Category Archives: Pictures

New Clock, Old Tower

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Kuala Lumpur, as defined by the bus conductors, is here, where the Clock Tower in Medan Pasar is. Note the foreign worker in the picture, representative of the current populace of that area.


Here lies a clock tower, immortalized at 4 O’ clock. These pictures were taken on the 22nd of September 2012.


(Edited 1st October 2012, 0054 hours, +0800 GMT) Fast forward to one week later, and surprise! New clocks! Notice the solar panel on top.


(Edited 1st October 2012, 0054 hours, +0800 GMT) Here is one side.


(Edited 1st October 2012, 0054 hours, +0800 GMT) The clocks appear to stick out now.


All four sides look the same. Notice the block above the door, and four screw holes? All four sides have the same block with the same four screw holes. That is because it used to hold a plaque!


Here is an example of a plaque, at the nearby UOB Bank (formerly Lee Wah Bank, whose operations were taken over by UOB Bank in 1994.)

I have not asked for permission for the following pictures, but am using them under terms of fair use.


Old Market Square (circa 1930)
Image credit: Selangor: 300 Early Postcards by Cheah Jin Seng, RM99

Yap Ah Loy was responsible for developing Kuala Lumpur from a settlement into a prosperous mining town, developing much of the land in Kuala Lumpur and owning over a quarter of all the buildings!

Coincidentally, this is the view from what would have back then been Yap Ah Loy’s house. Also notice that there was no clock tower!

Old Market Square is Medan Pasar’s old name, because that’s where Yap Ah Loy’s large market and gambling sheds were. This was until 1882, when Frank Swettenham (the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States) wanted it demolished, citing health reasons, and that the site was state land, so Yap Ah Loy rebuilt the market place. In 1885 when Yap Ah Loy died, the Government took over and moved the market to where Central Market is today.

However, before the market was moved, it was referred to as Macao Street or Hokkien Street by the Chinese.


From the postcard above, you can see in the middle, Hong Kong Bank, opened 1914, unfortunately demolished at the beginning of the 1970s. It is now called HSBC Bank. Photograph taken from HSBC Group Archives, and found from a website describing its architect, Philip Charles Russell.


This picture is labelled to be taken in the 1940s. Notice the plaques!

The Clock Tower was built in 1937. The plaque states that the Clock Tower was built to commemorate the coronation of King George VI (Queen Elizabeth II’s father, the current Queen of the Commonwealth realms.) Well his name was really Prince Albert Frederick Arthur George, the Duke Of York – George was his regnal name, a name he took upon becoming king.

So where did the plaques go?

“Immediately after Malaysia gained its independence from Britain, the tower’s plaques, which glorified colonialism, were removed.” – A Walking Tour, by Victor Chin and Cheryl Hoffman

I am extremely curious as to what the plaques actually said – I imagine it would be written in classic, bombastic British English. I also feel somewhat sad that the Clock Tower becomes somewhat meaningless with the plaques removed, almost a kind of disrespect to the person it was commemorated for.


This picture is labelled 1950s. I have to say, I really liked how Hong Kong Bank looked.


This picture is also labelled 1950s (with Federation Of Malaya and Selangor flags!) This was because Kuala Lumpur was once part of Selangor, and Petaling Jaya was part of Kuala Lumpur…


Yap Ah Loy’s houses on Market Square, Kuala Lumpur 1884, taken from Arkib Negara Malaysia.


And now, for a picture facing the other direction. The filename indicated that this was taken in the 1900s, but I’d say anytime after 6 May 1913.

From The Straits Times, 6th May 1913, page 9:

“The Mercantile Bank. Opening of New Premises at Kuala Lumpur

On Saturday last, the new building, which is to be the local branch of the Mercantile bank of India Ltd., in Kuala Lumpur opened its doors to the public. The new premises, which stand at the corner of Market Street and Roger Street and facing into Old Market Square… the contract was in the hands of Woon Ah Wong, the architects were Messrs Swan and Maclaren, for whom Mr. Phil Russell has been acting locally… The bank was opened at noon when in the presence of an excellent company Mr. P. C. Russell handed over the new premises to the bank officials…”


The filename says 1900 but I’ll assume anytime after 1937. Note the Bank Of China and the Clock Tower.

“May 1961 – View of Medan Pasar area, showing the clock tower (middle) and the old Mercantile Bank which was still under construction…” – picture from New Straits Times Press. The Lee Wah Bank is also visible on the right, but I can’t tell if it was under construction. Interestingly, the plaque is still visible, but I’ll clarify with Victor…


This was also labelled 1960s, with the plaque. It couldn’t be much earlier unless Lee Wah Bank was taking forever to build…


Notice that Bank Of China had become Bank Of Tokyo, Ltd.! What a beautiful Art Deco facade. It could not have been anywhere before October 1957, when Bank Of Tokyo, Ltd. opened their first representative office in Malaya.


The filename says it was taken in the 1960s, which might be a mislabelled picture, unless it was before May 1961 that both the 1961 Mercantile Bank and Lee Wah Bank were built. Assuming the Federation Of Malaya flag was only flown after 31st August 1957, and that Bank Of Tokyo, Ltd.’s first branch was here, and Bank Of China is still in the picture, that this picture was taken between 31st August 1957 and October 1957.

I’m not sure of the chronology of events either, since the Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) had acquired The Mercantile Bank in 1959!


The label says 1980. Lebuh Pasar Besar is nearby Medan Pasar, and is often referred to by buses as Bangkok Bank due to the Bangkok Bank nearby!


Apparently, the Victorian Fountain found in Dataran Merdeka, used to be in Old Market Square as well! I have not seen any pictures that show it in its old location, though.

The Section 17 Neighborhood Park

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I was born in Assunta Hospital, on Jalan 1, the first road ever built in Petaling Jaya. It goes by the name Jalan Templer these days. I lived in my grandparents’ house in Section 17, Petaling Jaya. One fine day I decided to ask my dad what happened to the park that he used to take us to as kids, and where was it?


As it turns out, the playground/recreational park was in Section 17 itself, and it was still around!


I remember very vaguely memories of this parking lot marking the entrance, getting there in my dad’s Datsun 120Y.


The steps to this place.


The road. Notice the MBPJ logo – Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya, or Petaling Jaya City Council, effective 20th June 2006 when Petaling Jaya was granted city status.


An entrance that was now blocked off. I remember back in the early 90’s when you could leave your gate unlocked in Section 17 and crime wasn’t so rampant.


