Smart Photography 201404

REVIEWS: HEAD-TO-HEAD: NIKON D800 VS SONY ALPHA 7R NIKON D3300 PANASONIC LUMIX GX7 TAMRON SP 150-600MM
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ISSUE 1
VOLUME 10
APRIL 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!
16 page PHOTOQUIP supplement
with April 2014 issue.

TH
AN

RSA
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I
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RY

TUTORIALS

SPEEDING WITH THE SHUTTER
ONE SCENE, TWO INTERPRETATIONS
FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP
INTERVIEW
ROHIT VARMA
PROFILE
ELENA SHUMILOVA
T S REDDY

PROFESSIONAL TECHNIQUE BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO TRAVELOGUE DHARAMSHALA
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WELCOME

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
Nandkishor Sawant,
ADVERTISE DESIGN
Sanjay Awad, Shubham Rohatgi
PRODUCTION
Dinesh Bhajnik, Deepak Narkar, Ravi Parmar
PRODUCT MANAGER
Perseus Master
PUBLISHER
Girish Mallya

W

ith this issue, SP has completed nine
extraordinary years. Nine years that
have seen a dramatic transformation
in our industry and revolutionized the way we
take pictures. The only thing permanent about
our industry is change and we can expect a lot
more changes round the corner. Expect newer
technologies, newer products, stronger players
and more exciting times.

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
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For Pocket Mags Queries: [email protected]

As usual, SP will be there to bring you the latest news, views and
techniques in a manner that is easier to read, more comprehensive and
very, very reliable.

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Richard G.C., Territory Sales Incharge (Circulation), Mobile no. 09949217127
Kolkata
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Mobile no. 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
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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
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Copyright 2006 SMART PHOTOGRAPHY
All readers are recommended to make their own independent enquiries before
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any advertisement appearing in the publication. Smart Photography does not
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We thank our increasing number of readers and advertisers and look
forward to the future with optimism.
H. S. Billimoria

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

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

5

Contents
30
36
ISSUE 109 / APRIL 2014

REVIEWS: HEAD-TO-HEAD: NIKON D800 VS SONY ALPHA 7R NIKON D3300 PANASONIC LUMIX GX7 TAMRON SP 150-600MM
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RS.125
ISSUE 1
VOLUME 10
APRIL 2014

REGULARS

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!

TH
AN

RSA
NIVE

RY

TUTORIALS

SPEEDING WITH THE SHUTTER
ONE SCENE, TWO INTERPRETATIONS
FUN WITH PHOTOSHOP
INTERVIEW
ROHIT VARMA
PROFILE
ELENA SHUMILOVA
T S REDDY

PROFESSIONAL TECHNIQUE BUILD YOUR PORTFOLIO TRAVELOGUE DHARAMSHALA

08 Mail Bag
10 News Watch
28 Picture of the Month
178 Tidbits

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Cover credits
Image Courtesy: Corbis

30 Kaleidoscope

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

36 Showcase

A photographic profile of the person
behind the lens

42 If I Were You

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

48 Ask Uncle Ronnie
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.

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Smart Photography April 2014

Your photo queries answered by Uncle
Ronnie

52 MasterCraftsman

The masters of the craft share their
insights and photographs
Smartphotography.in

52

8782

60

88

SUBSCRIPTION
OFFER
READER SURVEY

page

Page 101

LEARNINGS

82 Speeding with the Shutter
88 Build Your Portfolio
96 One Scene, Different In-

REVIEWS

104 Head-to-head:
Nikon D800E v/s Sony Alpha 7R

98 Fun with Photoshop:

110 Nikon D3300
116 Panasonic Lumix GX7
121 TAMRON SP 150-

Save those clutters

600MM F/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD

terpretations

Smartphotography.in

BUYERS GUIDE

126 Photo Jargon
130 SP Recommended:
10 Compact Cameras

131

SP Recommended:
3 Best Smartphone
April 2014 Smart Photography

7

MAILBAG
REVIEWS: PANASONIC GM1 SONY Į 7 OLYMPUS STYLUS 1 CANON POWERSHOT S200 CANON EF-S 55-250MM F/4-5.6 IS II
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ISSUE 12
VOLUME 09
MARCH 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!
108

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]

INTERVIEW PARAG DAMLE
PROFILE BASEL ALMISSHAL

INDIA VE
SI
EXCLU IEW
REV
PROFESSIONAL TECHNIQUE LIGHTING GLASS

Nine years journey

TUTORIALS

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

PANASONIC GM1

the spark to reignite the flame of my
passion. Respected Uncle Ronnie (whom I
regard as my Guru) had started his write up
with the words, “Disclosure: I have started
infra-red photography very recently……”.
These words were enough to rekindle the
passion. If he can find time to pursue new
hobbies in spite of being very busy then why
can’t I?

I upgraded my photography arsenal to my
first DSLR in October 2012 with a dream
of taking my passion to a new height. I
could not take more than 4039 shots till
date and that includes a friend’s wedding
assignment and an excursion to the hills.
Adding salt to injuries, I could not even
afford Smart Photography for months
together. I was unsure whether it really was
my preoccupation with other activities or
dissipating inspiration that was prohibiting
me from picking up the camera.

Thank you SP for always being there for all of
us. I am proud of accompanying the magazine
throughout its journey of nine years. Happy
Anniversary.

Then, on a sunny winter Sunday, I casually
picked up the February, 2014 issue and it had

Dinesh Lakhanpal

Experimenting with glass

Admiring Architecture

I religiously follow the learnings and
tutorials in your magazine. I hadn’t given
much thought to glass photography before
I read ‘Shooting Glass’ in the March 2014
isue. I have been experimenting as adviced
in the article and have managed to create
wonderful images.

I came across the March 2014 issue recently, and I
was mesmerised by the ‘Showcase’ featuring Basel
Almisshal. His work was very different from the
photographers that are usually published in the
magazine. I was able to appreciate his cityscapes
especially because I too am an architect. Keep
showing us such exciting photographers in the future!

Devashree Mohan

Aman Rastogi

Sage Advice
Every month, I look forward to reading the
Learnings and Reviews in your magazine. I
find the language light-hearted and easy to
follow. The article ‘Fun With Photoshop’ in
the March 2014 issue was very interesting,
and will encourage many to use the editing
tool humorously. Although the camera

8

Smart Photography April 2014

reviews are quite extensive, I hope to see
more Smartphone reviews in the future.
This new genre of photography is exciting,
and more and more people are taking it up
due to its accessibility.
Kamal Sanghi

Smartphotography.in

NEWS
International

SNIPPETS
Sony is in talks to sell
its Japanese personal
computer business
to the firm, Japan
Industrial Partners
Inc. This is part of
a wide company
restructuring effort.
Panasonic said its
new digital single
lens mirrorless
(DSLM) camera
Lumix DMC-GH4
with AF technology
and video recording
capability can meet
professional needs
for photography as
well as videography.
Canon announced
the Powershot SX700
HS with 30x optical
zoom lens equivalent
to 25 – 750mm range
and built-in Wi
Fi. The Powershot
D30, which allows
shooting at 82 feet
below sea level was
also announced.
Olympus patented
two superfast wideangle lenses for the
Micro Four Thirds
system viz. 12mm
f/1 and a 14mm f/1.
Currently, the widest
superfast lens for
Micro Four Thirds
is the Voigtlander
Nokton 17.5mm
f/0.95.

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Smart Photography April 2014

Nikon launches D4S

N

ikon Corp. has begun
marketing the Nikon
D4S on March 6,
priced at 648,000 Yen on the
Nikon online shop. The nextgeneration flagship is based
on the D4 with improved
autofocus and image quality,
with video quality and better
operation. The D4S features a
new FX-format 16 MP CMOS
sensor and the EXPEED 4 image
processor with ISO sensitivity
from 100 to 25600, which can
be extended to 50 on the lower
side and 409600 on the higher
side. Algorithms used by the AF
system have been refined for

greater accuracy
and versatility
for professional
photographers.
The camera
offers the
Group-area AF
mode(uses 5
focus points),
which allows
smoother
autofocusing
and a
continuous
shooting at
approximately 11 fps with AF
and AE tracking. The D4S
supports movie recording with

a frame rate of 50p or 60p at the
size of 1920 x 1080, with ISO
sensitivity of 200-25600.

Komamura to launch Color Night Vision
Komamura Corp. will launch
a new Color Night Vision
KC-2000 Falcon Eye, which
can clearly capture colour
video in the dark up to
0.0051x magnification or
under starlight. Komamura
has handled Astroscope
Night Vision made by Electro
Physics of USA since 2010
and it has received many
requests for a night vision
camcorder which takes
colour images in the dark,
as the Astorcope reproduces
images in greenish and black.

Komamura has joined hands
with Carina System and
completed the KC-2000 which
is made in Japan.
The KC-2000 offers a 2/3inch Type CMOS sensor, a
resolution of 1280x720 dots,
an Electronic View Finder,
Lens mount, and an SC mount

which enables the use of all
D-SLR lenses via adaptor. It
is splash and dust-proof with
a built-in battery of 7.4 V
allowing continuous use up to
5 hours. The body measures
108x98.3x206.7mm and
weighs about 1.1 kg.

Smartphotography.in

NEWS
International

Tamron developing two new lenses

T

amron is developing
two new lenses: a 16300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II
VC PZD Macro (Model B016)
for APS-C sensor cameras
and a 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3
Di VC PZD (Model A010)
for full-frame sensor models.
These lenses will be available
in Canon, Nikon and Sony
mounts. The Sony mount lenses
will not incorporate Vibration
Correction (VC) as Sony D-SLR
camera bodies include built-in
image stabilization.
The 16-300mm lens (equivalent
to approximately 24.8-465mm
in the 35mm format) will
include 16 elements in 12
groups, have a Minimum
Focus Distance (MFD) of
0.39m (15.3”) throughout the

zoom range and
offer a Maximum
Magnification Ratio
of 1:2.9 (at 300mm
setting). The lens will
weigh approximately
540g.
The 28-300mm lens,
designed for fullframe sensor cameras,
will include 19
elements in 15 groups,
have a Minimum
Focus Distance
(MFD) of 0.49m
(19.3”) throughout
the zoom range and
offer a Maximum
Magnification Ratio
of 1:3.5 (at300mm
setting). The lens will
weigh approximately 540g.

Nikon announces the
Nikon 1 V3
Nikon announced the Nikon
1 V3, an Interchangeable
Lens System Camera with an
18 MP 1-inch Type CMOS
sensor with no low pass
filter and an EXPEED 4A
image processing engine.
The camera can shoot at 20
fps with continuous AF, and

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Smart Photography April 2014

60 fps with single AF. It has
a 1080/60p video, built-in
Wi-Fi and weighs 381 g.
Nikon has also introduced
the new 1 NIKKOR VR 1030mm f/3.5-5.6 PD-Zoom
and the 1 NIKKOR VR 70300mm f/4.5-5.6 telephoto
zoom lenses .

Smartphotography.in

NEWS
International

Samsung to launch Galaxy S5
and Fitness Band

A

t the World Mobile
Congress Show in
Barcelona its fifthgeneration flagship Galaxy S
Smartphone, with stepped up
Wi Fi and LTE performance,
faster CPU, enhanced camera
capabilities and fitness tools.
The S5 also has a fingerprint
scanner, which can be used to
unlock the device, unlock user

selected content and make
secure mobile payments. The
phone runs on Android 4.4.2
and has a 5-inch display and
is powered by a 2.5 Ghz quad
core processor. It is also the
industry’s first phone with
built-in heart rate sensor and
the first to combine Wi Fi
802.11 ac with 2x2 MIMO to
accelerate Wi Fi speed, and
it also bonds Wi Fi and LTE

to further accelerate data
speeds. LTE is upgraded to
150/50Mbps Category 4 LTE,
Up to 8 bands of LTE will be
supported. The Smartphone
camera offers a 0.3 second
autofocus speed and the ability
to store Ultra HD video at 30
fps.
Samsung also announced a
fitness band (promoted as

the industry’s first) with a
curved touchscreen display.
The Gear Fit incorporates
health-monitoring features
and displays Smartphone
notifications.
Both products and the
previously announced Gear 2
and Gear 2 Neo Smart watches
will be available from April 11,
2014 in almost 150 countries.

Nikon to fix camera flaws
cited by China

Ricoh to showcase medium-format Pentax 645D

Nikon Corp. said it will fix the
D600 camera flaws at no charge
even after warranties have
expired. Nikon’s alleged defects
were highlighted in a broadcast
on World Consumer Rights
Day, March 15, aired by China

Ricoh Imaging Co.
announced that it will
showcase its new mediumformat camera with a new
ultra high resolution CMOS
sensor featuring a quick
response, at the CP+ 2014.

Central Television (CCTV).
According to CCTV, the D600s
frequently caused black specks
on the photographs. They also
said that Nikon’s warranty,
including parts replacement is
insufficient.

The camera has a tilting
LCD monitor on the back.
Tentatively dubbed the
Pentax 645D 2014, it will
become available this spring.

Epson to release 8 new IJ printers
Seiko Epson has announced 8
new models of inkjet printers for
this spring, featuring a newlydeveloped PrecisionCore print
head. It features higher density
of nozzles to accelerate output
speed and a higher resolution of
600 dpi. All the models use larger
ink cartridges. The PX-S5040
and the multifunctional PXM5041F, PX-M5040F come in the
A3 plus models. Five models are
A4 types, three in MF and two
single-function. Epson foresees
the IJ printers at business use
to come to 1.2 million units in
Japan. The company targets to
grab over 50% market share in
the business IJ printer market
and over 65% in the A3 MF
category.

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Smart Photography April 2014

Smartphotography.in

NEWS
International

CP+ attracts 42,200 visitors,
Canon booth wins Gold Award

T

he CP+, held from
February 13 to 16 at
Pacifico Yokohama
Exhibition Hall, attracted
about 42,200 visitors over
three days. The exhibition was
shut on Saturday February 15,
due to heavy snow resulting
in delay and cancellations of
public transport, but reopened
on Sunday. Under normal
conditions, the organisers were
expecting 70,000 visitors, as

compared to 62,700 from the
previous year. Mobile phone
photography with increasingly
better quality of images is
posing a threat to point-andshoot digital cameras. Camera
and photo-accesories makers
are trying to make Smartphone
photographers more active
by using advanced cameras
and adding accessories.
Many exhibitors offered mini
seminars by professional

Sony, Panasonic
standardize archival disc
for next-gen optical discs
Sony Corp and Panasonic
Corp announced on March
10 that they have formulated
‘Archival Disc’, a new
standard for professionaluse next-generation optical
discs, with the objective
of expanding the market
for long term digital data
storage.
Recognizing that
optical discs will need
to accomodate much
larger volumes of storage,

especially because of the
anticipated future growth in
the archive market, the two
companies have engaged
in the joint development of
the optical discs. They aim
to launch systems with a
recording capacity of 300
GB per disc from summer
2015 onwards. In addition,
they plan to leverage their
respective technologies to
further expand the recording
capacity per disc to 500 GB
and 1 TB.

Olympus announces two
new lenses
Olympus announced two
new lenses in the M.Zuiko
Pro series— the wide-angle
zoom lens M.Zuiko Digital
ED 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro and
the super telephoto lens
M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm
f/4 Pro. Both lenses conform

16

Smart Photography April 2014

to the Micro Four Thirds
system standard and are dust
and splash proof. The 7 –
14mm (14-28mm in 35mm
format) is a wide-angle
zoom lens. The 300mm
(600mm in 35mm format) is
a super telephoto lens.

photographers at their booths,
along with workshops offering
their products for a trial.
The CIPA (Camera and
Imaging Products Association)
announced the list of winners
among the exhibitors. They
were:
Gold Exhibit Award: Canon
Inc./Canon Marketing Japan
Inc.

Silver Award: Nikon Corp./
Nikon Imaging Japan
Bronze Award: Fujifilm Corp.
Best Designed Booth Award:
Sony Corp./Sony Marketing
Co.
Best Globalized Exhibit
Award: Kenko Tokina Co. Ltd.
The CP+ 2015 is scheduled
to be held for four days from
February 12 to 15, 2015 at the
same venue.

SanDisk to sell 128GB
micro SD cards in April
SanDisk announced on March
5 in Tokyo that it will launch
new micro SD cards with the
highest memory capacity to
date, the SanDisk Ultra Plus
micro SDXC UHS-I Card 128
GB in Japan from April. The
new card will feature a fast
data transfer speed of 40 MB
per second and Class 10/UHS
speed, suitable for recording
full HD movies.
The company also announced

re-entry into Japanese
USB flash memory maret
by debuting the SanDisk
Extreme Pro USB 3.0 Flash
Memory 128 GB at about
20,000 Yen. The company
perceived that the demand
for high speed movie
recording and transfer with
high capacity os pn the rise.
SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0
Flash Memory cards with
capacity from 16 – 64 GB
will also be shipped.

Fujifilm to stop offering
35mm B&W and 120
Colour Films
Fujifilm Imaging Systems
Co. announced that it will
terminate offering the
following film models because
of shrinking demands. The
company will stop shipping
135mm B&W films of Neopan
400 PRESTO 36 single roll
and 3 roll packs around June,

and 120mm professional-use
Fujicolor PRO400 in 5 roll
pack in early May, 2014. The
company will continue to
supply 135mm B&W Neopan
100 ACROS in a single roll
and 3 unit packs, and 120mm
colour negative film Fujicolor
PRO400H in 5 roll packs.
Smartphotography.in

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

17

NEWS
Business

Sony to supply more CMOS image
sensors to Apple

S

ony has entered
negotiations with Apple
to double its supply of
camera components for a new
iPhone slated to roll out next
year, taking another step in its
pivot toward the mobile and
imaging fields. Sony already
supplies nearly all the CMOS
image sensors for the current

iPhone models’ main cameras.
Apple wants to switch to Sony
sensors for the secondary front
camera as well, since more
customers are expected to use
Smartphones for video calls.
Sony’s image sensor sales are
expected to be about 360 billion
Yen (US $3.529 billion) this
fiscal year. The company held

the largest share in the global
CMOS sensor market in 2012
at 32.1%, according to Techno
Systems Research.
Sony hopes to use the imaging
and mobile business to revive
the electronics business. The
company’s willingness to part
from a cherished brand shows

the gravity of the situation. The
company said that it intends to
sell the PC segment, which is
known for the Vaio brand. While
many other Japanese companies
are racking up profits, Sony
downgraded its forecast for the
year ending in March 2014 to a
loss of about 110 billion Yen (US
$1.078 billion).

Panasonic reports net profit for April-December
Restructuring and cost cuts
helped Panasonic Corp turn
net profits for nine months
ending on December 31 for
the first time in three years.
Panasonic reported a group
net profit of 243 billion
Yen (US $2.405 billion),
rebounding from the previous
year’s loss of 623.8 billion Yen

(US $6.176 billion)—more
than the increase in operating
profit for the nine-month
period. It also reported oneoff gains totaling 150 billion
Yen (US $1.485 billion) from
reforming its pensio system
and selling the health care
business. The company will
be moving ahead early with

further reforms. It will sell three
South-east Asian semiconductor
plants to Singaporean
chipmaker Utac Holdings in
June for 11.6 billion Yen (US
$114.8 million). The company’s
semiconductor business will be
spun off and merged with an
affiliated subsidiary in June as
well. Panasonic is positioning

its automotive and housing
businesses as growth areas. But
with the sales tax set to rise
to 8% from 5% in April, the
demand for cars and housing
may slump next fiscal year.
Panasonic plans to limit pay
cuts to this fiscal year only,
meaning that labour costs will
rise as well.

Sharp turns ‘black’ with net profit for April-December 2013
Sharp Corp. logged a
consolidated net profit of
17.7 billion Yen (US $175
million) for the period
of April-December 2013,
compared to 424.3 billion
Yen (US $4.2 billion) loss
of the previous year. All six
business segments posted

operating profits for a
second quarter straight. Sales
jumped by 21% partly due
to a large LCD order from a
Chinese Smartphone maker.
The company also reported
one-off gains of 20 billion
Yen (US $198 million) from
patent revenue and other

sources. Cosst reduction
contributed as well, with steps
such as staff cuts shrinking
fixed costs by 100 billion Yen
(US $990 million).
While Sharp’s earnings have
hit the bottom, profits have
not significantly improved

for the LCD business, which
accounts for 30% of the sales.
Price cuts have sent its large
LCD business, which supplies
panels for Tvs, into the red.
The company will look into
making more small to mid-size
LCDs for Smartphones and
Tablets.

