CEX 2012 (Camera & Electronics Expo)

So there is this supposedly the largest camera expo in town, happening this weekend at Viva Home Exhibition Hall, and my mate Choon Wee and I decided to pay it a visit. To be honest, this was not exactly the most auspicious time to hold any camera expo at all, considering there really is nothing new to be overly excited about. All the major announcements will happen some time next month for Photokina, and I believe it would have been more appropriate to have the expo perhaps one or two months after the Photokina, with test models and demo units of the newly announced camera and lenses being available for public testing. At the moment, some of the latest gear are not even available, such as the Panasonic G5, Nikon J2 and Canon EOS-M. Interestingly, they did not even have the now available-everywhere-else-in-the-world except Malaysia Panasonic X lens 12-35mm F2.8. Seriously, with the absence of all those, how do you expect people to be hyped over the camera expo, showcasing come cameras which were probably more than 1 year old?

Nevertheless, since I was already there, I did have a look around, and snapped whatever interesting things that caught my eye. 

All images in this entry were taken with Olympus DSLR E-5 and Zuiko Digital lenses 25mm F2.8 pancake and 50mm F2 macro. 

Sony NEX F3, the latest release from Sony NEX series. The pink looks rather catchy. 

The much raved about Sony RX100. Seriously, leaving that thick plastic on the lens front???? When I tested the camera it even had some issues locking focus and hunting. Sometimes I do not understand the mentality of people doing business here. You want your customers to experience your camera's full potential. You want to demonstrate how FAST the Autofocus of your latest compact pocket camera can be, to justify its hefty price tag. Putting that piece of plastic cover is not only making the camera looking so ugly, but it destroys the usability of the camera. If you care so much about the resale value of that demo unit, seriously, don't even sell cameras to begin with. 

Meet the ugliest camera in history. Pentax K-01.

And it looks even uglier from the top. *gasp

Canon EOS-M. I asked the salesperson: "why is the EOS-M behind glass? Why not put it out for demo?" he asnwered: "its not for sale". I was like..... huh? "is that a dummy unit, or a working unit? Why not let us have a try?" Then he answered again "It is not for sale". At that moment I felt like slamming that guy's head with my E-5. Perhaps its magnesium alloy body can crack his skull. That should knock some common sense into him. 

White colour EOS-M. As Steve Huff puts it, somehow the camera looks "unsexy". I agree. Though me saying this sentence has caused a HUGE wave of negative reaction from some friends. 

Pentax Q system. Wait, it is still alive??

Dennis giving the Olympus 75mm F1.8 a try. 

Choon Wee handling the 75mm. 

Now, that is a winning combination !!

Most of the cameras and lenses on display were nothing new. I strongly think that timing is everything. To have a successful event, you do need that hype going on. Fuji showcasing their X-Pro, X10 and X100, those are nothing new anymore. Nikon D3200 is not exactly a head turner for an event, and it was already on sale at the local stores more than a month ago. As for Sony, the NEX F3 is situated at the bottom of the NEX line, hence it was not a massive attraction either. Coming to Olympus, E-M5 has hit so many headlines in the photography community that if people seriously wanted to try it out they would have gone to a local store and tested it. 

Not all is lost. For a large event like this, they need to have certain "bait" for people to come in. The bait usually involves pretty girls. Yes, there was a photo-shooting contest, with girls posing on stage and photographers firing them away. The fashion show was open to public and anyone with anything that can click including a camera phone can take photographs, but not necessarily enter the competition. I thought it would be great to shoot something else this weekend, rather than my usual street hunting. It was indeed a great chance to do something different for a while, refreshing my mind from a fresh perspective. The subjects were already there, models readily posing for you, and all you have to do is focus, and snap. No dramas, no need to find stories and no need to think of difficult composition or creative execution to make the photographs stand out. Plain simplicity at work here. Lighting was also very nicely set up with strong floodlights coming from two directions at the front. 

The following are some of my favourite fashion show shots. It was interesting how each model has a brand assigned to them. 

For more photographs, you may view my gallery at Picasa by clicking on the slideshow at the bottom. The slideshow consists of about 50 photographs. 

Alternatively you can go to the online album here (click). 

It was an enjoyable day indeed, shooting models on stage, and I do have a thing for fashion show. This was the first time I did not use a long tele-photo zoom lens, but just the 50mm lens for shooting. Since I was reasonably near the front, I can get myself close enough for some tight composition. 

Oh and if you have not noticed, the girl in blue was my favourite for the day. So here are more photographs of her. 

I sure hope I can squeeze in some more time for shutter therapy this weekend. My hands are still itchy !!

Oh and.... I bought something from the Expo. I shall be blogging about that something soon. Stay tuned !!