Author Archives: 2konbla

HisTOYry

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Death is this star.


Here are some toys from a while back, when I still bought toys. This is Darth Vader who transforms into a Death Star! My last Star Wars Transformers purchase. It got ridiculous trying to collect all of them, even the repaints! So I stopped here.


Tankor (who really should be called Octane) from Transformers Universe. I think this was the last proper Transformer I bought.


Silver Alternity Convoy. Not mine.


Ultimate Bumble Bee. Note mine.


Blokus Trigon. Endgame. Not mine. Insanely fun.


Me camwhoring with the classic 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube. Picture thanks to Jepf and his Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 DC.


The classic 3x3x3 Rubik’s Cube and a glue-on mod 3x3x5.


Top left: A smiley Eastsheen 5x5x5.
Bottom left: Christmas season (then.)
Top right and bottom right: YongJun 7x7x7 smileys. They both exist at the same time.

Not So New Builds

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7th May 2009 – I took my Sigma 17-35mm F2.8-4 EX for a spin around the then newly-constructed office next to mine.


What lies behind the door?


They got the view. We didn’t.


Secret window. (Obviously, not with the same ultra-wide angle lens.)


Then I headed over to Bentley Music and checked out Homegrown Space! That’s my picture of Andrew Netto (second from right, top row).


It was still under construction and smelling very funky!

I loved Bentley Music’s vast space – it was that kind of feeling that made me want to buy an electric guitar back in 2001-2002.


Stairway to…

Eye On Titiwangsa

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Back in 31st October 2007, my then new Sony Alpha 700, a fish-eater and me went down to Titiwangsa Lake Garden to check out the Eye On Malaysia!


Business was pretty slow on a hot Wednesday afternoon.


Here’s a de-fished image from the Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye.


The walkway to the Eye On Malaysia.


The Tamron 200-400mm F5.6 makes a rare appearance, stalking buildings at 400mm.


Another 400mm shot. Through the window I needed a lot of sharpening.


Down on the ground at 330mm.

Double SL

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20th March 2010 – Seth Lael serenades Shelley Leong.


This banjo gets the ladies. Well, he can only use it on Shelley now. Why?


…because you guys are married! Congratulations!


Here’s another happy pair – ZOOM stereo microphones!


Yinnadei!


Shelley has flowers in her hair. She doesn’t know what they look like.


When you invite a bunch of musicians you get music!


She’s electric.


Hold on a moment.


Apparently in America they have weddings in houses! This was not your average Chinese ballroom wedding.


Rewind to 12th December 2009 – where Muazam and Sazai got married! Spot meter and no flash used, to blow out the background.


Amir in the shade.


Azam does a sarge.


Azam senses tracks! Where did they go?


Zeiss 135mm F1.8 does a shallow depth of field.


This is what holds it all together.


“Eh betul ke lirik ini?”


Not a wedding gift.


Should’ve took one step to the right to aim the signboard at the tire. Ah well!

RIP Din

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God bless you Din Beramboi, may you rest in peace. I have always wanted to someday bump into you at Astro and thank you for teaching me English like “cat crossed the road” but I guess that won’t happen. 🙁


This has to be my utmost favorite Din Beramboi skit. Even Harith Iskander and Joanna Bessey are having a hard time trying to keep a straight face!


This one is a bit long but worth the wait for the punchlines!


This is one of the better known Ah-Ha songs – Ah Long Bukit Beruntung!


This one doesn’t have Din Beramboi but hey I don’t remember this.

I haven’t heard you on radio because… well, I don’t have a radio. Still, you won’t be forgotten!

Sony Expo 2010!

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I dropped by the Sony Expo 2010 in Midvalley Exhibition Center! It is open from 10am to 10pm, from the 1st to 4th of April 2010.

These are the 3D glasses, and they debuted the Sony 3D Bravias and Playstation 3 units there. I don’t know if the price will be announced anytime soon.

They feel like the recent 3D movies you’ve seen. A benefit is that with a TV you can move closer and get more 3D-ness! They are active electronic 3D glasses which close one window at a time like the ones you use in regular cinemas.

Interestingly, there was a theater which had regular passive polarized 3D glasses showing the same thing. (IMAX 3D uses this.)


They had a service clinic – if you send your out-of-warranty products during the expo, you do not need to pay labour charges! There is also up to 15% discount on spare parts.


