We ♡♡♡ Taipei Part 2

Taipei 101 (臺北101 / 台北101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan.

The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010. In July 2011, the building was awarded LEED Platinum certification, the highest award in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system and became the tallest and largest green building in the world!!

Taipei 101 was designed by C.Y. Lee and Partners (nothing to do with C.Y.Leow ;)) and constructed primarily by KTRT Joint Venture. The construction was finished in 2004. The tower has served as an icon of modern Taiwan ever since its opening.

Fireworks launched from Taipei 101 feature prominently in international New Year's Eve broadcasts and the structure appears frequently in travel literature and international media. - Wikipedia.

We ♡♡♡ Taipei Part 1

Hardly a week in Penang, the super humid and hazy weather was driving us up the wall! We decided to take a four nights trip to Taipei :)

We bought the rather pricey China Airlines direct flight from Penang to Taipei, other airlines do a round about trip to get there in 8 or 9 hours; China Air only 4!

The service of China Airlines was impeccable! Since I am on a walking stick, we are given priority check-in and boarding :) They even have priority seats while we wait to board! This was the first time I find out about this service to seniors with impaired movement, I was given special attention in Penang, Taipei and Sydney BUT SADLY, NOT in New Zealand!

Our plane landed at the beautiful Taoyuan International Airport and a wheelchair and a friendly helper was waiting for us.

In Singapore, What The Duck!!

No, that is NOT a typo; if you read on, What The Duck is correct ;)

On our recent break in Malaysia, we decided to spend three nights in Singapore; before we head home to Wellington.

The last time we were in this island nation was 6 years ago! Goodness, the Little Red Dot has changed; a lot, from what we remembered!

The most eye catching building is the Marina Bay Sands which jut out like a sore thumb, in my view; not a very attractive structure ;)

However, two days later; we were taken up to the KU DÉ TA restaurant up at Marina Bay Sands Sky Park, and the panoramic view really impressed me!

Lumix G 20mm F1.7 ASPH, the "Perfect Normal" Lens

Four years ago Panasonic presents their large (F1.7) aperture "pancake" 20mm (40mm equivalent) lens as the kit lens for the Lumix DMC-GF1 camera.

Shortly after, M43 photographers discovered the "beauties" of this compact prime lens...

The 40mm-equivalent may at first appear unusual, but some discovered that; with a focal length equal to the M43 sensor's diagonal; this compact optics is in fact a 'perfect normal' lens!

This means the 20mm will produce images free of the 'perspective distortion' associated with wide angle or telephoto lenses!

Shortly after launch, this "pancake" lens became a celebrity when photo blogger Steve Huff claimed that the lowly kit lens is sharper than a Nikon 50/1.8 on a D3S!

Suddenly, this small wonder was so hot, it was hard to come by!

FUJIFILM X-T1 Gunning for OM-Ds?

2014 is gonna be a very interesting year in new digital cameras launch!

As Olympus OM-D fan boys are rubbing their hands in glee, waiting for the new OM-D E-M10 to launch on January 29 at 6am London time...

 FUJIFILM dropped a bomb shell...

Lumix G Vario 12-32mm On OM-D E-M5

By now some of you might realised that I am mighty impressed with this little "kit lens" that came with my GM1, why... I even compared it's performance with a much "larger" Olympus kit and it won!  I even "jump to my conclusion" that the tiny 24-64mm (equivalent) zoom might make a perfect traveling lens on my Olympus OM-D E-M5!

The ultra compact Lumix G Vario 12-32 f3.5/5.6 zoom look really cool on my Olympus OM-D E-M5 body!

Back at work today, my colleague; Nigel does not exactly soak in my excitement on this little jewel... he even STRENGTHEN my untold doubt that the Lumix 12-32 performed better because it was on a Panasonic Lumix camera!

Battle Between Two Kit Lens

A kit lens is a "starter" lens which can be sold with an interchangeable-lens camera such as a single-lens reflex camera. It is generally an inexpensive lens priced at the lowest end of the manufacturer's range so as to not add much to a camera kit's price.

Originally kit lenses were of normal focal length; more recently kit lenses tend to be inexpensive zoom lenses that range from medium wide angle to mid telephoto for added versatility. - Wikipedia

The two kit lens I am comparing here are:

The Olympus Digital M.Zuiko 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 ED came with my Olympus E-P2, three years ago. The focal length range is equivalent to 28-84mm in full (35mm) terms.

The new LUMIX G VARIO 12-32mm / F3.5-5.6 ASPH / MEGA O.I.S. that come as a kit lens with my ultra-compact Lumix GM1. The focal length range is equivalent to 24-64mm in full (35mm) terms.

The two kits, Panasonic; left and Olympus, right. Both lens are in their "retracted" positions.  The new Pani for the GM1 is a lot smaller than the 3 year old M.Zuiko.