Zuiko and It's Time

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I have to admit, it has been quite a while since I held my E-5!

I guess I have been too busy doing other things that I had time to do some photography with it. First it was the XZ-1, then later it was the Sony arc S. No doubt photography is possible with such simple device, especially with the mobility and connectivity it has to quickly make the images available on any social media sites. Somehow, there was something missing in terms of satisfaction and exuberance.

I guess it's time to get back to basic photography. Get back to  simple pleasures of the exposure triangle. I miss this with the cameraphone.

E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED 14-35mm F2.0

35mm, f/2.0, 1/20s, ISO400, -0.3ev

This image reverberates my desire to seriously shoot again. The simplicity, the balance, and the timelessness. To me, these are what photography means to me. Forget about the world for a while. 

Take a chill. 

Keep cool. 

Relax. 

Expand the mind.

It was not difficult to create the image. Just focus on the composition, the mood and the focus. Let the effects done by the Art Filters. Just focus on the basics. No need to photoshop the image. Just shoot.

Snap. Process. Upload. 

Hmmmm... though the steps are not as fast as my Sony arc S, somehow the workflow kind of work for me. All in-camera and only uploading is done with the SD card transferred into my netbook.

Not bad!!

iZuiko and Low Light

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6mm, f/1.8, 1/15s, iso800, -0.3ev

Nothing more challenging to a compact camera than to capture children action portraits in low light. I love doing it, capturing my children's action. Previously, I could only do it with my bulky E-5 that weighs a tonne. Well, with the S90, I couldn't do much at the long end for great portraits. Well, the XZ-1 is such a joy with the top-notch i.Zuiko. Small, unobtrusive and fun.

Children can't stay put for long. They have high energy, and are super fidgety. The challenge is to get the reasonable shutter speed to capture both motion and crispness in a single frame . Well, the XZ-1 sure delivers.

Zuiko and The Aquaria at KLCC

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E-5 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD

14mm, f/2.0, 1/50s, ISO2000, -0.7ev

It was the school holidays, and we asked the kids about a visit to The Aquaria. And of course, they were ecstatic.

The vari-angle LCD coupled with class-leading IS system enabled this handheld shot from the top angle. The E-5 + HLD-4 + 14-35/2 lens was not light either!

It turned out to be a packed place; though we were quite early arriving there. We took the Family Package for RM99, which saved us up to RM21. The small space was easily filled with people within minutes. And, to have a stroller to strap my youngest kid in place put me in a tough situation for making some great shots in the cramped and dark fish-filled facility. Having one hand manning the stroller, and the other coping with the E-5 required some creative handling manoeuvres.

Tracking this large shark was good even though it was dark. Ramped up the ISO to 2000 and let the lens wide open at f/2.0 made the shutter fast enough to capture at 1/100s to freeze it.

It turned to be a nightmare for photography, and I resorted to video shooting towards the end. But, I did manage to get some shots. It was tough. Kids control was top priority as I did not want them to stray more than 10 feet away, and managing the E-5 with the Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD was no easy feat.

It was tiring, but worth it!

Zuiko and Curtains

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E-30 with Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD

35mm, f/2.8, 1/100s, ISO800, -0.3ev

I was lying down under the window, when I noticed the pleats of the curtains providing beautiful abstraction of light rays pounding on soft fabric. I quickly took the shot with my camera. The surrealism of the curves of light on the fabric gave an eerie effect that I thought was mesmerizing, at least.

A bit of light balancing post-process techniques that included Contrast Masking with Layer Blending mixing providing the tones and hues that I wanted.

The abstraction looks a bit frightening at a quick glance, though.

Zuiko and a Talent Contest

I was asked to cover a talent contest, and it would be in a very dark and small auditorium.

Immediately I assessed the situation:

1. Fast lens with high ISO and high shutter speed setting was a must
2. Working in compressed and limited area was inevitable
3. Lighting and white balance would be very difficult

Wow, this was going to be tough! And since I was using the Olympus E-system - a system that anyone would say won't cut it for such an event. I took this as a challenge, it's good to see how it would fare in those situations.

Show some 'ttitude, bro!

