SHUTTER JOURNEY SINGAPORE

Nikon D4S receives EISA European Professional DSLR Camera 2014-2015 award‏

Posted on August 20, 2014 by Editor AL

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Nikon D4S receives EISA European Professional DSLR Camera 2014-2015 award‏
Nikon’s impressive FX-format camera achieves European recognition as the professionals’ finest choice.

20th August 2014, Singapore – Nikon Singapore Pte. Ltd. is proud to announce that the Nikon D4S has recently been honored with the European Professional DSLR Camera 2014-2015 award by the European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA).

“It is a huge honour for our flagship Nikon D4S to be recognised as EISA’s ‘Professional DSLR Camera of the Year’. The D4S was designed as an eloquent response to the photographers’ demands, bringing them unrivalled imaging quality, speed and accuracy. It is so to speak, a camera made by professionals for professionals.” said Garland Mak, Deputy General Manager of International Marketing Division Imaging Group, Nikon Singapore Pte. Ltd. “The esteemed recognition from EISA stamps a further approval on the brilliance of the D4S’ technology and build.”

As Nikon’s flagship camera, the D4S is renowned for its stunning sharpness and enhanced depth with intuitive responses to the advanced demands of professional photographers. The D4S, with an effective pixel count of 16.2-million pixels, provides a broad range of sensitivities with expansion to as low as ISO 50 and as high as ISO 409600 while also supporting full-HD movie recording at a variety of frame rates. The D4S features an approximately 11 frames per second (fps)* high-speed continuous shooting function with autofocus (AF) and automatic exposure (AE) tracking for an enhanced autofocusing performance.

*Value with shooting in AF-C autofocus mode, [S] or [M] exposure mode, shutter speed of 1/250 s or faster, and all other settings at their default values.

European Professional D-SLR Camera 2014-2015: Nikon D4S

The EISA judges said:
“Launched two years after the Nikon D4, the Nikon D4S may look almost the same from the outside as the D4 but internally there have been many improvements. The new EXPEED 4 processor has enabled the introduction of a phenomenal ISO sensitivity range of up to ISO 409600, and an exceptional 11 frames per second with focus tracking. In addition, the improved 51–point autofocus and D–Movie functionality make the D4S much more usable than its predecessor. Overall, extensive testing by the EISA Expert Team has shown the Nikon D4S to be a worthy winner of the Professional DSLR Camera of the Year.”

The D4S has been recognized twice this year as it was also the recipient of the TIPA Awards 2014 Best Digital SLR Professional, presented by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) in May this year.

EISA is the unique association of roughly 50 major photo, video, audio, home theater, and mobile electronics magazines from 20 European countries. Each year, EISA chooses the best products released in Europe over the past year from a number of categories of imaging, audio and mobile devices for its awards. More information on EISA is available at www.eisa.eu.

About Nikon
Nikon. At the Heart of the Image. Nikon is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognised for setting new standards in product design and performance for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. Nikon Singapore Pte Ltd distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights and system accessories; Nikon COOLPIX compact digital cameras; Nikon sports optics as well as the Nikon 1 advanced cameras with interchangeable lens system in over 50 countries.

For more information, visit www.nikon.com.sg.

Connect with Nikon Singapore and other photographers on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nikonsingapore.

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Posted in Brand: Nikon, Featured Photography Merchants, Photography Articles & Videos | Tagged D4s, EISA 2014, Nikon, Nikon D4s | Leave a comment

Featured Merchant – Cathay Photo Store

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Editor AL

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Featured Merchant – Cathay Photo Store

Photo: The Movers & Shakers of Cathay Photo Store.
L-R: Chong, Vincent & Simon.

19th August 2014, Singapore – Founded in 1959 by Late Founder Mr. Toh Mun Peng, Cathay Photo Store is not new to all of us. The store had served a few generations of photographers in Singapore and if you are a photographer, be it a hobbyist or a professional, I am sure you would have heard of Cathay Photo Store.

Photo: Cathay Photo, 1959.

Started from a humble little store at Bras Basah (in 1959), Cathay’s photography business are mainly sales of photography equipment & 35mm film developing services (Darkroom services). Things were pretty much simple then.

Photo: Cathay Photo, Bras Basah 1964.

As photographic demands escalated in the late 1970s, Cathay Photo decided to shift to Peninsula Plaza in 1979 (till today). Another branch at Marina Square was opened in 1985 when Marina Square opened for business. Both stores are operating till today except that, the original store at Peninsula had expanded to a total of 9 retails units & 1 office with a combined staff strength of 50+ staff!

Photo: Cathay Photo, Peninsula Plaza 2006.

I reckon there must be lots of X-Factors for a photography store to survive the competition in Singapore, so I contacted Cathay Photo for a chat. I was granted an afternoon with 3 of the most senior staff and a free roam to anywhere I want at Cathay Photo Store, Peninsula Plaza. Check out the interview below.

Photo: Cathay Photo, Marina Square 2007.

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The Interview – with Chong, Simon & Vincent of Cathay Photo Store.

Ed: Hi guys! Thanks for granting me this interview, let us start by sharing with me when did you started your career with Cathay Photo.

Chong: I joined Cathay Photo in 2004, so it’s about 10 years now.

Simon: I started in 1989 back then, so it’s my 25th year this year with Cathay Photo.

Vincent: I have been with Cathay Photo since I joined in 1985, 29 years.

Photo: Vincent, 29 years with Cathay Photo Store.

Ed: Amazing! We are talking about serious long service here. Please share with me & our readers, what kept you going all these years and why you decided to build your career here at Cathay Photo?

Simon: I was hired by the Late Founder Mr. Toh Mun Peng. When I came on board, I observed that he took really good care of all the staff and he was a fair person & a fair employer. I decided then that this was the kind of environment that I was looking for. After the business was handled over to his son, Mr. William Toh, the same can be said for William as he takes care of all the staff like his own family.

Vincent: I like being at the sales frontline. I was given the opportunity by the Bosses (both late & current) to learn about the latest equipment and selling the products by knowledge. Not many photo stores in Singapore encourage their staff to do knowledge-based selling, I am glad Cathay Photo is a firm believer in this. And like what Simon said, the bosses (both late & current) takes really good care of all the staff. It’s like a family working together here.

Chong: Agreed with both Simon & Vincent, we were given lots of opportunities to learn about newly released equipment before even we get to sell them to our customers. And we are not talking about just regular equipment, many are premium equipment, this makes me happy as I get to understand, try and share with the customers from my personal experience. Lastly, Yes, the company gives really good welfare to the staff and we are just like a big family working together.

Photo: Simon, joined Cathay Photo Store since 1989.

Ed: Thanks for sharing. I guess the working environment is very important especially when it is retail hours and the bonus is to have an understanding management that takes good care of the employees. Staff training is another point to note as this is really important in my view. Personally I will want to buy my photography equipment from people who had tried & tested the product.

Ed: As I mentioned earlier, the local market is very competitive and I am sure you guys have lots of regular customers who will not go elsewhere (other photo stores) but always return for more purchases whenever they need to buy something. So can you please share with me & the readers what makes these regular customers comes back over & over again?

Vincent: I supposed our customers find it useful when we make relevant recommendations. We will try our best to find out the customers’ needs with a friendly chat so that we can break the ice and once the customer loosen up, they will be more open to talk about what they need, what they are using the equipment for, what range they are looking at – this also help us not only to understand the customers’ needs, but also crucial in our final recommendations for purchase.

Chong: Personally I find that our regular customers return because we (Cathay Photo) offer many choices. Backed with a comprehensive equipment inventory, the store has almost everything that a photographer/ videographer can think of buying. This makes us a one-stop-store and saves the customers precious time from going elsewhere.

Simon: I must highlight on the customer service, we treat every customer that passes our doors equally and everyone is served fairly. Whether it is a new customer or a returning regular, we try our best to meet their diverse needs. The large number of brands that we carry offers more choices for our customers and to top that off, Cathay Photo carries lots of professional equipment. And that further widens our reach to our customers – from beginners to professionals. We have something for everyone.

Ed: Totally amazing! From what 3 of you had shared, Cathay Photo really knows the way to a customer’s heart. Friendly service, knowledge-based sharing, huge inventory & excellent range of products, these must be the X-factors of Cathay Photo! Next, I am going to ask each of you to share an incident that you had encountered with the customer that had brought you positive experience. Please share.

Simon: There was this customer, whom I later came to know that he works as an engineer. He came into the store and asked about the right equipment to buy for his project. I asked him in details and after understanding what he needed (like after 30 minutes of listening to him), I made some recommendations and he purchased what I recommended him and left. Weeks later, he wrote in to Cathay Photo and shared with our management his happy shopping experience and I am glad my effort was recognized and complimented by this customer.

Photo: Chong, 10 years with Cathay Photo Store.

Vincent: I was serving this customer who was purchasing cameras under his corporate account. After I quoted him based on his total purchase, he went on to check the price of the similar equipment in Malaysia. He found out that there are “parallel imported sets” in Malaysia that actually sells much cheaper than Singapore. (There weren’t much parallel imported equipment in Singapore back in those days) This customer then came back to Cathay Photo and told me about those cheaper sets. Before I can react, he happily announced that he is still buying from us despite the large difference in price. Out of curiosity, I asked this customer why the decision to buy from us while I was packing his order. this customer shared that he had experienced “Cathay Photo’s excellent customer service, trust my service, and he will rather make his corporate purchase from a trusted and reputable photography store”, that made my day.

Chong: I sold a defective camera to a customer. The customer came back to the store to seek assistance. As the person who sold the camera, I tried to replace the defective camera with a new unit. However, we ran out of stock for this particular camera so I offered to help the customer by contacting the brand for an urgent replacement. The customer got his new camera within a short period of time (10 years ago, 3 days is considered fast). He (the customer) later wrote in to my management and highly complimented me on my service that “went the extra mile” for him.

Photo: Vincent with happy customers at Cathay Photo Store.

Ed: Wow! Those were really inspiring personal accounts that all of you had shared. From a consumer point of view, yes! all of you had scored on the finer points of the photography retail business. And I am sure every staff in Cathay Photo works the same way as the 3 of you – being the examples & front-line leaders at the store. So, let’s pretend I am new to Cathay Photo and I need One reason from each of you why should I buy from Cathay Photo, what will be that One reason?

