

:
:

ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speed
White Balance


:
:
:


LCD Monitor/Dots
Storage Type

:
:

Weight

:

Price: Rs. 4,55,995 (body only)

Effective Pixels
Supported File
Formats
ISO equivalence

Exposure Modes

:

Metering Modes

:

Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:

: JPEG (Exif 2.3 [Exif
Print] compliant)
RAW: RAW,
sRAW1, sRAW2
(14bit, Canon
original RAW 2nd edition)
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot, Partial
Auto+ Program AE, Shutter priority AE,
Aperture priority AE Manual (Stills and
Movie), Custom (x3)
100-25600 (50-102400 in expanded mode)
30 sec - 1/8000 sec
Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten
SPNO[>OP[LÅ\VYLZJLU[SPNO[-SHZO*\Z[VT
WB, Color temperature
3.2-inch, 1,040,000 dots
Compact Flash Type I (UDMA compatible),
SD/SDHC/SDXC
950 gms

Exposure Modes

:

ISO equivalence

:

Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:

: RAW/JPEG
: Auto, 100, 200,
400, 800, 1600,
3200, 6400,
12,800, 25,600
Program AE , Shutter- priority AE,
Aperture-priority AE, Manual exposure
Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centerweighted average
30 sec to 1/4000
3.0-inch/1.04 million dots
SC/SDHC/SDXC
407g

CANON EOS 1100D

CANON 700D

Sensor Type/Size : CMOS sensor
(22.5 x
15.0mm)
Effective Pixels
: Approx.
20.20MP
Supported File
Formats
: RAW/JPEG
ISO equivalence : Auto, 100, 200,
400, 800,
1600, 3200,
6400, 12800 (25600 with boost)
Exposure Modes
: Program AE , Shutter-priority AE,
Aperture-priority AE, Manual
exposure, Bulb exposure
Metering Modes
: Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Centerweighted average
Shutter Speeds
: 30 sec to 1/8000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0-inch/1.04 million dots
Storage Type
: SC/SDHC/SDXC
Weight
: 675 g

: Approx. 12
megapixel
: 22.2 x 14.7mm
CMOS
Supported File Type : RAW/JPEG
Exposure Modes : Auto, No Flash,
Creative Auto,
Scene Modes,
Movie, Program
AE, Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority
AE, Manual, A-DEP
Metering Modes
: TTL full aperture metering with 63-zone
SPC, Evaluative metering, Partial
metering, Spot metering, Center weighted.
LCD Monitor/Dots : 2.7-Inch / 230,000 dot
ISO Equivalence
: 100-6400
Shutter Speed
: 30-1/4000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop
increments), Bulb
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Weight
: 495gm

Smart Photography March 2014

Effective Pixels
Supported File
Formats

Metering Modes

:

Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:

ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/Dots
Storage Type
Weight

: RAW/JPEG/ RAW
+ JPEG
ISO equivalence
: ISO100 ISO12800
Exposure Modes
: Program AE,
Shutter-priority AE,
Aperture-priority AE, Manual exposure
Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Center-weighted
average
30 sec to 1/4000 sec
3.0-inch/1.04 million dots
SC/SDHC/SDXC
675 g

NIKON D610
Sensor Type/size
23.9 mm
Effective Pixels
Supported
File Formats
Metering Modes

,_WVZ\YL4VKLZ

: CMOS sensor
(22.5 x 15.0mm)
: Approx. 18MP

Price: Rs. 53,995

NIKON D4

Sensor Type

Price: Rs. 29,990 (with Kit EFS 18-55 IS II lens)

Sensor Type/Size

Price: Rs. 79,995 (body only)

Effective Pixels

: CMOS, 35.8mm
x 23.9mm
Effective pixels
: Approx. 20.2
million
Supported File formats: JPEG, RAW (14bit, Canon
original),
RAW+JPEG
Metering Modes : Evaluative
metering (315
zones), Partial,
Spot, Center-weighted
Program AE for movie shooting, Manual
exposure
100-25600 (expansion possible to ISO
50, ISO 51200 and 102400)
1/4000 to 30 sec.
3.0-inches, 1,040,000 dots
SD card, SDHC card, SDXC memory card
680g (Body only)

Price: Rs. 1,29,005 (body only)

CANON EOS 70D
: CMOS (22.3 x
14.9mm)
: Approx.
18.00MP

Price: Rs. 48,995 (body only)

104

Sensor Type/size

: CMOS, Full
frame 36 x 24 mm
: 22.3 million

Price: Rs. 2,06,095 (body only)

CANON EOS 100D
Sensor Type/Size

CANON EOS 6D

CANON EOS 5D MARK III

: CMOS, 36.0 x

Sensor Type/Size

: 16.2 million

Effective Pixels
Supported File
Formats
ISO Equivalence

: RAW, TIFF, JPEG
: Matrix or
center-weighted
metering: -1 to
20 EV, Spot
metering: 2 to 20 EV

!7YVNYHTTLKH\[V^P[OÅL_PISLWYVNYHT
(P); shutter-priority auto (S); aperturepriority auto (A); manual (M)
: ISO 100 to 12800 in steps of 1/3, 1/2
or 1 EV; can also be set to approx. 0.3,
0.5, 0.7 or 1 EV (ISO 50 equivalent)
: 30 secs to 1/8,000 secs in steps of 1/3,
1/2 or 1 EV, bulb, X250
: 3.2-inch, 921,000 dots
: Compact Flash (Type I, XQD) x2
: 1349 gms (including battery)

Price: Rs. 3,39,950





Metering Modes
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:
:

: CMOS sensor
(35.9 x 24.0 mm)
: 24.3 million

: NEF (RAW)/JPEG
: ISO 100-6400 in
steps of 1/3 or
1/2 EV
Exposure Modes
: Auto; scene;
programmed
H\[V^P[OÅL_PISLWYVNYHT7"
shutter-priority auto (S); aperture-priority
auto (A); manual (M)
Matrix, Center-weighted, Spot
30 sec to 1/4000 sec
3.2-inch/ approx. 921k-dot
SC/SDHC/SDXC
850 g