There was something rare – the Broadcast & Professional department! I remember Khai having trouble locating one of these…


Here, you have a Sony broadcast camera mounting Fujinon lenses…


…and here, a Canon lens.


There was also one of two Sony 300mm F2.8G SSM lenses on display! The removable polarizer was also shown.


The new Sony Cybershot HX5 – 10x optical zoom in an amazingly small package! If you remember, the HX1 was a chunkier bridge camera… this one however adds GPS, Backlight Correction HDR, Optical SteadyShot and a backlit sensor!


Edited: This is the Sony Cybershot TX5, shockproof, dustproof, backlit sensor, Backlight Correction HDR, and the smallest waterproof camera with a 3.0″ 230K touchscreen yet!

This, and the HX5, are a technical tour de force. However, neither these nor the W380 actually replace my WX1 as the best low-light Cybershot – the WX1 has a 24mm-wide F2.4 lens with backlight sensor.

In comparison, the W380 has the same Sony 24-120mm F2.4-5.9 G lens, but without a backlit sensor. That can only mean the WX2 (or WX5?) will add the new features – I particularly like Backlight Correction HDR, which debuted on the Sony Alpha 550 as Auto HDR!

Sadly, none of the prototype Alphas or lenses were anywhere to be seen. 🙁


Here’s one the WX1 at 24mm wide. Live View is handy and is a given for all point-and-shoots.

All shots from my very pocketable Sony Cybershot WX1.

And now, for some delayed geeking – here’s an analysis of the possible size of the new compact Alpha!

(Adjusted midtones to 2 in Photoshop. Credits to P3 News & Reviews.)

79×53 pixels sensor, 385×204 pixels body
24×16 mm sensor, therefore 116×62 mm body

The Cybershot WX1 is 91x52mm and 20mm thick. I don’t mind it being longer or taller, but the thickness is the main factor to pocketability. If there was a case that holds body and pancake serially that would slip into a pocket that would be awesome.

There is a picture somewhere which shows the tripod screw mount – I can’t find it at the moment, but once found, we can figure out the missing dimension – thickness!


This slide confirms that the compact Alpha has a sensor size of 24x16mm (thus, an aspect ratio of 3:2).


This is a screenshot released by Sony. It proves that it supports RAW, and a separate photo and video folder.


There also seems to be a help mode.


We don’t know how you change “Shoot Mode” though, since this dial is missing on the mocks…


Ah, there it is – probably by hitting Menu then using the directional pad you can select the Shoot Mode.


Changing WB. No implication of Kelvin WB though that would be sweet!


This might be the “Background Defocus” scene mode where you just press the D-pad to make more or less in focus. FH at the top, I presume, means Full HD. We see Face Detect and Smile Shutter, AF-S (meaning you can choose AF-C and AF-A) and we get a battery percentage readout… which my Cybershot WX1 does not do!


In other news, I now know why I seem to like the shape of my head; it is a bit too familiar!

Spot Bald!

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On the 28th of March 2010, more than 38 brave souls decided to shave their heads bald for charity.

What charity, to be exact? Worldvision Malaysia‘s Operation Botak.

Imagine for a minute now that you are hiking through the jungle. You need to climb up the hill starting at 6am, because your destination is beyond the hill and you need to be there at 7:30am. It is totally dark.

Now imagine doing that every morning because that’s how you go to school! Would you want to do that, or skip school altogether?

And so, Worldvision is aiming to raise RM100,000 to build a learning resource centre and equip a mobile library! I quote the site:

“Over half of Sabah’s population is scattered amongst isolated rural areas. We hope to raise RM100,000 to help provide indigenous communities in the interiors of Tuaran and Kota Belud with the gift of education and literacy by equipping a mobile library and learning resource centre.

Thus, we’re challenging our more fervent supporters to go bald for literacy.”

You can see these fervent supporters here:
WorldVision Malaysia’s Photos – Operation Botak


It is no wonder you can see smiles on their faces as it all goes off.


Mine, too. Yes, I pledged to raise RM1,000 for the fund. You can see what a clean shave Snips hairstylists did to retain my cornrows!

I have raised RM310 so far. Previously the donations had a deadline of 25th March 2010 but this has been extended indefinitely until the target is met.

So please, donate, because I lost my hair which has not had a pair of scissors touch it for 1994 days. Or 5 years 4 months and 17 days.

