ROBIN WONG

I managed to get my hands on a demo unit of the newly launched Fujifilm X-M5 at a touch and try session happening inside the Artishutter X N4 camera store last Saturday. I am genuinely curious about this camera, an entry level camera with advanced features that is made into a truly compact and lightweight body in the year 2024, and selling for under USD1000 price tag, is it too good to be true? Since I only had the camera inside the store and did shoot with it extensively, obviously this is not going to be a review, but I am merely sharing my hands on experience with the X-M5, what I like and dislike about it. I also have made a new video about the same topic here (click). 

My dear friend Bihzhu celebrated her 41st birthday recently, and she had quite an unusual celebration - she held a mini party happening right at a waterfall. The location was Lata Beringin, and I went with my friend Spencer. There were plenty of amazing people, all of whom were Bihzhu's close friends, and we were surrounded with so much laughter and love. We had delicious food filling our tummies and went for a dip in the cool waters, just chilling. This was a much needed getaway and a break I needed from my busy routine of being a photographer and content creator! It was a genius idea to have the celebration in the open outdoors, close to nature, and that sound of waterfall roaring constantly in the background, being in the cool river water was really refreshing. It was the recharge and reset that I needed. Again, to my beautiful amazing friend Bihzhu, happy birthday and I wish you bountiful of blessings, love, happiness and peace. Many happy returns! I have also made a vlog documenting this special occasion, you can find the vlog here (click). 

Last Saturday, I attended the wedding luncheon of Ivan and Chin Lay at Chow Kit hotel in downtown KL. Ivan is an old friend whom I have known since forever! We were classmates in secondary school, and we still kept in close contact until this very day. I am so happy for you Ivan, congratulations to you and I wish you abundant happiness, love and blessings for your marriage life. Of course, my itchy hands brought along my camera, but I was very being very careful not to do anything crazy to overstep the official photographer on duty. I had my Nikon Z5 and the TTArtisan 75mm F2 AF (I am still in the process of reviewing) and I took some shots from my seat during the cake cutting and champagne toasting ceremony. I am so, so happy so see Ivan being so happy on this special day! 

I was experimenting with an interesting technique to shoot birds with my smartphone, purely out of curiosity and fun recently. I attached the Olympus 75-300mm II super telephoto zoom lens onto my smartphone, Poco X6 Pro, well, technically the Olympus 75-300mm II lens was mounted on Olympus Air, a camera module that was then connected to the smartphone wirelessly. I thought this method was quite fun, and it worked really well. I went to Kuala Lumpur Bird Park to get some bird images; some I was quite happy with. I shared the video screenshot of the viewfinder of my smartphone while capturing these bird shots, you can find the full video here (click). 

I know I have been quite harsh in my previous post commenting on the Olympus E-M1X being a mistake, but I did review that camera, and it was a fairly capable Micro Four Thirds camera, perhaps the best performing during its launch. I was in an Olympus Visionary trip to South Africa, so I managed to use the E-M1X with long lenses to shoot some wildlife images, and I supplemented those with even more sample images taken all around Kuala Lumpur at various locations and different scenarios. Insect macro, cityscape, street shooting, night shooting and even a music live performance, I tested the E-M1X in every possible shooting scenario I could do. Sometimes, looking back at these images, I can get impressed by the intense amount of effort I put into my reviews, I am not sure if I am able or willing to do such extensive review again for any camera in the future. It was fun, I enjoyed shooting with the E-M1X, I still think it is too large and heavy for Micro Four Thirds and its existence brought more issues than necessary. Nevertheless, it is a camera, and it can shoot great images. 

Olympus OM-D E-M1X was released in 2019, it became the first camera to break away from the Micro Four Thirds principles of making small, portable cameras yet delivering high performance. In fact, the E-M1X was larger and heavier than most cameras, whether DSLR or mirrorless. It was a daring attempt by Olympus to target a separate user group altogether, and it could have worked with the intended vision of what E-M1X was designed for, but somehow it fell short. Consequently, the E-M1X was the beginning of a series of mistakes that led Olympus to their downfall. I want to take a closer look at the E-M1X and share my thoughts on why this was a mistake that could have been avoided. 

