Asian Photography 201207

Vol. 24 - No.7

JoiN us oN

July 2012 ` 100 us$9

www.asianphotographyindia.com

Digital SlRsCompaCt point anD Shoot CameRaSaCCeSSoRieSpRinteRSimage pRoCeSSingaRe pRoDuCtS the Real heRoeS anymoRe?

Nikon D3200

FujifilmX-PRO1

EXclusivE REviEw

tRenDS S p e c i a l

What are the “TRENDS” today?

w w w. a s i a n p h o t o g r a p h y i n d i a . c o m

Published by TRILOK DESAI on behalf of Special Audience Publications Pvt. Ltd., 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. InDIA Printed by TRILOK DESAI on behalf of Special Audience Publications Pvt. Ltd., 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. InDIA Printed at Rajhans Enterprises, H.O. no. 134, 4th Main Road, Industrial Town, Rajajinagar, Bangalore -44, Published at 509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053. InDIA Editor - TRILOK DESAI.

All material covered by copyright; no part of the contents of this journal may be published or reproduced or transmitted in any form without prior written permission of the publisher. The views and opinons expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or the editorial staff.SAP MEDIA WORLDWIDE LTD and ASIAn PHOTOGRAPHY AnD IMAGInG is not responsible and liable for any comments and articles published by its contributors and will not be liable for any damages. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of competent courts and forums in Mumbai, India.

We at AP have always been proud of the content we publish, because undeniably, it is the most innovative content that the industry reads. A few months back, in one of our editorial meetings, an idea sprang up for discussion, which focused on how technology, products and their applications have changed over the years. And as soon as the discussion started, we knew exactly what we had to do with the idea.

So this month the focus of our issue is on “Trends”. The content largely gives the readers an idea about innovation and how technology has shaped the digital era, giving birth to some great products across the imaging platforms. But it is important to note that we have not documented the transformation from the analogue to the digital era, but instead focused on the developments within the digital era itself. So we’ve featured articles on the trends in DSLRs, DSCs, Printers, Accessories and also trends in Image Editing techniques.

Infact our interviews also follow the same theme. At one end we have interviewed the great Indian master and legend Swapan Mukherjee, who speaks about photography in the early days, while on the other we spoke to the contemporary genius Vikram Bawa, who has carved out his own niche in the photographic world today. Todd Anthony Tyler continues the second part of his column, Using Natural Light, and talks about the importance of light in photography.

The reason I feel that this issue features great overall content is because it not only has articles revolving around our theme but also features reviews of some excellent newly launched products. For instance, our review section boasts of the first and exclusive review of the Nikon D3200, Fujifilm X-Pro 1, and the SanDisk Mobile Ultra SDHC card.

So Until Next Time…Happy Reading!!!

EDITOR / PublIshER Trilok Desai

GROuP hEADBhavya Desai

NEw DElhI buREAuAmitabh Joshi

sENIOR CORREsPONDENTsMithila JariwalaFred ShippieLester Ledesma

EDITORIAl TEAMRojita Padhy Ajay SinghGeorge KurienTapshi DhandaSteve D’SouzaHimanshu SharmaYashnashree sPECIAl CORREsPONDENT Lopamudra Ganguly (Delhi)

DIRECTOR MARkETINGAruna Desai ([email protected])

DEsIGNGoraksh Kokate Rajendra Gaikwad

MANAGER ADvERTIsINGLaila Rupawalla

Dy. MANAGER ADvERTIsINGKora Ganguly

MARkETING ExECuTIvERagini DesaiWayne OliverSudeshna ChakravartyNivedita Hegde

COPy DEskSameer Gadkari

PRODuCTION MANAGERManoj Surve

MuMbAI OFFICE:509 & 511, Dilkap Chambers, Fun Republic Street, Off Veera Desai Road,Andheri (W), Mumbai - 400 053.Tel: 91-22-40401919Fax: 91-22-40401927E-mail: [email protected]

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sINGAPORE OFFICE:SAP Media Singapore Pte. Ltd.E-mail: [email protected]: 0065-90625120

Cover Image: Vikram BawaCover Design: Goraksh Kokate

EDITORIAL

July 2012 AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[03]

follow us on Twitter@Asian_Photo @Bhavya _Desai

Client: Falguni & Shane Peacock, Model: Natalia Uliasz, Styling: Karl Willet, Makeup: Lan Nguyen, Hair Artist: Cyndia Harvey

10 NEWS

CONTENTSJULY 2012

18 SPECIAL FEATURE

22 SHOOTOUT

26 SHOOT MY CITY

56 Great MaSterS•AMasterSpeaks-SwapanMukherjee

62 interview: trendS•AddingExtraintoOrdinary–

VikramBawa

34 trendS34DigitalSLRTrends

38DarkroomEvolution

43CompactPointandShoot

Cameras

48TrendsinAccessories

53TrendsinPrintingTechnology

80 excluSive review80NikonD3200

86FujifilmX-Pro1

91SanDiskMobileUltraMicroSDHCcard

56

AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[6]july 2012

January 2011 asian PhotograPhy and imaging[6]

Feed

back

Readers

’ Comments

and Suggest

ions.

..

The Letter

of the month will receive a gift from Uniross

Dear Editor,

I want to convey my thanks and regards to you for reviewing my photos in the link that I provided. I express my gratitude for providing me with your most valuable feedback and reviews on my photos. I promise that I will practice more on shooting techniques and try to improve my compositions. Following your advice I have already started to experiment on different subjects and I am getting better results.

However, I want to improve my compositional skills and give my pictures a more professional touch. I am currently using a Nikon Coolpix L110 camera and looking forward to buy a DSLR after I pass Class 12. It would be very kind of you to provide me, as well as the readers, tips on composition. Hope you take up the subject.

Regards,,Sabyasachi TalukdarNagaon, Assam

Dear Sabya,

It is good to know that our feedback has helped you in improving your photography skills and that you would like to learn more and more from the magazine. I will discuss this in our upcoming edit meet and we will ensure that we do something comprehensive on the Composition side so that the readers can benefit from it.

Dear Editor,

I have been reading your magazine for a while now and must comment that your team and you have been doing a great job. I have seen the simple and subtle changes that you have brought to the content and the fine balance that the magazine has been achieving lately.

I also like the reader columns like My Story, Ask Your Expert and Shoot My City. I am happy that you are looking at sections in the magazine that make them more reader interactive and I think that is the way forward for any magazine. From the December issue I loved the interview of Dabboo Ratnani. The DSLR shootout also provided a lot of valuable feedback on the cameras and their performances. Wish the AP team renewed success and great year ahead.

Regards,Vishal ShahAhemdabad,Gujarat.

Dear Vishal,

We are always happy to know that the readers are appreciating our work since it takes a lot of effort to put all the things together. Apart from the same I also have a great team that works really hard to ensure that we keep that fine balance in our content going.

In the months to come you will see some more initiatives that are reader driven so that we can engage more of the readers and also interact with them on a regular basis.

Feed

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’ Comments

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..The

Letter of the month will

receive a gift from Uniross

I am an amateur photographer. I have been reading your magazine for a while now and really like it. The purpose of writing this letter is to get your valuable feedback on an image that I captured recently.

Technical detailsPhoto name : Light trailCamera: Nikon D90Focal length: 18mmISO 200f /4.5Exposure time: 30 seconds

Bimal Samanta Kolkata, West Bengal

Dear Bimal,

It is good to know that you are a reader of the magazine and that you like it. I have seen the picture that you had sent, and it looks pleasing to the eye. There doesn’t seem to be any distracting element in the frame which means that the composition of the shot is fair. The image displays good resolution and clarity. It seems that you have post processed it a little, but without compromising on the essence of the image. The only thing I’d have liked done differently is for the light trail to be aligned. I feel that would have made the image better.


Feed

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’ Comments

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..The

Letter of the month will

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I have been practicing photography for two years with my Nikon D5000. I will be done with my engineering degree by the end of April, 2012. I was thinking of pursuing my interest in photography by doing an internship with your magazine. I have done photography while travelling with my parents and friends in the last two years. I like to do travel photography.

I am sending some photos, which I took during my recent trip to Panchgani, Maharashtra. I am also sending a link of some photos, which I have uploaded on National Geographic.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/myshot/gallery/34427#/gallery/1263319/Please send me further details on how I can join as an intern.

Thank you.Harsh Shah

Dear Harsh,

It is a tad surprising to know that you would like to pursue photography after engineering. But then again, there are countless examples of professionals from different fields making it big in this profession. Unfortunately, at this point in time, we are not looking to take in any interns for the magazine.

But I would recommend that you work on your portfolio in the meanwhile, since I can only see a few images that you have sent, and a few more in the above link. Building your portfolio would help you get ahead if you choose to take up photography as a career.

july 2012 AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[10]

News

Canon Launches EOS 650D with TouchscreenWith more and more people

graduating from touchscreen smartphones or digital

cameras towards more professional equipment, mirrorless cameras are becoming the obvious choice for many lately. DsLR manufacturers are constantly trying to come up with products with the functionality of mirrorless cameras and the power of a DsLR. Canon, keeping that in mind, recently launched its eOs 650D (Rebel T4i), the first DsLR ever to feature a touchscreen. You can swipe between photographs, operate it with multi touch, set gestures for specific functions etc.

Apart from the touchscreen, Canon has also added some other features to make it a competent entrant in the entry-level DsLR market. For one, it features the Canon DIGIC 5 processor,

previously seen on a couple of its compact cameras. The processor gives way to an increased maximum IsO of 12800 (25,600 in extended mode). Canon has also added a built-in microphone to capture sound with video, and has a socket for an external microphone, if one wishes to record better quality sound. Apart from this, Canon has introduced two new scene modes, ‘HDR Backlight’, and ‘Handheld Night scene’.

Looking at the history of the Rebel series, Canon will most probably discontinue the 550D, and bring the 600D’s price a notch down to accommodate the new 650D.

Color Drack Enters Indian MarketAustria’s largest photolab, Color Drack has made an entry

into the Indian market. The 80 year old Color Drack emerged as a

trendsetter in photofinishing in the 1980s. with constant development and investment on latest photofinishing technologies they are able to deliver high quality print results and robust binding.

Color Drack’s latest offering, for the first time in India – Color Drack Photofolio, are superior quality photo albums which are aimed at the Indian wedding market. Photofolio also comes to you in multiple options.

Their aim is to create a niche in the wedding album industry providing their products and services to photographers at the B2B level. Once a photographer sends his/her design for the wedding album, Color Drack will create the album in Austria which will then be shipped back to the photographer, in India.

There are various options that you can choose for your Photofolio - Real photographic paper (silver Halide), extra vivid colour reproduction for a wider range of colours, enhanced brilliant white and deeper blacks, Lay flat binding, Designer covers and wave-free pages with a quality assurance from Austria.

Color Drack has also come up with a unique concept of

exclusive CD Lounge, where a photographer can discuss or showcase his/her work to clients.

Epson Extends AFC Sponsorship

Epson has concluded a four-year extension to its sponsorship

agreement with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The association enhances awareness of the epson brand across Asia and globally while allowing epson to get closer to its customers in Asia. The new sponsorship deal runs through to the end of 2016 and covers competitions including the AFC Asian Cup, the 2012 Olympic Qualifiers, and the 2014 FIFA world Cup Brazil Asian Qualifiers.

The sponsorship provides benefits to epson that include stadium and on-screen advertising rights, and gives the company the opportunity to give something back to the football fans of Asia. epson General Manager of Global Communications, Ian Cameron, commented, “we are committed to further strengthening our brand in Asia, and to supporting Asian football and football fans in the years ahead.”


Fujifilm India Pvt. Ltd., brings FinePix S2980, a bridge camera in THE Indian market. The camera claims to

explore the broad possibilities of wide angle photography.

It features A 14 megapixels, CCD sensor which delivers large, high-resolution images, 28mm wide angle, 18x Fujinon optical zoom, a large 3.0” LCD screen and HD movie capture.

“We have improved in-camera processing in FinePix S2980. With this enhanced feature, uploading pictures/movies to Facebook or YouTube will be easy as you can start the process in your camera by tagging the images you want to share,” said K Tanaka, Managing Director, Fujifilm India.

FinePix S2980 is also equipped with

Fujifilm launches FinePix S2980720p HD movie recording in 16:9 format. It incorporates a System Automatic Scene Recognition (SR AUTO) which identifies six different types of situations to optimise contrast detection decision function. Through this feature, the camera automatically detects the framed scenes and selects the appropriate camera setting from Portrait, Landscape, Night, Macro, Night Portrait and Backlit Portrait.

Professional photographers usually prefer to capture their shots manually and the new addition in the S-series can be fully operated on manual mode also. The shooting functions of the S2980 give you versatility and the optimum setting, for any scene. The camera automatically stitches together three consecutive shots, with in-frame guidance to

ensure the images are aligned while shooting panoramas. The resulting image is saved to the memory card as a panoramic photo.

FinePix S2980 is available at a price of `12,499 with a two year warranty.

SanDiSk LauncheS Suite of RetaiL PRoDuctS

SanDisk Corporation, recently announced a suite of new retail

products that includes four new USB flash drives and one high-performance memory card. SanDisk unveiled the new products in India to kick off a global launch. The suite of products includes, as SanDisk’s claims, its fastest, thinnest and highest- capacity USB flash

drives till date, as well as one of the

fastest memory card for smartphones and

tablets. The new USB drives

offer consumers the storage they need to carry libraries of digital content with them and to transfer their files quickly. The new SanDisk Extreme Pro microSDHC UHS-I card boasts of being the world’s fastest memory card. It is meant for smartphone and tablet users who want to boost their

device’s storage capacity. “India is an important market for

SanDisk, and today serves as the global launch platform for our new USB flash drives and industry-leading memory card,” said Manisha Sood, Country Manager and Director, India and SAARC, SanDisk.

