I’d really like this cam…

The Olympus EP3. I also really like the E-PL1 which is much cheaper and to me, more comfortable to hold. The EP3 has much faster auto focus though, and more external controls and dials though I have found the E-PL1 easy to use as well.

Am now deciding on whether to get a bridge superzoom like the Panasonic FZ150with a 26x zoom lens or a mirrorless micro four thirds camera with a second hand/used 70-300mm lens (with adapter) for an upcoming wildlife trip/river safari.

I’d really love the convenience of an all in one package without the need to carry a bagful of expensive gear. Image quality and performance not as good but I’m willing to compromise, I’m not a professional photographer and don’t pretend to be one.

Have also been looking at the Fujifilm HS20EXR (30x optical zoom). Seems the best value if I do decide to get a superzoom for my wildlife/safari trip. Anyone own this cam? It’s big and heavy though, as big as an entry level SLR. Weighs about 700 grams with batteries. Hmm, decisions, decisions!

Night visitor (Rhinoceros beetle)

Look who what showed up on our doorstep! When I got back from dinner tonight, found this little rhinoceros beetle lying on the porch on the pet hair covered foot mat!

As a defence mechanism, the beetle gives off a hissing noise (sounds like air being let out of its abdomen) to scare off predators when disturbed, it also raises itself up on its legs to appear more menacing. My cat gave it a sniff then jumped away when the beetle hissed! Poor cat was terrified of it!

By the way, the photo above is a close crop of the upper “horn”. Took the photo with a tiny macro lens attachment (for camera phones) on my Sony X10 Mini Pro. Not bad for a cheap “toy”, ya?

If you’re buying a new camera…

I can’t stress enough how important it is to actually feel and try one out in a store before swiping that card. Ask to see it, hold it, try it, pop in your own card if you have to (ask first!).

I was all ready to buy an Olympus E-PL3 online when I decided to check it out first at an electronics store. I disliked it the moment I picked it up. It has terrible ergonomics for extended hand-held shooting in my opinion. Small, slippery body without a grip. I held it up and took a few shots in the store and it was uncomfortable to hold, wrist felt tired within minutes. It had the standard 14-42mm kit lens on, can’t imagine how it must feel like with a larger, heavier lens attached.

There was also an E-PL1 on display, I asked to give that one a try too. This 2010 model is still in production and is sold alongside Olympus’ other more current and newer PENs. I liked how it felt in my hand, while one-handed shooting on the E-PL3 felt uncomfortable, the E-PL1 felt confidently secure in my right hand as I held it up to snap photos of the store’s Christmas decorations and passing shoppers. Its auto-focus speed is noticeably slower compared to the E-PL3 but not too bad and definitely something I can live with.

Comparable picture quality from both.

So the lesson here is, if you see a camera you really like online, don’t click that “buy now” button until you get a chance to actually hold it in your hand and try it out for yourself! I am now most certain the E-PL3 is not for me.

Samsung EX1 night shots (Kuching Waterfront at night)

See also: Samsung EX1 Advanced Compact

These photos were taken last year but am only now posting them to blog. Hope it’s not too late for anyone considering this camera. There’s no replacement yet from Samsung and the EX1 is the company’s only advanced compact model at the moment.

Click on the thumbnails for larger size. All EXIF data has been retained; unfortunately, due to my blazingly fast third world “narrowband”, I am unable to upload any full sized photos.

So what do I think about this camera after using it for a few times?

Pros:
- Good low light performance.
- Good build quality (nice heft and feel)
- Good photo quality especially in good light
- External manual controls and dials
- Very “fast” and versatile lens that starts at 24mm (35mm equivalent)
- Even at its longest end, lens is still considered fast (wide aperture of f/2.4)
- Excellent AMOLED articulating display
- Good macro performance (flash throttles down nicely, power can also be manually adjusted)
- Effective Smart Range mode (increases dynamic range)
- Highly customizable

Cons:
- Questionable quality control (mode dial problems on this unit, read about it elsewhere on the internet so looks like it’s not an isolated problem - modes switch by themselves especially when set at P-mode on the dial)
- AMOLED screen is beautiful but gives you the impression that your photos are sharper and more saturated than they really are. Will not appear same once downloaded to your computer.
- Tethered lens cap is nice but will often get tangled up especially when you have the screen flipped out
- Low light images quite noisy starting at ISO400. Dark areas are particularly ugly.
- Image stabilization not really that effective, I find 1/20s to the be slowest ideal speed, slower than that and I get lots of blurry or soft photos (I guess I’m so used to shooting at speeds as slow as 1/6s and getting nice usable images on DSLRs).
- Video mode very basic and no HD video
- No in-camera panorama mode

I like it overall and wouldn’t hesitate to use it as my only camera when traveling light IF it didn’t have that first problem mentioned above (modes jumping about or mode selection screens/windows randomly popping up). If you can get a problem-free EX1 (aka TL500) at bargain bin prices, why not?