Price: Rs. 1,29,950 (Body only)

Buyers’ Guide - Digital SLRs
NIKON D800
Sensor Size/Type
Effective Pixels
Supported
File Formats
Metering Modes

,_WVZ\YL4VKLZ
ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/Dots
Storage Type
Weight

NIKON D3200
: CMOS, 35.9 x
24.0 mm
: 36.3 million

: RAW, TIFF, JPEG
: Multi, Centerweighted,
Average, Spot
!7YVNYHTTLKH\[V^P[OÅL_PISL
program (P); shutter-priority auto (S);
aperture-priority auto (A); manual (M)
: 100 - 6400 in 1, 1/2 or 1/3 EV steps
(50 - 25600 with boost)
: 30 secs to 1/8,000 secs in steps of 1/3,
1/2 or 1 EV, bulb, X250
: 3.2-inch, 921,000 dots
: Compact Flash (Type I), SD/SDHC/SDXC
UHS-I compliant
: 900 gms

ISO Equivalence

:

Shutter Speed
LCD Monitor
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:

: RAW/JPEG
: 3D color matrix
metering II,
Center-

weighted, Spot
: Auto, P,A,S, M
: ISO 100 to 6400 in steps of
1/3 or 1/2 EV
Shutter Speeds
: 30 to 1/8000 sec,
Flash X-Sync, Bulb
LCD Monitor/Dots : 3.0-inch / 921,000 dots
Storage Type
: SD / SD HC / SDXC
Weight
: 690 gms

ISO equivalent
Shutter speeds
LCD monitor
Storage type
Weight

:
:
:
:
:

PENTAX K50
Sensor Type/Size : APS-C sensor (23.7 x
15.7mm )
Effective Pixels : 16.3 MP
ISO Equivalence: Auto, 100 to 51600,
in 1, 1/2, 1/3 EV steps
Supported File
Formats
: RAW (PEF, DNG),
JPG (EXIF 2.30), DCF
Exposure Modes : AF.A (auto), AF.S
(single, w focus lock,
focus/shutter priority selectable), AF.C
(continuous, w focus/FPS priority
selectable), Manual
Center-Weighted Average, Spot
30 sec to 1/8000sec
3.2-inch/1037k-dot
SD/SDHC
649 g

Price: TBA

Metering Modes

:

Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:

Effective Pixels
ISO Equivalence

Exposure Modes

:

Metering Modes
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type

:
:
:
:

Weight

:

Exposure Modes

:

Metering Modes
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

:
:
:
:
:

Sensor Type/Size: CMOS sensor (23.5
x 15.6mm )
Effective Pixels : 23.35 MP
ISO Equivalence : Auto: ISO 100-51200
(1, 1/2, 1/3 steps),
Auto ISO range
selectable
Supported File
Formats
: RAW (PEF, DNG),
JPG (EXIF 2.30), DCF
Green, Hyper Program (P), Sensitivity
Priority (Sv), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture
Priority (Av), Shutter and Aperture Priority
(Tav), Metered Manual (M), Bulb, X-Speed
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
30 sec to 1/8000sec
3.2-inch/1037k-dot
SD/SDHC/SDXC
799 g

SONY ALPHA SLT A99
: Exmor APS HD
CMOS sensor
(23.2 x 15.4mm)
: 20.1 MP
: Auto, 100, 200,
400, 800, 1600,
3200, 6400,
12800, 16000

Supported File
Formats
: RAW/JPEG
iAUTO, Flash Off, Superior Auto, Scene
Selection, Sweep Panorama, Picture Effect,
Continuous Advance, Priority AE, Movie,
Programmed AE (P), Aperture priority (A),
Shutter-speed priority (S), Manual (M)
1200-zone evaluative metering
30 sec to 1/4000 sec
2.7-inch Type 460,800-dot
Memory Stick PRO Duo, PRO-HG Duo,
XC-HG Duo, SD/SDHC/SDXC.
492 g

Price: Rs. 45,990

: NEF (RAW)/JPEG
: Auto, 100 - 12800
(25600 with boost)
Exposure Modes
: Auto; programmed

 H\[V^P[OÅL_PISL
program (P);
shutter-priority auto (S); aperture-priority
auto (A); manual (M); scene modes;
special effects modes
Matrix, colour Matrix, Center-weighted,
Spot
30 sec to 1/4000 sec
3.2-inch, approx. 1037k-dot
SC and UHS-I compliant SDHC/SDXC
480 g

Price: TBA

SONY SLT A58
Sensor Type/Size

: CMOS sensor (23.5
x 15.6 mm)
: 24.2 million

PENTAX K3

: 24.1 million
: 23.5x15.6mm,
CMOS
Metering modes
: Matrix,
Center-weighted,
Spot
Exposure modes
: A, P (with
Flexible P), S, M
100-6400, extended up to 25,600
30-1/8000sec, plus Bulb
3.2”, 1,228,800 dots
SD, SDHC, SDXC
675g, body only

Price: TBA

Price: Rs. 64,450 (Body only)

:
:
:
:
:

Effective Pixels
Supported File
Formats
ISO Equivalence

Effective pixels
Sensor size/type

: CMOS, 23.1 x
15.4 mm
: 16.2 million

Exposure Mode
ISO Eqivalence

Metering Modes
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type
Weight

Sensor Type/Size

Price: Rs. 59,950 (with AF-S 18-55mm VR Kit Lens)

NIKON D7100

NIKON D7000
Effective Pixels
Supported
File Formats
Metering Modes

: 23.2 x 15.4 mm ,
CMOS
Effective Pixels
: 24.2 megapixels
File Formats
: RAW/JPEG
Metering Modes : Matrix, Centerweighted, Spot
Exposure Modes : Programmed
auto with

 ÅL_PISLWYVNYHT
(P), Shutterpriority
(S), Aperture priority (A), Manual (M)
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200,
6400 (12800 with boost)
30 sec -1/4000 sec in steps of 1/3 EV
3.0-inch, 921,000 dots
SD/SDHC/SDXC UHS-I compliant
505 gms