NEWS


Sony India recently announced the appointment of Kenichiro Hibi as its new Managing Director, overseeing Sony’s operations in the region with effect

from July 1, 2012. Hibi will be responsible for spearheading the overall growth and profitability of the company within the region.

Hibi brings with him over 23 years of diversified experience in Sony, with a host of senior level positions to his credit. His last role was as Managing Director, Sony CIS, where he played a crucial role in making this region emerge as one of the most potential contributors in Sony’s global growth map. While managing the CIS region for over six years, he was successful in developing a sound business strategy, which adjusted to market turbulence while maintaining focus on customer orientation.

Hibi will be replacing Masaru Tamagawa, the current Managing Director, Sony India, who will move on to the position of President, Sony Europe, with effect from July 1, 2012.

Expressing his delight on the appointment, Hibi said, “India is one of the key markets for Sony globally, with an immense growth potential across categories. I am excited to continue Sony’s journey to success in one of the most dynamic markets in the world.”

NEWS

Kenichiro Hibi appointed as Managing Director, Sony India

Epson Expands its powEr projEctor LinE to Eight ModELs

Epson has launched two new series of high performance, ultra-bright projectors for large venue projection or presentations in bright ambient surroundings. These are:

1) EB-Z8000 series (EB-Z8450WU / Z8455WU / Z8350W / Z8355W / Z8150 / Z8000WU)

2) EB-Z10000 series (EB-Z10000 / Z10005)These projectors feature brightness of up to 10,000 lumens,

resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels and high contrast ratio of 5,000:1 that give users good projection image even quality in bright surroundings and large venues.

Additionally, the projectors are outfitted with many advanced Epson home theatre projection technologies that make them excellent for video playback as well. These are: Epson Cinema Filter, a Faroudja DCDi video processing chip, Super-resolution technology, Frame Interpolation – all of which further enhance the quality of video projections.

Epson’s proprietary 3LCD technology offers full-time colour projection with three separate LCD panels (Red, Green and Blue). The Epson EB-Z8000 / Z10000 series feature a brightness rating from 7,000 to 10,000 lumens (lm). Both series offer high contrast ratio of 5,000:1 with Auto Iris Technology.

The projectors feature the DCDi (directional correlation de-interlacing) cinema chip which enhances colour management while reducing 3D noise. In addition, the Response Time Correction (RTC) technology is included to produce seamless motion in videos.

With a motorised zoom and lens with the widest shift range in their class (70% vertical / 20% horizontal max), setup of the projectors is easy and flexible. With RJ-45 wired LAN connectivity, the projectors can be wired/ wirelessly connected to a laptop or PC to transmit images and audio for a hassle-free presentation. Additionally the network feature enables users to conduct multi-screen display by connecting up to four projectors to one PC to display a panoramic view.

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The ‘Ask Your Expert’ column where your SanDisk expert will answer all your queries on photography

I indulge in photography as a hobby and like doing landscape and street photography. I currently own a Canon 450D but want to upgrade to a better camera. I have the money to spare but I am confused about which camera to buy. Any help would be great at this point. Could you also suggest some good lenses to me?Vickram Bangalore (Karnataka)

You didn’t mention what lenses and accessories you have for your Canon 450D, and whether you intend keeping or selling them. Assuming you are planning to sell the full kit, and want to remain in the Canon camp – here are some recommendations. As usual, before making the final choice, please do handle the cameras in person and see which one feels best to you.

From the current Canon range, you could upgrade to the Canon EOS 7D with the EF S 18-135 IS lens (about ̀ 105,000) – this is a very capable and versatile combination, and you can later add other lenses, flash, and accessories as needed.

Alternately, try the EOS 60D with the same 18-135 lens – (about `74,000). Similar sensor performance but simplified autofocus and lighter construction – and use the remaining money on a second lens.

Do remember that higher quality cameras need better optics to exploit the full potential of their high-

resolution sensors.As for additional lens choices, much depends on

your shooting style, and individual preference. For landscape photography, you might add an

ultra-wide zoom, such as the Canon EF S 10-22 f/3.5-4.5 (about `50,000), or the more economical offerings from Sigma, Tamron etc. You may also want a Tilt/Shift lens, which is useful for extending depth of field, correcting perspective distortions, and for stitching together a series of shots for extra high resolution images. However, these are quite expensive.

For street photography – where a small but high-speed setup is an advantage – choose a fast prime lens, like the 24 f/2.8 or 35 f/2 (about `20,000 each).

I have been using point-and-shoot camera for many years now. Recently, I bought a

Canon 550D to start real photography. I just want to know what Flash Intensity is? And how to use it effectively in getting better pictures?

Thank you for your response.- Abnish Jain

Flash intensity means the actual amount of light a flash unit emits. On some units, this is adjustable in full, half, quarter, or more, power levels – each


Answered by Manisha Sood

Country Manager, India & SAARC, SanDisk

Send in your Questions [email protected]

Questionof the Month

AP

corresponding to one full stop less exposure.Since exposure for flash is controlled by the

aperture and ISO only (shutter speed has no direct effect on flash exposure), flash units that have varying power settings provide one additional control. This allows fine control over the relative ratio of flash and continuous light, and is useful in balancing daylight (or continuous light sources) with varying levels of flash.

One can use the flash Guide Number (GN) and manually compute an exposure setting based on flash to subject distance and the levels of ambient light. In practice, apart from a few special cases, it is easier and more flexible to use the camera’s built-in meter and automation to control the exposure.

To get more dramatic and moody images, learn to use the flash in fill-flash modes – vary the ratio of fill-flash to ambient light – and use the flash off-camera to create more modeling and subtle effects. Do experiment a bit and analyse your results, you will soon get the hang of this. Good luck!

I have a keen interest in photography and want to buy a new camera. I’m confused amongst Nikon D7000, Nikon D3200 and Canon EOS 60D. Can you help me decide?Also, does it make sense to buy a full frame camera if I plan to take photography just as a hobby? - Vaibhav Sharan

The Nikon D3200 is a new camera, and although it’s simplified features and modest pricing are aimed at the entry-level enthusiast, its 24 megapixel sensor makes it one of the highest resolution crop-sensor cameras currently available. This would be a good choice if you routinely make large exhibition quality prints. The sensor quality is well suited for extracting the maximum performance by the virtue more professional optics, this can be a great starter camera for the budding photographer looking to build a more professional and extensive portfolio later.

The Nikon D7000 and the Canon EOS 60D are fairly similar cameras, both in performance and the market segment they are aimed at. Your decision should be based on the way the cameras feel in your hands, the lens and accessory range available from the two manufacturers, etc – rather than on a feature by feature comparison.

Full-frame cameras, because of the roughly 200% greater surface area of the sensor (compared to average crop-sensor cameras) tend to have a higher resolution (such as the 36 megapixel Nikon D800), lower digital noise, and optimisation for low light photography. These cameras generally are professionally oriented –

have rugged construction, high-speed operation, with bigger and brighter viewfinders. However, the entire system is bulky, heavy and more expensive.

Functionally, one important difference is that for any given shot at a certain distance, a full frame camera provides less depth of field – this is an advantage in portraiture, for example, but creates an additional challenge in case of landscapes.

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[17]July 2012 AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging

SPECIAL FEATURE

[18]JULY 2012 ASIAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGING

ARE PRODUCTS THE REAL HEROES ANYMORE?That is a question that I’ve been mulling in my head since a very long time. A question that focuses on whether one’s approach towards communication should be surrounded around the Product or the tool’s used to market that product? For instance, what is more important today, the product or its communication strategy? With the variety of messages bombarded at the consumers today, combined with the tools used to communicate them; are products the real heroes anymore? Or have the manufacturers turned towards the Bollywood Bandwagon today? Bhavya Desai traces the current trends in communication strategies and its impact on the consumers today.

NG


Finding right mix between your advertising rupee and the communication strategy has always

been somewhat of a gamble. especially when the game starts to get bigger and more competitive. in such a situation what is it that one does, exactly? Does one look beyond the usual in anticipation of business or rely on hope to deliver the numbers that one is looking for? although this usually depends on the desired objectives of the product, there are always common platforms across all communication strategies.

So what effectively are all the manufacturers doing these days? With the plethora of options available in the market, the biggest and the most noticeable trend in advertising today is television commercials (tVcs), brand ambassadors and social media platforms. i am sure many of you must’ve seen scintillating Bollywood divas parading the runaway flaunting cameras as fashion accessories, or upping the “oomph factor” surrounding whatever the products’ plus points are. i am also certain that you must have seen the variety of messages, groups, tweets and forums that all the manufacturers are pushing through various social media sites. But which strategies out ofof these are actually yielding positive results? Or what is the sort of brand recall, brand impact on the consumers or for that matter numbers, that these activities are yielding?

undoubtedly Bollywood brand ambassadors have become the biggest trend in marketing communications today. While branding and marketing communication

“The new campaign connects directly with the youth and has definitely been the major facilitator for getting a good response during this holiday season. Also, every year, there are various customers who purchase cameras for the holiday season, as they like to go on vacations. That also adds to the sales of the company and helps us tap more potential in the market.”

- Seiji Hamanishi, Dir. ICP, Canon India

used to focus around technology and product features earlier, in recent times the focus has shifted towards the overall brand image among other things.

While the early traces of such branding were seen a long time back when canon brought on board cricket maestro Sachin tendulkar to endorse its products. But somehow it didn’t seem to impact the industry majorly at that point of time. But everything changed a couple of years back when Nikon signed starlet priyanka chopra and painted the town yellow. While Deepika padukone was already working with Sony, and canon brought on-board anushka Sharma, Fujifilm went onto sign Minisha lamba and Olympus recently had amy Jackson attend one of their offsite and launches. Suddenly, the imaging industry saw a barrage of communication surrounding Bollywood.

So it wasn’t a suspense that the holiday season was bombarded with campaigns using famous faces. For instance, canon seemed to reach an understanding at the perfect time ahead of the holiday season as explained by Seiji Hamanishi, Director, icp, canon india ltd, “the holiday season always helps in adding sales and helps us add delight to the customers’ lives. this year too, we aimed at the same and introduced anushka Sharma as the youth icon for the brand. the new campaign connects directly with the youth and has definitely been the major facilitator for getting a good response during this holiday season. also, every year, there are various customers who purchase

cameras for the holiday season, as they like to go on vacations. that also adds to the sales of the company and helps us tap more potential in the market.”

So what exactly was the objective of signing all these icons? Was it only to capitalise on the numbers and the holiday season? Or is it also to project a brand as “uber cool”? “canon did a research to validate what segment of our target audience is growing and what drives them to buy a digital camera. the average age of our customers who register on our portal is 29 years. the age bracket of 18-35 years segment is crucial for the future. We decided we must connect with youth and should be seen as

AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[20]

a young and cool brand that youth would relate too. Hence, we decided to take a brand ambassador who is young, a lady and is seen as full of energy and fun loving like anushka Sharma,” says alok Bharadwaj, Sr. Vp, canon india.

“Canon did a research to validate what segment of our target audience is growing and what drives them to buy a digital camera. The average age of our customers who register on our portal is 29 years.”

- Alok Bharadwaj, Sr. VP, Canon India

Nikon too seemed to have a similar objective in mind as highlighted byHiroshi takashina, MD, Nikon india, “We chose priyanka chopra because she represents an aspirational figure for today’s youth. She synergises with Nikon’s passion to always deliver and establish new benchmarks. Nikon is amongst the best imaging company in india today and priyanka is a honcho in Bollywood.”

On the other hand, the newly appointed executive Vp for Fujifilm india, rohit pandit says, “a brand ambassador helps in increasing the awareness and recall if the celebrity and brand personality match with each other. While searching for a suitable face we found similar values being conveyed by Minissha lamba. Her choice of movies has been thoughtful and she has shown commitment to create her own place. Besides, she is an avid photographer and a very popular face. considering these factors, we decided to choose her as our brand ambassador for point & shoot cameras.

But while having all these celebrities as brand ambassadors seems to be the new trend, are all of these activities paying off? “in current times when the consumer is always bombarded with advertising messages which are not believable most of the time, a brand ambassador provides a lot of relief as people trust his or her choice, judgment and words. research also shows that brands with brand ambassador are more noticeable and likely to be successful than one without it,” adds pandit.

undoubtedly, having your brands endorsed by a gorgeous filmstar, sports

personality or a local hero is a tried and tested formula. Naturally, like any other global phenomenon it is bound to deliver desired results. But what exactly has been the response for the indian imaging manufacturers at this point? let us take a look at the numbers from each of the manufacturers in recent times.

canon per se has received an excellent response since the time they have brought anushka Sharma. Bharadwaj says, “We have received an extraordinary response. it is so gratifying to see hundreds and thousands clicking on our sites and liking our campaign. around 200,000 have become our Facebook fans and in addition to this we have had over 1,00,000 views on Youtube (including user

“We chose Priyanka Chopra because she represents an aspirational figure for today’s youth. She synergises with Nikon’s passion to always deliver and establish new benchmarks.”

- Hiroshi Takashina, MD, Nikon India

July 2012

generated). Our sales have grown by 60% and our market share increased by 8% after this campaign.”

“Not only this, canon india is aiming at a growth of 50% this year and the expectation is to grow to `2,200 crore in 2012. the contribution of the camera division is also expected to surpass half of the company’s revenue.the market growth for camera industry has been threatened by the slowdown in economic growth but the compact camera segment surely will maintain double-digit growth and DSlr will keep its original forecast,” adds Hamanishi san.

as per takashina san, Nikon has also receieved a roaring response with an increased brand recall within the consumer segment and thus the association has helped Nikon penetrate the consumer mindset. although Fujifilm has been relatively new to the indian market, their association with Minisha lamba has given them an instant brand recall and has brought in considerable number of consumers, feels pandit. “it has also given immense faith to our dealers about our commitment and seriousness to establish Fujifilm as a strong brand in india. as far as sales impact is concerned there has been a 25% increase in the sales for the period of april-May as compared to the same period last year. We expect this Q1 (aMJ) to be 30% more than last year Q1,” he says.