Foxconn announces withdrawal from DSC segment
In the midst of a steady
ongoing decline in digital
still camera shipments from
Taiwanese manufacturers,
Foxconn announced that it
will be withdrawing from
the DSC segment. It is a part
of Hon Hai Precision, and
about a decade ago it had
purchased Premier Camera

18

Smart Photography April 2014

(the biggest film camera
maker in Taiwan at one
time) from John Huang.
The four Taiwanese
ODM digicam makers are
suffering: in the first quarter
of this year, they will ship
just under 2.8 million
cameras, down by 51.6%

from the previous year.
Almost all cameras featured
sensors of 16MP or higher,
with CCD chips taking
just over half the volume.
Ability Electronics has
increased its domination
of the sector, with over
75% unit share. Altek had
just over 22%, and Asia

Optical (AO) and Foxconn
had a combined 3% share.
Nikon is by far the biggest
customer (about 47% share),
then Fujifilm, Casio, Sony
and Samsung with 10 –
13% share. Panasonic and
Olympus have low single
digit shares (Digitime
Research Numbers).
Smartphotography.in

NEWS
National

Two Indian winners at 2014 Sony
World Photography Awards

T

wo Indian photographers
were announced as
winners of the 2014 Sony
World Photography Awards,
one of the world’s leading
photography competitions.
They are Arup Ghosh (Open
People winner) and Bisheswar
Choudhury, (India National
Award winner). Their images
were selected from over 70,000
entries from across the world.
The photographers have won the
latest digital imaging equipment
from Sony and will have their
work shown at the annual Sony
World Photography Awards
Exhibition at Somerset House,
London from May 1-18, 2014.
Ghosh’s image will also be
published in the 2014 edition
of the Sony World Photography
Awards book

Fujifilm India announces Fujifilm X-E2 Lenskraft
Fujifilm India announced the
MP sensor and ISO
Indian market, I am delighted
2014 winners
X-E2, a premium interchangeable to announce this new X-E2
sensitivity of 200 – 6400
lens camera with an APS-C
(extendable upto 25600),
camera which offers many
X-Trans CMOS II sensor and
shutter speed of 1/4 – 1/
advance features to become
announced
an AF speed of 0.08 seconds.
4000 sec and continuous
a delight of the professional
Mr. Rohit Pandit, EVP- Sales &
Marketing, Fujifilm India said,
“after the success of X-E1 in the

20

Smart Photography April 2014

photographers.”
The camera features a 16

shooting of 7 fps. It has a
3-inch 1040 k-dot LCD
Monitor and can record
Full HD 1920 x 1080 60p
/ 30p movies. It makes
use of Lens Modulation
Optimizer (LMO) and
EXR Processor II image
engine. The X-E2 makes
use of Digital Split Image
technology for better
manual focus and offers
Wi Fi connectivity too.
It is available in solid
black or two-tone black
and silver. The price is
Rs. 76,999 for body only
and Rs. 1,09,999 with XF
18-55mm kit lens.

The results of Lenskraft photography
comtest, part of the Euphoria 2014
festival of Narsee Monjee Institute
of Management Studies. The event,
powered by Smart Photography had
two winners: Popular Photo Award
(based on the number of likes) and
Jury Award (based on Content).

Winner of 1st prize: ‘Hope in a mud pot’ by
Rohit Bhutoria

Smartphotography.in

Zoomin.com launches
Photo Prints app
Zoomin.com launched Photo
Prints, an app that lets you print
photos directly from your phone
and have them delivered anywhere
in India.“The ubiquity of cameraenabled mobile phones has made
everyone a photographer. There
are thousands of apps to share,
beautify and upload photos, and
surprisingly almost none that offer
a way to print physical copies. The
Photo Prints app aims to capitalize
on this emotional connect by
offering its users the simplest way
to order a set of photo prints,” said
Sunny Balijepalli, Founder & CEO,
Zoomin.com.
Users can order photo prints in
four steps—select photos, choose
a size and finish, enter a delivery
address and pay using Cash on
Delivery, credit card, debit card

or Netbanking. The photos are
uploaded, printed by ZoomIn and
delivered to the mentioned address,
anywhere in India.
This is a free app available for
Android and Windows phones.
It can be downloaded from www.
zoomin.com/app. An iOS version
will be available soon. ZoomIn has
partnered with Samsung and Nokia
to promote Photo Prints. A special
offer is available to all Samsung
Galaxy Note 3 and Samsung Galaxy
Grand 2 customers through the
Samsung app store. Nokia’s flagship
phone, the 41 megapixel Lumia
1020, has the Windows version of
Photo Prints pre-installed on all
devices sold in India with a special
offer. Print prices start at Rs. 6 for a
4”x6” print, plus a Rs. 49 shipping
fee.

Photography
Exhibition ‘25 Kilos’
MF Hussain’s Grandson Salamat Hussain’s
Photography Exhibition ‘25 Kilos’, which consists
of images from Turkey and India will be held
from April 10 till the end of the month. This is in
collaboration with Turkish Consul General and
Gallery 7 and will be held at Gallery 7, Rampart
Row, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai.

Millenium Dreams
photo exhibition
‘Millenium Dreams’, a photography exhibition, will
be held from April 2 to 12 at India International
Centre, Gurgaon. This is a joint collaborative
of India Photo Archive Foundation and India
International Centre. The works of Vaibhav
Bhardwaj, Chandan Gomes, Manoj Bharti Gupta,
Vinit Gupta, Arvind Hoon, Saumya Khandelwal,
Natisha Mallick, Aparna Mohindra, Vicky Roy, Ajay
Sood and Monica Tiwari will be featured.




 





 
 
 


 
 
 


 

    

    

 
 
 




 
 
      

   

 
 


 
  






 
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April 2014 Smart Photography

21

NEWS
National

Indian Photographer wins
Safarious Travel Photo Contest
Ajay Viswanath, a software
engineer from Chennai
was declared winner of
the Safarious Travel Photo
Contest from among 3500
entries. This competition
was organised by Safarious
Journal, an online platform
for adventurers. His winning
image ‘Husks Fly Away’ was
taken using a Canon D55
at Kuruwa Dweep in the
Wayanad district, Kerala.
The contest was judged by
a panel of professionals
and was sponsored by
The Bushcamp Company,
Siankaba, Remote Africa, Sue

Flood Photography,
Minox, Paramo, Gitzo,
Steppes Travel and
Proflight Zambia.
The judges selected
18 entries and the
winner was selected
from these through
public voting. Ajay
won a trip to Zambia
worth $35,000. He will
get the oppportunity
to explore the wildlife
of Zambia under thr
guidance of award
winning wildlife
photographer Sue
Flood.

‘Stupid Eye’ Photo
Exhibition
‘Stupid Eye’, an exhibition
by artist Vipul Amar and
Psychologist Harsheen K.
Arora will be showcased at
Triveni Kala Sangam in New
Delhi from April 28 to May
7, 2014 from 11:00 am to
7:00 pm. Vipul Amar Studio
of Photographic Arts and
Psychologist Harsheen K.
Arora initiated this project

where the concept of selfactualization is explored by
focusing on one’s real self
as opposed to the ideal self.
The exhibition was created
with the help of participants
who registered. These
participants underwent
group discussions, photo
shoots and even therapeutic
conversation.

Knot Just Weddings
exhibition
Knot in Focus, a
wedding photography
and film company
will be showcasing
their work capturing
candid moments
and introducing new
trends in the field of
wedding photography.
This exhibition,
‘Knot Just Weddings’,

24

is taking place at
Kamalnayan Bajaj
Art Gallery, Nariman
Point, Mumbai also
happens to be India’s
first ever exhibition
exclusively on wedding
photography. It will be
held from April 7 to
12 from11:00 a.m to
7:00 p.m

Smart Photography April 2014

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INDUSTRY OPINION

A Decade of
‘Flickr’ing
Markus Spiering,
Product Head, Flickr

F

lickr has recently completed 10
years, and we spoke to Markus
Spiering, the Product Head of
Flickr. Excerpts:
Tell me in brief, how Flickr evolved over
the years?
Flickr actually brought about the online
digital photography revolution. Flickr
was the first site where you could store,
organise, and share digital photography.
Then people started to comment on it
and all of a sudden you were part of a
community. This is how Flickr evolved.
In 2005, Flickr was acquired by Yahoo.
In the last 8 years, picture quality has
completely changed. For years and years
and years, we had a Nikon or Canon
camera being the most popular one on
Flickr and thinking about these years, it
is only the iPhone. There is a big shift in
the way photography happened, in how
we now connect instantly, post-process
our images, how we instantly share
them. We believe that a photo increases
its value over time or may be a photo
that you upload today might not be
that meaningful to you at the moment.
May be in three or four years from now
it could be one of the most important
things that you remember from your life.
Photography is accessible to more people
now and this is also being reflected in
Flickr products specifically the upgrade
to 1 terabyte space and last year’s design
of mobile app to make Flickr upload
accessible to more people.
How has competition affected the
prospects of Flickr?
Photography has never been bigger. It is
huge now, and everyone of us is taking
images. We think about ourselves not as
a social network where you connect with
most people you probably already know.
Something very very special about Flickr

Smartphotography.in

As told to Sujith Gopinath
is that you connect with people having
a particular interest and people that you
actually don’t know. And the other thing
is that Flickr is an extremely powerful
tool. We have 1.86 million different
groups on Flickr and these groups are
not only one Flickr community, but it is a
community of communities and I think
this makes Flickr very unique.
How has Flickr changed after the
acquisition by Yahoo? How has Flickr
acquisition influenced Yahoo’s business.
I think the acquisition by Yahoo made
Flickr as big as it is today. When Yahoo
acquired Flickr, it was very small. When
we launched the redesigned Flickr last
year, Marissa (Yahoo CEO Marissa
Mayer) acknowledged that at the time
of acquisition (before she joined) there
wasn’t a lot of effort, lot of investment
into Flickr. If you take a look on Flickr
experience some time ago, there were
very few people behind Flickr. It is
unbelievable how much our team has
grown from there. Our team has grown
not only because we hire lot of people,
but also because we acquired couple
of companies. By the first acquisition,
we also acquired iOS technology and
software for our iPhone app. The other
two companies that we acquired are a
lot about search organisation and photo
intelligence.
How will the recent acquisitions
enhance the Flickr experience?
These recent acquisitions are a lot
about user experience, discovery, and
a highest quality photo intelligence.
So a very interesting and new thing
that is happening from a photography
point of view is in the steps users take
in extracting photos and put it up the
cloud. Traditionally, if you go a couple
of years back, you would take photos,

put captions, add graphic data, get
descriptions and all and then you share
it. I think it is changing with features
like auto sync and auto upload. The
user expects all these photos to go up
immediately. So from a user perspective,
you have no time during the upload flow
to organise the images. The technology
that we acquired, enables to understand
the features of content we upload it to
Flickr and help the user to rediscover the
images.
With lot of photographs uploaded to
the server, how do you ensure copyright
protection?
There are couple of ways. First, we collect
different licenses. You can upload the
photos via commons or choose another
license option. We have very visible
copyright information link on our photo
interface. We always keep the original.
It is your choice whether to allow others
to download the original. We give
photographers a choice to determine
what is the largest resolution that is
being shown on Flickr. You can upload
your original so that you can recover it
if you lose it and then specify what size
to show to the user. So no one has really
access to your big original images. In
the case of all the re-sized images that
are visible on Flickr.com or accessible
from mobile apps, we keep the copyright
data in the Exif information. The other
unique thing that we do is, work with
our partners to ensure that attribution
to the photographer is always given.
For example, if you pin an image from
Flickr or the image is embedded on a
third party blog, which you can pin to
Pinterest, your photo is always shown
with the right attribution and a link back
to the photograph. Same happens on
Twitter. We always make sure that right
attribution travels with the image. ˆ
March 2013 Smart Photography

25

PICTURE OF THE MONTH

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]

aph by
r
g
o
t
o
h
P

K
h
s
e
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a
M

WIN!
MK 393 PD
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.

Sponsored by:

Tripod
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.

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

Walking through
the woods
As told to Tanika Godbole

I
Pavan Patel,
Ahmedabad

was fascinated by
nature since childhood.
Exploring off-beat
locales and photographing
their natural beauty has
been my favourite activity
for a long time. I have
spent many weekends and
vacations doing this with
friends sharing similar
interests.

I find the serene beauty of nature very
inspiring. I love capturing fleeting
moments like an eagle landing on perch,
or a yellow wagtail swallowing a bee. I
also experiment with the play of light
and silhouettes. My curiosity motivated
me to observe and photograph different
species and their behaviour and
activities. As a photographer, I always
look for light instead of subjects. A
good sense of light brings out beauty in
dullest of subjects. I have been a Nikon
user so far and currently using a Nikon
D90 camera body with Nikkor AF-S DX
18-105mm and Nikkor 300mm f/4 ED
IF lenses.
Being a student of chartered accounting,
dull lectures and a constant torrent of
numbers always haunt me. However,
taking some time out from boring
lectures and long study hours to
practise photography is a blissful
relief. Nature has always inspired me
and photography helps me bond with
nature. I am very grateful to my parents,
family and friends who have always
been a great support in cultivating my
passion for photography.
ˆ

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Smart Photography April 2014

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Landing
Camera: Nikon D90
Aperture : f/7.1; Shutter speed: 1/800sec.; ISO: 250

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

31

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

Wings
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Aperture : f/5.6; Shutter
speed: 1/320sec.; ISO: 320

In the bush Camera: Canon EOS 60D Aperture : f/6.3; Shutter speed: 1/320sec.; ISO: 400
Lone bird
Camera: Nikon D90
Aperture : f/5.6;
Shutter speed: 1/125sec.;
ISO: 400

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Croak Camera: Nikon D90; Aperture : f/4.0; Shutter speed: 1/1600sec.; ISO: 400

At the lake Camera: Nikon D90; Aperture : f/6.3; Shutter speed: 1/2000sec.; ISO: 250

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

33

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

Meal time
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Aperture : f/8.0;
Shutter speed: 1/1250sec.; ISO: 400

Sunshine
Camera: Canon EOS 60D
Aperture : f/8.0; Shutter speed:
1/1250sec.; ISO: 400

34

Smart Photography April 2014

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SHOWCASE

Tamma Srinivasa Reddy’s
amateurish stint in
photography metamorphosed
into a serious profession. Today
he chairs the photojournalism
division of IIPC and conducts
national and international
photo salons, workshops and
classes on photography. He has
won prestigious competitions
at regional, national and
international levels.

As told to Tanika Godbole

I

grew up in a beautiful village in the hills—
Undavalli, Andhra Pradesh. In the year 1984,
the chief photographer of The Indian Express,
Mr. Srinivasan visited Undavalli to photograph the
famous caves. I watched him in fascination. The
next day, I saw the photographs in the newspaper,
along with the photographer’s name. I decided this
was what I wanted to do with my future.
The next year, I went to The Indian Express office
and a month of rigorous training followed. Mr.
Srinivasan guided me through the intricacies of
shooting, dark room techniques and all the finer
details that go into photography. During Dussehra
festival, Mr. Srinivasan said, “I’ll give you three
frames.......see if you can take pictures that make

OF
PEOPLE
AND
PLACES
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Smart Photography April 2014

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Our Paradise

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April 2014 Smart Photography

37

SHOWCASE
Bonda Sisters

Prayer Time

Minister of India.
Covering these political events which had far
reaching impact on people and shaped the
subsequent course of the country’s history, it was
but natural for me to choose photojournalism as
a career.
Once I was young

We are friends

a difference.” A dance performance was
on, at the Kanakadurga temple. I went. I
recalled his lessons, shot the three frames,
developed the roll and showed him the
results. He pointed out shortcomings in
two of the frames, then exclaimed over the
third and the next thing I knew, he had
published this. That’s how it all began.
In 1988, Vijayawada was a city in flames,
after the killing of Vangaveeti Mohan
Ranga. Going around the ravaged city,
I caught on camera the horrors that
ensued. These photographs were carried
by the local newspapers and National
periodicals. In 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi
visited Vijayawada, I was able to capture on
film, photographs of the glamorous Prime

38

Smart Photography April 2014

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Dha Tribals

I have travelled across India; and I
cherish my interaction with Bonda
tribals. I have been drawn to the simple,
rustic life of these people. I am also
charmed by the Banjaras. I think they
are the most beautiful people. Initially, I
faced a lot of resistance. It took them a
long time to accept me and my camera.
To Market

Preparation

For a photographer who loves and
worships his art, the value of a portrait
does not depend on the commercial
attention it attracts but rather on the
creative art of depiction of the truth.
Finally, the experience should remain
an indelible memory for the subject, the
photographer and the viewer.
Get to know the model. Study the
features and the expressions and
decide on the angle for composition.
Considerations of the lighting and the
colour of the subject’s apparel are vital
for the composition of the portrait.
Once this is done, you should capture
that unique feature in such a way that
it elicits an instantaneous `WOW!’
from the viewer. You know that you
as a photographer have done justice to
the subject when the portrait continues
to grab the attention of the viewer
repeatedly, with the same freshness
as the first time. Patience and a good
camera are essential for creating great
images.
Photography is a wonderful experience.
It is soul stirring and fun. Photographers
are students for all their lives.
ˆ

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

39

IF I WERE YOU
E-mail your images at [email protected]
Original Image

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.

Rohinton Mehta,
Technical Editor, Smart Photography

Playful Kids
Bratin Mallick from Bangalore
photographed these kids enjoying
themselves at the Nepal-West
Bengal border. The clothing worn
by the kids suggest that the place
was very cold and the very soft
shadows suggest that the day was
overcast and dull. Bratin wants to
know if and how his picture could
be improved.
Well, Bratin, the sky in your picture
has become almost bald and the
foreground is a bit too dark. Under
such lighting situations (when
there is a great difference between
the sky exposure and foreground
exposure) one solution is to use
a ND graduated filter to even out
the exposure brightness. Another
method is to take two shots with
the camera on a tripod, one
properly exposed for the sky and
the other, properly exposed for
the foreground, and later, blend
them together in Photoshop. In
this situation however, that is not
possible because the children are
moving about.
There can be various ways in
Photoshop to correct for this
problem. A method I like is to
double-process the image in Adobe
Camera Raw (ACR). This is of
course, not a Raw image but that
doesn’t stop us from opening the

Edited Image
Camera: Sony SLT A35
ISO: 400; Lens: DT 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 SAM
Shutter speed: 1/160 sec ; Aperture: F/6.3

image in ACR. Just go to File > Open
As and then navigate to the image,
select it and in the Open As box,
select Camera Raw. Click Open and
the image will open in ACR.
1. First adjust for the sky. See
printscreen 1. (I have adjusted the
Exposure slider to minus 1.50).
Then press and hold the Shift key.
You’ll see that Open Image turns to
Open Object. Keeping the Shift key
pressed, click on Open Object and
the image will open in Photoshop.
2. Now right click on the words
Printscreen 1

42

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‘Background Layer’ in the Layers
panel and select New Smart
Object via Copy.
3. Now double click on the
thumbnail (not on the words), and
the image will once again open in
ACR. This time we need to edit
the foreground.

Printscreen 2

4. Observe that there is a small
icon to the extreme right where
it says Basic (see Printscreen 2).
Click on it and select Camera
Raw Defaults. The image will turn
back to its original condition.
Adjust the shadows to your liking
by moving the Shadows slider to
the right (I have set the Shadows
slider to +53). I also adjusted the
Clarity slider to +34. The clarity
slider increases the micro-contrast
in the mid tones, giving the
appearance of sharpening the
image (see printscreen 3).
5. The Layers panel now
has two layers; the lower
layer is the foreground
and the upper layer is
the sky (you could click
on the eye icon in the
upper layer to see the sky
which is underneath).

