Author Archives: 2konbla

Crash Bang

I was in a Metrobus a few nights before the elections. It was a typical Ampang jam. Motorbikes could be seen whizzing past with their BN flags hanging out.

One such flag hit the mirror and smashed it. The bus driver honked repeatedly in rage!

He then honked each time he stopped at a bus stop, to get passengers.

I could imagine his rage. If I was him, I would drive down to the ceramah, honk at everybody until he reached the front, and holler out;

Bendera BN pecah cermin ini! Siapa bayar? Siapa bayar?

I registered to be a voter sometime in October 2007. When they announced that one could check if one’s name was on the electoral roll online, I checked. Nope, I wasn’t there. Checked again. Nope, still nothing.

Despite this, I decided to try my luck on Election Day. I went to my old primary school, just across one junction from my grandmother’s house. Checked again.

Nope, I registered too late.

I walked around my old school to see what had changed. Many rooms had become storerooms and messes. The toilets were still in slipshod condition… and two toilets on the top floor had become junkyards. No wonder I was terrified of these back then.

The school seemed amazingly small now. I felt like a giant!

The voters, I saw, were mostly of the older generation. Where were the chicks? Do they not care about the future? (Or was it just Saturday-morning-after-a-Friday-night?)

At least, these voters shared my vote. I didn’t even know he was the new vice-president of MCA until he lost his seat!

Who knows what there is to be dissatisfied about? I don’t like the mosquitos, or the crime rate (drive to SS2, get a broken window). Still, it’s nice to know that the system worked.

Maybe, it was this campaign poster that backfired.

Yes, it does look like there is a red packet with money inside, being exchanged! Not under the table mind you, openly given over the table.

(It’s actually a passport being handed to the lady, at the immigration department.)

And only one choice is an ironic statement, because choice implies more than one choice. Maybe “best choice” would sound less pushy.

That said, welcome! Both the place I currently live in, and the place I was registered at, have new faces.

Sony Alpha 350 hands-on


Finally, the Sony Alpha 350 hits our shores!

This is the first Sony Alpha digital SLR with Live View, and Quick AF Live View, which focuses much faster without a lot of mirrors flapping or slow focusing like competitors. It works just like a digital camera would!

More on the difference here.

Note the Live View/OVF switch – it goes back and forth very, very fast, like it was entirely mechanical. This is unlike the Live View found on Canon and Nikon, which are hidden in dials or menus somewhere.


With my Minolta 70-210mm F4 “beercan” lens. The 2.7″ screen tilts up and then outwards.


Smart Teleconverter! It gets its own button to the right of the AEL button – it cycles between no crop, 1.4x crop and 2x crop. It does not matter if you’ve picked Small, Medium or Large – at 1.4x the camera always sets itself to Medium, and at 2x the camera always sets itself to Small.

This might confuse some people who choose Small, and then set Smart Teleconverter to 1.4x and find that the resolution is forced to Medium!

Also, oddly, you would think that you should get 100% coverage of the viewfinder when using the Smart Teleconverter instead of the usual 95%… but having framed with the Smart Teleconverter and then shot, the extra 5% comes in the picture.

It is also understandable why the Smart Teleconverter only goes up to 2x – the spherical matte surface of the A350 isn’t fine enough to show detail beyond that. However, after shooting, the image is a lot sharper and clearer than it is when looking at Live View with the Smart Teleconverter.

Logically, since the Live View sensor is looking at the viewfinder on your behalf, you do see the AF points on screen always. Also, when using the Smart Teleconverter, the AF points enlarge! Oddly, you can’t select focusing mode. I don’t know what mode it becomes though.


It can fold up quiiite high, though sadly, not sideways. Nevertheless this makes for a much sturdier screen.

Telephoto lenses held up with one hand will show that the Live View isn’t the fastest refreshing thing on the planet. You can actually see motion blur trails on the screen (which won’t appear in the picture.) However, put both hands on the camera and it looks alright again.


You could probably stick some notes in here, heh.

I forgot to check if Creative Styles, White Balance and Exposure Compensation show in Live View, though.

The Drive and ISO button feel easier to press than the Sony A200. I’m not sure because I didn’t have one to compare it with.

Speaking of Drive, the A350 does 2.5 frames per second (FPS), the A300 does 3 FPS, and the A700 does 3/5 FPS. However, in Live View, the FPS lowers considerably to about 1.5. Hey, at least it can do continuous AF!

