RGB & The Bean Hive

What better way to cap off an exhausting week full of drama over the never-ending discussion in online photography forums than eat all the awesome hipster overpriced food and coffee? I did just that with cool friends, Elaine and Jess. Elaine suggested RGB & The Bean Hive, a residential house turned cafe restaurant which I have not been before, and I must add it was such a great suggestion. We spent an entire afternoon eating good food and catching up. Sometimes, all you need to do is just eat and talk your worries away.

RGB is indeed an easy name for me to remember, a very important phrase for photographers - red, green and blue, the primary colors that make the image sensor as well as how our eyes sense colors. In this case, RGB stands for Roast, Grind and Brew, I think.

For this session, I brought along only the Olympus PEN E-P5 and M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 lens. I shot everything with the 25mm.

Pandan and Coconut Scone

 Australian Beef Brisket on Sourdough

 Pumpkin Soup with Toast and Salad

 Vegetarian Nasi Lemak

Cheese with Lime & Pineapple Cake

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Elaine and Jess being trigger happy, snapping food pics away!

The mighty little PEN vs food

Gong Xi Fa Cai

To all beautiful people who celebrate the Chinese New Year 2019, have a joyous, prosperous and blessed celebration! May this coming year bring you ever-flowing wealth, abundant opportunities and the best health.

As for me, I will be having a quiet celebration with mum in my hometown, Kuching (in Borneo). When I return to KL I shall be loaning the Olympus OM-D E-M1X again and perhaps do one or two more articles.

GONG XI FA CAI!

The Small Sensor Argument

I have been following the discussions and feedback on the Olympus OM-D E-M1X everywhere as much as I can over the past week and I must admit I have not seen that much negativity on a single newly launched camera. I also fully acknowledge that everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion and free to vocalize their thoughts. I can totally understand the uneasiness expressed on the larger and weightier than usual body of the E-M1X, or how the pricing may not suit the general market. It is true that Olympus created the E-M1X for specific target group of photographers and that the camera may not appeal to the larger crowd. However, what I cannot agree and I feel I must say something here about is regarding the "small sensor size" as a universal excuse to condemn E-M1X and all other Micro Four Thirds system cameras.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X - My Menu Personalization and More Image Samples

I have been actively following the discussions over the internet on the newly launched Olympus OM-D E-M1X. I think I have not seen such huge reaction to a camera released by Olympus since the first original E-M5 in 2012, though I must say the overall tone was heavier on the negative side. I am not here to make any further persuasive argument or rebutting any comments, I believe there is sufficient information online to go about for everyone to achieve their individual conclusions on E-M1X. Everything that I have wanted to say about the E-M1X has been covered in my original full article here (click and read if you have not). In this blog entry, I want to bring your attention specifically toward a new customization feature in the E-M1X, which I think is a crucial improvement over previous cameras - the My Menu.

Olympus OM-D E-M1X Launch Event in Malaysia

Olympus Malaysia and Singapore had a joint launch ceremony for the new Olympus OM-D E-M1X last week, just a day after the worldwide announcement of the camera. The launch happened at Sepang International Circuit, a prestigious racing track that has hosted Super GT, Moto GP and F1 races over the years. The guests were media and dealers from both Malaysia and Singapore. I was requested to help out, being an Olympus Visionary, I took charge of one of the touch and try stations. It was a fun day meeting so many people, some familiar faces whom I have known from my days of officially working for Olympus Malaysia. All Olympus Visionaries from Olympus Malaysia and Singapore were also present in this event. I managed to take some event shots just before the touch and try slot when I was busy tending to the guests. 

Here are some shots from the event - images were all taken with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and M.Zuiko lenses 7-14mm F2.8 & 45mm F1.2 PRO

Oh yes, the newly announced Olympus M.Zuiko 150-400mm F4.5 PRO lens was also on display. I believe this was a prototype and not fit for any testing purposes. Nonetheless, seeing it in person was quite an experience, I cannot wait to test it out when a review sample is ready. 

 The lens features a built in teleconverter 1.25x, effectively providing the full telephoto end of 1000mm equivalent focal length (in 35mm format). 

There is also a new teleconverter, MC-20, available soon, and will be fully compatible with M.Zuiko 40-150mm F2.8 PRO and 300mm F4 PRO IS lenses. 

The metal unibody design of E-M1X. 

The Star of the show - Olympus OM-D E-M1X

Seiki Yamamoto, Head of Sales for Olympus Japan was present during the launch in Malaysia, giving his opening speech. Seen in the image on the screen in his background, a photo of the legendary Maitani, possibly the world's finest camera designer and engineer. 

This slide served one purpose - to tell you Olympus's staunch stance that they will never go full frame. 

A friend and fellow ex-colleague based in Olympus Singapore, Amos Kang, was doing the product presentation for the new E-M1X. This was my job when I worked for Olympus Malaysia years ago. It was nice being in the audience instead of on stage. Amos did a fantastic job explaining the camera features and key improvements. 

Tanes Jitsawart was the key speaker for this event, an Olympus Visionary as well as Profoto Ambassador. He shared his experience using the Olympus system as well as some tips on shooting motorsports. 

We then moved on to the track for touch and try with the new E-M1X, shooting the fast moving cars. I was busy making sure everyone was ok and answering questions left right front and center so I did not have any chance to shoot during this slot. 

It was a successful event and I was happy to be a part of it, being able to contribute a small part. Although I am no longer a staff, I felt right at home, seeing so many friendly faces who remembered me from the old days. 

A little update: I am flying home to Kuching (in Borneo), my hometown tomorrow, 30th January 2019 to 14th Febuary 2019. Kuching people, let's catch up! Therefore, the soonest I can do further testing on the Olympus OM-D E-M1X will be after my 2 weeks long holiday, and when I return to KL in mid February.