Vincent: We are one of the oldest photo store in Singapore and we sell by understanding customers’ needs.

Ed: Vincent, that’s Two reasons already, *laughs. What about you Simon?

Simon: We take a positive approach to all our customers and everyone is treated fairly.

Ed: Simon, that’s Two reasons too! *laughs. Chong, maybe you would like to just give me 2 reasons too. *everyone laughs.

Chong: (still giggling) Well, we only make recommendations that best serves the customer’s need and every customer gets personalized service.

Photo: Chong, engaging customers at Cathay Photo Store.

Ed: I guess there are certainly more reasons! But time is running out for me.
Lastly, there are getting more & more new photography stores mushrooming across Singapore in the last 5 years. Through some online research and reading off some forums, many people had been treated badly or cheated or both while shopping for equipment in Singapore. As veterans in this industry, do you have any buying tips for our readers?

Vincent: Shoppers must first know his/her requirement(s), the budget to purchase and to research for prices before buying.

Simon: Especially buying camera or lenses, shoppers must know which shops are the authorized dealers just to ensure after sales support (if any).

Chong: Shoppers must understand the pricing structures like comparing local sets with parallel-imported sets before buying. Lastly, this is stupid but I must highlight that shoppers should not compare New equipment price with those on the Used Market. *Everyone laughs.

Ed: Thank you everyone for taking the time out and allowing me to do this exclusive interview. Thank you.!

Photo: L-R – Vincent, Chong, Simon & Ed.

Cathay Photo is more than just a Photography Store. They are actively engaging photographers and videographers through their seminars, workshops, trade shows, school road shows, actively sponsoring local photography communities & competitions. This is contributing back to the photography community in many ways!

Cathay Photo imports & distributes an array of professional brands like Elinchrom, Manfrotto, Tokina, PhaseOne & many others.

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Editor’s Note
I will only buy my equipment from reputable photo stores whom I can trust – in the photography business, we cannot take any chance with our equipment. And it helps if the person that I am dealing with has proven to be trustworthy and will go all out to help me in my purchase or in time of emergency.

I am certainly not new to Cathay Photo (been shopping at Cathay Photo since 7 years ago after a friend brought me to Marina Square branch), I had personally came to know most of the staff by name from both stores (Peninsula & Marina Square) and each of them had helped me in one way or another – from making urgent order of equipment, finding a particular item from either store to getting quotations for my corporate purchase. The key here is everyone had left behind a positive and good experience that I will remember!

Thank you Simon, Sam, Michael, Jason, Duncan & especially Yijie (from Marina Square) for the past excellent service that I had personally experienced.
Thank you Vincent, Simon & Chong for the interview and lastly, I would like to Thank the Management of Cathay Photo Store for all the support, the good times & allowing this interview to happen.

Ed.

To stay updated with News & Promotional Offers from Cathay Photo Store,
please visit here.

And pop over to their Facebook page and “LIKE” to stay updated.
Click here.

Cathay Photo Store is an Accredited Merchant with ALL the photography groups under the management of Ourshutterjourney LLP.

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About Cathay Photo Store Pte Ltd

Established in 1959, Cathay Photo since its very beginning has been driven by the objectives of providing the best photographic equipment, pricing and service to our customers. These objectives have ensured its continued growth from just two humble showcases occupying a quarter of a shop-front to its present five retail outlets, an administrative / distribution office and a warehouse.

It is constantly on the lookout for the latest gadgets and solutions to add to its line-up of over 60 internationally renowned brands, and recognizing the growing presence and popularity of HD video, due largely to the introduction of DSLR cameras with HD video capabilities, it made its foray into the Pro Video market, expanding its offering to products from brands such as Steadicam, Zacuto, Kessler Crane and Genus to name a few.

Having served the photography industry for over 50 years, and backed by its proud heritage, Cathay Photo is without doubt the preferred photographic retailer in Singapore today.

Visit www.cathayphoto.com.sg for more details.

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Posted in Featured Photography Merchants, Non Photography, Photography Articles & Videos, Uncategorized | Tagged Cathay Photo, Featured Merchant | Leave a comment

‘Pin & Win’ Thai Food Photo Sharing‏

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Editor AL

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‘Pin & Win’ Thai Food Photo Sharing‏

Tourism Authority of Thailand launched a ‘Pin&Win’ photo sharing campaign on online social media Pinterest inviting Thai food lovers to Re-Pin from Pinner “AmazingThaiFood TourismAuthority” with a chance to win international flight tickets from Air Asia and many other prizes. Participants enjoy insights and details about Thai food as well as its benefits, with mouth-watering photos that make everybody hungry.

Quiz game “Which Thai dish suits you the most?”
TAT creates a flavourful and entertaining quiz game for all Thai food lovers. This promotion not only helps everybody to identify the most suitable dish for them, but also introduces details and Thai food recipes.

The campaign runs on the Amazing Thai food website and online social media from 1 – 30 August 2014.
Get a chance to be one of 50 lucky winners winning free movie tickets from Major Cineplex.

For more information visit www.tourismthailand.org/amazingthaifood

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Posted in Photography Articles & Videos, Photography Contests, Uncategorized | Tagged Photography Contest, Pin&Win, Tourism Authority of Thailand | Leave a comment

Sigma Contemporary Zooms – Twin Reviews

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Editor AL

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Sigma Contemporary Zooms – Twin Reviews
– Featuring Tan Hui Hui & Alyssa Chan

Photo: The Contemporary Gang. L-R: Tan Hui Hui (Reviewer), Trisha Lim (BTS Photographer), AL (Editor) & Alyssa Chan (Reviewer)

19th August 2014, Singapore – My past reviews on the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM (C) & the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM (C) had reached more than 12,000 viewers over 19 countries. A single reader then emailed me and requested that I do up something more engaging, something different and I should try getting more non-professional photographers to use these lenses so that readers can be convinced that the photos from my above reviews are presented realistically & correctly. To make things more complicated, this reader even asked me why most of the equipment reviews are always done by male photographers.

Since I had reviewed these 2 lenses before, I’ve decided to round up a pair of “non-professional” photographers (as requested by the readers) and roped in a BTS (behind-the-scene) photographer for an afternoon. And to silence her, I’ve gathered 3 female photographers with me for the afternoon. (Melanie, yes, I am talking about you).

Photo: Huihui (left) with Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM (C) & Alyssa (right) with Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM (C)

Photo: The gals happily unboxing their lenses and mounting to their cameras.

Photo: All Mounted and ready to go!

Photo: And off we went with the 2 Sigma lenses.

If you want to read more technical stuff about these 2 lenses, please click Sigma 17-70mm (C) or Sigma 18-200mm (C). I am seriously more interested to show the readers what kind of photos can the lenses produce. Commentaries on the lenses by the ladies will be after the jump.

Alyssa Chan’s Photos from the Sigma 18-200mm (C).

Next Up will be Tan Huihui’s photos from the Sigma 17-70mm (C).

Alright, I am sure you were impressed with their photos right? Let’s hear from the ladies about what they think of the Sigma (C) lenses that they had used on this little walk.

Alyssa Chan on Sigma 18-200mm (C).
“This all-rounder lens is capable of doing almost everything. From the standard wide-angle to a telephoto focal range, this lens is best used for street photography, travel photography etc. The close minimum focusing distance is impressive as I was able to do “near macro” type of photos due to its magnification ratio. I had read AL’s review before today’s walkabout and everything that he had reported in his review are true to his every word. This is indeed the all-rounder lens to get if you only can bring 01 lens or if you are traveling to places where changing lens is not possible. I will highly recommend this lens for ladies in particular because it is lightweight, compact in size, good focal range, produces sharp and crisp images.” – Alyssa Chan.

Tan Huihui on Sigma 17-70mm (C).
“I had heard of this lens from the Editor AL before today’s hands-on review, I even read his review prior to today. This is a fast focusing lens that has a wide aperture of F2.8 & gradual to a wide F4. A very useable lens in low light and the OS allows me to shoot in much slower shutter speed without risking shooting blur images. The HSM focusing motor is fast and quiet, it really feels like one of those expensive L-lenses from Canon. The 17mm, just 01mm short of the standard 18mm makes a lot of difference. AL pointed out that the difference is 6-8 steps backwards of you are using a 18mm and he show me during the walkabout. This lens zooms to a medium tele range of 70mm which is perfect for street photography or travel and it is also a great portrait lens. Just imagine shooting at 70mm at F4.0 just metres away from your subject. I am totally sold on this lens. Read AL’s review if you wish to know more!” – Tan Huihui.

OK everyone (and you Melanie), you’ve heard the ladies and their first hand account of the Sigma lenses. If you are interested to buy these great Sigma lenses, please visit here.

Meanwhile, our BTS Photographer Trisha Lim had caught us in action and here are some of the shots that I would like to share with you.

Behind-the-Scenes by Trisha Lim.

Photo: Editor AL helping Huihui to figure out the lens control buttons.

Photo: Alyssa hard at work.

Photo: Both Reviewers caught within a frame.

Photo: Editor AL looking out for vehicles while Alyssa shoot from the centre of the road..

Photo: Huihui standing right outside the entrance of Pandora?

Photo: Alyssa trying to capture details.

Photo: Editor AL giving shooting tips to both reviewers.

Photo: Shooting under the hot sun, gear review is not easy at all.

Read my other reviews of Sigma Equipments here.
Buy Your Sigma Lenses here.

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
** Sigma had re-organized their whole lens line into 3 category.
They are “C” Lens, “A” Lens & “S” Lens.

C Lens = Contemporary Lens Line

Featuring the very latest technology, and combining optical performance with compactness, Sigma’s high-performance Contemporary line covers a wide range of needs. Lenses in this category are Standard zoom lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, high-magnification zoom lenses.

A Lens = Art Lens Line

Designed with a focus on sophisticated optical performance and abundant expressive power, Sigma’s Art line delivers high-level artistic expression. Lenses in this category are Large-aperture prime lenses, wide-angle lenses, ultra-wide-angle lenses, macro lenses, fisheye lenses.

S Lens – Sports Lens Line

While offering sophisticated optical performance and expressiveness, Sigma Sports line lenses deliver high action-capture performance, enabling photographers to get exactly the shots they want. Lenses in this category are Telephoto lenses, telephoto zoom lenses, super telephoto lenses, super telephoto zoom lenses.

