phototab

How toshoot

festivalsA day at the races with

a do-it-all cameraNikon’s serious

compact contender

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How to shootfestivals 6-16

A day at the races 18-21

Nikon gets serious on compacts 22-24

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Tuning up for the festivalseason, we set out how totake great pics with a mod-est amount of equipment.The cover picture of Eve Sellis wastaken using a Canon SX210 IS andconverted on an iPad using thePhotogene app with a popart filter

When the going gets tough, canthe Canon S95 get going? Is it a trueall-round performer for reportage,landscape and sporting action?

The NIkon P7000 is aiming to be a real contender in the high-endcompact camera sector, can it compete with the big wheels?

Welcome to the premier issue of phototabmagazine. This is the first photographymagazine that has been designedspecifically for reading on a tabletcomputer like the iPad, although it canbe read easily on any laptop or desktopcomputer and is also availablein print format.We are aiming to cover a wide range of

topics and would love to hear your ideasand feature your pictures. Our next issue

will be focusing on photography and theinternet, so we are particularly interestedin what websites you like and theservices you use. If you have a portfoliowebsite we might be interested infeaturing in the magazine, please sendus the website address.You can email us at [email protected]

or contact us through our website atwww.phototabmag.comWe hope you enjoy this first issue.

phototab

magazine

CONTENTS

ISSUE ONEJULY/AUGUST 2011

Last year, Canon introduced the EOS 550D which was and still

is one of the best cameras at its price point ever made by Canon.

Now, just a matter of months later, Canon has brought out the

600D which has added a swivel screen to the 550D and wireless

flash control, both useful items. Both cameras have an APS-C-

sized 18-megapixel sensor and use the Digic 4 image processor.

Now this is a really intriguing one. Pentax is bringing out an

interchangeable-lens camera system with a new lens mount.

The Q mount system is claimed to be the world’s smallest

and lightest mirrorless camera.It features a 12-megapixel CMOS sensor with full HD video

and offers a range of Q-mount lenses, including a standard

prime 47mm f1.9 (very fast), a 27mm-85mm f2.8-4.5 zoom,

a 17.5mm f5.6 fish-eye and two so-called toy lenses,

a 35mm with a fixed aperture of f7.1 and

a 100mm with a fixed aperture of f8.The Q includes a bokeh control function

that can defocus areas of a picture andthere is an optional viewfinder to sit inthe hotshoe slot for the standard prime.The system rather reminds me of

the Pentax 110 film camera systemwhich also featured a range of lenses.It proved popular in its time and thisnew Q system could also be a winnerbut the big drawback for me is thefact that this camera’s sensor is just1/2.3-inch, the same size as severalother compact cameras. Pentax claimsits processing quality makes up forthe tiny sensor so we will just haveto wait and see when it comes out in September.

Expected price for camera body with standard lens is £500-ish.

Canonswivelsin withthe 600D

phototab july/august 2011 NEW IN VIEW 3

Panasonic has taken a quarter off the size of its microfour-thirds camera the Lumix G2 in bringing out theLumix G3 which is 25 per cent smaller than its predeces-sor but the camera is still a good fit for most hands.The 16-megapixel camera adds a tremendously

useful feature with touchscreen focusing anywhereon the screen as touching creates a focus point.It is a good looking camera in black, red and silver

and is sure to widen the already considerable followingbuilt up by Panasonic for its micro four-thirds cameras.

PanasonicshrinksLumix G3

4 NEW IN VIEW july/august 2011 phototab

FujifindsitsrangewiththeclassicX100

Probably the most eagerly awaited camera launch ofthe year so far has finally hit the shops. The Fuji X100was announced last year and was originally sched-uled for early spring release but the Japanese earth-quake halted production at the Fuji factory.The X100 is styled like a classic camera and offers

a rangefinder-type of viewfinder which is uniquedigitally outside of the expensive Leica M8 and M9and the discontinued Epson RD-1. The X100 has runinto a certain amount of criticism about slow rawtimes and a confusing firmware process that hidesaway often used functions within menus but Fuji hasacted on these criticisms and has produced somenew firmware to address these problems.It has also been noted unanimously that the

camera, which costs around £900-£1,000, canproduce images of superb quality.

