Nikon Df

Welcome to issue 163

It’s the flowers and plants round of our

Snow day

Up at the crack of dawn and battling rain, wind and snow. All in a day’s work for Ian Asprey

LIGHTBOX

Our favourite Nikon images from the LCE Photographer of the Year 2024 competition

Adventure photography!

Join intrepid explorer and photographer Iain Afshar as he ventures off the beaten track to share his top tips for extraordinary travel images

Planning an adventure

Your destination may have come from your bucket list or a photograph in a magazine, but wherever you head for, it pays to go through your checklists and pack the right kit

Life on the trail

Not for the fainthearted, searching out the ultimate travel shot can be a strenuous challenge that involves long days, heavy loads and a thorough test of your fitness

Getting Organized

Keep your camera to hand and ready to shoot the unexpected or simply take in the incredible sights along the way; sometimes the journey is the destination…

What to shoot

There are countless photo ops for the adventurous photographer, but while documenting the rituals of daily life always be sure to remain respectful of local cultures and customs

Getting creative

We’re here at last! Having arrived at your destination after each long day’s trekking, make the most of your adventure by creatively capturing your new surroundings

Love what you use, use what you love

It’s easy to be seduced by marketing hype that brands throw our way, so how do we choose what to buy? Simple, it has to fill you with joy

N Photo Nikon Skills

Ingenious recipes for stunning shots

Seeing double

Edyta Rice shows you how to use reflections to balance and enhance landscape compositions

Let it rock!

For those about to rock, Mike Harris shows how to capture live acts at a music festival

Photo hoot

Andrew Mason finds and photographs one of the UK’s most beloved birds

A flare for photos

Create lens flare effects in Affinity Photo and master shapes, live filters and colour tools with James Paterson

Master luminosity masks

James Paterson gets to grips with Photoshop Channels and makes use of our 10 free actions

Props, pose and party!

James Paterson shows you all the top tips and tricks for an epic party photo booth setup

Tony North

Less than 10 years ago, Tony North only took out his camera on holidays. Now the Manchester-based macro photographer is winning international awards and writing a book. Keith Wilson hears how he has spread his wings from photography’s chrysalis...

Horsing around

Wildlife photographer and autism campaigner Alfie Bowen tells how spending time with horses and photography changed his life

How to track the action

Keep focused on moving subjects with all the latest autofocus finery

Advanced autofocus tracking options

Not all Nikons feature all the options, but pick and choose from what’s available

Ask Matthew...

Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

The search for the world’s best Nikon photographer of 2024 continues! Each issue the monthly N-Photo POTY 2024 photo contest’s top 10 images are selected by the N-Photo team. This issue’s competition has the theme of flowers & plants…

WIN! A Nikon Z f

The overall winner of N-Photo’s Photographer of the Year 2024 will receive the grand prize of a Nikon Z f!

Readers’ letters

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the mag and all things photographic! You can write to us, message us or share your images in the following ways: mail@nphotomag.com twitter.com/nphotomag facebook.com/nphotomag instagram.com/nphotomag

Gone walkabout

Chris Aldred rambles through rural Somerset with his trusty Nikon D3500 and covers four different genres in the same week!

Next issue

Image: © Steve Davey Don’t miss N-Photo 164

GearZone

New gear, buying advice and the world’s toughest tests

New gear

Here’s what caught our eye this month

AstrHori 25mm f/2.8 Macro 2-5x

A macro lens and then some, this specialist optic gives you anything from 2x to 5x magnification, but it’s a bit of a one-trick pony

Manfrotto Befree Advanced Carbon Fibre Travel Tripod

Sturdy and lightweight tripod that’s packed with features and built to rack up the air miles

Novo Helix T50 Carbon Fibre Tripod Kit

This feature-packed travel tripod packs down unfeasibly small, yet extends reasonably tall

Setting new standards

A standard prime lens is one of life’s essentials for enthusiast photographers. Here are the best ‘nifty fifties’ to suit every need and budget

Nikon Z 40mm f/2

A small wonder of a prime lens, the Z 40mm is delightfully small and light, ideal for the journey, and comes with a bargain price tag

How we test

We combine real-world shooting with range of lab tests

Viltrox AF 33mm f/1.4 Z

A fast ‘standard prime’ for DX format Z-system cameras, this Viltrox has a classic effective focal length of 50mm

Distortion

There’s not much to worry about

Yongnuo YN50mm f/1.8Z DF DSM £349/$359

A fast standard prime for full-frame Z system cameras, this Yongnuo is nicely turned out with some neat handling extras

Nikon AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8G £149/$197

It’s a somewhat basic but affordable F-mount DX lens

Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC DN | C £359/$349

The 45mm ‘effective’ focal length of this DX format lens gives a slightly wider perspective than the more standard 50mm equivalent

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8G £179/$217

This Nikon’s a smart budget buy

Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 PRO Z £440/$545

What price a super-fast f/1.2 prime? This new Viltrox ‘PRO’ lens for DX format Z-system cameras is an absolute steal

Colour fringing

There’s generally not much fringing to see

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.8 S £499/$527

Historically, f/1.8 standard primes were considered inferior to their f/1.4 counterparts but this FX format lens is no shrinking violet

Nikon AF-S DX 40mm f/2.8G Micro £269/$277

Nikon’s baby F-mount Micro lens is short but sharp

Nikon Z MC 50mm f/2.8 £599/$647

Although technically a ‘Micro’ lens, this Z-mount works rather better as a standard prime than for taking full macro close-ups

Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4G £379/$447

This Nikon is compact and lightweight for an f/1.4 prime

Nikon Z 50mm f/1.2 S £1999/$1897

Full-frame compatible lenses don’t generally come any faster than this, but the big aperture comes at a big price

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art £649/$849

This Sigma f/1.4 lens is a heavyweight 50mm prime

The winner is… Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 PRO Z

This Viltrox is a truly special lens that offers spectacular value for money

Nikon cameras

The current range of Nikon DSLR, Coolpix & Z-series mirrorless cameras

Nikon-fit lenses

Your at-a-glance guide to the current crop of Nikon-fit lenses

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

Mike Harris reckons that Nikon’s new Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR could be the one lens to rule them all for keen photographers