Sigma Marketing Singapore Pte Ltd. is a subsidiary of Sigma Japan Corporation.

For more information, please visit http://www.sigma-global.com

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Posted in Brand: Sigma, Featured Photographers, Group Test & Reviews, Photography Articles & Videos, Uncategorized | Tagged Alyssa Chan, Gear Reviews, Photography Review, Sigma, Tan Huihui | Leave a comment

Bird Abusing Photographers Reported

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Editor AL

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Bird Abusing Photographers Reported

Photo: An unidentified man tying a nestling.

18th August 2014, Singapore – We got alerted by Singapore Bird Group – which is a special interest group from the Nature Society of Singapore – that a few photographers had caused distress to birds by means of tying down their subject of photography.

The admin of the Singapore Bird Group had posted this on their Facebook page.

“We have (received) distressing news coming out from Tuas South where the Little Terns are still nesting. A group of photographers were caught on camera tying up a Little Tern chick for photographic purposes.”

“This is not acceptable birding behavior and indeed is a criminal act. We wish to gently remind birders everywhere to not leave your ethics behind while pursuing your hobby. Please spread the word to your friends, and take action so that such behavior does not become the norm here. Thanks.”

A couple of photos were posted but the admin had warn everyone against jumping into conclusion until their actions were proven to be causing abuse. If you are doing birding at Tuas area and bumped into these people, our suggestion is to take out your phone, video their actions for a while, call the Police, then continue to video them until help arrives. Abusing of animals is illegal under Singapore Law.

All photographers are reminded that no matter how desperate you are to shoot a bird or any animal in the wild or nature, you are to respect that these are living beings and they have every rights to live – just like you & me. Anything that comes from the nature belongs to the nature.

Editor.

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Posted in Group Announcements & Notices, Photography Articles & Videos | Tagged Bird Abuse, Birding, NSC, Singapore Bird Group | Leave a comment

Pentaz 645Z – The Medium Format Monster

Posted on August 18, 2014 by Editor AL

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Pentaz 645Z – The Medium Format Monster

Photo: 3 Guys & A Pentax 645Z (L-R: Editor AL, Editor Chester Chen & Guest Reviewer Vince Tan.

*Disclaimer: All illustrated photos were not edited and straight out of the Pentax 645Z. Except the behind-the-scenes photos that was edited and shot with something else.

18th August 2014, Singapore – We are probably really late to review this. Since its launch in April 2014, reviews had sprung up everywhere on the net and we thought we will never ever get to review this as what we were initially told. Then about 2 weeks ago, we received a surprise call from the local distributor APD that they have a Pentax 645Z for us. Without thinking, we flew down to their office and collected the Pentax 645Z & 2 other lenses.

Photo: AL with the Pentax 645Z

The Pentax 645Z is a 51.4 megapixel medium-format camera. It has a CMOS sensor and surprisingly, no low pass filter. The large sensor offers an imaging area that is (about) 1.7x larger than a regular full-frame sensor (35mm). The Pentax 645Z has a ISO range of 100-204,800, 27 AF sensor points (with 25 more cross-types), a new Prime III processor, an insane 86,000 pixel metering sensor and it is built as a “dust & splash proof” camera.
Personally, I like the high resolution (tilt screen) 3.2″ LCD monitor. The 645Z has an OVF with 98% coverage, a (decent for MF) 3 fps shooting speed, dual SD memory card slots, and it is capable of 4K videos too.

Photo by AL: Tropical Flowers, GBTB East, Singapore.

When we say Medium Format, many photographers will think that the camera will be large, bulky and heavy. Contrary to what most believes, the Pentax 645Z is actually much smaller and lighter than you imagined to be. It weights just a little over 1.5kg with battery.
Made with magnesium alloy & die-cast aluminum, the 645Z has 76 rubber seals to keep out dust, cold and water. The 645Z has a top shutter speed of 1/4000 and indestructible 100,000 shutter release life-span. Surprisingly, the 645Z is easy to use – even to non-Pentax DSLR users. Most of the shooting functions has assigned buttons and one can easily find all the button on the body.

Handling wise, the design of the 645Z allows the user to hold the camera comfortably with its thick grip that is made with a grippy rubber compound. The weight distribution seems to skew more towards the rear end of the camera but I guess this is to counter the weight of the lens. Medium format lenses are much larger and heavier than its 35mm counterparts.

Photo by AL: Tropical Flowers, GBTB East, Singapore.

I had decided to invite Chester Chen, an award-winning photographer as well as our sub Editor along for the review. I had also invited Vince Tan, a semi-pro photographer as our guest Reviewer for the Pentax 645Z and we ended up as “3 Men & a Pentax” – pun intended.

Before we carry on, as usual, I would like to disclaim ourselves that we are NOT a technical review site which goes into the details. We are only keen on what this camera can do for us and the type of images it can produce. If you need more specifications, please visit here.

OK, for now, let’s see what the boys have to say about the Pentax 645Z.

– ED AL

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Pentax 645Z – by Chester Chen

Photo: Chester Chen with the Pentax 645Z

Pentax was the camera I grew up as I elected to take a photography credit in Secondary School. The school used Pentax K1000’s. The K1000 is a tank and simple to operate yet hardy enough to take knocks and that was something school equipment had to handle.

The Pentax 645z is also built like a tank and yes it weighs in like a tank. At over 1.5-kilograms for the body only that would tip the scale against a full frame like the Canon 5DMk3 at 950-grams. The difference in weight is noticeable and would put off most users as a system to be carrying and using outdoors for landscaping or street shooting. If your work demanded the insane amount of pixels for commercial work then you really have no choice.

Okay, so you know the camera is big but it does handle well as it feels balanced enough with a lens attached and you could hang it on a shoulder with a strap. Button placement labeling is clear enough but I felt not as intuitive as you’d find on a Canon or Nikon and there’s quite a few buttons and switches.

One function I kept looking for and felt like banging my head, even after figuring it out, was switching to Manual Focusing. Usually the lens has a switch to enable or disable Auto Focusing. That switch is usually on the lens or sometimes a lever on the body. In some instances it is a menu option. I don’t usually read a manual so before you tell me I should have RTFM these things should be intuitive enough that it smacks you in the face when you need to figure it out. So, how do you engage Manual Focusing on the Pentax 645z? The switch is actually the focusing ring. There is a label that states Auto Focusing. If you slide the focusing ring back you go into Manual Focusing mode and no longer see the Auto Focusing Text as the sliding motion of the AF ring covers it. This means no full-time manual focusing is available when AF is enabled.

Photo by Chester Chen: Curved Staircases, Bugis Village, Singapore.

I found the Autofocusing (AF) to be fairly loud and there appeared to be quite a difference in focusing speed and locking focusing when in LiveView versus Viewfinder. The former took longer and often had difficulty hunting. Choosing the AF Mode was straightforward and I liked the fact that there was a ‘quick’ menu option to get at commonly used settings. Very similar to Canon’s Quick Menu.

I was able to shoot with two lenses, the 45-85mm zoom and the 150mm prime. The zoom is big and I think quite capable to shoot most things except close-up as the minimum focus distance is quite long. I didn’t go pixel peeping but when working with the files I found it to be sharp. I didn’t measure the sharpness in the corners or the edges. I leave those specific numbers to the technical review sites. My stitched panoramas turned out very sharp and detailed and it would do that if the lens wasn’t good.

That brings me to the file size and working with the files. The 645z can save files in a variety of formats and each will have their unique advantage. JPEG is of course supported. There are two raw formats – DNG and PEF, the later being Pentax’s file format. The last raw as it gets file format the camera can record in is TIF. There are two panoramas I shot with the 645z. One of the city skyline overlooking Chinatown and that was 8 shots in portrait orientation. The other is the Chinese Garden pagodas made up of 5 shots in portrait. First, if you plan to do any more than 8-shots for a panorama you better have at least 16GB of RAM, a fast SSD and at minimum a Quad Core processor. I have an i7 Extreme but my motherboard is limited to 12GB and my system crawled with 8 raw files. I eventually gave up and stitched the JPEG and even then it was slow. You can see the result is very detailed.

Panoramic Photo by Chester Chen: City Skyline overlooking Chinatown, Singapore

Panoramic Photo by Chester Chen: Chinese Garden Twin Pagodas, Singapore

I tried shooting some long exposure landscape and that turned out ok except the weather and light was not ideal. In any event, the details rendered by the 51-megapixels for just a single shot is incredible. Just take a look at the shot of Marina Bay Sands and the Gardens By The Bay.

Photo by Chester Chen: Gardens by the Bay against Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Handling the camera to shoot moving targets was easy enough but getting off enough shots as you panned was the limiting factor. Check out the foldie-bicyclist panning shot. A little walkabout that day gave the opportunity to shoot some portraits as there was a CosPlay event. The sheer resolution can make portraiture downright scary because there is so many pixels that every nook, wrinkle, blackhead or blemish can be seen.

Photo by Chester Chen: Panning a Cyclist.

Photo by Chester Chen: Cosplayer Portrait.

The 150mm f/2.8 is great for shooting portraiture. It is really bokeh-licious just take a look at my shot of Yoda and the two guys singing. The latter was shot at ISO1600 and came out quite okay. I actually had to blow out the background because the stage didn’t have any light on the singer’s faces. So, with enough dynamic range and headroom I was able to pushup 3 stops yet not blow out the background.

Photo by Chester Chen: Yoda.

Photo by Chester Chen: Musicians Singing.

Here’s a few more things worth mentioning. I won’t say they are good or bad as it all depends on your own perspective.

The battery life meter tends to drop to a warning level quite steeply. You may be happily shooting at you are at what looks like 75-percent (3 bars) but then suddenly the meter drops to 1 bar. I can be a bit worrisome if you are out in the field.

The Liveview LCD appears to over-saturate the playback of files.

With only a tilting (back and front) Liveview LCD it is difficult to change the orientation of the shot without looking with a crooked neck. It is nice though that the camera has two tripod socket screws so you can mount two tripod adapters. This makes changing from landscape to portrait mode a breeze.

The 645z has a Focus Peaking mode, why I am not quite sure. It could be for shooting video, which by the way, this medium format beast of a device supports.

