Pixel 983

SWAINS LAUNCH:

THE EPSON ET-7750 A3 ECO TANK PRINTER

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IMAGE TAKEN WITH GFX 50S BY PAUL SANDERS | WWW.PAULSANDERS.BIZ

SEE MORE OF THE WORLD Medium-format photography has never been more portable.

The mirrorless FUJIFILM GFX weighs just 825g so you can carry it everywhere you go. And when you get to your location, you can make full use of the 51.4-megapixel sensor for truly outstanding results.

FUJIFILM G FORMAT 43.8X32.9MM SENSOR | 51.4-MEGAPIXEL RESOLUTION | 425-POINT AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM X-PROCESSOR PRO IMAGING ENGINE | ISO SENSITIVITY RANGE 50-102,400 | MULTIPLE FORMAT OPTIONS

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FUJIFILM-X.COM/GFX

NEWS

WELCOME To Pixel Magazine Will we see the popularity of mirrorless systems continues to rise this year?

With exhibition season looming, we eagerly await the first wave of new releases this year which we look forward to reporting on.

We wish all the brands and retailers across the UK a positive and profitable year. We look forward to catching up with you all soon. Also, please keep an eye on your inboxes for information on this years Pixel Awards!

Welcome to 2018. Last weekend someone walked up to us and started talking about mirrorless cameras. He was a young enthusiast looking to break into the industry. He told us that Enjoy your January read.

80% of the people he knew were trading in all of their DSLR gear and switching to mirrorless Luke & Mandy, Co Editor in Chief systems.

Samyang Launches First Autofocus Lens for Canon Cameras Samyang Optics is pleased to announce their first autofocus lens for Canon full frame DSLR cameras: AF 14mm F2.8 EF. This lightweight wide-angle lens inherits the renowned image quality of Samyang’s wide-angle series and delivers a quiet, fast and accurate autofocus system. World Class Wide Angle Lens, Samyang 14mm.

This first EF mount autofocus lens from Samyang encapsulates the brand’s universally respected optical technology, especially in the wide-angle lens category. The optical construction features a total of 15 lenses in 10 groups that include 7 special optic lenses to maximise image quality. The 7 optic lenses consist of 2 aspherical lenses, 4 high-refractive lenses

and 1 extra-low dispersion lens, which helps minimise distortion and various aberrations while producing crystal clear resolution. The even image quality from centre to corner of the 116.6 degree wide angle of view appears distinctly on its MTF chart.

Importantly, the minimised weight and movement of the focusing lens group enables quiet autofocusing with high accuracy. This compact Samyang AF 14mm F2.8 EF weighs only 485g without lens caps and hood. The lens also features weather-sealing and a built-in AF/MF switch. The lens will be available globally from February and a suggested retail price will be £649.00.

OFF THE PRESS Find out more info on this month’s news bites at Pixel.co.uk

NangGuang Introduces Trio of Power Light Pads Kenro says “There’s no excuse for leaving your subjects in the dark, thanks to NanGuang’s introduction of a versatile family of LED Mixpad lights, as well as a kit version of the Luxpad22. Squarely aimed at photographers, filmmakers and the rapidly growing numbers of those with a foot in both camps, the new line-up combines a compact design and impressive brightness with a host of essential highend features, including an ultra-low flicker rate that makes them perfect for slow motion video.”

Something tells us it’s going to be a very interesting year in the lighting sector!

Full details available at www.kenro.co.uk

Sony Releases 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 APS-C Zoom Lens to E-mount Lens Lineup The new lens (model SEL18135) features a compact, lightweight design measuring only 2.75 x 3.5 inches and weighing in at a mere 11.5 oz, as well as a high magnification 7.5x optical zoom that covers the wideranging focal length of 18135mm on APS-C or 27-202.5mm in 35mm equivalent focal length. The lens is an ideal fit for Sony’s popular APS-C sensor cameras including α6500, α6300 and α6000, and is an extremely useful tool for a wide range of shooting situations ranging from daily life to portraiture, landscape, nature and travel photography.