Price: Rs. 32,250 (body only)

Price: Rs. 1,59,950 (body only)

Sensor Type/Size

NIKON D5300

Sensor Type

ISO Equivalence

:

Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage Type

:
:
:

Weight

:

Sensor Type
: CMOS, 35.8 x 23.8 mm
Effective Pixels
: 24.3 million
Supported File Formats : MPEG-4, AVCHD,
H.264
Metering Modes
: Multi, Center-weighted,
Spot
Exposure Modes
: iAuto, Superior Auto,
Program, Aperture
Priority, Shutter Priority,
Manual
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400,
12800, 25600
1/8000 to 30 sec.
3 inch, 1,229,000 dots
Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo;
SD, SDHC and SDXC
812g (Body only)

Price: Rs. 1,52,000

March 2014 Smart Photography

105

Buyers’ Guide - ILCCs (Mirrorless)
FUJIFILM X-E1

Effective Pixels
Sensor size/type
File formats
Metering modes
Exposure modes
ISO equivalent
Shutter speeds
LCD monitor
Storage type
Weight

: 16.3 million
: 23.5x15.6mm, CMOS
: JPEG, Raw, Raw+JPEG
: 256-zone. Multi, Spot, Average
: A, P, S, M
: 200-6400, extended up
to 25,600
: 30-1/4000sec, plus Bulb, Time
: 2.8”, 460,000 dots
: SD, SDHC, SDXC
: 350g, including battery

FUJIFILM X-M1

Sensor Type/Size

: APS-C X-Trans CMOS
(23.6mm x 15.6mm)
Effective Pixels
: 16 MP
ISO equivalence
: Auto / ISO 200 - 6400
Supported File Formats : RAW/JPEG
Exposure Modes
: Advanced SR AUTO, Program
AE, Shutter Priority, Aperture
Priority, Manual, Custom,
Portrait, Landscape, Sport, SP,
Adv., AUTO
Metering Modes
: Multi, Average, Spot
Shutter Speeds
: 30 sec to 1/4000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0-inch Type 920K-dot
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I)
Weight
: 330 g

Price: TBA

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M5

Effective Pixels
Sensor Type/Size
Metering Modes
Exposure Modes
ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/Dots
Storage Type
Weight

: 16.1 million
: Sensor Size/Type: 4/3 Live MOS Sensor
: Multi Center-weighted, Spot
: i Auto, P: Program AE (Program
shift can be performed)
: UTO: ISO 200 - 25600 (customizable,
Default 200-1600) / Manual ISO 200 25600, 1/3 or 1 EV steps selectable
: 11/4000 - 60 sec. (1/3, 1/2, or 1EV steps
selectable.)Bulb: default setting 8min.
(1/2/4/8/15/20/25/30 min.
: 3.0-inch tilting OLED monitor
Approx. 610,000 dots
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
: 425 gms (excluding battery)
Price: Rs. 66,990/-

OLYMPUS OM-D E-M1

Sensor Type/Size
Effective Pixels
ISO equivalence

: CMOS sensor (17.3 x 13 mm)
: 16MP
: 100-25600 in 1/3EV or
1EV increments
Supported File
: JPEG/RAW (ORF)/ MPO
Exposure Modes
: Auto/Program, Shutter Priority,
Aperture priority, Manual,
7OV[VZ[VY`(Y[
!(Y[ÄS[LY:*54V]PL
Metering Modes
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Shutter Speeds
: 60 sec to 1/8000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3-inch 1037 k-dot
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC , Eye-Fi
Movie
: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264/Motion
JPEG
Weight
: 497 g
Price: Rs. 1,59,000

106

Smart Photography March 2014

NIKON 1 V 2

Effective Pixels
Sensor Size/ Type
Metering Modes
Exposure Modes
ISO equivalence
Shutter Speed
LCD Monitor/ Dots
Storage type
Weight

Price: Rs. 47,999

OLYMPUS PEN E-P3

Effective Pixels
Sensor Type/Size
Shake Reduction
Exposure Modes
Metering Modes
ISO Sensitivity
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/Dots
Built-in-Flash
Storage Card
Weight

: 12.3 million
: Live MOS sensor, 17.3 x 13.0 mm
: Sensor Shift
: iAuto, Program AE (with shift),
Aperture priority AE, Scene select
: Digital ESP, Center-Weighted
Average, Spot (1%) Highlight
based spot, Shadow based spot
: Auto : ISO 200 – 12800,
Manual ISO 100 - 12800
: 60-1/4000 sec.
: 3.0-inch/ 614,000 dots
: No
: SD, SDHC, SDXC
: 321gms.

Price: TBA

OLYMPUS PEN E-PL5

Effective Pixels
Seensor Size/ Type
Metering Modes
ISO

: 16.1 million
: 17.3 x 13 mm, CMOS
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
: Auto (200 - 1600), 100, 200, 400,
800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
Exposure Modes
: P, A, S, M , Bulb, Time, iAuto, Scene Modes, Art Filter
ISO equivalence
: Auto ISO 200 - 25600 (customis
able, default ISO 200 – 1600),
Manual ISO 200 - 25600 in 1/3 or
1 EV ISO steps
Shutter Speeds
: 60-1/4000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3-inch, 460,000 dots
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
Weight
: 279g (body only)
Price: TBA

Price: Rs. 41,990/- (with 14-42mm 11R F3.5-5.6 lens Rs. 48,990/-)

PANASONIC DMC GF5

Effective Pixels
Sensor Type/Size
Metering Modes
Exposure Modes
ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speed
LCD Monitor
Storage Type
Weight

: 12.10 Megapixels
: Live MOS Sensor
: Intelligent Multiple / Center
Weighted / Spot
: Program AE / Aperture Priority
AE / Shutter Priority AE / Manual
: Auto, 160, 200, 400, 800,
1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
: 60 sec - 1/4000 sec
: 3-inch, 920,000 dots
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
:267 gms