Photo by Chester Chen: Park Path, GBTB East, Singapore.

There does not appear to be a way to totally disable the Long Exposure noise reduction so if I shot a 300-second exposure I would have to sit and wait through a 300-second dark frame and noise reduction.

The raw file types can be confusing and they are huge. If you record to .TIF files your SD Card better be very fast to write because it needs to write a 150-Megabyte file.

Photo by Chester Chen: Jap Bike on Display, Marina Barrage, Singapore.

I am surprised that after so long Pentax couldn’t mash a wifi antenna system into the the body so you didn’t have to depend on the likes of Eye-Fi or the Flu Card.

You can record 1080p video footage. Not sure how useful that is given just how bulky the 645z is. You’d be better off with a dslr or aps-c camera.

– Chester Chen

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Pentax 645Z – by Vince Tan

Photo: Vince Tan with the Pentax 645Z

As a DSLR user, I was thrilled when the Editor AL invited me out to try the Pentax 645Z. I had never touched a digital Medium Format camera before and this is my first time – not only touching it but also get to use it. First and foremost, the 645Z is not anywhere light when compared to my DSLR, however, weight is not everything when image quality is concerned. The bulk of the weight is probably contributed by the solid alloy body and the lens’ weight.

As a photographer who are used to another brand, operating the Pentax 645Z is not difficult at all. I managed to locate all the functions that I need easily and I think it is a great idea to have most of the functions in individual buttons all on the camera exterior. This means there is no need to fumble into the menu and the endless sub menus to find what I need.

Photo by Vince Tan: Canoes by the Sand path, Pandan Reservoir, Singapore.

I was issued the 645Z with the 45-85mm zoom lens which was really heavy and huge. But these discomforts slowly disappears after I started shooting. Every details captured within an image blown me away. And I really mean every details here. Do click on the photos here and view it in 100%, you will understand what I meant.

Photo by Vince Tan: Canoe Launch Berth, Pandan Reservoir, Singapore.

The other thing I like about the 645Z is the colors it renders. Rich and not overly saturated (when camera is set to neutral for all color settings), this will be great if the photographer need to do custom adjustments later at the post process stage.

Photo by Vince Tan: Pandan Reservoir, Singapore.

I am a man of few words so I will just let the photos do the talking. The Pentax 645Z is a fine camera that far exceeds what I usually do. According to the Editor AL, this camera is a Studio Portrait King or a Landscape Monster, although I cannot agree or disagree due to my interest in other photography genres, I would like to conclude that the Pentax 645Z is a serious camera for professional photographers. I am not sure how much is this camera selling but I am sure it will not be any where near to cheap.

– Vince Tan

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Thanks to Audio & Photo Distributor (APD) for giving us the opportunity to handle, experience and explore the Digital Medium Format capabilities with the Pentax 645z.
– From AL, Chester & Vince (Ourshutterjourney.com)

Some BTS photos here;

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About APDS (Exclusive Distributor for Singapore)

Audio & Photo Distributor (Far East) Pte. Ltd. formerly known as MHE Consumer (S) Pte. Ltd was founded in 1973.

Since its inception Audio & Photo has had been the distributor of many well-known international consumer brands such as Konica cameras from Japan, Kenwood and Nakamachi hi-fi products from Japan, and Metz flash and accessories, Rollei cameras and Jos Schneider enlarging/professional lenses from Germany, to name a few.

Currently Audio & Photo Distributor is the sole distributor of Pentax & Ricoh cameras from Japan . With over 35 years of marketing experience and history, Audio & Photo has developed a strong network of dealers located islandwide in Singapore with whom it enjoys close rapport and support.

Audio & Photo Distributor (FE) Pte Ltd bides by its belief that it exists because of the customer, and therefore it will always strive to serve the needs of its customers with full dedication and commitment.

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Posted in Brand: Pentax, Group Test & Reviews, Photography Articles & Videos, Uncategorized | Tagged 645Z, Chester Chen, Gear Review, Medium Format, Pentax, Photography Review, Vince Tan | Leave a comment

Childhood memories of photographer create winning shot of “Happiness” in the regional CapitaLand-National Geographic Channel “Building People” Photography Competition

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Editor AL

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Childhood memories of photographer create winning shot of “Happiness” in the regional CapitaLand-National Geographic Channel “Building People” Photography Competition.

Photo: Edward Tian. (Better known to rest of us as Edward Adios)

15th August 2014, Singapore – The childhood memories of a photographer helped him to clinch the top prize of the fifth CapitaLand-National Geographic Channel “Building People” Photography Competition. Mr Edward Tian’s entry, ‘Happiness comes in a cone’, at Clarke Quay, won the judges over from more than 3,500 entries submitted for this year’s competition.

This year’s Competition called for photographs that captured ‘Happiness’ generated by the characteristics of CapitaLand properties, including their ambience, shape, colour and texture.

Mr Tian’s heart-warming shot of the interaction at Clarke Quay between a woman buying ice-cream, and the vendor serving her, encapsulates happiness. Despite challenging lighting conditions, the combination of the moment, composition and vivid colours produce a technically perfect image.

Mr Edward Tian said: “This is my third time participating in this competition. Last year, I won the ‘Voters’ Choice Award’ for my photograph of the Ascott Raffles Place Singapore. This year, I am simply ecstatic to learn that my photograph of ‘Happiness comes in a cone’ at Clarke Quay was picked as the winning entry. I have never grown out of my childhood love for ice-cream, which always brings me that tingling sense of happiness.”

Mr Tian won the grand prize of a three-day, two-night trip to China, including an exclusive photography assignment under the mentorship of Pulitzer Center grant recipient and National Geographic Creative Photographer, Sean Gallagher. He also walked away with S$2,000 worth of CapitaVouchers, as well as complimentary stay at one of CapitaLand’s serviced residences (Ascott, Citadines or Somerset) in Asia-Pacific.

In addition to clinching the top prize, Mr Tian won the ‘Best CapitaMall Photo’, the best shot of a shopper engagement captured at a CapitaMall.

The prize presentation was held in conjunction with the opening ceremony of the “Building People” Photography Exhibition (Exhibition) at ION Orchard (B4, ION Station). More than four hundred photographs, including the winning entries are showcased at the exhibition. Held from 7pm on 15 August to 19 August 2014, the Exhibition is open to the public and admission is free. The entries can also be viewed online at:
http://www.capitaland.com/inside/gallery/building-people-photo-competition-2014

Mr Tan Seng Chai, Group Chief Corporate Officer, CapitaLand Limited, said: “We are delighted to see the concept of ‘Happiness’ interpreted in various ways in over 3,500 submissions. These photographs depict our belief that ‘Happiness’ is an emotion that is fundamental to our business as a real estate developer. Bringing ‘Happiness’ to our stakeholders is in line with our credo of ‘Building People. Building Communities.’. Our commitment to develop high-quality real estate products and services, and the well-being of our shoppers, tenants, serviced residence guests and homeowners is driven by our aim to bring ‘Happiness’ to those who live, work and play at CapitaLand properties. A good building brings people together, and its role as a backdrop for many memorable moments, is a simple, yet important one.”

Mr Sean Gallagher, one of the judges for the Competition, said: “I am impressed by the different interpretations of the ‘Happiness’ theme as seen through the eyes of the region’s budding photographers. As a photojournalist, I find that the best photographs are always the ones where any viewer who sees them can relate, and be moved by the story behind the visual. That makes the visual much more compelling.” (Please refer to Annex C for Sean Gallagher’s biography.)

Mr Simeon Dawes, Executive Vice President of Advertising Sales & Partnerships at FOX One Stop Media, commented: “The response to the ‘Happiness’ theme this year, and the talent reflected in the entries year-on-year, is an inspiration to us in providing this annual showcase.”

He added: “We are very pleased to have completed another successful campaign with CapitaLand, a competition that underscores both CapitaLand’s and National Geographic Channel’s ongoing support for, and encouragement of, the art of photography in Asia-Pacific.”

Other noteworthy participants include Mr Wong Chek Poh with his shot, ‘Raffles City Singapore’ and Mr Alvin Leow’s ‘ION Orchard, Singapore’, which took second and third place respectively. Their images reflect touching moments of happy connections among CapitaLand buildings, the environment and people.

Mr Terryl Villablanca’s entry achieved the most number of votes to win the ‘Voters’ Choice Award’ with his entry, ‘The Warped Rainbow’, which depicts shoppers riding an escalator, under a stunning rainbow of colours from the lighted ceiling.

All four winners will join Mr Gallagher on a photography trail in Singapore on 16 August 2014, receive CapitaVouchers, as well as a complimentary stay at any of CapitaLand’s serviced residences (Ascott, Citadines or Somerset) in Asia Pacific.

For more information, please visit www.capitaland.com/ngcphoto.

Please follow CapitaLand_Inside on Instagram to get updates of the events on Friday and hashtag #CapitaLandLive.

Editor’s Note:
Congratulations to Edward Tian, who is also our Sub Editor for Photography Reviews for this site. All the Best from the Editorial Team at Ourshutterjourney.com!

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Posted in Featured Photographers, Photography Articles & Videos, Photography Contests | Tagged CapitaLand, Edward Adios, Edward Tian, Featured Photographer, Photography Contest | 1 Comment

Fujian Treasures with Crispin Lee

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Editor AL

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Fujian Treasures with Crispin Lee

A Travelogue of Fujian, China
Text by: Crispin Lee, Travel Photographer.

15th August 2014, Singapore – Traveling and photography has always been my passions. Combining travel with photography to interesting places like Fujian Xiapu (霞浦) and Tu lou (土楼) has always been part of my dream. Through Xing Asia, a licensed traveling agency that caters specifically to the needs of traveling photographers, my dream came true when I joined Xing Asia’s recent 8D7N Fujian Adventure in May 2014.

During this highly anticipated photography trip, we were exposed to many shooting situations from landscapes to street photography and from street photography to portraitures. We have brought back good images and picked up valuable skills during the trip with our master photographer & tour guide, Michael Lee and fellow photographers, we also enjoyed the interesting food and rich culture of Fujian along our journey. I must say, it was an enjoyable and fruitful trip that far exceeds my expectations.