Up on the hill was a signboard with the old MPPJ logo – Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya, or Petaling Jaya Municipal Council.


As you entered, a common area lies, growing moss. Admittedly I have been digging up a bit on Malaysian history where it comes to buildings so this strikes me as something that might have been built when this park was built. I don’t know when that is, but Petaling Jaya was established in 1953, so it could’ve been anywhere from that point onwards.

You can imagine kids just going apeshit running circles around this. Well, maybe 90’s kids.


Behind it, more garbage bags with fallen leaves.


To its right, a basketball court, and a new playground up the hill.


A bit further was a playground that had a bit of fresh paint.


The new playground up on the hill. I remember this type of playground back in Bangsar Sports Complex, in the 90’s. There is also one near my current residence.


I seem to have regretfully forgotten to take a picture of the signboard, in case it would have any clues. Also note the benches. Classic!


From on top of one of the many hills.


Same basketball court.


Some hut on top of a hill.

But you know, I really didn’t care for all that back then. I think I was under the age of 10, and the playground didn’t excite me…


…it was the laterite hills that really did.


The shape was the same, but the color was different. It was now covered in moderate vegetation and leaves, regretfully! I remember going apeshit, seeing the bright red laterite, climbing it with my bare hands!


Some parts of it still show what originally was all orange.


On the right is some good ol’ laterite, a rich crust of rust due to the presence of iron oxides.

When I asked my dad about this park from my childhood with the red rocks, he expertly identified it as laterite. Of course, I learnt that in Geography, many years ago, but quickly forgot. Perhaps it was his qualification as a chemical engineer that hardened it.


I think I remember this rock from my childhood! What a beauty.


This is a peak I don’t remember going to, which overlooked the older playground. I don’t think stone walks were in fashion back then. I remember the craze back in the 90’s, and we’d go to Bandar Utama Park and abandon our slippers for some acupunctural goodness.


This is the view when you’re on top, looking over to the other end of the uh… mountain range.


This is the view from the front. Honestly not as appealing without its trademark rusted red.


This is the view from the other side of the park. For some reason, I never really journeyed here.


Random rocks. Exciting, like discovering kryptonite!


A little rock that strayed.

I don’t remember if there was also earth that was easy to chip, causing rocks to come off.


Halfway up.


More of that rich red goodness.


I’m not sure which angle this is from.


A plainer looking view.


Of course, there were huts in the distance. For some reason I never got excited about the cemented jogging path on the left, that made a circle around the park. In a way, this rock in the foreground, was what I remember to be my invisible bounds – nothing interesting beyond there!

Today it might be a different story, as there were two chicks jogging the circuit. 😀


There was an electricity control box nearby, and there was an alternate entrance, guarded by… a cat!


I got nice and close with the 1985 Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan. Intentionally, I went there with the oldest Minolta lenses I had – the 1987 Minolta 24-50mm F4 being the other. I left the 1985 Minolta 50mm F1.4 at home, though, thinking I could get by with Super SteadyShot since I wasn’t shooting moving subjects in twilight. To be pure I’d have used Fujifilm Velvia and a Minolta Dynax 7000 but I don’t have a Dynax 7000 and I wasn’t keen on using film so I brought the Sony Alpha 900 instead. It would’ve done good since I was shooting late into the evening where I had to use ISO1600 as both lenses were cutting off at F4.


I then walked out Jalan 17/33 and spotted this dramatic scene, in time for magic hour.


There was a torn-down house to the left.


I went down the stairs to Jalan 17/31.


However, 17/31 proved to be too modern for me so I headed back up the stairs and into nostalgia.


You know, I really don’t remember what this used to look like. This is the darn toll people keep avoiding by cutting through Section 17.

I normally don’t like going to Petaling Jaya, as I attract lots of mosquitoes, and Petaling Jaya is just full of them. Especially Section 17.

There is a reason why I went down nostalgia lane (or nostalgia park?) but I will blog about it soon, hopefully, when I am done collecting information on the subject. Unfortunately, not many pictures of that subject can be found, which is why I went down to Section 17 to document as much as I could about the park I loved as a kid!

Democratic Promise

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On the 30th of August 2012, I went down to Dataran Merdeka to photograph the Janji Demokrasi demonstration! This was at 9:11pm, when the demonstration was to start at 10pm.


From above.


I took the STAR LRT to Bandaraya and back, to get overhead shots.


Spotted in Masjid Jamek LRT station.


On the way there, there were banners, with the new Merdeka Day logo, with the Kementerian Penerangan Komunikasi & Kebudayaan’s sanction below.


Vuvuzelas seem to be the new way to celebrate.


From the inside – we could enter from this end. This was at 9:36pm.


The crowd wasn’t very dense, and the yellow shirts were not that common yet.


And yet, more were trickling in.


This was the barricaded part. Right: The same sign was at the fountain area (that was free access.)


The field was also barricaded.


A few steps back, I overheard Urdu.


A few more steps back, was a satellite dish, I assume for the outside broadcast (since there was a RTM van nearby.)


So why were the other people there? The official Merdeka Day countdown celebrations were at Bukit Jalil Stadium.


Kids in yellow, too. I wonder if they would ever learn about this in the history textbooks.


A lot more Indians spotted around. Some said that Bersih 3.0 didn’t have that many Indians, but I saw plenty this time!


The headband actually says 1Merdeka.


People being interviewed.


People recording and being prepared for tear gas, perhaps – however, there were no Federal Reserve Unit trucks around!


I don’t know what’s going on here.


The Sang Saka Malaya. Do you remember what the East India Company‘s flag looked like? (There are more flags that look similar over at Wikipedia’s Flag of the United States page.)


Selangorkini’s Merdeka spread, with the Pakatan-endorsed Merdeka Day logo. Because really, nobody likes the official 2012 Merdeka Day logo. You can Google it.


This is how you know you’re at Dataran Merdeka.


It’s always nice to see many different variations of yellow shirts, but all with that common theme of Bersih – for free and fair elections.

Janji Demokrasi was organized by Gabungan Janji, a coalition of 47-49 NGOs, with some of the organizing committee also being part of the Bersih 2.0 steering committee. Plus the gathering was initially announced as Janji Bersih, that was then rebranded Janji Demokrasi, but not many picked up on that, as you’ll see in T-shirts later…


Some dude educating tourists about the movement.


10:17pm, and you could see a lot more people around, much more in yellow, too.