Price: Rs. 39,990/-

: 14.2 million
: 13.2 x 8.8 mm, CMOS
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
: P, S, A, M, Scene Auto Selector
: 160-6400
: 30-1/16000 sec
: 3-inch, 921,000 dots
: SD, SDHC, SDXC
: 278g

PANASONIC DMC G6

Sensor Type/Size
Effective Pixels
ISO equivalence

: CMOS sensor (17.3 x 13 mm)
: 16 MP
: Auto / 160, 200, 400, 800,
1600, 3200, 6400, 12800,
25600 (Extended)
Supported File
: RAW/JPEG/MPO Video:
MPEG4/AVCHD
Exposure Modes
: Program AE / Aperture Priority
AE / Shutter Priority AE / Manual
Metering Modes
: Intelligent Multiple / Center
Weighted / Spot
Shutter Speeds
: 60 sec to 1/4000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0-inch Type 1036k-dot
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
Weight
: 390 g
Price: Rs 59,990

Buyers’ Guide - ILCCs (Mirrorless)
PANASONIC DMC-GH3

Effective Pixels
Sensor Size/ Type
Metering Modes
Exposure Modes

: 16.05 million
: 17.3 x 13.0 mm, Live MOS Sensor
: Intelligent Multiple / Spot
: Program AE/Aperture Priority
AE/Shutter Priority AE / Manual
ISO equivalence
: Auto / Intelligent ISO / 200 - 12800
(Changeable to 1/3, 1 EV step)
(Extended ISO125 - less under 200,
ISO more over 12800 - 25600
available) (Up to ISO3200 in Auto)
Shutter speeds
: Still Images: 1/4,000 - 60 and Bulb and
Motion Images: 1/16,000 - 1/30
LCD monitor/ Dots : 3 inch, 614K dots
Storage Type
: SD/ SDHC/ SDXC
Weight
: 460 g

PANASONIC DMC GX-1

Effective Pixels
Sensor Type/Size
Exposure Modes
Metering Modes
ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speeds
LCD Monitor/Dots
Storage Type
Weight

: 16.0 million
: Sensor Size/Type: 4/3 Live MOS Sensor
: Program AE / Aperture Priority AE /
Shutter Priority AE / Manual / Auto
: Intelligent Multiple / Center
Weighted / Spot
: Auto, Intelligent ISO 160 – ISO 12800
: 60 -1/4000 sec, Bulb (up to approx
2 mins) Flash X-sync 1/160 sec
: 3.0-inch, 460,000 dots
: SD/ SDHC/ SDXC Memory Card
(Compatible with UHS-I standard
SDHC / SDXC Memory Cards)
: 272 gms (body only)

Price: Rs. 86,363 (only body)

PENTAX Q10

Sensor Type/Size
Effective Pixels
ISO equivalence

: CMOS 1/2,3-inch Type
: 12.4 MP
: ISO 100 to 6400 (1/3 EV
steps)
Supported File
: RAW/JPEG video: MPEG-4
AVC/H.264
Exposure Modes
: Auto, Scene, P, S, M Bulb,
Blur control
Metering Modes
: TTL image sensor, Segment,
Center-weighted metering
and Spot
Shutter Speeds
: 30 sec to 1/8000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0-inch 460k-dot
Storage Type
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
Weight
: 200 g

Effective pixels
Sensor size/type
File formats
Metering modes
Exposure modes
ISO equivalent
Shutter speeds
LCD monitor
Storage type
Weight

: 16.1 Million
: 23.5x15.6mm Exmor APS
HD CMOS
: JPEG, Raw, Raw+JPEG
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
: Auto, P, A, S, M
: 100 -3200
: 30-1/4000 sec, Bulb
: 3” Type wide TFT, 921,600 dots
: SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory
Stick PRO Duo/PRO-HG Duo
: 276g with battery and card

Price: Rs. 39,990/-

Sensor Type/Size
Effective Pixels
ISO equivalence
Supported File

: BSI-CMOS
: 12.4 MP
: 100 to 12800 (1/3 EV steps)
: RAW/ JPEG / DCF 2.0 compliant.
Video: MPEG–4 AVC/H.264
Exposure Modes
: Program Auto Exposure, Shutter
Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual
Exposure, Bulb, Blur Control,
Macro, Night Scene Portrait,
Night Scene, Blue Sky, Forest
Metering Modes
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Shutter Speeds
: 30 sec to 1/2000 sec
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0-inch Type 460k-dot
:[VYHNL;`WL
!:+:+/*:+?*,`LÄJHYK
Weight
: 200 g
Price: TBA

Price: TBA

SAMSUNG NX 300

Effective pixels
Sensor size/type
File formats
Metering modes
Exposure modes
ISO equivalent
Shutter speeds
LCD monitor
Storage type
Weight

: 20.3 Million
: 23.5 x 15.7mm CMOS
: JPEG, Raw
: Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot
: Smart Auto, P, A, S, M
: 100-25,600
: 30-1/6000 sec
: 3.31 inch AMOLED
with Touch
: SD, SDHC, SDXC
: 284 g (without battery)

SAMSUNG NX1000

Effective Pixels
Sensor Type/Size
Metering Modes
Exposure Modes

ISO Equivalence
Shutter Speed
LCD Monitor
Storage Type
Weight

Price: TBA

Price: TBA

SONY NEX-5R

PENTAX Q7

SONY NEX-6

Effective pixels
Sensor size/ type
Metering modes
Exposure modes

: 16.1 million approx.
: 23.5 X 15.6mm, CMOS sensor
: Multi-segment, Center-weighted, Spot
: iAUTO, Superior Auto, Programmed
AE (P), Manual (M), Sweep Panorama
ISO equivalence
: Still images: Auto (ISO 100-3200),
Selectable (ISO 100-25600)
Movies: Auto (ISO 100-3200)
Shutter Speed
: Still images: 1/4000 to 30s (Bulb). Movies:
1/4000 to 1/4 (1/3 steps) up to 1/60 in
AUTO mode (up to 1/30 in Auto slow shutter)
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 3.0 inch, 921,600 dots
Storage Type
: Memory Stick PRO Duo™, PRO-HG
Duo™, SD, SDHC, SDXC memory card
Weight
: 287 g
Price: Rs. 45,200

