ROBIN WONG

The year started with a flurry of shoots, and this particular session was my friend Bihzhu performing at a rather interesting setup - a restaurant lit only by table lamps. I have been following Bihzhu for many of her live shows and performance, and I have to say this was by far the most challenging one I have ever faced. It was dim, and the available light was not easy to work with. I brought along my usual workhorse, the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and a plethora of bright, prime lenses for this particular shoot. I found myself shooting at ISO6400 on average, and at times needing to go higher. They say you can't shoot low light with Micro Four Thirds. I say, screw you, here are some shots! Special thanks to Bihzhu for allowing me to share these images. 

Perks of having cool friends, they have cool cameras! Special thanks to Raja Indra Putra, a long time friend who has also taught me and inspired me to be a better photographer, he owned the Sigma DP2 Quattro, quite an unusual camera which was released about 10 years ago. The camera features Foveon X3 image sensor that has 3 different layers of pixels to capture more information, all combined into ultra-high resolution, more optimized image output, according to Sigma. The unusual sensor design, which was different from the normal Bayer pattern also meant that the processing took much longer than needed, with frustrating black out times, and the APS-C sized sensor has less dynamic range and high ISO noise control in comparison to even smaller sensors from Micro Four Thirds format. Nonetheless, used in the right scenario, in very limited range, the Foveon X3 sensor in Sigma DP2 Quattro shines, producing mind-blowingly sharp images with resolution only medium format cameras can match. It is indeed, a class of its own. I personally believe Sigma should revisit this Foveon concept, and with modern processing power (10 years later now) and advancement of sensor tech, I think they can make the whole operation time faster and more efficient, improve dynamic range/high ISO and at the same time, maintaining what made them so good in the first place - a medium format quality in a pocket sized camera! I talked about this and more in my latest video here (click). 

Following the recent portrait shoot in my previous blog post, I also took the Panasonic Lumix LX100 out for some usual shutter therapy sessions in my hometown, Kuching in Borneo! I needed more shots for my video talking about the LX100, that has been published as the first video of the year 2024. I wish the LX100 had a tilt screen for low angle compositions, and also touch screen for quicker navigations, but I guess I managed fine. Something I tell myself to do more for the new year 2024 - go out and shoot more! I keep telling people to do that, and I should be doing that myself too. Practice what I preach. 

Happy New Year 2024 to all you awesome people out there. I hope you have a joyful and fruitful year ahead. I recently found a used Panasonic Lumix LX100 in the used market in such good condition, and at a price I just could not refuse, so I thought it would be fun revisiting this old camera. I have blogged about the LX100 multiple times before, so I won't repeat my thoughts here, but it was fun using the compact camera again, after all it features large Micro Four Thirds image sensor, bright and versatile zoom lens in such a small form factor. My friend Kieron arranged an outdoor model portrait photoshoot in Kuching, and the LX100 performed really well, getting me some shots that I am actually quite happy about! I share plenty of thoughts about the LX100 in my latest video here (click), and in this blog entry I shall just share some fresh photographs of the beautiful Eka. 

It is not secret that the main reason I bought the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 was to be used on my still alive Olympus DSLR E-1. I am falling more and more in love with this dinosaur from 20 years ago, the first Four Thirds system DSLR. While the camera is far from perfect, and has some limitations, I did not think they affected me much for my street shooting. The 5MP CCD sensor may not have enough megapixels for most people, but I find that liberating - it allows me to pay closer attention to framing on the spot, and the images from that sensor has breathtaking color rendition, and unmatched beautiful skin tones. Olympus got many things right in the E-1, which the modern camera makers should learn a thing or two from - logical camera layout, simplistic menu system, ergonomic buttons and dials placement, and that handling was second to none, as you hold the camera in your hands, you know that it feels right. Oh and let's not forget the shutter sound, the sweet, addictive shutter clicking, it just begs to be used! I made a video to share my thoughts on using Olympus E-1 in 2023 (click here), and of course, plenty of fresh street images.

I recently got my hands on a used Olympus Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5 lens to be used on my Olympus DSLR E-1. This lens was also the first ever Four Thirds DSLR lens, and is about 20 years old now. The lens adopts telecentric optical design, which was then reused by Canon and Nikon much later when they launched their mirrorless full frame system. I thought it would be fun to test the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm on my OM System OM-1, as I was curious about the AF performance on newer Micro Four Thirds bodies, and the capabilities of the lens to handle newer, higher resolution image sensors. I shared my thoughts in my latest video here (click). Here in this entry, I post fresh photos, all taken with the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm lens on my OM-1 camera. 

When I was sent the Brightin Star 35mm F0.95 for testing, my expectations on the lens was quite low, considering the budget price tag (the last I checked it was at USD179). However, I was pleasantly surprised after spending enough time with the lens, the performance exceeded my expectations. In short, the Brightin Sar 35mm was already quite sharp at wide open F0.95, and it does render beautiful bokeh. This could be the sharpest F0.95 manual focusing lens I have encountered, and I was very satisfied with the lens quality. Of course, it does come with some flaws, which I have discussed in detail in my video review here (click).