Lots of bikes parked.


I didn’t know the DBKL had such sporty motorbikes!


Bicycles.


It was 11pm and A. Samad Said, National Laureate, was not at the fountain, where he was supposed to recite the poem he had wrote for this gathering.


And so, the Unit Amal PAS led the crowd across the road…


The traffic passing there took pictures of us, too!


Crossing Jalan Tun Perak.


Another road to cross.


And then we reached Dataran DBKL, where A. Samad Said was to recite his poem.


A sea of yellow was already there!


That familiar feeling, from Bersih 3.0 – yellow as far as the eye could see!


On the other side, of course, being the DBKL officers on guard.


One big flag.


Then, we could spot the organizing committee – Maria Chin, and A. Samad Said sitting down.


Hishamuddin Rais was the emcee of the night, telling everybody to sit down.


The loudspeaker didn’t work well, making people talk in dubstep, so somebody brought a sound system, which didn’t seem to be used, either.


We all waited for 11:30pm…


…where A. Samad Said would recite his poem.


He spoke rather softly, plus the loudspeaker wasn’t very loud or clear – so Hishamuddin Rais recited the poem again for everyone’s benefit.


Spotted in the crowd: Mat Sabu, PAS Deputy President, and Tian Chua, National Vice President of PKR.

Mat Sabu took the loudspeaker for a while, to sing Sudirman’s Tanggal 31. Quite a classic Merdeka song, compared to the classic failure that was Janji Ditepati, universally panned, not just by pro-opposition people but by seemingly fence-sitting people as well. Fortunately that was it – no campaign speech whatsoever.

The Jingga 13 group also started singing the Janji Dicapati chorus, but they were barely audible.


This guy was loud and clear. He said “Janji“, to which the crowd responded with “Demokrasi!” (And later, “Bersih!“)


A Chinese guy wearing his support for PAS, an Islamist political party. Let it be known that there are Chinese people, who are not Muslims, who read the Harakah, a newspaper printed by PAS.


This Punjabi’s turban caught my attention. Also note the Guy Fawkes mask on a fellow Punjabi!


Then, Kill The Bill people gave out balloons…


…which we had to blow ourselves…


…to celebrate midnight, just 2 minutes away! We were all asked to sit down, which we did…


…but at midnight, everybody stood up! That was pretty epic.


Chants of Janji Demokrasi started again. A group nearby started singing Negaraku, the National Anthem of Malaysia.


This dude has a cool hat.


Kill The Bill people cleaning up, picking up garbage.


Fireworks!


I then crossed the road back to Dataran Merdeka. There was a much bigger crowd now!


I had never noticed this here before.


Medic on a motorbike.


Michelle Hoo interviewing people.


Meanwhile, back near the fountain, there was some reassigning.


A kid with a Ben 10 balloon. I wonder who the firemen grew up idolizing.


I took the LRT to Titiwangsa to grab a cab. The LRT was open up to 1am for Merdeka Day.


And now, a bonus section – the various shirts! Here are two unrelated guys with A. Samad Said T-shirts.


On Jalan Tun Perak, DIY shirts.


Top-left was the first version I saw, using the Pakatan Rakyat-endorsed logo. Top-right says 709 – notice how demonstrations against the government typically have 3 numbers?

709 = July 9th 2011, Bersih 2.0 Rally
428 = April 28th 2012, Bersih 3.0 Rally
308 = 30th August 2012, Janji Demokrasi Rally
901 = 9th January 2012, Free Anwar Rally

I wonder why this wasn’t called the 830 rally, then. My personal preference is YYYY/MM/DD because nobody uses YYYY/DD/MM, so there is no confusion there, plus going in order of size, it makes sense, while MM/DD/YYYY does not.


These shirts were sold near the waterfall at Jalan Tun Perak. Not sure where the right-most shirt came from, though.


This is the same shirt, with 308 and the Pakatan Rakyat-endorsed logo, but much bigger. I have to say the logo is very visually stimulating.


And finally, a unique take – Bersih in Jawi!

Disappointingly, I did not see a single shirt having the official Merdeka Day 2012 logo, nor the Bersih 4.0 (unrelated to Bersih 2.0) logo! Would’ve loved to get a picture of that just for the record.

The gathering passed without incident, which was great. I have to thank the sensibility of the government for not ordering the police and FRU to chase us out, when it really is our constitutional right to gather. Also, only two people were arrested, for lighting fireworks (in case anybody forgot, fireworks are supposed to be illegal in Malaysia.)

If you have decided you want to do more for Malaysia, be a Polling/Counting Agent!

Sign up for the training here. It is open to all citizens of Malaysia – you don’t need to be a member of any political party or the Election Commission, to participate in making sure the elections are free and fair! I’ve gone for the course myself, and learned so much about the electoral system.

More here:
Bersih 3.0
Vote For Cleanliness!

This Is A Call, To The Bee!

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14th December 2011 brought many firsts – the first gig I would photograph at The Bee, Publika, Solaris Dutamas, for example.


Reza Salleh of Moonshine Productions, announcing this gig – This Is A Call!


First up was the fingerstyle guitarist Az Samad.


For those not in the know, Az entrances where his fingers dance all over the fretboard, often with percussive knocks to the guitar to make rhythm in the absence of a typical rhythm instrument.


The Sony Alpha 77 with the Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 gets a real tight crop.


Yin, his lady friend. The tripod legs aren’t offloading the best chi, though!


And then, a shot with the Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC on the Sony Alpha 900. It’s a tried and tested classic focal length – just a smidge of wideness to give some context to your subject. Now I’d tell you that this is the classic focal length of point-and-shoot cameras and cameras on phones, but that is no longer true – newer models got wider, anywhere between 24mm and 33mm.


Next up, was Diandra Arjunaidi. Dang, she looks so different!

Last I saw her she was still sporting her signature red hair (okay, technically Hayley Williams’ signature, but her Paramore fandomship is no secret, having done a cover). Click here for previous Moonshine gigs she performed at:
Moonshine 11-2
Moonshine Turns 4!


She also had a full band.


It really escapes me how having a fringe or losing it makes a big difference in facial geometry.