Printscreen 4). Place the cursor
at the top of your picture, click
the mouse and drag it down a
little lower than the horizon
line. See how the sky gets a
graduated effect. Observe the
white mask in printscreen 5; it
reflects the gradient that you
have created.
8. You can now flatten the image
and do further edits if required
(like adjusting the Levels,
sharpening etc).
9. Save the file using the Save As
command.
Often times, the editing of an
image seems daunting but if we
can imagine the final picture and
go about it step-by-step, things
get much easier.

Printscreen 5

6. Add a Layer Mask by
clicking on that icon (a
square with a circle in
it) at the bottom of the
Layers panel. You will
immediately see a white
‘mask’ on the upper
layer.

Printscreen 3

7. Select the Gradient
Tool from the toolbox
and select Linear
Gradient. Also
select Foreground
to Transparent. (See

Printscreen 4

Smartphotography.in

April 2013 Smart Photography

43

IF I WERE YOU
E-mail your images at [email protected]
Squirrel

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.

this squirrel enjoying a coconut
meal and wants to know how he
could get to terms with Photoshop.
He also wants to know how this
picture could be improved.

Indranil Mazumdar from
Dumdum, Kolkatta says that he
is a novice but passionate about
photography. He has photographed
Original Image

The first rule – sorry, not rule
but guideline – is to try and
photograph an animal/bird at its
eye level. I guess you bent a bit to
take the shot because it appears to
me that the picture was shot from
about a height of 4
feet. It would have
been better if you
had to take this shot
from around ground
level.
While your
composition is
quite good, I felt
that leaving some
more space in the
direction in which
the squirrel is
looking, could be
better.

Camera: Nikon D5100
ISO: 500 ;
Lens:70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6;
Shutter speed: 1/400 sec ;
Aperture: F/5.6

Edited Image

44

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Original Image

The Wrist-watch
Saurav Ranjan is a Hyderabad
based photo enthusiast and SP
reader. He photographed this
wrist-watch using natural daylight
from a window, plus a reflector
from the opposite side to add
some detail in the shadows. He
wants to know how he could have
added some more lustre to the
metal body. He also wants to know
whether using a flat surface as
the base would have been better
instead of the wrinkled cloth
that he has used. And finally, he
wonders if the wrinkled cloth is
distracting or adding depth to the
picture.
Photographing wrist-watches
is not easy, as light can (and
usually does) reflect from the
shiny metal and glass, causing
lots of unintentional and often
disturbing highlights. Also, it
would be beyond the scope of this
small write-up to teach how to
photograph a wrist-watch. We will
however cover this topic in one of
our forthcoming issues.
Generally, analogue wrist-watches
are photographed with the time
set to 10 minutes past 10. Though
there is no rule regarding this, it
is done so that the manufacturer’s
logo, which is usually under the
12 O’clock position, is unhindered
and clearly visible. In your photo,
the smaller hour hand of the wristwatch partially covers the word
‘Cartier’.
Using a flat surface or a wrinkled
cloth does not really matter;
there is no hard and fast rule. Do
whatever appears better.
You have actually used two
different backgrounds – one
is the lower background with
parallel lines, and the upper one
with the polka-dot pattern. In my
opinion, the polka-dot pattern was
unnecessary.
The foreground (which is
a continuation of the lower
background), is out of focus. This,
according to me, is disturbing.
Smartphotography.in

Edited Image
Camera: Canon EOS 70D
ISO: 200 ; Lens: Canon EF50mm f/1.8 II;
Shutter speed: 1/40 sec;
Aperture: f/5.6

You could have used a narrow
aperture like f/11 or f/16 to increase
the depth of field. (Stainless steel
tends to appear very dark when
using narrow apertures but that
could have been dealt with by using
additional fill-ins). A shutter speed
of 1/40sec is rather low (unless you

were using a tripod) and could
create less-than-critically-sharp
images.
I have merely adjusted the
contrast, sharpened the image, and
re-composed the shot. I am sure it
looks better now!
April 2013 Smart Photography

45

Q&A
Ask Uncle Ronnie
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 photoqueries, whether conventional or
digital, don’t hesitate. Just go ahead
and Ask Uncle Ronnie at sp@
nextgenpublishing.net, ‘cause he
knows it all!

We regularly get requests to suggest a camera or a lens. While some do their preliminary
homework, most don’t. It is important for you to do some spadework and narrow down
your options before writing in to us. You also need to give us an idea of what genre of
photography you are interested in and how much you are willing to spend. We would then be
in a better position to evaluate your query and suggest suitable gear. We have received one
such ‘homework-done’ request from a reader who has narrowed down his choice but wants
to know if the extra amount that he would spend is justifiable or not. The questions he has
asked are relevant to every reader. Read on...

or advantage
I will get with
D610 on the
issue of noise,
dynamic
range etc. Will
the image
sharpness
with the 24120mm lens
on a D610 be
much better
than that of 1685mm lens on
a D7100? How
much of noise
advantage
would I be
getting, one
stop, two
stops or
more? What
are the other
advantages I
may get”?    

THIS OR THAT?
“To fulfill my long-cherished
desire to own a full-frame camera,
I have decided to purchase a
Nikon D610 body along with a
24-120mm f/4 VR lens. I have
a 16-85mm VR lens (for APS-C
cameras) and so the D7100 body
is an option. Both,
the D610 and D7100
are 24 MP. If I
purchase the Nikon
D7100 body, then
with my existing 1685mm lens, I would
have similar focal
length in both the
cases. But as far
as I know (and I
know very little), a
full-frame camera
has a larger sensor,
lesser noise, more
dynamic range,
better  low-light
capability etc. But I
want to know that
by spending rupees
one lac more, how
much of a difference

48

Smart Photography April 2014

Dr. Ashim Kumar Maitra,
Dum Dum, Kolkata

                                                               
I wish everyone about to buy a new
camera would consider the pros and
cons as you are doing. That’s the right
way of going about it.
Yes, larger sensor means better
noise control (especially at higher
ISOs), better tonalities, better
dynamic range, and better ability
to put the background out of
focus (especially when using ‘fast’
lenses). I would consider the D610
to have about 1-stop advantage
over the D7100 in terms of control
over digital noise. Regarding
your question of image sharpness
between the two configurations,
there is no simple answer; it
depends on various factors.
Smartphotography.in

But, the million dollar question
is -- will all these advantages be
always evident in your photos?
Often, the answer is ‘No’. Under
difficult lighting conditions
(when you need to increase the
ISO for example), yes, there will
be some differences. But will the
differences be worth spending
rupees one lac more? That is a
question that only the user can
answer! With most devices, after
a certain quality standard is
achieved, any extra improvement
in quality comes at a very high
cost. You have to spend a very
large amount even for a small
further increase in quality.
Yes, the Nikon D610 is a lovely
camera and I too would love to
have one (I suffer from CAS –
Camera Acquisition Syndrome).
You have to ask yourself, what
kind of photos do I regularly
take? Under some situations, the
APS-C sensor camera can have an
advantage. Let’s consider ‘wildlife
photography’. The D610 and the
D7100 are both 24MP. The D610
sensor size is almost 36 x 24mm;
that of the D7100 is about 23.5 x
15.6mm. To gain an ‘extra focal
length reach’, you can always crop
the D610’s sensor image to match
that of the D7100, but in doing so,
almost 50% of the pixel resolution
would be lost and you would have,
say, about 12MP remaining. On
the other hand, with the D7100,
you would have the full 24MP
resolution!
On the wide-angle side, with
an APS-C size sensor, you need
extra-wide-angle lenses (due to
the crop factor working against the
‘advantage’ that we get when using
telephoto lenses). For example, if
you use a full-frame 24mm lens on
an APS-C body, the effective focal
length will be 36mm (on a Nikon
APS-C body). To get an equivalent
of 24mm coverage of a full-frame
body, with the APS-C, you’d need
a 16mm lens.
Do keep in mind that lenses for
Smartphotography.in

full-frame cameras cost much
more.
So while there are advantages
in having a full-frame camera,
those advantages come at a cost.
If money is not a problem,
get the full-frame body.
After all, we live only once!

Should I go for a D300 or D7100
or any other? My budget is up to
1lakh only.
Parul Budhraja,
via email

Enjoy your photography.

Which Camera?
I want to purchase a super
quality camera. I have
the following gear: Nikon
D90 and D3200, Sigma
50-500mm, Tokina 12-24,
Tamron macro 90mm,
Nikon 35mm G-series and
Nikon 18-105mm.
1. Should I get the D7100
and get rid of the D90?
2. Or, should I can go for
D610? Will the Sigma 50500 fit here? What will be
the result?
S. P. Sain, via email

You haven’t mentioned the
kind of photography you do or
the reasons for wanting another
camera.
1. The D7100 is definitely superior
to the D90 (but the D90 is also a
camera to reckon with).
2. The D610 is a full-frame model
offering better dynamic range
and better noise control. Yes, the
Sigma 50-500mm can be used with
the D610 body. The results would
depend mainly on your shooting
techniques, but compared to the
use of this lens on a DX body, the
sides and the corners will be a bit
‘softer’.

Upgrade
I am a student of journalism and
mass communication and having
my own photography studio as
well. I have been doing portraits
and event photography since last
3 years with my Nikon D40x. I
would like to buy a new camera
but it should be a Nikon only as I
have Nikon lenses (18-70mm , 55200 mm and manual 50mm lens).

As far as I know, the D300 is no
longer available, but the D300S
is. It is a 12.3 megapixel body; the
D7100 is 24 MP. Both are very
good. Since technology grows in
leaps and bounds every six months
or so, I would opt for the D7100,
not just for the extra megapixels,
but for the overall image quality.

High ISO Problem?
I shot some pictures using ISO
3200 with a Canon 600D camera.
Besides the digital noise (which
I expected), I am not too happy
with the results. I just cannot
place a finger over the problem,
it is just that the pictures appear
with rather poor tonality. Is this
normal or am I doing something
wrong? Also, how high can I go
with the ISO?
A. V. Bhatankar, via email

In the absence of any pictures from
you to support what is troubling
you, I can only guess the problem. I
suspect that you are comparing the
April 2014 Smart Photography

49

Q&A
Ask Uncle Ronnie
images shot at ISO 3200 with those
shot at much lower ISOs. Besides
the noise (which you expected), the
poor tonality could also be from
the fact that as the ISO increases,
the dynamic range decreases.
In this case the dynamic range
refers to the ability of the imaging
sensor to faithfully record details
in highlights as well as shadows at
the same time. And if the lighting
is harsh (with greater contrast
than average), it could further
compound the problem. This would
be true with any make/model of
digital camera.

Macro Focussing Rail from Novoflex

Macro Focussing Rail
I read somewhere about Macro
Focussing Rail. What exactly is it
and how does one use it?

If you are photographing in low
light situations, and if the subject is
stationary, it may be better to use a
lower ISO (camera on tripod) and
slower shutter speed rather than use a
higher ISO sensitivity.

Kamath L. R., Mumbai

Macro (close-up) photography
is generally done using a tripod.
This is to ensure that there is no
movement of the camera during
the exposure which could result in
less-than-perfectly-sharp pictures.
Also, depth of field is very limited
with macro and even a slight
movement of the photographer
will shift the point of critical
focus. The macro lens is first set
to the required magnification and
then the camera/lens
combination (on the
tripod) is moved
towards or away
from the subject
till the subject
appears in sharp
focus. This is often
very troublesome,
because an extended
tripod leg for
example, may touch
the plant on which
your subject (say an
insect) is sitting and
disturb the subject.
The macro focussing
rail will allow you to
move the camera in
very fine increments
without moving the
tripod. Remember
that depth of field
is extremely low
with macro. As an
example, using a

As to how high you can go on the
ISO sensitivity on your camera
(before any problem of image
quality sets in), there is no hard
and fast rule. Different users will
have different standards to evaluate
the final results. And sometimes, it
may be better to have a noisy image
with a lower image quality than
have no image at all! On the Canon
EOS 600D, I guess I would stay
within ISO 800 (or ISO 1000 at
the most), but this too can be
situation dependent.

Tamron 150-600mm lens
How good is the newly introduced
Tamron 150-600mm lens? Would
it be as good as Canon’s or Nikon’s
600mm lens?
Actually, this query has been
received a couple of times over the
telephone and hence we decided to
include it here.
It is unfair to compare two
different products with a price
difference of couple of lacs of
rupees between them. Moreover,
we have not tested Canon’s or
Nikon’s 600mm lens. Please read
our review of the said Tamron lens
elsewhere in this issue. You will
not be disappointed!

full-frame D-SLR, the DOF with
a macro lens at 1:1 magnification
(life size) at f/16 is about 2-3mm.
If you try hand-held photography
you are likely to miss the critical
focus point and have less-thanperfectly-sharp image due to
hand-shake.
Note: Macro focussing rails
are available that move in two
directions (forward-backward) as
well as four directions (forwardbackward, left-right).

A Question on Sharpening
My friend says that when
sharpening an image in
Photoshop, you should not see
a ‘halo’ around the edges. I find
that if I don’t see the halo, the
picture doesn’t seem sharpened.
Who is right?
Derrick D, via email

A similar question had cropped
up earlier too. A ‘halo’ will always
be formed when you sharpen an
image. You must control the halo
so that it is there but not noticed.
The ‘Radius’ slider controls the
size of the halo; the more the
Radius, the greater the halo. Try
to keep the Radius low (around
0.7 to 1 pixel) for images with
lots of detail and then adjust the
‘Amount’. Keep the image at 50%
when viewing it for sharpening.
If the halo is still objectionable,
moves the ‘Threshold’ slider a
bit to the right till the halo is not
disturbing. Note that too much of
Threshold will again ‘soften’ the
image.
ˆ

Tamron 150-600mm lens

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Smartphotography.in

MASTERCRAFTSMAN
Elena Shumilova

Elena Shumilova
is a Russian
mother and
photographer
who uses her
lens to show
the unique
interaction
between farm
animals and
children. She
brings out
magical images in the process.

FARM
STORIES

As told to Tanika Godbole

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© Elena ShumilovaSatish

Best Friends

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53

MASTERCRAFTSMAN

© Elena ShumilovaSatish

Elena Shumilova

Out to play

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© Elena ShumilovaSatish

© Elena ShumilovaSatish

Safe in my arms

Serenity
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April 2014 Smart Photography

55

MASTERCRAFTSMAN

© Elena ShumilovaSatish

Elena Shumilova

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Walking with the ducks

I live about 300km from
Moscow. I spend half the
year living on a farm. I
like to tell stories through
my images, and that is
my biggest inspiration. I
sketch down my ideas all
the time, capturing form
and arranging body shapes
of all my subjects. I believe
that it is not your face but
the body that communicates
emotion. While creating
sketches and envisioning
photographs, I take time to
figure out the poses and the
gestures. I began capturing
the special moments during
the walks I took with my
children. I photograph my
children and sometimes my
friends, when we go for a
walk. The dogs, rabbits and
other creatures that you
see in the images are all
our animals. So as you can
see, I use no special props
or set-ups. My pictures
are the result of patience,
and involve waiting for the
right moment. Sometimes
I have to wait for quite a
long time to get the perfect
shot. I have Canon 5D Mark
II, a 50mm f/1.2 lens and
135mm f/2.0 lens. That’s all
the equipment I employ. I
also make use of Photoshop
to edit my images from time
to time.
To the beginners in this
field, I would say—believe
in yourself. Do not try to
ape anyone else’s style;
always find your own
unique approach. This will
create wonders.
ˆ
Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

57

MASTERCRAFTSMAN
Soft touch

© Elena ShumilovaSatish

© Elena ShumilovaSatish

Elena Shumilova

Pure Joy
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MASTERCRAFTSM
Rohit Varma

Rohit Verma left
his corporate career
to venture into
wildlife photography.
He is passionate
about conserving
nature and creating
awareness through
his images. He lives in
Bangalore. His work
can be found at www.
rohitvarma.com

As told to
Tanika Godbole

Tell us about your background. What is your life
like?

I belong to a small
town called Balaghat in
Madhya Pradesh, which
is surrounded by natural
beauty. Places like Kanha
National Park, Pench,
Navegaon, Nagzira are
quite close to Balaghat. So
yes, I did spend lot of time
in visiting these places till
the time I was living there.
I was close to nature.
When I moved to
Bangalore life changed and
I got into the mundane
corporate job. I worked for
12 years in the corporate
world and then one trip
to Bandipur National
Park changed my life . It
was a ‘call of the wild’. I
started visiting parks and

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Lioness & cub

© Rohit Varma

FOREST
TALES

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61

MASTERCRAFTSM
Rohit Varma
sanctuaries all over India
and one day I reached a
point when I decided to
quit the corporate world
so that I can devote more
time to follow my passion.

Tiger

Nature is something that
is close to my heart. It
inspires me, it gives me
peace, I feel heavenly
when I am in the jungles.
I took up photography
so that I can capture the
beauty of nature and share
them with the world.
Pictures speak louder
than words hence images
can do a great job in
educating the world about
conservation.

© Rohit Varma

Being from the corporate
world, what pulled you
towards photography?

© Rohit Varma

Pig-tailed macaque

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© Rohit Varma

Tusker
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April 2014 Smart Photography

63

MASTERCRAFTSM
Rohit Varma
You specialize in wildlife
photography. What inspired
you to take up this genre?

I am definitely inspired by
nature itself, so this was the
obvious path for me. One
person who really inspired
me is Kalyan Varma. I
really liked his style of
photography.
Any unforgettable incident
that happened to you while
you were out shooting in the
wild?

There are lots. Once we were
in Borneo and were shooting
during the night. We had
an amazing sighting of a
nocturnal primate called
Tarsier. We were busy with
the shoot, I felt something
was biting me. I put the torch
light down and I realized
that I was standing on fire
ant colony. I was bitten very
badly but yes I really enjoyed
that sighting.
I also had an opportunity
to witness four sub-adult
Striped Hyenas playing in
front of me. They came so
close that I could even smell
them. I think this was one of
the best experiences in the
wild.

Do you pre-plan your shoots?
What are the most important
things that you have to keep
in mind?

Yes, there is pre-planning
required. It all depends on
place, season and the subject.
You must make sure that you
have right lenses, memory
cards, and battery charger.
Sometimes you can really get
stuck. One should do a bit of
research before going to any
place.
How important is high-end
equipment to a photographer?

One needs to have passion
and eye for detail. Equipment
definitely matters and can

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© Rohit Varma

Lion Family

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April 2014 Smart Photography

65

MASTERCRAFTSM
Wild asses copy

© Rohit Varma

Rohit Varma

Leopard
enhance your work.
But the rest depends
on you.
What are your feelings
about the use of photoediting software?

Cameras cannot always
capture what naked
eyes see, hence a little
editing is required. I
see nothing wrong in
giving the final touch.
Any suggestions that
you’d like to give to
wildlife photographers?

© Rohit Varma

Knowing the ecology
and understanding
the subject is very
important. Do your
research, talk to
people, spend time to
know your subject. ˆ

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PHOTO FEATURE
Dharamshala

Ajay Sood is an accomplished
travel photographer
and a travelogue writer.
He has been covered as
Mastercraftsman in Smart
Photography (May 2012).
He was on the jury of Canon
Photomarathon 2012.
He is also an assignment
photographer for National
Geographic Traveller.
Besides mentoring photography workshops, he
leads photo-tours, and contributes travelogues
and features to various publications. Ajay has
a passion for capturing the sights, sounds and
stories of places he visits. He has travelled across
India extensively, and to over 20 countries across
the globe. His 27 years in the communication
industry have been his training ground, leading
to his deep understanding of the visual medium,
reflected in his unique compositions.

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A

lps to Aravallis, Cairngorms
to Karakoram, Hindu Kush
to Himalayas - I have gone
around taking in the beauty of some
of the most majestic mountain
ranges. But the dazzling view of
Dhauladhar from Dharamshala,
really took my breath away.
 
En route Dharamshala, Kiratpur
Sahib onwards, we were driving
in the shadows of the Dhauladhar
ranges. All along, we feasted on many

moods of Dhauladhar. But nothing
came close to what we witnessed
once we reached Dharamshala.
 