Added 12:25pm: Another thing – I found the A350 viewfinder to be reasonably bright despite the lower magnification. Still very, very usable.

Also, the difference in 2.5 FPS and 3 FPS is minimal; you would not be able to tell the difference just by hearing it… unless you play the drums.

Habis Meredang

I’m back from Redang! A quick peek at what animated antics happened:


The real thing, not an artificial wave pool.


Sand throwing!


Beach volleyball!

(Of course, it would’ve been better if the girls were playing. I don’t know where they went!)

Shot with the Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan or the Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye, on the Sony Alpha 700 at 5 frames per second.

Alpha Rays

12th January 2008 – the Sony Alpha shootout in Midvalley! We were given 10 categories to shoot; at the end of the day, we’d submit only one.


Good luck flowing in.


Top of a cherry?


Proud parents.


The curve.


The fish under the bridge.


The kopitiam.


The narcissist and a trespassing giant.


The wall being posed with.


The Tamron 28-105mm F2.8. Whoa nelly!


The portrait session free with a purchase of makeup products.


The… the… *


Wander, boy.


Her wonder.


Darren‘s Sigma 300mm F4 APO Macro versus the big white Sony 300mm F2.8G SSM. Also spot his Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG!


The Sony Carl Zeiss 85mm F1.4 has strong liquid color… though it’s a bit too contrasty at times. It makes a great compact, very bright medium telephoto prime lens.


The TT (teh tarik, or technology transfer) session after that.


The picture I chose to submit. No, I did not win the prize, a Sony 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 DT. 🙁

* the shot was from later when I tried the Sony Carl Zeiss 85mm F1.4. It responded very well to the Neutral Creative Style.

I’ll be in Redang for a company team building exercise from Wednesday to Saturday, so don’t expect any updates till then!

Mix Chart

Fly FM Campur Chart, 24th January 2008, exactly a month ago. Hooray my gig pictures are not so delayed anymore!


I brought my Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm F2.8-3.8 push-pull and made this! It involves slow shutter speed and a push-pull. Yeah, normal zoom rings won’t get such a smooth action. 😛


Oh yeah, this is Silent Scream.


(Normal shot.) Alternative hard rock for the masses!


Dude you forgot to call me about the pictures!


Ooo, that’s Keng on bass and for some reason he is standing behind the drummer.


Ooo, Cyndi looks angry. And Jiameei looks so cute how can you not want to pinch her cheeks and then put her in your front pocket?


Darino.


Who is hip hop.


Frequency Cannon!

This is Kuachee.


This is Azrul.


This is Yu-Ri.


This is the second guitarist, Siva eh waitaminute where’s Siva?


This is Dino.

They play happy jumpy rock.


So happy, it’s contagious! (I was trying to do an Ozzy Osbourne here.)


And this is the thing I do with my fisheye where I stick the camera in front of people and flash.


Now she gets it!


Jiameei: “I want fisheye too!”


Sure, I did, but I socked her in the jaw before this picture.

Graphy Tee

To reaffirm my status as one of those photo bloggers, I hereby post a bunch of snapshots.


The Jamasia door b***ard draws tattoos on his own hands in his free time. In One Utama. Is that how boring shopping malls have become?


Such a drawing would be more appropriate at a boring place, like my workplace.


I have always had a knack for drawing Transformers. Heck, I used to make Transformer models for Quake 2 and Unreal Tournament…


However, I did not go to this extent. Somebody else did. Gotta love his cap!


Battlebot Rumble1 does indeed have the same head as Decepticon Rumble! They even have The Universal Greeting (from the original animated Transformers movie).


Transform! And L.O. Loud!

Bah weep granah weep ninni bong!


You can fix some things. And when you can’t, there’s free delivery.


My dream job!


Signs.


…oh.

No Lens Reflex

Many many moons ago, I met with Lex, the then buyer of my Sony Alpha 100. We were at Chili’s, and I was explaining the camera functions to her, when this girl hobbled over next to our table and looked at us intently.

Take a picture, her pose told us. She leaned seductively against the chairs. We thought it was so cute! (Did she learn it from an older sister or aunt?)

She continued standing there. Oh, all right. I used my Sony Alpha 700 to shoot this one shot of her, to humor her.

She kept posing. I continued the conversation, and looked, and she was still posing!

I then tried the Sony Alpha 100 with body cap on to see how she’d react.