Pardon my extra verbiage this time around – the words will look smaller, as an illusion, because my pictures are bigger. I hereby debut pictures that are 960 pixels wide in either dimension! The previous standard was the Facebook Standard, at 720 pixels. (And before that, 600 pixels, 400 pixels and 200 pixels.) Why not 1000 pixels? 1000 pixels in 3:2 would give an unevenly divided 1000×666.66 pixels. Plus, 960×640 pixels is just the resolution of the iPhone 4/4S, for those who want to set any of these pictures as your wallpaper. My Asus Padfone’s screen is 960×540 pixels. 640 pixels is a good number.


I have to say, I am digging her new look. She looks all serious woman, in a hot way. Plus I just realized she has a really nice nose!


Break seriousness.


Godin makes interesting-looking guitars.


Next up – Liyana Fizi.


I like how much space I get on the side of the stage to use a telephoto.


There is this thing about Liyana, her unassuming lyrics, the gentle, carefree voice, that just endears to many. Her music (and I assume likeness) has been described to be akin to cupcakes and pastel colors and that soft crumbly cake whose name escapes me.

Now I am fuzzily misquoting from memory, but I reckon, no worse than a Malaysian newspaper – I have been misquoted, misnamed, and wrongly aged by two major newspapers at least a decade ago.


Eee nak cubit!


Her fun band.


I also like how I can shoot directly in front (granted, with some perspective correction) with a telephoto lens, for this kind of perspective.


The last act of the night was Aizat Amdan, often suffixed with “AF5”, because he was a participant of Akademi Fantasia Season 5.


Reza recounts how a cabbie once mistook him for Aizat. I could see a glimmer of why.


Another 35mm shot. Makes me realize I need to bring it out more!

EPIConcerted!

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11th December 2011: EPIConcert, at The Stage, Publika Square, Solaris Dutamas. A throwback to the 90’s, with proceeds going to EPIC Homes – an outreach program to build homes for the Orang Asli.


Queenz Cheng, from Perlis.


You think you’re otai? Well these guys are more otai than you! (Otai = old-timer.)


I wonder where they usually play.


I then headed upstairs for lunch at The Red Beanbag.


I fell in love with the place and their burgers, and later their Fowl Luck meal.


The place is modelled after an Australian coffee house, complete with quirky name and decor.

It also probably keeps the spirit of The Pink Sage (that was also in Solaris Dutamas but had closed down), in that it had good coffee and lots of chicks would hang out there.


Meanwhile, as I had bought a ticket, I got a box of 90’s paraphrenalia.


Inside were classic snacks.


Long time no see Shervin!


Yi Ching shows us how to walk the dog.


Ewin Ee and I camwhore.


Thanks Ewin for taking this picture! Shot with the Sony Alpha 900 with the Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC at F1.4.


Weiyein Leong and (then future) husband.


Josh Lim doing his thing.


Bubble blowing competition!


Stack them up.


Complex.


Sam Wong on stage.


Narmi, acoustic soulster.


The crowd dances along. I don’t remember to who.


Big-eyed Yi Ching.


Audrey Tan and sister.


Lainey Ying and Celeste Goh in the back.


A 90’s Baywatch run contest.


The sun was setting, for some cool hair light.


Yep, lovely hair light.


Leonard Chua of An Honest Mistake, on the left.


And then, it was Paperplane Pursuit on stage! Gotta love their band shirt (not pictured here.)


Darren Ashley plays bass for them and sings backup vocals.


Extreme closeup of the goggles.


Then, it was time for Darren Ashley and his band!


This electro-pop genius brings on the crowd.


He has quirky sounds and irresistably dancy grooves. I can’t explain it well. Click here to understand.


Contagious!


It makes grown emcees cry.


The final act of the evening – Busco!


Sam Oh! Spot the projected square pixels.


Later on that night.


Thanks to Waifon for taking this picture!

Clara C, In Clarity

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On the 29th of November 2011, I found myself attending a gig I was not likely to attend by myself. Which is still accurate, since I did not attend it by myself. Here’s Charles Jedidiah Tan, from Singapore, who decided to further his musical career in Melbourne. However, he was the opening act for…


Clara C., who rose to fame on YouTube – and that would be why I be unlikely to know of her, since I don’t listen to singer-songwriters and those who tend to cover songs on YouTube (primarily because I am still on Streamyx, and that means it often breaks to buffer music.)

Well mostly I don’t listen to their covers, since I can’t say I enjoy most covers, especially when they are typically acoustic, stripped down, Asian-ized, and lose a great amount of soul the original song had. Like Sabrina of The Philippines, who makes every rock song she covers, suck badly, with no dynamics, no grit, and no suffering. I’ve heard her album played in some restaurants in town, and remember revolting by the third song.


But hey, Clara Chung is none of that! She’s got sass, and she made us stand up for the first few songs. And then she told us to sit down. And then stand up again. She was kooky, a little loony, and all the way entertaining, none of that timid sweet-girl singer persona. Plus she has a whole lot more technical musicality and it showed in her compositions.


I don’t remember exactly how but 4 lucky winners got up on stage and this guy was the luckiest of them all, getting to play a song for Clara. He also had the pleasure of her tuning her guitar for him, like a tandem guitar.


Impromptu performance. Must be a luck-bringing mole.


I’m not sure where I read that she was a music student, as Googling now reveals that she is not, but I’d believe that she was a music student. There was a good amount of interplay and dynamics.


She calls her melodica a shisha piano.


End of the show. I’d never seen the auditorium in bright daylight before!


After the show was an autograph session. Hugs for everyone!


Posters and CDs for sale. Joanne K.K. watches them like a hawk. Note the carefully placed KK bottle.


She was very nice, even though we were at the end of the autographing queue.


I am not sure why but Charles looks adorable in this picture.

Rock The World 11: Part 3

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Rock The World 11, 10th December 2011, was a sunny day, uninterrupted by rain, down at Stadium Merdeka.


Ballad For Layla does melodic metalcore.


I have no idea who this photographer is but I’ve seen her around lately. Interestingly, most of my lenses do not taper forwards.


The wide lens for the day was the Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC on the Sony Alpha 900.


Thy Regiment is hardcore.


Then came Monoloque with Atilia!


I’ve got a thing for battered sunburst Fender Stratocasters.


Dahlia.


Kadak, on bass (Loko on drums was also from seminal Malaysian band, Butterfingers.)


However, this band takes on a different creative stance – but then, Butterfingers did, too.


The telephoto work was shot with the Sony Carl Zeiss Sonnar T* 135mm F1.8 ZA.


Sekumpulan Orang Gila!


When you got your power stance like that, it goes without saying that they play some form of post-hardcore.


The Samyang 35mm F1.4 UMC proves to not have the best bokeh.