While all the manufacturers are spending big bucks for their product endorsements, what kind of impact do these engagements have on the consumers? to get an idea, we spoke to 30 consumers from different walks of life, different industries, and different cities pertaining to the age group of 18-35 and asked them the following questions:

• Do you buy any products considering celebrity endorsements?

• Can you associate the celebrities to the brands that they endorse?

• Do you feel celebrity endorsements work?• Do you feel that the plethora of

products that they endorse creates confusion in the your minds?

the data that came out of all the interviews that was surprising, to say the least. For instance, none of the consumers in the tier i cities were even remotely influenced by celebrity endorsements. they couldn’t even recollect which celebrity was endorsing which imaging

“A brand ambassador helps in increasing the awareness and recall if the celebrity and brand personality match with each other. While searching for a suitable face we found similar values being conveyed by Minissha Lamba.”

- Rohit Pandit, Exe. VP, Fujifilm India

brand when their names were recited to them. all of them confirmed that they couldn’t place any particular Bollywood star with a particular product since they endorse multiple products.

But the data took a major u-turn when we interviewed a few consumers from the tier ii and tier iii cities. close to 30% of the consumers could relate to celebrity endorsements. they were able to associate brands with their respective ambassadors and felt that this sort of branding worked. infact, one of the consumers even said it is common for consumers to go to a shop and ask for “woh Kareena wala soap dena please!!”

So, what does this essentially mean? Does it mean that the tier i city consumers are more aware, exposed and technologically savvy to make their own decision sans getting influenced by celebrities? Whereas the more underexposed tier ii and tier iii consumers tend to get swayed with popular names and faces?

after looking at all the interactions that i have had with the industry and the consumers, it is difficult to say whether it is the ambassadors or the products that are the real heroes today? But one thing is for sure, that the celebrity, the brand and the products work together in creating the impact in the minds of the consumers. perhaps the manufacturers should have a two-pronged approach for the advertising rupee. On the contrary, aren’t there

countless examples of companies, brands and products being successful without such Oomph factors?



Battery Shootout

AA Rechargeable

Battery Shootout


Rechargeable batteries never get their deserved recognition in the photographic world, but much like any other accessory that form an integral part of a photographer’s kit. We all

use batteries; be it for camera flashes or television remotes and aa batteries still have use in most of today’s electronics.

With the environment taking centerstage, staying “green” is a concern that needs to be addressed. hence we encourage the use of rechargeable batteries.

For this years shootout we tested the best aa batteries in the market; the envie infinite, uniross hybrio, Godrej GP reCyko+ and eveready ultima. unfortunately Sanyo didn’t participate in this shootout due to some changes at their head quater in Japan. Most of the manufacturers offer pre-charged or ready to use (rtu) aa batteries today. But in order for us to be fair we drained each battery before testing them. this shootout is aimed at helping the readers make a more informed choice while purchasing batteries. So let’s see how the four contenders of the aa rechargeable battery fare against each other.

Battery contendersWe informed all the battery manufacturers about our annual aa battery shootout and each one of them sent across their best rechargeable rtu batteries in the 2100 mah capacity; uniross hybrio (2100 mah), eveready ultima (2100 mah), envie infinite (2100 mah) and Godrej GP reCyko+ (2050mah).

Parametersthis year instead of using the chargers that individual manufacturers sent us along with their batteries, we bought an universal charger, Maxell Ni-Mh aa/aaa battery charger, to stay fair. the other parameters that were taken into consideration keeping in mind both professionals and amateurs were:• The charge time• Number of shots on a digital compact camera, • Value for money and • Flash performance fired on the Nikon SB-900.

Uniross Hybrio 2100mAh Godrej GP ReCyko+ 2050mAh envie infinite 2100mAh Eveready ultima 2100mAh


Camera TestFor this test the batteries were tested using a 10 megapixel Canon PowerShot SX120 IS. the number of shots were calculated by shooting with and without the on-camera flash. the camera was set to manual mode for the test. the camera continued firing until each

pair of batteries were depleted. envie infinite had the most number of shots as compared to the other batteries. It shot 2810 frames while uniross hybrio, eveready ultima and Godrej GP reCyko+ managed to shoot 2508 frames, 2180 frames and1919 frames respectively.

Charging timetime taken to charge batteries is extremely important for any user. For the simple reason that most users don’t keep spare batteries with them.Last year we used the manufacturers’ own chargers for carrying out this test, but this year we decided to have a different approach by using one common charger (Maxwell), to charge all

the aa batteries. We felt this would be a better way to rate the batteries. the uniross hybrio batteries took the least amount of time to charge. they took 3 hours 27 minutes to charge while the envie infinite took 4 hours and 05 minutes, the eveready ultima clocked a charge time of 4 hours and 11 minutes and Godrej GP reCyko+ took 4 hours and 22 minutes.

4.11 4.05

3.27

4.22

00.5

11.5

22.5

33.5

44.5

5

Eveready ultima

envie infinite

Uniross Hybrio

Godrej GP ReCyko

Tim

e (i

n h

ours

)

Battery brands

Charging Time

+

2180

28102508

1919

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

Eveready ultima

envie infinite

Uniross Hybrio

Godrej GP ReCyko

No.

of

shot

s

Battery brands

Digital Camera Test

+

JULY 2012 [25] ASIAN PHOTOGRAPHY AND IMAGING

Flash test

of half power until individual sets of batteries were completely discharged. Infact this test was really close and we all were excited

to check the final results. The envie infinite churned out an outstanding 452 flashes with a single full charge. Uniross Hybrio came in a very close second with 424 flashes, whereas Eveready

+, 360 flashes.

Conclusion

Godrej GP ReCyko+ 2050mAhDespite having a lower mAh value by 50mAh as compared to the other three brands, the Godrej GP ReCyko+ priced at `400 for a set of two, put up a decent fight. The Godrej GP ReCyko+ charge time cutoff at 4 hours 22 minutes, in the flash test it fired 360 flashes on a single charge and in the

RATING:

Uniross Hybrio 2100mAhUniross Hybrio stood first in the charge time test by clocking 3 hours and 27 minutes. It was tough to choose between the Uniross Hybrio and the envie infinite, as both delivered equally good performances. Uniross came in second after envie in the flash test and the camera test delivering 424 flashes and 2508 frames respectively. Priced at `400 for a pack of two batteries, Uniross lost some marks in our value for money parameter and came in a close second in this year’s shootout.

RATING:

RATING: RATING:

TEXT AND IMAGES: AJAY SINGH AND STEVE D’SOUZA

392 452 424 360

0100200300400500

Eveready ultima envie infinite Uniross Hybrio Godrej GP ReCykoN

o. o

f fl

ash

es

Battery brands

Flash Test

+

envie infinite 2100mAhWith a good performance at a low price, the envie stood out as the best buy in this year’s AA battery shootout. With a charge time of 4 hours and 05 minutes, the batteries performed really well at the flash test in delivering 452 flashes and in the camera test shooting 2810 frames in a single charge. Priced at `300 for a set of two batteries, envie infinite wins this year’s AA Rechargeable Battery Shootout.

Eveready ultima 2100mAhThe Eveready ultima was a fair performer in all the three tests. Priced at `300 for a set of two batteries, the Eveready ultima performed consistently at the third position with a charge time of 4 hours and 11

2180 frames in a single charge.

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Shoot My City

CoorgThe Scotland of South India


Wake up and smell the coffee! So they say. Coorg is perhaps the best place in all of india to do that. i doubt the coffee gets any better in the country!

And i was looking forward to the misty mornings i’d heard about to go with that coffee.

My journey from Mangalore to Madikeri (Mercara) on the State transport bus was long and tiring. it was close to three in the evening by the time i’d settled down in a hotel in Madikeri. i’d left from Mumbai around the same time the previous evening and i’d only reached when it started to rain, something i was a little worried about, to begin with because it meant i’d have to take extra care of the equipment i was carrying. Also, making interesting pictures was going to be difficult. it was only the beginning of the rains, and i’d assumed the weather in Coorg or Kodagu, dubbed the Scotland of india, would still be pleasant. i was hoping to get a good mix of a little rain and a little sunshine. Like they say though, assumption is the mother of all goof-ups. it poured almost relentlessly, like there was no

tomorrow, and for the entire duration that i was there.Despite the rains, my first cup of coffee had me all excited,

and i stepped out right away. it must’ve been only five when i stepped out, but it looked well past seven. Almost no trace of the sun, save a faint glow behind all the clouds. A cloud burst of some sort followed just about half an hour into my walk. i had to take shelter at a local coffee and snack stall. More coffee followed. i struck up a conversation with the stall owner asking him about places around Coorg i could visit. in retrospect, i wonder how the conversation really went on for the 45 odd minutes i was there, waiting for the downpour to stop. We spoke different languages. he spoke a mixture of Coorgi and Kannada, and i, a mixture of English, hindi, and some broken Malayalam. And then the rain stopped, miraculously almost.

i stepped out again, and wandered around the town hoping to get some pictures. Luck, however, wasn’t on my side as i’d been led to think when the rain stopped. i could see droplets begin to form on my lens. i wiped it off with my


lens cloth but that wasn’t going to be enough. i had to get someplace warmer. it was getting dark anyway. So i decided i’d head back to the hotel, since taking pictures of any significance that evening seemed like an impossible task. i was also very tired, so i called it a night rather early, retiring to the comfort of my bed after a quick bite. i hoped things would get better the next day.

As if Murphy’s Law was being demonstrated to me, almost everything that could go wrong was beginning to go wrong. A power outage had me waking up way earlier than usual the next morning. it must’ve been four in the morning, and still raining. i’d slept early the previous night, and found going back to bed difficult. thankfully, i’d recharged the camera battery the previous night itself! Stepping out wasn’t really an option either since it was raining, but i did anyway, after about an hour of pacing around in the hotel restlessly.

After an early breakfast at a local restaurant, i decided to head to Kushal Nagar, some 30 kms from Madikeri. it wasn’t raining in Kushal Nagar. it didn’t look like it would either. Possibly on account of being located at a lower altitude than Madikeri, Kushal Nagar it seems, receives

less rainfall compared to Madikeri. i wasn’t complaining! i decided to skip Nisargadhama, entirely since i wasn’t particularly keen on visiting a ‘picnic spot’ as the coffee stall owner from the previous day had described it. instead, i went on to Bylakuppe in Kushal Nagar where refugeetibetans have a settlement that’s now

come to be known locally as tibet Camp. Located around 6 kms from Kushal Nagar town towards Mysore, this tibetan settlement is supposedly the second largest tibetan settlement outside tibet, housing over 7000 monks and students at the monastery. the Golden temple with its 40 ft tall Buddha statue

draws tourists from all over india and abroad. Visiting the temple was a truly wonderful experience. the walls of the temples and the institutions are decorated with colourful paintings depicting gods and demons from tibetan Buddhist mythology. i took a few pictures around the calm and peaceful surroundings of the monastery. the shops around the monastery selling traditional tibetan items like costumes, statues, jewellery etc. make for interesting photos.

After spending more than a couple of hours there, i contemplated visiting Dubare, an elephant-capturing and training camp of the Forest Department at the edge of Dubare forest, but ultimately decided against it since it was some 20 kms out of my way. i wanted to

get back to Madikeri and visit some of the local attractions as i’d planned.

on my way back to Madikeri, my rickshaw broke down in the middle of nowhere, and i must’ve wasted a whole hour before i managed to get another rickshaw. it’d started raining again as well. Surprisingly, it wasn’t raining in Madikeri when i got there. i decided to make the most of it and headed over to Raja’s Seat (Seat of the King), apparently a favourite recreational spot of the Kings of Kodagu. the view, with its many layers of green, hills and valleys to the west is nothing short of spectacular. i got a few pictures but couldn’t help fantasing about the kind of pictures you could make there on a misty morning, or on a clearer evening in the golden light of the setting sun.


PH

OTO

:Aja

y Si

ngh

After the Raja’s Seat, i went over to another local tourist spot, the Raja’s tomb, constructed in an architectural style that seems to draw upon indo-islamic, indian and Gothic architectural styles. the rain was playing tricks with me. it started raining again and i had to rush for cover. i decided to head back to the town centre hoping to make travel arrangements for my return journey. i’d left Mumbai in a hurry and couldn’t find the time to make arrangements before leaving. As it turned out, the only option i had available

was to make tatkal ticket arrangements the next day, for my train journey from Mangalore to Mumbai.

i ended the day with some local pork curry and rice rotis for dinner at a restaurant near my hotel. A good portion the next day was spent trying to make travel arrangements for myself. i found time to visit Abbey falls, a waterfall some 8 kms from Madikeri, and then spent the entire evening in Madikeri itself, strolling around in the rain, getting pictures wherever i could.

i come back with mixed feelings. i wasn’t fully satisfied with the pictures i returned with. My biggest regret is possibly missing out on a chance to get pictures of the local Kodavas in their traditional attire. i made a list of things i missed out on because of the poor weather. Maybe some day i’ll go back, do those things. When i do, i’ll make sure i choose a more appropriate time to visit! i came back with a bag of coffee to make my mornings in Mumbai more pleasant!

tExt AND iMAGES: GEoRGE KuRiEN

trends


Digital SLR

In 1999, nikon announced the d1, which was only a 2.7 MP camera, but it was fast (4.5 fps), and priced reasonably for people

to begin to consider using it as their primary camera. Made with nikon electronics in a nikon body, the d1 was a landmark because it began replacing film cameras at prominent newspapers. despite being primitive with regards to user interface, flash performance etc. it was unique in many regards. For one, it used an electronic shutter instead of a

mechanical one, allowing for a top shutter speed of 1/16000. nikon today seems to be revisiting electronic shutters albeit in a more modern way as can be seen with their new 1 series mirrorless cameras (nikon V1 & J1).

since then, however, the developments have been a lot more rapid, at least at the face of it. the first generation nikon dsLrs beginning with the d1 of 1999 up until the d40 in 2008 had only primitive picture and white balance adjustments. the vast

difference in real image quality between two generations of digital cameras it seems is largely dictated by market dynamics. Camera makers like most marketing organisations, have the masses worrying about megapixels and other trivialities and all the significant advances made aren’t immediately apparent. the differences are so significant that often the best 1st generation camera isn’t capable of making pictures as good as the cheapest 2nd generation cameras.

