Mark Heath 
Hello and welcome to my blog. Photography has been a lifelong hobby and passion, and I’ve never lost the desire to capture images of the world around me. I purchased my first Digital SLR camera – the Canon 350D – in September 2006, and quickly upgraded to the full-frame Canon 5D in November 2006. Since … Read full article
One of the ways that I’ve been able to maintain motivation with my photography has been the creation of themed galleries. They have ensured that I never feel short of future photography subjects or ideas. One of my most important galleries for inspiration has been my Flower, Plants and Trees Gallery, which you can access … Read full article
In March 2023, I visited Tenerife in the Canary Islands after previously visiting this volcanic island over 30 years ago (in June 1992). I took along my Sony A7R IV camera to capture the stunning volcanic landscapes in high resolution. These almost-surreal landscapes are so interesting that it’s not surprising that Tenerife has been used … Read full article
In the last few weeks, I have expanded my guides for households looking to significantly reduce their heating bills. Here’s my latest guide for those with oil heating: Top Tips to Halve Your Oil Heating Bills, and Increase the Value of Your Home While the heating cost savings achievable with each individual tip are … Read full article
At this time of year, I wanted to share some seasonal images from my latest visit to beautiful Vienna for the Christmas Markets. You can view my public images here: Photo Gallery of Vienna and Christmas Markets | Mark Heath Photography You can also view some other Christmas images here: Gallery of Christmas Images | … Read full article
Among the practical options to reduce heating bills for households, installing a combination of smart thermostat and smart radiator valves represent a cost-effective upgrade to a gas or oil-fired central heating system that can pay back within a few months. I am really pleased to be working with Rob Hutchins to provide an affordable smart … Read full article
Having had the iPhone 14 Pro Max for some weeks now, I thought it would be interesting to directly compare the new iPhone 14 Pro Max 48-Megapixel camera with Sony’s flagship A1 50-Megapixel camera in good lighting conditions. I will be discussing results from my testing of the iPhone 14 Pro Max in different situations … Read full article
Back in January 2022, I wrote an article entitled Best Sony Mirrorless Lenses For 2022, in which I gave my view on the best Sony lenses based on my experience with many Sony lenses. I’d now like to add a new lens to this list – the Sony 24-70mm F2.8 GM II lens. This was … Read full article
In March 2021, I announced an online partnership with Paul Braybrooke Limited. After a successful first year, we are expanding our geographical online reach beyond Cambridgeshire to include parts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire. While there is the option to expand even further, our preference is to remain local to deliver an extremely … Read full article
Wi-Fi 6 is the latest Wi-Fi technology, which delivers significant performance improvements (such as higher speeds) over the previous Wi-Fi 5 technology. When combined with improved coverage through the use of multiple Wi-Fi points, Wi-Fi speeds and reliability can be dramatically improved for many broadband users. Previously, I have reviewed Ubiquiti’s UniFi Wi-Fi 6 Long … Read full article
During 2021, Sony released some amazing lenses for its full-frame mirrorless cameras. Apart from a missing 85mm F1.2 lens (which hopefully will appear in 2022), Sony now offers a comprehensive range of lenses with superb performance. I’m often asked for lens recommendations so, in this post, I identify my favourite nine Sony lenses and provide … Read full article
The end of 2021 was tinged with some sadness as Bethany Heath and I undertook our last photography assignment for youth theatre Spotlight Productions. We took photos of their Christmas ‘Magic of the Musicals’ production. We have supported Spotlight in different ways since 2014, when we photographed the dress rehearsal of Les Misérables (photo shown … Read full article
This year, I visited Wimpole Hall for its ‘Christmas at Wimpole 2021’ winter trail. I’ve not been to this annual event before but it is a major fundraiser for the National Trust. I was actually very impressed with what I saw and heard. With the National Trust requesting photos from visitors, I decided to take … Read full article
Peterborough Cathedral provides a wonderful location for enthusiast photographers since it is such a lovely building and photography is permitted. I attended a Christmas carol concert there in December 2021. The concert featured Peterborough Male Voice Choir, Peterborough Voices, Peterborough Youth Choir and Peterborough Festival Brass. It also featured mezzo soprano Karen England, who was … Read full article
Earlier blog posts providing sample photos with various Sony lenses have proved popular, so here I continue with another great lens – the Sony 12-24mm F2.8 GM model. In an earlier blog post, I provided sample images from the superb Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lens, which has just won DPReview’s 2021 award for “best prime … Read full article
Two years ago, when I set myself the photography challenge of capturing as many Cambridge colleges as I could, I hadn’t bargained for coronavirus and the length of time that many colleges would remain closed to visitors. Recently, I had the opportunity to take some photographs of St John’s College. Very few people would disagree … Read full article