One of the reasons,I should imagine, that Canoncame out with the 600D was the arrival of theNikon D5100 which also has a vari-angle screen,with Nikon claiming shooting possiblefrom almost any angle.The 16-megapixel D5100

has added special effects,including a novel selectivecolour feature where youcan pick up to threecolours to appear incolour while the restof the pictureis monochrome.ISO speeds range

from 100 to 6400 andcan go as high at 25600,which should beinteresting.The sensor has a 1.5

lens factor, so a 28mmbecomes 42mm and200mm becomesa 300mm.The camera offers full

1080p HD video at24/25/30 fps, with the 30fpsbeing a first for Nikon, and thespecial effects mode is also availablefor videos.Nikon has come up with a real speed merchant

with the capacity to shoot upto 16 raw shots per burst at4 frames persecond incontinuousshootingmode orup to 100full-sizejpegs at4 fps.

phototab july/august 2011 NEW IN VIEW 5

NikonD5100puts on afast show

6 FESTIVAL FEATURE july/august 2011 phototab

RogerPacker tunesup for thefestivalseason andsays youdon’t needmassesof expensiveequipmentto takegreat pics

HOW TO SHOOTFESTIVALS

The festival season isgetting into fullswing and there aregreat photo oppor-tunities at hundreds

of festivals, big and small,around the UK and through-out the world. You don’t needa professional DSLR witha long telephoto lens to getgood shots at a festival, thisarticle aims to show you howto take good pictures withsome very modest equipment.

You might not even be ableto take a DSLR into a festival assome have restrictions on whattype of cameras can be used,so check before you take a bagfull of equipment as you mightbe refused entry. The smallprint on festival tickets usuallygives you an indication of thephotographic policy or youcan check on the festivalwebsite. There can be a ban onso-called professional photoequipment, which can mean

anything that has a long lensand can take video, so evenrelatively compact superzoomscould be excluded. If you arecamping, you could probablyhide your photo gear in withthe tent if there is a search atthe gate but the security staffinside the festival might alsobe looking out for cameras.

But there are plenty offestivals where photographyis welcome, just check thefestival facts.

phototab july/august 2011 FESTIVAL FEATURE 7

PRIME SHOTS

You might not want to take a big chunk oftelephoto lens to a festival with your DSLRas it could weigh down on your enjoyment.I often take a relatively light prime lens.My favourite is the Canon 85mm f1.8 lens.This equates to around 136mm in 35mmterms on the Canon 550D which I generallyuse. Obviously, this does not give you therange of, say, a 70-300mm lens but you geteasy portability, superb quality and a veryfast lens aperture.If you are far away from the action, you

might need a 300mm lens or perhaps evena 400mm but in many instances you can getcloser and even if you can’t, you can cropand blow up a shot from a prime lens suchas the Canon 85mm or perhaps the 135mmf2 lens which would becomea 213mm on a 550D or similar camera.Prime lenses offer superb quality and

ease of use. Once you become used tothe particular angle of view offered by

a prime lens you will find yourself movingand adjusting to fit pictures to the lens.The 85mm is a particularly fine portrait lens.Nikon also offers some excellent prime

lenses, including a 85mm f1.4 and 135mm f2.Please note that both Canon and Nikon

offer prime lenses in two versions and attwo widely different prices.For instance, the Nikon 85mm f1.4 is priced

at around £850 while the 85mm f1.8 willcost you less than half that at around £350.The Canon 85mm f1.8 will also set youback about £300-350 but the extremelyfast Canon 85mm f1.2 costs aneye-watering £1,500.The picture of the punk band performing

on an open-top double-decker bus at afestival in Sussex was taken with the Canon85mm f1.8 lens on a Canon 550D, it wasshot at ISO 200 at f5.6 with a shutter speedof 1/500th sec.