The digital camera which has become synonymous with photography today, has truly come a long way since the early 70s with its early beginnings in the film-less camera (patented by Texas Instruments) and Kodak’s first ever digital camera. The evolution process took off from then on with Kodak continuing to develop and display prototypes at leading Photo-equipment exhibitions worldwide. Despite its continuous developments it was only around the early 90s that the DSLRs went beyond being laboratory experiments into the commercial space. But even then, they weren’t practical since the image sensors used weren’t capable of delivering prints of any significant size.

Nikon D1Manufacturer: NikonProduct: D1Launched: 1999Megapixel: 2.7Screen Size: 2-inchesImage Sensor: CCDType: RegularImage Processor: UnkownISO range: 200 to 1600Battery: NiMH battery


P a S T

Screen sizeearly dsLrs featured tiny LCd screens, but as time progressed, the screens started getting bigger. LCd screens have become larger with time. the newer generation cameras have relatively larger super-sharp LCd screens compared to their predecessors. the more recent dsLrs now feature 3” screens. some of them even feature swivel screens that make shooting at unconventional camera angles very easy.

Megapixelssoon after realising the inadequacies of using poor resolution camera sensors at making print worthy images, camera manufacturers began making cameras with improved resolution, sometimes compromising on certain other aspects for the same. For example, the 2.7 MP sensor on the nikon d1 was increased to 5.3 MP on the nikon d1X but slowed the fps rate to 3 from 4.5. Image quality improved tremendously. Almost all dsLrs launched in recent times have a 10 MP sensor at the very least.

Trends

Nikon D4Manufacturer: NikonProduct: D4Launched: 2012Megapixel: 16.2Screen Size: 3.2-inchesImage Sensor: CMOSType: Full-frameImage Processor: Expeed 3ISO range: 100 to 12800Battery: Li-ion battery


Live previewUndoubtedly one of the biggest features to have been introduced in the dsLrs was the live preview feature. despite having been introduced in the compact camera segment, it came to be incorporated into dsLrs only a few years back. Infact it was the Olympus e-10 launched in 2000 to first introduce the live preview feature. the e-10 was a fixed lens dsLr, unlike most dsLrs. Fujifilm FinePix s3 Pro was the first interchangeable lens dsLr to feature the same.

early dsLrs lacked the ability to show the optical viewfinder’s image on the LCd display, a feature now a mainstay with dsLrs. early Canon dsLrs, for example the eOs 350d, 400d didn’t have this feature and a generation later, it was incorporated into the 1000d which replaced the 350d and into the 450d which effectively replaced the 400d. despite not serving as the principal means of framing and previewing before taking a picture, this function still mainly being performed by the optical viewfinder, almost all new dsLrs have had the live preview feature since mid-2008.

User interface the user interface of dsLrs has come a long way from their crude beginnings, with them becoming more and more intuitive and friendly over time. Although it might not seem much, anyone who has used the dsLrs like the nikon d70, the Canon eOs 50d or other dsLrs from around the same time would know exactly what we are talking about.

the interfaces are getting better and better, a little like today’s smartphones. An early evidence of the same can be seen in some of the samsung compact cameras like the samsung MV 800. Assistance on the various camera functions is also now being provided in-camera itself. dsLrs are beginning to feature touch screens that make for an extremely user-friendly experience, and scrolling through the various options is now a lot easier. the recently announced Canon eOs 650d is an example of this.

P R e S e n T

Batteries Battery sizes in the first generation cameras were huge, one of the reasons some of those cameras were extremely bulky. Many manufacturers initially using ni-MH batteries switched to Li-ion pretty early in the day. their performances also improved a great deal.

Build qualityA lot has changed in terms of build quality. even the materials used seem to have changed from almost entirely plastic bodies to the use of composite materials with rubberised grip and better ergonomics. Camera bodies were bulky and poorly finished. this has changed a great deal over time. thanks to smaller memory cards and batteries, among other things, cameras have become more compact.

Video recordingA camcorder is what would first come to mind a few years back if someone mentioned video recording. All that changed when nikon introduced the d90 in 2008, and presently, almost all dsLrs feature full Hd video recording. What essentially would require a user to use two separate devices (for video and still) now comes bundled into a single product. today’s dsLrs even feature a dedicated record button.


Image sensor size Currently dsLrs being used by consumers and professional still photographers offer

a variety of dedicated lenses and other photography equipment, often using a large image sensor format on account of their ability to provide a higher dynamic range and signal to noise ratio. In contrast, compact digital cameras and bridge cameras usually have smaller image sensors allowing for larger depth of field. Also, more recently the newer mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras are beginning to compete with dsLrs while offering more compact camera bodies. the micro four third format sensors, pioneered by Olympus and Panasonic, have also played an important role in this trend of making camera bodies compact. these cameras are now everywhere, and with the exception of Canon, every big brand camera maker has jumped onto the bandwagon.

Mirroless camerasWithout a doubt the mirrorless camera segment is

something to watch out for in the coming years. Most camera manufacturers have already taken the plunge into this industry sector. Infact every manufacturer these days has its own variants of mirroless technology. single Lens translucent (sLt) is a sony brand name for cameras which are positioned in between digital single-lens reflex (dsLr) cameras and mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras (MILC). sony sLts are possibly closer to MILCs than to dsLrs, because sony sLts have an electronic viewfinder whereas the fundamental characteristic of dsLrs is a view-finder which allows the user to directly view the optical image generated by the lens. sony sLt cameras have a mirror, but - unlike the one in dsLrs - it does not move, and it is semi-transparent, allowing the majority of the light to pass through to the sensor.

traditional dsLrs in the market already have a lot more competition now than just their own kind. We feel that it is only a matter of time when some of these products as well as their lenses will become inexpensive.

Image sensors the image sensor has for the longest time been the heart of the camera. Over time they have seen some major transformations. For instance, initial nikon offerings had CCd sensors instead of CMOs sensors. While neither technology has a clear advantage in image quality, CCd sensors are more susceptible to vertical smear from bright light sources when the sensor is overloaded. High-end frame transfer CCds however do not suffer from this problem.

On the other hand, CMOs sensors are susceptible to undesired effects that come as a result of rolling shutter. CMOs can potentially be implemented with fewer components, use less power, and are less expensive to manufacture than CCd sensors. While CCd is a more mature technology and is in most respects the equal of CMOs, the fact that CMOs sensors are less expensive makes them more popular with camera manufacturers.

teXt: GeOrGe KUrIen

Trends


Darkroom EvolutionOver the last decade, the darkroom from yesteryear has transformed into a ‘digital’ darkroom with

advancements in digital imaging. A darkroom is simply a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of light sensitive photographic materials, including photographic film and photographic paper. setting up a film darkroom primarily involved gathering the right chemicals and lighting.

A digital “darkroom” constitutes of the hardware, software and techniques used in digital photography that replace the darkroom equivalents, such as enlarging, cropping, dodging and burning, as well as a host of processes that don’t have a film equivalent. A powerful computer, a high quality monitor, and software to edit your photographs together are what make up this digital darkroom.

On the one hand while purists will claim to not have touched up a photograph at all, and everything in the picture is as it was in-camera, I’d like to believe that all photographs benefit from being developed. After all, photographs are abstractions and aren’t as realistic as we’d like to believe. Understanding that photography is a form of abstraction is critical to being a good photographer, and if you believe that photos capture a completely real representation of a scene then you’re going to be disappointed, and you’re not going to get very good results. Take for example a black and white photograph. no one can actually see things in black and white. The technology to create a black and white photograph preceded colour photography, but as of today with the latest digital cameras, it’s just a trend and you’re in effect editing out the colour information available to you from your pictures, even if your pictures are straight from the camera.

With rapid advancements in digital imaging technology over the last decade, even the ways we’ve come to view and share photographs have changed. Mobile phone applications to edit your images and publish them online, applications to edit your photographs online, editing software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom for professionals, and a host of other methods are now being used to edit pictures. Over the last few years, we’ve spotted some trends in image editing techniques, some of which have come and gone, some still going strong, and a few that’ll probably never go out of style.


Darkroom EvolutionHDRHigher dynamic range (Hdr) imaging is a technique that’s possibly been exploited the most over the last few years. For the uninformed, an Hdr image is the result derived by combining a number of images taken at different exposures with the help of software to enable containing a much larger dynamic range. This technique is used to get better detail in your pictures in areas where there are extreme shadows or highlights. so trendy was this technique that at one point, almost all you could see on some of the popular photo-sharing websites and photography forums were Hdr images.

The retro look/film simulation/old camera simulationThis was possibly kick-started by the now famous ‘Instagram’. Instagram allows mobile-phone (with camera) users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it on a variety of social networking services, including Instagram’s own. A distinctive feature confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras. social networking website Facebook acquired Instagram for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock recently, and this seems like a fair indicator of its popularity. It’s not difficult to spot a picture clicked using one of these techniques. replicating some of the image characteristics of the older film cameras, even some of the then undesirable effects like lens blur, light leaks, and vignettes that obscure a fairly large portion of your frame are typical of this style.

Selective colouring

Another fad that was popular back in the 80s and still

tends to pop up now and then is

selective colouring in which only a portion of the

image remains in colour, keeping the rest of the image almost

completely desaturated or in black and white.

PHOTO: Wayne Oliver


Black and whiteThe classic black and white image will probably

never go out of style. People often speak of black and white images as having a “timeless”

quality. Maybe it’s this quality that makes it an extremely popular trend, or then the fact

that stripped of colour; images become more abstract, requiring the viewer to engage more closely with them. The emphasis on form and

texture that this technique renders to an image is possibly what makes this a trend that’ll never

go out of fashion.


Miniature simulation/tilt- shift effect/diorama effectThe diorama effect is a process in which a photograph of a life-size location or object is made to look like a photograph of a miniature scale model. Blurring parts of the photo simulates the shallow depth of field we normally come across in close-up photography, making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is; the blurring can be done either optically when the photograph is taken, or by digital post-processing.

The tilt-shift lens used to create such images optically was originally designed to enable perspective correction. selective focus can be achieved using the tilt function of the lens. Many such images are described as employing “tilt–shift”, but the term is something of a misnomer because shift is seldom involved and is usually unrelated to the effect produced.

TexturesIf you’ve spent any time at all exploring

sites like Flickr, I’m sure you’ve noticed a good many photographs that have a certain

“textured” look to their images. Texture with regards to image editing terminology

simply refers to an image that is used on top of your own image and when adjusted via

blend modes or opacity imparts a “texture” to your image. The “texture” doesn’t necessarily

have to be of a physical texture. It could be nearly anything, including another photo. some of the common textures used are

photographs or scans of old pieces of paper, fabric, rain drops on a windshield, bubbles,

water reflections etc. They could be anything and combined in a variety of permutations

and combinations to create a wide range of different looks.

PHOTO: Vrutika Doshi

TexT And IMAges: geOrge KUrIen


tREnds

July 2012 AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging

Compact Point and ShootCamerassince the inception of cameras, there has been a never ending endeavour to pack a camera with advanced features while simultaneously trying to make it more compact from the enormous wet plate camera to the smaller Kodak Brownie, to the much smaller and convenient cameras that have evolved over the years. Moving a generation ahead, the digital format today, is the most popular medium in photography. Let us understand the trends in digital still Cameras (dsCs) from its early stages in the digital era to its recent phase. somewhere along the way everything has changed.

Kodak first attempted to build a digital camera in 1975 which weighed a whopping 3.6 kgs, recorded greyscale images into a

cassette tape, had a resolution of 0.01 megapixels and took 23 seconds to capture its first image. this inadvertently changed the way we shoot forever. What was surprising was that although the first glimpse of the technology was seen in 1975, most manufacturers started production of digital camera in the mid 90’s. the following were the breakthrough technologies and features at the advent of the compact digital cameras in those days.

p a s t


designdigital cameras became popular around the start of the millennium. the designs of these cameras were basic since the manufacturers were still figuring out how to include more and more features in a small and compact body. the cameras were bulky owing to their large battery sizes and bigger memory cards slots. Most of the camera manufacturers adopted designs from existing point and shoot film cameras to the newer digicams (as they were called then). Camera bodies were made of plastic and all control buttons were analogue or mechanical in nature.

But this was still considered to be breakthrough technology back then. Anyone who has used first generation of digicams would know exactly what we are talking about.

Liquid Crystal displaysOne of the major features of the digital camera then, was that you could simply click a photo and review it at the back of the camera. this meant no more hoping and guessing if your photos have been captured alright as compared to the times when you went to pick up the prints from the film lab. this was possible due to the integration of the Liquid Colour display (LCd) screen at the back of the camera, which facilitated viewing of images after they were clicked. Although LCds in televisions had made their appearance since the 80’s, it was a major breakthrough at that time to incorporate and integrate a compact LCd in the digicams. Although the user still had to use the viewfinder to frame the shot. In most digital cameras the LCd screen was as small as two inches, which made it a task to review images correctly and since LCds were still new, the image resolution was not up to the mark.

SensorsMost digital cameras back then used an electronic CCd type sensor which replaced the role of film, making it possible to directly record data in electronic format. the maximum pixel ratings of such cameras were limited to approximately 3.34 megapixels which in turn churned out image resolutions up to 2160 x 1440 pixels. this meant that shooting in low-light conditions with ambient light was a challenge as the cameras could only be pumped up to a maximum of IsO 400. Almost all compact cameras could shoot only still images.



p r e s e n t

Over a decade, the advancements in technology have affected most of our daily routines. these advancements have also somewhere integrated photography into our daily life in one way or the other; big or small. so with a decade gone by, what exactly has changed since then?

design, Body and Lookdesign wise, the modern point and shoot has come a long way from its early predecessors. Electronic components used in compact digital cameras have become smaller in size which in effect has made the cameras more compact and sleek. In fact there are cameras in the market today

which are thinner than 2cm and as small as a business card. Use of various composite materials has made it possible for manufacturers to shape and style their cameras in more ergonomically sound ways.

