Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-09-13)

12 7 September 2019I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

THE

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EXPRESSED

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ARE

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LYTHOSE

OF
AMATEUR

PHOTOGRAPHER

MAGA Z

NE
OR
TMED

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I

nmydefenceI didn’tgointo

theshopto buya lensat all,but

wasseekinga toasterto replace

theonethathadmysteriously

caughtfire overbreakfast.Togetto the

kitchenware,however,youhaveto gopast

thecamerasectionfirst– whichproved

tobemyundoing.

Froma glasscasedevotedmostlyto

cheap-and-cheerfulcompacts,something

interestingpeekedoutat me.Lurking

bashfullyat thebackof thecabinetsat

theCanon22mmf/2designedtofit my

originalEOSM smallsystemcamera–

andit waslessthanhalfprice.Now,I told

myself,thelastthingyouneedis another

lensandyou’vealwaysbeenhappywith

the18-55mmzoomthatcamewithit.

But,I repliedtomyself,it’sa primelens,

anidealstreetopticat a 35mmequivalent

focallength,it’smuchfasterthanthe

zoom– anddidyounoticetheprice?

Unexpectedlyuseful

Atlessthana hundredquidit was

certainlya bargain,andI lefttheshop

withboththelensanda toaster– which

shouldconfusesomeone’smarketing

statisticsif nothingelse– butit wasn’t

justthebargainpricethatattractedme.

TheCanon22mmlensis muchmore

compactthanthestandardzoom,turning

theEOSM froma slightlyawkwardchunk

intosomethingdistinctlypocketable.

Asa freelanceallmylenseshaveto

earntheirliving,soa fewdayslaterthe

Canonandthe22mmwentintothe

camerabagwithmyNikonD800fora

dayof walkingontheWalesCoastPath.

I waswritinga columnforTheGuardian

andwantedsomeimagesthatreally

capturedtheexperience– whichoften

meansa mixtureof telephotoimages

tocapturedetailandsomewideangle

establishingshots.Leavinga 70-300mm

zoomontheNikon,I usedtheCanonfor

alltherestof theday’simages,andfound

it unexpectedlyuseful.

Whileit lacksanelectronicviewfinder

theoriginalEOSM hasa largeLCD

screenwhich– withthegaincrankedup

• is usable even in bright sunlight. Not

beinga zoom,the22mmlensmeant

thatI hadtodoa lotmorelegworkfor

eachshot,whichinevitablymademe

thinkmoreaboutthesubtletiesof

composition.Meanwhile,thewide

aperturegavemetheoptionof pullingthe

subject– oftena singlewildflower– out

of a confusingbackground by using a

shallowdepthof field.

Therightcameraforthejob

Onememorablemomentcamewhen

capturinga clumpof seathrift(Armeria

maritima) flowersrightonthecliffedge

• whilerecordingbothseaandskybehind
  themandkeepingthehorizonstraight.
  Sprawledfacedownin theturf,the
  lightnessof theEOSM – evenwhenheld
  outat arm’slength– reallyhelpedgetthe
  imageI wanted.Interestingly,althoughI
  submittedphotographsfromboththe
  D800andtheEOSM,andI waspleased
  withtheresultsfromboth,alltheimages
  selectedforpublicationbythepicture
  editorwerefromtheCanon.Tome,this
  demonstratesonceagainthattheright
  cameraforthejobisn’tnecessarilythe
  mostexpensiveorhighestspecification


• it is theonethatfits therole.

JohnGilbeyis a writerandphotographerbased in

westWales. He tweetsas@John_Gilbey.

Howatriptobuyanewtoasterledtothe

discoveryofaversatile,inexpensivelensand

an opportunity to revisit composition values

View point

John Gilbey

©

JOHN

GLBEY

Doyouhavesomethingyou’dliketogetoffyourchest?Sendusyourthoughtsinaround

500 wordstotheaddressonpage 14 andwina year’sdigitalsubscriptiontoAP,worth£79.

TheCanon22mmf/2enabledJohntocapture

cliff-edgeseathriftagainsta levelhorizon

©

JESSICA DROSSIN

CONTENT FOR NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE

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Whenworldscollide

DiscovertheinsidestoryofNick

Brandt’sepicproject,ThisEmptyWorld

CanonG5XMarkII

MichaelTophamis impressedbyCanon’s

pocket-friendlypremiumcompact

HuaweiP30Pro

Isthislatestsmartphonegreatfor

photographers? Amy Davies fi nds out

FindoutwhyshootingJPEGs

insteadofrawfilescanmake

you a better photographer

Why rely

on raw?

In next week’s issue

On sale Tuesday 10 September

‘Thewideaperture

gavemetheoptionof

pullingthesubjectoutof

a confusing background’