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THE WINNERS ARE... CANON EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM & CANON RF 85mm F1.2L USM

Whether you shoot with or without mirrors, Canon comes out on top
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PhotoPlus
June 2021
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Other Articles in this Issue


Photoplus
Welcome
Peter Travers / Future BETTER BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY Learn
Meet the team...
This issue’s contributors…
CANON PROS
PEDIGREE PHOTOGRAPHY
This month we pair up Canon pro Laura Galbraith with our reader Yvette to help her perfect her pet paw-traits!
Lessons in the rain at Fanad Lighthouse
David braves the horrendous conditions of Donegal and captures the heavenly light of Fanad Lighthouse – a beacon of hope in a storm
Welcome...
Sharpen up your photography skills with our all-new photo projects and expert guides
Portraits at sunset
James Paterson shows you how to take vibrant photos of your friends and family at sundown – even if the sun doesn’t appear!
THE SET-UP STUNNING PORTRAITS AT SUNDOWN
Set up an outdoor off-camera flash to light your subject for dramatic sunset portraits
STEP BY STEP CANON CAMERA & FLASH SETTINGS
Learn how to expose for sunset portraits with a flash by measuring the ambient light first
PHOTOSHOP TIPS ENHANCE YOUR SUNSET TONES
Whether shooting portraits or landscapes use these simple tonal tricks to boost sunset colours
TOP TIPS MATCHING THE TEMPERATURE
Balance out the colour temperature between your flash and the setting sun
Catch the birdie
Keen nature photographer Peter Travers goes bird spotting and shows you how to capture great wildlife photos – from large herons to tiny robins
STEP BY STEP GET SET FOR BIRD PHOTOGRAPHY
Learn essential Canon camera settings and long lens tips to improve your birdie shots
CANON CAMERA SETUP FOR FASTER SHOOTING
The importance of being in the right place at the right time with the right camera!
BIRDS 1 GET IN POSITION FOR BETTER BACKGROUNDS
It’s something we often talk about, and for
BIRDS 2 BIG BIRD
Patience certainly pays to capture the best wildlife
BIRDS 3 DUCKS ON THE WATER
Even a common female mallard can appear photogenic
BIRDS 4 WINGING IT!
Black birds against a dark background, such as
Flower power
Dan Mold shows you how to take bloomin’ brilliant flower close-ups
SET UP TO USE A 5-IN-1 A REFLECTOR
Discover what the different sides of a reflector can be used for
TIP 1 SET UP YOUR SHOT
We put together this shop-bought gerbera at home
TIP 2 EXPERIMENT WITH YOUR DEPTH OF FIELD
A scrappy background can be the difference between
TIP 3 FIND THE STIGMA
The centre of your flower, or the stigma
PICKING A PRETTY POSY
Make your flower pictures as good as possible
TIP 4 DIFFUSE THE SITUATION
We’d recommend photographing flowers on an overcast day
Let your skies shine
Louise Carey demonstrates how to selectively enhance overexposed skies with the Adjustment Brush tool in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
STEP BY STEP USE THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH
Selectively edit specific parts of your photos for total control in Lightroom CC
Turn the kids into superheroes
James Paterson creates the movie poster superhero-look by showing you how to master Photoshop blending skills and utilizing special effects
STEP BY STEP GET THE SUPERHERO LOOK
Add special effects and discover how to combine images with ease with blending modes
Glitch your photos
James Paterson uses a combination of filter effects and layer skills to transform portraits with a fun digital glitch effect in Affinity Photo
STEP BY STEP CREATE A GLITCHED-OUT PORTRAIT
Utilize filter effects and layer skills in Affinity Photo to create this unique digital photograph
ESSENTIALS
INSPIRATIONS
STUNNING IMAGERY FROM THE WORLD OF CANON PHOTOGRAPHY
MAKE THE MOVE TO MIRRORLESS!