Future User interfaceWe predict that the interfaces of the cameras will be much like todays smartphones, which will make accessing all the information easy. they will also focus on one-touch connectivity options and improved integration with devices.


Screens, User interfaces from todayMost present day compact cameras have improved their in-camera features. Compact cameras now come with up to 3-inch bright and clear LCd screens which display all the information needed while shooting. While screens from the yesteryears would not exactly provide all the information, one can find everything there is with a single-touch today.

One of the biggest and most noticeable trends today is a touch-screen panel. With the advent of touch screen phones, touch screen displays have made their way into the compact camera segments as well. We find a different segment in compact cameras today, which focus on a more niche and shutter happy consumer who prefers the touch screen to pressing buttons.

With the change in the design, look and quality, the user interface of the newer compact cameras have also witnessed a big change. Much like their bigger brothers from the dsLR segments, the UIs these days seem to be more friendly and intuitive.

SensorsBigger electronic sensors enable today’s cameras to record data in a common range of 10 to 16 megapixels, which churns out image resolutions up to 4000 x 3000 pixels. Inclusion of CMOs sensor technology and faster and better performing image processors is common in cameras today. Compact digital cameras can now record data on IsO values as high as IsO 3200 with in-camera noise reduction. Video capabilities in compact cameras have improved tremendously too, boasting 1080p Hd quality video recording along with stereo audio recording.


image StabilisationAnother major advancement in digital photography is the introduction of Image stabilisation or Vibration reduction. As the cameras became smaller and more compact, their susceptibility to camera shake while shooting at lower shutter speeds increased. to avoid this, manufacturers introduced optical stabilisers in the lens barrel of the cameras. Another major improvement in lenses of compact cameras is their zooming capability, some of which even match the range of a telephoto lens of a dsLR.


Connectivity and SharingUndoubtedly connectivity and sharing will be the next big thing in the digital age. GPs and Geotagging are common features on new point and shoots and the Wi-Fi technology in the present day cameras lets the user upload images to social networking sites and also backup and save data using cloud services (using Wi-Fi to connect to the internet). Infact you can even use the live view on your mobile phone to wirelessly shoot while the camera is kept at a location within the suggested range. the samsung WB150F has a similar remote shooting feature which can be used after downloading the app from the Android or iOs market.( samsung WB150F Review, July 2012 Vol. no.24 Issue no.7)

the current innovation in camera technology includes cameras like the WVIL, which are designed with extreme sophistication and can be used to shoot even if the lens is separated from the camera body; and the Lytro which enables the user to choose the point of focus after the image is shot.

Most of us own a mobile phone with a camera; irrespective of its quality. newer generation mobiles have cameras which come equipped with higher megapixels and deliver excellent image quality. there are shooting, editing and sharing applications available on Android and iOs platforms for their users. some camera companies have even tied-up with mobile phone manufacturers to share their expertise.


f u t u r ethe progress in technology and the way it has been utilised till now is colossal. With the only constant being change, all you have to do is imagine it and it could very well be achieved in the near future. Here are a few features which we would like to see new or improved in the coming years.

image QualityConvenience has, is and will always play a major role in the compact digital camera segment; the primary reason why cameras are becoming lighter and more compact as they evolve. However, the smaller size of the camera should not compromise on the image quality and it is only reasonable to expect compact camera with image quality and tonal ranges to match that of dsLRs.

TexT: STeve D’Souza


interfacethe integration of a user friendly interface, similar to that of an Android or iOs platform which would make photography simple to understand and easy to use. there is early evidence of such technology by samsung already in their MV800 which could be a focus in the coming years.

Cloud Connectivity and Social integration Connecting to the cloud services and integrating with various social media platforms is without a doubt going to be the big focus for the next few years to come. Whether it is data in the form of images or videos and sharing them with your friends, the sky is the limit for the same.

Cameras today are equipped with features like Wi-Fi, social media sharing, geotagging, cloud sharing and backup. Further ahead, cameras in the future could include an Internet data card or a sim card which would enable the user to upload, share or backup data in the absence of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

head-mounted displayAlthough this might be a loud thought, it is too good to let it pass. A camera mounted on your eyewear is another possibility where digital imaging may be headed. Google’s Project Glass, a research and development programme by Google to develop an improved reality head-mounted display is an attempt at the same.

the future of compact digital cameras could be one where they are redundant. the rate at which mobile phone technology is growing, backed by the paradigm of users wanting to carry little or nothing with them could well make mobile phones the next substitute for a camera. It might seem farfetched but it is plausible.

trends


P a s t

Trends in AccessoriesWhen we talk about trends

in photography that have evolved and established over

the past decade, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that camera

accessories have played a big role in defining most of them.

Post-production software, storage devices, camera stabilisation equipment,

studio equipment; a lot has changed over this period of

time, primarily due to the constantly growing demand

for better equipment and technology.

Professionals are now more at ease than ever before;

accessibility is not an issue anymore, whether it

comes to tough terrains or wild animals, low lighting is not a problem because of advancements in flash

technology, high speed memory cards help transfer

data in an instance, and so on. amateurs too have it

better than they could ever have, as improvements in

accessories over the years have made it very easy to

meddle in the photographic arts. Let’s take a look at

the changes in trends with regards to camera

accessories.

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Lens The heavy, bulky, single motor lenses used back in the 90s were somewhat inconvenient to the photographer, primarily because of their weight; especially for genres where the photographer needed to be mobile for most of the time. Even in other areas like abstract, fashion or street, the lens was seen more as an extra weight than an accessory. While the technology used to produce DSLRs was advancing at a high rate, the lenses remained bulky as ever. The heavy mirrors and single motor didn’t help with the weight of the lens either.

FiLtersAnother trend widely popular in photography since the very beginning, till about a few years ago, has been that of using filters. Colour filters, neutral density filters, polarisers, contrast enhancement filters and what not; the complete set used to be a regular part of any professional photographer’s camera bag.


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FLashTill about a decade ago, in-camera flash wasn’t used much, and the external flashes available in the market were big, wired and bulky. Where one section of a photographer’s kit would be occupied by the heavy lens, the other would usually be occupied by the flash. So essentially the flashes then were heavy, limited in technology, and steeply priced.

studio Lights and equiPmentStudio equipment has gone through a huge change through the years. It was a lot more bulky, especially the big batteries, so much so that at the day of a particular shoot, nothing less than a mini truck would be able to carry all of it. Take for instance the Elinchrom Comet CBW2400 from those days, compare it with the product range of Elinchrom today and you’ll realise how much of a task it was to transport the whole set from one place to the other.

All the button controls on the equipment used to be analogue, because of which one had to manually change the values using the big dials to make the smallest of changes. Power dumping in flash lights was another issue; one had to first dump the previously accumulated power before any power settings could be changed. There weren’t many power settings either, as back then the technology hadn’t started developing at the rate it is now.

Another very common sight associated with a studio shoot was a mesh of infinite wires. As there was no other way to connect the equipment with its controls or other equipment, wires used to take up most of the available space during a shoot.

triPodsThe traditional tripod has served as a photographer’s best companion for as far back as we can remember. It hasn’t changed much in design since the first one, partly because it has always done what it needs to do pretty well, providing a sitting ground for the camera to keep it from shaking, which is especially helpful in low light photography. What’s surprising is that tripods have not only been associated with photography, but also across a lot of other areas through the years, like filmmaking, creative art, etc. Early traces reveal that the tripods in the yesteryears were carved out of wood, and then later, plastic.

memory cardsAbout 10 years ago, memory used to be a lot more expensive than it is today. Compact Flash (CF) cards were popular then, which constituted the biggest chunk of the memory card market. But the storage capacity in the CF cards was largely limited, upto 4GB, 8GB in some cases, and transfer speed wasn’t even a parameters back then.


P r e s e n t

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FiLters Nearly all the physical filters available in the market can well be applied with the help of any of the regular photo processing software available in the market today. All you have to do is choose from the pre-listed filter designs. Over the past few years, the use of the physical filter has seen an exponential fall throughout the world; and, save for a few who still go by traditions, it will be safe to say that tangible filters will go extinct any time now.

triPods The traditional tripod has gone through a lot of change in

the past years, in design as well as in technology, still keeping its purpose in mind which is stabilisation of the camera in low light conditions or during long exposures. Today’s tripods use aluminum as a primary material, combined with wooden bases, and brass for nuts and screws in some cases.

New variants of the traditional tripod are now entering the market; one of them being the revolutionary GorillaPod. Till about a few years ago, in order to setup a tripod, one needed to search a firm ground. But the GorillaPod, in comparison, can be setup anywhere, thanks to its three tentacles like legs, which are capable of wrapping themselves around anything; walls, table legs, tree branches, etc. Another popular variation of the tripod is the monopod, with one leg instead of three, which immensely helps the photographer with mobility. Lens

With the advent of technologies like image stabilisation, vibration reduction, improved internal focusing and protective coating to reduce glare and reflections, the lens industry has come a long way. Lenses today are less bulky, more capable, less expensive, and more user friendly than what they used to be. But despite all the progress in the lens production technology, the relatively new ‘mirrorless’ concept can do away with the traditional lens forever, owing to the considerable reduction in the weight of the camera, and the ease of use it offers. Mirrorless cameras don’t use a mirror based optical viewfinder, a core concept when it comes to lenses, which reduces the weight of the camera to a bare minimum. As it is still an emerging concept, the prices of mirrorless cameras remain considerably higher than their counterparts. All the top camera manufacturers are now turning their attention towards perfecting this technology, and a lot of them have been able to introduce items which, if made more cost-effective, can prove to be the fall of the traditional lens.

July 2012 [51]

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memory cards Post CF cards came the SD cards, with faster transfer rates and higher capacity,

which hold the biggest share in the memory card market today. But the chief introduction in this field has been that of EyeFi, a wireless SD card technology by the virtue of which one can wirelessly transfer photographs through any network close enough for it to detect; your phone, laptop, home WiFi, etc. Photographers have to buy extra cards, because it is easier in most situations for them to change the card and back it all up later, than having to back up the same card for reuse. EyeFi, according to us, solves one of the biggest problems in DSLRs right now; wireless connectivity.

Another major release in this field has been of the XQD card, released by Sony, Nikon, and SanDisk in 2010. The XQD boasts of transfer speeds up to 1GB/s, and a storage capacity of upto 2TB, which certainly solves the limited storage problem faced by the photographers.

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FLash External flashes are now sleek, wireless, easy to carry around

and a lot less harsh on the subject (primary problem with in-camera flash). The flash systems available in the market today allow you to wirelessly modify the shape, size and intensity of the flash light falling on the subject. One major development in this field has been the advent of the external flash system. One can now use an unattached flash wirelessly from a distance, hugely helping in increasing the usual 13-15 meter range of your regular flash as well as modifying the direction of the light. A lot of leading brands are now concentrating on improving the in-camera flash, to reduce third party interference, as well as making it simpler for the user to operate.

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studio Lights and equiPmentNowadays it’s easier to plan a photo shoot without having to think about the heavy

equipment. The heavy batteries from back then have now evolved into their small, pocket sized versions. The use of wires has been made minimal, thanks to the advancement in the wireless technology. One can control the multiple power settings with the help of a remote.

The problem of dumping in flash lights has also been minimised to a large extent; nearly all the studio flash lights now come with the Auto Power Dump function, with the help of which it automatically dumps the previously collected power in order to change the power controls. Now there are more controls to channelise the power in the equipment. All in all, compared to what it was about 20 years ago, studio equipment technology has advanced hugely in the last few years.

AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging


Lens Mirrorless is emerging as a strong alternative to the lens we’ve grown up seeing and using. Although the traditional lens

is not expected to disappear anytime soon, manufacturers would possibly look to further develop on the mirrorless concept, which in the long run might eliminate the concept of the traditional lens.

What will happen still remains to be seen, but if we don’t get to see any revolutionary changes in the technology used to produce lenses, and looking at the growing demand for reduced weight and sleeker design, there is a good chance we won’t be seeing them around for a long time,.

FiLters It will be safe to say that physical filters are not going to stay in the market for much longer, as adding the effect

afterwards on Photoshop, for example, turns out to be a better deal than spending money on physical ones.

triPodA lot of people still use a tripod, more or less in its original form, because it gets the job done, and is still the most widely

available variation in the market. But in the coming years, if produced on a bigger scale, revolutionary technologies like GorillaPod look promising. The traditional tripod might also change, in terms of materials used by its producers, to make it more flexible and sturdy.

memory cards Micro SD cards are sure to be included in cameras at some point in the future, because of their compact size. The memory

cards of the future are expected to offer huge amounts of memory storage and exceptional transfer speeds. Combine that with the new XQD and the existing SSD technologies, the memory industry is sure to come up with some surprises.

FLash In the near future, brands will concentrate on making flashes more economical, as any flash these days costs somewhere

between `6,000 – `40,000.The emphasis will also be on customising the light; future day flash systems might come with colour presets and pre-defined shapes with a modifiable harshness scale.

studio Lights and equiPmentIn the future, the focus will be on lighter materials and sleeker designs, because weight of the whole setup is still a

problem. The equipment of the future will consume a lot less power, with an increase in efficiency as well as the output. We expect the equipment industry to collaborate with the smart phone industry to engineer apps that would allow photographers to wirelessly control all of the equipment – the direction of the light, power settings, the intensity of the strobes, etc.

