Gear Update
Our round-up of the latest digital photography must-haves
A glut of new Canon printers, a budget flashgun that doesn’t skimp on quality, huge monitors and even more shiny new gear
01 Canon PIXMA printers Canon unveils a whopping six new printers £TBA, $TBA www.canon.co.uk
The PIXMA TR7550 and TR8550 are 4-in-1 home office workhorses with an improved 5-ink printing system. The TR8550 adds an SD memory card slot and an Ethernet port. The other four new models are 3-in-1 printers, including the affordable and practical PIXMA TS5150 with a FINE single ink cartridge design; the 5-ink TS6150 and the 6-ink TS8150; and the top of the range PIXMA TS9150 for high-quality photo prints.
02 Cyberlink Photodirector 9 Ultra Fun, feature-packed photo editing £80, $100 www.cyberlink.com
Cyberlink’s PC and Mac photo editor is now more versatile and easier to use than ever. 360x180-degree VR panoramas take centre stage, with numerous new editing tools available for easy straightening and tripod removal. Moving objects in regular photos is now a breeze using Content-aware Move, and Photodirector also continues to blur the boundary between stills and video.
03 Gloxy GX-F1000 A budget flashgun, though not spec-wise £151, $204 www.photo24.co.uk
The new GX-F1000 packs some serious punch, rated at GN58 at 105mm: that’s up from the old GX-F990’S GN54 figure, and is enough to out-power a Canon 600EX II-RT at the same focal length. Extra features include a built-in 2.4GHZ wireless radio frequency remote triggering system, master and slave modes including three grouping options, 1/8000 sec sync, and a tilt/swivel head with a zoom range covering 18-180mm.
04 Meike Mk-85mm F/2.8 Macro Get up close and personal £TBA, $300 www.mkgrip.com
A dedicated macro lens should have a magnification ratio of at least 1:1, meaning it’s able to reproduce a life-sized image of an object on your Canon’s sensor. This full-frame lens goes 50 per cent better though, with a 1.5:1 maximum magnification, made possible by an extending lens barrel. A 25cm minimum focus distance ensures you can keep some distance from a sensitive subject like an insect, while an f/2.8 maximum aperture helps keep shutter speeds fast.
05 Philips monitors Three monitors that’ll make your eyes pop £TBA, $TBA www.philips.co.uk
PHILIPS is displaying some fresh new tech in its latest panels. There’s the catchily titled 328P8K 32-inch display, which is one of only a handful of monitors supporting 8K (7680 x 4320 pixels), plus it features a near-frameless design. If 32 inches just isn’t large enough, step up to the 492P8 49-inch curved display. This boasts an incredible 32:9 Ultrawide aspect ratio, making it essentially two 27-inch 16:9 monitors in one. Lastly, the feature-filled 436M6VBPAB is both 4K and HDR ready.
06 Profoto A1 When is a flashgun not a flashgun? £850, $995 www.profoto.com/uk
Profoto is marketing the A1 as an on-camera studio strobe, focusing on light quality over raw power. No guide number is quoted, but light output is rated at 76 watts. A bespoke lithium power pack fuels a whopping 350 full-power flashes and has enough poke to sustain 20 flashes per second, albeit not at full power.
07 Tamron 100-400mm F/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Tamron weighs in with a new super-tele £TBA, $TBA www.tamron.eu
Tamron claims this is the lightest 100-400mm full-frame DSLR lens on the market. At 1115g, it’s a whopping 525g lighter than Canon’s 100-400mm IS II, though only 45g less than the competing Sigma 100-400mm. Inside the moistureresistant barrel are three Low Dispersion elements to help reduce chromatic aberration, while Tamron’s EBAND coating is suppresses reflections. You also get a high-speed Dual Micro-processing Unit for faster focusing and improved stabilization.