Old CCD compact cameras are all the rage now, and that can be seen with the increasingly ridiculously high selling prices in the used market. I personally think these old compacts are super fun and can deliver great results, if you know what you are doing. There is something about using a truly small, pocketable camera with minimalist control and simplicity that encourages more fun while shooting images. After all photography isn't all about technical obsession, if you can put aside the chase of crazy megapixel numbers, impossible dynamic range and fantastic clean high ISO images, maybe for once you can actually enjoy the process and magic of making images happen. However, I also don't believe in spending unnecessarily for an old piece of gear, and it makes no sense that these older cameras are selling higher than their original retail prices during launch. If you can find an old CCD compact at a cheap bargain, or if you already have one lying around and is still pretty much alive, or if you can borrow one from a friend just to play around, I think it can be a break from normal routine that you may just need to refresh your photography experience. Otherwise, it is indeed a waste of time and money!

I must confess an uncomfortable truth, I bought the Olympus PEN E-PL1 due to peer pressure back then, I was asked to join an Olympus PEN group to help out and I did. The qualification to become a member? You have to own an Olympus PEN camera. What a mistake I have done, and a hard lesson that I have learned. Of course, nothing good came out of caving into peer pressure and trying to please people around me, I know that now. Things did not go well, the group (well, the top leaders and founders) were at each other's necks and not long after the arrival of Olympus OM-D, the group disbanded and that was the short story of a short-lived photography group that was created out of personal ego and not for the love of photography. I got burned for being honest and staying true to myself, things got really ugly, and I am still traumatized by this incident until today. But hey, that is a story for another day. I did regret buying the Olympus PEN E-PL1, it was not ready, and Micro Four Thirds format needed more work, and I consider the first true camera to be ready from Olympus mirrorless system was the OM-D E-M5, which was indeed a WOW camera and took the imaging world by storm. I still kept the E-PL1 around, and I shared these set of images during my last week's Live Stream on YouTube. While I had no love for the E-PL1 (ugly design, slow AF, poor screen, nothing to shout about), I do love these set of images that I have taken about 4 years ago, some time after the pandemic lockdown was lifted. 

I admit, I have been browsing Wotancraft's website for several years now, looking at their various beautiful camera bags, but I never hit the purchase buttons. I already have several well functioning bags that served their purposes very well, and I see no need to splurge on another bag. When Wotancraft reached out and asked if I wanted to try one of their bags, I immediately said yes! They sent me their Pilot 7L bag, which is a shoulder/messenger styled camera bag, and I thought this was just the perfect bag for my street photography adventures. I made a video to share my thoughts on why I love this Pilot 7L so much, you can find the video here (click). 

The biggest mistake Micro Four Thirds players did was trying to beat the full frame big boys by making larger, heavier, ridiculously overpriced cameras with bloated tech and features that 98% of the consumers do not even use or need. Everyone is fighting the latest and greatest tech war, better AI computational features, faster burst rate, faster sensor readout, global shutter, advanced pro video features like internal RAW recording, which honestly do not make much of a difference for an average hobbyist, besides having more bragging points when owing such "flagship level" products. When you fight against the larger players with deeper pockets and much spare resources to burn for R&D and affording a few failures in their trial-and-error process along the way, you lose. Instead of fighting head on making bigger, bloated cameras, why not go back to basics, rediscover what makes Micro Four Thirds so great and amazing in the first place, the philosophy and art of making really small yet powerful cameras. You don't need to be the best to beat the rest. You just need to play smart and listen to what the people want. 