What a show!


Bittersweet, with Ryan Lee Bhaskaran…


These guys bring British swagger on stage.


Some days, I am not sure whether to crop…


…or to leave it as it was originally.


Akta Angkasa.


Space rock lives again!


There is just something very, very photogenic about Ned’s bass. It’s here to enslave us, and it gives me that Sentinel-of-X-Men feeling.


They do space rock, without the slow bits.


Hello there!


Sam of supergroup The Azenders!


In the background, their new music video for Livin’ Rock And Roll debuted.


This version featured my ex-colleague Tehmina Kaoosji!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lbi4o9SuHM
(This was the earlier one.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmBfoIlKxHw
(And this, the newer one.)


The stage lights got really nice by this time.


I dig the perspective here.


Sam brings a different style to the stage – far from his Bunkface days.


Izal was also from a punk rock band – One Buck Short, to be exact.


The next band set up flags, to bring the mood of impending doom up.


Impending, indeed.


They call this blackened death metal.


Yes, they have a uniform.


I really couldn’t figure out how to best crop this.


Then came The Padangs.


The crowd. Poor girl later got hit in the head by a crowd surfer, though!


I have to say, I really enjoyed Rock The World 11’s very metal/hardcore lineup…


…very serious business, legit and true, and free from the typical claims that Rock The World is a reunion of old bands related to the organizers.


Of course, these guys do metal/hardcore, too.


And to end the night…


Massacre Conspiracy!


These guys were decked out in Peter Says Denim wear.


Also a metal/hardcore band.


Admittedly, I am not well-versed in this genre, and they may sound the same to me, but it doesn’t stop me from headbanging. Not having much hair to headbang is a bummer, though.


The show ended before 11pm, allowing the crowd to get home before the monorail closes. Very solid, tightly organized show.

More here:
Rock The World 11: Part 2
Rock The World 11: The Crowd

Padfone!

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My HTC Desire had just turned 2 years old. It was still going strong, with Sandvold‘s Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich based on CyanogenMod 9. Although I had in my possession a Samsung Galaxy Nexus for a while (in my line of work as an Android app developer) I never quite felt the need to upgrade, as the 1 Ghz Snapdragon was still very competent.

The only missing things were:
– a front-facing camera
– NFC support
– a gyroscope

That, and tiny internal storage space meant gymnastics with partitions especially with apps that would not move to SD card. Plus the few ROMs I tried didn’t quite like my partitions. But anyway!

At the Computex 2011, one amazing product was showcased – the Asus Padfone!

The Internet was abuzz with this, and many were hoping that it would be able to connect to a keyboard dock, like how the Asus Eee Pad Transformer does.

Then Jonney Shih, chairman of Asus, launched it officially at the Mobile World Congress 2012:

Pleasantly, they added the keyboard, and added one more amazing surprise – a capacitive stylus that doubles as a Bluetooth headset! I cannot tell you how cool that is.

And so, here is the final ad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrh_EwFaZ7I

When there was wind of it coming to Malaysia, I pre-ordered it. Unfortunately, I only have what was announced in 2011 – the Padfone and Padfone Station.

Wait, what is a Padfone Station?

Terminology

Padfone – the phone itself

Padfone Station – the tablet

Padfone Station Dock – the keyboard

Stylus Headset – the capacitive stylus that doubles as a Bluetooth headset


The Padfone box has earphones, a wall plug, a Micro USB cable and of course the phone.


The Padfone Station box has a pleasant surprise – when you open it, the first thing you see is a sleeve! It is not a separate item.


As you remove the sleeve and Padfone Station, you can see a pretty box.


The Padfone is on the right, sporting a 4.3″ Super AMOLED screen with qHD 960×540 pixel resolution. The CPU is a Qualcomm 8260A Dual-Core 1.5Ghz and despite there being quad-core phones out there, this phone is very much responsive. It is also surprisingly light, at 129 grams, and yet it has a very premium feel. If you ever wondered what a iPhone 4s would feel like if it was lighter, this would be it! (The difference is only 8 grams, but I put it down to density and weight distribution.)

On the left is my HTC Desire, the original 3.7″ 800×480 AMOLED version.

The Padfone is codenamed A66, fitting since the original Asus Garmin phones were called the A10 and A50.


Thickness and size from the back – the Padfone being on the right, the HTC Desire on the left.


The key selling point is that the Padfone fits into the back of the Padfone Station, and becomes a tablet. However, the tablet cannot operate without the phone inside – it is just a dumb screen.

By putting the phone in the tablet, all your phone’s apps and data are there in the tablet!

Some people would prefer to have a separate tablet so that two people could use it at the same time. This is not for them!

Some people want to use a phone and a tablet, all to themselves. This lets you play Angry Birds on your phone while sitting in the toilet, and continue at home on your tablet. Since I had access to tablets, there are some games I would play on the tablet, but not on the phone, or vice versa, simply because my game progress would be on the other device.

Now with the Padfone, I would not have such a problem at all!


The latch then locks the phone in place. When you open the latch, you can pull down on the door to nudge the phone out slightly.


The slot from the top. From the left is a Micro HDMI Type D port, a Micro USB port, a little button (pressing it will trigger a short vibration because it thinks the Padfone is inserted), and 3 pins (I think they are for a display dock, but I don’t understand why.) Also note the 2 holes for the camera and LED flash!


From the back, you can tell if the Padfone is inside – you can see the camera and LED flash!

The LED flash is blindingly bright – much brighter than my HTC Desire’s. Another very cool thing is that the LED flash can be used in the tablet, making it one of the very few tablets with a LED flash!


There is a power button on the left.


The bottom. This is compatible with the Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 keyboard dock.


The volume buttons and the earphone/handsfree jack. Also note the large speaker – the Padfone Station can play music clearly, at an uncomfortably loud volume! (Apparently, the Asus engineers spent a lot of time on this.) You’d want to dial it down.

Oh yes, you can receive calls when the phone is plugged into the tablet, in many ways:

1) pull out phone and answer call
2) answer call on tablet loudspeaker (be warned that the tablet’s maximum volume is surprisingly loud, more than most laptops)
3) answer call on tablet loudspeaker, then pull out phone halfway (the conversation will not be cut off!)
4) answer using the stylus headset
5) answer using any Bluetooth headset
6) answer using the handsfree kit that comes with the phone


And finally, from the back. The texture is a very luxurious, smooth metal with a bit of rubber, with a contour that is nice to hold.


