ROBIN WONG

Olympus used to make some really unusual and useful attachments for their hotshoe accessory port back in the earlier days of Micro Four Thirds (as far back as E-P2). One of such products was the Macro Arm Light MAL-1, which has two flexible arms with adjustable LED light for small subject illumination. I recently found one and I just could not resist testing it for my usual macro shooting session. I found that the idea of the macro arm light was practical and helpful for macro shooting - flexible arms for precise lighting placement, two separate directional lighting sources with selectable brightness, no need for battery or charging as the power is drawn from the camera via hotshoe mount, and the overall package being so small and light, easy to carry and setup for use. However, it has one big flaw - the light is just not powerful enough for meaningful macro work that requires large magnification and deeper DOF, eg insect macro. Nevertheless, I did have fun shooting with it, and I am sharing some sample shots taken with the Olympus E-M1 OG, 60mm F2.8 Macro together with the Macro Arm Light MAL-1. I have also made a video on this topic here (click). 

I really cannot imagine myself buying and using a new Kodak camera in 2025, but here I am, with their latest release, the Kodak Charmera. This is a retro-styled plastic tiny toy camera that shoots a mere 1.6MP resolution images, in other words, Lo-Fi photography! Since the price was fairly cheap and I thought I could use the detox from all the gear technical obsession, I bpought the Kodak Charmera and thought it would be fun to bring it out on the streets for some shutter therapy. It was nice to just leave behind all the obsession on camera settings and getting the best results, and just snap away some Lo-Fi images that would make any pixel-peeper's eyes bleed. The images came out quite interesting, and I am sharing them in this blog entry. I made a video too, with POV view on the streets I was shooting, you can view it here (click).

It pays off to listen to customer feedback and continuously refine to improve your product, one iteration after another. And it isn't good enough to just make some cosmetic changes and small updates to call a new camera, Ricoh did not cheap out the GR IV, as it features different and new image sensor, redesigned lens with better optics, much improved AF performance, dramatically more powerful image stabilization, added internal built in storage with generous 53GB capacity and still packing all that in a familiar, slim and truly pocketable form factor. You get a more responsive camera with better performance, delivering visibly better image output from the predecessor, that is not you make a new camera. Other manufacturers should take note! Ricoh GR IV proves that Ricoh/Pentax has the capability of making small, capable mirrorless cameras, now the only question is - will they do it? It is still an open game. 

During the one week plus of time I had the loaner Ricoh GR IV, I went to various locations in Kuala Lumpur to get my sample images. I went to Masjid Jamek area, Petaling Street, Pudu, Kampung Baru and Chow Kit. I still wish I had more time to explore other locations like Brickfields or Bukit Bintang, but I did what I can with the limited time that I have with the camera. There is always the feeling of now having enough shots, or not doing enough, or not getting the best image that I can with my capabilities. It does not help with the fact that wide angle is not my greatest strength when it comes to street shooting, as I am generally a 50mm shooter. Nevertheless, putting in the extra time and effort was all that I can do, and I must say I am quite pleased with the outcome. Not my best work, but I have some keepers, and that is all I can ask for, really. 

Special thanks to Futuromic Malaysia (official distributor of Ricoh/Pentax in Malaysia), I got a loaner Ricoh GR IV to play with for about more than a week. I have been all around the city trying to grab enough sample shots for the past one week, and the poor weather conditions did not help with my productivity level. I managed to get just enough shots to support my video which I made on YouTube, sharing the things that I like and dislike about the Ricoh GR IV. Spoilers alert - there are way more things that I like about the GR IV, you can watch the video here (click). It truly is a marvel how Ricoh can make such a capable camera in a tiny package, and the improvements over the predecessors are also worth mentioning!

It has been many years since the last E-M10 series camera was released by Olympus, and it seems like OM Digital Solutions may not have plans to continue with this product line. I think that would be a grave mistake, as E-M10 series has proven to be highly popular and successful in the market, as proven in Japan's local BCN ranking of top camera sales as well as any available data from all around the world. E-M10 is not only budget friendly, but also well built, small and compact in form factor and is packed with useful and advanced features. I think E-M10 is a great entry point for many who may not want to spend above USD2000 for a new camera, a trend which Micro Four Thirds is currently driving, and obviously, not working well considering the poor market share situation. A refresh of the E-M10 can change that - a high volume of sales for an attractive camera can bring in healthy profit and encourage more lens sales - who is going to buy your lens if not enough people buy your cameras? I share all these thoughts and more in my latest video here (click). I took the E-M10 original out for some shutter therapy, and here are the images from that session!