I have had the Olympus PEN Mini E-PM1 and I enjoyed using that camera quite a bit for my street shooting sessions, so when I found a used E-PM2 at such a good price in good condition, I just could not resist. The PEN Mini camera was the smallest Micro Four Thirds camera made by Olympus, sits at the lowest entry level to the PEN series, with stripped down features and capabilities, made to be extremely compact, minimalist and easy to use for beginners. However, the E-PM2 features an updated 16MP image sensor, newer processor and better AF performance compared to the original E-PM1, and it is now effectively replacing my E-PM1. I did a video to share my thoughts on why OM Digital Solutions should bring back the PEN Mini series, you can find the video here (click). 

I have had tremendously busy weekends for the past month. I had 3 separate visitors from my hometown Kuching for every last weekend which I gladly hosted and brought around Kuala Lumpur for meals and catch up sessions. Between that and a few photography jobs, making new content for my YouTube channel and also making myself available to support a few friends having exhibitions, attending camera trade fairs, going to photography festivals and events happening around town all at the same time, I was left with not much time to breathe. This coming weekend will be the first weekend with no fixed agenda, no event to attend, and no visitor friends to entertain. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, and I treasure every minute I spend with them, I enjoy participating in local photography events, supporting my friends, but a break is certainly much needed. Sometimes, when I see a stray cat coming along, I forget everything else and just play with the cat. Life is so much simpler and happier that way. 

One of the go-to places to bring my friends for a meal when they are visiting outside of Kuala Lumpur, is Kanbe Ramen. This Japanese Ramen restaurant was opened merely few years ago and has risen to fame, much loved by ramen lovers locally here to a point where many have claimed Kanbe to be the best Ramen place in Malaysia. I have tried many, many Ramen restaurants in KL and I got to say, Kanbe is a league of its own. So when my friends Allen and Tiffany came to KL for a visit, I just have to bring them there to try some porky goodness, and I believe they were not disappointed. We caught up over coffee and cakes after the hearty meal. 

TTArtisan sent me their 56mm F1.8 lens for Sony E-mount, and I tested it on my old Sony NEX-6 camera. Full disclaimer - I do get to keep this lens after review, but I made it clear to TTArtisan that I get to be 100% honest about my opinion written here (as well as in my YouTube video). For $129 that TTArtisan is a lot of bang for the buck, and a stellar performer. I shall share what I like and dislike about the lens here, after shooting many sample photographs, including an event coverage, multiple street photography sessions and a few portrait and food shots. 

Happy Malaysia Day to all my fellow Malaysians! To commemorate this special occasion, I am breaking my own strict monochromatic dress code just for one day. Instead of mostly black and white from top to bottom, today, I wear splashes of red and blue to match the mini Malaysian flag I am bearing on my chest. I am proud to be a Malaysian, saya anak Malaysia! This portrait shot of mine was shot by my good friend Van Ligutom (IG @vanligutom) at the historical Stadium Merdeka, where the first prime minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman declared the independence for Malaya. I honestly could not think of a better place to have the picture taken. 

It has almost become a ritual for me and the boys to meet up and have brunch at a new hipster cafe location every once in a while, and this time we went to the Grumpy Bagels, situated just a little bit off the new TRX Mall. It seems like bagel is all the rage now and there are several new places serving bagels with a variation of fillings. The cool thing about this particular bagel place - it was originally an abandoned house and the business owner, Claire turned it around, renovating the house and turned it into a cozy breakfast dining spot, right in the middle of the prime city locations near Bukit Bintang. My friends and I ordered a variety of items from the menu, and I have to say they did know what they were doing with the bagels. We had plenty of fun catching up over awesome bagels and coffee! What a better way to kick off the long weekend. 

I visited my friends Azul and Grace's exhibition at Stadium Merdeka again and this time I brought more friends to go see it. I thought I'd make myself useful and started shooting behind the scenes images while both Azul and Grace did their short presentation sharing their shooting process for the exhibition images. I do make a bulk of my income from shooting event coverage, many behind the scenes images for my clients, and I want to share some tips on shooting effective event images. 

