Roger W. Hicks

Photo Accessory News
Odd Lots: Weird And Wonderful Items: Hey, You Never Know What A Photographer Might Need
Roger W. Hicks  |  May 30, 2013  |  First Published: May 01, 2013

The world of photography is a very wide one, and in this report Roger Hicks takes us to the fringes of photographic accessories. While you might well wonder how you might use some of these items, well, you never know!—Editor

 

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, um… it’s um… a camera-carrying helicopter drone. Honest! Though our other favorite in this meandering survey is probably a lot more use to a lot more people. It’s a changing room! It’s a hide for photographing wildlife! It’s a monopod! It’s a light modifier! It keeps the rain off! Or the sun! It’s… um, it’s an unusually versatile umbrella.

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Show Reports
photokina: 3D, VR, Dollies & More: Unique Studio Accessories
Roger W. Hicks  |  May 28, 2013  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2013
As part of our continuing coverage of photokina, the worldwide gathering of the imaging industry, we present Roger Hicks’s fascinating report on unique studio accessories. As is his wont, Roger has turned up the arcane and unusual found in the main and hinterland booths of the massive show.—Editor
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Film Photography NewsShow Reports
photokina: Film & Film Cameras: Silver Halide…Still Gleaming?
Roger W. Hicks  |  May 21, 2013  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2013

Here’s another in our series of reports from photokina 2012. As you will have noticed we do not attempt to create a laundry list of new products and companies from the show, but prefer to report on what struck our eye and thought might be of special interest to Shutterbug readers. In this report Roger Hicks tells us about numerous instances of life in the film arena he found at the show, with special cameras, film, paper, and even processors part of the mix.—Editor

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Photo Accessory News
Accessories, Albums & Presentation Products: All Those Items We Can’t Do Without
Roger W. Hicks  |  May 14, 2013  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2013

While photokina could be considered a distant memory, we have a number of reports yet to run that deal with products that were new to market and caught our reporter’s eye, and that in many cases are just becoming available now. Here’s a report on useful items filed by Roger Hicks that covers interesting accessories and other products he found at the show.—Editor

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Show Reports
photokina: “Out Of The Mainstream” Pro Cameras And Lenses: ...And A Sprinkling Of Inkjet Info
Roger W. Hicks  |  Apr 19, 2013  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2013
While a host of new digital cameras at photokina were covered in the January, 2013, issue of Shutterbug, this report focuses on some new out-of-the-mainstream cameras; new Zeiss and Schneider lenses designed to take advantage of ultrahigh-resolution sensors; and a couple of inkjet innovations that even I regarded as interesting. I say “even I” because I regard inkjet printing as being about as interesting as watching paint dry, which, after all, is what it is. Scanners will be covered under a future accessories report.
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Lighting News
photokina: Pro Lighting Report: Leds Come On Strong
Roger W. Hicks  |  Apr 05, 2013  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2013

Roger Hicks’s “Pro Lighting Report” is part of our continuing series of reports from the photokina show. With a giant hall filled with lighting products, Roger reports here on what caught his eye and what he saw as the key trends at the show. We will continue with new lighting product reports in coming issues, with a special report coming out of the WPPI show held in March, and will catch up on more new products not mentioned here then. We consider lighting a key issue for all photographers and will have more tests ahead throughout the year.—Editor

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Classic Camera Reviews
The “User Collectible” NPC 195: ...With Fuji Instant Film
Roger W. Hicks  |  Nov 08, 2012  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2012

Limited production, exquisite fit and finish, and usability, too: how much more does it take to qualify a camera as a classic, or a collectible? Maybe a good dash of eccentricity; and the NPC 195 qualifies on all counts.

 

The fortunes of NPC (Newton Plastics Corporation) rose and fell with those of Polaroid. They were probably best known to most photographers for their Polaroid proofing backs using the late Marty Forscher’s patents for optical-fiber transfer of the image, though they also made a superb tripod head of unique design (the Pro-Head), a microscope camera, and more. They did a lot of government work, including for NASA, but a few years ago, after decades of success, they closed their doors.

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Classic Camera Reviews
Contessa Nettel Deckrullo 6x9cm: A “Doppel-Klapp” Design
Roger W. Hicks  |  Dec 09, 2011  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2011

It’s a dream specification. Top-flight construction; about the same weight and bulk as a professional D-SLR, though rather more convenient in shape; interchangeable lenses; camera movements; choice of ground-glass or viewfinder viewing; and a great big juicy 6x9cm format. It’s finished in beautiful Morocco-grain leather and the controls and fittings are in nickel and black-lacquered brass. It certainly sounds both desirable and usable.

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Kodak Portra 400: Latitude, Grain, And “Scanability” Combined
Roger W. Hicks  |  Sep 16, 2011  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2011
If you’re a confirmed film shooter, welcome to the new all-but-universal color film. If you’re new to color film, this is the place to start. And if you shoot both film and digital, but have been neglecting your film cameras, say three Hail Kodaks and repent, or at least, don’t sin again until after you’ve tried this stuff.
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Pro Techniques
6 (More) Reasons To Use A Tripod; ...And Six Reasons Not To
Roger W. Hicks  |  Sep 01, 2010

The original reason for tripods was very simple. Exposures were so long that there was no alternative: no one could hold a camera still for many minutes at a time. The same remained true even when exposures dropped to a few minutes, and then to a few seconds. To this day, therefore, most people think of long exposures as the only reason for using a tripod. But there is a lot more to it than this.

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