Actually, our booking was not in
Dharamshala, but in Blossoms Village
Resort in Sidhpur, a small village
just short of Dharamshala. Despite
the night-long drive, one look at the
gorgeous view and our journey’s fatigue
had vanished. It was, as if we could
just stretch our arm and touch the
glistening, snow-covered mountains.
Smartphotography.in

Ajay Sood (Travelure)
Travel Photographer/Photo-educator

Dharamshala Panorama

 
Upon reflecting, I realised that
during my other travels through
the mountains, and trips to the
hill stations, it was always about
‘view-points’, ‘sunset-points’, or just
‘aimless-wanderings-for-the-bestview’. What set the Dharamshala
experience apart is - from most
parts of this small hamlet, the view
is stunning and you don’t have to go
around looking for ‘view-points’.
 
The town is small, with a population
Smartphotography.in

of around 25,000. But the activities
here are spread over a stretch of
around 20kms. In the populated
clusters, the streets are narrow
and encroached by hawkers and
vendors. Locals have exciting tales
of peak-season to share when a
short drive of about 2kms may take
anything between 45 minutes to an
hour and a half. Though we were
glad we were there in the so-called
off-season (peak winters), I am sure
with thousands of tourists pouring

in during the peak-season, even this
slow progress through civilization
would be fun, since, for most part,
the area offers vast open stretches of
natural beauty.
 
From the Tibetan Monastery to the
Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts
(Norbulingka Institute), from the
War Memorial to the spanking-new
HPCA Cricket Stadium, from the
Bhagsunath Falls to Naddi viewpoint,
from Tea Gardens to crowded
April 2014 Smart Photography

69

PHOTO FEATURE
Dharamshala

The only road tunnel during our drive to Dharamshala
Dhauladhars, en- route to Dharamshala

Kotwali Bazaar, we saw it all. What
stood out everywhere was the
imposing backdrop provided by the
Dhauladhars.
 
Another thing that stood out was
an omnipresent Tibetan influence,
thanks to the town being the supreme
seat of in-exile Dalai Lama - be it the
little Tibetan eateries in the crowded
market place, the dolls with Tibetan
features in the Dolls Museum in
Norbulingka Institute, or Tibetan
monks roaming the narrow alleyways
of McLeodGunj, Bhagsunath,
Dharamshala, or Naddi.
 
A visit to Dharamshala is highly
recommended if the majesty of
mountains is your call. I guarantee
that you’ll come back mesmerised. ˆ

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Kangra Fort

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Bridge showing entry to Dharamshala

April 2014 Smart Photography

71

PHOTO FEATURE
Dharamshala
St. James
Church,
Dharamshala

Autumn
colours in
tea estate in
Dharamshala
Cottage, with majestic Dhauladhars as backdrop

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73

PHOTO FEATURE
Dharamshala

Hues of Dhauladhar at sunset
War Memorial

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View point at Naddi
A Monk turns prayer wheels

Smartphotography.in

Bhagsunath Waterfalls

HPCA Cricket Stadium, Dharamshala

April 2014 Smart Photography

75

PROFILE
TS Nagarajan

A Farewell to T.S.
Nagarajan
Tanika Godbole

B

Nagarajan was
photo-editor for
‘Yojana’, a journal of the Planning
Commission of India. He also
worked with the Union Ministry
of Information and UNICEF
India. He had the opportunity
to construct the lives of Indira
Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi
through his photo essays, and held
shows and exhibitions all over the
world. And throughout his career,
what stood out the most was his
ability to document the social
changes in India with precision
and a rare, deep understanding of
his subjects.

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Photo courtesy: Harmony Magazine

orn in Mysore
in 1932, T.
S. Nagarajan
was an ordinary
person with an
extraordinary
vision. Even as
he had earned his
B.Sc degree, he was
drawn to the world
of photography.
Having observed
his elder brother,
T.S Satyan, who
was also a known
photographer,
Nagarajan started
his photography
career with the
Central Government
in 1956 and there
was no looking
back.

A quality that ensured his longterm success in the field was his
openness towards technology.
He embraced the digital age
but kept the essence of his
art alive. Apart from being a
talented photographer, he was
an articulate story-teller. He
authored books like ‘The Pearl of
Water on a Lotus Leaf and Other
Memories’ and ‘Self-portrait,
The story of my life.’ Honest
anecdotes accompanied his
photographs, and the books were
received very well. After losing

his wife and companion
of fifty years, he expressed his
pain in his essay, ‘I thought she
would live forever: A love story’.
His last work, ‘Vanishing Homes
of India’ documented Indian
homes. Through these black
and white images, he showed
the impact of architecture on
peoples’ lives.
T. S. Ngarajan’s life and work are
in inspiration to many. Through
his pictures, he left behind stories
that words could not tell.
ˆ
Smartphotography.in

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Harish Lakshman,

President, SAE International

President ACMA

CAN COUNTERFEIT
BE CONTAINED?
L

RA

UGU

!

UE
ISS

INA
Industry gears up for
next wave of growth

Corona set to
rope in equity
partner

DICV’s product
blitz

REVIEWS: NIKON D5300 FUJIFILM X-A1 CANON EF 24-70MM F/4L IS USM SIGMA 24-105MM F/4 CANON SPEEDLITE 320 EX
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ISSUE 11
VOLUME 09
FEBRUARY 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER 1 IMAGING MAGAZINE!

INTERVIEW AMIT RANE
PROFILE SANTOSH SALIGRAM

TRAVELE
FEATUR
IN B&W
LONDON

TUTORIALS

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

ALSO REVIEWED

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COVER STORY

Industry Scenario
and Wish List
H. S. Billimoria

T

he start of a new financial
year is an appropriate time to
review the year that has gone
by and to prepare a wish-list of what
would happen in the forthcoming
year.
The sudden collapse in the compact
camera market worldwide definitely
took Japanese camera manufacturers
by surprise. Whilst Smartphones
were expected to nibble at the edges,
they ended up ravaging the bottom
end of the compact camera market
which practically disappeared. The
set-back was more acute in developed
economies like the US and large
parts of Europe where Smartphones
assumed quick popularity. However,
the Indian market was also not
spared and the compact camera
market which was expanding at
a healthy pace, suddenly took a
down turn. This not only caught the

manufacturers napping, it also led
to various cost-cutting measures.
Interestingly, from the camera
manufacturers, only Samsung and
Sony have Smartphone cameras
of any consequence. Worldwide,
the D-SLR market was stagnant in
2012-13 but in India it was buoyant
and continued to grow at around
30%. Mirrorless cameras continued
to do well in Japan, Europe and
lately in the US. In India, however,
they are still to become a formidable
force. Hopefully, Sony will play the
leader in the Indian market as far as
mirrorless cameras are concerned.
Our prediction for the forthcoming
year is as follows:
• The D-SLR market would
continue to be buoyant in India.
Our readers continue to affirm
this statement through their
ever growing interest in D-SLR

photography and through their
purchase intentions.
• Mirrorless cameras will begin to
make an impact in the Indian
market mainly through the
marketing efforts of Sony.
• Smartphones will begin to be
available at lower price points
and therefore continue to hurt
the compact camera market.
• Compact camera manufacturers
at the higher end i.e. those who
offer semi-professional compact
cameras and super-zoom bridge
cameras with Wi-Fi connectivity
will continue to see a market for
their products.
• The accessory market which
includes lenses, tripods etc will
continue to grow.
Captured below is our wish list
for the top manufacturers in the
ensuing year:

NIKON
Nikon’s D-SLR range is now
very impressive. A string of
new models has helped Nikon
to modernize its range to
make it ready for the new age.
However, Nikon needs to do
two things rather urgently.
• Wi-Fi connectivity needs
to be incorporated in all its
cameras.
• Nikon’s mirrorless efforts so
far have been modest. It is
therefore likely to miss out
on the mirrorless camera

78

Smart Photography April 2014

market and needs to take
remedial action in this
year.
Nikon’s compact camera
range is largely outsourced
and therefore has limited
ability to impact its
operations. However, Nikon
has introduced a brand new
range of compact cameras in
the hope that they can gain
market share in this segment
from those who have lost out.

Smartphotography.in

SONY

CANON
Canon seemed to have
answered our prayers when
it announced its new 1200D.
Apart from the EOS 7D,
Canon’s remaining D-SLR
range is now looking very
good. However, there is
no follow up to the EOS
100D in terms of lighter
bodies and lighter lenses
and Canon could do well
to look into this area. Like
Nikon, Canon’s mirrorless
camera efforts so far have
been relatively modest.
In the compact camera

market, Canon has some
quality offerings like the
G-series, the S-series and
these should continue to
do reasonably well. Canon
also needs to introduce
Wi-Fi throughout its range.
Canon’s top boss, Masaya
Maeda sees the Smartphone
not as a threat but as an
opportunity. Canon hopes
to use the infrastructure
that Smartphones create and
at the same time produce
cameras that do things which
Smartphones cannot.

At this precise moment,
Sony appears to be the
most promising player in
the imaging segment. Its
new Smartphone range
has been a success. Also,
Sony seems to have reappraised its positioning
in the D-SLR market and
has rightly decided to focus
on mirrorless cameras. Its
recent introductions in the
mirrorless segment have been
very inspiring and hold out
great promise for Sony in the
ensuing years. Sony has taken
a big knock in the compact

OLYMPUS:
The international problems
facing the Olympus company
inevitably had an impact on
its fortunes in India with
a contraction in its Indian
office operations. However, in
terms of models introduced,
Olympus was at its best
and the OMD EM-1 was
deserving winner of SP’s
“Camera of the Year” award.
The new Stylus range from

Smartphotography.in

camera market. However, this
would be compensated by
their success in Smartphones.
On the whole, Sony has
innovated the most in the
last year and we eagerly look
forward to see what else is
coming in the year 201415. On the negative side,
Sony should sort out some
of the ergonomic issues in
some of its models as also
the image play-back system
in its cameras. Touch screen
functions along with Wi-Fi
should also be a priority for
Sony.

Olympus is also promising
and we wish that Olympus
India will build on the
foundation laid by them for
quality cameras. The Micro
Four Thirds mount used by
Olympus in its mirrorless
cameras is the most balanced
in weight terms between body
and lens and should see good
success in the Indian market,
if marketed properly.

April 2014 Smart Photography

79

COVER STORY
PANASONIC
We have always been highly
impressed by Panasonic’s
products and Panasonic’s
manufacturing prowess has
never been in doubt. However,
in the Indian market, Panasonic
continues to disappoint with
modest distribution and modest
marketing. Its Micro Four
Thirds mirrorless cameras are
second to none in terms of
build quality and finish and
the GH3 is probably the best

video camera in the market
today. Wide availability,
however, continues to be an
issue. Panasonic’s compact
cameras have also been very
well made but like others, have
taken a knock in the last year.
We expect the LX, TZ and FZ
range of Panasonic’s compact
cameras to continue to do well.
Panasonic, however, needs to
work on battery life and wider
availability in the Indian market.

PENTAX
It is a little too early to judge
Pentax-Ricoh efforts in the
Indian market since they are
yet to complete a year. There is
no doubt that Pentax’s D-SLRs
are of high quality and almost
on par with the competition.
The K-3 was a significant step
ahead and will help Pentax to
step up its efforts in Indian
market. Pentax’s D-SLRs need

that little bit extra in terms
of autofocus performance
and video imaging to get
that cutting edge. Pentax’s
mirrorless cameras along with
Ricoh compact cameras, we
hope, will make steady inroad
into the Indian market. Pentax
also is now the only effective
competitor in the niche
medium format market.

FUJIFILM
Fujifilm is the only survivor
of the four major film
companies of yesteryear.
Wisely, they have decided
to stick to the niche market
with their mirrorless
cameras and compact
cameras. The semi-retro

image has worked for
Fujifilm and given the
company a solid niche
image. Better autofocus,
better battery life and more
aggressive pricing would
give Fujifilm, more success
in the Indian market.

SAMSUNG
What can we say about
Samsung? The company is on a
roll. Its Smartphones are world
beaters and the S4 Zoom was
our choice in the “Smartphone
Camera of the Year”. For
unknown reasons, Samsung
is fairly quiet in India on the

OTHERS
Other players in the imaging market include Casio, Nokia,
iBall, Micromax, Karbon and Lava. Whilst Casio operates only
in the compact camera market, others are major players in the
Smartphone market and are sure to improve their camera offerings
in the ensuing year.

80

Smart Photography April 2014

mirrorless camera and compact
camera front. We believe that
the Samsung Galaxy range
with the Android system has
a lot to offer and we hope
Samsung will therefore make
an aggressive entry into this
imaging segment.

Indian customers can look forward to a plethora of choice.
Above all, photo magazines will grow in importance as D-SLRs
and such other cameras are bought after a lot of study and research.
Reliance on credible magazines is very strong. And SP will be there to
guide your every step in this hobby.
ˆ
Smartphotography.in

LEARNING
Understanding Photography

Speeding with
the Shutter
Ashok Kandimalla

that time. The shutter speeds follow a
progression as in Table 3.

TABLE 3
30”
15”
8”
4”
2”
1”
2

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]

82

to recap aperture has a strong bearing
on the depth of field (see the article
“Depth of Field in Depth”, Smart
Photography, February 2013, for
more details). Shutter speed on the
other hand affects the way you want
to freeze action or depict motion. ISO
is generally varied when the existing
light is not able to support the shutter
speed and /or aperture you want. In
this article you will see how one of
these three factors, the shutter speed,
affects the final image. Let us start
with the basics.

4
8

Slower

15

Faster

30
60
120
250
500
1000
2000
4000
8000

Picture 2: Shutter Speed – 1 sec.

Picture 3: Shutter Speed – 1/20 sec.

Picture 5: Shutter Speed – 1/400 sec.

Picture 6: Shutter Speed – 1/3200 sec.

82

TABLE 1
Shutter Speed

Aperture

1/250 sec

f/11

1/500 sec

f/8

1/1000 sec

f/5.6

1/2000 sec

f/4

1/4000 sec

f/2.8

Even more combinations are
possible if you add ISO (see Table 2).
Once again, all these give the same
exposure.

TABLE 2
Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO

1/125 sec

f/8

50

1/250 sec

f/11

200

1/125 sec

f/16

200

1/250 sec

f/16

400

1/125 sec

f/22

400

So, the decision every photographer
needs to take is - what is the
combination that he should use. Well,
that largely depends on the subject
and how he wants the end result. Just

Picture 1: Shutter blades in a DSLR.

First, what is a shutter? In DSLRs,
shutter is generally (there are a few
exceptions) made with a set of blades
(Picture 1). The shutter is positioned in
front of the sensor. It is generally kept
closed (by overlapping blades) to block
the light from falling on the sensor.
When you press the shutter release,
the shutter opens for a set time interval
and then closes again. This time
interval is called the “shutter speed”.
The next logical question is - who sets
the shutter speed? It is set by you in
manual exposure and shutter priority
modes. In aperture priority and all
program modes, the shutter speed is
set up by the camera depending on
the aperture, ISO and light available at
Smartphotography.in

Smart Photography April 2014

Picture 4: Shutter Speed – 1/100 sec.

Speeding with
the Shutter

Pictures 2 to 6: These images show the effect of shutter speed on the image. As you can observe the water drops at slower shutter speeds appear as elongated blurs due to
their motion while the shutter is open. At higher shutter speeds they appear frozen.

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

83

LEARNING
Pic 1

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].

Build Your
Portfolio
Dilip Yande

some way. It involves the ability
of the photographer to make the
product as attractive as possible.
Students who have learned enough
and are confident, try to venture
out in the market independently.
They feel that their recently
purchased 22-megapixel camera
would fetch them instant work.
What they generally carry in the
portfolio are samples of pictures
like that of a chubby baby next
door, weeping/ laughing or having
bath, grandma doing a ritual,
festival shots, shampoo bottles
shot on white paper, pictures of
the best girl in their group, few
shots of professional models which
they have shot in the institute or
during some workshop and a few
creative shots. With these they feel,
that they would instantly get work,
followed by a roaring success. But
it’s not so.

T

hose who have a liking
for photography and wish
to make it a career, learn
the subject either by directly
assisting a senior photographer
and slogging in his studio doing
every desired work there, or learn
the techniques by reading books,
while some attend workshops
conducted by professionals or join
photography institutes.
When I am talking about these
youngsters I am pointing at those
who are specifically interested
in ‘Commercial Photography’.
This includes many subjects like
fashion photography, portraits,
shooting people, tabletops of
Jewelry/ product/ food, industrial
photography, shooting interior etc.

It is not mere luck or contacts; it
is the content of your portfolio
that really matters!
In your formative years, learn
to shoot everything that comes
under the banner of Commercial
Photography. This will make you
an all-rounder. You also need
to know and overcome your
weaknesses. For example, you may
like to do fashion photography

In commercial photography the
pictures are intended to sell or
market a product or a brand in

88

but your ability to handle a model
may not be good. Your love for a
particular section of photography,
for example shooting jewelry or
food will develop instinctively.
Specialization comes with time,
practice and more practice.
Never comment before a client
that, for example, you specialize
in portraits and people before
first completing at least ten paid
assignments and your work is
released in the media.
So what should your portfolio
have and how should you present
it?
First and foremost, do not place
a water-mark on your pictures
because they ruin the look. Create
sections within the portfolio with
headings of the topics. Make a
neat Power-Point presentation.
Keep an option of two folders
in your laptop, one which has
the full presentation with subsections in the same Power Point,
the second folder should have
separate sub-sections. Gauge how
busy the client is at that moment
of time, whether he wants to see
your entire work or just that which
interests him. It makes no sense
showing interior shots to a jeans
manufacturer. But do show him
the tabletops of the jeans that you
have taken.
Smartphotography.in

Smart Photography April 2014

While deciding the contents
of the portfolio do not pack it
with only the work done in the
institute, because your colleague
may be having similar pictures of
the same model and is also out
in the market to fetch work as
your rival.
Spend 3 to 4 months in planning
and building your portfolio. This
is the time to sow the seeds. You
may feel confident of delivering
what you have learned, but you
do need the right opportunity
and this time the marks or the
grade is going to be decided by
the client.

Make it a point to carry
at least 15 prints of
8x12-inch size, wellbound or printed in the
form of a catalog (these
days it is not so costly),
because many clients
insists on seeing your
prints only to satisfy
their doubts.

88

Pic 2

crucial. Here are tips on what you
need to add to make your first
presentation a success:

Contents of a
Portfolio

Start checking out different
advertisements in newspapers and
magazines of different products
and brands. At the same time
also observe the photographs
used on different posters,

Remember this is
your first portfolio
and the contents of
this portfolio is very

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

Build your Portfolio

89

LEARNING
Printscreen: Plus clarity

Plus clarity

One Scene, Different
Interpretations
Rohinton Mehta

M

ost photographers
photograph a scene
without a thought about
the different ways the same scene
could be interpreted. Why is that?
The answer lies in the fact that we
don’t take time to think. We look at
a beautiful landscape or seascape
or any other subject, and are too
happy to capture it the way we see
it before our eyes. That makes us a
sort of ‘documentary photographer’.
By itself, there’s nothing wrong in
that, but why can’t we be creative?
Do we always want to show what we

see before our eyes or do we want
to show what we ‘see with our inner
eye?’ I for one, don’t capture reality;
I create my vision. You can too!
Here is a very simple example of
how, using just a single tool in
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), you can
interpret a scene in two different
ways. Its often necessary to plan out
your strategy before you even press
the shutter release button.
Here’s a rainy-day photo of a stream
in Matheran, the smallest hill-station
in the world, situated about 100km

from Mumbai. I stood before the
scene and wondered how differently I
could interpret the flow of the water.
I could, for example, use a very fast
shutter speed and freeze every single
droplet of the flowing water. Or I
could use a very slow shutter speed
and create movement of the water in
my still (non-video) picture. I could
even use an in-between shutter speed
– not too fast, nor too slow – and
create an intermediate effect. Even
though it was the rainy season, it
was quite bright and I did not have
Neutral Density Filters that would
have allowed me to use
very slow shutter speeds
necessary to create the
silky flow of the water that
I had in mind. I walked
around and located the
position from where I could
frame the shot. Setting
up my trusty tripod I
shot quite a few frames at
different shutter speeds and
different focal lengths of
my zoom lens (Remember,
the subject distance, focal
length and shutter speed,
all play a part in creating
the ‘freeze or flow effect’).
I knew I had one more
trick up my sleeve : to use
the Clarity slider in ACR.
The Clarity slider, when
used on the positive side,
adds localised mid-tone
contrast (no, it does not
add sharpness even though
that is the feeling you get
when increasing Clarity),
and when used on the
negative side, softens midtone contrast. I knew that
in the absence of ND filters,

Minus clarity, soft look

I could rely on this trick to create the
effect I that was looking at.

in Photoshop. Save the file using the
Save As command.

