Amateur Photographer - UK 2019-07-12)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 6 July 2019 57

Tech Talk

Ask the ex erts

Sigma18-300mm

f/3.5-6.3C DC

Ifyou’relookingforflexibility

outin thefield,thisAPS-Clens

couldbethechoiceforyou.The

Sigma18-300mmf/3.5-6.3C

DCprovidesa widerangleof

viewthanitsfeaturedrivalsfor

in-situstyleshotsat oneendof

itsfocalrange,anda fantastic

450mmfull-frameequivalent

reachat itsothersoyoucan

really fi ll the frame with subjects.

Tamron70-300mm

f/4-5.6SPDiVCUSD

Withanadvancedopticaldesign

thatfeaturesLowDispersion

andExtraLowDispersion

elements,thislenspromises

imagesrichwithsharpcontrast.

Notonlyis thisoptic’sUltrasonic

SilentDrive(USD)autofocus

systemspeedybutit’snear

silenttoo,makingit a solid

choiceif youarealsoshooting

videoalongsideyourstills.It can

bemanuallyoverriddenat any

time,maintaining total control.

CanonEF70-300mm

f/4-5.6IS II USM

Itmaybethemostexpensive

optionof thethree,butthis

sleekCanonlensboasts

fantasticimagequality,a speedy

autofocussystemthatwillhelp

keepmovingsubjectssharp,and

a uniquelensdisplayonitstop

thatwillkeepyouinformedwith

keyinformationat a glance.With

4-stopstabilisation,shake-free

handheldshotsarea real

possibilityat slowershutter

speedsthan normally required.

£349

●Versatilefocalrange

●Weighsjust585g

●Availablein Nikon,Canon, Sony

and Pentax fits

£329

●FastUltrasonicSilentDrivefocusing

●In-built4-stopstabilisation

●Availablein Nikon, Canon,

and Sony fits

£449

●SpeedyNanoUSMautofocus

●HaslensInformationDisplay

●In-built 4-stop stabilisation

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Lookingfora newcameraoraccessoryandneedsomeadvice?TheexpertsatWexPhotoVideo

areheretohelp.Contact us [email protected] or on Twitter at@AP_Magazine and#AskAP

TheKenko2.0xteleconverteris an
option to increase lens magnification

Q

Iboughtmyfirst-everCanonDSLR

around6 monthsbackasI beganmy

photographicjourney;it camewithan

18-55mmkitzoomlens.I lovethiscombination

forcapturingmostthingsI spotwhileoutand

aboutandit’shelpedmetodevelopmyskills,but

nowI’dliketostarttakingmorewildlifeimages,

andit doesn’tgetmecloseenoughtosubjects.

WhatwouldyousuggestI considerinvestingin

next?Mybudgetis under£500,but I’d prefer to

spendlessthanthat if possible.

Yvonne Baker

A

Thereareseveralfactorstoconsider

whenbuyinga lensforwildlife

photography. The fi rst is focal length

whichwillaffecthow‘zoomedin’toa subject

youcanexpecttobe.Thesecondis aperture

whichwilldictatehowmuchlightyoucanlet

intothesensorin ordertoachievethefast

shutterspeedsneededtofreezemotion.And

thelasttwofactorsarepriceandstabilisation.

Professionalwildlifeshootersoftenselect

stabilisedprimeopticslikea 600mmf/4or

300mmf/2.8whichofferlongtelephotoreach

andfastconstantapertures,butthesecanbe

prohibitivelyexpensive.Forenthusiasts,

150-600mmf/5-6.3zoomsarepopular,while

forthosejuststartingtospecialisein thewildlife

photographygenre,werecommendsomething

likea 70-300mmf/4-5.6asa well-balanced

blend of reach and value for money.

Affordable lens for a wildlife beginner

Whatoptionsfor

improvinglensreach?

Q

I’ma photographerformy
localnon-leaguefootball
team.I normallyusea
70-200mmf/2.8anda 300mm
f/2.8primelensonmatchdaysto
capturetheaction.I don’treally
wanttheweight(ortheexpense)
of anotherprimelensin mykit
bag,butcouldoccasionallydowith
somethingtohelpmegetimages
of distantactiononthepitch.Any
suggestionsfora solutionthat
won’tbreakthebank or my back?
Michael Davis

A

Ateleconvertersounds
liketheidealsolutionfor
thisproblem.Depending
onthemodelyouselect,adding
oneofthesecompactsecondary
lensesbetweenyourexisting
opticandcamerawouldprovide
a magnificationincreaseof
1.4x-2xtofocallength,getting
youmuchclosertoallthose
tacklesandshots.Thiseffect
comesatthecostofa decrease
tomaximumaperture(roughly 1
stopwhenusinga 1.4xconverter
and2 stopswhenusingas2x)
andsomeslightlosstoimage
quality,butasyou’recurrently
usingfastf/2.8lensesandonly
wanttheextrareachonoccasion,
thiscouldbeanacceptable
sacrifice.TheKenko2.0x
TeleplusHDDGXTeleconverter
maintainsallelectroniccontrolof
theattachedlens,andcosts
£170(Canonfit) or£187(Nikon
fit) – a massivesavingcompared
to the cost of another prime.

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