The�picture

on�the�open-

ing�page�of

Gillian�Welch

with�Dave

Rawlings

was�taken�at

a�festival�in

Ireland�using

a�pocket

camera,�the

Leica�D-Lux

3,�at�ISO400,

f4.9�and

a�shutter

speed�of

1/125th�sec


Many festivals feature comedy and theatre as well as musicso be on the lookout for covering the bases. Festivals suchas Latitude in Suffolk offer a wide range of entertainmentoutside the music stages and it can often be easier to getcloser for pictures.Make sure you don’t disturb the performance and the

enjoyment of the rest of the audience, particularly duringtheatre. You might be able to get some pictures at the endof the show when the cast take a bow but don’t snap awayduring the show even if you have a silent shutter as theLCD and focus light will disturb others.Even if a festival only has music acts, it is a good idea to get

away from the main stage. Some festivals have severalsmaller stages offering great photo opportunities. Localbands might appreciate you taking some pictures for promo-tional use.This theatre/performance art group in black and white were

on their way to a performance at a festival in Sussex. Thepicture was taken using a Canon EOS 550D with a Canon85mm f1.8 lens at ISO200, f1.8 and 1/1000th sec. Settingthe lens wide open at f1.8 at a fast shutter speed has keptthe dancers largely sharp and blurred the background nicely,one of the great advantages of fast prime lenses

A SENSEOF THEATRE

You need to think carefully about whatphoto equipment to take to a festival.Find out what is allowed, there’s no pointin taking a load of gear if you are going tobe turned away at the gate. If you feel upto carrying the load, then a DSLR witha 70-200/300/400mm plus perhaps a wide-angle zoom or a compact camera shouldcover most bases and offer you top quality.

An APS-C DSLR will give youa telephoto boost of 1.4 or1.6, so a 300m could be-come a 480mm in 35mmterms. You might consider

a DSLR with a prime lens such as an 85m asa lighter-weight option.Consider why you are going to a festival

because photography can take up much ofyour time if you are taking it seriously, sothink about whether you might be happierrelaxing, enjoying more of the festival andtaking more casual pics. A superzoom

WHAT TO TAKETO A FESTIVAL


Many festivals feature comedy and theatre as well as musicso be on the lookout for covering the bases. Festivals suchas Latitude in Suffolk offer a wide range of entertainmentoutside the music stages and it can often be easier to getcloser for pictures.Make sure you don’t disturb the performance and the

enjoyment of the rest of the audience, particularly duringtheatre. You might be able to get some pictures at the endof the show when the cast take a bow but don’t snap awayduring the show even if you have a silent shutter as theLCD and focus light will disturb others.Even if a festival only has music acts, it is a good idea to get

away from the main stage. Some festivals have severalsmaller stages offering great photo opportunities. Localbands might appreciate you taking some pictures for promo-tional use.This theatre/performance art group in black and white were

on their way to a performance at a festival in Sussex. Thepicture was taken using a Canon EOS 550D with a Canon85mm f1.8 lens at ISO200, f1.8 and 1/1000th sec. Settingthe lens wide open at f1.8 at a fast shutter speed has keptthe dancers largely sharp and blurred the background nicely,one of the great advantages of fast prime lenses

camera can be a good compromise but therecan be difficulties. The long end of the zoomcan often be shaky to the point of unusableand there is a lag between focusing andtaking the picture. With some practice, youcan overcome these problems but the low-light performance of these cameras is un-likely to be particularly good. In good light,however, these cameras can be used toproduce excellent pictures and post-process-ing can help with low-light difficulties.The important point is to know your

camera and to recognise that shutter speedsettings are important when you are

capturing live festival action. Canon offersthe SX30IS and some of newer superzoomsinclude the 30x Sony HX100v, the 36x NikonP500 and the 30x Fuji FinepixHS20. You canalso find previous used models at low prices.Don’t discount pocket cameras such as

the Canon S95 or the Panasonic Lumix LX5,you can take great pics with them eventhough the zoom range is more limited.Don’t leave your camera in a tent,

no matter how well hidden you think it is.Take it with you or lock it up in a car.Check out some of our camera choices

on pages 16 and 17


It can be the bane of a music photographer’slife but the static microphone on stage is notgoing to go away and it’s better than havingcall-centre mikes tucked into a singer’s ear.The key is either to get an angle wherethe singer is relatively unobscured by themike or to incorporate it as a feature ofthe picture.The pictures on this page were both taken

at the small and friendly Maverick festivalwhich is held in Suffolk and features largelyAmericana roots music. I used the CanonSX210IS which is a cheap and compact14-megapixel superzoom with a range from28mm to 392mm in 35mm terms. It performs

