ROBIN WONG

During my recent trip to Kuching I joined an outdoor portrait shooting session organized by Nunong, and it was the beautiful talent Gillian at Brooke Dockyard area. I have shared in my recent blog entry some images taken with the Nikon Z5 and Meike 85mm F1.4, the lens which was sent for me to review, and it is still in the progress of testing. However, in that same session, I also brought along another mystery camera and an equivalent 40mm lens, and I took some shots with that setup as well. Here are the images from that unrevealed old, cheap camera, which I shall talk about in near future. 

I am not ashamed to admit that the only reason I am able to be here today is because I have truly great friends. Of all the blessings in my life, I know for sure, I have always been surrounded by many awesome friends, some I honestly think I don't deserve to have. I realized very early on in my life that I cannot survive alone, we human beings are social creatures, and we need each other for support and growth. Some of the truest friends I have had stuck with me through thick and thin, and helped me through some very challenging times in my life. For that I am eternally grateful for these friends, and I know I would not have survived without them. Obviously, I am not going to name each and every one of them, but my friends have made several appearances on this blog, my YouTube (mostly the vlog channel) and social media (Facebook). For this particular blog, I am featuring Jason Lioh, whom I have just caught up with over lunch and coffee, a week or so ago, before my trip back to my hometown Kuching. 

I am a 50mm shooter so I must have a 50mm lens for whatever system that I own. For my Nikon Z5, I settled for the cheapest 50mm native Z mount lens I can find, which happened to be the Meike 50mm F1.8 that I got for about USD130/RM600. I tested this lens on the streets and also shooting some food, and I got to say, the lens exceeded my expectations when it comes to optical performance at such a low cost. Since the Nikon Z5 is not my main camera, and I don't use it to make money, it makes sense to keep the lenses on tight budget and this 50mm is the right lens, if you don't want to break the bank. I have shared my full thoughts on the Meike 50mm F1.8 in my video here (click). 

While I was home in Kuching, Borneo recently for mum's birthday celebration, there was an arranged model outdoor portrait shooting session and my friend Kieron invited me to come along for the shoot. I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something a bit out of usual, as I normally shoot portraits of strangers on the streets instead of an arranged portrait session. Nevertheless, keeping an open mind is important and I am earning a living shooting portraits too, so a bit of fun shooting a model at Brooke Dockyard (not really at the dockyard exactly, but the surrounding areas) was something I needed. In this blog entry, I am sharing images shot with the Nikon Z5 and Meike 85mm F1.4 lens. Meike sent me the 85mm F1.4 lens for review and I am in the midst of gathering sufficient sample images. So far, I am loving that lens! I will talk more about my experience using that lens in my coming review, so stay tuned!

In my recent hunt in the used marketplace, I came across an interesting camera which I never thought I would be buying. I got curious and I thought, at such a low price, why not? I bought this mysterious camera, which I shall not reveal yet, and I had it with me during my short trip home to Kuching, Borneo recently. Of course, I always made time for shutter therapy when I was in Kuching, and this was the perfect opportunity to test the camera more thoroughly. I am still in the midst of gathering more sample shots, and testing the camera, but sometime soon in the future, I will make a video to talk about it. I thought the camera did its job quite well, and I got some cool shots from my hometown! I am sharing these photos here. 

I have been away from Kuala Lumpur for about one week, and just returned from my short trip to Kuching, Borneo to celebrate my mum's birthday. Every year, in July, I will definitely make time to visit mum, and this would also be a good opportunity to catch up with some friends from my hometown, and stuff myself silly with amazing local Kuching food. Not to forget, I also always allocate some time for shutter therapy, and yes, there will be some shots I will share from my street shooting sessions and some photo outing adventures in Kuching here, very very soon. For this blog entry, I shall post a short collection of people I have met and the few favorite food that I have eaten. 

Most people would know that I am a prime lens shooter mostly, and I rarely use zooms. I do acknowledge the importance of zoom lenses, especially superzooms in some situations where you really cannot change lenses, for example dusty environment or you can only carry one lens with you. The convenience of having the ability to zoom from wide angle to telephoto outweighs the compromises of making a zoom lens, and getting the shot is always the priority when it comes to photography. I found a used Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm F4-5.8 in the marketplace for a good price I cannot refuse, and I thought why not give it a try? I brought the lens being paired with my Olympus OM-D E-M10 to Thean Hou Temple and took some images there. I shared my thoughts about superzooms and how the Panasonic 14-140mm performed in my latest video here (click).