The E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS produces outstanding corner-tocorner sharpness throughout the entire zoom range thanks to its advanced design featuring one aspherical lens and two extralow dispersion glass elements that minimize aberrations. This lens also allows photographers to produce close-up images with pleasing ‘bokeh’ or background defocus as a result of its maximum magnification ratio of 0.29x and minimum focus distance of 1.48ft. It also offers built-in optical image stabilization to support handheld shooting.

The SEL18135 will be available from February 2018, priced at approximately £570.

THE NEW HMPO

PASSPORT PHOTO CODE SERVICE

IS NOW LIVE!

• Tablet • Printer For more information

• Photomatic Software www.swains.co.uk

• Card Reader

sales@swains.co.uk

01485 536200

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COVER NEWS FEATURE

SWAINS:

Extra margin and increased sales are no longer a thing of the past! partnered Vodafone selling over 55,000 pieces at peak in a calendar year.

There are over 150 independent photo specialist retailers who specialise in selling mid to high end DSLR’s and compact system cameras, lenses and their accessories. All offering their many years of knowledge and expertise in the art of image capture, to a wide range of existing and new up and coming enthusiast photographers. The art of capturing photo’s has never been as popular as is it is today, with billions taken and recorded every day using mobile phones and tablet technology.

Danny Williams Managing Director of Swains International Plc comments We like to pride ourselves in bringing the industry new opportunities, in fact we were the first distributor to issue digital camera samples to our sales force back in 1995 using a Casio QV-10 followed by many other models from many manufacturers.

We also introduced to the channel Pay As You Go mobile phones in 1997 and

Although this has reduced the number of basic compact digital cameras purchased it has introduced millions of new consumers to our industry.

Many of which are looking to expand their knowledge and skills in the art of photography.

We enjoyed good sales growth in 2017 of compact system , mirrorless and DSLR’s into the independent channel. The time is right to introduce the industry to another great opportunity.

The opportunity has never been greater and what better place to start than a Photo Specialist store for experiencing and choosing the right equipment and gaining more knowledge.

Don’t make the mistake and let all this opportunity find its way into other channels.

Epson Eco Printers With the introduction of the New Epson ET-7750 Eco Tank Photo Quality printer, this A3 cartridge-free model is designed for printing lots of photos at ultra-low cost.

With the included ink you can print up to 3,400 photos1 & for high quality results, it uses four dyes (Photo Black, Cyan, Magenta & Yellow) and a separate pigment Black ink for document printing. It’s hassle-free to use with an SD card slot, borderless photo printing and dual paper trays.

It’s also easy to set up, reliable and designed for easy refills too.

How can we at Swains help you to encourage your customers?

Your Swains Regional Sales Manager has all the answers, so please, take this new opportunity on board and let’s share in its success together. I appreciate retailing is not easy but we need to win you and all your staff over, in order to succeed.

Allowing you to share and convince your consumers why they should purchase, from you, the latest Epson EcoTank printer.

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COVER NEWS FEATURE In addition: We will supply an ET-7750 A3 Epson printer and point of sale pack at a special price for you to display in store.

A set of A3 sample photo’s printed on the Epson ET-7750 which are presented in a protective pinch book binder for use in store.

A FREE home delivery service available on A3 models within the UK mainland so that you can sell and feature on your web site.

We will help you!

1.

Demonstrate just how small a footprint Epson’s ET-7750 requires.

2.

Encourage you to share its extremely low printing cost. Cost works out at approx.

20p per A3 print & a sheet of Epson semigloss A3 paper is £1.25).

3.

Discuss the importance of high quality photos that can last up to 300 years in a photo album2 when using this 5-colour ink system.

4.

Explain the enhanced ink filling system engineered for easy refills.

5.

Promote the easy mobile print options via the Epson iPrint3 app through Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi direct.

6.

The advantages of its built-in SD card slot, borderless printing, dual paper trays and a 6.8cm LCD display.

7.

Push the EcoTank reliability which is backed by a three year Epson warranty (upon registration).

Peace of mind EcoTank provides a reliable printing solution which is backed by a three year warranty (upon registration).

