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A Drobo Mini
worth £544!
Gear
10 must-have
accessories
discover how to
shoot star trails
crop and re-compose
in lightroom
see the world’s largest
cave by drone!
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holding out for a hero?
we test the GoPro hero 4!
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yang 24mm F/1.4
s am
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x
lightrooM’s develop
Module explained
ol
ym
mm
15
F/4
F/1
.8
pe
nt
a
learn how to Make
light orbs
Ino
m
24m
Master the art of
shooting at twilight
Fuj
n
ko
levitation
photography
make your
subjects defy
gr avi t y
accessories
HOW TO MASTER
PHOTOSHOP CURVES
F u j iF i l m
ni
FIX TONAL PROBLEMS
IN LIGHTROOM
II
F/1.4L
refine
color
in the
develop
module
lighting tricks
for still lifes
4 MACRO PROJECTS
YOU HAVE TO TRY!
m
24m
lightrooM
tricks
10 must-have
we pu t si x top op t ions to the tes t!
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a drobo mini
worth £544!
gear
the best caMera
NIK Nfor under $450
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INSPIR AT ION IDE A S IN-DEP T H RE V IEWS
VS THE
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5-11 M a rch
II
I S S UE 129
oniC 14mm F
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pana s
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vince vaughn’s foray
into stock photos
t a k e n a t u r a l- l o o k i n g p i c t u r e s
of your fa mily
discover how to
shoot star trails
crop and re-compose
in lightroom
see the world’s largest
cave by drone!
JOIN THE CLUB...
Welcome to the world’s
No.1 weekly digital
photography magazine.
If you’re already a
reader, thanks for your continued
support and involvement; if you’re
new to Photography Week, you’ve
come to the right place! In addition
to expert advice, brilliant tips and
step-by-step tutorials, every issue
features interactive galleries of the
best new photos, how-to videos on
essential shooting and editing
techniques, and in-depth video
reviews of the latest cameras.
But that’s not the whole story.
Photography Week is more than
a magazine – it’s a community
of like-minded people who are
passionate about photography.
To get involved, just follow any
of the links below and share your
shots and comments – your photo
might even appear on our cover!
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communit y and s tar t shar ing!
We’re more than just a magazine – read on and discover the many
ways you can interact with and enjoy Photography Week
CONTENTS
Find out what’s inside this issue
F E AT U R E
fe a tu r e
10 killer accessories
We round up ten essential
sidekicks for your new camera
news
the week’s headlines
A new Manfrotto tripod is born,
plus a “groundbreaking” new
photo-editing app for iOS
PHOTOS
gallery
The very best reader images
from around the world
I N S P I RA T I O N
It’s cool, that…
Go deep inside the world’s
largest cave – on a drone
S K I LL S
Crash Course
gallery
I N s p i r a tion
S K I LL S
l i g ht r oom
Master the patient art of
making star-trail images
PHOTOSHOP
lightroom
We show you how to crop
and fine-tune composition
G E AR
GoPro Hero 4
Review
We put the latest
incarnation of the wildly
popular action camera
through its paces
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w h at ’ s h o t
The week’s top headlines in photography
“Re volu t ionary” iPhone
edi t ing app re ve al ed
A company called Lightricks
has released what it claims is a
“groundbreaking photo-editing
application that will revolutionize
mobile photography.” Developed
by four computer science PhD
students, Enlight claims to offer
more features than any other editing
app, including some not even
found in desktop versions of editing
software. Enlight 1.0 is available for
iPhone or iPad, costs $3.99, and
requires iOS 8.1 or later.
Sony World
Photogr aphy
Awards UK
w inner crowned
Byron Dilkes lauded for his
‘Tantalizingly Tropical’ capture
ritish photographer Byron Dilkes has been
named winner of the UK National Award in
the 2015 Sony World Photography Awards.
His image “Tantalizingly Tropical” was chosen as the
single best photograph taken by a British
photographer entered into the 10 Open categories
of the Sony World Photography Awards, the world’s
biggest photography competition. The image shows a
blacktip reef shark patrolling the edge of a recovering
coral reef in search of a meal.