OPEN MIC

brilliantly at low ISO settings in goodlight but not so well in low light.The picture above of Danny Wilson

of Danny and the Champions wastaken at ISO80, f5.9 and 1/200th sec.I worked an angle to the stage to keepthe mike separate but was helped bythe distance between Danny andthe mike at this point. You need toobserve a musician’s method ofoperating and pick your time. The picture on the left of Eve Sellis

was shot at ISO80, f7.1 and 1/250thsec. She was singing right up to themike but I managed to get an angleto show her full-voiced effort. Youdon’t want the mike to completelyobscure the singer’s mouth.


The sun can play a big partin lighting your festivalpictures. If the sun is onthe stage, then you are inluck as the ultimate lightsource is on your side, solong as the performerson stage are not squintingagainst the light.If the sun is behind the

stage, then you can haveproblems depending on howhigh in the sky the sun is.If it is low, you can getsome great effects with themusicians backlit but if it ishigh you need to watchfor flare in your lens. Thekey is to move and work atan angle to the light. If the

sunlight iscoming fromeither east orwest of thestage you canuse this toyour advan-tage but

watch for flare if you areshooting against the light.The picture of Neko Case

on the left above was takenat a festival in Golden GatePark, San Francisco, towardsthe end of the day as the sunwas going low and rakingacross the stage. Technically,you could say the picture isoverexposed with most ofNeko’s face in the sun andthe rest in shadow but I likethe effect and particularlythe way the sun lit her hair.I moved to the side of thestage for the light and to getan angle on the microphoneand waited for a break in thesong where she moved back

slightly from the mike.The picture was taken witha Leica V-Lux 1 which isa superzoom sized betweena compact and a DSLR witha range of 35mm-420mm.The picture was shot atISO400, f3.7 and 1/50th sec.The picture above of

Jakob Dylan, son of Bob,was taken at Port Eliotfestival in Cornwall, anothersmall festival with relativelyeasy access to stages. Thiswas taken at night using theCanon Powershot SX210IS atISO800, f5.9 and 1/20th sec.It shows the possibilitiesof using compact camerasat high ISO and also theproblems. The shutter speedof 1/20th was the maximumpossible in the light butwas not enough to makethe picture pin-sharp butdid mean a nice blurryeffect with Jakob’s handin motion.


If you are using a DSLR, thenyou should not have toomuch trouble in taking nightshots of the action on stageas DSLRs have excellent highISO performance. However,if you are using a compactor a superzoom you willhave more problems, thetrick is to embrace the limit-ations of these cameras andmake the inevitable noise

and grain a feature of yourphotos. This can be partic-ularly effective where thelighting is a feature ofthe show which gives youboth the added interestof the lighting and theconsequent boost to yourISO with the extra lightavailable.Take for example the

picture of Rodrigo y Gabriela

above which was takenusing a pocket camera, theLeica D-Lux 2, which reallyis not designed for suchwork. This was shot rela-tively early in the eveningwhen there was still somedaylight available, which,together with the stagelight, meant that I was ableto keep the ISO down to100 and shoot at f4.9 with a

TURN UP THE NOISE


shutter speed of 1/125th sec.You need to assess how

active the musicians are foryour shutter speed. If thereis a lot of quick movement,you would need a minimumof 1/250 sec and perhapshigher or you could takethe shutter down to 1/30thsec or thereabouts for someinteresting effects.