The sleeve folds under a little flap to put it at an angle that is suitable for reading…


…and you can move the tablet so it goes into an angle that is suitable for typing.

Of course, with the keyboard dock, you can adjust it at any angle.


So here it is, with my office’s Asus Eee Pad Transformer TF101 keyboard dock. It doesn’t lock all the way in, though, as you can see from the latch, and if you tilt it too far back, the whole thing will fall backwards!

That is why I have also pre-ordered the Padfone Station Dock – it is very similiar to this dock, except that you cannot tilt it so far back.


Plus, it would probably match better, too!


The sleeve also has a holder for the stylus headset. Oh, I can’t wait!


You can also operate the camera with the latch open – this is what you’d see.

The 8 megapixel camera is pretty good, with a F2.2 lens and autofocus.


Dynamic range test. Not bad! No EV compensation was used.


100% crop from a 6 megapixel 16:9 picture.


This is what it looks like when the latch is open. Gotta love how close it can focus!


Another close shot, this time at 4mm F2.2 1/15s ISO800. I set the ISO to 800, the highest it would go. The angle of view looks quite like a 28mm on full-frame.


The moment I turned it on at the shop, it asked to update the firmware. This is the latest over-the-air update. (Note that this is with the TF101 keyboard dock, not the Padfone Station Dock, so ignore the Padfone Station Dock version.)

I then rooted it with the instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1706588

I then installed Titanium Backup, and transplanted the MicroSD card from my HTC Desire and restored my apps and app data. So I have all my 3-star scores, unlocked eggs and 100% dragons in all 4 Angry Birds games!

I have not installed any custom ROMs – Asus makes pretty decent bare-bones firmware with very few tweaks to the system. Plus they were the first (as I remember) to put out Ice Cream Sandwich on a device that was not a Google Developer Device (HTC Nexus One, Samsung Nexus S, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Asus Nexus 7, Google Nexus Q). The exact debut was on the Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime, then the original Transformer TF101. It would occasionally randomly restart, but they put out a few firmware updates that gradually fixed the problem. They could do so, since they had very few Android products in the market – compare this to Samsung, who floods the market in every price range with Androids, and as a result, their firmware engineers haven’t got time to work on updating their devices to Ice Cream Sandwich. They were eventually one of the last to update their older devices.

And let’s not even get started on Jelly Bean – but knowing Asus’ track record, I can expect to see it soon.

However, the Padfone does have its caveats:

The Micro HDMI Type-D port on the Padfone does not output anything to a HD screen, and the Padfone does not acknowledge that it is plugged to a screen. So for now we presume it simply cannot. This may also be due to the screen resolution of 960×540 in landscape orientation – it will not output nicely to a 720p or 1080p HD screen (unless it doubles the pixels to make 1080p!)

Alternatively they could make the output 1280×720 as other tablets do, but the Padfone screen cannot support that. The Padfone Station is a 1280×800 screen, but it has no HDMI output!

The USB cable to the Padfone Station does not allow a data connection. This is a major bummer for me as I wanted to make tablet apps – however I can get around by either plugging the Padfone via its Micro USB plug, or using ADB Wireless (requires root access.)

I also tried it with the Transformer TF101 keyboard dock, and it would not allow the data connection, either!

All apps will be closed when you go from phone to tablet or vice versa, and they don’t get retained in the Task Switcher, unless it is added to the exclusion list under Settings – Asus customized setting – Dynamic display switch list. Asus’ own apps are probably added in a hidden list, since those stay when you switch from phone to tablet or vice versa.

I’ve made a video that shows how it all clicks together:

Tweetyear 2012

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Here’s just a bit more than a year’s worth of Twitter posts, that do not include Tweets just notifying of a blog entry. The reason why I don’t like Twitter or any external content-storing site other than my blog is because there is always that risk that the content you have on whichever site will become inaccessible someday.


From 4th January 2005, Songwriters Avenue 2: @rezasalleh @Pheroxia
1st July

I get similarly confused after reading about GIT: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409024/board/nest/199772907?d=200895418&p=9#200895418
1st July

@hikkichan don’t suppose you’re in the inner circle to get an early look at it? I like the idea of a public jukebox.
30 Jun


RM4810 for a double neck acoustic! Spotted at CK Music. @azsamad
30 Jun

Google IO 2012 Keynote, Day 2 starts in less than 10 minutes! @smashpop
29 Jun

RT ‏@Kamigoroshi Let me get this straight. Google is building an AI and integrate us with technology. I welcome becoming Borg with open arms. #googleio
28 Jun

RT ‏@tenoq Congratulations, Google. Now all the tech companies will call you scumbag.
28 Jun

RT ‏@Grg They told Sergey Brin he could be anything, so he decided to be Tony fucking Stark.
28 Jun

@gtp_roadmap I take urban public transport and would like a TT session. Not in Putrajaya though.
27 Jun

God prefers atheists. http://www.mrwiggleslovesyou.com/archive/477/
27 Jun

1 Juta Rakyat Malaysia Menyokong Kepimpinan DS Najib ada soalan ditujukan kepada anda, rakyat Malaysia! http://goo.gl/ubku8
26 Jun


Pretty intense.
26 Jun

Pemuda UMNO Malaysia has a question for you, fellow Malaysians! https://www.facebook.com/questions/10150865680487413/
26 Jun


crap Plume swallowed the attachment. @KayKayster @lynfunkstar @lslex
26 Jun

hay there.
26 Jun

Whoa, spitting image of his dad! http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/tunkus-son-joins-think-tank-to-revive-dads-vision
26 Jun

An Iranian made me a sandwich with spicy chicken ham. Dang it was good!
25 Jun

Ini kawan motiofixo dengan fixie. http://www.fauziyusoff.com/shadowfax/ @smashpop @jennihsurf @ramesstudios
25 Jun

I took the bait, but I have reservations about the completeness: http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=2300091&st=80 @Pheroxia
25 Jun

@rezasalleh hence you gotta alternate 3 Hiew pins with 3 Guild pins. 😀
25 Jun

@rezasalleh yup but before you go get the Hiew’s neck fixed and get a bridge pin, you’ll have one fully strung and functional guitar!
24 Jun