Gallery:

Sarawak Tourism Complex (Old Court House) + Magna Carta Restaurant

Sarawak Tourism Complex (Old Court House)

Sarawak Tourism Complex (Old Court House) + Clock

Charles Brooke Memorial


Square Tower + Sarawak DUN in the background

Decent lowlight performance (hand held, slow shutter speed)

DUN and Square Tower reflected in still water (fountains turned off)

Square Tower

Square Tower

Viewing tower + Astana in background

Sarawak State Legislative Assembly building, better known as the DUN (Dewan Undangan Negeri) building.

Kuching city skyline + Sarawak River

\
Roof of the DUN building. Shaped like a terendak (hat). This was shot at about 1/20s and I find that speed to be the ideal hand held speed for this camera, produces decently sharp results. I find that the image stabilizer on the camera isn’t really that effective.

Souvenir shop on the righ

Sarawak Tourism complex + Charles Brooke Memorial

See also: Samsung EX1 Advanced Compact

~END~

Shopping for a new camera

It’s time to replace my old Olympus e510. When I turn it on or off, there’s a loud whirring sound, like an old film camera rewinding an exhausted roll of film. So I’ve retired it permanently. I can still activate the shutter and take pictures but each picture is all blurry even though the lens focuses. Either the sensor or IS mechanism is spoiled.

Am now in the market for a new camera. I’d really like a compact backup camera to go with a new dslr which I’ll eventually pick up but right now I’m looking for something compact that takes nice dslr quality photos.

The mirrorless cameras (also known as interchangeable lens cameras or ILCs) offered by Panasonic, Olympus, Sony and Samsung are all really enticing… but I’m especially drawn to the Samsung NX10/NX11 which I’ve personally tried out in a Samsung store.

The Sony NEX cameras have a lot of bells and whistles (fast continuous shooting, excellent high ISO performance etc.) but their lenses so super ginormous and look so awkward on the small bodies.But the biggest issue I have with the nex system is their mediocre lens selection, there are so few e-mount lenses in the market!

I’m also looking at the Olympus e-pl3 (PEN lite) and e-pm1 (PEN mini). Both do not offer built-in flash, which I find rather odd since the e-p3 has one (e-p1 and e-p2 do not have built-in flash units). The e-pl3 does have a useful flip-out screen though. One thing I like about Olympus cameras is the excellent jpeg engine. The photos look really nice with beautiful stand-out colours right out of camera. There is no need do much post processing, just upload and share as is.

I did consider the Panasonic Lumix GF3 too but the lack of a hotshoe totally puts me off. Plus, Panasonic lenses are expensive!

The mirrorless camera that I find the most enticing in terms of looks, ergonomics and features is the Samsung NX10/NX11. The dslr style body is very small and although larger than the competition, very comfortable to hold. In my opinion, the NX10 (and the newer NX11) have the best-designed bodies among all ILCs. I picked up one in a Samsung store and immediately fell in love with it, absolutely love the ergonomics! Took a few shots and was pleased with the performance too.

However, I read that the nx20 will be announced early 2012 so I’m still thinking if I should go ahead and pick up a heavily discounted NX10 or wait and see what the new model brings. I would definitely like better high ISO performance since I shoot in the dark jungle quite often and sometimes have to shoot at ISO1600.
I think all modern cameras (especially DSLRs and ILCs) are highly capable of shooting nice photos especially at lower ISO settings. I’m most certainly not a fan-boy of any particular brand; I just use whatever does the job well for me. After all, it’s not what camera you use that matters but what you do with the camera that’s in your hands, right?

My Olympus e510’s served me well, heavily used over a period of nearly 4 years and was a trusty companion on so many hiking and holiday trips. The last major one was a 6-day trip to Mulu National Park where I made it all the way to the top of Gunung Mulu(Sarawak’s second highest mountain). It’s first International trip with me was to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’ve got real fond memories of the places I’ve been to with this camera. Took it on countless outings to waterfalls, streams, lush jungles, open fields, hills and mountains. But now it’s time to find a replacement.