During 2021, Sony has been on a roll with the launch of some outstanding lenses, including the Sony 50mm F1.2 GM and the Sony 14mm F1.8 GM lenses. You can view sample images in my Sony 50mm F1.2 GM Gallery and Sony 14mm F1.8 GM Gallery. Well, Sony has done it again with the updated … Read full article
With an estimated 100,000 war memorials in the UK, memorials took place up and down the country on Remembrance Sunday to remember the fallen. In my local village, over 90 villagers gathered round the war memorial to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure our freedom. You can view the photos here: Remembrance … Read full article
The Sony 100-400mm GM lens has quickly become one of my very favourite lenses, and in this post I provide some sample images taken in the last few weeks with this superlative lens. Paired with the Sony A1 camera, its amazing autofocus performance means that you can capture fast action easily, and sharpness is superb. … Read full article
Last weekend, I attended the Battle of Britain Air Show at Duxford, and it was absolutely brilliant. For the air show itself, I used my Sony A1 camera with Sony 100-400mm GM lens, and this combination produced superb results. I could easily use this set-up handheld, and autofocus was exemplary. To photograph the rest of … Read full article
Living in rural Cambridgeshire, I have enjoyed visiting places across the county and taking photographs. However, despite living relatively close to Norfolk, I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I’ve rarely visited Norfolk, apart from day trips to Hunstanton and Norwich. Well better late than never! My friends Nick and Raine (shown above) adored the North … Read full article
As with most people, the coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc with holidays and trips, and photography opportunities have been dramatically diminished. While we are still far from ‘normal’ (with the wearing of masks indoors, for example), it’s been nice to visit more places and take more photographs. Recently, I visited Cambridge, enabling me to add … Read full article
The introduction of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) – often known as ‘Full-Fibre Broadband’ – in my local area will kickstart the production of lots of new content on my Increase Broadband Speed website. My new article (below) details what’s involved in an FTTP installation, with lots of photographs. An FTTP installation is usually relatively straightforward and quick, and … Read full article
I live near the beautiful city of Cambridge, which is one of my favourite places to photograph (when it is not too busy). I have now photographed many different parts of the city, although I have many more images to take on my ‘wish list’. In contrast, Oxford has received much less photographic attention from … Read full article
Although photography is strictly a hobby for me (as being professional would take out all the fun of photography for me), I’ve ended up photographing a number of weddings over the years for family and friends. I have often complemented the professional photographer by taking candid shots. Recently, my next-door neighbour Mick asked me to … Read full article
Seizing the opportunity to try out the Sony A1 camera with the Sony 100-400 GM lens, I visited Woburn Safari Park. This is a perfect lens for zoos and wildlife, although it is relatively heavy when carried around all day. It is, however, significantly lighter than the longer 200-600mm lens. With the 100-400mm lens, autofocus … Read full article
A visit to the 2021 Silverstone Grand Prix gave me the opportunity to test out my new Sony 100-400mm GM lens. Last year, the Silverstone race was run without fans so it was wonderful to see Silverstone full to the rafters, with huge support for Lewis Hamilton as well as the McLaren team. As well … Read full article
Making the most of the nice weather, I took along my new Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens to Ickworth House, in Suffolk. This lens has very quickly become the lens that I put on my Sony A7R IV camera the most. It’s pretty light and small (for what it is) and is very versatile as … Read full article
I visited Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire, which is owned by the National Trust. I took my Sony A7R IV camera with Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens. The lens proved a very useful walkabout lens with exceptional sharpness, but really excelled in the quality of portraits due to the buttery smooth bokeh at F1.2. This is … Read full article
Sony has been on a roll recently with the introduction of several groundbreaking lenses. Following quickly after the amazing Sony 50mm F1.2 GM lens, Sony has introduced its ultra-wide-angle 14mm F1.8 GM lens. Just as with the Sony 50mm F1.2 lens, it is astonishing how much performance Sony has packed in to such a small, … Read full article
Over the past few weeks, I have been trialling 4G mobile services from both Vodafone and O2. I would like to thank 4G specialist 4G National Broadband for providing me with the 4G subscriptions, 4G router and a high-gain antenna. Mobile broadband has clearly come a long way, and I’ve found that 4G delivers performance … Read full article
The Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 lens is a popular choice among wildlife photographers. As a personal photography project for the rest of 2021 (and to make full use of my new Sony 200-600mm lens), I have set myself the challenge of photographing birds in my garden. I want to see how many varieties I can capture … Read full article