@rezasalleh fffuuuuuu! Transplant the bridge pins from the Hiew to the 1st, 3rd and 5th string bridge pin of the Guild. #inb4hipster
24 Jun


crap I forgot the attachment @logesh8 @krackiesmoke @amirazrael
24 Jun

Seriously, cool story bro! http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2391618
24 Jun

finally got to see a Mustang with my eyes! @logesh8 @krackiesmoke @amirazrael
22 Jun


I’ve set this as my ringtone, hoping that I WILL grow a fro from continuous exposure. @duuuhvina
21 Jun

@jfkjohan @paultantk oh man, we just need to railgun you to hear it! Somemore the way you say it is damn funny.
21 Jun


RT @dustyhawk: LOL RT @jason_mraz: The rules for tonight’s show. http://instagr.am/p/MDgH2BhpxM/ #fb
19 Jun

@SherylGSh no shiet.
19 Jun

Baru jer memberi maklumat ke @PDRMsia kat KL Sentral tentang penyeluk saku. Harap maklumat dapat membantu! @gtp_roadmap
19 Jun

@bulfog yes that’s what the Facebook comments say, that tickets are running out.
19 Jun

@bulfog then you better get tickets quick: http://www.facebook.com/events/404410386248613/428666363823015/ @Pheroxia
19 Jun

What I did for Father’s Day: Helped secure the ladder for my dad to climb up the ceiling to fix the water tank and pass a wrench and torch.
18 Jun

@gtp_roadmap I’d hope so. @ktmkomuter tweeted to inform of delays/disruptions for 15 out of 31 days from May 19 to June 18 2012.
18 Jun

@gtp_roadmap I’ll take your word on the KTM and crime rate, but I am still shit scared of taking the KTM. Do you take public transport?
18 Jun

@gtp_roadmap on 9 June 2012 KTM was delayed over 30 mins. Later that day somebody tried to pickpocket me as I got on a KTM (late 15 mins).
18 Jun

@imokman wow your memory power! This was where I got the book: http://glaringnotebook.com/?p=1592
15 Jun

@tenoq thanks! Yes they sold it here at XL-Shop Midvalley.
15 Jun


Vegan Black Metal Chef! @duuuhvina @adlinrosli @yungkhang
15 Jun

Don’t call yourself a bass slut unless you’ve played for more than the 38 bands/artistes that @Aldo_Tan has played for. #PrayForAldaEvanTan
14 Jun

Damn I can’t transfer the monthly pass or existing credit from my old Touch N Go which I lost although I have the last reload receipt.
12 Jun

RT ‏@1Obefiend since Jobs died it is harder for people to swallow the Apple propaganda. Its like when Madey stepped down Msian stop believing MSM
12 Jun

RT ‏@1Obefiend What no support for Bahasa Bumiputera on SIRI? They instead support mandarin n cantonese.Ini menghina namanya! #Perkasa #ibrahimAli
12 Jun

@mrkenhong er nope I am not. 🙁
11 Jun

Hi @flizzow can I use your picture of Alda on my blog entry here? http://glaringnotebook.com/?p=1586 Will link back and credit. 🙂
11 Jun

RT ‏@KayKayster He fought a great battle & he did not lose bcos much good came out of it. Not saying goodbye Alda, but See you again soon.
11 Jun

RT ‏@zaradevlin Dear friends & family, @Aldo_Tan’s funeral service will be held on Thursday, 14th June 2012, 10am at St Ignatius Church, Kelana Jaya.
11 Jun

Call me judgemental, but I initially had a feeling about this judge based on previous cases. Guess I was wrong. http://goo.gl/brZtB
11 Jun

@KayKayster @CollinCCH @aldo_tan if girl how? Evangeline?
11 Jun

Rest in peace @Aldo_Tan. I’ll see you at the wake service at St. Ignatius – seems to be the only reason I go there… #PrayForAldaEvanTan
11 Jun

@yungkhang those in Kota Bharu, Kelantan have gotta be the winner. @avrilchan @kamigoroshi Makes me wanna support their stall just because!
10 Jun

Saw a Malay lady with tudung selling nasi lemak at a Chinese kopitiam. There is hope for Malaysia after all!
10 Jun

@ktmkomuter awas penyeluksaku@ KL Sentral KTM pltfm5. Mamat tinggi baju biru cerah belang putih, beg hitam. Tangan dekat poket I, x naik KTM
9 Jun

@ktmkomuter lewat atau tak jalan langsung? Tengah tunggu di Segambut KTM ke KL.
9 Jun

@ArlyneK here’s where you can get involved in making sure elections are clean: https://sites.google.com/site/pacabatraining/
8 Jun


ordered at Rock Corner 1U RM21.90. @olied @chapree @yungkhang @jalijan @amirazrael
6 Jun

RT ‏@syazwinasaw Amazingly ironic when lackeys, who support any government’s decision to opress its people, fawn all over Aung San Suu Kyi. You KIDDING me?
1 Jun

Just realized that the mysteriously banked-in money 3 weeks ago was my tax return!
6 Jun

@EwinEe didn’t go as I had other plans and the average speedcuber solves cubes in half my time. Only my 11x11x11 at 40:34 is competitive.
6 Jun

@zekezakarberg I am back! @hikkichan been trying to call you – Alda got pneumonia and is in critical condition now.
6 Jun

Can’t decide which blows my mind more:

or

4 Jun

Glam rock = rock kangkang. Punk rock = rock bangkang.
3 Jun

#1MPadbenefit the 10

Take It To The Bridge!

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On the 29th of May 2012, I went to the Sony NEX-F3 and SLT-A37 launch at the 28th floor, Bridge Bar, G Tower.


Dense parking at the Mini showroom!


The emcee giving out prizes during the lucky draw session.


Here’s the new Sony Alpha NEX-F3, with the new Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS LE lens! There is a built-in flash which folds up, and can be used in bounce if you pull it back manually.


A highlight of it is that it pulls up all the way to the top, to make camwhoring real easy!


However, it makes over-the-head shots a lot harder. I use this position a lot on my NEX-5. 🙁


Interestingly, the memory card slot gets its own door.


The Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OSS LE on the left, and the older Sony E 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 Active OSS. At 200mm, the latter is shorter…


…however, the newer 18-200mm is less wide and lighter at 460 grams versus 524 grams, with a smaller filter thread of 62mm compared to 67mm, and appears far more sleeker.

The newer 18-200mm cannot focus as close, with a minimum focus distance of 50cm compared to its predecessor’s 30-50cm. It also loses in maximum magnification, at 1:3.7x compared to 1:2.8x.