Each printer supplied with 2 sets of Eco Tank bottles in the box

Unleash Your Creativity Feel free to print your photos without worrying about the cost with this cartridge-free EcoTank. It comes with enough ink to print up to 3,400 photos1(10x15cm).

Its ultra-highcapacity ink tanks removes the need for cartridges, and makes it possible to print lots between refills.

Discover EcoTank

the

next

generation

of

With the ink tank now housed at the front, EcoTank is more compact and easier to use than ever before. It features an enhanced ink filling system engineered for mess-free refills. The new bottles also incorporate a mechanism to ensure that only the correct colours are inserted.

Easy mobile printing With Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct, you can send files to print from smart devices using the Epson iPrint3 app. It’s simple to make the most of your Facebook photos with the Creative Print3 app, which lets you print photos, create greeting cards, colouring books and more.

Refills are available with a guide of £11.99 For further information call Swains International Plc on 01485 536200 or speak to your Swains Regional Sales Manager

1

6 x 4 print size photos

2

Print permanence ratings are based on accelerated testing of prints on specialty media stored in archival sleeves in album storage. Actual print stability will vary according to the media, printed image, display conditions, light intensity, humidity, and atmospheric conditions. Epson does not guarantee longevity of prints.

3

Requires a wireless connection to the internet. For more information, supported languages and devices please visit www.epsonconnect.eu

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MAKE IT AN

Original

You can always trust in our photo paper, whether you’re a professional or a keen amateur photographer. Whatever you need, our range of silver halide paper types delivers exceptional quality and has the perfect product for you.

All our photo paper types guarantee: • Amazing colour longevity • Brilliant whites • Continuous tone CREATIVE PAPERS

ALBUM PAPERS

SHARING PAPERS

PROFESSIONAL PAPERS

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Textured Paper Canvas

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Album Paper

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Paper

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Digital Pearl Paper

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Textured Paper Linen

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Album HD Paper

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Paper Supreme

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Digital Paper Type DP II

These high-end photo papers are for professional use and requirements. They have a luxurious look and feel and a thick base, and produce deep blacks and exceptional sharpness.

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Textured Paper Leather

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Premium HDX Paper X-Tra Coat

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Paper Supreme HD

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Professional Velvet Paper

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Album Paper XS

Fujicolor Crystal Archive Writable Paper

For ultimate creativity: this creative, professional range has an impressive, unique surface finish, making it ideal for all photo ideas.

Turn pictures into masterpieces for the fine art market.

Preserve and enjoy your most precious moments. These album papers are designed for beautiful lay-flat photo albums and offer ultimate paper thickness or outstanding thinness.

Turn moments into everlasting memories with this supreme paper range. Create beautiful prints and keep memories alive with excellent image stability.

www.originalphotopaper.com 6 www.pixel.co.uk

SONY

Q&A:

James Loader

This month, we caught up with Sony’s James Loader to get the latest on his new role within the company.

Do you see Sony evolving much in the imaging sector in 2018?

Can you tell us what your new role is at Sony and what it entails?

T

he new role title is ‘Pro Business Marketing Manager’ and really the role has come about because the product that we’ve been bringing to the market has garnered a lot more interest from professional photographers and they need a single point of contact to be able to discuss the product with, to understand it and be able to ask questions about work flow etc. So really there was just a need to have a dedicated role to look after the professional photographers.

I think Sony’s constantly looking to innovate and bring stuff to the market as soon as it’s been made as good as it can be, so we are never standing still in terms of bringing new developments and new innovations to the market for the benefit of photographers. Our big strength is the fact that we’re number 1 image centre manufacturer globally for all imaging devices, so that in itself shows that we are committed to continuing to develop the imaging piece.

The number of launches that we’ve had for lenses and cameras over the last few years has been phenomenal, but I think each one has a very credible addition to bring to the market; it’s not bringing new for the sake of bringing new. Sony is a very innovative company and the fact that we’re turning our hand to doing that in the imaging space is being very much welcomed by photographers.

More and more professional photographers are switching to Sony, has the pro market been the target for a long time or was it a part of your evolution?