TEXT: HIMANSHu SHARMA

F u t u r e


Trends


P a s t

Trends in Printing TechnologyPrinters have always been an integral accessory for homes, offices and photo-studios. the printing industry has been evolving over the years, and is expected to do so for a long time to come. a lot of us are aware of the changes in the printing technology and industry; from past until the present,but it is hard to tell what trends we might see in the printing industry in the days to come. Printers per se include a vast range but our focus in the article is going to be around home printers and photo-printers; and how they have evolved over the years.

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Dot Matrix anD Daisy WheelAs one might remember the only two printers that were available in the market back in the day were the Dot Matrix and the Daisy Wheel. The Dot Matrix was a little faster and quieter than the latter, and could even print graphics (low resolution). Infact the Dot Matrix is still in use today across numerous applications and is surely a big business segment for many manufacturers. Although the application of such printers today is limited due to their noise, speed and consumables, both these printers essentially changed the way we did things.

ink Delivery systeMThe ink delivery systems were not as flexible as they are in

today’s world. The inkjet system replaced the old Dot Matrix method, which required a new conceptualisation of ink delivery technique, including the drop on demand method, which forces a drop of ink out of a chamber by

heat or electricity, and by 1990 the method was widely accepted. Back in the day, there were three ink colours RGB

and then Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, but produced a composite black that was often muddy. Today’s inkjets print with CMYK, making the black

ink (K) for pure black printing, and many special ink colours that come in demand for photo printing and so on. Today’s ink technology is method of choice for printing requirements, and will print on most areas of graphics, photo and official.


P r e s e n t

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DesktoP Printers The HP Desk Jetwas the world’s first single sheet desktop printer. It featured an average speed of just two pages per minute. It was one of the cheapest non-impact printers in the market when it was introduced. Then came the first colour DeskJet, the 500C, in 1991, which featured four swappable print cartridges; one black, three colour.

Before the digital printer era, the only type of printers available in the market were inkjet (in an inkjet printer the droplets of ink onto paper are very small). If you ever look at a piece of paper that has come out after printing you will know that the dots are usually 50 and 60 microns in diameter. The dots are positioned precisely, with resolution of up to 1440x720 dots per inch (dpi), which lend to better quality printed images.

CoMPaCt PrintersToday’s printer manufactures are focusing on devices that can deliver better quality via smaller, more compact printing units. These compact printers do not require a computer at all, and can print 8”x11”, 10”x14” or even larger photo size. Compact printers are full featured printers, only in smaller chassis. They take up less space on your desk, and are great for people who travel frequently. Some of them also include a battery, hence allowing you not to worry about power cords.

3-D Printing3-D printing is emerging as a promising concept for budding artists, product designers, architects and hobbyists. Although at a nascent stage currently, 3-D printing has not taken off as expected due to it being expensive. But early adoptions of the same technology are already being witnessed today.

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PaPer While there was limited scope earlier, paper quality in today’s home printing world has improved considerably. Combined with ink technology, the two have come a long way to deliver more realistic and crisp prints than ever before. There are various types of photo papers available in the market that offer features like waterproof and wrinkle free, to name a few.


F u t u r e

ClouD PrintingPrinters in the future might concentrate and build up on the concept of eco-printing. Another trend slowly emerging in the printing industry is that of Cloud Printing, with the virtue of which a user will be able to print from a remote destination.

user strategies In the future, printing will be all about the user. The technology is expected to be a lot faster, better and cheaper than what we have now, which is the only way by which printing brands will be able to address the user.

Wireless anD DesignWireless is definitely going to continue gaining popularity in the future, due to its combination of range and speed (240-300 MB/s). Printer designs would be much more compact, with lighter ink cartridges.

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therMal PrintingDue to the rising number of threats to the environment, some manufactures are trying to provide a more eco-friendly approach towards printing, by completely avoiding the use of ink, replacing it with what is now called Thermal Printing Technology. A thermal printer does not have an ink cartridge that must be replaced frequently, but instead involves other expenses which you might need to consider. Even though thermal printers use heat to print the image on paper, they still require a special kind of paper of a certain thickness in order to burn the image properly.

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PiCtBriDgeAnother technology with potential is PictBridge, which is easy digital printing with a personal computer. It allows you to connect a digital still camera directly to a printer without a PC, enabling printing on the spot. This interface format is also expected to grow in popularity and fall in price.

TExT: AJAY SInGH


Great Masters

A Master SpeaksWith a career spanning over 60 years and having dabbled in various genres of photography, ‘Been There Done That’ could well be his middle name. This month we interview the industry veteran Swapan Mukherjee about his passion for photography and the evolution of the medium over the years.

He practically stumbled upon photography when as a kid, one afternoon he discovered his father’s camera and a

Kodak handbook on photography. That, and later an Ensign Ful-Vue camera as a gift from his father on his 14th birthday, was enough to ignite a lifelong passion in Swapan Mukherjee for all things ‘photography’.

Swapan Mukherjee

Taken at the Notting Hill Carnival in London.


A Master Speaks

One of his first ever studio shots, taken at The Camera Club of Great Britain.


In the early 60s, when he was in London to study architecture, he joined The Camera Club of Great Britain, established since the 1880s, and happened to meet a few personalities from the British photography scene who instilled in him the idea that photography could be a worthwhile career option, which was not so at the time in India.

So, he decided to explore! And explore he did, a boundless world of photography in

London for over 26 years, before a chance visit to India in 1982 and the recession in the UK in the early 80s brought him back home.

The sTarT in indiaAfter a relatively brief stint as a photographer in Mumbai,

Mukherjee still had plans of returning to London, but decided to stay when he was offered a permanent job as the Chief In-House Photographer of the then popular magazine for women, Eve’s Weekly. “It was indeed a blessing which made it much easier

to relocate to Mumbai, and India, after winding up my life of 26 years in the UK,” says Mukherjee.

india vs UKWhen Mukherjee moved to India in the early 80s he faced a

slow pace and lack of professionalism in the industry compared to that in the UK. The professional Indian models of the mid 80s would remind him of “amateur models” he used to photograph at The Camera Club of Great Britain. “Even hairstylists were no more than hair-dressers from small salons in Colaba or Bandra and make-up artists were more suitable for painting faces of pantomimes,” he expresses, but also acknowledges that there were, of course, exceptions.

Genres Galore While in London he dabbled mainly in beauty and fashion

and a little bit of product photography. There was a time when he would shoot nothing but hairstyles for leading salons and for

One of his favourite shots for Vadilal ice cream.

Shot at a restaurant in London with a Pentax ESPIO 160 loaded with 400 ASA colour negative film. Shot for Greta Kahn Salon on a Hasselblad 500CM and 250mm Sonnar lens.


Shot for the British fashion designer, Zandra Rhodes at her showcase of innovative designer sarees at the Oberoi Hotel.


three consecutive years he earned the Beauty Photographer of the Year title, conferred by L’Oreal of Paris.

In 1984, after he moved to India he met Mohammad Khan who had recently set up his advertising agency. Khan assigned Mukherjee to shoot a black and white campaign for men’s premium shirts, called Intermezzo. To give an Italian feel to the campaign, a still-life shot of a bowl of spaghetti was also required. Khan must have been aptly impressed with the spaghetti shot, Mukherjee says humbly, because what followed that particular campaign was a string of food campaigns including NECC (National Egg Coordination Committee), Venky’s Chicken and Vadilal ice cream among others.

ChallenGes and advanTaGes baCK ThenThe challenge, according to Mukherjee primarily involved

technological limitations. “Analogue photography was a tough task master. You simply could not survive if your photographic technique was short of impeccable. There was no room for errors, which you could save in post production. Whatever post production services were available were prohibitively expensive. Hence, every item and detail in the frame had to be paid attention to.”

The good part, he reveals, was that there were few photographers who were dedicated enough towards the art due to the meticulousness and precision involved in the technologies available then and “If you were one of them, work followed you”.

“Nobody asked what you charged. They came to you for your vision, regardless of your charges,” he explains matter-of-factly.

ChallenGes and advanTaGes Today “Competing with too many cowboys in the field who shoot

for pittance in the hope of making it big one day is one,” says Mukherjee, listing the challenges today. Another challenge is the easy access to large banks of royalty free images that are like a poisonous dark cloud, annihilating the few good guys left.

For him, the good part in shooting today is mainly applicable to the guys who grew up with analogue photography because with their experience and know-how, present day technologies are like “manna from heaven”. It is also far easier to be a professional photographer today, he feels, as there are better back up services, studios and photographic equipment for hire, models, make-up artists and hairstylists of international standards, and more clients in the field of fashion, who have matured and appreciate quality work.

PhoToGraPhy in india, over The yearsMukherjee observes and states that like anywhere else in the

world, the present day technologies have helped boost the Indian photography industry beyond imagination.

“Thanks to the technologies available today, photography as a hobby has reached millions of people, which was unthinkable only a few years ago. Photographic hardware manufacturers have

LOCKED MEMORIES

Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, shot from the Art Plaza, Kowloon, on 35mm transparency film and graduated filter.


The Digital Boon• With the temperament of an artist rather than a commercial photographer, I think photography has changed for the better. I used to draw and paint prior to discovering photography which then came with the clause that you had to have every item physically present in the frame, and that you could not change anything later. But digital imaging has finally removed that clause and made me an artist once again.• With the advent of newer technologies image quality has improved significantly. Today, my early black and white negatives produce far superior black and white prints after digitisation.• Since analogue photography

was very restrictive, only limited conceptualisation was possible and it mostly involved capturing whatever was in the frame, as it appeared before the camera. Today, there is no limit to conceptualising an image. You are only limited by your imagination. • Double exposure on the same sheet of photographic paper, or on a roll of film, required a lot of precision in the analogue days, while today in the digital world it is child’s play.

The Digital Bane• The “liberation” that comes from digitisation requires responsible and prudent handling. Alas, only a few realise this and hence we have a load of garbage in the name of modern art.

Shot for Eve’s Weekly cover story on women engaged in unusual professions.

never had it so good. There are a few world class photo-magazines, some even in Hindi, which were not around 20 years ago,” he says.

He however feels that the technologies available today are slowly snuffing out the profession of photography as he and some of his peers once knew it.

Words of Wisdom“Do not be trigger happy,” Mukherjee

says and breaks that down into simple steps. Observe, think, conceptualise and ask yourself “why” before you press the button. His advice to the photographers is to discover and learn who they really are and then, he says, “Have the courage to be yourself; the outside world will then be easier to comprehend and photograph.”

TExT: TAPSHI DHANDA

interview: trends


Adding Extra into Ordinary

He is a creative thinker, a business man, a director, a short-filmmaker, a writer, a traveller, a TV show host and a teacher, but before and beyond everything else, he is a photographer. Constantly pushing the boundaries of and exploring new ideas in photography, he was the first to do 3D photography in India in 1998 for a popular magazine; he produced a coffee table book in 2004 incorporating photography, art and poetry, and today, he is experimenting with stop motion, CGI, films and cinemagraphs. I learnt all that and more, in a witty, candid conversation with Vikram Bawa as I questioned him about his art and how it has changed over the years. Ask him what his plan for the future is, and he says, simply, “To surprise myself everyday.”



the challenge today is to keep innovating and exciting yourself and the viewer

When both, the mother and the father thoroughly enjoy and are ardently interested in photography, it’s only natural for their child to

be curious about it. And though curiosity does not always turn into passion, in case of the renowned photographer vikram Bawa, it did.

Being exposed to his parents’ fascination for photography during his childhood years and having clicked dozens of typical black and white family photographs; it was in 1985 that Bawa picked up his first sLr camera. Unfortunately his films came out blank but he loved the feel of the camera so much; he bought the same one again in 1987 and was soon hooked. it was only in 1996, however, when an old partnership business didn’t work out as planned and he became unemployed, that Bawa decided to take up photography as a full time career. A

decision that took him places, and that gave the industry one of its most creatively stimulated professionals.

LeArnT, noT TAuGHTBawa explored and learnt photography through

the books and magazines he read and the things he saw and loved; sans any kind of formal training. He’d naturally deconstruct in his head anything that he saw till he reached a point where he was “only seeing images and light everywhere”.

eVoLuTIon of THe meDIum, oVer THe yeArsOver 16 years in the profession, he has shot using

both analogue and digital cameras and feels the medium has changed “tremendously” over the years. From analogue, which was a structured and planned yet


intuitive form of art, the world moved to digital in which “there is no limit to what can be imagined and achieved with the help of the right equipment,” says Bawa.

the major change, he feels, is that in the analogue days the photographer had to plan everything to perfection because there were no second takes. with digital, he says, “Unfortunately i see a lot of mediocre work being elevated with good use of Photoshop.”

THen AnD nowBawa explains that a decade ago, before the digital

revolution, photographers had to be very skilled at what they did. there was no room for errors. “we had to plan everything, and be sure of our lighting and techniques and how we wanted the end result to look,” he says. Film images couldn’t be manipulated the way you can

manipulate digital images today. And that, he thinks, was the fun of it, “waiting excitedly to see the results and holding the prints in your hands.”

ImporTAnCe of muLTITAskInGwith digitisation in photography, Bawa says

photographers still need to plan, but the difference is, “A photographer is a producer today and not just a photographer.” “the challenge today is to keep innovating and exciting yourself and the viewer,” he says, especially in the age of easy access internet.

A photographer has to consider and coordinate things beyond just taking pictures. “every photo shoot is as good as creating a small film,” he expresses and adds, “with the advent of various CGi and editing software there is no limit to what can be created.”

exTenT of TeCHnoLoGICAL AIDHaving experienced analogue as well as digital

photography, Bawa has relied on technology differently at different times, depending on its need and application. the scope and extent of use of technology in photography, as in other things, is more now, than earlier. “in the olden days the biggest use of technology was in archiving our images. today it permeates all levels of photography. From the equipment to the creation of the image itself, from presentation of the work to its archiving; today it would be very difficult to not be touched by technology in some way or the other,” he explains.

