ROBIN WONG

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!