ROBIN WONG

The second part of my test with the NiSi 49mnm Close Up lens was using it on my own Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro. The Olympus 60mm macro lens alone can achieve 100% magnification, and by quick ruler measurement, by attaching the NiSi 49mm Close Up Lens, I can take the magnification further to a whooping 158%, which was incredible! I took this opportunity to shoot smaller critters, or go even closer to the bugs revealing more details on their eyes, and I got to say, the image quality coming out from this combo was nothing short of amazing. All images were shot on OM System OM-1 using wireless off camera flash, and I have also made longer explanation in my latest video here (click). I am just throwing the images I got from this macro lens + close up lens combo around in this blog entry. 

NiSi contacted me and asked if I were interested in testing their Close Up Lens and I immediately said yes. It is not an every day opportunity to collaborate with a company doing insect macro photography, something I am quite passionate about. I did tell them that if I don't like the product, I will continue with the review, but it turned out that I was quite impressed by what the  Close Up Lens can do. Basically, the NiSi Close Up Lens is a simple attachment that you mount onto another lens to reduce the minimum focusing distance, bringing the lens closer to the subject, increasing magnification. This can turn a non-macro lens, like the Olympus 45mm F1.8 into a macro-like lens. Based on my simple calculation (you can check in video) I estimated the maximum magnification of Olympus 45mm F1.8 was boosted from 0.11x to 0.56x with the NiSi Close Up Lens attached. I have talked about my experience using it in my latest video, you can check it out here, but in this blog entry I am sharing all images taken with OM System OM-1 with Olympus 45mm F1.8 + NiSi Close Up Lens 49mm. Teaser - I will share images taken with the Olympus 60mm F2.8 macro + NiSi Close Up Lens in the following blog entry, with insane magnification going super close to the bugs!

One of the amazing things about Micro Four Thirds system is the collection of really awesome compact sized, portable lenses that are excellent in optics design and can deliver great results. Sometimes it still puzzles me how something so tiny-ly built can render astoundingly sharp and beautiful results. Even the lowlist kit lens from Micro Four Thirds is no slouch either, they are impressively sharp. I compiled a list of 5 best budget lenses for Micro Four Thirds system under USD150 (used or new) with autofocus - the lenses are Panasonic 14mm F2.5, Olympus 45mm F1.8, Panasonic 12-32mm F3.5-5.6, Olympus 40-150mm F4-5.6 R and Yongnuo 17mm F1.7. I made a video to further expand on my explanations, you can view it here (click). 

I have been on YouTube space for over 5 years now, making new videos week after week, but I don't see myself as a videographer. Yes, I am a content creator, or YouTuber, that part is very true as I share videos of me talking about photography related topics, but that does not qualify me as a videographer. It is strange that many people immediately associate YouTubers as videographers, which I believe are two completely different animals. I am a photographer, I earn a living doing photo shoots and jobs, and I share about my passion in photography through my videos published on YouTube (and of course here, this blog too, in more traditional article format). I am a photographer that utilizes YouTube as a platform to talk to an audience. However, there is a group of YouTubers who make videos about photography, who may not be photographers, and they seem to care little or less about photography at all, and I want to talk about these YouTube photographers. 

I see so many people chasing after latest and greatest gear and obsessing over technical perfection in their images. I personally believe that if you cannot get good images with your current gear, even if you upgrade to the next best camera, your images won't improve even a bit. You should upgrade your skills first before upgrading your gear. I also believe that using older, cheaper gear can help make you a better photographer. Going back to basics with simpler controls without the automated settings or 1000 different AF options, you have to truly master the basics and control the camera effectively to get your shots, without relying on the camera's "smart" features. Not having 1000MP or 1000fps burst shooting will slow you down and make you work harder around the camera limitations to get your shots. Using older cameras will sharpen your shooting discipline. I talk about this and more in my latest video here (click). I am sharing some of my latest work with the almost 20 years old Nikon D50 and Yongnuo 35mm F2 lens. 