: 20.3 megapixels
: APS-C type CMOS,
23.5 x 15.7 mm
: Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
: Program, Aperture Priority,
Shutter Priority, Manual,
Lens Priority, Magic, cene,
Movie, Wi-Fi
: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800,
1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
(1 or 1/3EV step)
: 30 sec - 1/4000 sec
: 3-inch, 921,000 dots
: SD/SDHC/SDXC
: 222 gms
Price: TBA

SONY NEX - 7

Effective pixels
Sensor type

: Approx. 24.3 megapixels
: APS-C type (23.5x15.6mm),
“Exmor” APS HD CMOS sensor
Metering Modes
: Multi / Center / Spot selectable
Exposure Modes
: Programmed AE (iAUTO, P), Aperture
priority (A), Manual (M), 3D Sweep
Panorama, Anti Motion Blur
ISO equivalence
: AUTO (ISO100-1600), ISO100
to 16000 selectable
Shutter Speed
: 1/4000 to 30 sec, Bulb
LCD Monitor/ Dots : 7.6 cm (3.0-type) wide type TFT,
921,600 dots
Storage Type
: Memory Stick PRO Duo / PRO-HG
Duo and SD/SDHC/SDXC card
Weight
: Approx. 291g
Price: Rs. 46,000

March 2014 Smart Photography

107

Lens Nomenclature Guide
Lens manufacturers use different suffixes to identify certain lens characteristics.
Here they are, along with simple explanation (wherever required) of how they help.
Rohinton Mehta

CANON
DO
EF
EF-S
IS
L

NIKON
AF-S
CRC
D
DX
FX
ED
G
N
IF
RF

: Diffractive Optics: Special lens elements that reduce colour aberrations to the minimum, thus
improving image quality.
: Denotes that the lens is designed for full-frame cameras
: Denotes that the lens is designed for APS-C cameras
: Image Stabiliser: Helps to eliminate/reduce blur caused by camera movement during exposure.
: ‘Luxury’-series lens: Canon’s high-end, professional lenses.

: Denotes that the lens is using a Silent Wave Motor: For fast and quiet autofocus
: Close Range Correction: Allows lenses to focus closer, while still maintaining good sharpness. This is
done using a ‘floating lens element’ design. Generally used in macro and wide-angle lenses.
: Distance information passed on to the camera body: Helps to provide more accurate exposures
: APS-C camera lens
: Full-frame camera lens
: Extra Low Dispersion glass element: Corrects for chromatic aberrations
: Lens without aperture ring; aperture is controlled from the camera body
: Nano Crystal Coat: Greatly reduces flare due to internal reflections of light.
: Internal focussing: Instead of moving all the elements further away or closer to the film/sensor to
focus, IF lenses move only certain internal elements. This allows for much faster focussing.
: Rear Focussing: Similar to IF but only the rear group of elements move to focus the lens.

OLYMPUS
ED
: Low Dispersion glass element: Corrects for chromatic aberrations

PANASONIC
OIS
: Optical Image Stabilizer: Helps to eliminate/reduce blur caused by camera movement during exposure.
Mega OIS : Mega Optical Image Stabilizer
Power OIS : Power Optical Image Stabilizer: A superior design of Mega OIS.
ED
: Low Dispersion glass element: Corrects for chromatic aberrations

108

Smart Photography March 2014

SIGMA
APO
ASP
DC
DG
HSM
OS
RF
EX

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Apochromatic lens element: Corrects for chromatic as well as spherical aberrations
Aspherical lens element: Corrects chromatic aberrations
APS-C camera lens
Full-frame camera lens
Hyper Sonic Motor: Internal motor, for fast and quiet autofocus
Optical Stabiliser: Helps to eliminate/reduce blur caused by camera movement during exposure
Rear Focussing: Only the rear group of elements move to focus the lens
‘Excellent’ series lens

TAMRON
AD
USD
ASL
Di
Di-II
HID
LD
IRF
VC
PZD

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Anomalous Dispersion element: Eliminates lateral chromatic aberration
UltraSonic Silent Drive
Aspherical lens element: Corrects chromatic aberrations
Digitally integrated: Full-frame camera lens designed for digital cameras
Digitally integrated: APS-C camera lens
High Index Dispersion glass element: Special glass for improving optical performance
Low Dispersion glass: Corrects for chromatic aberrations
Internal Rear Focussing: Only the rear group of elements move to focus the lens
Vibration Correction: Helps to eliminate/reduce blur caused by camera movement during exposure
Piezo Drive: Internal motor, for fast and quiet autofocus

TOKINA
AT-X
PRO
SD

: ‘Advanced Technology Extra’- range of lenses
: Professional lens
: Super-low Dispersion element: Corrects chromatic aberrations

PENTAX
SDM
DA

: Sonic Direct-drive Motor: Internal motor, for fast and quiet autofocus
: APS-C camera lens

SONY
DT

: APS-C camera lens

March 2014 Smart Photography

109

Glossary

Jargon
Photographic

Terms used in photography can often confuse a photographer, especially a beginner. Here is a list of
photographic jargon, with as-simple-as-possible explanations.
Rohinton Mehta

APS-C: Describes a imaging sensor size
or a camera using this size of sensor.