July 2012 [66]


InDIAn pHoToGrApHy InDusTry,oVer THe yeArs

the indian photography industry has grown and matured over the years and Bawa believes that the changes have largely been positive. “in terms of photographers, we are creating some of the best talent anywhere in the world. Also, all the camera and equipment manufacturers are taking india as a serious market,” he confirms.

the only downside he sees is the indian tendency to undermine and short change photographers and the clients not playing by international standards.

CurrenT TrenDs“i see a lot of lateral and creatively challenging

concepts being executed in photography today. Concepts and ideas which were unimaginable earlier are being created today,” Bawa says encouragingly. He believes CGi is here to stay and expects to see an upward trend in the quality of work produced in the future.

TIps for beGInnerstwo simple words, he says repeatedly,

“Practice” and “experiment”. His advice to the new generation of photographers is to, “Get inspired and do not copy!” and he asks them to put themselves in their images because that makes a “Huge difference to your work”.

text: tAPsHi dHAndA

i see a lot of lateral and creatively challenging concepts being executed in photography today


column

Todd Anthony Tyler

Using Natural Light – Part 2

In continuation to last month’s article on using light for photography, this month we talk about the next steps you could take to enhance the photos you click in natural light.


If the production schedule allows, I largely break my natural light location shoots into two main parts. A morning shoot and then pause to pick up again for an afternoon shoot. I often choose to avoid the hard, deep shadowed light of roughly 11 am to 2 pm. The exact times are best determined if you get the luxury of a recce (to have an initial day scheduled just for observing and inspecting the shoot location).

Apart from the timing of the shoot, I employ two prime tools in controlling and modifying light to get the most from shooting with natural light - the bounce and the diffuser.

Bounces are also referred to as reflectors and work exactly the way the name suggests. They change the direction of light to reflect or bounce it into a specific direction you intend on. Bounces come in a variety of shapes and sizes from circular to triangles with handles and measured in meters to centimeters. They also come mainly in three basic finishes- white, silver and gold. While a white bounce throws a soft and gentle light, silver reflects a harder, almost flash type of light and gold creates a warm, yellow tone. most bounces are collapsible and easily transported. However, don’t limit yourself to only thinking of the classic bounce or reflectors, even mirrors or pieces of

I simply love to shoot with natural light. Though I have enjoyed some images I have developed and created in the

studio, but given the choice, I would always shoot with natural light. I enjoy the challenge in exploring all the options of controlling and modifying the light coming from the sun.

The first thing I do when setting a natural light shoot itinerary is to check the weather

report. The report may not always be 100% accurate but you can certainly use it as a starting point in planning for achieving quality results and is certainly much better than arbitrarily picking a shoot date with no consideration of what light may be available that day. However, you might need to wait for the kind of light you want that best suits your brief or concept.


The first thing I do when setting a natural light shoot itinerary is to check the weather report.


white paper can help bounce light.Diffusers are transparent materials that you can use to soften

hard light. They are used to modify light in a number of creative combinations of bounce and diffuser for tackling various natural light situations. Diffusers also come in various sizes from those that are small and easily collapsible to large transparent ones. You can also find means to diffuse light in ready-made solutions like the shade of a tree or the natural diffusing quality of clouds in the sky. Hand held diffusers go between your subject and the light, cutting down the lights intensity, reducing shadows and in the case of shooting fashion images assist the model in avoiding squinting due to strong light.

other ways to use bounces and diffusers to control natural light conditions are when your subject is backlit and you want to even out exposure. In such cases the light bounce directly in front or to the side of your subject to reflect light onto your subject and in hard light conditions if you decide to move your subject into a shaded area for more even and soft lighting then you can use the bounce to direct more light into the shot by positioning the bounce out in strong light.

This brings me finally to positioning your subject in relation to the sun and light direction. There are a few things to be considered, one of the first thoughts is what portion of the location you want to include in the composition to fill out the story. This choice will then lead you to making choices on the time of day to shoot and how to control the light to achieve the wanted look and effect.

The subject’s placement in relation to the light’s direction and the sun’s position is a very important decision that directly impacts the look

of an image and further brings thought to how to modify or control the light with the use of either bounce and/or diffuser.

You must have by now got a basic idea in shooting with natural light and the various ways to modify and control it to achieve the look you intend. Remember to start off with simple observation and understanding that light has intensity, direction and colour, and all these attributes are altered depending upon the time of the day and location.

Armed with this knowledge and perhaps a bounce and a diffuser you can set off to get the best image out of any natural light shoot.


TIPS & TECHS

DIY Grid Spots

Grids are honeycomb-like devices that modify light to travel in a straight line. They can be used to create spotlight effects, as controlled hair or accent lights, or to skim light across a surface. One of the great features of a grid is that it can throw bright accents from behind the subject yet keep light from creating lens flare. When using a grid, most of the light is transmitted towards the centre with smooth, gradual fallout of light at the edges. Grids are available in various angles; the narrower the angle, the denser the grid and the narrower the spread of light.Most grids are made for larger studio lights with parabolic reflectors and there is a lack of them for photographers using flash units. We give you a do it yourself tutorial on how to make a grid spot for your flash unit(s).


Here’s what you’ll need:- Hollow material (black straws/corrugated plastic/cardboard)- Foot ruler- Cutter- Insulation tape or masking tape- Glue- Rubber band- Pencil/pen

Measure the size of the flash head.

You can use any one of the hollow materials illustrated above, and make sure that it’s black or of any other dark colour. The colour of the modifying material will affect the temperature of the light which will cast a tinge of that colour. Corrugated plastic sheet was used for this project, which you can get at any local stationery shop.


Cut a strip of corrugated plastic to match the width of the flash head. Mark one inch thick strips as shown in the image.

Cut the strips in such a way that you can look through the little corrugation tunnels. Cut enough strips to make sure they cover the flash head when stacked together.

Stack the strips together with glue. Allow the stack to dry for a while.

Place the grid in front of the flash head and hold it there using a rubber band. TExT and ImagES: STEvE d’Souza

The thicker the grid, and the smaller the individual channels, the tighter the beam. So you can make a few more grids of different widths and experiment with the different spreads of light in your images. You can try making these grids of different sizes and incorporate them with your photographs.

fInal ImagE


Tips & Techs

PhotograPhy

Q1. Which of these is best suited to low light photography?A Low ISO settingB. Fast shutter speedsC. Low f-number for the apertureD. A polarising filter

Q2. What type of photography commonly makes use of tilt-and-shift lens?

A. Macro photographyB. Architectural photographyC. Travel photographyD. Fashion photography

Q3. Name the manufacturer associated with the image sensors inside Nikon’s modern range of DSLR cameras.

A. RicohB. SonyC. PanasonicD. Nikon

Q4. If a four megapixel camera can give a 6x4” print at a certain quality, how many megapixels would be needed to generate a print twice the size (i.e. 12x8”) at the same quality?

A. 8MPB. 10MPC. 12MPD. 16MP

Q5. Name the manufacturer associated with ‘L’ series lenses?

A. NikonB. LeicaC. CanonD. Ricoh

Q6. An unsharp mask is used for?A. Softening an image that is too sharpB. Highlighting areas of an image that might need unsharpeningC. Sharpening an imageD. Rounding the edges of sharp corners in an image

Q7. What is meant by the term ‘high key’ portrait?A. Portrait against a black (or dark) backgroundB. Portrait of a high profile celebrityC. Process in Photoshop to brighten a portraitD. Portrait against a white (or bright) background with little shadow

Q8. What is vignetting?A. Darkening of the image near the corners and edges B. A special effect filter for the lensC. Corners and edges of the image are brighter than the centreD Both (b) and (c)

Q9. Who produces M-series of rangefinder cameras?A. LeicaB. CanonC. NikonD. Samsung

10. Which company manufactures the software Lighting?A. AdobeB. AppleC. CorelD. Picasa

Q11. Where would you normally see catchlights in a photograph?A. Around a light source in an imageB. In the eyes of a person or animalC. On the shadow side of the subject’s faceD. On the lens of the camera

12. What does CCD (type of image sensor) stand for?A. Charge Coupled DeviceB. Café Coffee DayC. Coupled Charge DeviceD. Colour Correction Device

13. What does CMOS (type of image sensor) stand for?A. Charged Metal Oxide SemiconductorB. Coupled Metal Oxide SemiconductorC. Complementary Metal Oxide SemiconductorD. Conventional Metal Oxide Semiconductor

(Q1) C, (Q2) B, (Q3) B, (Q4) D, (Q5) C, (Q6) C, (Q7) D, (Q8) A, (Q9)

A, (Q10) A, (Q11) B, (Q12) A, (Q13) CAnsw

ers

TIPS & TECHS

How to Create Water Droplets

Sometimes, adding natural elements to an

image can add life to it. Two months ago we

gave you a step by step guide to create a sunray

effect in your images, this month, we take you through the step by step

process of creating water droplets in Photoshop

and adding them to the image.

Final Image

Original Image


STeP 1 Select an image that you feel will look good with water droplets in it.

STeP 3 Select a spot in the image that would be apt to create a droplet on. Create a new layer and draw the basic structure of a droplet using the elliptical Marquee tool.

STeP 5 Select the Gradient tool from the tool bar and then drag the cursor from left to right. Over here, we’ve dragged the tool from left to right simply because the area was a little dark towards the inside.

STeP 2 A droplet’s basic structure is typically circular. So, select the elliptical Marquee tool from the tool bar.

STeP 4 Make sure your foreground colour is black and the background colour is white.


STeP 6 Set the Blending mode – Overlay, for the selected layer.

STeP 8 As you did before add an inner shadow to the same layer.

STeP 10 If you feel that you need to reshape the droplet, go to Filter – Liquify. You can make changes to the shape of the droplet using the Liquify tool.

STeP 7 Add a Drop Shadow to the layer. Adjust the settings to your liking. This step is the most important of the process since adding the shadow makes the droplet look real.

STeP 9 Select the Brush tool from the tool bar and add a little glow to the water droplet.

STeP 11 You can repeat the steps above for creating any number of water droplets.

TexT AnD IMAGeS: AjAY SInGh


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JULY 2012 AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[80]

exclusive Review

Price

` 48,950(18-105 kit)

NikonD3200the imaging industry has seen a plethora of launches when it comes to DSLRs this year. Nikon announced the launch of its new D4 and the D800, which were reviewed by us in the earlier issue; then came the news of the successor for the D3100. We were the first to break this news on our website www.asianphotographyindia.com and i must say that we are also the first magazine in india to review it.the D3200 is Nikon’s latest DSLR sitting alongside the D3100, except that the D3200 could be named as “the ultimate entry level camera”. So, in this month’s review section we are going to find out if the D3200 really stands up for its title. We give you a brief insight of the D3200 along with the D3100.


Sample Image


The first thing that one notices about the D3200 is that the manufacturer has added more impressive features for its budding photographers, and saw

this as an opportunity to improve the entry level segment. Post a brief study, Nikon seems to have refreshed the level of beginner’s photography by this offering.

Look, Body and FeelThe D3200 and the D3100 are more or less

the same. But there are a few improvements to the ergonomics that are very helpful to everyday shooters. The front of the camera is more like the D3100, except that the hand grip is much deeper in the D3100, giving it a better grip over the D3200. But at times, the D3200 feels much lighter, which makes it easier to handle. The top panel has a few changes as compared to the D3100 as well. it consists of a dedicated mode dial, which enables you to switch among different camera modes. Just in front of the mode dial are three dedicated buttons.

One, is a single press movie record button, which enables movie capture in 1080p. The info button helps in providing the information to the user and the Aperture button, allowing you to set the aperture of the camera. The flash unit with the cameras hotshoe is seen at the centre of the top panel next to the cameras mic.

The rear part of the camera has a few more interesting buttons as compared to the D3100. There’s a large lcD monitor just below the camera’s viewfinder. The lcD is large enough to frame and capture movies. On the left of the lcD screen is a neat alignment of buttons, such as the playback button, the menu button, the ‘i’ button and the zoom in-out of playback picture button. The right side of the lcD screen features a few more buttons than can be compared to the D3100 as well. The live-view on the D3200 is a bit different from that on the D3100. The live-view slide switch is replaced with a dedicated button, which we felt was much easier to access.

Button layout and design of D3100 and D3200

D3100

D3200


PerformanceNikon has put a neat thought into flow, when it

comes to the D3200’s performance level. This camera is an entry-level performance machine; the image quality takes an increased uplift in producing sharp images, thanks to the camera’s 24.2 megapixel cMOs sensor. The colour reproduction from the images speaks a lot about the camera’s depth in colour (24.1 bits).

The high resolution lcD screen with 921k dots is bright, making it easy to frame subjects during outdoor and indoor shoots. But we did not like the live-viewin terms of exposure. we could not judge the exposure when we were on the D3200’s live-view. so it was a big flaw for any armateur photographer. Also, the rear screen can’t be relied upon for an accurate depiction/reading of the colours.The button layout on the camera helped us access the camera settings without any difficulty, though.

For instance, the dedicated movie button next to the shutter release button helped in capturing video eliminating the shake.we found that the autofocus in majority of cases was quick, except in low light, which

was impressive too. But it’s worth keeping in mind that the autofocus is slower while using live-view. since its an entry level camera, some of the shooters might get a tad frustrated after using the quick AF on their compact cameras. The Full HD recording on the D3200 is phenomenal, resulting in sharp video quality. But we must say that, the D3100 has a better movie continuous focus, making it easier to shoot in-focus movies. The cameras automatic white balance system does a good job of measuring the scene, hence producing an accurate result.

iSO Performancewhile shooting at higher sensitivities, such as isO

1600, noise is generally controlled well. By introducing a greater number of pixels to the sensor, there comes greater risk of image noise. The noise on both the D3200 and D3100 was more or less the same. Above 1600 isO, the images turn grainy, and hence not ideal for large print sizes.