(I looked something like this. Thanks Lex for the shot!)

She immediately started crying! Must’ve been the body cap. Or did she already know what a lens was, feeling rejected by this long-haired-artistic-photographer-looking dude?

She ran over to her mom, who went, “uncle made you cry ah?” Her family proceeded to camwhore with their digital cameras, to cheer her up.

It could also be the A100’s different, more mechanical door-slamming sound, often said to be loud (though some say, satisfying) while the A700 had a quieter, more subtle mirror action. A friend said the A100 made his dogs go wild but the A700 made them pose willingly (or something like that!)

Feeling Blue


When I’m feeling blue, I keep it cool.


I keep my signs down.


Add a certain shade of green…


…and everything stops.


Add a shade of red…


…and I will leave…


…far, from this place.


So why still hang around?


Step outside!


Stay out all night…


…just mooning!


Ah, past times.


Bloody TV.


Goodnight.

How do you make a photographer feel loved?


Spot the two pictures I took (presumably, Paolo passed his camera to a friend, who assumed that only pictures of Paolo should be taken. Don’t worry, it’s quite common that some band members are more photographed than others. Must be Paolo’s ever interesting hairdo.)


So how do you make a photographer feel loved? Give him credit, and a free ad. (Oh and hello Wan Lee remember me?)


Original from here.


Kinda alike, but the CD I burnt for Paolo has outtakes!

I’m in a band, how do I get pictures from you?

If you see me at a gig, you can ask me to burn you a CD. *

* CDs don’t come free and neither does Photoshopping full-size photos so I’ll charge a nominal price.

You will get your band shots faster, within a week!

Of course, you can always grab the shots from my blog when they come up (anytime between 1-3 months delayed) but they will be smaller sized and have that watermark. Makes it easier for you also because you don’t have to add “this picture was taken from glaringnotebook.com” yourself. 🙂

If the pictures are of your band, feel free to take it for your Myspace account. That’s my contribution to the underground scene, but credit me lah. 🙂

For The Pixel-peeping Insomniac

Some may realize how tele-centric I am with my lenses, so here’s a shootout of 7 lenses that can reach 210mm either by themselves or with the aid of teleconverters. All shot with the Sony A100 at F16, ISO Low-key 80 with flash on a certain morning of 20th September 2007.


Lenses involved, from right to left:

  1. Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye (okay, it wasn’t included but it sneaked in because it thought it would look nice in the picture)
  2. Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT (sold)
  3. Minolta 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 Silver (sold)
  4. Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm F2.8-3.8
  5. Cosina 70-210mm F2.8-4 Macro
  6. Minolta 70-210mm F4 “beercan”
  7. Tamron 200-400mm F5.6

The battered, misaligned elements, melted rubber Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6 opted to skip the photo shoot.


Sony 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 DT with Tamron 1.4x and Kenko 2x. 1/60s.


Minolta 28-80mm F3.5-5.6 with Tamron 1.4x and Kenko 2x. 1/100s.


Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm F2.8-3.8 with Kenko 2x. 1/125s.


Sigma 70-210mm F4-5.6. 1/125s. Note that this is a battered lens found in a box of junk, with misaligned elements that give all sorts of aberrations.


Minolta 70-210mm F4 “beercan”. 1/125s.


Cosina 70-210mm F2.8-4 Macro. 1/125s.


Tamron 200-400mm F5.6. 1/125s. The minimum focus distance is 2.5 meters, far longer than my room, thus the objects are out of focus.


Tamron 200-400mm F5.6 at F32 1/125s. Still not quite in focus.

Why do the lenses vary so much in color and actual focal length?

  1. Focal length changes with focus distance. The closer the focus, the shorter the focal length, especially on zoom lenses.
  2. Slower shutter speeds let in more ambient light; in the Sony 18-70mm it looks more blue because more flourescent light has come in.

Also, the Tamron 1.4x teleconverter is a wee bit soft. Gotta get a newer one… but this is a nice softener for portraits.

I particularly like the Vivitar Series 1 28-105mm’s color. The Tamron 200-400mm seems rather blue while the F32 shot kills off the flourescent light’s blue.

To be fair, I should shoot with the lenses focused at infinity, plus most lenses (except portrait lenses and macros) are optimized for sharpness at infinity. I conducted this test past midnight, like about every other photographic test that I do, or I could’ve headed out to the hills near by house.