APS-C

24mm

Full
Frame

15.7mm

36mm

23.7mm

APS-C stands for Advance Photo
System, type C . Sensor size 15.7 x
23.7mm approximately. Varies slightly
between manufacturers
Aperture: Set of metal blades
that control the amount of light
entering a lens (same as Diaphragm)
AVCHD: Advanced Video Coding
High Definition. A format for digital
recording and playback
AF Sensor: A sensor used in achieving
autofocus
Buffer: Temporary storage of data
before the images are written to the
memory card
Sensor

110

Buffer

Memory
card

Smart Photography March 2014

Bridge camera:
Describes a
camera that
fits between a
compact and
a D-SLR. Also
known as Prosumer camera
Ballhead: (Used on a tripod). Performs
similar functions as a
pan and tilt head but
uses a central ball as
a pivot to allow for
camera movements
Battery Grip: A
device that attaches to the base
of a D-SLR.
The battery
grip, not only
provides
better grip
for vertical shooting, but uses extra
batteries to supply power to the
camera when the camera battery
dies down. In some cases, it helps
to increase the frames-per-second
firing rate
Burst mode: A camera mode that
allows continuous firing

Barrel distortion: The outward
bulging of
straight lines
in the centre
of the frame
due to lens
imperfection
Bit: Refers
to a binary digit – the smallest unit of
computer data, either 0 or 1
Bit depth: A measure of the number of
possible colours/tones in an image. Our
images are basically formed using the
three primary colours (also known as
channels), red, green and blue. JPEG
files are 8-bits per channel (which is the
same thing as 24-bit. When we say 24bit, we should not say “per channel”).
Raw files can be 12-bits per
channel or 14-bits per channel, that is
36-bit or 42-bit respectively
Bracketing: A method of taking three
or more shots in succession (using
different exposures), with a hope that at
least one of them will be accurate. We
also bracket when shooting for HDR
imaging. Bracketing could also be for
White Balance and ISO

Glossary

CCD/CMOS: Types of imaging
sensors. CCD stands for Charged
Coupled Device. CMOS stands
for Complementary Metal-Oxide
Semiconductor
Compact camera:
Describes a small,
point-and-shoot
type of camera
Center-weighted meter: One of the
in-built exposure meter that places
greater emphasises on the central area
of the frame. The user generally has
the choice of selecting the area (8, 12,
20mm circle at the center)
Circular Polariser (CPL): A polarising
filter designed to be used with digital
cameras (as well as certain film cameras).
A CPL prevents secondary polarisation
of light at the reflex mirror, thereby
preventing exposure/focussing error.
Contrast-detection AF: A system
of autofocussing wherein the camera
uses contrast as the basis of evaluating
correct focus
Chromatic Aberration: The inability
of all the three primary colours (Red,
Green, Blue) to focus on the same
plane. This manifests itself in the form
of colour fringing at the edges and is
most noticeable against high-contrast
elements in the picture
Clipping: Overexposing of highlights.
Underexposing of shadows.
Crop factor: A factor by which the
focal length of a lens needs to be
multiplied to get the equivalent focal
length of a full frame 35mm sensor
Close-up lens/filter: A magnifying
glass that is attached to the front of a
lens to make the lens focus closer. The
magnifications are described by the
term ‘dioptre’. Eg. +1, +2, +3 etc.

CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black.
These are the colours used in books/
magazines printing
Colour temperature: A measure of
the colour of light.
D-SLR: Digital
Single Lens Reflex
camera. An
interchangeable
lens camera that
uses a reflex mirror
for viewing
Diaphragm: Set of
metal blades that
control the amount
of light entering
a lens (same as
Aperture)
Depth-of-field: The zone of sharpness
in a photo.
DOF Preview Button: A button on the
camera that allows you to visually check
the depth-of-field.
Dynamic Range: The range of brightness
that can be captured by a film or digital
imaging sensor. This range is much
lower than the dynamic range of our eyes
Digital zoom: In-camera electronic
enlargement of the central area of
a frame. Use of digital zoom should
be avoided if high image quality is
required. The same effect can be
achieved during post-processing, by
cropping an area and enlarging it
DPI: Dots Per Inch. A measure of print
resolution
Diffuser: (1) A camera filter that softens
an image (generally used with portraits).
(2) Any material that softens
the light from a ‘hard light source’ like
the sun or a flashgun. Placed between
the light source and the subject

Exposure meter: A light-meter that
recommends the aperture and shutter
speed for a given lighting condition.
An exposure meter can be
built into the camera or can
be an external hand-held
variety. To use any light
meter, you first need to set
the ISO sensitivity.
EVF: Short form of
Electronic View Finder
Evaluative meter: One of the in-built
exposure meter that divides the frame
into various segments and based on
thousands of pre-set exposures built
into the camera’s memory, selects a
suitable exposure depending on the
lighting conditions and the set ISO
sensitivity. Also known as Segmented/
Matrix meter
Frame rate: A measure of how many
frames a camera can fire in one second
Flare: Image degrading, unwanted
reflection of light within the lens
Full-frame: Denotes a camera/imaging
sensor that is the same size as a 35mm
film (24 x 36mm)
Focal plane: Describes the location
of the film/imaging sensor within the
camera
Focal plane shutter: A type of shutter
used in SLRs/D-SLRs. This shutter is
placed in front of the film/sensor.
Focal length: In a simple convex lens
(a magnifying glass for example) and
with light coming from infinity – the

Focal Length

March 2014 Smart Photography

111

Glossary

distribution of tones in an image. The
horizontal axis shows the gradation of
tones from the darkest to the left, to the
brightest at the right. The vertical axis
shows how many pixels are there in any
particular tone.
112

Smart Photography March 2014

Intervalometer: A device that allows
you to automatically take pictures at
fixed intervals
IS: Image Stabilizer– a feature that
eliminates/reduces the effect of handshake (Originally a Canon Moniker)
ILCC: Interchangeable Lens
Compact Camera. Describes a
mirror-less digital camera with
interchangeable lenses,
Incident Light Meter: A hand-held
light meter that reads the amount of
light incident to (falling on) the subject.
(see image, Exposure meter)
Interpolation: (As related to digital
imaging) The act of introducing new
elements (pixels) in an image