“With this image I wanted to portray as many
elements of the idealistic ‘tropical island’ as possible,”
he said. “The image was particularly difficult to get,
as it required the right combination of tide, good
underwater visibility and calm surface conditions.”
This and other successful images from the
competition will be exhibited at Somerset House in
London, from 24 April to 10 May 2015.
B
New Manfrot to
t r ipod unveil ed
Also unveiled at The Photography
Show was the Manfrotto 190 Go!
tripod, which the company says is
the lightest and most compact
model in its aluminium range at
just 1.7kg. It folds down to 45cm
in length and extends to a
maximum height of 146cm.
A new twist-locking system
allows the easy opening and
closure of all sections at
once with a single hand.
It’s available now at £159.95.
www.manfrotto.com
Buz z Al dr in reuni t ed
w i t h ‘moon c amer a’
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin has been reunited with a
Hasselblad 500EL camera, used to take some iconic
images of the moon and space during the first moon
landing. Aldrin appeared on the Stargazing Live show
with Brian Cox and Dara O Briain on BBC
2 to use the specially
adapted camera,
complete with a 39Mp
CCD digital back, to take
pictures at Jodrell Bank
and in the studio.
c
o
M
P
E
T
I
T
I
O
n
Win!
A Drobo Mini
worth £544!
Win! A Drobo Mini
Win convenient and safe storage for your digital photos
ou’ve got your digital SLR or
CSC and you’ve been happily
shooting away, capturing photo
after photo. There’s just one problem:
suddenly, your desktop’s or laptop’s
hard disk runs out of space, because of
all the photos you’re storing on it. When
you hit this point, it’s time to get serious
about your storage – and that’s where
Drobo comes in.
Drobo offers a range of storage
units designed to protect your valuable
files from drive failure while giving you
the freedom to choose your storage
capacity and increase it over time,
without any hassle. The Drobo Mini,
which you could win in this issue’s
competition, is also compact enough to
take with you, with an optional carrying
case to hold your Mini, power supply
and cables.
Y
The Drobo Mini can accommodate four
2.5-inch drives. This is the standard size
for hard disks inside laptops, so you
have dozens of options for the type of
storage you need – everything from
high-capacity hard disks to super-fast
solid-state drives. Drobo’s software
configures the drives you plug in, and
stores each of your files on more than
one drive – so if one drive should break,
all of its files are safely held on another,
without your having to remember to
back up. When you need more storage
capacity, simply take out one drive and
slot in one with more space, and the Drobo
Mini will start using it.
Courtesy of Drobo, Photography Week
has one Drobo Mini unit to give away. The
prize includes four 1TB hard disks from
the respected manufacturer HGST, all
installed and ready to use.
How to enter
For your chance to win this
fantastic prize, visit
www.futurecomps.co.uk/drobopw
(UK residents only, please.)
Complete the entry form and
answer this question:
What is the drive size that the Drobo
Mini can hold in its four drive bays?
A) 2.5-inch B) 7-inch C) 12-inch
To find out more about the Drobo Mini, visit www.drobo.com
Terms & conditions: The closing date is 26 April 2015. Only UK residents may enter this competition. Multiple entries will be disqualified. After the closing date, one
winner will be drawn at random from the correct entries. Other terms and conditions may apply; see the competition web page for details.
f
e
a
t
u
R
e
10
accessories Every
Camera Needs
Once you have a compact system camera or an SLR, there
are lots of accessories available to make your life
easier or to help you to take better shots
01
CAMERA Bag
If you’ve got a small
camera and a single
lens, a bag may not seem
essential, but it’s a good way to
protect them in transport, and it
keeps rain and dust at bay.
And as you build up a collection
of lenses and accessories, you’ll
find that you need something to
keep it all together and make it
easier to carry.
Backpacks are a great way to
carry heavy equipment over long
distances or uneven terrain, but
because you usually have to take
them off your back to access your
gear, they can slow you down a
bit. Shoulder bags give speedy
access, but because the weight is
carried on one shoulder it can be
uncomfortable with heavy loads
over long distances.