1. Open the Raw image. It is better
to shoot in Raw, as, besides the other
advantages, it offers greater leeway in
editing.

3. Open the Raw file in ACR and this
time, move the Clarity slider to the
negative side. In our example, I set
it to -57. Click Open Image to open
the photo in Photoshop. Save the file
using the Save As command.

2. Simply move the Clarity slider to
the right till you see the effect you are
looking for. In our example, I set it at Compare the two edited pictures
+57. I also moved the Highlights slider side by side and you will notice how
to the right to get cleaner highlights. the same scene can be interpreted
Click Open Image to open the photo differently.
ˆ

Original image

96

Smartphotography.in

Smart Photography April 2014

Printscreen: Minus clarity

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

97

96
One Scene, Different
Interpretations

LEARNING
Fun with Photoshop

Save those clutters

Using the Spot Healing Brush

Content Aware Fill to Remove Tag

Tag Removed

Select and Change Background to Black

Sujith Gopinath

Original image

A

ny photographer will
have hundreds of images
that he would not dare to
show to the public. Sometimes
this is because of a technical
imperfection, and at other times,
it could be factors beyond his
control such as background
clutter, interfering elements such
as wires and stems, a stray light
ray etc. With some creativity and
patience (I would rather call it
creative madness) and aided by the
advanced features in Photoshop
Creative Suite and Creative Cloud,
you can save such photographs.
This is why experts always insist
on not throwing away your bad
images.
I am using an image that I captured
during one of the Ganpati festivals
in Mumbai. It was shot at the

98

Smart Photography April 2014

workshop of one of the craftsmen
and the background is less than
perfect. Let us see how we can
transform this image to something
different.
First, open the image in Photoshop.
You can use CS5 and above, and
certain Elements versions, but I am
using the latest Photoshop Creative
Cloud (CC).
In the image, there is a yellow price
tag hanging on the left hand of
the idol (towards the right of the
image). To remove this, select the
Spot Healing tool and on the tool
presets (on the tool bar), select
Content Aware. Now select a size
slightly larger than the thread of
the tag and carefully paint over
the thread. This will remove the
thread and fill the space with the

background image .
Now to remove the tag, select the
Rectangular Marquee tool and
draw a selection around the tag.
Now right click within the selection
and click on Fill. In the menu that
opens, select Content Aware. The
tag is removed, intelligently filling
the void with the background . You
might need to fine-tune the fill
with Clone/Stamp tool in the final
stage.

After Applying Black Background

Render Clouds for Smoke Effect

Now use the Polygonal Lasso tool
and carefully select the image.
Now feather the selection, right
click on the selection and click on
Select Inverse. This will select the
background. After this, hit Delete
and in the menu that opens, select
Black in the Fill box. Now we
have a black background. I have
Smartphotography.in

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

99

98
Fun with photoshop:
Save those clutters

Learnings

C

orrect exposure, which
is the right “dosage” of
light to take a picture with
maximum possible details and
right tonality, is composed of three
parts. These are shutter speed,
aperture and ISO. There will be a
great many combinations of these
three parameters that will give the
same exposure. This is called the
“reciprocity”. Table 1 shows a few
such combinations of shutter speeds
and apertures, all of which yield the
same exposure.

LEARNING
Understanding Photography

Speeding with
the Shutter
Ashok Kandimalla

C

orrect exposure, which
is the right “dosage” of
light to take a picture with
maximum possible details and
right tonality, is composed of three
parts. These are shutter speed,
aperture and ISO. There will be a
great many combinations of these
three parameters that will give the
same exposure. This is called the
“reciprocity”. Table 1 shows a few
such combinations of shutter speeds
and apertures, all of which yield the
same exposure.

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]

82

Smart Photography April 2014

to recap aperture has a strong bearing
on the depth of field (see the article
“Depth of Field in Depth”, Smart
Photography, February 2013, for
more details). Shutter speed on the
other hand affects the way you want
to freeze action or depict motion. ISO
is generally varied when the existing
light is not able to support the shutter
speed and /or aperture you want. In
this article you will see how one of
these three factors, the shutter speed,
affects the final image. Let us start
with the basics.

TABLE 1
Shutter Speed

Aperture

1/250 sec

f/11

1/500 sec

f/8

1/1000 sec

f/5.6

1/2000 sec

f/4

1/4000 sec

f/2.8

Even more combinations are
possible if you add ISO (see Table 2).
Once again, all these give the same
exposure.

TABLE 2
Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO

1/125 sec

f/8

50

1/250 sec

f/11

200

1/125 sec

f/16

200

1/250 sec

f/16

400

1/125 sec

f/22

400

So, the decision every photographer
needs to take is - what is the
combination that he should use. Well,
that largely depends on the subject
and how he wants the end result. Just

Picture 1: Shutter blades in a DSLR.

First, what is a shutter? In DSLRs,
shutter is generally (there are a few
exceptions) made with a set of blades
(Picture 1). The shutter is positioned in
front of the sensor. It is generally kept
closed (by overlapping blades) to block
the light from falling on the sensor.
When you press the shutter release,
the shutter opens for a set time interval
and then closes again. This time
interval is called the “shutter speed”.
The next logical question is - who sets
the shutter speed? It is set by you in
manual exposure and shutter priority
modes. In aperture priority and all
program modes, the shutter speed is
set up by the camera depending on
the aperture, ISO and light available at
Smartphotography.in

that time. The shutter speeds follow a
progression as in Table 3.

TABLE 3
30”
15”
8”
4”
2”
1”
2
4
8

Slower

15

Faster

30
60
120
250
500
1000
2000
4000
8000

Picture 4: Shutter Speed – 1/100 sec.

Picture 2: Shutter Speed – 1 sec.

Picture 3: Shutter Speed – 1/20 sec.

Picture 5: Shutter Speed – 1/400 sec.

Picture 6: Shutter Speed – 1/3200 sec.

Pictures 2 to 6: These images show the effect of shutter speed on the image. As you can observe the water drops at slower shutter speeds appear as elongated blurs due to
their motion while the shutter is open. At higher shutter speeds they appear frozen.

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

83

LEARNING
Understanding Photography
Important: The symbol
“ indicates full seconds
(e.g. 15” = 15 seconds).
Plain numbers indicate
a fraction of a second.
(e.g. 500 = 1/500th of a
second).
Each faster shutter
speed has a speed
double the previous
one (half the duration)
and reduces the light
entering by half.
Likewise each slower
shutter has a duration
twice that of the
succeeding one and
thus doubles the light
allowed. The difference
in exposure between
two consecutive shutter
speeds is called a “Stop”.
When a shutter speed
is changed, the aperture value must
also be changed correspondingly to
keep the exposure same (as indicated
in Table 1), unless you deliberately
want to overexpose or underexpose
by using a slower or faster shutter
speed. While the shutter speeds
indicated change the exposure by
one stop, advanced cameras can vary
the shutter speeds at a finer interval
of 1/3 or ½ stops. This gives more
precise control on exposure.
Effect of shutter speed: The main
effect of shutter speed is felt only
when the subject is not static. A
purely static subject (for example,
still life) will look the same regardless
of the shutter speed. You may get a
doubt here. If you change the shutter
speed, should you also not change
the aperture, to keep the exposure
same? And will this not result in
change in depth of field and hence
appearance of the image? While this
is correct it is possible to change
the shutter speed and still keep the
exposure same by altering the ISO or
the intensity of light source. If this is
done, then the aperture can be kept
unchanged.
A faster shutter speed as explained
exposes the sensor for a shorter
duration and hence will record a
smaller time slice. Due to this short

84

Smart Photography April 2014

Picture 7: Kicking
up spray! Here
as bird took off it
kicked up a water
spray. The spray and
fast moving wings
have been frozen.
Exposure data:
1/1000, f/8, ISO 800.

time interval, a moving subject
would have moved only a small
distance. And if the shutter speeds is
very fast it would have moved only
an imperceptibly small distance.
Thus, it will be captured as if it is
frozen at that instant.
Conversely, a slower shutter speed
causes the sensor to be exposed for
a longer duration. Any movement of
the subject during the time shutter
is open will thus get recorded as a
blur. The Pictures 2 to 6 show you the
effect of different shutter speeds. (In
this case the aperture was varied to
keep the exposure constant).
Now that you know how shutter
speed affects the images, how do you
use it to your advantage? Assuming
that the subject is not static, first
decide on what you want to show.
Do you want the subject to be frozen
in time or do want to show it (or
the background) as a blur giving a
feeling that the subject is “too fast for
the eye”? Once you decide on that,
you can choose a shutter speed to
get the desired effect. So, how do you
proceed? Read on.
Action and Motion: Let us look
at what action means. An action is
always accompanied by motion of

some element in the scene. It can be
of the main subject itself or some
surrounding element(s). Usually
action shows something that is
transient in nature – something that
is happening or going on. A ball on
a table will be there forever which
means it is static. However, if you
drop the ball off the table it will fall
(a transient) and ultimately rest
on the floor, which is once more a
static state. An action photograph
(in the context of still photography)
is all about capturing that transient
state – a state that will exist only for a
fleeting moment. Unless that aspect
is captured (or “frozen”) the essence
of action is lost. Here is one example
(Picture 7). Here a shutter speed of
1/1000 of a second froze the water
drops in midair as well as the wings.
Next, how do you show motion in
a still image? Strangely techniques
to show motion differ from those
that are used to freeze action. That is
because if the subject or the elements
around it do not have anything
transient to depict action, then even
a fast moving subject captured with a
high shutter speed will show neither
action nor motion. For example, a
moving car photographed with a
very high shutter speed will look no
different from a car that is parked!
Smartphotography.in

A human eye interprets blur with
fast motion. This property can be
used to depict motion. A blur can be
shown in two ways. You can blur the
background against sharp subject or
you can blur the subject itself. Both
are acceptable. Let me conclude the
basics part saying techniques used to
freeze action and show motion are
very different.

Capturing Action:
As a rule of thumb, you need a
shutter speed of around 1/1000 sec
to capture action like a bird in flight,
sports, etc. The relative speed of
the subject will increase if you are
close to it. It will also depend on
the direction on the movement.
Movement perpendicular to the axis
of lens will need a higher shutter
speed to freeze the action compared
to movement that is along the
lens axis - that is, subject heading
towards or away from you. There is
really no major role played by the
aperture since your aim here is to
capture action and not the control
of depth of field. Most of us will be
using tele-zooms to capture action
whose longest end focal length will
be around 300mm at an aperture of
f/5.6. These lenses
generally give much
better performance
at about f/8 (their
sweet spot). So,
you are looking for
a brightness level
that will support
a shutter speed
of 1/1000 and an
aperture of f/8.
The base ISO of
your DSLR (100
or 200) will not
be able to support
this combination
unless you are
photographing on a
very bright day.

•

thousands. At these values of ISO
the picture quality will not be as
good as the base ISO of 100 or 200,
but a grainy sharp image is a lot
better than no image or an unsharp
image. The best thing is to keep
ISO at the lowest possible value
that provides around 1/1000 shutter
speed and the optimum aperture of
your lens. This means that you need
to keep a tab on ISO. This exactly
what Auto ISO mode on your DSLR
will do. This mode will allow you
to select the shutter speed and/
or aperture of your choice while
the camera chooses the minimum
possible ISO (as per the existing
light) for best quality images.

•
•

Showing motion:

For the sake of completeness, I will
also list out a few other parameters
that you need to set on your camera
for action photography.

•
•

Exposure settings: Auto ISO,
shutter speed of 1/1000 and an
aperture that gives best results for
the lens you are using.
AF Settings: AF-Continuous,
release priority, Multiple AF
points enabled, manual AF point
selection (of center point) but
with auto handover.

File format: Highest pixel count
(Large) JPEG with minimum
compression (Fine).
Frame advance: Fastest frame
rate your camera allows noise
permitting.
Image stabilization: Off, since this
does nothing to freeze the action.

Picture 8: The
blurred background
beautifully
illustrates the
motion here. This
image was captured
using the technique
of panning
described. Exposure
data: 1/60 sec, f/5.6,
ISO 400.

You have already read how a very
fast shutter speed will make a fast
moving car as it is parked and how
blur can be used to show motion.
You can show blur by synchronizing
the movement of the camera with
the moving subject so that the
subject is captured sharply but
background is blurred showing
motion. This technique is called
“panning”. For this you need to
use a relatively slow shutter speed
(compared to the one that captures
action) and move the camera in
sync with the motion of the subject.
The resulting picture gives the
impression of motion (Picture 8).
Here are a few tips to help you get
good panning images.

•

Set the camera to manual focus
and keep it focused at a point

Smartphotography.in

© H. Satish

Fortunately, the
digital revolution
has brought to us
the tremendous
advantage of high
ISOs, with values
going up to several
April 2014 Smart Photography

85

LEARNING
Understanding Photography

•

•

•
•
•

where the subject is likely to
appear.
Choose an appropriate shutter
speed. As a starting point use a
1/15 sec for a pedestrian to 1/200
sec to a fast car that is moving at
right angles to you. Remember
that you cannot get a panning
image of a subject moving head on
towards (or away from) you!
Hold the camera at eye level
and start following the subject.
This should be accomplished by
moving your body (waist up, not
your neck!) while holding the
camera steady.
Release the shutter when the
subject is in the middle of the
frame.
Continue to follow the movement
of panning even after shutter has
been released. This will allow a
smooth panning operation.
Practice – this is a technique that

86

Smart Photography April 2014

Picture 9: Take off! A
black crowned night
heron taking off.
The photographer
here anticipated
the peak action to
capture this image.
Interestingly here
the shutter speed was
not fast enough to
freeze the wing tips
as they were moving
faster than the body
which is sharp. This
photograph thus
shows capture of
action as well as the
motion in a single
frame. Exposure
data: 1/640 sec, f/8,
ISO 640.

needs to be practiced (which
doesn’t anyway?).

Stopping action and showing motion together:
From what you read so far, you may
get the impression that frozen action
and burred motion are somewhat
mutually exclusive and can’t be

shown together in a single frame.
After all, one needs a fast shutter
speed and the other a slow one. This
is not true. It is possible to show both
frozen action and motion in a single
frame with a suitable subject. If you
want to try this out, you should look
out for a subject which has a part of
it moving faster than the rest of the
body (Picture 9).
ˆ

CONCLUSION:
Action photography is one of the tough tasks to handle
in photography. Fortunately AF technology and then
digital technology (by virtue of high ISO support plus an
opportunity to take more images without any extra cost) have
simplified the task considerably. Still, catching that sliver of
time at the peak of the action can be challenging. The most
important point in action photography is anticipation. This
is what will really make the difference in the end. An aid to
improve your anticipation and reflexes is practice. Remember
the old adage “practice makes you perfect”. Good luck.
Smartphotography.in

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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].

T

hose who have a liking
for photography and wish
to make it a career, learn
the subject either by directly
assisting a senior photographer
and slogging in his studio doing
every desired work there, or learn
the techniques by reading books,
while some attend workshops
conducted by professionals or join
photography institutes.
When I am talking about these
youngsters I am pointing at those
who are specifically interested
in ‘Commercial Photography’.
This includes many subjects like
fashion photography, portraits,
shooting people, tabletops of
Jewelry/ product/ food, industrial
photography, shooting interior etc.
In commercial photography the
pictures are intended to sell or
market a product or a brand in

88

Smart Photography April 2014

Build Your
Portfolio
Dilip Yande

some way. It involves the ability
of the photographer to make the
product as attractive as possible.
Students who have learned enough
and are confident, try to venture
out in the market independently.
They feel that their recently
purchased 22-megapixel camera
would fetch them instant work.
What they generally carry in the
portfolio are samples of pictures
like that of a chubby baby next
door, weeping/ laughing or having
bath, grandma doing a ritual,
festival shots, shampoo bottles
shot on white paper, pictures of
the best girl in their group, few
shots of professional models which
they have shot in the institute or
during some workshop and a few
creative shots. With these they feel,
that they would instantly get work,
followed by a roaring success. But
it’s not so.
It is not mere luck or contacts; it
is the content of your portfolio
that really matters!
In your formative years, learn
to shoot everything that comes
under the banner of Commercial
Photography. This will make you
an all-rounder. You also need
to know and overcome your
weaknesses. For example, you may
like to do fashion photography

but your ability to handle a model
may not be good. Your love for a
particular section of photography,
for example shooting jewelry or
food will develop instinctively.
Specialization comes with time,
practice and more practice.
Never comment before a client
that, for example, you specialize
in portraits and people before
first completing at least ten paid
assignments and your work is
released in the media.
So what should your portfolio
have and how should you present
it?
First and foremost, do not place
a water-mark on your pictures
because they ruin the look. Create
sections within the portfolio with
headings of the topics. Make a
neat Power-Point presentation.
Keep an option of two folders
in your laptop, one which has
the full presentation with subsections in the same Power Point,
the second folder should have
separate sub-sections. Gauge how
busy the client is at that moment
of time, whether he wants to see
your entire work or just that which
interests him. It makes no sense
showing interior shots to a jeans
manufacturer. But do show him
the tabletops of the jeans that you
have taken.
Smartphotography.in

Pic 1

While deciding the contents
of the portfolio do not pack it
with only the work done in the
institute, because your colleague
may be having similar pictures of
the same model and is also out
in the market to fetch work as
your rival.
Spend 3 to 4 months in planning
and building your portfolio. This
is the time to sow the seeds. You
may feel confident of delivering
what you have learned, but you
do need the right opportunity
and this time the marks or the
grade is going to be decided by
the client.
Smartphotography.in

Make it a point to carry
at least 15 prints of
8x12-inch size, wellbound or printed in the
form of a catalog (these
days it is not so costly),
because many clients
insists on seeing your
prints only to satisfy
their doubts.

Contents of a
Portfolio
Remember this is
your first portfolio
and the contents of
this portfolio is very

Pic 2

crucial. Here are tips on what you
need to add to make your first
presentation a success:
Start checking out different
advertisements in newspapers and
magazines of different products
and brands. At the same time
also observe the photographs
used on different posters,
April 2014 Smart Photography

89

LEARNING
Pic 3

hoardings, catalogs
and other promotional
materials, visit different
websites of companies.
Understand the need
of the market. You now
have to shoot what
market wants and not
what you want or enjoy.
When building your
portfolio using a model,
study advertisements of
beauty products, haircare products, apparels
– sarees, western outfits
and Indo-Western
designs – jewelry ads,
ads of home appliances,
masalas (spices) etc.
Make a note of the finery,
like dressing, makeup,
hairstyle, accessorizing

and the expressions of the
model. Observe the way
she holds the saree or the
way she flaunts a beautiful
designer dress. Take an
inspiration from these ads.
Don’t copy them as they are,
but understand and try to
establish the ‘selling power’
involved in the visuals.
Hire a good model, and
do not economize here. If
possible, share the expenses
with your colleagues and
jointly photograph the model
for different concepts. Have
a proper makeup and hair
stylist for the shoot. It is
a part of your investment.
You may not like the idea
of photographing the
model against a simple
white background but do it,

Pic 4
Pic 5

companies, home loan schemes
etc. In these ads you may find
pictures of married couples or
happy families. Observe their
emotional equations and shoot
similar pictures. Photograph
children with expressive faces
for your portfolio. Photograph
them while eating cakes,
biscuits or playing with toys.
Catch their natural expressions.
(pic 4,5)
Coming to table tops or
interiors, spot a good
showroom, class-room or
any other establishment and
request the owner to allow you
to shoot there. In turn, give
them the pictures free of cost

90

Smart Photography April 2014

Smartphotography.in

Pic 6

because many clients look out
for such shots and may not be
interested at all in your sidelit dramatic black and white
shots. The client wants to see
how well you can project his
product, how well the details
are seen. At the same time
photograph the model with the
right props to make the picture
look rich in all ways (pic 1,2,3).
In the beginning, do not expect
a client to trust you with a big
campaign. He will always try
you out with a smaller shoot.
Observe the pictures used in
the ads of banks, financial
institutes, insurance

Pic 7

Pic 8

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

91

LEARNING

Pic 9

Pic 10

Pic 11

for their websites (pic 6). Make
such barter deals; they will help
you to grow. Try and shoot home
accessory products (pic 7) like
curtains, pillow covers etc in an
artistic way.
Purchase or borrow products

like files, spanners, etc and
photograph them in a very
‘commercial style’. (Pic 8, 9).
For this do a good deal of
referencing on the Internet.
In case of jewelry shots, shoot
pendants or ear-rings against a
white background (pic 10) and

Pic 12

92

Smart Photography April 2014

Smartphotography.in

do add creative table tops
in some way. They act like
visual puns (pic 14) and
are greatly appreciated by
art directors and creative
directors of ad agencies.
These are the basic
contents for your first
portfolio. Keep adding
pictures to your portfolio
and every year try to
build a fresh one. Your
work will automatically
improve with time and the
maturity in you work will
become visible as you gain
experience.
ˆ

Pic 13

Pic 14a

Pic 14b

at the same time shoot
products in an artistic
composition using
props. (pic11). In case of
food shots, shoot some
pictures which provide
a good definition of the
product and some by
deliberately throwing
the background out of
focus, which is very
trendy these days. (pic
12, 13)
In the whole portfolio
Smartphotography.in

Credit LinesPic 1,2 Roop Sangam Sarees (model – Pallavi)
Pic 3 Model Mugdha Variyar
Pic 4,5- Vaishnavi Patkar
Pic 6,7- Sarom Furnishing

April 2014 Smart Photography

93

Magazine Advertising

THE POWER OF

MAGAZINES!