Olympus OM-D E-M5 original was a legendary camera that paved the way to mirrorless revolution. I think that camera is still an awesome camera today and is great for street photography. It has built in EVF, tiltable LCD screen, fast AF, built in 5-Axis image stabilization, is weather-sealed, has magnesium allow build, handles like a mini DSLR with efficient dual command dials control, and produces excellent image quality. In the used market today, since the E-M5 original was released 12 years ago, you should be able to get one in a fairly cheap price, and it can still deliver great results! I talk about this and more in my latest video here (click). I share the same photographs in this blog entry, all taken with E-M5 original and 25mm F1.8 lens. 

I have never actually owned the Olympus M.Zuiko 60mm F2.8 Macro lens before. Previously, I had one for long term loan from Olympus when I was involved with them as an Olympus Visionary (a fancy name for ambassador). Since I left, I have returned the macro lens together with a selection of other amazing lenses, and I never looked to purchase one for myself because macro photography was not what I was doing for a living. Fast forward many years to today, I found the Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro in the used marketplace at a really good price I cannot resist, so I bought one, and my hands got so itchy I went out to the nearby park to grab some insect macro images. I made a video about this, you can watch it here (click). 

I bought a new wireless microphone set - the Hollyland Lark M2. I bought this to replace my old Sennheiser XSW-D Portable Wireless Microphone which has dying batteries, and they could barely last me 30 minutes of recording time in a single charge. The Sennheiser wireless setup has served me so well over the past few years, it had zero hiccup, super reliable and I still think the audio quality from the lavalier microphone in unmatched by any newer microphone offerings from other manufacturers. I also bought the new Hollyland Lark M2 to be used on my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 which I got just the basic set without the wireless microphone transmitter (available with the creator combo). I use the DJI Pocket 3 as my main vlogging camera, and for recording POV video for main YouTube channel. I brought the Hollyland Lark M2 out for the first time to test, and I did a quick vlog, you can check it out here (click). I am quite impressed with the tiny size, super ease of use and overall, the sound quality is not too bad. 

This was probably the only time this happened so far, instead of the manufacturer approaching me to review a lens, it was the other way around, I requested a review sample of the 17mm F1.7 from Yongnuo. I did so because I was curious about how the new 17mm alternative lens performed and if it can do better than Olympus 17mm F1.8 which I openly talked about how much I disliked its rendering. Yongnuo sent me the lens and I did several street shooting sessions on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on my own OM System OM-1 and Olympus PEN E-PL7 cameras. Long story short, the lens performed admirably, and I do prefer the Yongnuo better than the Olympus 17mn lens. I have made a video to talk about this, you can view it here (click). 

I was at Malacca for a few days last week for a quick shoot, so of course, I took this opportunity to do some street shooting and filled my stomach with amazing Malacca food. It is so interesting to note that just by driving 2 hours away from Kuala Lumpur, we get a different selection of food, some we can't find in Kuala Lumpur, and even if they have it here, the taste and quality would not be as good as they were in Malacca. In another life I could probably be a full-time food photographer, I enjoy shooting images of food as much as I enjoy eating them! I must admit though, I did not shoot all the food that I ate during this trip, there were times I was just so hungry I dived into the food ignoring the camera. Not pictured: satay celup, ponteh pork, cendol. 

TTArtisan sent me their 75mm F2 AF lens for Nikon Z mirrorless full frame mount cameras. I tested the lens on my own Nikon Z5, and boy oh boy, was I surprised. The lens performs incredibly well despite its compact form factor and light weight, and for the asking price of merely USD178, I thought this is too good to be true! I have also brought this lens to shoot several paid jobs, though I can't share my images from my private clients, but I also have done some street shooting with it and you will see these images here in this blog. I have also made a video sharing my thoughts about this lens here (click). 

I saw the moon floating around in the sky just outside my bedroom window and my hands got a bit itchy. So I grabbed the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II with M.Zuiko 75-300mm II lens and mounted them on a tripod, and took a shot of the moon using the tripod high res shot, yielding an effective 50MP output. This was JPEG, I could not be bothered with processing a RAW file since this was not going to be delivered to a client and I wanted a quick result. Sometimes, I enjoy instant noodles too. I thought the resolution resolved from a cheapish 75-300mm II lens combined with the pixel-shift composite method worked really well, not the best moon shot out there, but my finger itch was satisfied. This reminds me of the song from Radical Face, Bad Blood having these lyrics "but there's no magic inside the moon, it's just a rock you can't reach". 

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!