There are also quite a few ‘sling’
bags available now that combine
the comfort of a backpack with
some of the convenience of a
shoulder bag.
Deciding which type of bag
to go for is a matter of personal
preference, but think about
how you use your gear when
considering the options.
10
accessories Every
Camera Needs
02
Tripod
A tripod is essential because it provides a
method of holding your camera at exactly the
right angle and keeping it absolutely still so your images
are pin-sharp and full of detail. Don’t be tempted to buy a
cheap, flimsy tripod, though. You want something sturdy
that will keep your camera still in a breeze and not wobble
like a jelly every time you touch it or the camera.
Look for a tripod that extends to near eye-level, yet
allows you to shoot close to the ground as well. Clip locks
on the legs are good for quick deployment, but twist
locks take up less room so are slightly better when you’re
transporting the tripod.
As a rule, aluminium tripods are sturdier (and cheaper)
than carbon fiber, but they are also heavier.
03
Flashgun
The pop-up flash on your camera is useful for
adding a little fill-in light, but you’ll get greater
power and more flattering results from a flashgun. This
can mount in the camera’s hotshoe, or for better results,
be fired remotely via a cable or wireless connection.
For simplicity, get a flashgun that’s compatible with
your camera’s metering system so exposure control is
automatic, but if you want to save a bit of money and really
get to grips with flash, opt for a fully-manual flashgun.
10
accessories Every
Camera Needs
04
Remote release
A remote release allows you to trip the shutter
without touching the camera, so it’s useful for
longer exposures when the camera is on a tripod because
it avoids introducing unwanted wobble. Many models also
act as bulb timers to enable you to take exposures longer
than 30 seconds, and intervalometers that enable you
to take a series of images at specific time intervals for a
specified duration. The ioShutter and TriggerTrap dongles
even enable you to turn your smartphone into a remote
release with all sorts of cool features such as the ability to
fire the shutter with a sound.
There are two types of remote release: those that
connect to the camera via a cable and wireless releases.
Wireless releases have the advantage of working from a
longer range, and because you’re not physically linked to
the camera, you can’t introduce any wobble.
05
Tripod head
A tripod head is the bit that goes between
the tripod legs and your camera. Many
tripods are sold as a kit with a head, but you can also
buy them separately, which give you the opportunity
to select the head that suits the way you shoot.
Ball heads can be used for any type of
photography and are quick to use, but they
are especially well suited to still life and macro
photography when the camera needs to be held at
strange angles. However, they can be a pain to use
for landscapes when you want to tip the camera up
or down but keep the horizon level in the frame. This
is when three-way heads are useful because the
camera can be moved in three planes individually.
06
07
Lens and sensor
cleaners
Naturally, it’s important
to keep your gear clean. A blower
is useful for getting specks and grit
off your camera and lens before
wiping it with a soft lens cloth. It’s
also advisable to invest in a sensorcleaning kit. CSCs and SLRs have
built-in cleaning mechanisms, but
pollen and the like can still find its
way onto a sensor. You don’t need
anything fancy, just a pack of sensor
cleaning swabs and a small bottle
of sensor-cleaning fluid will do it.
Filters
Neutral density filters are incredibly popular because they
enable you to take long exposure shots in daylight to blur
cloud or water movement in landscapes. They also come in handy when
you want to shoot with a very wide aperture in bright light. Meanwhile,
polarizing filters are useful to cut down on reflections and boost
saturation and contrast.
Filters come in two varieties; round and square (or rectangular). Round
filters screw into the filter thread on the front of a lens and need to be
bought in a specific size, whereas square filters slide into a holder that
mounts on the end of a lens. Round filters are quick and easy to use, but
you need to buy them in the correct size for every lens you use. Square
filters can be transferred between lenses by using different sized adaptor
rings, and are the only real choice when using
graduated filters because the gradation
needs to be located in
exactly the right spot
over the scene in the
viewfinder.