Linear Polariser (PL): A polarising
filter designed to be used with film
cameras that do not use a ‘light-splitter’
in the exposure metering system
Live View: A camera feature that allows
the LCD to be used as a viewfinder
LCD: Liquid Crystal Display – the display
(monitor) at the rear of digital cameras
Luminosity: Brightness of colour,
without considering hue or saturation
LZW: An option while saving TIFF files.
LZW compresses the file size without
loss of data. LZW actually stands for
– Lempel – Ziv – Welch, the names of
three persons who devised it
Matrix meter: See Evaluative meter
Multi-segmented meter: See
Evaluative meter
Micro Four Thirds: A sensor format
jointly created by Kodak, Olympus and
36mm

JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
– a compressed (data losing) file format
Jitter: Another way to describe the
effects of hand-shake
Kelvin: A unit of measurement of colour
temperature based on absolute zero.
Lateral CA:
Chromatic
aberration in
which all the
colours are in focus in the same plane but
are not placed along the optical axis
Longitudenal CA: Chromatic
aberration
in which
different
colours do
not focus at the same point
Leaf shutter: A type of shutter used in
rangefinder cameras. Situated between
the lens elements

Full
Frame

Micro Four
Thirds

24mm

H.264: A standard for video
compression
Hardware: (In terms of computers)
The physical elements that make up a
computer system
HDR Imaging: High Dynamic Range
Imaging. A technique of extending the
dynamic range beyond the normal
capacity of the imaging sensor. Three (or
more) shots are taken from various areas
of the scene (one from the shadows, one
from the highlights and one from the midtones) and then combined in a computer
program to create a picture with good
detail in shadows as well as highlights.
HDR technique is used when the lighting
contrast is very high.
Histogram: A graph showing the

HSB: Hue, Saturation, Brightness. The
standard colour model for adjusting
colour in image editing programs

13mm

distance between the vertical centre
of the lens and the point where the
light rays meet. Focal length tells us how
much of the scene will be covered by
the lens and what the magnification will
be
Firmware: A downloadable software
offered by the camera manufacturer.
Generally used to upgrade/improve
on a camera’s performance
Filter: (As applicable to a camera) A thin
glass/plastic or gelatine placed in front
of the lens to modify the colour/quality/
quantity of light entering the lens

17mm

Panasonic. Sensor size approx. 13 x
17mm
MOV: A common multi-media format
for saving movies and other video films.
Macro lens: A special lens designed
for life-size (1:1) photography
Memory card: The removable module
within a digital camera, that stores the
images
Mid-tone: Average tone. Neither too
dark or too light; an in-between tone
Noise: The digital equivalent of film
grain. Noise is caused mainly due to
underexposure.
Normal lens: A lens having a focal
length equivalent to the diagonal of the
given format

Glossary

Optical Viewfinder: The normal
viewing device in a camera, through
which you view and frame a subject.
It uses optical glass as opposed
to Electronic Viewfinder that uses
electronic circuitry to boost the
information within
Pan and Tilt head: A camera support
used along with a
tripod, that allows
the camera to be
tilted (up/down)
and
panned
sideways. It is different from a ‘ballhead’ in that it uses separate levers to
control the pan and tilt
Perspective Control/Tilt-Shift lens:
A special lens designed for correcting
perspective distortion
Polariser: A filter that cuts off polarised
light from entering the lens. This filter,
when used correctly, has the ability to
darken blue sky, cut reflections from
water, glass, painted metal, wood,
paper etc.
Phase-detection AF: A method of
autofocussing that splits the image
in two and compares the images for
similar light intensity patterns
Perspective: The size relationship
between the foreground, mid-ground
and background objects in a photo.
Pin cushion
distortion:
The inward
pulling of
straight lines in
the centre of
the frame due
to lens imperfection.
Prosumer camera: Same as Bridge
camera
Partial metering: Found mostly in
Canon cameras, roughly 10-15% of the

frame is measured in the centre.
Pixel: The building block of any digital
image; the smallest unit of any digital
image. Short form of Picture Element
Plug-in: A software designed to
supplement a computer program’s
performance or features. Generally
created by third parties
PPI: Pixels Per Inch. A measure of image
resolution (applies to images on the
computer screen)
Raw: Refers to the data received
directly from the imaging sensor,
without any image parameters applied
to it
Reflected Light meter: A light meter
that reads the amount of light reflected
from a subject. Light meters built into
cameras are reflected light meters.
RGB: The primary colours (Red, Green,
Blue) of the additive colour system
RAID: Redundant Array of
Independent Disks. A stack of hard
disks, functioning as one
Reflector: Any material that can reflect
some light back onto a subject
Resampling: The act of increasing or
decreasing the resolution of an image
by interpolation
Sensor: (Imaging Sensor): Digital
equivalent of film.
Spot meter: One of the in-built
exposure meter that reads a very small
area of the frame (typically 3-5% area).
External, hand-held 1-degree spot
meters are also
available.
Softbox: A
type of light
modifier,
generally used
with studio
lights

Software: A computer program that
instructs a computer what to do, when
to do and how to do
TIFF: Tagged Image File Format – a
lossless file format
Telephoto lens: A lens having an
angle-of-view narrower than that of a
Normal lens (Eg. 70, 85,
100, 200, 300mm etc)
Teleconverter: A lens
that fits between the
camera body and the
main lens. Its job is to
increase the focal length, thereby
offering a larger image
Umbrella: A light modifier in the shape
of an umbrella
VR: Stands for Vibration Reduction –
a feature that eliminates/reduces the
effect of hand-shake
White Balance: A process of getting
rid of colour casts. White objects
should appear white in prints (there
could be several reasons why that may
not be so). Once white objects appear
white, all other colours appear without
any colour casts
Wide-angle lens: A lens having an
angle-of-view greater than that of a
Normal lens (Eg. 35, 28, 24, 20mm etc)
X-sync speed: Shutter speeds
compatible with electronic flash
Zoom lens: A lens having multiple focal
lengths

March 2014 Smart Photography

113

SP Recommends
Compact Cameras
Canon PowerShot
G15

Canon PowerShot
G1X

Fujifilm Finepix
X100s

Nikon Coolpix
P7800

Nikon Coolpix
A

The G15 is the latest
in Canon’s G-series
and one of very few
compact cameras
to offer an optical
viewfinder. With a
12.1-megapixel 1/1.7inch Type CMOS
sensor, a 28-140mm
F/1.8-2.8 lens, and a
3” LCD, the camera
handles extremely well
and produces superb
pictures.

