Entries Tagged 'Photography' ↓

It’s almost like an obsession as I hauled myself at every chance I land on Bonifacio High Street as I’ve been pre-listed for an Industry Disgrace for several weeks now. Yup, the Industry Disgrace is Crumpler’s new line of camera neck straps. I had a feeling they would be here in Singapore and my guesses were right. I was able to get two

In SG these things cost betwen P660.00 to P950.00 depending on what “edition” you got. The camouflaged design you see here is the limited edition while the brown and black (I didn’t get the black) were more affordable.

Last month I reviewed my hands down favorite lens. This month, I’m literally zooming in with my second lens review. Thanks to a friend who took the pains to have this “new old” lens cleaned of 15 years worth of muck, it’s finally back in the game! May I present the Micro Nikkor PC 1:3.5 f=55mm lens, a very versatile macro lens that is also by the way, a derma’s nightmare as I was able to take the most unflattering shots of women’s facial pores.

According to various site reviews, this is one of the best macro lenses (!!!) ever made by Nikon in the mid 1900’s. Although auto focus does not work with the Nikon D40, it matters not really. The Micro Nikkor 1:3.5 is versatile. It has a focal range of 24.1 cm to infinity making it a great lens for shooting close up subjects like portraits and even events. The lens practically shines during daytime photography as shown in the photo below:
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Samsung recently unveiled its new line of HD-compatible point and shoot cameras as well as the new GX-20 DSLR. I wasn’t able to attend the launch but Fritz as well as some other photo enthusiasts were able to glance at the GX-10’s successor. Samsung isn’t a very big player in the local DSLR scene. It’s no contests that when we walk along the streets of the metro, we will see preference for Canon and Nikon DSLR’s. There are also cult followings of Olympus E series and the Sony Alpha that is now compatible with the older Konica-Minolta lenses. But Samsung?

The GX-20 doesn’t have a huge lens selection to choose from yet. What’s so good about the GX-20? Well it’s sorta like the Sony Alpha cum live view and IS functionality. Overall I’d say a good camera although I must stress the lack of lens choices. This is bound to change of course as time passes. If you’re starting anew with your hobby, why not give Samsung a chance and build your lens collection from there?

More details on the camera plus photos at the local launch.

When you leave a little boy in a room filled with different toys, there will be a tendency for that little boy to play with everything. But at some point that little boy will have a favorite toy as time passes. So thus comes my very first lens review of probably the best lens in my dad’s collection.

I’ve been searching for reviews of an old Tamron 28mm fixed focus lens on the Internet but could barely find anything worth a review. I read from Wikipedia that this lens has been discontinued in 2005 (that’s if I get my nomenclature right) and it is currently being sold in eBay with a Canon body adaptor. Apparently this lens is ADAPTALL compatible, making the Auto Tamron 28mm f/2.8 fit with a Canon EOS body given you have the ADAPTALL tube. The lens is very hard to find though. I currently have a set of two adaptors for Nikon bodies but they are for other lens brands. Read on for my review.
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NO FUNNY STUFF

LADIES NIGHT ALL WEEK

MAY YOUR TRIBE PROSPER

Touched base (LOL what a term, this “touched base”) at Ho Chi Minh earlier today. Here are some street snaps of downtown. Trying (very hard) to do this whole street photography bit.

It’s been what … 15 years since my last visit.

Batanes is as beautiful as ever. Although some of the areas have been modernized (read: cemented streets, electricity and w00t — Internet!), the rolling hills, whistling wind and crashing waves still take center stage as the islands’ splendor.

Batanes looks so much more beautiful than my last visit. I’ve gotten so used to city life, I don’t see sprawling hills and cliffs this unbridled. If ever I do, its usually part of some commercial attraction in some residential resort or beach. This is virgin.

Made friends with the cows.

I’ve uploaded the Batanes photoset for everyone to view. Pardon some of the shots that are a little over exposed or grainy - this was a road test for one of the lenses I inherited. The fish eye needs some cleaning and I’ve actually sent it to this convenient place in the south (there’s a guy who sells old cameras in Tropical Hut Grocery, BF Homes). The prime f/2.8 Tamron came out OK but the fish eye needed to be sent back.

This was a special press conference in line with EPSON’s new photo printers. I am covering this for 2BU. To the bloggers and photographers who went on the trip, please send me one or two of your best shots so that we can include it in the article with photo credits.

Last year I posted something (wait let me find it …. here it is!) about wanting to go to Cambodia with friends who could make time out for a few days to see Angkor Wat, shoot it, and go home. Despite my being out of Manila for several times last year, I wasn’t able to do this with friends.

So it’s take two this year! We’re leaving on the 26th of February and will be gone for around a week. Destinations include Vietnam and Cambodia for finally - a vacation trip I’l be going with Phoebe’s family and two other friends.

This is our first time to these places and Lonely Planet advises to not stray away too far or else encounter active land mines. The objective really is to … eat! We’ve been checking out some Vietnam food blogs with some good suggestions but we’re most likely to stay in the Ho Chi Minh area.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated — and by the time we get back, I hope to take down that stock photo of Angkor and post something more personal. Photos updated and uploaded. Shooting Angkor Wat is now a dream realized! Second photo is c/o Phoebe.

Remember how my dad gave me his entire Cokin creative filter collection almost a year ago? Well, for Valentine’s he went over the top by giving me a little bit more of his hobby.

But first, let me eat my words. Despite the technical support supremacy of Canon, if all things were constant, I’d opt to go for Nikon’s color quality. So yeah, dad gave me his entire lens collection. These are old lenses - some are 1986 AF Nikkor lenses (I initially thought that all were manual. One or two are AF). I actually feel that the only people who would appreciate this post would be those who are really into old school photography.

So here are the 9 reasons why I shifted to adopted Nikon:
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The European Food Festival at Serendra. It was like a fashion show but we had trays of food parading the stage.

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