Initially, I intended to film a new video for my main photography channel yesterday. I was being a little ambitious, I also wanted to do a second video for my vlog channel, showing behind the scenes of how I set up my shoot and capture the whole process from start to finish, making a video. I thought some would find that fascinating and beneficial. However, the weather did not agree with my plans, as my shoot depended on the sky conditions outdoor, it rained heavily, and I had to postpone the original video shoot. Instead of just calling it quits, I decided to continue vlogging, documenting what I did for the entire day - my morning gym session, adventures playing with a cat, and sitting down in a cafe getting some work done. You can find the vlog here (click). 

About two weeks ago, I attended a mini concert at KLPAC, and it was their 5th installment of Yesterday Once More, indulging in music from yesteryears. I was an audience this time, and was not hired to shoot, so I attended the actual show instead of the dress rehearsal, and seated at the crowd section. I still intended to grab some shots for myself, so I brought along the most convenient setup I can think of - the E-M1 Original and Panasonic 14-140mm lens. This was quite a challenging shoot as I was fixed at one location, not being able to move around limited my composition options. The lighting on stage was quite dim, and using a superzoom that stops down to F5.8 at the longest end 140mm does require the use of much higher ISO numbers that I don't normally touch when I usually shot with my prime lenses. Nevertheless, the primary goal was to have fun, enjoy the show and I did love the live music show tremendously. Photography in this case was secondary, and here are some mediocre shots from the show. Not my best work, but I love them anyway!

Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 has been my favourite Micro Four Thirds lens since its launch back in 2011. This tiny gem weighs only 116g, yet it delivers excellent results, rendering sharp images with plenty of fine details, good contrast and beautiful bokeh. I have done countless photography jobs with this lens shooting portraits, weddings, events, stage coverage and product photography over the years. In my latest adventure with the Olympus 45mm F1.8. I was shooting the beautiful Ivani Leang (IG @ivani_leang) with my friends Van Ligutom (@vanligutom) and Jojo (IG @jojoelisan) at Tamarind Square in Cyberjaya. I also recorded behind the scenes of this shoot in POV style to show you the view through my camera's viewfinder, you can find the video here (click). I am sharing some of my favourite images from the session here in this blog entry! All images were taken with OM System OM-1 and Olympus M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 lens. 

My friends Azul Adnan (IG @azuladnan) and Grace Ho (IG @grace_.ho) have an on-going exhibition happening at the newly refurbished and reopened historic Stadium Merdeka. Both photographers are extremely talented and they were shooting for the project "Under the Shadow of Merdeka" which will be made into a photobook. The current exhibition has been extended to 16 September 2024, so if you are in KL please do swing by Stadium Merdeka and check out both the exhibition and the stadium itself, which was an important piece in Malaysian history. In conjunction with the exhibition, there was a photowalk happening on the Merdeka Day (31 August) which I have attended, and I shall share several photographs from that photowalk, and also some taken during the unofficial talk by Azul and Grace at the exhibition venue after the photowalk. 

Congratulations to both Azul and Grace on the exhibition! Really amazing work there, I highly recommend any photographers in KL to go see it!

Ricoh GR III series cameras have gained a cult following status, but each of them would cost above USD1000, which is not on the affordable range for low income earners. I always say that we don't have to break the bank to enjoy photography, thus I am looking at a budget alternative setup for the GR IIIX. I found an old Sony NEX-6 camera for about USD120, and I paired it with TTArtisans 27mm F2.8 AF also from the used market at about USD80. The combo costs less than USD200, yet it delivers great results, and can do a few things better than the GR IIIX itself - the combo has built in EVF, tilt screen, longer battery life, can change lens and more comfortable handling. I won't deny that the GR IIIX is truly pocketable, and the newer image sensor and modern tech brought in some advantages in image output and overall camera performance, but it is also asking for a lot more. I explored the merits of the budget GR IIIX alternative combo in my latest video, you can check it out here. 

In this blog entry, I am sharing images from the streets of Kuala Lumpur, all taken with the Sony NEX-6 and TTArtisans 27mm F2.8 AF lens. More images to be shared in subsequent blog entries soon. 