You can also mount the HVL-F20S (I didn’t bring my NEX-5 or I’d have my HVL-F7S to try it with). However, the pop-up flash will not fire – it is also blocked from reaching its tallest position.


The older 18-200mm looked disporportionate on any NEX except the VG and FS camcorder series.


You could, of course, use the flash and flip the screen up, but you would not be able to see anything!


John Shum of Sony shows us the pink NEX-F3. It’s a deep metallic pink, rather reddish.


The view from the Bridge Bar, 28 storeys above ground.


Interestingly, they’ve made Intelligent Auto more tweakable – from left to right:
– depth of field control (aperture)
– brightness/darkness (exposure value)
– warm/cool (white balance)
– saturation
– Picture Effects


Some things to note in comparison to other NEX cameras (as you can see from pictures of the screen, left to right, then top to bottom):
– The NEX-F3 is on firmware version 1.0
– There is no wireless flash control (only the NEX-7 has this, when using a HVL-F20AM, HVL-F43AM or HVL-F58AM, but not the pop-up flash.)
– Auto ISO has no options to set minimum/maximum ISO within this menu. The standard maximum ISO is ISO 16000.
– You don’t get 50p (that is only on the NEX-5N and NEX-7 so far)
– There is Live View Display – Setting Effect ON (the display shows how bright or dark the exposure will be with the existing shutter speed) or Setting Effect OFF (the display gains up even if you are shooting at F11 ISO200 1/125s – great for studio shooting!)
– There is Wind Noise Reduction, also in the NEX-5N and NEX-7.
– Different grid line options!
– HDMI Resolution – I didn’t have this on my NEX-5 – I assume that this option is only on the NEX-F3, NEX-5N and NEX-7, which support 1080p and 1080i.
– Eco Mode – not sure what this means.

Added 1237 hours +800 GMT, 6th June 2012:

Interestingly, the NEX-F3 is the only Sony Alpha or NEX body with a USB Micro B female port. The USB Micro B port is what you see on most Android and Blackberry phones since 2010. Perhaps this is how Sony plans to prevent somebody from using a NEX-F3 cable to charge a NEX-5N, for example.

The A100 to A900 had some proprietary USB port.

The A230 onwards, up to the A37 and NEX-7, used the USB Mini B female port. The USB Mini B is what you see on early Android and Blackberry phones, as well as card readers and some portable hard disk drives.

I am glad that Sony didn’t remove the HDMI Mini C female port – sure, they can use the MHL standard, like on the Samsung Galaxy S2/Nexus onwards, where it functions as USB charger and HDMI output. The MHL cable can also charge the device, but the cable would be Y-shaped so a USB charger could charge the device while it is plugged to HDMI. It’s just a bit messy and the cables are hard to find.


And more, from left to right, then top to bottom:
– White Balance is similiar to all the new series – you can dial in a WB shift even in AWB, and the M9/G9 control in the old system is gone.
– AF Micro Adjust gets its own menu.
– There is a Table Of Contents of helpful tips!
– Appears to be decent. I didn’t read through the tips, though.
– Auto Portrait Framing, bound to crop many landscapes and buildings away, leaving only tourists.
– LCD Display (DISP) – not sure what this does.
– DISP Button (Monitor) – lets you set what the DISP button cycles through. Regretfully I didn’t try Big Font Size Disp. – should be interesting!
– USB Connection – Auto. Not sure what this is about as well.


There is also a Soft Skin function – what happens when you set that to High and set the Picture Effect to HDR Painting: High?


You get an extremely fake, highly-processed image with an obvious thick halo. The Alpha line hasn’t been known to make such cheesy effects before this. A much more natural option to keep the highlights and shadows without the crappy halo-ing, is to use DRO Level 5 or Auto HDR.


Soft Skin makes for some interesting artifacts, especially at the edge of the face that was detected!


A much better use for Face Detect is with Auto Portrait Framing.


And now, for the Sony 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 DT SAM! This is at 135mm F5.6, at its minimum focus distance of 45cm and a maximum magnification of 1:4x. It has a filter thread of 62mm.

The lens was also amazingly quiet when autofocusing in video – however as I recorded the video while background music was playing, it wasn’t quiet enough to qualitatively say that you won’t hear the lens focusing in the video.

I did not bring my A900, so I cannot report whether this DT lens clears its vignetting on a full-frame camera.


This is what it looks like, fully extended, on the Sony Alpha SLT-A37.


From the back, the A37 uses a hinge mechanism that gives similiar angles to Sony Alpha’s debut Live View models – the A300 and A350.


Unfortunately, like the A300 and A350, it had a low resolution screen. This looks just horrendous compared to the NEX-F3’s brilliant 921K screen! Also, the viewing angles on the A37 are horrendous – the screen inverts the moment you aren’t looking directly at it.

Ironically, the A33 had a rotating hinge with a decent screen, and the A35 had a fixed 3.0″ XtraFine TruBlack LCD screen. I’d really rather they revert to the A33 screen in this case!


Something else they stripped from the A33 was the Remote mode in the Drive menu – so you could not use the RMT-DSLR1 infrared remote control to trigger the shutter! This was also omitted in the A35. So I wondered what that infrared window was – as it turns out, it was just for the countdown timer to blink. I used a long exposure shot to get the red blinking LED on camera.


The A55 on the left, and the A37 on the right. Pretty much the same size.


From left to right, top to bottom:
– No remote mode.
– No customizable Auto ISO (though there was Multi-Frame Noise Reduction.)
– It seems every new Sony Alpha comes with the new white balance screen.
– This, I love! Zone Area AF area.
– The same old Fn menu.
– Also, the Help menu like on the NEX-F3.


From left to right, top to bottom:
– No larger font size mode (would be nice to have, like it does on the NEX-F3.)
– HDMI Resolution is also selectable here.
– Live View Display, just as described above, invaluable for studio shooting!
– Viewfinder Magnification – Maximum or Standard, for people who wear glasses.
– Bindable buttons! I love that I can bind it to Spot Meter AEL Toggle, my favorite option back on the A100, but a bit redundant since the EVF always shows you how it will meter.
– No 50p here, either.


I really don’t know what Superior Auto Image Extract does.


A quick comparison chart.


Prices in Malaysia. I forgot to take a picture of the A37’s prices.

It seemed like the NEX-F3 was a superior upgrade, but the A37 was just pushed out as it was time to replace the A35 according to product cycles. (I wonder why they don’t decide this for the higher-end cameras sooner!)