Our journey started with our arrival at Fujian Xiamen via Silk Air at around noon on the first day. After a delicious seafood lunch, our first point of interest in Xiamen was to visit a very famous temple founded in Tang Dynasty called South Pu Tuo Temple (南普陀寺). Our second stop of the day was to visit the Hu Li Hill Fort (胡里山炮台) before we checked in to our hotel.

The actual photography adventure started on the second day with a 3 hours bus ride to Nanjing County where we visited a few Tu lou clusters. I was amazed to find out that there are various types and sizes of Tu lou ranging from traditional round circle to square and rectangle types. Some of them was built more than 600 years ago. In fact, the smallest Tu lou houses 10-15 households, and the biggest, on the other hand, can house up to 300+ Residents. If you like to take pictures on human interests and special architectures or buildings, this trip provides you with many great opportunities to do so.

After the Tu lou tour, we arrived at our next destination called Yun Shui Yao (云水谣), an ancient small town known as one of the beautiful villages in China. We spent our late afternoon walking and taking photographs on a relatively peaceful country side. After our dinner, some of us continued our night photography at this quiet and cosy small town before we called it a day.

On our third day journey in Fujian, we visited a village called Ta xia village (塔下村) – a 600 years Hakka exquisite village built during Ming Dynasty. We also visited the Zhang shrine in the village – an ancestry temple commonly seen in China villages before heading to our ultimate destination via 2.5 hours high speed train ride to Xiapu.

Shortly after arriving at Xiapu, our first stop is to visit a village of She people (畲家山寨), the largest minority ethnic group in Fujian province. Our first day stay in Xiapu was kept simple because we need to have a good rest before waking up at around 3-4 am early in the morning to catch the sun rise.

Known as the most charming fishing village of China, Xiapu is located at the northeast part of China’s Fujian province, somewhere in between Wenzhou and Fuzhou. It has a long coastal line of 400km, with a large portion of sea shore protected by mountains and rocks, making the bay area calm and safe. It is a perfect place for villagers to cultivate seaweeds and oysters which have been a tradition for many centuries.

As a small region along the southeast China coastline, Xiapu nevertheless has the largest mudflat in the country, encompassing 40 square km of its more than 400 km of coastline. Xiapu ranks the first place on the list of “Top 10 Paradises for Photographers” by some chinese professional photography magazines. These years, Xiapu has attracted many tourists and photographers from home and abroad.

Our stay in Xiapu were very hectic and tiring but a very fulfilling one as we need to wake up very early in the morning to find a good spot for sun rise. We also needed to rush to a nice location to shoot the sun set or waiting for the sea tide to come in as the weather was very unpredictable. One interesting fact was, we were shooting while equipped with our umbrellas and raincoats most of the time due to the wet weather. However, our local photography guide, with the advice from Michael Lee, was flexible enough to arrange alternate shooting locations and adjusted our itinerary so that we don’t waste any time due to the weather.

Having a knowledgeable and resourceful local guide is very important for taking great pictures in Xiapu as the person must know the place, the people, the weather, the view, and the timing. With the help of our guide, we were able to witness amazing tidal effect at the sea shore, within 20-30 minutes, a seemingly boring place “suddenly” becomes a spectacular zebra-like oyster field; a muddy place suddenly becomes clear white as water fill up.

However, our itineraries in Xiapu were not just about landscapes. We were also given the opportunity to visit the fishing and oyster villages to witness the busy and lively activities of the local villagers and this open us to some street photography. We spent about 3 days and 2 nights in Xiapu taking amazing pictures and enjoying dinners after dinners and our “in-between Kopi” (coffee) time.

On our last day in Xiapu, before we catching the high speed train back to Xiamen, we went to a beautiful country side known as Yang Jia Xi (杨家溪) where we shoot local villagers and farmers with buffalo under clusters of banyan trees (with the oldest tree being more than 800 years).

Before we realized how time had passed, it was our last night of the trip. We were back in Xiamen enjoying our last dinner and relaxing by a wonderful river and cruising on Lujiang, a straits between Xiamen inland and Gulangyu Island.

Xiapu has a lot to offer to every photographer whether you are beginner or an experienced hand. Its tiger-striped beaches, large scale of floating village, infinite seaweed field, thousands of rows of bamboo planted in sea shore, endless numbers of fishery boats going to high sea, crew of fishers carrying their catches to the land, colourful and contrasting sand bed, breath-taking sunrise and sunshine, those are unique and abundant things that many photographers who visited the place will remember – forever.

Photo: Crispin Lee, Professional Travel Photographer.

We were grateful that Michael Lee possess in-depth knowledge of the places that we had visited. He has good connections with the local guides and drivers thus making our photography trip smooth and enjoyable. In addition, the itinerary was well planned to open us to various opportunities to shoot in many interesting situations. Most importantly he is willing to share and able to advise us before we reached the shooting location on the recommended lenses and the settings so that we were well prepared and able to get the best results out of every scene. This trip is highly recommended.

Crispin Lee.

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About http://www.xing-Asia.com.

Xing Asia is a fully licensed travel agent by Singapore Tourism Board. We seek to provide exceptional value and authentic experience for like minded people to experience Asia and beyond through the eyes of our lenses. We differentiate ourselves by creating a platform for people to share and express their passion through immersing themselves in the local culture and lifestyles, befriending the locals and giving back to the community. Our mission is to ensure that your photographic travel experience expands your soul, refresh your perspectives and rejuvenate your spirit.

Join us for a journey of new beginnings, friendships and an enriching experience! For more trips & information, Please visit www.xing-Asia.com

Why http://www.xing-Asia.com ?
– We are a Licensed travel company by Singapore Tourism Board.
– We have been granted ISO 9001 : 2008 Certification on Quality Management System.
– We specializes off-the-beaten-track destinations and photography expedition trips.
– All trips are designed and owned by us making us a true travel company and not just a travel agent.
– All photography technical advices are guided by a Master Photographer (MPA).
– We welcome customized trips or planning for a private group.
– Our travel concept are based on our values of the 4 pillars (http://xing-asia.com)

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Posted in Featured Photographers, Photography Articles & Videos, Photography Tours, Uncategorized | Tagged Crispin Lee, Photography Tours, Xing Asia | Leave a comment

Big Blog Exchange 2014 – Vote for Us Now!

Posted on August 12, 2014 by Editor AL

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Big Blog Exchange 2014 – Vote for Us Now!

12th August 2014, Singapore – The Big Blog Exchange 2014 is run by Hostelling International and is an exciting and unique project where 16 passionate bloggers swap blogs and countries with each other simultaneously for 10 days – and share their experience with the world. The project was first explored in 2013 and was a great success engaging over 1200 bloggers across 100 countries.

Our Editor, AL is currently in the run and he needs your support to have this site & Singapore on the top 25 spot. Here’s how you can help.

1) Click on AL’s Profile on Big Blog Exchange.
2) Click “Vote for Me” & Enter Your email address.
3) Check your email & Click Confirm Vote. (This is to confirm you are human)

Voting End 3rd September 2014

Every Vote is putting AL & Singapore closer to the Top 25 spot. Do cast your vote now.
Thanks Everyone!

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Special Feature – Pink Photographers SG (PPSG)

Posted on August 9, 2014 by Editor AL

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Special Feature – Pink Photographers SG (PPSG)

09th August 2014, Singapore – A week ago, I posted on Pink Photographers Singapore (PPSG)‘s facebook wall requesting the members to post photo(s) of something pink in color. A deadline was set for 7th August 2014 6pm thereafter and photos with pink theme started to appear on the facebook page. In total, we received about 44 entries, and here below are the entries that I had selected. This little exercise caught the attention of our accredited merchant Sgcamerastore and they have gladly sponsor 3 prizes for the top 3 pink photos. While I was putting this article together last night, Sgcamerastore did the judging and selected the top 3 photos. (Winners Announced at the bottom of this article.)

On Wikipedia, Pink is described as a pale red color, which takes its name from the flower of the same name. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most commonly associated with charm, politeness, sensitivity, tenderness, sweetness, childhood, the feminine, and the romantic. When combined with violet or black, it is associated with eroticism and seduction. So pink is a very powerful color as we can see from the description from Wiki. In PPSG’s context, it is not about sexism although pink is often related to female, however, it is more associated with the type of photos that Pink Photographers SG takes.

I’ve organized the submissions into a couple of categories with various comments. I would like to apologize that NOT all the submissions are featured due to image size or incorrect themes. Enjoy the photos! (Winners Announced at the bottom of this article.)

Sports

A Wheel Chair participant at a run escorted by Race Escorts donned in PINK Vest.
PINK stands out naturally at sports events. And in this case, it’s not just about being seen, it also means CARE!
Photo by: Li Huan

At a basketball match during the London 2012 Olympics, the secondary court or the court parameters – often a distance space between the audience & the court for exclusive access to game marshals, photographers, players, coaches & helpers.
Photo by: Lisa Pape

Scenes

A water feature display with pink lights off a bridge in Korea. The pink light was diffused via the water spray and this is a sight to behold and spectacular to watch.
Photo by: Alyssa Chan

PINK Fireworks being observed at the Singapore’s National Day Rehearsal 2014. Singapore is one of the very few countries in the world that has many National Day rehearsals leading up to the actual day and it is open to the public!
Photo by: Joanna Ng

A Pink Horse display along Orchard Road, Singapore during the festive seasons (Christmas/ CNY) the PINK Horse attracts lots of attention from both tourists & locals alike to take photo of it.
Photo by: Trisha Lim

People

PINK Converse shoes. Many of us grew up with this brand and it is one of Singapore’s favourites (if you are born from 1973-1983 you will understand). Pink shoes are no longer stereotyped as “sissy” like back in those days, today it’s a loud fashion statement.
Photo by: Amanda Val Ng

PINK Spiderman spotted at a running event (Pink Ribbon Walk 2013) in Singapore! The participants can’t get enough of Spiderman and I wonder if the poor dude had to run in Spidey’s outfit. 🙂
Photo by: Dyan Tjhia

A sweet couple strolling down town with a dozen Pink Balloons! How romantic is that?
To be honest, not many will dare to do this unless you are fueled by love!
Photo by: Priscilla Huang

The Pink Spiderman spotted again this time at the Shoppes! We are not too sure if this Sweet Pink Spidey is the same one spotted by Dyan at the Pink Ribbon Run, but we still think this dude is awesome!
Photo by: Fione (aka Wee & Soh)