I wouldn’t say we’ve gone out specifically to do anything for any

particular photographer, but the way that the product line up has evolved, I think the more that we’ve been building the a7 series the more professionals have been picking that up. Then the a9 came along and it had a feature set that was really interesting to professional sports photographers and to a lot of big agency photographers, so I don’t think we’ve been doing anything different per se, its just a natural evolution.

Is there anything you’d personally like to see from Sony in 2018?

The most exciting thing is the fact that we’ve made a development announcement on the 400 2.8 lens and that’s what I’m super excited about bringing to the market in 2018 because there’s been a lot of talk about that particular prime telephoto lens from a lot the professionals that we’ve been speaking to, so that’s going to be so highly anticipated. It’s coming from the g master line so you know it’s going to be a super sharp, phenomenal bit of kit so I’m just super excited about bringing that to the market and when we can get our hands on it.

2018 is going to be very exciting Sony.

We look forward to bringing you all the latest on their releases in issues to come.

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SIGMA

Tested:

Sigma 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG Contemporary lens

By Antony Meadley

T

his lens comes in a Canon, Nikon, or Sigma mount. I tested the Canon mount lens with my Canon 5D Mark III. It will work with both full-frame and APS-C cameras.

the image very effectively, regardless of whether the camera is being held in horizontal or vertical orientation. This has 3 settings: Off (for when fixed on a tripod), Mode 1 (Normal handheld use) or Mode 2 (for use when Panning).

The barrel is black polycarbonate with white lettering, a rubberized zoom ring, and a textured manual focus ring. It weighs 1,160g.

The Focus Limiter switch gives choices of Full range, 6m to infinity and 1.6-6m.

In use, this lack of overlap of range gave me problems when I was around 6 metres from my subject, so I ended up having to use it in Full mode most of the time.

For quick control of the angle of view, the zoom ring incorporates a push/pull mechanism in addition to the regular twist mechanism. A lock is provided to secure the lens at 100mm, preventing zoom creep whilst being carried.

It has an Optical Stabiliser to stabilize

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Focusing is down to 1.6m (5.25 feet), giving a maximum magnification of 1:3.8. This allows good close-ups from a very comfortable distance.

The focus type switch has AF (autofocus), MO (manual override), and MF (manual focus) modes.

The last switch, Custom, allows you to optimize additional options and store them in one of two custom settings. There is a USB dock (available separately) which allows the lens firmware to be updated and for custom configuration of the switches.

The lens mount incorporates rubber sealing to protect the mount from dust and water drops. It comes with a bayonet mount lens hood, which is reversible for compact storage.

The filter thread has a diameter of 67mm

SIGMA which will save on the cost of filters.

Surprisingly, there is no tripod mount on the lens. This makes it somewhat frontheavy and puts a strain on the camera mount when used on a tripod.

Sigma suggests this lens is suitable for travel, nature and wildlife, and bird photography. I would agree. However with a maximum aperture of F5 at 100mm or F6.3 at 400mm it is not a lens I could use for concerts or events in low light.

Optical construction is 21 elements in 15 groups, 4 of which are Super LD (Low Dispersion). The diaphragm has 9 rounded blades, with the aim of improving bokeh. In my tests the lens does produce very pleasant bokeh.

Chromatic Aberration is very good in the centre of the image and the edges are also pretty good for a zoom lens.

The Competition Canon offers the EF 100-400mm f/4.55.6 L IS II USM (£1875). This gains 1 stop but costs approx. twice as much and weighs 1640g.

Nikon has the AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4-5.6 G ED VR (£2069). As well as a slightly wider range, this gains 1 stop but costs more than twice as much and weighs 1480g.

Compared to these, the new Sigma looks excellent value. This lens offers very good image quality throughout its versatile focal range, whilst being light and compact enough to make it suitable for hand-holding.

When used in good lighting conditions, this lens gives stunning images and with today’s cameras having an extended range of usable ISO speeds, the F56.3 maximum aperture should not be a problem for most users.

You can find out more about this lens at www.sigma-imaging-uk.com

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PARK CAMERAS

Park Cameras: 2017 - A Year in Review

Park cameras have taken a look back on the past 12 months and reviewed some of their favourite bits from the year.