10
accessories Every
Camera Needs
08
Additional lenses
The chances are that your camera came with a
standard zoom lens, which covers a focal length
range of around 18-55mm on an APS-C format camera,
14-42mm on Micro Four Thirds or 28-105mm on a fullframe model. This is a great starting point, but it won’t be
long before you find you need something a bit wider for
shooting landscapes or interiors, or you need a telephoto
lens to allow you to frame action subjects tightly. You may
also want to get closer to small subjects with a macro lens,
or get a dedicated portrait lens with a wide aperture to
limit depth of field and blur backgrounds.
09
Lens hood
Although a
lens hood is
essential for shading
the front element of a
lens to prevent flare,
some manufacturers
don’t always ship them
with their optics. If you
have a lens without a
hood, it’s a good idea
to buy one. You may be
able to get a dedicated
one that’s made by the
lens manufacturer or a
third-party model. If it’s
a third-party unit, make
sure that it fits well and
doesn’t cause vignetting
(darkening of corners).
Lens hoods are also really
helpful for protecting the
front element of a lens
from spots of rain and the
odd knock when carrying
the camera.
10
Flash diffuser
While a flashgun is
extremely useful for
providing extra illumination, filling
in shadows and bringing portraits
to life, the light from them can
be rather harsh. A humble piece
of translucent plastic can make
all the difference, softening the
light and making it much more
flattering. There are lots and lots
of flash diffusers available, with
models designed to push-fit onto
a flashgun, devices that pop-up
to create mini softboxes and even
strange bulb-shaped affairs. They
are easy to use and on the whole
very effective.
10
accessories Every
Camera Needs
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INSPIR AT ION IDE A S IN-DEP TH RE V IEWS inspir at ion
Ca
F u j iF i l m
Fuj
Ino
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8m
m
F
x
VS THE
CANON 70D
AND NIKON
D7100
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lighting tricks
for still lifes
lightrooM’s develop
Module explained
ol
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mm
15
F/4
F/1
.8
learn how to Make
light orbs
s am
NIK N
levitation
photography
F/1.4 nikon 28mm
refine
color
in the
develop
module
make your
subjects defy
gr avi t y
shoot better
movies on A d-slr
yang 24mm F/1.4
lightrooM
tricks
m
24m
we pu t si x top op t ions to the tes t!
Master the art of
shooting at twilight
II
F/1.4L
n
ko
the best caMera
for under $450
l e arn t he secre t s of t he worl d’s mos t
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how to take better
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vince vaughn’s foray
into stock photos
child portraits
4 MACRO PROJECTS
YOU HAVE TO TRY!
FIX TONAL PROBLEMS
IN LIGHTROOM
HOW TO MASTER
PHOTOSHOP CURVES
t a k e n a t u r a l- l o o k i n g p i c t u r e s
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G
A
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E
R
y
XPOSURE
The week’s most inspiring reader photos
Emma
Matthieu Freyermuth
Matthieu’s striking
portrait is perfectly lit,
and is emboldened by
that rare thing: an
engaged subject!
TA P T O SEE
G A L L ERY
G
A
l
L
E
R
y
The week’s most inspiring reader photos
Interstellar Overdrive
/ Kings Cross-St Pancras
Underground
Andrew Howe
We love the sense of diminishing
perspective in this clever blackand-white image
Canvas back
Joshua Clark
This is a wonderful animal
portrait, cleverly shot low
down to bring us to the
bird’s level
G
A
l
L
E
R
y
The week’s most inspiring reader photos
King’s College Chapel
Otto Berkeley
Perfect lighting, composition, and lens
choice. This is fine interior photography!
G
A
l
L
E
R
y
The week’s most inspiring reader photos
Venus on the
blue velvet
Paolo Lazzarotti
Paolo’s decision to shoot
this scene in low light
gives it much more drama
and power than if it
had been shot earlier in
the day
Almost Spring
Jessica Dunn
Jessica’s image proves
that there’s beauty in the
small details, and that it’s
there if you know how to
look for it!
G
A
l
L
E
R
y
The week’s most inspiring reader photos
Red fashion
jovana rikalo
Jovana’s use of a single,
bold color adds so much
emphasis to her subject.