Nature

Pink Flowers! For some strange reasons, we think that this is nature’s way of telling us that nature loves us too. Sweet isn’t it? Pink flowers look especially elegant again a dark background just like this example.
Photo by: Alice Chia

Pink & green in perfect unison. Both colors are rarely matching in most situations but in nature, this is perfect. Simply perfect & perfectly expressed by the photographer of this photo.
Photo by: Dyan Tjhia

The PINK Lotus flower is one of the most photographed flower in Singapore and other parts of Asia. It is also a wonder in the floral & fauna kingdom as the beautiful Lotus Flower thrives in the dirtiest of muddy water and yet when the flower booms, the flower is not stained by the mud.
Photo by: Ellis Jade Tay

A Pink flower against a monochromatic background is interesting. The background allows the pink flower to dominate as a solo subject while the pink compliments the various shades of black & grey. A simple and yet powerful photo.
Photo by: Jeslin Tan

A Pink Plant Hopper commonly seen in our reserves and parks. A quick check with a few macro enthusiasts revealed that most of these pink plant hoppers are spotted at the reserves nearer to the North of Singapore. The last time I shot on of these was at Venus Drive trail.
Photo by: Joanna Ng

A Pink Flower with a Dark colored Stamen added lots of feel to this photo. Many would think that removing the stamen will make this photo perfect, in actual fact, the stamen had added an element to this photo – it is called REAL. The stamen had made the photo more realistic although “less perfect” by photography standards, take a few moments to look at this photo you will understand what I meant.
Photo by: Neelima Patnaik

While many photographers will love to shoot a flower as a whole, there are details that are not exactly visible on first look. In this case, the photographer did a close-up on the flower’s stigma & stamen to present the flower in a totally different perspective – we love it!
Photo by: Tan Hui Hui

This image of a cluster of pink flowers are enough to cheer people up.
This shot is filled with sweetness and lively joys and we simply love this!
The orange color flowers in the background adds on to the bright & sunny feel!
Photo by: Trisha Sng

Food
Cinderella Angie
Pink is a favorite color for Product Packaging. The unmistakeable hues of pink are seen in all supermarkets from raw food to processed instant food that are used by different brands. This image is such an excellent example of how Pink found its way (and relevance) to the shelves.
Photo by: Angie Ng (Cinderella)

This is another interesting use of Pink. The tag morning “Morning Boost” again an etched Starbucks logo is interesting for anyone to start their day. If that is not enough, the insides on the mug is pink too!
Photo by: Ang Sue Kee

Everyday Abstract Expressives.
Alice Chia1
Pink Text interjoined into a ball. Interesting? We think this is awesome!
Photo by: Alice Chia

Jeslin1
A Pink Plant Leader made it interesting for those starting to grow creepers. While waiting for the greeny leaves to grow, at least you have something sweet to stare it until the greens take over.
Photo by: Jeslin Tan

These rubber bands are currently trending. With easy-to-make kit or starter kits available at a great price, it is no wonder that people are starting to play with these. This pink example is simple while the maker added 4 x white rubber bands to create a simple but prive design. White & Pink is like Jack Daniels & Ice.
Photo by: Josephine Tang

Pink Dream Catchers, if you are a believer of Dream Catchers, this Pink version will be nice for you to have it in your bed room. Guaranteed sweet dreams after!
Photo by: Rachel Ong

We have come to the end of the selected submissions and by now, many of you would have observed that Pink is in fact one of the most versatile color available to us. It has a wide representations and its definitions is limited to what you have in your mind. Before you scroll to the winning entries below, I would like to thank everyone who participated in this exercise as well as a masked publicity campaign for Pink Photographers Singapore (PPSG).

Ed.

And the Prize Winners for the PINK SUBMISSION are!
(Exclusively Sponsored by Sgcamerastore)

1st Prize – Dyan Tjhia

2nd Prize – Rachel Ong

3rd Prize – Ellis Jade Tay

Congratulations to All the Winners!
You will be Notified on the Collection of your prize via FB.
Thank you for your participation!

Special Thanks to Sgcamerastore for sponsoring the Prizes!

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Posted in Featured Photographers, Featured Photography Groups, Featured Photography Merchants, Photography Articles & Videos, Photography Contests, Uncategorized | Tagged Featured Photographer, Photography Contest, Pink, Pink Photographers SG, PPSG, Sgcamerastore | 1 Comment

Winter at Inner Mongolia & Beijing, China

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Editor AL

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Winter at Inner Mongolia & Beijing, China
Depart: 25th Dec 2014
Return: 1st Jan 2015
Price: SGD1600 (Twin share) / SGD1850 (Single)
Group Size : 8 (min) / 16 (max)

Highlights:

Winter landscape at Wulanbutong grassland
The Hongshan Army Horse Farm, a typical hill grassland with an altitude of 1500meter
Camel track during sunset
Village of the shepherd
JinShanLing, a section of Great Wall of China located in the Luanping County, 125km northeast of Beijing
The Forbidden City Moat, Corners Tower, Gate of Palace

Click here to browse the gallery and video from previous trip.

Xing Asia is Ourshutterjourney LLP’s Appointed Photography Travel Agent & Accredited Merchant.

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Posted in Featured Photography Merchants, Photography Articles & Videos, Photography Tours | Tagged Photography Tour, Xing Asia, xing-asia.com | Leave a comment

Pentax 645Z – Finally We Get to Review!

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Editor AL

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Pentax 645Z – Finally We Get to Review!

01st August 2014, Singapore – We can barely contain our excitement when we collected the review set of the Pentax 645Z and a couple of lenses. During April this year, we announced the Pentax 645Z from the press release and we mentioned that we were sad that no demo units will be heading here to Singapore. Then the local distributor APD called us and informed us that they have a demo unit for us. Without hesitation, we rushed down to their office and collected the demo unit last night.

A user-review is being planned right now as I write and I will be roping in another sub-editor in for this review along with a few enthusiasts. We will be reviewing and shooting with the Pentax 645Z this weekend and the review will be out by next week. stay tuned with us.

Ed.

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Posted in Brand: Pentax, Group Test & Reviews, Photography Articles & Videos, Uncategorized | Tagged 645Z, Medium Format, Pentax, Pentax 645Z, Photography | Leave a comment

10 Things Photographers Always Forget.

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Editor AL

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10 Things Photographers Always Forget.

30th July 2014, Singapore – We know exactly how much equipment & accessories a regular photographer carries. Sometimes, just too much to the point we forgot certain things that can land one in a devastating or helpless situation. Personally I had experienced a couple of the incidents below due to my forgetfulness while other times, plain carelessness. Let’s see how many have you experienced.
🙂

#01 Camera Battery

A camera without a battery is like a car without petrol. Your camera won’t run on solar energy anytime soon and you last left your batteries on your charger in your studio/ home and in your rush, forgot to pack the batteries. You are in deep trouble now and your shoot starts in 10 minutes. I experienced this once and I was lucky to get away with it when I called a friend who uses the same model of camera that I am using and this kind soul rushed 2 batteries down to my shoot location in 15 minutes flat in his trusty Mitsubishi Lancer. My day was saved!

Tips here: Always check if your batteries are inside your bag & camera before leaving your studio/ house. Or make sure you know who are your friends who uses the same camera as you – and find one with a dark blue Mitsubishi Lancer. (Thanks Ruiping, will never forget that day.)

#02 Battery Not Charged

This is yet another very common situation. Many times, some photographers tends to have the impression that their batteries last forever. Although many camera batteries today are made to last at least 1,000 shots per charge, still, charge will run out. It can be due to temperature, left in camera for too long without using, an old battery that’s probably near to the end of its life, or you simply forget to charge them. I have had students showing up for my class or at events who informed me that their batteries are flat and they are unable to carry on with the class/ event. Just imagine you show up at a paid assignment with a pair of drained batteries. Or in another scenario, you travel all the way to an exotic location to find yourself (or your camera high & dry).

Tips here; Always charge your batteries and spare batteries a day before a shoot or assignment. Do pay special attention to old batteries that will always choose to die on you at the wrong time. Let this be a ritual, charge the day before, no excuses.

#03 Memory Cards

Like many other photographers, personally I like to extract my memory card out of the camera and plug it into a card reader before I have it connected to my computer. But what happen next? Some put the card back into the camera after transfering their images out (which is not recommended) and some have their cards stored in a card organizer which I personally did. To my earlier point why it is not recommended to have the card permanently inside the camera is simple. The memory card slot (especially if your camera uses an ‘XD, SD or MS cards) are spring loaded. Having a card staying the slot 95% of the time will weaken the spring and one fine day the spring will snapped and viola! Your memory is now permanent – pun intended.

Tips here; just ensure that the cards are stored properly in a card organizer and as part of your pre-shoot preparation, just take out the card and slot in before you leave your studio/ house. Lowepro & ThinkTank manufactures really nice and sensible card organizers at very affordable price.

#04 Lenspen

The lens pen is an inexpensive but very important accessory that all photographers must have. It’s small & tiny, light & compact and doesn’t take up much space in the smallest of camera bags. The lens pen’s retractable brush are useful for brushing off dirt, dusts off your camera surface or from your front filter (if fitted). It is also useful to know that the brush bristles are the medium soft type. There are many brands out there today and I urge everyone to buy reputable brands. There are cases of people scratching their filter or the front lens element due low quality and hard bristles that actually scratch rather than brush. The felt tip on the other end had been claimed by manufacturers as well camera shops salespersons that you can clean off smudge or fingerprints. Here’s the fact, the carbon powdered felt tip will clean the smudges & fingerprints but will also leave behind hairline scratches if the felt tip is not properly maintained or had been sitting in the shop for too long in unknown condition causing the carbon powder to harden and solidify.

Tip here; use the brush and regularly clean the brush by rubbing your fingers on the bristles against a fan or strong wind and DO NOT wash the brush. For the felt tip, I will suggest having a small piece of optic cloth to wrap around it and use it to clean using the optic cloth instead of direct cleaning from the tip. The same goes when you are trying to clean stains off your viewfinder, the point here is, DO NOT let the tip touch any glass surface. Personally I will only use lens pens from the brand LENSPEN. Have your lens pen stored near your batteries & memory cards so you will remember to pack one before you head out for a shoot or assignment.