BEST PRODUCTS OF 2017 In compiling this list of the best products of 2017, we’ve taken a few very important factors into consideration. We’ve looked at which products you, our valued customers, have been buying the most, which products have received favourable reviews from sources around the web, which products are both affordable and accessible, which products have broken new ground in terms of fulfilling customers needs, and which products excited the staff here at Park Cameras the most!

BEST DSLR CAMERA OF 2017 There’s no two ways about it, the Crown for Best DSLR released in 2017 belongs firmly on Nikon’s head. The D850 is head and shoulders above any other DSLR released this year, both in terms of feature set, specs, and excitement.

pro DSLRs such as the Nikon D5 and Canon 1DX Mark II.

for a UHS-II SD card and one for a high speed XQD card slot.

In terms of its target market, it caters for professionals and enthusiasts alike and represents an extremely affordable camera for the price.

All in all, the Nikon D850 has been built to satisfy the demands that pro and enthusiast photographers have had for a long time, and it rightly claims its position as the best DSLR of 2017. Given how good it is, you have to wonder if anyone will release something to beat it in 2018?

BEST MIRRORLESS CAMERA OF 2017 Looking back at the last 12 months, it seems like mirrorless has all but taken over the camera market, with a new mirrorless camera coming out almost monthly.

We also considered the feature set - it has by far the most expansive spec list of any DSLR released in 2017. For a relatively accessible price, you get a 45.7 effective megapixel sensor (that is of Nikon’s own design, although it was built by Sony), full-frame UHD 4K video at 30p, the same EXPEED 5 processor from the Nikon D5, the same 153-point AF system from the D5, and a 3.2 inch tilting LCD touchscreen with Touch AF and Touch Shutter.

You, our customers, have been hounding us on social media almost since the announcement about when you can get your hands on one... it seems that Nikon just can’t make them quick enough.

In choosing the Nikon D850 as the best DSLR of 2017, we considered a few factors. The D850 is an enthusiast-pro DSLR, and sits as competition to the Canon 5D Mark IV, in between mid-range digital SLR cameras such as the Nikon D500, Canon 750D, and below serious

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However, by far the two biggest selling points of the D850 are the immense battery life of up to 5,140 shots on a single charge of the EN-EL18B battery in the MB-D18 battery grip, and the Dual Card Slots - one

It was a really tough decision to crown the best mirrorless camera of 2017, with contenders including the January release of the Panasonic Lumix GH5, the Leica M10, the Sony Alpha a7R III and many others.

Ultimately, however, there was one clear winner. The Sony a9.

Like the Nikon D850, the Sony a9 created a huge amount of buzz in the industry when it was released in April, and that buzz very much carried on throughout the year. Also like the D850, Sony simply can’t make the a9 fast enough to keep up with demand.

Although the Sony a9 isn’t the cheapest mirrorless camera released this year, it is by far the most feature packed as a

PARK CAMERAS photography-orientated camera built around the requirements of enthusiasts and professionals alike.

remaining 346, you know you’re on to a winner.

We’ve crowned the best compact camera of 2017 as the Fujifilm X100F. The X100F brings some key and exciting improvements over its predecessor, the X100T, which was in turn the successor to the X100S.

Headline features of the Sony a9 include its blistering shooting speed of 20 frames per second with full AF/AE tracking onto its 24.2 megapixel full-frame sensor, the 650 shot battery life off a single charge, the high resolution electronic viewfinder with no-blackout shooting, and dual SD card slots compatible with UHS-II cards.

These features, and many others that you’d expect to see including 4K video and 5-axis image stabilisation, make the a9 stand out alongside its competition and claim the crown of Best Mirrorless Camera of 2017.

BEST COMPACT CAMERA OF 2017 Compact cameras don’t come quite so thick and fast as they used to, but there is definitely still a need for them in the photography world, with a desire for a more ‘premium’ compact camera - one that produces outstanding results and has the quality of a much larger camera, but can quite easily slip in a small case or large pocket.

Notable compact camera releases this year include the GoPro Hero6 Black - an evolution of the Hero5 Black, the Olympus Tough TG-5 - an improvement over the TG4, and the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III - a seismic step up from the mark II.