The shot of the Saw Doc-tors above was taken lateron during the same nightof the festival as Rodrigo yGabriela but night had fallenby then and I had to pushthe ISO to 400, which is highfor a compact camera. I againshot at f4.9 and 1/125 sec.I love the noise in this

picture and thinks it reflects

the character of the SawDoctors and festivalsin general.Many of the great rock

pictures were shot usinghigh-ISO grainy film, justlook at the cover of TheClash’s London Callingalbum, among many otherexamples, and don’t beafraid to turn up the noise.


Don’t forget the peoplearound you when you arelooking for subjects to shoot.The stars of the show mightbe on the stages but the

crowd can make great shots.The picture on this spread

was taken from ground levelto show the colourful varietyof footwear and legwear at

a festival. It was taken usinga pocket camera, the FujiFinePix F10, at ISO80, f3.6and 1/600th sec.There is huge potential for

CROWD SURFING


all sorts of crowd shots.Some people get kitted outin fancy dress for a festivaland others are there as fansof a particular performer,so you could position your-self to photograph theirreactions to a performer.A classic crowd shot is to

picture a performer on stage

through a sea of wavinghands. This can be a difficultshot, you need a longishzoom lens such as a70-200mm or 70-300mm tocompress perspective.Ideally, you need a slope,either up or down, or a boxor bench to stand on to giveyou a vantage point. Set a

fast shutter speed to freezeclapping hands at the rightmoment.Experiment with other

types of crowd shots and tryto find a style of your own.


FESTIVAL LINE-UP

The Sony HX100V is a 16-megapixel powerhouse witha 30x zoom lens from 27mmto 810mm and fastestf/stops off2.8-5.6 ateach end ofthe zoom.Priced ataround £430.

The Nikon P500 offers a 36x zoom lensfrom 22.5mm-810mm, f3.5-5.7, and a 12-megapixel sensor, price is around £320.

Superzooms

The f stops hereThe f numbers in the specificationsrelate to the aperture of the lens and are the widest the lens can be opened at certainzoom settings. For example, a camera with a f2.8-5.6 lens can be set at f2.8 at the wideend of the zoom but only at f5.6 at the long end. This means a slower shutter speedwould have to be set at the long end of the lens or the ISO speed increased. A higher ISOrisks more noise and less definition while a slower shutter could blur movement.

The 14-megapixelCanon SX30IShas a 35xzoom from24-840mmwhich is thelongest ofthe super-zooms. Itsfastest f/stopsrange fromf2.7-5.8. Pricein the shopsis around£320-£350.

ThePana-sonicDMC-FZ100 has a14-megapixelsensor with an f2.8-5.2 lens coveringa 24x zoom range from 25-600mm.Shop price is around £330-£350.


The Leica V-Lux 30 is a recent addition to the compact zoomranks, following the V-Lux 20. The V-Lux 30 has an f3.3-5.9 lenscovering a 16x range from 24-384mm in 35mm terms witha 15.1 megapixel sensor. It features HD video, a 3D photofunction and GPS. It is very light at 219g (7.7ozs) and fits intoa pocket. Its price might be a drawback as the Leica name doesnot come cheap and the camera retails for over £500. Panasonic

produces a line of cameras which are largelythe same as the V-Lux models at consider-ably cheaper price points.

The Panasonic DMC-TZ20 below is a com-panion camera to the Leica V-Lux 20 and 30

models. It has a f3.3-5.9 16x zoom lens spanning24mm-384mm

with a 14-megapixelsensor andfull HDvideo

The Sony Cyber-shot HX9V below hasa 16-megapixel sensor with a 16x zoomfrom 24mm-384mm, widest f/stops fromf3.3-5.9 and full HD video.

Canon introduced the PowerShot SX220 HSand SX230 HS in February. The main differ-ence between the two is that the SX230 HSoffers GPS which can be useful but runsdown a battery, so if you don’t want GPS

the SX220 HS might be the best betalthough there doesn’t seem to be

much price difference with both aroundthe £230 mark. The cameras have

a 12-megapixel sensor and a f3.1-5.9 lenswith a 14x zoom from 28-392mm.