#05 Blower

This is probably the best invention since cotton bud when it comes to photography. The innocent looking blower is often the forgotten accessory to be packed into a camera bag. I know most of you will leave this at home but the fact is, when the situation calls for the blower, it will be great to have it isn’t it? Complementing
the lens pen, the blower is useful for blowing larger dust particles, sand (be it regular sand, fine sand from the desert or sea sand from the beach) or powder and if used properly, it can be used as a reversed vacuum cleaner.
This really cheap accessory may take up a little space in your camera bag, but you will thank me one day when you need it and you have it right inside your camera bag.

Tips here; make a little space in your camera bag for the blower. It may take up a slot meant for a lens, but the blower is in fact one of the top important item when you are out in the field. Have your blower stored together with your lens pen and other field items so you will remember to pack this in. If you have ONLY one camera bag, then you may wish to have a permanent slot in your bag for the blower.

#06 Body Caps & Lens Rear Caps

Interestingly, many photographers that I know actually kept these 2 caps inside the retail box if they own a 1xcamera + 1xlens set up. Others that I know, they left them at home. In situations when you need to remove the lens from the camera body to create space in your camera bag for whatever reasons, you will be glad to have these caps with you. Or if your camera got spilled by any drinks, ice cream or even food (especially during travel trips), you need to separate the camera & lens in order to properly clean your gear and you do not wish to risk having “2 open ends” to let dust particles to enter your lens or body. That will lead to more complications and even incurring costs later to repair or clean the dusts.

Tips here; the camera body cap and the rear lens cap can be interlocked (for most brands) and takes up very little space in your camera bag. When packing your gear, always remember to have these caps packed when after you had fitted your lens to your body, just interlocked the caps and placed them inside the smaller compartments where you stored extra batteries or memory cards.

#07 Eye Cup Cover

Most DSLRs of today are shipped with an Eye Cup Cover. Canon & Pentax usually manufactures their eye cup cover in synthetic rubber while Nikon, Olympus and a few other makers made theirs in hard plastic. I know out of every ten photographers, nine will have this cup kept in its original packaging inside the retail box. So what exactly is this cup for? When doing long exposure or shooting in extended time (ie; Bulb), the experienced photographers will remove the eye cup, then slot the eye cup cover over the viewfinder to prevent stray lights from entering the camera through the viewfinder. Do not forget that your penta-prism/mirror transmit light through inside the camera body and with the shutter up (bulb), light may stray through leaving you with images that are harder to edit. Although most cameras of today are so well-manufactured & sealed, this little piece of accessory is “insurance”. Most covers are about the size of a coin & will not take up space in your bag, just bring it along.

Tips here; most of these eye cup covers are designed in such a way that you can actually slot them into your camera strap so that your eye cup cover is always with you & your camera. And if you read your instruction manual, you are supposed to strap the cover on your strapping. If yours is not designed to be slotted onto your camera strap, just store this cover together with your memory cards since they are about the same size so you will remember to pack this when you are packing for your next shoot/ assignment.

#08 Spare Camera

Cameras although classified as an optical imaging equipment, it is still very much an electronic gadget. Electronics do break down or malfunctioned when you least expect it. I know of photographers who carries at least 2 DSLRs when they are doing assignments and if having 2 monsters in your bag is too much for you (or your camera bag), then consider having a high-end compact camera with you just in case your worst nightmare decides to play when you are on an assignment or traveling to an exotic location where help is not readily available.

Tips here; I chose high end compacts as my spare cameras when I am on assignment or traveling because the weight is minimal, takes up less space than a regular DSLR and it can produce reasonably & technically good quality images. My personal choice will be compacts like the Ricoh GR or the Canon G1X, or the mighty Sigma DP Series camera. These cameras comes with APS-C sensors and has DSLR processors, and this is my best insurance. So remember to bring one compact along – just in case.

#09 Camera Weather Cover

In a tropical climate country like Singapore (or anywhere in South East Asia), it’s either rain or shine. When we can remember to pack a poncho or a small umbrella into our camera bags, why not a weather cover for your camera too? If you are booked for an outdoor assignment or simply going for a leisure street photography walk, it will not hurt to have one of these in your camera bags. Most weather covers for cameras are retailing in a thin and nicely folded packaging that are slightly larger than your credit card. When you are caught in a storm, the weather cover will ensure up to 90% that your camera will be protected from the rain. (That is, if you had followed the instructions properly and have your camera shield up properly)

Tip here; these weather cover for DSLRs are inexpensive and it will be great to have one in every camera bag that you own. I had 22 camera bags and each of these bags has one such cover in them. I will strongly encourage you to invest in this as it is cheap and it works perfectly in protecting your gears from the weather.
My personal favorite has to be the covers from OPTech. Each pack contains 2 covers, the front has a drawstring to secure the cover to your lens hood groove and the cover has a nice hole for your eye cup to lock in and the area below the camera allows hand of all sizes to be able to use the cover and shoot comfortably. And OPTech has 2 versions, 1 with additional space for a flash gun, super useful if you are intending to shoot a dramatic wedding portrait in the storm or falling rain (snow in other parts of the world).

#10 Camera Bag Rain Cover

Most camera bags of today are shipped with rain covers. Reputable brands like Lowepro, ThinkTank, KATA, Tamrac or F-Stops all comes with a rain cover when you purchase a camera bag. But there are many brands are still shipping without it. So it will be good to purchase a 3rd party free-size-fitting rain cover for your camera bag. Most rain covers are built into the camera bag in a hidden slot or compartment while there are some brands who actually has a little pouch that are not attached to the bags. Get one today if your camera bags does not comes with one.

Tips here; always find a space in your bag to house a rain cover. Rain water can damage your equipment really badly, water & electronics are never meant to be acquaintance. Repairs can costs as much as a new piece of equipment so it is one of the top 10 items listed here on this article. With a rain cover in your bag permanently, you will never forget to bring one when you are caught in a storm.

So we have come to the end of my list of “10 Things Photographers Always Forget”. I had been caught in many of these situations before and I hope no one should go through what I went through if proper planning and packing is ensured by you. Have fun everyone and do share this useful article with your photography friends!

Ed.

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Posted in Photography Articles & Videos, Uncategorized | Tagged camera bags, Forgotten Gears, Photographers, Photography, Photography Tips | 2 Comments

Discovering Underwater Photography

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Editor AL

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Discovering Underwater Photography

People in Singapore, this is an interesting talk that will be held at the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS) this Friday 1st August 2014 at the Loke Wan Tho Gallery (Level 3 PSS). The talk is FREE entry & seat availability is based on first-come-first-served basis! So be early & see you there!

Ed.

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Eat and Shoot Korean with Canon this August!

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Editor AL

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So Who is Using What? (Poll Results)

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Editor AL

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So Who is Using What? (Poll Results)

29th July 2014, Singapore – A week ago, the editorial team decided to post up a poll and find out what are the camera brands & brand of lenses that photographers of 2014 are using today. This is to understand the market & our audience better. Although we decided to keep the poll going, we had taken a screen shot of the results today at 0900 hrs GMT +8.00 which is exactly a week and check out the results. In total as of the time of the screen shot, the sample size is 5,192 persons polled.

We shall start with the Top 10 Camera Brands.

Editor’s Notes:
From the above, and as expected, Canon & Nikon are still on the top spots. The 2 long-rivaling companies had dominated the top spots worldwide and not just Singapore. In this poll, Canon topped the list with Nikon following close right half a step behind. In the last 12 months, Canon had gotten good sales from products like the EOS 100D, EOS 700D, EOS 1200D, EOS M, IXUS 265 HS, Powershot D30, Power N100, SX700 HS, G1X Mark II, and a couple of new lenses for their interchangeable cameras. Over to the other side, Nikon is selling lots of DF, D810, D4, D4s, D610, D7000, D5300, J3, J4, Coolpix P600, Coolpix AW120 & a few other interesting prosumer compacts keep up closely with Canon’s sales.

What surprised most people (or should I say expected), Sony took the 3rd spot this time. The company’s E-mount α7 ( α7, α7K, α7R & α7S) had taken the market by storm, or should I say stormed. Apart from the earlier popular models, the rest of the line up that are selling well are α6000, SLT α77II, SLT α99, RX100, HX400, WX300 & TX30 making up the total sales and pushing Sony right to the 3rd spot.

Keeping Olympus on the 4th spot, it has to be the success of Olympus’s OM-D (EM-10/EM-5). Backing up the sales are popular models like TG-3 TOUGH, Stylus SP-100EE, SZ-14, Stylus 1, XZ-2, Stylus SH-1 & VG-190. Fujifilm managed to secure the 5th spot with its recent XT-1 along with its siblings like the Finepix S1, Finepix XP70, X100S, X-M1, XQ1, X-E2 & X-A1.

Usually I will not mentioned any brands beyond the 5th place but this is good to share. Following really close behind Fujifilm are Pentax & Ricoh (6th & 7th place). Pentax is moving lots of K-5IIs, K-3, K-50, K-500, Q7, while it’s sister company Ricoh is moving lots of GR and the re-labelled WG-4 GPS.

Next we take a look at the Lenses that photographers are using today.

Based on the camera ownership statistics on the earlier poll, Canon, Nikon took the top 2 spots as expected. While I will conveniently sum up that Sony & Zeiss lenses are mostly bought by Sony users for their α-series cameras, the brand that had created a storm one after another and had landed itself in the top 5 is Sigma.

Sitting on the 3rd place is Sigma. Since Sigma’s worldwide announcement of the company’s Global Vision – a re-branding exercise – the company had rolled out award-winning lenses one after another. The new series comprising of 3 product lines namely the Art, Sports & Contemporary lenses had surpassed the highest level of expectations from worldwide users. From our understanding, Sigma’s best selling lenses now is the 35mm ART. the 30mm ART, 50mm ART, the 17-70mm Contemporary, 18-35mm ART, 18-200mm Contemporary, 24-105mm ART and the mighty 120-300mm Sports. The other fast selling lenses that hasn’t been re-categorized are the 150mm Macro & 180mm Macro, the 10mm Fisheye & the recent DP2 Quattro.

Following close behind Sigma is long time rival Tamron who recently released the 16-300mm mega-zoom lens for APS-C DSLRs.