However, when a camera is released 19 days into a year and isn’t beaten for the

Of all the compact cameras released this year, the Fujifilm X100F is by far the most ‘classic looking’ - some may even call it retro.

The best lens of 2017 is the Tamron 18400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD lens (available in Canon or Nikon fit) - a beautifully designed, incredibly compact, high quality, fast, and really quite brilliant all-round superzoom lens.

Features wise, it retains many of the muchloved features found in its predecessors including Full HD video, a gorgeous Hybrid 2.36 million dot LCD electronic viewfinder, and a 3.0 inch 1.04 million dot TFT LCD screen. However, the X100F brought a drastic improvement to the range with an all-new APS-C 24.3 megapixel X-Trans CMOS III sensor, giving an ISO sensitivity up to 12,800 and 91 focus points.

When it came down to it, the Tamron 18400mm was the clear winner as the best lens of 2017. It sits in a price bracket that makes it incredibly affordable for anyone from intermediate level photographers to a complete novice, but it delivers incredible image quality far beyond its price point.

The Tamron 18-400mm lens has received rave reviews from around the web, heavily commended for its surprisingly wide-open aperture for the level of zoom it offers, enabling photographers to achieve an f/5.6 aperture at a 400mm zoom.

The Fujifilm X100F is a stunning premium compact camera that’s feature packed and boasts enviable image quality it has inherited from Fujifilm’s renowned high quality sensors, rightly claiming the title of the best compact camera released in 2017.

BEST CAMERA LENS OF 2017 It’s a pretty tricky thing to award a lens the coveted title of ‘best lens of 2017’ - it has to tick a lot of boxes.

There have been quite a few lenses released over the past year, including new glass from Samyang, new tilt-shift lenses from Canon, new lenses from Panasonic, and plenty of new glass from Sigma.

This is a Tamron Di II lens which means it’s suited to APS-C sensor DSLRs and as such will achieve a 35mm equivalent zoom range of 29-640mm on a Canon APS-C digital SLR. That’s a lot of zoom for not a lot of money.

However, none of these lenses really caught our imagination quite in the same way that the winner did.

So if you’re a beginner looking for your second lens (after buying a 50mm f/1.8,

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PARK CAMERAS obviously), or you’re an intermediate level photographer looking for something you can just leave on your camera all day and will cover the vast majority of your shooting requirements - then the Tamron 18-400mm superzoom is the best lens for you.

BEST PHOTOGRAPHIC ACCESSORY OF 2017 There’s a lot to choose from in this category - do we choose a camera bag? Perhaps a backpack? Or do we choose a lens filter?

How about a new battery or power bank?

We even considered memory cards!

In the end, however, there was only one winner.

The BeFree Live from Manfrotto is the most compact travel video tripod on the market, targeted at hobbyist videographers, vloggers, content creators, travel filmmakers and anyone who needs a really lightweight, but sturdy tripod with a superb fluid head for capturing smooth and stable video.

Manfrotto’s BeFree Live tripod with twistlock won the best photographic accessory of 2017 crown for its combination of innovation with the twist-lock operation, redesign for ease of use and super-fast setup, and pairing with the Manfrotto fluid video head offering an unbeatable combination for travel video production.

Get The Manfrotto BeFree Live Twist-Lock Tripod & Fluid Head at Park Cameras

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megapixel sensor, flies at up to 31mph in sport mode, and has a battery life of up to 16 minutes.

MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT OF 2017 What does a product need to do to be considered innovative? Change something slightly from a previous design? Redesign the wheel? Add the word ‘innovative design’ to the box? Or introduce customers to technology they haven’t seen before?

However, what makes the DJI Spark the most innovative product of 2017 is its use of gestures to be controlled. With the double-tap of a button, the Spark will take off from the palm of your hand and hover in front of you. With a simple wave of your hand, the Spark will move around you and even follow you as you walk. Other gestures are also available including one that will take a photo!

We’ve chosen to crown the DJI Spark drone as the most innovative product of 2017 for a couple of very important reasons.