Compact zooms

18 CANON S95 july/august 2011 phototab

Mark Carettook theCanon S95to EpsomDowns tocheck outits all-roundperformanceon the hoof T

he Canon s95 is a truecompact camera thatyou can carry ina pocket. Thesuccessor to the pop-

ular S90 features 10 megapix-els, aimed at keeping noise

down. It has a lens range of28-105mm in 35mm termsand is reasonably fast at f2-4.9.It does not have the speed,resolution and covering powerof a DSLR with a good zoomlens but it wins on portability.

A DAY ATTHE RACES

How would it fare at a sport-ing day out? I was looking totake a wide range of photos,including action from theraces, reportage-type picturesof the crowd and perhaps a fewlandscape pictures as there

were some striking skies overthe downs.

The light was on our side.It was a bright, sunny day withclouds acting as a softbox. Youget big skies over EpsomDowns and the opportunity

for dramatic pictures.Horse racing is

a difficult sport tophotograph even witha good fast DSLR as thethundering hooves speedpast and there are nosecond chances, until thenext race anyway.

I switched from raw tojpeg for the action pics asthere was no time to waitfor the raw buffer. I dida dry run using trackingautofocus but decidednot to use it as it seemedto get confused if a horsepassed a horse on whichI was focusing so I optedfor continuous focusing.

The picture on page 21shows a pack of horses takinga bend early on in a race.It’s not sharp throughout.I was trying to keep noise to a minimum, so set the ISOat 320 rather than anythinghigher. I feel it has at least

phototab july/august 2011 CANON S95 19

The Canon S95, note the controlring around the lens which canbe set for various functions

20 CANON S95 july/august 2011 phototab

captured some of the atmos-phere of the race but theshutter speed of 1/500th secwas too slow, I should haveset it to 1/750th sec or faster.

The picture on the openingpages shows punters assessing the odds at thebookmakers on the downs.The S95 has captured a goodrange of tones here withoutblowing out any highlightsand the colours are realistic.This picture and all theothers here apart from theracing action were taken asraw files and converted usingthe Canon Digital PhotoProfessional softwaresupplied with the S95.

The camera is easy to handleand has the great advantage ofa front control dial around thelens. I generally set this tochange the aperture althoughit can be changed to various

settings including changingthe shutter speed.

The picture below is themain grandstand at Epsom.I was on the cheapskate partof the course on the downs sohad a good vantage pointto photograph the payingcustomers in the stand.The S95 has rendered thearchitecture well.

I set the lens for the grand-stand picture at 12.8mm,which equates to around61mm in 35mm terms.

Most of the pictures duringthe day were shot at f5.6,which seems to be a fairlysweet spot for the S95.

The landscape on page 21shows the camera’s capabilityof holding a range of tones,particularly in the highlights.Many compacts would haveblown out sections of the sky

Overall, I was pleased with

the S95’s all-round perform-ance. The lack of sharpnessin the racing pic is my faultrather than deficiencies inthe camera and I consider itturned in a fine performancethat makes it my odds-onfavourite compact camera.

I was looking to takea wide range ofphotos, includingaction from theraces, reportage-typepictures of the crowdand perhaps a fewlandscape pictures

Below: ISO 100, f5.6, 1/640 sec, 12.8mmThe main grandstand at Epsom

phototab july/august 2011 CANON S95 21

Above: ISO 320, f4.9, 1/500sec, 22.5mm. A race in full flow, a faster shutter speed would have sharp ened up the action andthis picture does show the limitations of a camera such as the S95 but neverthelessa good performance for a pocket camera

Below: ISO 100, f5.6, 1/640 sec, 6.0mmIt was a day of dramatic cloudsover the downs and this wellillustrates the S95’s capabilityof holding on to the highlights

22 NIKON P7000 july/august 2011 phototab

NIKON GETSSERIOUS ONCOMPACTS

Roger Packer has high hopes for the Nikon P7000

Nikon has neverseemed to stretchitself in the com-pact camera sector,with Canon’s G

and S series and Panasonic’s LXcameras winning the accoladesin the high-end market.