Anyway, here are some shots taken with my Olympus e510 which will never be used again (sob). They are the e510’s last few shots before being retired permanently…


The e510 is known to blow out highlights. Another photo (same scenery) taken in auto mode had a blown out sky (all white space). So when shooting a scene like this, I always underexpose and post process later. For this shot taken at -0.7ev f/11, I applied a neutral density filter and brightened the entire image during post processing (PP), simple steps for a better picture. All the other photos below are as they come out of the camera (settings selected in camera, no PP).


A large Gesneriad


View of Kampung Santubong, taken on the way up the mountain


Lush jungle


Jungle stream








 

A beautiful waterfall in Southwestern Sarawak. Hand-held 1/8 second exposure (with circular polarizer affixed). I often was able to take hand-held shots at shutter speeds as slow as 1/6s thanks to the e510’s effective in-body stabilization (plus, I have steady hands!).
So what’s it gonna be? Oly PEN? Sony NEX? The Samsung NX10/NX11 is looking mighty tempting, especially when paired with their much-praised 30mm f/2 pancake prime…
~end~

Samsung EX1 advanced compact camera (first impressions)

See also: Samsung EX1 Night Shots

Been planning to buy this camera since I first heard about it. Equipped with a Schneider-KREUZNACH 24mm – 72mm (35mm equivalent) f/1.8 – f/2.4 lens, the EX1 has the fastest, brightest lens on a compact camera in the market right now. I read several reviews and viewed some full-sized sample photos and was quite impressed with what I saw. Then just this week my bro showed up with a brand spanking new EX1! So now I have the actual camera to play with. :)

I won’t be doing a review as there are already excellent full-length reviews on the internet. I’ll be taking this camera with me on short outings for the next few days and see what it can do for me and my style of shooting.


Here’s the EX1, also known as the TL500 in some countries. Owners of the Panasonic LX3 will immediately notice the similarities. The design does borrow heavily from the Lumix, in fact, if you view the name “EX1” printed on the top of the Samsung from the front, it reads as “LX3” LOL.


Is that an EX1 or an LX3? ;)

 
It’s quite a big compact camera, a little too large to fit into a trouser pocket without being too conspicuous. People might think you’re too happy to see them! :) I walked around town today with the camera slipped into my jeans pocket and attracted stares from passers-by and people sitting in a kopitiam (cafe). At about 350 grams with memory card and battery, it also feels quite heavy.


From the moment I picked it up I knew it’s a well built camera. Reassuringly heavy, it’s mostly metal with a comfortable grip on the front.

First impressions
So far, I find plenty to like about the camera but there are also some minor complaints. I like the superbly bright Schneider-KREUZNACH lens which allows me to take photos of my orchids in the dark, shady orchid house without upping the ISO. However, the maximum shutter speed of 1/1500s also means I can’t use the largest aperture when taking macro photos in bright sunny conditions without burnt-out highlights.

Granted, the small sensor (1/1.7” type) means the bokeh effect at f/1.8 can no way be compared to that produced by a capable dslr with a macro lens, it’s still nice to be able to shoot at f/1.8 to get the shallowest depth of field. But that’s only a minor quibble as I often shoot in very dark conditions such as in the jungle while trekking and seldom take macro shots in bright daylight.

The 3” AMOLED articulating LCD displays photos beautifully. The downside is, what you see is not what you get. Colors are wonderfully vibrant on the little screen but once downloaded and viewed on a computer screen, often are much duller or subdued. For example, shots taken using the Smart-Image (fully automatic) mode appear vivid and beautiful on the AMOLED screen but they are quite flat in reality.

Which brings me to another minor complaint, vivid color or any of the other color settings are not available in Smart-Image mode. In fact, SI mode is truly an all-automatic mode with the only available option being image size. Not a big deal for me since I always shoot in either P or A modes only.

Will have to use the camera more to have any idea how the battery life is like but Samsung quotes 270 shots in the electronic manual which is average for a compact shooter. Without the need to use flash in most conditions I find myself in (given the bright lens), I think I should be able to coax at least 400 shots out of a fully charged battery.

The EX1 has four dials! Two to change shooting modes and two more to change values. The finger wheel on the front panel provides a quick and easy way to change exposure compensation values by simply clicking it then rolling it. The dial on the back panel is like the one on the Canon S90 but much nicer as it clicks into place reassuringly when changing values. The S90’s back dial is just too loose.