Canon’s G1X has
excellent build quality
in a compact camera.
With a 14.3MP sensor,
a 28-112mm F/2.8-5.6
lens, and an optical
viewfinder as well
as a tilt-and-swivel
LCD panel, the G1X
is highly impressive,
with its excellent noise
control, outstanding
White Balance
performance, and
quality images.

The Fujifilm Finepix
X100s comes with a 16
MP APS-C size CMOS
sensor, paired with a
35mm equivalent f/2
lens and a 2.8” LCD
screen. The X100’s
noise control and
hybrid viewfinder are
very impressive, and
it produces pleasing
pictures with good
accuracy.

The Coolpix 7800
is Nikon’s top
professional compact.
It features a 12.2
megapixel 1/1.7inch Type CMOS
sensor, a 28-200mm
f/2.0-4.0 lens, a 3”
articulated LCD
monitor and an EVF.
Overall, the Coolpix
7800 produces very
good results, with an
impressive Auto White
Balance system.

The Nikon Coolpix A,
reviewed in this edition
of SP, comes with a 16.2
MP APS-C sized CMOS
sensor, and a fixed 18.5
mm (28mm equivalent)
f/2.8 lens attached to
the camera. The 3”
LCD helps monitor the
image to be captured.
Given its mouth
watering specifications,
the Nikon Coolpix A
is certainly a worthy
addition to this list.

Olympus
XZ-2

Panasonic Lumix
DMC TZ40

Panasonic Lumix
DMC FZ200

Sony Cyber-shot
DSC RX1

Sony Cyber-shot
RX100 II

The Olympus XZ-2 has
a new 12MP backilluminated 1/1.7-inch
Type CMOS sensor,
and features a 28112mm f/1.8-2.5 Zuiko
lens and a tiltable
touch-sensitive 3”
LCD monitor. Overall,
the Olympus XZ-2 is
a very capable and
pocketable compact
camera.

The TZ40 is the
successor to the TZ30
in Panasonic’s popular
TZ (Travel Zoom)
series. Featuring the
first ever 18.1 MP MOS
sensor, a 24-480mm
F/3.3-6.4 lens, and a
3” touch screen, the
camera, with its Leica
lens, ensures optimum
picture quality, and
overall results are
impressive.

Panasonic’s FZ200
is a bridge camera.
Equipped with a
12.1MP high-sensitivity
MOS sensor, a unique
25-600mm F/2.8 Leica
lens with 24x optical
zoom, and a tilt-andswivel monitor, the
FZ200 impresses
with good and fast
autofocus, reliable
metering and overall
image quality.

The RX 1 is the world’s
first compact camera
with a full size 24.3 MP
CMOS sensor. It has
a Carl Zeiss Sonnar
35mm f/2 lens that
can be switched to
macro mode. There is a
built in 3” LCD screen.
Anyone wanting a
compact camera that
produces high quality
results should look at
the RX1.

Sony’s RX100 has a
unique 20.2 MP 1-inch
Type CMOS sensor.
Along with a 29-105mm
F/1.8-4.9 lens, and a
3” LCD, the camera is
exceptionally light at
254g. Image quality
and handling are top
notch and the RX100
II is certainly to be
considered if you want
a high quality compact
camera that is also
pocketable.

114

Smart Photography March 2014

PHOTOGRAPHY INSTITUTE

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PHOTO PRODUCT AND ACCESSORIES

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DIGITAL CAMERA AND ACCESSORIES

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Tidbits

VIDEO IN D-SLRs
AND MIRRORLESS
CAMERAS

I

n this era of convergence, we are now quite used to
having a still and video feature in one camera. The
first D-SLR to offer a video feature as well was the
Nikon D90. The system offered by the D90, however,
was very restricted because the camera could not
autofocus during video capture.
Panasonic has been in the forefront of video
technology, courtesy its camcorders. The Lumix
GH3 has been widely acknowledged to currently
offer the best video performance of any mirrorless
camera. Panasonic has done so by providing full
time autofocus in video including autofocus tracking.
How has Panasonic done so? Firstly, Panasonic
has developed a special heat-dispersing design to
enable longer recording times. Overheating was an
issue that plagued many earlier D-SLRs in the past.
Secondly, users can record video in either the most
space-efficient AVCHD format or a more compatible
MP4 file format. The GH3 has also introduced a new
H.264 format for increased flexibility in editing and
color correction. Yet again with the GH3, video can
be recorded for an unlimited time rather than the
30 minutes restriction that its predecessor, the GH2
had. This means, the GH3 can record as long as your
memory card has space. Panasonic also use contrast
detection autofocus rather than phase detection
thereby ensuring that the camera focuses like a

146

Smart Photography March 2014

rangefinder and quickly moves into focus.
Canon has also recently introduced new
technologies for video. Canon’s new SLRs now use
contrast detection autofocus off the sensor and
this system can be very accurate as well as quick.
Secondly, Canon has introduced autofocus lenses
with stepping motors i.e STM to improve autofocus
in video. Canon, you will remember, was the first to
engineer ultrasonic autofocus motors in its lenses.
However, this ultrasonic system did not work too well
with video and resulted in both noise and vibration.
The stepping motor was brought in to smoothen
the focusing in a gentle and precise manner. With
contrast detection autofocus, Canon’s STM lenses are
quieter than their ultrasonic counterparts. However,
when the phase detection autofocus system is used,
Canon’s ultrasonic lenses still have an edge on the
noise front. Canon has also introduced moving servo
autofocus. This system enables a camera to detect
which direction to move the lens in focus thereby
making it quicker. All these measures have been taken
to make the video feature in Canon cameras more
attractive.
As the video in still cameras continues to improve,
expect to see more new technologies.
H. S. Billimoria

148

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