Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-11-30)

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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