Well done!
Photography Week wants your photos!
Taken a portrait you’re particularly proud of? Shot a sensational sunset you’d like to
show off? Then join the Photography Week Facebook community and share your best
photos today! You’ll get feedback from fellow readers and the Photography Week
team, plus the chance to appear in Xposure, or even on our cover!
i
N
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i
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a
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o
N
I T ’ S C O O L , T H AT
The best thing we’ ve seen this week
Travel by drone inside
the world’s l argest cave
Take an otherworldly journey through Hang Son Doong, the world’s
largest cave, by both ground and air in this stunning video
ang Son Doong in Vietnam is an
imposing spectacle. Stretching
about 5 kilometers long, some
150 meters wide, and standing an
impressive 200 meters high, the world’s
largest cave has attracted many a
thrill-seeker over the years. But few
have been as equipped to explore it as
photographer Ryan DeBoodt.
Armed with a GoPro Hero 4 Black (on
test in this week’s Big Review!), a DJI
Phantom 2 drone, Canon EOS 6D and
a Canon 16-35mm f/4 lens, the intrepid
photographer aimed to boldly take his
H
camera where no photographer has gone
before – into the depths of the cave.
In this stunning video of his endeavour
you can watch as the drone hovers
over the sunken mouth of the cave and
explores its cavities, navigating from
chamber to chamber.
How big is Hang Son Doong? To give
you a better sense of perspective, the
cave has its own river, its own jungle, and
its own climate system!
Even more impressive: this was only
Ryan’s third visit, and it was his first time
using a drone.
TAP TO
WATCH T HE
VIDEO
S
K
I
L
L
S
crash course
ESSENTIAL PHOTO SKILLS MADE EASY
Shoot star tr a ils
Chris Rutter shows you how to take a series of shots of the
night sky and combine them to create amazing star trails
There’s something magical
about a photo capturing
the movement of the
min
stars. In the days of film,
taking one would involve a single
exposure of many minutes or even
hours. However, very long exposures
on a digital camera will result in very
high levels of noise. Then there’s the
problem of keeping your camera
powered up through the exposure.
A much better approach is to shoot
a sequence of shorter exposures and
180
combine them. As well as minimizing
noise, combining images has other
advantages. For the single-exposure
method you need a location with as
little light pollution as possible, but
the multiple-exposure technique
allows you to shoot when the sky isn’t
completely dark. This means you can
shoot star trail images in cities.
Even using the multiple-exposure
technique you need to be able to see
the stars to photograph them, so a
clear night will give the best results,
while the less light pollution there is,
the more stars you’ll be able to see,
so there’s still a case for getting out of
town to shoot star trails.
Getting great star trail images is all
about preparation and persistence.
Make sure that you’ve checked the
weather forecast, and be prepared to
stand out in the cold for a few hours.
Make sure that you’ve fully charged
your camera battery and have plenty
of space on your memory card –
spares of both are handy.
S
K
I
L
L
S
Step by step: Shoot star trails
1
Switch off noise reduction First, turn off the long
exposure noise reduction and image review options on
your camera, because both can cause problems when shooting
star trails. Make sure you’ve got a fully charged battery and lots
of space on your memory card.
3
set the exposure The exact exposure you need will vary,
but with the camera on manual, set the shutter speed to
30 secs, the aperture to f/5.6 and the ISO to 400 and take a test
shot. If this is too dark, increase the ISO until you can just see
the stars.
StarStaX
Startrails
2
Focus with care If you’re setting up in the dark, switch
to manual focus mode, set the camera to a high ISO (such
as 6400) and switch on Live View. Use your torch to light up a
subject in the middle distance, such as a tree, and focus using
Live View mode.
4
set up the camera You can use an interval timer to
shoot the sequence, but it’s easier to set your camera’s
drive mode to continuous shooting and attach a cable remote
control (that has a facility to lock down the shutter release)
to the camera.
