42 23 November 2019 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113Testbench CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE
£500–£1,000
ALL PRICES ARE APPROXIMATE STREET PRICES
Huawei
P30 Pro
● £800 ● consumer.
huawei.com/uk
There’s a lot to be said
for owning a good quality
point-and-shoot that
you’ll carry with you
everywhere, which for
many people these days
means a smartphone. In
the midst of negative
press surrounding
Huawei’s relationship
with the USA, it’s
perhaps easy to forget
about the P30 Pro,
which remains one of the
best phone cameras
we’ve tested. Its 27mm
equivalent main camera
is joined by 16mm
ultra-wideangle and
125m m te le p h ot o
optics, along with a Time
of Flight module for
calculating depth maps.
Full manual control and
raw-format shooting are
available to complement
its clever computational
photography
tricks such as
Night and
Aperture
modes.Ta m r on 10 0 - 40 0m m
f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD
● £699 ● http://www.tamron.eu/uk
Long telephoto zooms with this
kind of range tend to be large
and cumbersome, but this
lightweight option bucks the
trend. It’s compatible with
full-frame DSLRs, but in many
ways is even more attractive to
APS-C users, for whom it offers
a 150-600mm equivalent
reach. It employs an ultrasonic-
type motor for rapid autofocus
and benefi ts from effective
optical stabilisation, while
image quality is very creditable
indeed. Moisture-resistant
construction and a removable
tripod collar round off a very
impressive package for wildlife
and sports photography.Epson SureColor SC-P600
● £599 ● http://www.epson.co.uk
Aimed at photographers who demand high-quality
prints, this A3+ printer uses nine UltraChrome HD
pigment inks to give both vivid colour and neutral
monochrome output. It offers three connectivity
options, USB, Wi-Fi and Ethernet, which together
enable easy printing from all kinds of devices including
laptops, tablets and phones. Its tilting control panel
plays host to a 2.7in colour touchscreen, while the
relatively compact footprint of 24.2x14.5x9in won’t
take up excessive amounts of desk space. Along with
conventional photo paper, it’s also capable of printing
onto thicker fi ne-art media. Most importantly, print
quality is fi rst class.BenQ SW2700PT monitor
● £599 ● http://www.benq.eu/en-uk
To do full justice to your camera equipment and
photography you need a high-quality, calibrated
monitor that will accurately display colours when you’re
processing your images. The BenQ SW2700PT is a
really impressive 27in, 16:9 aspect ratio LCD monitor
that boasts 2560 x 1440 QHD resolution, IPS
technology for wide viewing angles, and 99% coverage
of the Adobe RGB colour space. It even comes with a
hood to block out glare from ambient light. Perhaps
most importantly it comes fully colour-calibrated from
the factory, while also supporting hardware calibration
using a range of X-Rite and Datacolor devices.Phottix Indra360 TTL Studio
Light and Battery Pack kit
● £549 ● http://www.phottix.com/en
Ideal for events on
location and anyone
who needs to move
fast and stay portable,
the Indra360 TTL
provides 360W of
power, with the Phottix
Odin receiver built-in for
Canon and Nikon. It’s powered either
via a separately available AC adapter, or
the included 4,000mAh rechargeable
compact battery pack that has suffi cient
charge for up to 350 full-power fl ashes.
A 7in (S-mount) refl ector is included
and you get 8 stops of power
adjustment – from full power
to 1/128 – perfect for
overcoming midday sun or adding
just a hint of light when
shooting with large apertures.
A large and clear interface at
the rear complements the
excellent design of this
easy-to-use kit.