In recent months, however,the company has shown signsof life in serious compactsand with the 10-megapixelP7000 it is aiming to takeon the Canon G12 andthe Panasonic Lumix LX-5.

The P7000 is an impressivecamera to handle. It’s biggerthan the G12 and the LX-5and can’t be considereda pocket camera. It has a pro-fessional feel and I had highhopes this would prove tobe the elusive missing linkbetween DSLRs and compacts.In appearance and feel, itseems almost like a smallerversion of the medium-formatfilm Fuji rangefinders whichare still popular among

discerning photographers.It has a very good zoom

range for a quality compactwith a 7x lens going from28mm-200mm in 35mm termswith fastest f/stops fromf2.8-5.6 at either end of thezoom, which is reasonably fast.

The problem with all the

serious compacts is the factthat they have small sensors.Surely, the first manufacturerto produce a compact witha good zoom range and anAPS-C sensor is going to havea huge winner on their hands?I understand the technicalproblems of fitting the biggersensor into a small body witha good zoom but I can’t helpruing the fact that a qualitybody with good handlinglike the P7000 is held backby a small sensor.

The P7000 has an impressivelooking top plate with a modedial offering full manualcontrol, a zoom trigger and anexposure compensation dial ina very handy position. It alsofeatures an innovative dialwhich includes functions forISO speed, picture quality and

Clocking on: On a bright day, it was very diffi-cult to tell whether this shot of Big Ben was

in focus while I was taking it and also difficultin reviewing the picture on the screenISO 100, 42.6mm, f5.6, 1/306th sec.

You might notice that the P7000 producesbizarrely exact shutter speedswhen used in aperture mode

phototab july/august 2011 NIKON P7000 23

white balanceamong others. It is soinnovative I struggled forsome while to find out howto set the ISO. The quick startmanual doesn’t feature thefunction and as I don’t havea CD drive in my computerI couldn’t look it up on themain manual which Nikonprovides on CD. CD manualsare one of my hates. Theymay be cheaper for the manu-facturer but they are veryinconvenient for the user.

I eventually found the ISOanswer on the internet and, ofcourse, it was a Duh! moment.

The P7000 does have anoptical viewfinder of sortsbut it isn’t worth using so youhave to use the LCD screenwhich isn’t bad in overcastconditions but difficult inbright sun. This is another ofmy hates as I think the greatjoy of photography is seeinga picture in a viewfinder whenyou are taking it. With theP7000 and other compacts,it can be more a question ofguesswork. I generally use

Cruise control: The P7000 produced a good job here onthe Thames with a fast-moving river cruiser. Note againthe bizarrely exact shutter speed which the camera setin aperture mode ISO 100, 22.5mm, f4.5, 1/617th sec

Traction action: The main dialshown here on the right of theLCD screen is used for makingaperture and shutter settingsand moves too easily when itis taken in and out of a bag

The P7000coped well withthis tricky shot

of a ship ina bottle ona plinth at

Trafalgar Squarein LondonISO 100,

16.3mm, f5.6,1/300th sec

24 NIKON P7000 july/august 2011 phototab

aperture mode and the aper-ture is set on the P7000 byturning the main dial on theback of the camera. This seemsto have decent traction but,in use, the dial had movedevery time I took it out of mybag which was annoying andtime-wasting. The same alsogoes, to a lesser extent, forthe mode dial and theexposure compensationdials on the top plate.

It can be difficult to checkwhether the camera hasfocused properly, particularlyat the long end of the lens.

The drawbacks are partic-ularly disappointing in thiscase because the Nikon P7000really can produce excellentquality pictures. The P7000 isa contender in the seriouscompact sector but needsto be made easier to use andwouldn’t it be marvellousto have a bigger, muchbigger, sensor?

Sharp Eye: This picture of the LondonEye was taken at the long end of the

zoom and exceeds my expectations forclarity and sharpness. It shows the

P7000 can produce excellent results andillustrates how useful a 200m zoom can

be on a quality compact cameraISO 100, 76.7mm, f5.6, 1/495th sec

Published in the UK by phototab-mag. All contents strictly copyright2011 the authors and phototabmag.

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