Prima Facie - Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II

Three days ago, my colleague Martyn received his spanking new Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II lens! I was the first person he show the 1.6 KG, NZ$ 4,000.00 chunk of glass to ;)

Alright Martyn, I don't have one :)  The fact is, I can't afford one!

Fondling this cold metallic wonder optics bring back memories of those great time I was with the papers, most of my news pictures were shot with a similar lens but WITHOUT the luxury of IS (Image Stabilizer).

Canon launch their first generation EF 70-200 f/2.8 L in March 1995, rapidly the versatile zoom became the "must have" of all EOS totting pros.

In September 2001 Canon delivered the same lens with an advance image stabilizer and priced it 3 times more than the non IS version.

Canon claimed their version two IS zoom have a three stops advantage over the non IS, what they meant was if you are able to shoot a shake free shot with your non IS at 1/125 (@ 200mm), you will be able to do the same at 1/15 with the IS lens!  A bit of exaggeration, but possible ;)

1st Man On the Moon Dies

Saturday - Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, dies aged 82.

On that historical day, July 20th 1969; Armstrong, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission,became the first human to set foot on the moon. As he stepped on the dusty lunar surface, Armstrong said: "“That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." 

Those words endured as one of the best known quote in the English language. 

Portrait of Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 Lunar Landing mission in his space suit, with his helmet on the table in front of him. Behind him is a large photograph of the lunar surface.  Image Credit: NASA

Tokina 300/6.3 Reflex MFT - Mirror Lens Back In Fashion?

What is a mirror lens?

According to my friend Leonard Foo of MIR...

"You can called a Reflex Lens a poor man's ED lens.
In a reflex lens, light path is 'folded' by the mirror surfaces.

This permits the design of lens type permitting a significant reduction in size and weight as compared to conventional lenses of equivalent focal length.

Since the light path is folded, another benefit is the virtual elimination of chromatic aberration, this provides images taken with mirror lens with superior sharpness and contrast!"

It's a Bitch Focusing Manual Tele Lens On OM-D!

Saturday... after days of doom and groom of wet and cold days, mother nature decided to show a little mercy to Wellingtonian by dishing out a dry, mild day!

As usual, I have a couple of hours to kill after dropping Le General for her line dancing at Newtown.

I had with me the OM-D E-M5 (with grip) and my old Nikon 300/4.5 IF-ED manual lens plus a Nikon TC-14 tele converter.

My Manfrotto carbon monopod came with me too.

 I head for my favorite "lens test area"; the Oriental Parade where I knew, on a nice day like this, people come out for exercise and play :)

The 15 year old Nikon lens with the 1.4X converter took on a field of view of a 420mm lens. When this combo is attached to the M4/3 OM-D it "became" a whopping lens with a FOV of 840mm!

Make Your New Zealand Home Warmer!

We landed in Wellington, New Zealand 24 years and two days ago. Yes, it was winter!  To the four of us, who came from blistering hot Malaysian weather; the freezing cold wind was more than a cultural shock! It was BLEEDING COLD!!

Later, to our dismay we discovered many of the New Zealand homes are cold and damp. These homes aren't just uncomfortable to live in, they can also have negative impacts on your health

I remembered while living in a rented house many years ago that our neighbor from Russia told me, that; back in his home country, even the poorest household is better insulated than those in New Zealand!

A hail covered Karori, 2010.

We All Shoot Lens Test Chart Don't We?

We all shoot lens test chart, don't we?

Well, I do and I don't!

I did that often in my younger day, trying to find out how sharp my newly acquired lenses are; not realising my method was highly unscientific! Ha ha ha... But it was fun and self satisfying ;)
The last time I did that "pointless act" was many many moons ago!

Well, I was at it again today!!

It all came about when the company I work bought a super-duper MEDIUM FORMAT digital camera!

This mega $$$$$ camera pack a whopping BIG sensor with SIXTY MEGA pixel!

Exploration Of NZ and Thai Culture In Art

Our friend's son, emerging Wellington artist Sanit Klamchanuan open his first solo exhibition, “Kiwi-Thai” at Thistle Hall, 293 Cuba St, Te Aro, Wellington; today!  (Show event)

The exhibition features abstract conceptual art, using Maori and Thai themes while working with natural colours

We went to his exhibition and love what we saw, this is his story...