Useful gadgets to enhance your photography, from phones to filters…

Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner

If you still shoot 35mm f lm or have an archive of treasured material in that format, this is a simple and innovative must-have tool

At a glance

● Compatible with all 35mm film
● Portable, small and lightweight
● Simple to attach smartphone and take pictures to scan
● Backlit direct light panel illuminates film

Buy This Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner

LOMOGRAPHY has developed an ingenious way to scan and share images captured on 35mm fi lm by using a rudimentary lightbox design that can hold a smartphone, and which then allows the phone to scan your negatives by taking a photo of each of them.

Build and performance

The Smartphone Film Scanner is incredibly easy to set up. It takes two AA batteries and requires the placing of one to three stackers between the smartphone cradle and the fi lm. To help me capture the negatives, I downloaded the LomoScanner app, which is available via iTunes or the Google Play store, to make it easier to align the camera and the fi lm correctly. Once aligned, it’s just a matter of taking a picture of each frame.

Verdict 

This is a great product and a low-cost solution for film photographers that makes it easy to capture and share images from negatives. Although the LomoScanner app was somewhat unstable at times, I would still recommend the Smartphone Film Scanner. Konstruktor DIY Magnifying Chimney Hood Kit

IN THE RANGE

For improved focusing, the Konstruktor DIY Magnifying Chimney Hood Kit improves focusing visibility when using the Lomography Konstruktor 35mm SLR Camera. Click Here For More Information

Lomography Experimental Lens Kit

The perfect gift for a passionate beginner who wants to experiment with different focal lengths, effects and filters, three lenses for the micro four thirds system are supplied at an affordable price. Click Here For More Information 

Portrait Camera Strap

The Portrait Camera Strap keeps your camera safe around your neck and helps measure the correct distance for shooting portraits on film cameras, such as the Belair X 6-12. Click Here For More Information

Expert advice and tips on improving your photography

YOU CAN’T beat a misty morning for atmosphere on the river, and on this particular morning Karen made the most of the weather to create a beautiful silhouette of this chap out for a bit of exercise. Metering can be tricky in the mist and fog, as cameras see lots of white and brightness and want to close the exposure down to create a grey scene. Usually we have to open up a little to get enough light on to the sensor, but on this occasion the greyness has worked out very well, creating a calm and peaceful atmosphere that is untaxing on the eye.

There is a lot of space at the top and bottom of the frame that isn’t really adding anything to the scene, and which I think we would be better off without. Cropping to a widescreen format allows us to maintain the same sense of atmosphere, but it also lends emphasis to certain elements in the scene. Composing the image with more sky emphasises the emptiness of that sky, while angling down to include more of the river forces the viewer to appreciate the refl ections above all else.

Putting the rower in the middle of the frame, as Karen did originally, makes him overpoweringly dominant, while dropping the camera down just a little, I think, balances the requirement to see the rower with the desire to show off the refl ections in the water.

Also, taking the camera down so that the refl ection of the tree enters the frame in the bottom-left corner makes the most of a powerful compositional tool.

This misty-morning river scene makes for a lovely image, and Karen has captured it well, but we should always question the format we are shooting with and consider how composition directs the viewer’s attention

Tittle : Expert advice and tips on improving your photography

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Poppy fields

Poppy fields

Transforming the landscape with a blanket of red, a rich and vibrant poppy field is the perfect photographic subject at this time of year. Offering a host of photo opportunities, from broad vistas to tight close-ups, they’re a great summer subject.

You’ll probably need to tap into a bit of local knowledge to f nd one, or failing that, Flickr is a great place to look for locations that other members have found in the past.

Try to check out the location beforehand in order to work out the best viewpoints, but be sure not to trespass on any private land. Then, when the light’s right, you’ll be ready to go. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

1. To capture a whole field of poppies, look for a higher vantage point to accentuate the rich reds. You might even want to take a stepladder with you. A strong background focal point is useful for breaking up the horizon. 
2. Don’t write off your chances of shooting if it’s a windy day. Experiment with neutral density filters to slow your shutter speed down and inject a bit of movement into the shot, resulting in a gentle swirl of red. 
3. Don’t be afraid to shoot into the sun, especially if it’s low in the sky, as the backlighting will highlight the spikes and stem of the poppy. Use a reflector to bounce light back towards the poppy to balance the exposure.
4. As well as a wideangle lens, shoot with a longer telephoto lens to really compress the perspective of the scene. It will allow you to crop in tightly and pick out individual flowers or areas of a field for a more graphical result.

ROUND-UP

Fuji 18-135mm lens  

Fujifilm has confirmed a July launch for its Fujinon XF18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR [weather-resistant] compact system camera lens. The new optic should deliver the 35mm equivalent of a 27-206mm zoom. First announced earlier this year, For details Click This

Compact tripods 

Manfrotto has released a new line of tripods and monopods, including Compact Light, Designed to be used with CSCs, it is ‘born to be with you always’. The Compact Action, meanwhile, features a joystick head and is aimed at those who also want to shoot movies. Top of the range is the Compact Advanced, built to carry an entry-level DSLR with a zoom up to 200mm. Its three-way head offers pan, tilt and level movements. For details Click This

EOS milestone 

Canon is celebrating 25 years of its EOS-1 series of SLRs. Launched in 1989, the EOS-1 was aimed at professionals and offered new levels of ergonomics, high durability and reliability. The first EOS was the film-based EOS 650, launched as the world’s first AF SLR in 1987. The latest addition to the family is the EOS-1D X (pictured), which was launched in June 2012. For details, Click This