Sample Image


ISO 100

ISO 400

ISO 1600

ISO 6400

ISO 100 - 100% Croped





Excellent colour reproduction and detail

Good quality, great handling, at a price

Easily accessible functions and light weight

Look, Body & Feel Rating

Performance Rating

Overall Rating

conclusionwe think that the D3200 might go a long way for the enthusiasts, because it has a few features

that might be appreciated by budding photographers and they won’t need to upgrade quickly as they gain experience with the D3200. Taking into account that an entry level camera with a 24 megapixel sensor is a great option for beginners to crop their shots without sacrificing on the image quality. The “Guide mode”is of great help and will familiarise the users with the manual, shutter and aperture modes. capturing movies on Full HD is great too. The autofocus works well, giving a precise focus on the subjects.

The design of the Nikon D3200 works easy for users to have control over the camera and its settings. For an entry-level DslR camera, a price range of `48,950 (18-105 kit) seems a tad expensive keeping in mind some of the other options in the same category. especially because of the more advanced D5100 being cheaper than the D3200. However the standard 18-55 kit costs ` 37,950 which might seem more affordable. so you might want to consider what comforts you as a buyer.

TexT AND iMAGes: AJAy siNGH

SpecificationsImage sensor 23.2 x 15.4 mm CMOS sensor

Effective pixels 24.2 million

Image size (pixels) 6,016 x 4,000 (Large)4,512 x 3,000 (Medium)3,008 x 2,000 (Small)

Viewfinder Eye-level pentamirror single-lens reflex viewfinder (Approx. 95% horizontal and 95% vertical)

Speed 1/4000 - 30 s in steps of 1/3 EV; Bulb; Time (requires optional ML-L3 remote control)

Release mode Single frame, Continuous, Self-timer, Delayed remote, Quick-response remote, Quiet shutter release

Metering TTL exposure metering using 420-pixel RGB sensor

ISO sensitivity ISO 100 - 6400 in steps of 1 EV; can also be set to approx. 1 EV above ISO 6400 (ISO 12800 equivalent); auto ISO sensitivity control available

Focus point 11 focus points

Movie 1,920 x 1,080, 30 p (progressive)/25p/24p

HDMI output Type C mini-pin HDMI connector

Sample Image


Price` 1,04,999 (body only)

ExclusivE REviEw

Fujifilm X-Pro1Since its announcement in the beginning of 2012, the Fujifilm

x-Pro1 has been much awaited by camera enthusiasts to see its evolution over Fuji’s well received x100. it is the

first camera in the ‘x’ series equipped with a 16 megapixel sensor and a hybrid viewfinder, packed in a retro style rangefinder body, which can be seen as an amalgamation of traditional styling with cutting edge technology.

Look, Body and FeelFujifilm’s flagship x-Pro1 mirrorless rangefinder comes in an elegant retro style body and looks strikingly similar to the leica M9. The x-Pro1 is a refined version of the Fujifilm x100. The aluminum alloy body with a leather finish is solid and makes the camera seem like it can handle rough treatment.

Shutter speed dial

Shutter trigger

Power switch

Function key

Exposurecompensation dialTop view


The top panel of the x-Pro1 houses the control dials for shutter speed and exposure compensation, along with a swivel power switch with an integrated shutter button. The shutter button is designed in a conventional way with which a threaded cable release can be used. The function button on the top panel can be programmed to a number of settings.

The front of the camera has a well-designed rubber grip with a lever to switch between optical and electronic viewfinder modes. The x-Pro1 comes with Fujifilm’s new lens mount, the x Mount. Above the lens mount is an autofocus-assist lED, placed between two tiny holes that are for the stereo microphones, meant to be used during video recording. The addition of a dedicated switch to change the focus mode makes it easier for the user to quickly toggle between single shot focus, continuous shot focus and manual focus.

The x-Pro1 has a hybrid optical viewfinder with an eye sensor that facilitates automatic switch from the rear lcD when you bring the camera to the eye. The viewfinder optimises magnification, according to the mounted lens. The 3-inch 1,230,000 dots lcD screen at the back of the camera is an upgrade from the one on x100, and is easier to view even on a sunny day.

The back of the camera is well designed with most of the function keys placed keeping ease of use in mind. The x-Pro1

Sample Image

Stereo micAutofocus-assist LED

X mountFocus modecontrol

OVF/EVF/ togglelever

Front view


SpecificationsNumber of effective pixels 16.3 million pixelsImage sensor 23.6 mm x 15.6 mm (APS-C) X-Trans CMOS with primary color filterStorage media SD memory card / SDHC memory card / SDXC (UHS-I) memory card*1Compatible Interchangeable lens •FUJINONLENSXF18mmF2R •FUJINONLENSXF35mmF1.4R •FUJINONLENSXF60mmF2.4RMacroSensitivity EquivalenttoISO200-6400 Extended output sensitivity equivalent ISO 100,12800and25600Exposure mode ProgrammedAE,ShutterpriorityAE, AperturepriorityAE,ManualexposureExposure compensation -2.0EV-+2.0EV,inclementwith1/3EVstepShutter speed Bulbto1/4000sec.Continuous shooting Max 6 / 3 fps selectableFilm Simulation mode 10type(PROVIA/STANDARD,Velvia/VIVID, ASTIA/SOFT,PRONegHi,PRONegStd, MONOCHROME,MONOCHROME+Ye FILTER,MONOCHROME+RFILTER, MONOCHROME+GFILTER,SEPIA)Dynamic range setting AUTO(100-400%),100%,200%,400%Viewfinder Hybrid Multi Viewfinder Optical viewfinder ReverseGalileanviewfinderwithelectronic brightframedisplayMagnifications:0.37x/0.6x Coverage of frame area v.s. capturing area: approx.90% Electronic viewfinder 0.47-in.,approx.1,440,000-dotscolorLCD viewfinder Coverage of viewing area v.s capturingarea:approx.100%LCD monitor 7.6cmRGBW(White)LCDmonitor,approx. 1,230,000dots,(Approx.100%coverage)Movie recording 1920x1080pixels,1280x720pixels(24frames/ sec.) with stereo sound Individual movies can not exceed 29 minutes in length.Ports Video output Digital interface USB2.0High-Speed HDMI output HDMI mini connectorDimensions 139.5(W)x81.8(H)x42.5(D)mm/5.5(W)x3.2 (H)x1.7(D)in.(Minimumdepth:34.1mm/1.3in.)Weight Approx.450g/15.9oz.(includingbatteryand memory card)Accessories included Li-ionbatteryNP-W126 BatterychargerBC-W126 Shoulder strap USB cable Body cap Metal strap clip Protective cover Clip attaching tool CD-ROM(Viewersoftware,RAWFileConverteretc.*3) Owner’s manual

Sample Image

has the usual 4-way controller and a single jog dial at the rear for added control. The ‘Q’ button can be used to change a wide range of settings via the lcD display.

The x-Pro1, along with the standard HDMi and usB ports, brags of a Pc sync port that can be used for studio lighting.

PerformanceThe image quality produced by the x-Pro1 is incredible; the tones and colours are rich and true. The viewfinder and the lcD screen individually are of high resolution. However, it is a better alternative to the lcD screen. The camera’s low light performance is excellent, even at a higher isO. The lens on the camera intrudes the optical viewfinder frame while using a 35mm or 60mm lens.

The x-Pro1 has a conventional shutter speed dial with an A position


isO 100 isO 400 isO 1600

isO 6400 isO 12800 isO 25600

iSO performanceThe x-Pro1 produces quality images with good tones and contrast at lower isOs, up to isO 400. Even shooting at higher isOs like isO 1600 and above shows no or very little signs of noise.

Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder

Focus/Exposure lock button

Quick menu button

3 inch LCD display

Back view

that sets the shutter speed automatically. likewise, setting the lens aperture ring to the A position sets the aperture automatically. selecting A for both the shutter and aperture sets Program AE completing the full PAsM set.

You can record video in 1080p at 24 frames per second, for up to 29 minutes a clip. video quality is great and matches image quality, with impressive colour reproduction and detail. You can autofocus during video recording but the camera continues to search for a focus point. shooting with manual focus and keeping patience solved that particular problem. The stereo quality audio recording is crisp and clear.

while the image quality of the x-Pro 1 is exceptional, we felt that there was room for improvement when it came to auto-focus. Although this seemed to be more of an issue with the lens and not the camera, one can’t take any credit away from either for the great image quality that the camera believes.

Fuji has introduced three new lenses for the new x Mount- the


xF 18mm f2 R (equivalent to 35mm focal length of 27mm), the xF 35mm f1.4 R (equivalent to 35mm focal length of 53mm) and the xF 60mm f2.4 R Macro (equivalent to 35mm focal length of 91mm) - which cover the wide-angle range, mid range and telephoto range as of now.

conclusion with a price tag of `1,04,999 for the body alone, `36,999 for the 18mm and 35mm each and `41,999 for the 60mm lens; the x-Pro1 is expensive and is targeted at high end users. The Fujifilm x-Pro1 performs well and takes great pictures and videos, and once you take the time to get used to its controls using the camera is a pleasant experience Alongwith a good quality lens the camera churns out excellent results. On the flip side though, it a tad expensive as compared to some of the other options out there, the AF is slow and the built-in flash and a higher range of zoom and prime lens are absent, but nonetheless the camera with all its features is a sweet deal.

Robust, well styled and ergonomic

Look, Body & Feel Rating

Excellent EVF, brilliant colour reproduction, slow Autofocus

Performance Rating

Good performance but heavy on the pocket

Overall Rating

TExT AnD iMAgEs: sTEvE D’sOuzA

Sample Image

Image shot at ISO 3200Sample Image


EXCLUSIVE REVIEw

SanDisk Mobile Ultra micro SDHC card

With the development of flash drives from CF cards to SD cards to Mini SD

cards and the now trending Micro SD cards; memory cards have come a long way. The recently introduced, SanDisk’s Mobile Ultra micro SDHC card is one such upgradation in the market, which is causing quite a stir. The card is compatible with most electronic devices and comes in a capacity of 16GB to 64GB, with transfer rates upto 30MB/second.

We put the card to test and list down our secrets for you to examine.

The Benchmarking TestsBesides checking the folder

transfer speed and in-camera performance with the basic RAW settings, we also performed a benchmark test using Crystal Disk Mark (version 3.01) to clock the CF card’s read/write speeds.

Crystal Disk Mark 3.01 TestSanDisk’s Mobile Ultra card

clocked a read speed of 36.55 MB/sec and a write speed of 13.18 MB/sec. which we thought was good enough considering not many cards in this category achieve these transfer rates.

Folder Transfer TestTo test folder transfer speeds, we

made a folder with 1 GB (1024MB) worth of data and clocked both, the time required to transfer the data from the memory card to the computer and viceversa. The SanDisk Mobile Ultra clocked read and write times of 33 and 91 seconds

respectively.

In-Camera PerformanceWe tested the card with the

Nikon D7000 to check its in-camera performance. Clicking photos at 1/4000s and with an f-stop value of f/5, we shot in burst mode using complete manual settings. The camera managed to click 10 photos in the burst mode, before it stopped. We clocked the time it took to complete the 10 shots and then calculated frames per second. The SanDisk Mobile Ultra clocked 4.78 frames per second.

ConclusionSanDisk’s Mobile Ultra, as the

name suggests, is meant for mobile phone and tablet platforms, and keeping that in mind, we thought the card performed exceedingly well in the digital camera medium. With average recorded read speed of 30MB/second and write speed of over 10MB/second, the SanDisk Mobile Ultra card could be ideal to shoot HD videos. In addition, the SanDisk Memory Zone can be used to manage and backup data using SanDisk’s cloud service. This feature is only available on the Android platform. The SanDisk Mobile Ultra memory cards featuring UHS Speed Class 1 and Class 10 ratings are available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities and come with a lifetime limited warranty. They are priced in the market at `1,649 for 16GB; `3,499 for 32 GB and `6,999 for 64 GB.

TexT: STeve D’SoUZA

Read/Write Speed TestRead Write

36.55 13.18

Read Write33 91

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0102030405060708090

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Read/Write Speed TestRead Write

36.55 13.18

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Picture by: Yogesh PawarCamera Model: Canon EOS 550D Shutter Speed: 1/200 secFocal Length: 18mm F – Number: f/7.1ISO: 400

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Picture by: Abir ChoudhuryCamera Model: Nikon D90 Shutter Speed: 1/400 secFocal Length: 18mmF–Number: f/3.5ISO: 200

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Picture by: Raktim SenCamera Model: SAMSUNG GT-B3313 (2mp)F- Number: F2.8Focal Length: 4mm

Picture by: Aman KumarCamera Model: Nikon D5000

Shutter Speed: 1/1250 secFocal Length: 130mm

F- Number: f/4.2ISO: 1250


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Picture by: Biswarup SenguptaCamera Model: Nikon D90 Shutter Speed: 1/40 secFocal Length: 105mmF–Number: f/8ISO: 200

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Picture by: Piyali HaldarCamera Model: Nikon D90 Shutter Speed: 1/1000 secFocal Length: 105mmF – Number: f/5.6ISO: 200

Picture by: E.PremkumarCamera Model: Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III


F–Number: f/5.6ISO: 400


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Picture by: Sirsendu GayenCamera Model: Nikon D80 Shutter Speed: 1/25 secFocal Length: 18mmF – Number: f/7.1ISO: 800

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Picture by: Prasun Sanyal Shutter Speed: 13 secF–Number: f/11ISO: 100

Picture by: Dr. Avinash Kumar SrivastavCamera Model: Canon EOS 550D


F – Number: f/32ISO: 400

AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[96]JULY 2012

Kumortul - a potters’ quarter situated in North Kolkata, is famous for its idol making (both gods and goddesses). Idols are made by creating frames, putting clay on them and then drying the frames in the sun or in a burner, and finally colouring and painting them. Throughout the year, though different festivals are going on, and there is a demand for idols for such purposes, but activities reach their peak just before Durga Pooja (worship of goddess Durga) - a well known festival of West Bengal. Here are few images I’d like to share, that I clicked at Kumortul. Thank you,Banasree Sikdar

AsiAn PhotogrAPhy And imAging[97]JULY 2012

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