1. No need to switch ‘on’.

2. Not dependent on electricity or
batteries.
3. A purchase of a magazine costing
`.100 or `.125 indicates a commitment, a
positive desire to read it from cover to
cover.
4. Production values of magazines
are about the best you can get in print.
5. The shelf life of most magazines is
a month and not just a few minutes in the
morning.
6. Magazines are read when you are at
leisure. Therefore, a lot more is ingested
and imbibed. With magazines, therefore,
advertising works and makes an impression.
7. For special interests, magazines
are the best source. With competent

writers and researched articles,
magazine content has far more credibility
than any other source. Magazines are
more engaging.

8. Special interest magazines are read
by avid enthusiasts; they are opinion
makers who create a ripple effect by
influencing others.
9. Most magazines offer their
content to the reader in a medium of their
choice, whether paper or digital.
10. Magazines can be shared
Consequently, more persons can read
a single magazine.
11. Globally, 7.3% of the total
advertising spend is spent on
magazines. In India, the magazine
revolution started only after 2005 and the
share is 2%.

actually works!

LEARNING

One Scene, Different
Interpretations
Rohinton Mehta

M

ost photographers
photograph a scene
without a thought about
the different ways the same scene
could be interpreted. Why is that?
The answer lies in the fact that we
don’t take time to think. We look at
a beautiful landscape or seascape
or any other subject, and are too
happy to capture it the way we see
it before our eyes. That makes us a
sort of ‘documentary photographer’.
By itself, there’s nothing wrong in
that, but why can’t we be creative?
Do we always want to show what we

see before our eyes or do we want
to show what we ‘see with our inner
eye?’ I for one, don’t capture reality;
I create my vision. You can too!
Here is a very simple example of
how, using just a single tool in
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR), you can
interpret a scene in two different
ways. Its often necessary to plan out
your strategy before you even press
the shutter release button.
Here’s a rainy-day photo of a stream
in Matheran, the smallest hill-station
in the world, situated about 100km

from Mumbai. I stood before the
scene and wondered how differently I
could interpret the flow of the water.
I could, for example, use a very fast
shutter speed and freeze every single
droplet of the flowing water. Or I
could use a very slow shutter speed
and create movement of the water in
my still (non-video) picture. I could
even use an in-between shutter speed
– not too fast, nor too slow – and
create an intermediate effect. Even
though it was the rainy season, it
was quite bright and I did not have
Neutral Density Filters that would
have allowed me to use
very slow shutter speeds
necessary to create the
silky flow of the water that
I had in mind. I walked
around and located the
position from where I could
frame the shot. Setting
up my trusty tripod I
shot quite a few frames at
different shutter speeds and
different focal lengths of
my zoom lens (Remember,
the subject distance, focal
length and shutter speed,
all play a part in creating
the ‘freeze or flow effect’).
I knew I had one more
trick up my sleeve : to use
the Clarity slider in ACR.
The Clarity slider, when
used on the positive side,
adds localised mid-tone
contrast (no, it does not
add sharpness even though
that is the feeling you get
when increasing Clarity),
and when used on the
negative side, softens midtone contrast. I knew that
in the absence of ND filters,

Original image

96

Smart Photography April 2014

Smartphotography.in

Printscreen: Plus clarity

Plus clarity

Minus clarity, soft look

I could rely on this trick to create the
effect I that was looking at.

in Photoshop. Save the file using the
Save As command.

1. Open the Raw image. It is better
to shoot in Raw, as, besides the other
advantages, it offers greater leeway in
editing.

3. Open the Raw file in ACR and this
time, move the Clarity slider to the
negative side. In our example, I set
it to -57. Click Open Image to open
the photo in Photoshop. Save the file
using the Save As command.

2. Simply move the Clarity slider to
the right till you see the effect you are
looking for. In our example, I set it at
+57. I also moved the Highlights slider
to the right to get cleaner highlights.
Click Open Image to open the photo

Compare the two edited pictures
side by side and you will notice how
the same scene can be interpreted
differently.
ˆ

Printscreen: Minus clarity

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

97

LEARNING
Fun with Photoshop

Save those clutters
Sujith Gopinath

Original image

A

ny photographer will
have hundreds of images
that he would not dare to
show to the public. Sometimes
this is because of a technical
imperfection, and at other times,
it could be factors beyond his
control such as background
clutter, interfering elements such
as wires and stems, a stray light
ray etc. With some creativity and
patience (I would rather call it
creative madness) and aided by the
advanced features in Photoshop
Creative Suite and Creative Cloud,
you can save such photographs.
This is why experts always insist
on not throwing away your bad
images.
I am using an image that I captured
during one of the Ganpati festivals
in Mumbai. It was shot at the

98

Smart Photography April 2014

workshop of one of the craftsmen
and the background is less than
perfect. Let us see how we can
transform this image to something
different.
First, open the image in Photoshop.
You can use CS5 and above, and
certain Elements versions, but I am
using the latest Photoshop Creative
Cloud (CC).
In the image, there is a yellow price
tag hanging on the left hand of
the idol (towards the right of the
image). To remove this, select the
Spot Healing tool and on the tool
presets (on the tool bar), select
Content Aware. Now select a size
slightly larger than the thread of
the tag and carefully paint over
the thread. This will remove the
thread and fill the space with the

background image .
Now to remove the tag, select the
Rectangular Marquee tool and
draw a selection around the tag.
Now right click within the selection
and click on Fill. In the menu that
opens, select Content Aware. The
tag is removed, intelligently filling
the void with the background . You
might need to fine-tune the fill
with Clone/Stamp tool in the final
stage.
Now use the Polygonal Lasso tool
and carefully select the image.
Now feather the selection, right
click on the selection and click on
Select Inverse. This will select the
background. After this, hit Delete
and in the menu that opens, select
Black in the Fill box. Now we
have a black background. I have
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Using the Spot Healing Brush

Content Aware Fill to Remove Tag

Tag Removed

Select and Change Background to Black

After Applying Black Background

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Render Clouds for Smoke Effect

April 2014 Smart Photography

99

LEARNING
Fun with Photoshop
Cloud Rendition

Cleanup the Clouds to Look Like Clouds

Screenshot 9_Filter_Render_Lens Flare_50-300mm

sharpened the image
at this stage using the
Unsharp Mask.
Next, make a copy of the
background layer. Now
let us put some smoke
in the image so that it
looks like a procession.
For this, go to Filter>
Render>Clouds. Set the
Opacity of the layer to
about 40. Apply a Layer
Mask on this layer, take
the Brush tool and set

Black as foreground colour.
With a Brush Hardness of 30
and Opacity of 20, clear off some
clouds as in the image. Flatten the
layer.
Now we will apply a lens flare
effect by doing Filter> Render>
Lens Flare. In the menu that
comes up, select 50-300mm lens
and adjust the brightness of the
flare . Our image is ready.
You can adjust the intensity of
flare using the Opacity slider.

Final image

100

Smart Photography April 2014

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READERS’ SURVEY
Name: Mr/Ms __________________________________________________________
Address: ______________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Tel. Nos: ___________________________________
Email: ___________________________________
12
ELEMENTS
PHOTOSHOP
RS.125

Y XPERIA Z1
P7800 SON

●

ON D610
D EM-1 NIK
OLYMPUS OM
NIKON DF
REVIEWS:

●

●

LPIX
NIKON COO

●

10
ISSUE
09
VOLUME 4
Y 201
JANUAR

●

SUBSCR

IBER’S

COPY

W
RVIE
INTEYUW
ARAJ GURJAR
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PROFERIL
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GAZINE!
ING MA
1 IMAG 2014 issue.
NUMBER nt with January
INDIA’S16 page IMS suppleme

SUM

REVIEWS: PANASONIC
IALS GM1 SONY Į 7 OLYMPUS STYLUS 1 CANON POWER
SHOT S200

106

R HTING
TUTO
& LIG
ILS
NDING LIGHT
UNDERSTA TO CAPTURE STAR TRA S
DSCAPE
HOW
NNING LAN
CREATE STU

●

●

●

●

CANON EF-S 55-250MM

F/4-5.6 IS II
RS.125
ISSUE 12
VOLUME 09
MARCH 2014

INDIA’S NUMBER
1 IMAGING MAGA
ZINE!
108

INTERVIEW
PARAG DAMLE
PROFILE BASEL
ALMISSHAL

IMS

BOOKLET
0 EX
with
5
32 this issue

ISSUE 10
4
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E 09 | JAN

Better Photography

Asian Photography

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FUN WITH
CONVERT IMAGES TO EMAIL PHOTOSHOP
RESOLUTION

1
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Smart Photography

●

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NIKON D61

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ISSUE 12 | VOLUM

1. Which are the photo magazines that you read?

●

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Kindly tick your choice.

F/4
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INDIA E
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2. Of the three magazines mentioned above, which is your favourite?
Better Photography

Asian Photography

UE

ISS

Smart Photography

ST E

11
|V

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SM

PH

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TO
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AL ENIX

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3. Why is that magazine your favourite?
Better content

Better readability

Easy-to-understand English

Impartial views

4). Please rank your choice of content in SP (1-8, 1 being the best)
News

Kaleidoscope

Showcase

Mastercraftsman

If I Were You

Ask Uncle Ronnie

Learnings

Reviews

WIN

5) Since how long have you been practising photography?
Beginner

Less than 12 months

1-5 years

Over 5 years

A PRICE

6) How would you best describe your association with photography?
Hobbyist

Student of photography

Freelance photographer

Professional wedding photographer
Nature/Wildlife photographer

Professional commercial photographer
Photojournalist/Street photographer

Landscape photographer

7. Type of photo equipment you own:
D-SLR

Mirrorless compact

Bridge camera

Compact

8. Please rank your choice for the magazine cover (1-5, 1 being the best)
Table-top

Landscape

Wildlife/Birds

People

Flowers

9. How do you find the readability of text?
Easy to read

Acceptable

Poor

10. What would you like to see in SP?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

WIN

A LUCKY DRAW WILL BE
HELD TO SELECT
EIGHT WINNERS,
WHO WILL EACH RECEIVE
A BATTERY CHARGER.

Kindly post your response to:
Smart Photography,
Next Gen Publishing Limited,
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Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W),
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OR
visit http://smartphotography.in/survey
OR
scan the QR code on the right with
your smartphone to access the page

104
110
D-SLR Review
Nikon D3300

116
ILCC Review
Panasonic Lumix GX7

121

Reviews

Head-to-Head
Nikon D800E vs Sony Alpha 7R

Lens Review
Tamron SP 150-60MM
F/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD

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)

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Nikon D800E v/s Sony Alpha 7R

` 2,04,950
(Body only)

High Resolution
Battle!
Rohinton Mehta

B

oth are 36-megapixel
champions in their own
rights, but compared to
the Sony A7, the Nikon D800E
looks like Goliath. The Nikon was
introduced in June 2012 whereas
the Sony came along in February
2014. The D800E is a D-SLR.
Technically speaking, we cannot
call the A7 a D-SLR, since it does
not have a reflex mirror. The A7
is a mirror-less interchangeable
lens camera. Both use full-frame
sensors and both are without the
low-pass filter. The D800E body

104

Smart Photography April 2014

costs around rupees eightythousand more. So which one
would you go in for? Read on...

Design & Build Quality
As mentioned in the
introduction, the Nikon D800E is
a D-SLR, while the Sony A7R is a
mirror-less interchangeable lens
camera. The Nikon offers a better
grip, has better build quality and
looks more appealing with its
smooth contours. The Sony is
quite small in size as compared
to the Nikon. The D800E has

an optical viewfinder whereas
the A7R uses an electronic
viewfinder. Both bodies use
magnesium alloy chassis and
both use weather seals to
prevent dust and moisture from
damaging the electronics within.
The 800E body at 950g is almost
twice the weight of the A7R body
at 465g.

Key Features
Let us see the differences
between the two:
Smartphotography.in

` 1,24,990
(Body only)

Image processor
ISO sensitivity
ISO boost
Autofocus
Focus points
Image aspect ratio
Viewfinder
LCD
LCD resolution
Metering

Built-in flash
Video format
Microphone
Memory card
Storage

USB

Smartphotography.in

D800E
Expeed 3
100-6400
50-25,600
Phase Detect
51
3:2, 5:4
Optical
Fixed
921,000 dots
Multi-pattern
Center-weighted
Spot
Average
Yes
MPEG-4, H.264
Mono
Two slots
CF, SD, SDHC,
SDXC
USB 3
5 Gbit/sec

Sony A7R
Bionz X
100-25,600
Contrast Detect at
the imaging sensor
25
3:2, 16:9
Electronic
Tilting
1,230,000 dots
Multi-pattern
Center-weighted
Spot
No
MPEG-4, AVCHD
Stereo
One slot
SD, SDHC, SDXC,
Memory Stick
(variations)
USB 2
480 Mbit/sec

Time-lapse recording
GPS
Wi-Fi
NFC
Camera body weight
Dimensions

Yes
Optional
No
No
900g
146x123x82mm

No
No
Yes
Yes
465g
127x94x48mm

Notes:
1. Highlighting denotes advantage
2. Phase Detect AF is faster but
Contrast Detect can be more
accurate

Ergonomics
The D800E’s user interface seems
more intuitive but I suppose, with
practice, one can get used to the
A7R’s interface too. The A7R’s
tilting LCD offers advantage when
shooting from low or high level
as compared to the D800E’s fixed
LCD, but the dials and buttons
on the A7R are smaller and not
as comfortable to use as in the
D800E. I also feel that the D800E
has a better layout for buttons and
April 2014 Smart Photography

105

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Nikon D800E v/s Sony Alpha 7R

106

Smart Photography April 2014

Aperture:f/8.0 Shutter Speed: 1/100sec ISO:400

NIKON D800E

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SONY A7R

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Aperture:f/8.0 Shutter Speed: 1/160sec ISO:400

April 2014 Smart Photography

107

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Nikon D800E v/s Sony Alpha 7R
controls. Speaking of controls, the
100% instant review (for image
playback) with the zoom button
on the A7R is not something that
I like – one has to fiddle around
with the controller to locate the
exact area one wishes to view.
The D800E allows you to magnify
the LCD image more gradually
and hence, is easier to use. Repositioning the AF bracket is also
much quicker and easier on the
Nikon. The Sony’s LCD screen
blacks out between shots.

Performance
Image Quality: We would have loved
to compare both the cameras with
their 50/55mm prime lenses but Sony
sent us their 24-70mm f/4 zoom; the
Nikon came with a 50mm f/1.8 prime
lens. In terms of image quality – Raw
files – both were great but I would
give an edge to the Nikon. Raw image
quality was just superb, with both
the models bringing out fine details
which, we are reasonably sure, would
be almost impossible with most other
cameras. With JPEGs, we sometimes
felt that the A7R applied more
aggressive in-camera sharpening as
compared to the D800E. Control
over digital noise was very good with
both the models. Slight amount of
noise could be seen at ISO 800 (if
one tried to look for it) but was in
no way disturbing. At higher ISOs,
the A7R seemed to apply stronger
noise reduction when compared
with the D800E. Up to what ISO
level one could use depends on
the subject, lighting conditions,
correctness of exposures and of
course, personal standards. I for one
would not hesitate to use up to ISO
1600 with both the models and in
an emergency, even up to ISO 3200,
knowing fully well that I can reduce
the noise in Adobe Camera Raw or
with any dedicated noise-removal
software.
Autofocus: In terms of autofocus,
the D800E was definitely faster (by
a small margin), especially in low
light. We also noticed the Sony A7R
struggling to achieve AF in low light/
low contrast situations. The D800E’s
better AF performance could

108

Smart Photography April 2014

possibly be due to its better low-light
AF detection capability (up to -2EV)
as compared to the A7R’s EV 0.

Start-up Time: After powering on,
the 800E was ready to fire almost
instantly whereas the A7R took a bit

TABLE A
No. of shots Time taken to
before buffer
capture the
slowed down
shots

Writing time
to memory card

D800E: JPEG L/F

44

11.3 seconds

10.8 seconds

D800E: 14-bit Raw

16

4.2 seconds

25 seconds

A7R: JPEG L/SF

36

23 seconds

Approx. 2 seconds

A7R: Raw

32

21.5 seconds

Approx. 4 seconds

SPECIFICATIONS
No. of effective pixels
Sensor type/size
Image ratio
Viewfinder
Image processor
ISO sensitivity
Image formats
Autofocus
No. of AF points
Memory card slots
LCD size/Resolution
Shutter speeds
Exposure modes
Built-in flash
Metering modes

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Exposure compensation
Max. Video resolution
Wi-Fi
NFC
Dimensions
Weight

:
:
:
:
:
:

Nikon D800E
36 million
CMOS/
3:2, 5:4
Optical
Expeed 3
50-25,600 (with boost)
Raw, Raw+JPEG
Phase Detect
51
2
3”/921,000 dots
30sec – 1/8000sec
P, A, S, M
Yes
Multi, Centre-weighted,
Spot, Average

No
No
146x123x82mm
900g

Sony A7R
36 million
CMOS/35.9 x 24mm
3:2, 16:9
Electronic
Bionz X
100-25,600
Raw, Raw+JPEG
Contrast Detect
25
1
3”/1,230,000 dots
30sec – 1/8000sec
P, A, S, M, Auto
No
Multi, Centre-weighted, Spot
+/- 5 EV
1920 x 1080 at 60p, 60i, 24p
Yes, built-in
Yes
127x94x48mm
465g

Smartphotography.in

PLUS
NIKON D800E
• Superb
image
quality
• Very
responsive
• Accurate &
reasonably
fast AF with
viewfinder
viewing, even
in low light
• Time-lapse
recording
• USB 3

SONY A7R
longer as expected of a camera using
an electronic viewfinder.
LCD colour, tonality and clarity:
The Sony A7R showed more accurate
tonality and more realistic brightness;
the Nikon D800E’s LCD was brighter
and with enhanced colours, but
showed greater clarity.
Table A gives an idea of the speed at

NIKON D800E
FINAL SCORE

83%

• Superb
image quality
• Lightweight
• Tilting LCD
• Weatherproof body
• Wi-Fi,

which images can be captured
and written to the memory card.
The card used was a SanDisk
32GB Extreme Pro, 95MB/sec.

Value for Money

NFC

The Nikon D800E body retails
at an MRP of Rs.2,04,950
whereas the Sony A7R body
is available at an MRP of
Rs.1,24,990.