TOP TIP DEDICATED STACKING SOFTWARE
Free dedicated star-trail stacking software is available. StarStaX from
www.markus-enzweiler.de, for both Mac and PC, is fast and easy to use. Just
load your images and your dark frame, and the software does everything else
for you. Startrails (http://www.startrails.de) is only available for PC. It creates
a time-lapse video of your images as well as stacking them.
S
K
I
L
L
S
Step by step: Shoot star trails
5
6
start shooting Once you’re happy with all the camera
settings and composition, you can shoot your sequence. To
do this, press the shutter release on the remote control, and lock
it down to take your shots. All you need to do is wait. It’s worth
timing your sequence so you know when you can finish.
Finishing shots If your composition includes a subject,
you can use a torch to light it, using the same exposure
you used for the other images. Finally, take a ‘dark frame’ to use
to reduce noise in your final image – put the lens cap on and
take a shot using the same settings as your sequence.
Open in Bridge Once you’ve downloaded your images,
open Adobe Bridge and select all except the dark frame,
then go to Tools>Photoshop>Load files into Photoshop Layers.
Wait while all the images open in the main window, appearing as
layers. (It can take some time if you have lots of images.)
Change the mode Once all the shots have opened as
layers in a single image, change the blending mode of all
the layers apart from the bottom one. Select the top Layer, scroll
down, hold Shift and click the first layer above the bottom one.
Choose Lighten from the blending mode menu.
7
sky map
starwalk
8
TOP TIP STAR LOCATION APPs
If you’re in the northern hemisphere, the stars will appear to rotate around the
pole star, so being able to locate it in the night sky will give you a better idea
of how your final image will look. The easiest way to find your way in the sky is
to use an app that will allow you to identify individual stars, such as Star Walk
for iPhone or iPad or Sky Map for Android.
S
K
I
L
L
S
Step by step: Shoot star trails
9
Reduce noise You now need to open the dark frame
(the one that you shot when you’d finished your main
sequence), and copy it to the top of the layer stack of your star
trail image. With only this top Layer containing the dark frame
selected, choose Difference from the blending mode menu. This
will help to reduce noise.
The k i t for
shoot ing
s tar tr a il s
You don’t need much kit
to get great star-trail
images, but here are
the essentials…
Finishing touches You now have a complete star-trail
image, but you may need to use the Clone Stamp to
remove any light trails left by passing planes. These are easily
identified because they don’t follow the path of the star trails.
Finally, use Curves to adjust the contrast if you need to darken or
lighten the sky to make the star trails stand out.
10
Remote release
Make sure it has a locking
mechanism for the shutter
release so you don’t have
to hold the shutter down
manually.
Warm clothes
Even if it isn’t
freezing when
you start your
shots, you can
get very cold
standing around
taking shots of
the sky at night.
Tripod
The camera needs
to stay in position
throughout shooting.
Make sure your tripod
is securely positioned
so it won’t shift.
Torch/
flashlight
Handy if you
set up in the
dark, a torch
is also perfect
for lighting up
the foreground
for your final
exposure.
E
d
I
T
i
N
g
lightroom
LEARN ESSENTIAL EDITING SKILLS FAST!
AFTER
before
TAP TO
W ATCH T HE
V IDEO
D ow nloa d the
project f i l e s
h t t p : // t i n y. c c /c e v3 v x
on a pc or mac
HOW TO...
Crop & str a ighten photos
Use Lightroom’s Crop Overlay tool to straighten tilted horizons
and improve the composition of your photographs
hile looking at a scene through
your viewfinder, you can zoom
and pan the lens to compose
the photo. You may know what makes a
good composition, or you might employ
a point-and-shoot approach. Often,
though, it’s only when looking at photos
on the computer that you can spot if an
image is well-composed or not.
W
Thanks to the Crop Overlay tool, you
can remove distracting objects with
ease, straighten wonky horizons and
even turn a landscape-oriented photo
into a portrait-oriented one. Due to the
high resolution produced by D-SLR
cameras, you can use the Crop Overlay
to make certain features look more
prominent in the frame and still produce
large prints from a cropped photo.