I have previously sold off my Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 and upgraded to the 25mm F1.2 PRO, which I have used for many years. Recently I found myself wishing for a smaller 50mm equivalent lens solution for my Micro Four Thirds set up especially when I am doing street photography. I found a used unit at a great price, so I reacquired the Olympus 25mm F1.8, and I brought it out for some shutter therapy sessions. The particular set of images shown in this blog were all shot on Olympus OM-D E-M5 original. I am a 50mm (equivalent) shooter, so this Olympus 25mm F1.8 is my favorite street shooting lens for Micro Four Thirds, it is so compact it fits so well on smaller camera bodies, it has super-fast AF to capture the critical moments and the lens renders such sharp, beautiful images. This is truly a tiny gem for Micro Four Thirds shooters. I also made a video to talk about all that and more, you can check it out here (click). 

This is a continuation of the mini review series for the Meike 85mm F1.4 lens for Nikon Z full frame mirrorless system. I brought the lens out on the streets of Kuala Lumpur for some shutter therapy action, and I mounted the lens on my own Nikon Z5. The lens is on the larger and heavier side of things, but still manageable on the Nikon Z5, without feeling out of balanced, and handling was quite comfortable for extended shooting durations. The AF worked very well, human face/eye detect tracking AF worked like a charm, and general AF speed was very quick and reliable. The lens is perhaps too long for most street photography uses, but it does not matter, I just wanted to collect some sample shots to add to the collection. 

Meike sent me their 85mm F1.4 full frame lens for Nikon Z mirrorless system and I brought the lens out for some testing sessions, shooting with my Nikon Z5 camera. I have done a mini review video; you can check it out here (click). Basically, I am quite impressed with the optical performance of the Meike 85mm F1.4 lens, it renders very sharp images with good contrast and beautiful bokeh, and it manages the lens flaws quite well. There is nothing much to complain about the lens, with the budget price tag, it easily becomes a highly recommended lens for those who seek to stretch their budget on Nikon Z mirrorless system. In one of the testing sessions, I was shooting this beautiful model Lily (IG @lilyayumiii), so I shall share the series of portraits taken of Lily in this blog entry. I shall share more images from other sessions in my coming blog entries. 

Photographic Society of Petaling Jaya had a live panel discussion on main stage at Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival 2024 which happened last weekend. The topic of discussion was Photo Club in Social Media Age, and there were three panelists, moderated by my friend Raja Indra Putra, who is the advisor for PSPJ. I took this opportunity to grab some quick shots and work the camera, satisfying my shutter itch. I was using the Sony NEX-6 (yes, more about this in future content) with a plethora of prime lenses and I gotta say, there was something fun running around capturing images of a live event!

When I saw this camera on sale online I just cannot resist pressing the "buy" button. I have always been a huge fan of Lego. However, growing up in a poor family I did not have the luxury of owning or playing much with Lego, and I was always jealous of my other friends who have them. Now that I am a working adult and I can afford my own toys, it is just tempting not to get the Lego camera, and well, as a photographer myself, how can I resist a camera, though a Lego one? I also took this opportunity to vlog the whole process of me assembling the Lego camera (though sped up in time lapse) and also, I featured my friend Irene which I had brunch with in the vlog, and I also talked a little about why I go to the gym and lift weights. Yes, my second YouTube channel is updated with a latest vlog, you can check it out here (click). 

I found the Olympus M.Zuiko 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II in the used marketplace at such irresistibly low price I just had to nab it. I paired it with the OM System OM-1 and brought them to the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. This was my first time shooting the Olympus 75-300mm II lens on the OM-1, I tested the lens on other cameras previously. Obviously I never owned the lens, I borrowed it from Olympus Malaysia, when they still existed and I was heavily involved with them. Even today, I think the Olympus 75-300mm II is the best budget super telephoto zoom lens available for Micro Four Thirds. It is so small and light, a truly compact lens for having such a long reach of 600mm in 35mm equivalent format, and the optical quality is also nothing to scoff at. I wish OM Digital Solutions would update this lens with weather-sealing, and perhaps improved optics with brighter aperture opening, say F4-5.6 instead of F4.8-6.7, that would have been awesome. I did a video showing POV view through my viewfinder shooting with the Olympus 75-300mm II lens, you can find it here (click). 