SONY A7R
FINAL SCORE

MINUS
NIKON D800E

82%

Design and Build Quality 19/20

Design and Build Quality 18/20

Key Features

18/20

Key Features

18/20

Ergonomics

17/20

Ergonomics

16/20

Performance
Autofocus
Metering
Noise Control
Sharpness
LCD/EVF
Auto W/B
Sub-Total
Value for Money

Smartphotography.in

4/5
4/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
4/5
23/30
6/10

Performance
Autofocus
Metering
Noise Control
Sharpness
LCD/EVF
Auto W/B
Sub-Total
Value for Money

3/5
4/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
4/5
23/30
8/10

• Fixed
LCD
• Limited burst
speed
• Long ‘writing
time’ with
TIFF
• Slow AF in
Live View &
Movies
• No Wi-Fi &
NFC

SONY A7R
• No built-in
flash
• Currently,
limited lenses

VERDICT
Both, the Nikon D800E
and the Sony A7R are
great cameras. In terms
of image quality, they are
almost the same. It is very
much possible that both
use the same/identical
Sony manufactured image
sensor. In terms of ease of
use, we would opt for the
Nikon. The Nikon also
has the added advantage
of the built-in flash. The
Sony on the other hand,
has Wi-Fi and NFC (Near
Field Communication)
which the Nikon lacks. The
Sony’s tilting LCD is more
convenient for low-angle/
high-angle shots. A big
disadvantage with the Sony
is (currently) the limited
number of A-mount lenses
(only four). Yes, you could
use the available adapters
to attach different nonA-mount lenses (which
could level things out
to some extent) but that
defeats the purpose of
a compact system and
there can be variations
in the engineering of the
various adapters that
could possibly lead to a
compromise in image
quality. So as a system
camera, the Nikon wins.
On the other hand, the
Sony saves you almost
Rs.80,000 (body price) but
suffers from noticeable
image blackout between
shots. Only you can decide
whether you are willing to
shell out eighty thousand
more for the few extra
benefits that the Nikon
offers or settle for the
Sony A7R which gives you
practically the same image
quality that the D800E
offers.

April 2014 Smart Photography

109

D-SLR Review
Nikon D3300

A Subtle Nudge
Sujith Gopinath

` 37,950

N

ikon has upgraded
their D-SLRs with the
latest EXPEED 4 image
processor and new sensor units
without the Optical Low Pass
Filter (OLPF), and now they have
released the D3300, upgraded from
the D3200. While this does not
look like a path-breaking change,
it makes the D3300 slightly faster,
theoretically improves the image
quality, and delivers better videos.
Let us find out what other gems

110

Smart Photography April 2014

have Nikon hidden in the new
D-SLR.

Design and Build
Quality
The D3300’s exterior is built with
sturdy engineering plastic. It
features a fixed LCD screen. The
camera looks and feels more or
less like the D3200 with the same
mode dial and similarly placed
buttons. It features a metal lens

with AF-S 18-55mm
Inside the Box VRII Kit Lens
✓ Camera body
✓ 18-55mm VR II kit lens
✓ EN-EL14a rechargeable Li-ion battery
(with terminal cover)
✓ MH-24 battery charger
✓ DK-25 rubber eyecup
✓ BF-1B body cap
✓ AN-DC3 strap
✓ UC-E17 USB cable
✓ EG-CP14 audio/video cable
✓ ViewNX 2 CD-ROM
Smartphotography.in

Aperture:f/8.0 Shutter Speed: 1/800sec . ISO:100

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April 2014 Smart Photography

111

D-SLR Review
Nikon D3300
NOISE
ISO 100

ISO 400

Flash Output
Aperture: f/11.0
Shutter Speed: 1/15sec. ISO:100

mount and also a metal tripod
receptacle. The camera has a deep
rubber-lined grip and a rubberised
thumb rest. The new 18-55mm
kit lens has a zoom lock, which
needs to be released to operate the
camera. It has a dedicated focus
ring that is not attached to the
front barrel as was the case with
its predecessor. Hence the front
element of the lens does not rotate
while focussing.

Key Features
The 24.2-megapixel Nikon D3300
uses a 23.5 x 15.6mm CMOS
sensor for imaging. The camera
has an integrated sensor cleaning
mechanism that shakes off dust
particles from the sensor unit.
The D3300 features a Nikon F
mount with AF contacts. It is fully
compatible with AF-S and AF-I
lenses and partially compatible
with other F-mount lenses. The
D3300 is a minor upgrade when it
comes to features, but the EXPEED
4 image processing engine
provides better noise control
as well as better continuous
shooting speed. The camera
has an electronically-controlled
vertical-travel focal plane shutter,
providing shutter speeds from 30
to 1/4000 sec, along with Bulb
and Time settings. It has a flash
synchronisation speed of 1/200 sec
or lower. The D3300 uses Nikon’s
Multi-CAM 1000 autofocus sensor

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Smart Photography April 2014

JPEG Compression
JPEG, Basic Quality,
100% (3 MB)

JPEG, Fine Quality,
100% (12.9 MB)

module with TTL phase detection
and 11 focus points including
one central cross-type sensor.
The system uses Contrast-detect
method for autofocus. AF modes
include Single-servo AF (AF-S),
Continuous-servo AF (AF-C), auto
AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A), and
Manual focus (MF). The camera
has 11 selectable focus points.
The AF area modes available are
Single-point, Dynamic area, Auto
area, and 3D Tracking. It also
features automatic scene selection.
Lens servo options include Singleservo (AF-S), Full-time servo (AFF), and Manual Focus.
Still images are recorded in Raw
(NEF) and JPEG formats with
maximum dimensions of 6000
x 4000 pixels. The camera also
provides option to record both
Raw and JPEG simultaneously.
Videos are recorded in MOV
format (H.264/MPEG-4) with
the best quality of 1920 x 1080 at
60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, or 24p frame
rate. Shooting modes available
are Auto, Programmed auto with
flexible program (P), Shutterpriority auto (S), Aperture-priority
auto (A), Manual (M), Scene,
and Special effects. Scene mode
provides options of Portrait,
Landscape, Child, Sports, Close
up, and Night portrait. Special
effects modes include Night
vision, Super vivid, Pop, Photo
illustration, Colour sketch, Toy

ISO 1600

ISO 6400

ISO Hi 1

camera effect, Miniature effect,
Selective colour, Silhouette, High
key, Low key, HDR painting, and
Easy panorama. The D3300 uses
TTL exposure metering using a
420-pixel RGB sensor. Metering
methods employed are Matrix—
3D Colour Matrix Metering II
available with type G, E, and D
lenses, Colour Matrix Metering
II available with other CPU
lenses, Centre-weighted—weight
of 75 percent given to 8-mm
circle in the centre of frame, and
Spot—meters a 3.5-mm circle
(about 2.5% of frame) centred on
selected focus point. Exposure
can be compensated up to +/-5EV
in increments of 1/3 EV. The 3300
Smartphotography.in

PLUS
• Good kit
lens
• Excellent
handling
• Good value
for money

MINUS
• Only minor
improvements
• LCD quality
below par

can shoot continuously at up to
5 frames per second, one frame
more than the 3200. The release
modes available are Single frame,
continuous, quiet shutter release,
self-timer, delayed remote, quickresponse remote; ML-L3
The D3300’s ISO sensitivity ranges
from ISO 100 to 12,800, which
can be expanded up to 25,600.
White Balance options are Auto,
Incandescent, Fluorescent (7 types),
Sunlight, Flash, Cloudy, Shade, and
Preset manual. All preset values can
be fine-tuned. The camera’s built-in
flash has a Guide Number of 13m
with manual flash at ISO 100. the
D3300 also features a standard ISO
518 accessory shoe (hot-shoe). Flash
control is through TTL method
and i-TTL flash control is available
with the built-in flash and other
compatible external speedlites.
i-TTL balanced fill flash is available
with Matrix and Centre-weighted
metering, and standard i-TTL flash is
employed with Spot metering. Flash
exposure can be compensated up to
-3 to +1EV in 1/3-EV increments.
Flash modes available are Auto,
auto with red-eye reduction, auto
slow sync, auto slow sync with
red-eye reduction, fill-flash, red-eye
Smartphotography.in

reduction, slow sync, slow sync with
red-eye reduction, rear-curtain with
slow sync, rear-curtain sync, and off.
The camera supports Nikon Creative
Lighting System with a compatible
external flashgun as ‘Master’.
The D3300 uses a 3-inch,
approximately 921,000-dot TFT
LCD for display. It accepts an
SD/SDHC/SDXC memory card
for external storage. The camera
is powered by an EN-EL14a
rechargeable Li-ion battery. It has
dimensions of 124 x 98 x 75.5mm
and weighs approximately 460g
with battery and memory card.

deep and rubberised grip makes it
all the more comfortable to hold.
Placement of buttons and dials is
typical of Nikon and hence easily
accessible. Though the buttons are
small, we cannot complain since
the prominent thumb rest and the
LCD leaves practically very little
room for buttons and controls.
The camera balanced perfectly
with the new 18-55mm kit lens.
The on-screen information can be
displayed in the classic or graphic
format and in three choices of
colours—black, blue, and beige.

Performance
The Nikon D3300 performed well
as expected. Combined with the
18-55mm lens, autofocus was fast
enough for a kit lens, though this
cannot be compared to that of a
fast lens combination. However,
the AF system could latch on to
the subject even under low light.
Images were sharp out of the
box and the kit lens had a sweet
spot around f/11. All metering
modes performed as expected. We
observed prominent darkening
of corners at the wide-angle

FINAL SCORE

81%

Design and Build Quality 17/20
Key Features

16/20

Ergonomics

17/20

Ergonomics
The Nikon D3300 is lightweight
and comfortable to operate. The

VERDICT
The D3300 is a minor upgrade to the
3200, the main feature being an advanced
EXPEED 4 image processor, which provides
a faster burst rate and slightly better noisecontrol, and the absence of an OLPF. We
wish the camera had built-in Wi-Fi, which
is the order of the day.

Performance
Autofocus
Metering
Noise Control
Sharpness
LCD/EVF
Auto W/B
Sub-Total
Value for Money

4/5
4.5/5
4/5
4/5
3/5
3.5/5
23/30
8/10

April 2014 Smart Photography

113

D-SLR Review
Nikon D3300
perfectly usable up to ISO 6400.
At 100 percent view, the images
were noise-free up to ISO 200. It
became a concern only from ISO
3200. We would consider this good
control of noise.
Nikon seems to have compromised
on the quality LCD, with the
screen showing prominent pixel
jitter during live view.

Value for Money

end at f/3.5, which vanished
when stopped down to f/11. The
lens exhibited flare along with
purple fringing. We observed
barrel distortion till 35mm
(approximately 50mm equivalent).
The 3300 reproduced colours
well and Auto White Balance
performed well under most
situations. The casts observed

The Nikon D3300 retails at an
MRP of Rs.37,950 with AF-S 1855mm VRII Kit Lens. The body
carries a price tag of Rs.32,450,
whereas the double zoom lens kit
of AF-S 18-55mm VRII and AF-S
55-200mm VR retails at Rs.46,950.
The body price is Rs.5500 more
than that of the D3200, but this is
fair. Nikon has not withdrawn the
D3100 and 3200, providing ample
options for those on tight budgets.
So if you are not impressed with a
slightly faster frame rate, you can
still buy the D3200.
ˆ

under some light sourced could
be easily eliminated in postprocessing. Native image size
was 13.33 x 20 inches at 300
ppi. At 25 percent of this size,
images were noise-free up to ISO
3200. Hi1 produced prominent
chroma noise and was not
usable. Enlarged to 50 percent,
the images remained noisefree up to ISO 800, but were

SPECIFICATION
Lens mount
Effective pixels
Image sensor
Dust-reduction System
Max. Image size
File format

:
:
:
:
:
:

Shutter type
:
Shutter speed
:
Shutter flash sync speed :
Release mode
:
Frame advance rate

Self-timer
Metering mode
Metering method

:

:
:
:

White balance

:

Shooting Modes

:

114

Nikon F mount (with AF contacts)
24.2 million
23.5 x 15.6 mm CMOS sensor
Image sensor cleaning, Image Dust Off reference data
6000 x 4000 pixels
NEF (Raw): 12 bit, compressed JPEG, NEF
(RAW)+JPEG
Electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
30 to 1/4000 s in steps of 1/3 EV; Bulb; Time
X=1/200 s; synchronizes with shutter at 1/200 s or slower
Single frame, continuous, quiet shutter release, self-timer,
delayed remote; ML-L3, quick-response remote; ML-L3
Up to 5 fps Note: Frame rates assume manual focus,
manual or shutter-priority auto exposure, a
shutter speed of 1/250 s or faster, and other settings
at default values.
2 s, 5 s, 10 s, 20 s; 1-9 exposures
TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor
Matrix metering: 3D colour matrix metering II (type G,
E, and D lenses); colour matrix metering II (other CPU
lenses) Centre-weighted metering: Weight of 75% given
to 8-mm circle in centre of frame Spot metering: Meters
3.5-mm circle (about 2.5% of frame) centred on selected
focus point
Auto, incandescent, fluorescent (7 types), direct sunlight,
flash, cloudy, shade, preset manual, all except preset
manual with fine-tuning.
Auto modes (auto; auto, flash off), Programmed
auto with flexible program (P), Shutter-priority

Smart Photography April 2014

Exposure compensation :
ISO sensitivity
:
Lens servo
:

Focus point
AF-area mode

:
:

Built-in flash
Guide Number
Flash mode

:

auto (S), Aperture-priority auto (A), Manual (M),
Scene modes (portrait; landscape; child; sports; close
up; night portrait), Special effects modes (night vision;
super vivid; pop; photo illustration, Colour sketch,
Toy camera effect, Miniature effect, Selective colour,
Silhouette, High key, Low key, HDR painting, and
Easy panorama)
Can be adjusted by -5 - +5 EV in increments of 1/3 EV
ISO 100-12800, Can also be set to ISO 25600
Autofocus (AF): Single-servo AF (AF-S); continuousservo AF (AF-C); auto AF-S/AF-C selection (AF-A);
predictive focus tracking activated automatically
according to subject status Manual focus (MF): Electronic
rangefinder can be used
Can be selected from 11 focus points
Single-point AF, dynamic-area AF, auto-area AF, 3Dtracking (11 points)
Approx. 12 to 13m with manual flash (ISO 100)

: Auto, auto with red-eye reduction, auto slow sync, auto
slow sync with red-eye reduction, fill-flash, red-eye
reduction, slow sync, slow sync with red-eye reduction,
rear-curtain with slow sync, rear-curtain sync, off
Accessory shoe
: ISO 518 hot-shoe with sync and data contacts and safety lock
Best Video quality
: 1920 x 1080, 60p/50p/30p/25p/24p
File format
: MOV
Battery
: One rechargeable Li-ion EN-EL14a battery
Dimensions (W x H x D) : Approx. 124 x 98 x 75.5 mm
Weight
: Approx. 460 g (1 lb 0.2 oz) with battery and memory card
Smartphotography.in

ILCC REVIEW
Panasonic Lumix GX7

Another Ace...!
Sujith Gopinath

P

anasonic has carved itself
a niche amongst mirrorless
camera brands with highperforming bodies and superior
optics in lenses. The LUMIX GX7
joins the bandwagon with a 16
megapixel sensor and a new tilting
Electronic Viewfinder. Here is our
take on this retro-styled camera.

Design and Build Quality
The Panasonic GX7 is designed
with a retro style. The outer body
is made of metal and feels very
sturdy. It has a thick rubberised
grip along with a rubberised

116

Smart Photography April 2014

thumb rest. The highlight of this
camera is the EVF that can be
tilted 90 degree upwards. The
camera has two command dials.
The built-in flash springs up
with a hard jerk, which appears
a bad idea, considering that the
individual segments in the flash
are plastic. Buttons and dials are of
good quality. Both the lens mount
as well as the tripod receptacle are
metal.

Key Features
The 16-megapixel Panasonic
GX7 uses a 17.3 x 13.0 mm

` 86,990
Inside the Box
✓ Camera body
✓ Body cap
✓ LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH lens
✓ Lens Cap
✓ Lens rear cap
✓ Battery pack
✓ Battery charger
✓ AC cable
✓ USB cable
✓ CD-ROM
✓ Shulder strap
✓ Hot-shoe cover
✓ Basic operating manual
Smartphotography.in

Aperture:f/16.0 Shutter Speed: 1/320sec . ISO:200

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

117

ILCC REVIEW
Panasonic Lumix GX7
NOISE
ISO 200

ISO 800

Sharpness
Aperture: f/2.0
Shutter Speed: 1/640sec. ISO:200

ISO 3200

ISO 12800

ISO 25600

JPEG Compression
JPEG, Basic Quality,
100% (4.3 MB)

JPEG, Fine Quality,
100% (8.4 MB)

(Four-Thirds) Live MOS sensor
for imaging. The sensor unit
makes uses a primary colour
filter array and has an integrated
dust reduction system aided by
a supersonic wave filter. The
camera uses an image sensor shift
type image stabilisation system,
which extends the advantage of
image stabilisation even to nonOIS lenses. The camera employs
Contrast-detect autofocus system
and the focus modes available are
AFS (Single), AFF (Flexible), AFC
(Continuous), and Manual Focus.
The AF methods used are Face
Detection, AF Tracking, 23-area
focussing, 1-area focussing, and

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Smart Photography April 2014

Pinpoint focussing. The GX7 uses
1728-zone multi-pattern metering
system and provides the usual
three metering modes—Multiple,
Centre-weighted, and Spot.
The GX7 uses a focal plane shutter,
providing shutter speeds from
60 to 1/8000 sec along with a
Bulb (maximum 2min) option.
Self-timer can be set for 10 sec
for 3 images, 2 sec, or 10 sec.
Still images can be recorded in
Raw, JPEG, or MPO (with a 3D
lens) format with the maximum
size of 4592 x 3448 pixels, while
videos are recorded in MP4 format
with the best quality of 1920 x

1080 at 60fps. The camera can
shoot continuously at 5 frames
per second for a maximum of
9 frames at the highest quality.
ISO sensitivity options are Auto,
Intelligent ISO and Manual from
ISO 125(extended) to 25,600.
Exposure can be compensated
up to +/-5EV in 1/3-EV steps.
White Balance options are
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade,
Incandescent, Flash, White Set 1,
2, and Colour temperature. White
Balance can be adjusted on Blue/
Amber and Magenta/Green axes.
Shooting modes available are
Intelligent Auto, Program,
Aperture priority, Shutter
priority, Manual, Movie, Custom,
Scene, and Creative Control. For
still images, the Scene Guide
mode provides options of Clear
Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit
Softness, Clear in Backlight,
Relaxing Tone, Sweet Child’s
Face, Distinct Scenery, Bright
Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset Glow,
Vivid Sunset Glow, Glistening
Water, Clear Nightscape, and
Cool Night Sky. Creative Control
provides option of Expressive,
Retro, Old Days, High Key,
Low Key, Sepia, Monochrome,
Dynamic Monochrome, Rough
Monochrome, Silky Monochrome,
and Impressive Art. For
videos, the mode provides the
options of Expressive, Retro,
Old Days, High Key, Low Key,
Sepia, Monochrome, Dynamic
Monochrome, Impressive Art,
High Dynamic, Cross Process,
Toy Effect, Toy POP, Bleach
Bypass, Miniature Effect,
Fantasy, and One Point Colour.
You can choose Photo Styles
from Standard, Vivid, Natural,
Monochrome, Scenery, Portrait,
and Custom.
The GX7 features a built-in popup flash with TTL control. It has
a Guide Number of 5m at ISO
100. Flash modes available are
Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction,
Forced On, Forced On/Red-eye
Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow
Sync./Red-eye Reduction, and
Forced Off along with First and
Smartphotography.in

Second Curtain
Sync. It synchronises
with the shutter at
1/320sec or slower
shutter speeds. The
camera has a tilting
EVF with 2,764,800
dots. It provides eye
power adjustment
from approximately -4
to +3.0 Dioptres and
has an eye-sensor to
switch between the
EVF and the LCD.
The GX7 features a
Tiltable static 3.0inch, approximately
1,040,000-dot LCD
with Touch Monitor.
The monitor features
grid lines, level
gauge, and direction
detection function.
The camera features
Wi-Fi and Viera Link
that can connect
with compatible Panasonic Viera
television. The GX7 is powered by
a 7.2V, 1025mAh rechargeable Liion battery pack (included). It has
dimensions of 122.60 x 70.7 x 54.6
mm and weighs approximately
402g with SD card and battery
(without lens).