Discover how Canon EOS R System mirrorless cameras and RF lenses will instantly improve your photography
The mirrorless advantage
Get an accurate picture of your final image from the viewfinder
STEP BY STEP EOS R SYSTEM ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDERS
You get more options for customizing an electronic viewfinder than you do with an optical viewfinder
Advanced autofocus
While Canon’s EOS R is quick, the newer R5 and R6 take focus tracking up a gear
STEP BY STEP SETTING THE AUTOFOCUS PRIORITY
Dual Pixel CMOS AF II technology enables you to choose the type of subject to focus on
Need for speed
The RF mount’s fast communication opens up a whole new range of photo possibilities
Creative features
Take your image-making in a new direction with mirrorless cameras
STEP BY STEP GETTING SET UP FOR VIDEO
The EOS R6 offers a fantastic set of features for film-makers as well as photographers
CANON EOS R CAMERAS
The creative features and high image quality of
RF lenses technology
The growing collection of quality RF glass is key to the EOS R System
READER OFFER
Free Lowepro Tahoe  150 Black Bag
PHOTO STORIES
Photo essays from PhotoPlus readers and p rofessional photographers alike
Rummage of Flowers
Professional studio photographer Guia Besana uses flowers as special props to add extra meaning to her female portraits
Chris Winter
Shooting in extreme environments like the freezing cold Falkland Islands and sweltering heat of Iraq, Canon pro Chris knows a thing or two about working under pressure
FOCUSPOINT
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the magazine and all things photographic! Email us at p photoplus@futurenet.com
CANON SCHOOL
Get to know Canon lens mounts
Not all EF lenses fit on all Canon cameras. Here’s the EOS lens ecosystem low-down…
The pioneering EF mount
KNOW YOUR MOUNTS
Small but perfectly formed
MIGHTY MICRO
Make the most of mount adapters
MOUNT ADAPTERS
Canon Camera Connect app
Canon’s mobile app enables you to control your camera remotely and transfer images
EOS S.O.S
Our technical guru is here to help. No Canon conundrum is too big or small. Get in touch today at EOSSOS@futurenet.com
EOS R5/R6 Eye AF– is it that good?
SWITCH TO MIRRORLESS
CANONSCHOOL
Select the second wireless flash option as shown
NEW TESTS
CANON EOS R3
The Canon EOS R3 mirrorless will pack ‘next gen Dual Pixel AF,’ a stacked BSI sensor, 30fps shooting and Eye Control focus!
GEAR UPDATE
Our round-up of the latest digital photography must-haves
Photo cards
Check out our pick of the best personalized greeting cards for any occasion
CANON EOS M50 Mk II
While 4K is not its forte, the crop-sensor mirrorless Canon EOS M50 Mark II has plenty to offer video content creators
PORTRAIT LENSES
Have you beeen missing people recently ? Photograph the ones you love and keep  them close with a premium portrait lens
CANON EF 85mm f/1.8 USM £379/$419
A long-time favourite, this lens ticks all the right boxes for compactness and affordability
HOW WE TEST
We combine real-world shooting results with rigorous lab testing to arrive at our overall ratings
CANON EF 85mmf/1.4L IS USM £1489/$1599
Ideal for handheld portraiture, this EF 85mm unusually features an image stabilizer
DISTORTION
None of these lenses produce much in the way of distortion
CANON EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II £1999/$1999
A legend in its own lifetime, here’s Canon’s ultra-fast portrait prime lens for EOS DSLRs
GOING FOR BLUR
Shrinking the depth of field (DoF) enables you to isolate subjects by blurring the background
CANON RF 85mm F1.2L USM £2869/$2699
This RF-mount 85mm F1.2 lens for EOS R cameras easily beats its old EF counterpart in every respect
CANON RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM £669/$599
It’s the comparitively ‘slowest’ prime lens in the entire group, but is still very adept at portraiture
SAMYANG AUTOFOCUS LENSES
The South Korean manufacturer is famed for its manual lenses, but also offers AF options
SAMYANG MF 85mm f/1.4 RF £319/$379
Samyang offers the choice of going retro with a state-of-the-art mirrorless camera
COLOUR FRINGING
Two flavours are served up by fast primes
SIGMA 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM ART £929/$1099
This Sigma 85mm lens is a properly heavyweight contender in the portraiture ring – in every way!
PORTRAIT ZOOM
Tamron serves up something different in the shape of its ‘portrait zoom’
SIGMA 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM |A £1249/$1599
This bokeh beast from Sigma is a real whopper and comes complete with a tripod mount ring
TAKE A LONG SHOT
At weddings and other events, a longer zoom can help you reach out
COMPARISON TABLE
BUYERS’ GUIDE
With prices ranging from a couple of hundred to a few thousand, Canon has an EOS camera to suit everyone, from the complete beginner to most demanding pro…
BUYERS’ GUIDE
With prices ranging from a couple of hundred to a few thousand, Canon has an EOS camera to suit everyone, from the complete beginner to most demanding pro…
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