As camera & lens manufactures are constantly releasing newer & better photographic equipment to match up to the market’s standard and today’s technology, as photographers we should all improve ourselves and learn new things too (so that we can exploit the new releases) fully. This Poll had shown certain vital market changes & market patterns in the recent year when it comes to purchasing camera or lens.

On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to thank you for taking time to poll.
Ed.

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Posted in Brand: Canon, Brand: Minox, Brand: Nikon, Brand: Olympus, Brand: Others (Cosina, Carl Zeiss, Leica, Mamiya, Samyang, Vivitar, Zenitar,etc), Brand: Pentax, Brand: Sigma, Brand: Sony, Brand: Tamron, Brand: Tokina, Featured Photography Merchants, Group Test & Reviews, Photography Articles & Videos | Tagged Canon, Fujifilm, Lensbaby, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Photography, Polls, Sigma, Sony, Tamron, Tokina | 1 Comment

Which Brand(s) of Camera & Lenses Do You Own?

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Editor AL

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Which Camera Brand(s) Do You Own?
(Poll Below)

23rd July 2014, Singapore – Most of the photographers that I know owns a couple of cameras as well as many lenses from various makers, sometimes from different brands, some from different eras. It is pretty diversified when it comes to selecting a brand of camera. There are many deciding factors too when selecting a new cameras. From photo quality to user interface, from ISO performance to creative filters, from high resolution LCD screen to tilt-able screen, from price point to brand presence, the factors are far too many to mention.

Out of curiosity and taking this opportunity as part of a Readers’ Demographic update, we are conducting a simple poll here. Please kindly tick the brand(s) of camera(s) & lense (2nd Poll) that you currently own. Although there is no prize for polling, it will help me & my team in the long run to provide more relevant articles, resources and contents for your enjoyment & references.

Thank you.
-Ed.

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Olympus Global Photo Contest 2014

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Editor AL

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Olympus Global Photo Contest 2014

About Olympus Imaging Singapore

Olympus Imaging Singapore is the unparalleled industry leader in opto-digital technologies, delivering award-winning digital imaging products for the consumer and professional markets in Singapore. Driven by a strong commitment in providing innovative products and solutions of the highest quality, Olympus Imaging Singapore works closely with industry partners, customers and other Olympus business units in producing leading-edge products. These include analogue and digital cameras, professional SLR imaging systems, and voice recorders, amongst others. Olympus Imaging Singapore’s unrelenting efforts in superior customer service also bear testimony to its brand promise of delivering the best user experience to all consumers and professional users in the imaging field. For more information, please visit http://www.olympusimage.com.sg.

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The Ricoh GR – The Legacy Continues

Posted on July 18, 2014 by Editor AL

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The Ricoh GR – The Legacy Continues.

Photo: The Ricoh GR (left) and the Ricoh GRDIV (right)

18th July 2014, Singapore – The Ricoh GR had been around for a while since its introduction to the market. From our understanding, the GR had done well in terms of sales locally and till this moment as I write, units of the GR are still being bought off the shelves. The Ricoh’s GR-Series compact cameras had been around since the good old days where film rules. Marketed and position as the company’s High-End compact cameras line, Ricoh GR-series cameras had been trusted by professional photographers all over the world till today. As the global digitalization evolves, the Ricoh GR Series had also updated what a modern professional compact camera should be. It was made not just to replace the previous model (Ricoh GR Digital IV or GRD4), the newly designed GR is a new camera altogether. The latest & current model – simply called the “GR” is the answer to this update.

Photo: A Brief history of Ricoh GR models from 1996 till the previous model GRDIV before the GR made its debut in 2013.

The main reasons why professional photographers are buying the GR are pretty obvious. The GR comes with a 16.2mp APS-C sensor – the biggest sensor so far that Ricoh had ever placed in a compact camera, a newly designed prime lens that gives an effective focal range of 28mm wide, a bright aperture of F2.8 (I missed the F1.9 on the GRD4 though) & a new GR V-Processor as the sweetener for the GR package. To make the GR sweeter, the 3 inch 1.23 million dots LCD is using the same “WM” aka “WhiteMagic” technology as the Sony RX1/RX100.

For the keen eye, one would have also noticed that Ricoh had added the TAv shooting mode (Time Aperture Value) to the GR which is pretty unique to Pentax cameras. Since both companies (Pentax & Ricoh) had merged, it’s great to see Pentax-ish factors finding their way into Ricoh cameras and I hope to see the same can be done to the Pentax products too.

As usual, I would like to disclaim myself that this is not a technical review site, we are really more keen on what kind of photo, colors & image quality that the GR can produce. If you are looking for in-depth specifications, please look elsewhere or at the provided links after the jump.
(PS: Hello to the people over at Dpreview forum, thanks for constantly sharing my reviews over the dpreview forums. I noted the comments from many dpreview users that this site is not a technical-review site. Yes, they are absolutely right. From day 1, I had positioned my humble website as the “user review site” and not a “technical site” and I hope this is the last time I had to disclaim myself. Keep sharing my articles anyway – love you all!)

Recently when I was meeting up with the local distributor, I took the opportunity to loan the GR out for a weekend. I had own a few previous versions of the GR-Series cameras and admittedly, I had not really touch the new GR till this review. The GR was introduced for exactly a year now, and after using it over a weekend, it is easy to understand why professional photographers are buying the Ricoh GR as their travel or “Off-Day” compact. The GR was built on a solid magnesium alloy body, nice & large grip (a typical Ricoh design cue but useful anytime!), fits into most pockets, focus fast & accurately, produces images with excellent resolutions and a sensible button layout.

All photos published along with this article were shot using the Ricoh GR on a one-day excursion to places of worships in Singapore. The photos were not edited except for straightening, slight cropping and added water-marks. You may wish to click on the photo to view at full size to check out the sharpness and the number of details captured within every shot.

Interested to find out more the Ricoh GR?
You may wish to click here or here.

You can buy your Ricoh GR here.

If you already own the GR or has a GR-Series camera, you may also wish to join the local GR community now at;
– http://eepurl.com/Cv7Yv
– https://www.facebook.com/GRSingapore

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About Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company, Ltd

PENTAX RICOH IMAGING CORPORATION was originally founded in 1919 under the name Asahi Optical Joint Stock Co. In the 1950s, launched the first SLR camera, the Asahiflex I, and the company haven’t stopped since. From the Asahi PENTAX single-lens reflex camera to the Spotmatic and to our most recent K-5IIs and incredibly tiny Q10, Pentax empowers and inspired photographers around the world.
For information on Ricoh, click here.

About APDS (Exclusive Distributor for Singapore)

Audio & Photo Distributor (Far East) Pte. Ltd. formerly known as MHE Consumer (S) Pte. Ltd was founded in 1973.

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Featured Merchant – Alan Photo Trading

Posted on July 16, 2014 by Editor AL

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Featured Merchant – Alan Photo Trading

Photo: Alan Photo Trading (Sim Lim Square).

15^th July 2014, Singapore – Most photographers will know a couple of famous photography shops that are known to be reputable and trustworthy. This is important as photography equipment is not cheap and you need a good and well-stocked retailer to back you up especially if you are a professional and paying your bills from your shutter count. Today, I went on to find out more about one of the famous photographer store here in Singapore – they are none other than Alan Photo Trading.

Before we start, I would like to disclaim that although my name is Allan, I am not related to Alan Photo Trading in any way except that they are one of our Accredited Merchants for our members, subscribers and followers. 🙂

Photo: Tom, Account Manager – Alan Photo Trading – Taken in 2005.

Alan Photo Trading was founded in 1987 by Mr. Alan Tan, their pioneer store was located at Sim Lim Square and it was a humble shop selling mainly films, film cameras & accessories. Since then, Alan Photo Trading had come a long way, and they had supported the photography trade through the digital revolution when digital formats were introduced towards the end of 1990s.

Today, Alan Photo Trading is one of the Top 5 Photography store in Singapore retailing with a full inventory of photography equipment that professional photographers trust and hobbyists love. Today Alan Photo Trading has 3 unique stores located at Sim Lim Square, Funan Digitalife Mall & Marina Bay Sands Shoppes and they have a separate administrative office & distribution centre at Waterloo Street.

So what are their secrets to success and sustainability? We caught up with the Alan Photo Trading’s Operation Manager John Chong and I managed to have a few words with him.

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Ed: John, can you please share with our readers the secret(s) to Alan Photo Trading’s success today?

John: Staff integrity, Honest trading & Friendship with every customer.

Ed: Can you elaborate on that?

John: Staff integrity is important, for a business to succeed, we must first work on our staff, impart ownership values, properly trained, knows the product that they are selling and must be able to handle all kinds of customer. And there must not be any internal competition, rather, the sales team works as a team, helping out one another whenever someone needed help.

Honest trading is important because at Alan Photo trading, we do not believe in doing one-off business and we are very careful with the guidelines & pricing given to us by brand owners – likewise with our customers when they make a purchase at our stores. The competition is tough in this industry, but we strongly believe in our products & our services so there is no need for us to do anything out of the ordinary. By being honest and transparent in our business operations, we are also protecting other like-minded fellow retailers, the brand owners and our customers too.

Photo: Alan Photo Trading in the 1980s.
John: Friendship is when we place emphasis on developing long-term relationships with our customers over profit. In every business, profit is important, but relationship is even more important for a business to sustain & survive. We strive to develop this relationship with every customer that passed through our doors. What is a business without business-client relationships? When our customers become our friends, it means mutual trusts had developed and this is when we know that we had won our customers’ trust & heart.
This is sweet.

Ed: That is very interesting. Thank you for sharing!

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Photo: Alan Photo Trading in the 1990s.

Back from where Alan Photo Trading were selling film & film, today Alan Photo Trading sells almost everything that a photographer or videographer can think of. The inventory is comprehensively huge and there is something for everyone. Alan Photo Trading is also an Authorized Reseller for major brands like Leica, Hasselblad, Blackmagic Design, Canon, Nikon, Sony etc.

To stay updated with News & Promotional Offers from Alan Photo Trading,
please visit http://www.alanphoto.com.sg/

And pop over to their Facebook page and “LIKE” to stay updated.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alan-Photo-SG/236788585215

Alan Photo Trading is an Accredited Merchant with ALL the photography groups under the management of Ourshutterjourney LLP.

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