Ergonomics
The Lumix GX7 has a thick and
rubberised grip, which makes it
comfortable to hold and operate.
The device is easy to use with a
simple and intuitive interface.
The tilting viewfinder is helpful if
you are in the habit of using the
viewfinder to compose images at a
low angle. The LCD can be tilted
90 degree upwards and about 45
degree downward. The buttons are
small, but are easy to access. The
camera has nine function buttons
of which five are touch points
on the screen. The multitude of
function buttons enable you to
customise the controls, saving lot
of time.

Performance
We received the along with the
LUMIX 20mm f/1.7 II ASPH lens.
Smartphotography.in

We received the unit without the
body cap, lens cap and the lens
back cap, and this might possibly
have an effect on the image quality
during testing. AF was fast and
precise, and could latch on to
the subject even under low light.
The lens did not produce any
distortion. Mild darkening was
observed at wide-open aperture,
but you will detect this only if
you deliberately look for it. The
darkening vanished completely at
f/4. The lens produced prominent
flare along with purple fringing.
Images appeared reasonably sharp
and f/4 produced the sharpest
images. The metering modes
worked as expected. Images
appeared sharp on both the
LCD and the EVF. It was quite
comfortable to compose images
through the EVF.
Auto White Balance produces
desirable results in natural light.
Though it produces distinct cast
under artificial light sources,
it could be easily eliminated in
post-processing. Native image
size was 11.49 x 15.30 inches at
300 ppi. At 25 percent screen size,
the images were noise-free up to
ISO 6400. Even ISO 12,800 and

FINAL SCORE

83.5%

Design and Build Quality 18/20
Key Features

17/20

Ergonomics

18/20

PLUS
• Tilting
viewfinder
• Nine
Function
buttons
• Good
performance

MINUS
• Flare and
Chromatic
aberration
• Lack of detail
in high-ISO
shots

Performance
Autofocus
Sharpness
Distortion Control
Aberrations
Darkening
of Corners
Extra Features
Sub-Total
Value for Money

4/5
4/5
4.5/5
3.5/5
4/5
3.5/5
23.5/30
7.5/10

April 2014 Smart Photography

119

ILCC REVIEW
Panasonic Lumix GX7
25,600 were perfectly
usable at this size. We
observed progressive loss
in detail from ISO 1600
onwards, probably due
to the aggressive noise
reduction. Observed at
50 percent, the images
were noise-free up to
ISO 1600. Slight noise
was observed from ISO
3200. At 100 percent,
there was no change in
noise characteristics and
the images were perfectly
usable up to ISO 6400,
except for the loss in
detail.

Value for Money
The Panasonic GX7 with
the 20mm kit lens retails
at an MRP of Rs.86,990.
Panasonic did not provide
the MRP of the body
separately. At this price,
the combination seems
reasonably priced. ˆ

VERDICT
The Panasonic Lumix GX7 is a good performer with a retro design. The camera
is built sturdy and the vast range of Panasonic lenses make it a good choice.

SPECIFICATION
Lens Mount
:
Sensor Type
:
Camera effective pixels :
Recording media
:
Image sensor size
:
Colour filter
:
Dust reduction system:
Image Stabilization System :
Recording file format :
Max. File size
:
WiFi Function
Viewfinder
Type
Focus Type
Focus mode
Metering system
Metering mode
Exposure mode
ISO sensitivity

:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:

Exposure compensation :
White Balance
:
Shutter

120

:

Micro Four Thirds mount
Live MOS Sensor
16.00 Megapixels
SD, SDHC, SDXC memory cards
17.3 x 13.0 mm (in 4:3 aspect ratio)
Primary colour filter
Supersonic wave filter
Image Sensor Shift Type
Still Image: JPEG, RAW, MPO (with a 3D lens)
Still Image: 4592x3448 pixels Best Video: MP4 [Full
HD]1920×1080, 60fps
Yes
Tilting EVF
LCD Live View Finder with 2,764,800 dots
Contrast Detect AF system
AFS (Single), AFF (Flexible), AFC (Continuous), MF
1728-zone multi-pattern sensing system
Multiple, Centre Weighted, Spot
Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual
Auto, Intelligent ISO, 125(Extended), 200–25600
(1/3-EV step available)
1/3EV Step ±5EV
Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, Flash,
White Set 1, 2, Colour temperature setting
Type Focal-plane shutter

Smart Photography April 2014

Shutter speed
Self timer
Scene Guide

: Still Images: Bulb (Max. 2min), 60-1/8000sec
: 10sec for 3 images, 2sec, 10sec
: Still image: Clear Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit Softness,
Clear in Backlight, Relaxing Tone, Sweet Child’s Face,
Distinct Scenery, Bright Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset
Glow, Vivid Sunset Glow, Glistening Water, Clear
Nightscape, Cool Night Sky
Video: Clear Portrait, Silky Skin, Backlit Softness, Clear
in Backlight, Relaxing Tone, Sweet Child’s Face, Distinct
Scenery, Bright Blue Sky, Romantic Sunset Glow, Vivid
Sunset Glow, Clear Nightscape, Cool Night Sky
Burst Shooting
: Max: 5 frames per second for 9 images (in AF-S mode)
Built-in Flash
: Type: Pop-up, TTL
Guide Number: 5 m equivalent (ISO 100)
Flash Modes
: Auto, Auto/Red-eye Reduction, Forced On, Forced On/
Red-eye Reduction, Slow Sync., Slow Sync./Red-eye
Reduction, Forced Off
Synchronization Speed : Less than 1/320 second
LCD Type
: Tilt Static LCD with Touch Monitor
Monitor size
: 3.0 inch, 3:2 Aspect, Wide viewing angle
Pixels
: Approx. 1,040,000 dots
Power Source
: Li-ion Battery Pack (7.2V, 1025mAh) (Included)
Dimensions (W x H x D) : 122.60x 70.7 x 54.6 mm
Weight
: Approx. 402g (With SD card and battery)

Smartphotography.in

LENS REVIEW
TAMRON SP 150-600MM F/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD

Great lens, great value!
Rohinton Mehta

A

spiring wildlife
photographers can take
a breather! The recently
announced, low-cost, compact,
super-telephoto-zoom lens is
now available (though currently
only in Canon mount). The other
mounts will be for Nikon and Sony
models. The lens is designed for
full-frame 35mm format. When
used on APS-C camera bodies,
it will offer an equivalent focal
length of approximately 225
to 900mm (Nikon) and 240 to
960mm (Canon). Let’s see how the
150-600mm performs on our test
bench...

Design & Build Quality
By design, the Tamron 150-600mm
is a twist-zoom – you twist the
zoom ring clockwise to go from
150mm to 600mm. The build
quality feels adequate. A rubber
gasket around the lens mount
prevents dust or moisture getting
in. The mount is made from metal
and the lens has a well-designed
removable lens collar. The 150600mm is about 258mm in length
and when fully extended, is
approximately 337mm. The lens
is made in China; the lens hood is
made in Philippines. The 150600mm weighs approx. 2095g with
detachable tripod mount, lens
hood and front lens cap. Filter size
is 95mm.

Inside the Box

Key Features
The super performance
(hence SP in the
nomenclature) lens
employs 20 elements in
13 groups which includes
3 Low-Dispersion (LD)
glass elements for superior
corrections of chromatic
aberrations and other optical
flaws. To avoid/eliminate
flare and ghosting, the lens
employs BBAR (Broad-Band
Anti-Reflection) coating as
well as a specially formulated
eBAND (extended Bandwidth
& Angular-Dependency
coating), which, according
to Tamron “deploys a nanostructured layer with dimensions
smaller than the wavelengths of
visible rays of light. Its ultra-low
refractive index, combined with
the sophisticated

` 89,900

✓ Lens (model A011E)
✓ Lens hood
✓ Front & rear lens caps
✓ Tripod collar
✓ SILKYPIX Developer Studio (Raw image
processing software)
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April 2014 Smart Photography

121

LENS REVIEW
TAMRON SP 150-600MM F/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD

Actual size thumbnail

Aperture:f/6.3; Shutter Speed: 1/200sec; ISO:100
VC ‘on’
Picture shot hand-held at 600mm focal length

multiple-layer coatings
underneath, yields significant antireflection properties, absolutely
minimising flare and ghosting to
deliver sharp, crisp images”. The
lens also offers VC (vibration
cancellation) but Tamron does not
indicate how many stops advantage
the VC offers. The lens promises
swift autofocus, thanks to its USD
(Ultrasonic Silent Drive) motor.
Note: The Sony mount does not
include VC because Sony D-SLR
bodies include built-in image
stabilization.
The Tamron 150-600mm’s
zoom ring is 55mm broad and
rubberised for a good grip. The
ring is marked at 150, 200, 250,
300, 350, 400, 450, 500 and
600mm settings. A distance scale
(in meters and feet) can be seen
under a plastic window behind
the manual focus ring which can
be used to override the AF for
fine adjustments. A focus limiter
switch allows focussing between
15m-infinity or from the closest
focussing distance (of 2.7m) to
infinity.

Ergonomics
Its quite a heavy lens and
considering that at its longest
end it offers 12x magnification
over a 50mm ‘normal’ lens,
its best to use this lens on a
sturdy tripod. However, it is not
impossible to use it hand-held
(for some shots at least). When
shooting hand-held, you may
find it easier to hold the lens
with the tripod collar removed
or rotated so that the base stays
on top. While travelling or just
moving around, the lens can be
locked at the 150mm setting to
prevent the possibility of damage
with an extended lens barrel.
The lens/body combination was
comfortable to hold. A personal
grouch is that the lens collar does
not have a Arca-Swiss type fitting.

Performance
We reviewed the lens using a
Canon EOS 6D body. Unless
otherwise stated, test pictures
were shot using a sturdy Gitzo
3542 tripod with a M30 ball-head
from Markins.
The front element does not rotate

122

Smart Photography April 2014

and hence polarising filters and
graduated neutral density filters
could be easily used, except for
the fact that procuring 95mm
filters would be very expensive
and difficult in India. Autofocus
was fast in good light but did
slow down a bit in low light
and struggled to latch on with
low contrast subjects. This is
not surprising considering that
f/6.3 is its widest aperture at the
600mm end. The lens provided
sharp images at all focal lengths
though discerning users will be
able to notice the difference in
sharpness between the center
and the edges, especially at
wide open apertures. Again,
considering that the lens is
primarily a ‘wildlife-lens’, the
slight softness at the corners
matters little.
Darkening of corners at 150mm
setting was observed at f/5
and f/5.6. By f/8, there was no
noticeable corner darkening. We
were very pleasantly surprised
to find that the lens did not
exhibit any pin-cushion or
barrel distortion at any focal
length. The lens was also free of
Smartphotography.in

Aperture:f/6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/125sec ISO:1000
Tripod used. Focal length 600mm.
Picture has been cropped

Smartphotography.in

Rohinton Mehta

April 2014 Smart Photography

123

LENS REVIEW
TAMRON SP 150-600MM F/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD
any chromatic aberration, which
speaks highly of the lens design
and quality of the optics. Flare
was noticed in strong againstthe-light shots. We did not
notice any false colouration due
to the lens coatings, which is a
very good thing.
Observe the thumbnail of the
bird picture, shot hand-held at
600mm at wide-open aperture
of f/6.3. See how small the
bird is in the thumbnail. The
picture next to it is enlarged
100%. Though tones have
been adjusted, absolutely no
sharpening has been applied in
post-processing.

Let’s be very clear
about some limitations
The basic exposure for a wildlife
photographer for an averagetone subject with frontal
lighting, is 1/1000 sec at f/5.6
at ISO 100 (that is the same as
1/125 sec at f/16 for a landscape
photographer). With the
Tamron, at 600mm setting, the
basic exposure would be around
1/850 sec at f/6.3. As soon as
the subject gets into shade, you
need to ‘open up’ 1-stop. Since
you cannot make the aperture
any wider, you need to reduce
the shutter speed from 1/850
sec to (around) 1/400 sec. If the
subject gets into deeper shade,
your basic exposure is likely
to be 1/200 sec at f/6.3. Even
if you are using a tripod, there
is always a chance of subject
movement that cannot be
stopped at 1/200 sec. Of course,
most modern D-SLRs allow you

to use higher ISO sensitivities
without too much of a problem
for digital noise. And that could
be your saviour. So as an example,
if your camera gives you decent
images (in terms of digital noise)
up to ISO 800, your exposure (in
our example) for deep shadow,
could be about 1/800 sec at f/6.3
at ISO 800. With side lighting
or back-lighting, exposure
problems can be even higher. By
understanding this limitation,
you are better informed. But
what about image sharpness at
f/6.3? The Tamron 150-600mm at
600mm, wide open, is quite sharp
(see the bird picture). Also, many
advanced D-SLRs now allow you
to use even ISO 1600 without
too much noise. Control over
digital noise seems to improve
with every new camera model,
and hence the limitation of ‘slow
apertures’ is not likely to be a big
problem.

Value for Money
The Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5.66.3 Di VC USD lens is available
at an MRP of Rs.89.900. At this
price and performance we say the
lens is good value for money. ˆ

PLUS
• Compact
size
• Very good
sharpness
• Good value
for money

FINAL SCORE

84%

Design and Build Quality 17/20

MINUS
• Odd filter
size
• Aperture
limitation will
force you to
use higher
ISOs
• Quite heavy

Key Features

16.5/20

Ergonomics

17/20

Performance
Autofocus
Sharpness
Distortion Control
Aberrations
Darkening
of Corners
Extra Features
Sub-Total

4/5
4.5/5
5/5
4/5
4/5
4/5
25.5/30

Value for Money

8/10

VERDICT
A 600mm lens (a prime lens though) from the competition would cost over
rupees six lacs in India and would be ‘faster’ than the Tamron 150-600mm
but then, the Tamron’s MRP is under rupees ninety thousand! The overall
performance of the Tamron 150-600mm f/5.6-6.3 Di VC USD is very good
indeed, and we have no hesitation in awarding it Best Buy!

SPECIFICATIONS
Model No.
Lens construction
ments)
Angle of View (Diagonal)
Focal length
Diaphragm blades
Aperture range:
Minimum focus

124

: A011
: 20 elements in 13 groups (includes 3 LD ele: 16 25’ – 4 8’ (full-frame format)
10 38’ – 2 40’ (APS-C format)
: 150-600mm (4x)
: 9
: F/5.6-32 (150mm); F/6.3-40 (600mm)
: 2.7m

Smart Photography April 2014

Maximum magnification ratio : 1:5
Filter size
: 95mm
Weight, Canon mount
: Approx. 2095g with detachable tripod mount,
lens hood and front lens cap
Diameter x length
: 105.6 x 257.8mm
Supplied accessories
: Lens hood, detachable tripod mount
Mounts available
: Canon, Nikon, Sony
Vibration Reduction
: Yes, for Canon and Nikon mounts
(Sony camera bodies have built-in vibration reduction)
Smartphotography.in

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

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

126

Buffer

Smart Photography April 2014

Memory
card

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
Smartphotography.in

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.
Smartphotography.in

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

April 2014 Smart Photography

127

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.
128

Smart Photography April 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
Smartphotography.in

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
Smartphotography.in

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

April 2014 Smart Photography

129

SP
Recommends

3 Best Smartphones
Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom
Nothing can beat the S4 zoom when
it comes to cameras embedded in
Smartphones. A true hybrid, this device
features a full-fledged compact camera at
the back in addition to a feature-packed
Android Smartphone. The S4 Zoom’s
camera features a 16-megapixel, 1/2.33-inch
Type (6.16 x 4.62mm) BSI CMOS sensor. It
houses a 24-240mm equivalent lens with

Optical Image Stabilisation. The general
features include a 1.5GHz Pega-Dual
+XMM6262 processor, Android JellyBean
v4.2 OS with Touchwiz UI, 1.5GB RAM and
8GB internal memory, expandable up to
64GB. It is powered by a 2330mAh Li-ion
rechargeable battery pack. At a launch price
of Rs.31,990 and superior performance, the
device is a great buy.

Nokia Lumia 1020
A 41-megapixel Smartphone camera is no
joke. Th announcement of this device itself
was enough to leave people awe-struck. The
1020 carries the brilliant monoblock design
that is the hallmark of the Lumia series. The
screen is made of scratch resistant Corning
Gorilla Glass 3. The camera features a Xenon
flash along with a focus assist light. With the

41-megapixel Pureview camera, the 1020
literally reinvented zoom as the tagline
for the device said. The phone features
Optical Image Stabilisation, a 1/1.5-inch
type back-side illuminated (BSI) sensor, and
a Carl Zeiss f/2.2, approximately 25-70mm
lens completes the camera specs. The Lumia
1020 was launched at an MRP of Rs.49,999.

Sony Xperia Z1
The Z1 incorporates premium display
features in a Smartphone that is
waterproof, dustproof and sports a
20.7-megapixel camera. It uses a 1/2.3-inch
Type (6.16 x 4.62mm) Exmor RS for mobile
sensor and a Sony G 27mm equivalent f/2.0
lens. With an Ingress Protection rating of
IP55/58, the device is dust resistant and
waterproof up to a depth of 1.5 meters
for up to 30 minutes when all the covers

130

Smart Photography April 2014

are firmly closed. The Xperia Z1 runs on
Android 4.2.2 (Jelly Bean) and uses a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdradon 800 Quad
Core processor, combined with an Adreno
330 GPU. It has a 5-inch Full HD Triluminos
Display that boasts a pixel density of 441
pixels per inch. Other features include 2GB
RAM, 16GB internal memory, and 64GB
expandable memory. The Z1 was launched
with an MRP of Rs. 44,990.

Smartphotography.in

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.

Smartphotography.in

April 2014 Smart Photography

131

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TIDBITS

WHAT IS
WI-FI?
H. S. Billimoria

O

ur regular readers are aware of
our increased stress on including
Wi-Fi as a feature in all cameras.
But reader R. Janmal wants to know what
exactly Wi-Fi is and how it works. So here
goes...
Wi-Fi is a term used for communication
technology that transmits data using radio
waves from one device to another. The word
‘Wi-Fi’ is now patented and the patent is
owned by a number of companies that have
formed a ‘Wi-Fi’ Alliance’. The Alliance
ensures that all official Wi-Fi certified
products communicate without problems.
Wi-Fi is offered today by all major telecom
operators and can be accessed using
Smartphones, Tablets, computers and
nowadays, cameras.
In today’s digital cameras, Wi-Fi enabled
cameras offer a step-up on non-enabled
ones. A camera having Wi-Fi allows you to
instantly send your images to your home
computer. For this purpose, you need a
Smartphone or Tablet. This Smartphone or
Tablet needs to be fed an app that will allow
it to communicate with your camera. This
app can be downloaded and installed for free
from the Google Store or Apple App Store.
Once connected, you can send your images
from your camera to your Smartphone
or Tablet. From the phone or the Tablet,

178

Smart Photography April 2014

you can of course send your images to
specific sites like Facebook or Flickr. In
the latest cameras featuring Wi-Fi, you can
connect directly to the internet without the
intervention of your mobile.
The first D-SLR to feature Wi-Fi was
Canon’s EOS 6D. Mirrorless camera
manufacturers have been quicker and
Olympus (E-M1), Panasonic (GH3) and
Sony (A7R) have Wi-Fi models. Bridge
cameras like Panasonic’s FZ 200 also feature
Wi-Fi.
If you own a camera without Wi-Fi, you
need not despair. An Eye-Fi card can give
you Wi-Fi benefits without your having to
replace your existing camera.
One technology that is likely to become
more popular is NFC or Near Field
Communication. This wireless technology
uses radio waves to allow two devices (say
a camera and a Tab) to communicate over
very short distances. Thus, NFC enables
two devices to share data simply by tapping
them together. This technology
is already popular with mobile phones and
should soon catch up with digital cameras
as well. Like the Wi-Fi Alliance, a NFC
Forum has already been formed and this
Forum will ensure NFC compatibility
between various devices. The Panasonic
Lumix GX-7 is a good example of a camera
featuring both Wi-Fi and NFC.
ˆ
Smartphotography.in