The lens cap may be bothersome to some but I am already using a lens cap attached with a piece of string on my slr (to avoid losing it!) so it’s not a big deal to me. There are auto-open-shut lens caps made for this model available for sale on ebay for those interested. Be careful not to accidentally touch the big lens on the front however. I have lost count how many times I’ve had to wipe the lens with lens cleaning solution and lens paper to get rid of greasy finger prints. I am now much more careful but today, I handed the camera to someone and it came back with smudges on the lens.

More photos
These aren’t full sized shots, but they give you an idea of what the camera is capable of. The only editing done is a bit of cropping and of course, watermarking. All were shot in P mode, sunny white balance, -0.3 EV, super-fine file quality then exported in picasa (normal quality, web size).



 




I’m very impressed with the lens sharpness! My line is too slow to upload full sized photos but do head to any of the reputable review sites like dpreview or user forums and download some unedited samples and see for yourself what this camera can do.

 




The EX1 has managed to reproduce the colors of this hybrid cattleya quite well.

Smart Range
The EX1 has an option called Smart Range buried in the menus. When turned on, the camera takes a couple of pictures at different exposure values and then combines them to make one picture with increased dynamic range. In high contrast scenes, it works quite well. Look at these two photos. The first was shot with SR turned off.


SR off.


SR on.

Will post more entries about this camera from time to time. Taking it on a hiking trip in a few days’ time.

See also: Samsung EX1 Night Shots (Kuching Waterfront at night)

Cameras in the field

These “wild things” are easy to photograph as they remain stationary and aren't people shy. All are originally Japanese species but have been introduced and naturalized in Thailand, the Philippines and China. I'd rather they all stayed in Japan, the naturalized ones just aren't as hardy and are prone to diseases.

 

The Pentax KM uses 4AA batteries and is a very small and light camera (by SLR standards). Not a fan of the pictures it produces straight out of the box though. Perhaps a better lens and more tweaking would bring out better photos. Not mine so can’t play around with it. The Nikon d90 on the right is significantly larger and heavier but is a great versatile camera. Costs about twice as much as the Pentax besides it. The Pentax is assembled in the Philippines if I remember correctly while the Nikon was put together in Thailand.

 

Olympus e510. My favorite shooter, small and light and a superb easy to use “super menu” for making quick changes to different settings. Great colors straight out of camera. Unfortunately, it is also the most prone to failure among all SLRs I have used (that includes a Canon 350d, not pictured in this post). This Olympus has been into the service depot twice, and after 3 years is now acting up (flash not popping up and not firing sometimes).

 

Oly in the wild. Waterfall at the back. The Oly’s viewfinder is the smallest vf I have ever come across on an slr and frankly, am tired of squinting. Liveview helps but is painfully slow. I hope the next new model (not the e620) will have a larger vf and better dynamic range.

 

Sony Alpha 350. Love Sony’s liveview system, works really well and is very fast. Not a fan of the colors out of camera though but some tweaking and pp should fix that. And not a fan of the menu system either. Accessing certain things like flash intensity requires one too many clicks.

 

Olympus e510 and Sony A350.

 

Other cameras I have used but not pictured are the Canon 350d and the Nikon d80 which I still use every now and then but is too heavy to bring hiking. I am searching for a new compact slr now, the Olympus e620 is tempting esp with an articulating LCD but I’ve had enough of squinting thru tiny viewfinders. Considered the Pentax KX but google produced too many reports of problems with the anti-shake system. So the wait continues…

My new travel megazoom: Fujifilm F70EXR

See also: F70EXR Dynamic Range Samples


I’ve been wanting to buy this little pocket megazoom since it was first introduced middle of last year. Finally bought one last week and now Fuji's just announced the new F80EXR! No regrets whatsoever though as I don't need any of the new features on the F80. Besides, the F80 is slightly larger than the F70 which as far as I know, remains the world’s smallest pocket megazoom (with 10x optical zoom).

The first Fuji digicam I bought was the DX-10 about 12 years ago. That camera is still working fine today except that parts of the brittle plastic on the battery door have broken off.


The DX10 (black camera) was released about 12 or so years ago and featured a fixed lens and 0.8 megapixel sensor. It utilized 4AA batteries for operation. The F70EXR below it, uses a small NP-50 battery that is rated at 230 shots (but I managed to get 420+ from it) and packs a 10x optical zoom and latest technology from Fujifilm, masters of color, all in one small package. Isn’t technology great?