I find it really strange seeing so many photographers worrying about not being good enough. They measure their success through the likes and engagement rate on social media platforms, and when they don't get enough validation, they go down the spiral of misery and depression like it is the end of the world. I understand the importance of having an audience, and I acknowledge that I have benefitted from the strong and supportive photography community over the years I have been involved in photography, and also blogging here. Without the kindness, generosity and help from many people reading this blog (or watching my YouTube videos) I won't be where I am today, so for that I am grateful. But never have I intentionally taken any photographs or created any content to please anyone else. I shoot, because I love shooting. I enjoy the process of photography. Therefore, I believe it is extremely crucial for a photographer to shoot what he (or she) loves, and not care too much about what others think. 

The Olympus PEN E-P3 was the second camera that Olympus Malaysia loaned me for review on this blog, so that camera does have a special place in my heart. It was a bold attempt by Olympus to break expectations and redefine what mirrorless cameras can do, especially when it comes to autofocus performance. Before E-P3, all mirrorless cameras from various camps had a similar issue - AF was sluggish and unreliable when compared to DSLR counterparts with faster and more accurate AF. This changed with E-P3, as Olympus doubled the data captured (120fps images captured for contrast detect AF calculation instead of 60fps previously), increased the processing power by using a dual core processor in the camera and also boosted the buffer to handle the higher operations workload from the new autofocus system. The drastic improvement was evident, indeed at that time Olympus boldly claimed the E-P3 to be the fastest AF camera - with a caveat of course, it was true for Single-AF, not continuous AF or tracking. Ever since E-P3, the AF got better generations after generations, and everyone else also adopted similar technique to improve their AF system, and now we even have Ai subject recognition incorporated into AF systems in modern cameras. It all started with E-P3, and I found one used unit at a good price in the used market, and here are some images from my recent shutter therapy session! I have a video made to discuss this topic in further length as well, click here. 

Sunday has become the default photowalk day for most of my friends, as they do have weekday office jobs and weekend means time for some camera action. I have adjusted my shutter therapy allocation hours to accommodate these friends, sometimes it is just more fun to go out with a few like-minded people and enjoy photography as a group activity. As much as I enjoy shooting solo, I do admit we humans are social creatures, and being in a group can be super fun, if you are with the right kind of people of course. I normally run around in smaller groups - no more than 4 or 5 people, or else instead of a photowalk it has become a giant chaotic gathering and no shooting gets done. This time we attacked the usual Petaling Street, a popular ground for street shooting for the locals. I brought along the Lumix GM1 and Olympus 25mm F1.8, and it has been a fruitful session!

Last Saturday my Filipino group of friends in KL invited me along for breakfast at SS2 morning market. For all my time being in Kuala Lumpur area I have never been to that market before in my life, so it was my first time. The market was huge, selling fresh meat, vegetables and produce, but also has a section for breakfast serving. We were just there for our breakfast and did not do any shopping. I had a serving of Char Kuey Tiaw and a Char Siew Pao, with an "ikat tepi" Teh Peng. It was a filling breakfast with even more satisfying company of friends, I'd say it was a Saturday morning well spent. 

There is just something so fun shooting on the streets at night compared to daytime, as the sun is gone, the street is lit with artificial light that adds a different glow to the scene. I brought the Olympus OM-D E-M1 original out for this round, since the camera is a little neglected and did not get much use recently. I paired it with the Sigma 30mm F1.4, since I was shooting in low light, the brighter aperture would help gather a bit more light. I went around Imbi area and got some portraits of strangers. I also have filmed the behind the scenes in POV style showing you what happened around and in front of me before I clicked the shutter button. You can find the POV video here (click). For a more than 10 years old camera, I am still constantly impressed by what the OG E-M1 can do!

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!