By activating the Crop tool’s range
of overlays, you can recompose your
photographs so that their contents
adhere to some of the classic rules of
composition that have been used by
master artists for centuries. We’ll take
a look at these handy overlays in more
detail in our video.
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th e big r e v i e w
Expert opinion on the l atest kit
GoPro Hero 4
The Hero 4 is GoPro’s latest action camera. Alastair Jennings takes
it for a road-test in search of spectacular 4K video footage
£359 / $500 http://www.gopro.com
he action camera market is
expanding at speed. The bestknown name in the sector right
now is GoPro, with the latest top-end
incarnation being the Hero 4 Black,
which replaces the Hero 3+ Black.
Thanks to their small size and highquality footage, GoPro cameras feature
extensively at sports events, and they’re
used by broadcasters like the BBC to
capture spectacular wildlife footage.
T
GoPro cameras offer a wide-angle view,
and are designed to be attached to
something, rather than be handheld like
conventional cameras. As such, there’s
a vast range of mounts that enable the
Hero 4 to be fixed to everything from a
surfboard to a dog.
Features
We’ve tested the GoPro Hero 4 Black,
the top model (There’s also the Hero
Silver and the entry-level Hero). It
comes encased in a removable housing
that’s waterproof to 40m, and provides
shock- and dust-proofing. Headline
new features include 4K video at 30fps
“GoPros are designed
to be attached to
something, rather
than handheld”
the big review: GoPro Hero 4
and 1080p at up to 120fps (that means
Full HD playback at quarter-speed
slow motion); Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
connectivity; simultaneous 12MP still
and video recording; and the ability to
tag your best footage as you shoot. Pro
videographers will also appreciate the
ProTune feature, which enables greater
scope for grading in post-production,
and USB and HDMI ports for external
microphones and monitors. This is a
crazy amount of power in a device that
costs about the same as an entry-level
SLR and is just larger than a matchbox.
“the 1080p footage at
120fps looks smooth,
but the revelation
comes when slowed to
quarter-speed”
Build and Handling
The Hero 4 features a few cosmetic
changes over the Hero 3+, but operation
still requires just three buttons. A button
on top of the camera is used to start or
stop recording. Recording and viewing
can also be controlled using an app for
iOS and Android devices.
Image quality
The 4K footage at 30fps shows a huge
improvement over that produced by
the Hero 3+ at 15fps, with far smoother
motion making the footage usable.
Using 1080p at the new option of 120fps
produces exciting results. The footage
looks smooth on-screen, but the real
revelation comes when it’s slowed
to quarter-speed, stretching out one
second over four. Here, there’s plenty of
detail, good color, and most importantly,
smooth motion.
The Hero 4’s small lens captures
a 170-degree field of view, yet distortion
isn’t as pronounced as you’d expect,
although some chromatic aberration
is apparent towards the edges of the
frame in high‑contrast. Exposure settles
quickly as the camera moves from
light to shade, with few burnouts or
blackouts. In low light, however, visual
noise appears, while saturation and tone
drops, in contrast to the well-defined
footage from brighter conditions.
verdic t
The Hero 4 Black can be mounted to just about anything, and is tough enough
to go almost anywhere in order to capture broadcast-quality footage. The
enhancements in 4K capability and 1080p frame rates are the big news, but
the changes to the settings navigation system make the camera easier than
ever to use. There’s an increasing field of cameras to choose from, but the output
options and huge array of mounts mean that, for at the moment at least, the Hero
4 Black still has the edge over its rivals.
Sensor 12MP Angle of view 170 degrees Memory MicroSD/SDHC/SDXC Viewfinder None (Optional
LCD is available, or use Wi-Fi Live View on iOS or Android device) Max resolution 4K ISO range
video, 400–6,400; photo, 100–800 Max burst rate Six frames per second Exposure control Exposure compensation +/-2EV
and sensitivity Video format NTSC and PAL File format H.264 MP4 Power supply NP-FW50 W-series rechargeable battery
Weight 88g (152g with housing) Dimensions 41 x 59 x 30mm Power supply Lithium-ion 1,160mAH, 3.8V, 4.4Wh
A
P
s
p
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