ROBIN WONG

About half a year ago I decided to try something new (at least to me) on my YouTube channel - Live Streaming. This was not a new concept, many people have been live streaming on different social media platforms, more popularly on gaming channels, but I thought it would be a fun way to engage my existing audience, allowing them to interact with me in real time. I have talked about my initial challenges of doing live streams here (click). It has been more than half a year, and I have done dozens of weekly sessions now, and I want to pen down some thoughts on the experience I have encountered so far. 

I am privileged to be invited to join the Annual General Meeting/New Year Party/Get-together this coming 28 January 2024. The Live Stream will be hosted by the ever-awesome Rob Trek, and with incredible Micro Four Thirds content creator as guests - including Matti Sulanto, Peter Forsgard, Benjamin Chappell and Brian James. I honestly don't know what will happen or what to expect from this stream, but I am super excited to be a part of it, and I look forward to seeing everyone together and to start the year with a bang! So, mark your calendar folks, the exact time for Live Stream is in the link (click). Do come in and say hi! 

Recently I got super curious about using older compact cameras for street photography, so I scoured the used market place and found this Fujifilm XF1 at such a good condition with a price tag that I just cannot say no to. I brought the XF1 to Ipoh for some shutter therapy actions with my friends. The camera worked well and I got some beautiful shots but it stopped working on day 2. There was the "lens control error" which was a common issue that happened to all XF1 cameras after some time of use, some as soon as a few months after newly purchased. I thought the camera looked beautiful, I love the minimalist design yet having functional buttons and control dials layout, truly slim and pocketable size and the camera is capable of delivering good results. However, the deal breaker for me was the effort required to turn on the camera - you have to twist the lens, push it out, then rotate it again to fully turn the camera on. I think that was too many steps and I risk losing shots if I need to react reflexively on the streets, which usually is the case. If the XF1 has the traditional on-off button or switch and no lens twisting is required, I think it is one of the best compacts available for street shooting! I made a video about the XF1 too, you can find it here (click). 

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.