Amateur Photographer 29/04/2022

With long waiting lists for the latest new kit due to the global chip shortage, and the growing cost of living leaving us with emptier pockets, this year’s second-hand special has never been more relevant. If you’re hankering for a full-frame mirrorless body we offer our pick of the best options. If you’re on a tighter budget we look at how to build a system for under £1,000, and if you just want a high-quality compact to carry around we’ve got that covered too. But the second-hand market isn’t just about buying. If you’ve got an item of kit you haven’t used for months then perhaps you can live without it, and used retailers are crying out for it. Hopefully you’ll be able to re-invest the money in some new…

Mansion on the Move by Chris Ware The Elizabethan manor house, Ballingdon Hall, moves slowly towards its new location in Sudbury, Suffolk, on a massive trailer. The owners moved the house uphill after industrial development and tree growth obscured their view of the River Stour Valley. The spectacle sparked such interest that onlookers were charged a small fee, with the proceeds being donated to charity. Built in 1590 by Sir Thomas Eden, the house was moved half a mile all in one piece, lowered onto new foundations and its chimneys rebuilt. The owners lived in the house for more than 60 years before placing it up for sale in 2020 for the cool sum of £1.9m. The Getty Images Hulton Archive is one of the world’s great cultural resources. Tracing its origins…

Fight & Flight by David Jackson Canon EOS R3, Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II, 1/3200sec at f/4, ISO 8000 David tells us, ‘This picture was taken from our kitchen door, which looks out onto the bird-feeders. Goldfinches arrive in numbers most days. They always put me in mind of bickering siblings, the way they bully each other off the feeders and spar in the air. No quarter is given! I’ve long wanted to capture this behaviour. The overcast weather actually helped, as it makes the beautiful colours of the birds “pop”. In addition I made sure to locate the feeders so that I have a clean background to shoot against, which again helps to highlight the birds in the picture.’ You can see more of David’s work on his website…

The Runners By Paul Cronin Canon EOS 5Ds, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 at 70mm, 1/10sec at f/8, ISO 100 ‘ It had been a foggy few days in London but being on early shifts I couldn’t take advantage. Thankfully the forecast was for more fog during my late shift, so I took an early morning drive to the Windsor area. It’s a great little spot with endless compositions in the right conditions,’ says Paul. ‘This morning I was waiting for some human element as I had seen a few runners and cyclists whilst out walking so decided to wait by the side of the road with the curve in the road leading past the small copse of trees. I set my camera to mono and with live view which I find easier to…

VENUS Optics has released its Laowa Argus 25mm f/0.95 MFT APO lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras, which offers a 50mm (35mm equivalent) coverage angle. The new 25mm has inherited the fast f/0.95 maximum aperture, optical performance, internal focusing and low focus breathing seen in existing Argus lenses in Sony E/FE, Nikon Z, Canon RF and Fujifilm X mounts. A 300° focus throw has been introduced to allow more precise focusing. The Laowa Argus 25mm f/0.95 MFT APO lens weighs 570g, is 86mm long and has a diameter of 71mm. It accepts 62mm diameter filters and has a minimum focus of 25cm. It can be pre-ordered now for £399.…

ZONER Photo Studio X (ZPS X) photo software has had ‘a hefty update’ that’s designed to let photographers have more customised control over their editing processes. Among the updates are customised previews, customised thumbnails, a redesigned browser, new blending effects, a more efficient Preview cache, faster Catalog, Fast Preview 1:1 (which lets you see whether the preview has the same resolution as the original photo) and Fisheye Lens correction. ZPS X photo software is a fully featured raw converter, with photo editing with layers and masks, while the retouching brush and faces tool are useful for enhancing portraits. You can download a free 30-day trial of ZPS X at www.zoner.com.…