10 30 November 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113
THE
VEWS
EXPRESSED
NTH
SCOLUMN
ARE
NOT
NECESSARILY THOSE OF AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER MAGA ZINE OR TI MED
AL
MTED
Theperilsofusingunfamiliarequipment
for the fi rst time in the real world
View point
Jon Bentley
© JON BENTLEY
Y
oucan’ttellhowgooda
camerawillbeat a particular
assignmentuntilyoutestit for
real.Focusingthatseemed
sprightlyenoughwhileyouweresittingon
thesofain yourlivingroomcanquicklybe
foundwantingbya fast-movingbacklit
plane,a dartinganimalora fleetingfacial
expression.Controlsthatseemedlogical
andeasyto usewhileyouwerecalmly
contemplatingthemin thethrallof a
post-unboxingglowcansuddenlybecome
fiddlyandconfusingwhileyou’re
scramblingfora shot.
I wasremindedof thisrecentlyby
distinguishedcarphotographerSteve
Hall.Amongassignmentsformagazines
andcarmanufacturersheshootsVmax
events,wheresupercarownersmeet
at racetracksandtrytomaxouttheir
200mph-plusprojectiles.I wasthere
recordinganitemonmirrorlesscameras
forTheGadgetShow. I noticedhewas
usinga NikonD4withhis400mm
lensandwonderedwhetherhewas
consideringexchangingit fora fashionably
mirrorlessZ 6 orZ 7. Weagreedtoswap
theZ 7, whichwasamongthecameras
I wastesting,tocomparenotes.
Sadly,bythetimewe’dfinishedfilming,
andwewereabletoswapbodies,thecars
werenolongerhurtlingdownthestraight.
Stevewasforcedtoconcludethatwithout
thecarsgoingfullpelt,therewassimply
nowayhecouldtesttheresponsiveness
of the viewfi nder and autofocus.
Overthesummer,remindersof the
importanceof real-worldtestscontinued.
I thoughtI’dusetheultra-widelensof
a SamsungGalaxyS10I wastestingto
capturea mastershotof a play.Onlywhen
I wasabouttopressrecorddidI realise
Samsunghaddroppedits‘Pro’modein
video.I thereforecouldn’tadjustexposure
againsttheblackbackdropof thestage
andtheshotssufferedasa result.
MeanwhiletheSonyA6000I wasusing
fortheclose-upsoverheatedafter 17
minutesin spiteof theassurancesgivenby
a blokein a YouTubevideothatit wouldn’t
if I leftthearticulatedscreenopen.
Thentherewasthesagaof tryingto
shootwhalesanddolphinsin theOuter
HebridesforanotherGadgetShowtest.
TheNikonD850and200-500mmlens
lookedidealforthetask,butin practice
theirrelativelyheavyweightseemedto
magnifytheheavingmotionof theboat.
I wouldprobablyhavebeenbetteroffwith
a point-and-shoot.Thequalityof the
cameraandlenswasn’tin doubt– it was
moretheirappropriatenessin thehands
of anunseaworthycameraoperator.
It maysoundobvious,butI thinkit’sall
tooeasytoforgettheperilsof tacklingan
importantjobwhenyouhaven’ttestedout
yourkitbeforein a comparablesituation.
If possible,tryit outonsomething similar
firsttoavoiddisappointment.
Ifyouwanttoshootfast-moving
subjects,makesureyou have the
right kit for the job
Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround
500 wordstotheaddressonpage 20 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.
JonBentleyis a TVproducerandpresenterbestknown
forTop Gear and Channel 5’s The Gadget Show
© ROB COTTLE
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