Drones have been growing in popularity for a few years now, and especially since the 2016 launch of the DJI Mavic and GoPro Karma drones, which offered a new accessibility to consumer-level drones, rather than the octocopter monsters of our nightmares.

Almost everything DJI release seems to be innovative in some way or other, but the Spark really ticks all the boxes for us as it has brought a new kind of photography (droneography?) to an even wider audience and made it easier and safer for more people to enjoy flying drones.

Drones are now more affordable and accessible than ever and come with very user friendly features such as obstacle avoidance and easy take-off and landing that make the process and enjoyment of flying a drone infinitely easier and more fun, as well as safer for everyone.

If you own or are buying a DJI Spark or any other drone, please make sure you read the CAA’s Dronesafe DroneCode and familiarise yourself with the aviation rules before taking off.

When DJI launched the Spark in May 2017, the further democratised the drone and brought it to a whole new market.

The DJI Spark is a tiny, mini-drone, that will shoot Full HD 1080p video on a 12

All of the products in the fature can be purchased from www.parkcameras.com

We love this review by Park cameras.

If you want to share what your favourite products of 2017 are. Get in touch with us.

Resolution Master The 42.4MP back-illuminated CMOS sensor with the latest generation image processor captures the finest details, in 10fps high-speed continuous shooting with accurate AF tracking.

The real potential of full-frame is now unleashed.

INTRODUCING THE

FROM SONY

Discover more at: www.sony.co.uk ‘Sony’, ‘

www.pixel.co.uk 13

‘ and their logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Corporation. All other logos and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

MANFROTTO

Tested:

Manfrotto Manhattan Mover 50

By William Besse

T

owards the end of 2017, Manfrotto launched the Manhattan camera bag collection. I got to try out the Mover 50; the largest of this collection. There are my thoughts..

If you are a travel photographer, this may not be the bag for you, but for everyone else it is a fantastic bag to have.

Travel photographers, while you might be able to fit the “holy trinity” lenses and your camera, you’ll have to choose your gear wisely as you will not be able to fit everything in this bag. It is the perfect companion to city commuters and those always on the move. Not for photographers heading for a few weeks trip.

It has enough easy-reach pockets and although it lacks miscellany storage, this bag is really spacious.

You can reach the main compartment

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via the back side as opposed to most backpacks, and the top space is large enough to fit a DSLR with a lens attached.

It also has a small pocket where you can fit cables and other small accessories such as memory cards.

There is a dedicated space for your 15.6” laptop and another space for a tablet.

The Manhattan Mover 50 offers you the possibility to remove the internal pouch and use your backpack as an everyday media bag. The internal pouch can be easily placed in a small suitcase.

There is also a small water bottle pocket on the side.

When it comes to quality, Manfrotto are known for offering some of the best bags on the market and are so sure of the quality of this bag that they offer a 5 year extra warranty covering from defects, which will give you more than enough time for faulty parts to manifest!

It speaks volumes and you can rest assured that this bag is a beast when it comes to build quality.

Strong and robust zippers, the shoulder and hip straps are thin but comfortable and built with seat belt like straps, making it even more resistant to everyday use.

The dividers in the camera compartment are thick and will surely divert any impact away from your gear.

The bottom of the pack is a rubber like materiel that you can clean easily, and we can really appreciate the ability to clean the bottom of our bag in a quicker and easier way than just putting it in the washing machine.

The outer shell of this bag is simplistic and beautiful at the same time, and definitely shock proof as it fell off a couple of times and my gear remained intact. Ultra durable water resistant

MANFROTTO

Travel Beyond

synthetic fabric and will hold up well to abrasion and use. This is a very versatile bag which is probably the main selling point.

You get the traditional removable compartments and hidden in a pocket you will find the tripod straps to which you can attach many other accessories, such as a camping chair or cycling helmet.

Another big deal for me was the “no big logo” policy and a beautiful design, I couldn’t ask for more to be satisfied.

Overall, this bag should definitely be a hit for this year. I cannot see why it would be otherwise.

Key Features:

The whole camera compartment can be lifted and placed in a larger bag or suitcase and allows you to use the bag as a regular backpack.