To donate to the cause, download this form:

http://worldvision.com.my/images/blitz/operation%20botak_donation%20form.pdf

You can then send it by post, fax, or email the form to admin@worldvision.com.my.


Neat how they shaved it – I could actually hold it up!


Going deep. I don’t know where I’ve seen this pose before.


Does it get any more literal than this?


Jessica pledges too! Her hair is first tied up…


You go girl!


Husband and wife. They can later see whose hair grows faster!


Jessica rocks too.


I went in again to get it skinned. Obviously, one is a senior hairstylist while the other is a junior (they are, after all, from Snips Academy.)


Some of the participants.


Plus the emcee Deborah Henry (who has also sponsored a child under Worldvision!)


She didn’t brave the pain of cornrows but the warmth of the electric razor wasn’t a problem.

Yes it was warm! However being bald, air currents just cool your head. I like how splashing water on my head gives a refreshing feeling. Oddly, even a cold shower feels very warm!


Shower-head view.


Zeiss 135mm F1.8 view. A further distance helps to give a different geometric projection.


I think I look like the Quake 2 protagonist here.


Yes there is a bit of rash, probably from the cornrows tugging on my hair.


Rembrandt light. I could see my reflection in the camera lens and adjust angle accordingly.

All shots of me (and Jessica) taken by Waifon unless it is obvious that I took it, like when you can see my hands outstretched to hold up a fisheye, like so:


Here’s Tan Shu-Yi (left) and Ng Oon-Ee (right) making a hidden mickey of me!

You can see my previous two hairstyles here:


Vain Braidy


cHAIRity

So yeah if I can sacrifice my hair for charity, I’m sure you could spare some money to help the kids in Sabah! 😀

Corner TT

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Pictures from a TT at Steven’s Corner, Pandan Indah! Here’s escapee with the Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye on my A900. ISO3200 1/13s F5.6 8mm.


tuahlensa finds out his Carl Zeiss 85mm F1.4 is even better on full-frame! Meanwhile, I find ISO6400 F2.8 going for 1/15s, what a struggle! ISO6400 1/15s F2.8 24mm.


An unidentified subject opens an unidentified book. ISO1600 1/40s F1.8 135mm.


tanjq87 gets close with the fisheye. ISO3200 1/13s F5.6 8mm.


kysham offers free hugs to the fisheye! ISO3200 1/13s F5.6 8mm.


escapee shows how the Sony 70-200mm F2.8G SSM looks like on the 70mm end. ISO3200 1/5s F2.8 70mm.


The Panasonic DMC-L1, a very rare Four-Thirds dSLR indeed. ISO3200 1/13s F2.8 135mm.


wlsiew asks what are you looking at. ISo1600 1/40s F1.8 135mm.

I am not sure who took which shot so credits go to the respective photographers. Well I took the L1 shot and the first shot.

EXIF is also included in all images for this post, so check out what amazing work DxO Optics Pro Elite is doing!

Moonshine 01-10

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Moonshine: A Homemade Music Show at Laundry Bar, The Curve a certain 14th of January 2010!


This is the skillful Az Samad double-tapping fingerstyle and slapping his guitar violently to make percussive sounds of it.

I like how the Opteka 85mm F1.4 lets me get closer and wider (and optically better than my aged Minolta 50mm F1.4.)


For closeups like this one of punk-folk-rocker Azmyl Yunor though, the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 is a must.


85mm again.


24mm wide with the Minolta 24-105mm F3.5-4.5(D). (This was before I disabled the tilt-shift capability of my Vivitar 24mm F2.0.)


Hello there!


Udjinn ponders. He always does. You may or may not see the Opteka’s color.


Paolo Delfino puts his ponderances to song.


He roped in his brother on drums!


Obligatory ISO6400 shot. 1/40s 85mm F1.4.


This was more interesting – a stitched shot from two 135mm F1.8 ISO6400 shots.


This is a crop from a portrait orientation shot, giving effectively a 200mm angle of view.


My 50mm finally comes out at F2! Here is to 90’s rock with Stonebay.


Ojie will not lose his hat this time. I remember a time when I’d always see him with a colorful beanie.


I’ve always wanted to try inverting an image, but this is the first time it has worked. I inverted a layer copy and changed the blend mode to Luminosity to return somewhat normal color.