Next was the S6500fd, that died a watery death (slipped down a waterfall)!



This was one of the last images it took:



Then I bought a refurbished F10 which served me a good number of years before it slipped out a hole in a pocket and into a drain! It could still shoot but the lens had water spots in it and the sensor produced "smudged" photos. Its replacement was the F45. Pretty decent camera for my needs. Got it for 49 pounds off ebay, I believe. cheap! Sold it off as it didn't have IS.

Next, got a refurbished F50SE but found its IS and IQ to be wanting. Pictures from it were also very noisy and the IS didn't seem to make any difference. Still, it served me well, no problems whatsoever. In fact, none of my Fuji cameras, refurbished or brand new, have ever given me any major problems.


The F70EXR is only just slightly bigger than my F50SE.

I decided to pick up the F70EXR when it first hit the market as I wanted a pocketable travel zoom to complement my Olympus slr. I go hiking a lot so small and light cameras are easier to carry. However, I kept putting off the purchase but finally bought one last week.

So far I like it a lot. I seldom shoot at full res unless I am taking macro photos with the slr. Other times, I often shoot at a lower resolution as I never print anything larger than A4. So I don't mind the 5M images that the F70 produces in certain modes.

I'm one of those people who snap photos of their food since I like sharing and blogging about it (helps other travelers). I've found the pro low light mode quite useful. Here's an example:


Nasi lemak, or savory rice, is very popular in Malaysia.

Full size with EXIF intact: Click here – Pro Low Light mode. Compare that with the full sized photo taken in EXR SN (high ISO and low noise mode): Click here – SN mode.

I think the camera's auto white balance did well as the diner was very dark and had colored lights. Took lots more photos in poor lighting but my line is way too slow to upload more full sized files. Took the cam for a field test last week, shooting mostly in P and EXR auto modes. Managed about 260+ photos before the red batt low icon appeared.

Yesterday, I managed about 420+ shots on a single charge before the battery went flat. I took about 50 flash photos, used the zoom extensively and shot mostly in P mode. I only used the EXR mode when I needed to shoot in EXR DR800. I like the "super intelligent" flash too, coupled with a high ISO, cam exposes for the subject as well as the background, great for indoor shots. To force the brightly lit macro subject with dark background, just set the ISO to 200 or 100.

What I like based on my own casual shooting style:
- noticeable DR advantages, DR400 seems the sweet spot. DR800 is nice to have too.
- flash is quite improved from previous models I've owned, no more overexposed macro subjects.
- usable high ISO images up to ISO1600 (for small prints) especially in SN and Pro low light modes.
- pro low light mode for shooting still life (food!) in dark cafes, restaurants etc.
- 400+ shots from one single charge when not using EXR Auto
- small and compact with a 10x zoom starting at 27mm eq. makes it a perfect travel zoom for me
- ability to use zoom while taking videos
- auto white balance and presets are pretty good
- face recognition works well and is useful when you have to hand the camera to someone to take your photo

And the not so nice:
- so so image quality (compared to other Fuji models I have owned before)
- somewhat plasticky body
- gets pretty warm fast!
- Chromatic aberration or purple fringing is pretty pronounced in some photos/scenes, reminds me of the CA on my F10.
- pro focus is really just a gimmick. More misses than hits. Works sometimes but the images produced are quite funny most other times. Like cut and paste photos.

Here are two examples of when pro focus does a decent job (when it works): Drosera burmannii (a sundew species) - normal focus:



And Pro focus mode:



Nepenthes mirabilis - normal focus:



Pro focus mode:



The DR advantages show in the following photos:



My older cameras (even my Olympus e510) would have blown the sky and I would have had to set exposure compesation and do some PP to get a decent photo but the F70EXR does it all for me! :D



The zinc roof on this hut was so bright I had to squint while looking at it but the F70 managed to retain some detail on the roof instead of blowing it completely. And finally, this shot was taken on a dull cloudy day, I think the camera has tried to make the best of the overcast conditions:



Overall am very happy I bought the camera and am having fun shooting with it. I only hope it is able to cope with living in my lint filled pockets like the older models before it. :D

Updated June 2010
Having used the camera for quite some time now, I must reevaluate my initial assessment. I think it is a really convenient 10x zoom in a small pocketable package but the image quality disappoints. It may be okay as a backup camera but I now wish I had spent money on a new lens for my SLR instead.

See also: F70EXR Dynamic Range Samples