They also thought about adding a strap so you can attach it to a suitcase - finally someone thinking about travellers and the luggage they have to carry! I think this should be mandatory as a standard feature, on all bags of this size at least.

- Protective camera and laptop backpack - Holds DSLR gear like 5DIV with 70200/2.8 attached - Flexy camera shell protection for fully customized inside space - ‘NeverLose’ tripod holder system - 2 x padded laptop compartments - Hidden pockets to hold webbing and strapping - Removable internal insert for extra safe gear storage or casual use - Coated waterproof fabric for easy cleaning

This is a fantastic and well-thought bag from Manfrotto. Its comfort and versatility were key factors in all my city trips.

You can find out more about this bag at www.manfrotto.com

Fast and secure setup with the M-Lock technology Smooth, instant framing with the new 494 ball head Top performance in just 40cm travel size Forget the way you used to travel before, no rules, guidelines or styles to follow. Change your perspectives and broaden your horizons with the only travel companion that can truly enhance your experiences.

Photo by Philip Thurston

www.pixel.co.uk 15 manfrotto.co.uk

KODAK

Tested:

Kodak PIXPRO SP360 4K

By Antony Meadley

T

his is effectively a 360 by 235 degree GoPro. You can buy two with a mount to connect them and then it becomes a full 360 by 360 camera (although you need to stitch the two videos together in software after finishing recording).

It came with a wide range of straps and attachment plates to fit almost any surface, and also a waterproof housing.

The problem with many items of tech these days is that due to the aim of keeping them compact, the user interface suffers. If you have large fingers you may struggle to press the correct button. Also with the small display it took a while to select the correct settings.

However, you can download an app for either Android or iPhone in order to connect via WiFi. Connection is very easy, and then you can change the settings and start/stop recording via your phone, which is a much easier to use interface and also allows you to get out of the shot.

Once I had set it up correctly, operation was then as easy as just pressing the red record button to start and stop recording video, or pressing it once to take a photo in stills mode.

Once you have captured the video, you then need to download a program called PIXPRO_SP360_4K from the Kodak website, and connect the camera to your computer (either via USB or WiFi) in order to view the file in 360 degrees.

Normal programs, such as Windows Media Player, VLC, etc will just show a circular image with no scrolling features.

In use for video: I placed the camera on the floor in a gym to record some aerial performances.

The recording went well, and I was able

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to stand outside the room and control the camera with my Android phone.

Once home I loaded the video into the PixPro software, unfolded it as “Magic Flat” and then uploaded it to YouTube.

This is a nice convenient feature of the software, allowing you to link it to both your YouTube and Facebook accounts.

The next day I tried to show the video to the people in it but YouTube had blocked it due to some music being played in the background. So now I needed to strip out the sound. There is no ability to do this within the PixPro program. I used VLC to remove the audio, but then YouTube no longer recognised the video as being

360°. I then downloaded another program (Spatial Media Metadata Injector) to mark it as 360° again. At last!

In use for stills: I decided to use the camera to take photos of the rooms in a rental property for use online. The first issue was where to place the camera so as to be able to see the room properly. The floor was no good as the furniture blocked the view.

The ideal location turned out to be the ceiling, and due to the light weight of the camera I could stick it there with BluTack. Having taken pictures of the rooms, I loaded them into the PixPro

KODAK software, inverted them and exported them direct to Facebook. Very easy.

Creative uses: As the default still image contains a 360° view in one shot, I thought I would try a quick experiment.

I went to a photoshoot on the beach and took a still image.

I loaded the image into Photoshop, then converted it to 8 bits (Image>Mode>8 Bits/Channel), then Filter>Distort>Polar Coordinates and chose Polar to Rectangular. This created a distorted “unwrapped” version of the image. I flipped it upside down (Image>Image Rotation>180) and then used Filter>Distort>Polar Coordinates again, but this time choosing Rectangular to Polar. This produced a “little planet” image.

Summary: This camera has various potential uses such as interactive room views for estate agents or rental companies, and also interactive concert videos.

More on the Kodak PIXPRO SP360 4K at www.kodakpixpro.com

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