35mm, f2.5, 1/80s, ISO1000, -0.3ev

And at the same time, I had the E-P2 on loan from Olympus Malaysia for me to test out and write a short field review. Thus, I knew that I had to limit my E-system setup so that I would not bog up my gears. The E-30 was chosen for its better high ISO performance than the E-3, and I paired it with the Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD and ED35-100mm F2.0 PRO lenses. I also had the FL-50R flash for any flash situations.

Being a corporate event, it wouldn't start until the CEO arrived. Not much protocol, just a handshake between the organizer and him sufficed.

14mm, f2.0, 1/60s, ISO640

The house was immediately set rocking with the Heavy Metal performance of Linkin' Park's New Divide. Throughout the contest, there were variations of musical genres that encompassed Rock & Roll, Bollywood, Local, Latin, and even Hip Hop!

E-P2 with the 14-42mm 3.5-5.6 did a great job here capturing the energy of the event.

I got the main spot at the front stage, just a few feet away from the performers. And just mere 3 feet back was the auditorium's seating area. It was very cramped! The vantage point was mostly shooting upwards, and during in-between performances, I quickly snapped candid shots of the VIPs attending the show.

No doubt shooting was tough. Fast action performance with audience provided the same level of energy, it was electric. Fast pace, low compromise shooting was a definite challenge!

I nearly messed up this job! Half way through, my batteries both in the HLD-4 extension pack were dying out, and very fast!!!! I told the client, and she panicked!! I assured her, there's enough juice, but may not be enough to cover the prize giving ceremony. To reduce power consumption, I flipped the LCD screen inwards and I used the top panel to check my camera settings. (I couldn't believe I shot without chimping for most of the time!!)

Latin number with classical guitar accompaniment was just immaculate!

100mm, f2.0, 1/60s, ISO2000

In between shots, I sometimes swap the 14-35mm with the 35-100mm lens for those long range shots. But most of the time, the 14-35mm f2.0 lens was the workhorse. The E-30 managed to tame the 14-35mm erratic AF, and I did get a high hit ratio.

Overall, I believed I did a good job. I did a bit of post-processing, mostly on the tone curves correction and USM sharpening. The final image was resized to 3200 x 2400 for the client. The images turned out alright, and the client was pleased.

Shallow depth-of-field with low shutter speed, a challenge to get sharp shots

f2.0. 1/80s, ISO1250, -0.3ev

Her husky voice and pro-like performance lived up to her snazzy jazz number!

Throw white balance down the drain when everyone's turned green!!

I messed up this shot with low shutter speed, luckily I realized it!

14mm, f/2.2, 1/13s, ISO200

Rock and Roll was alive in this beautiful rendition.

Thank you for the music! This was a great show!

Zuiko and A Glowing Ball

E-3 with Zuiko Digital 14-54mm f2.8-3.5

32mm, F/4, 1/40s, ISO400

A little creativity goes a long way...

This was actually a simple shot. My left hand held the ball with the tungsten lamp irradiating it, and my right hand took the shot. Without the backlighting from the lamp, the ball will be just too simple and lacking impact.

The E-3's ESP metering was spot on, too. I took little trouble in deciding the exposure and composition. The real trick was to do the shot with both hands doing literally different things!!!

The result? It was as if I was a clairvoyant looking into the glowing orb manifesting the future... hish!!

It is always my goal to shoot simple daily objects to look interesting and impacting. In this case, it was quite a neat job.

Zuiko and Badminton's World No.1

It was a treat to have both top badminton players, one who is at the peak of his prime and another who was a legend and now the coach, to come for an inspired chat at Maxis.

Datuk Lee Chong Wei and Misbun Sidek were greeted with loud applause by the audience, and were quick to adapt to the maniacally interested crowd. Attendance was packed to the brim, which was only mirrored by the Astronaut a few months back. Well, it was not often you can meet up close with Badminton's No.1!

There were two emcees for the evening, and both did a great job to enliven the high spirits of the audience. It was electrifying.

Just back from the Korean Open, which he lost to Peter Gade in the final, Chong Wei looked a bit jaded. Must be from the fatigue of the recent matches and travels. It's nothing to worry though, since Peter Gade lost two previous matches against him. Not bad, actually.

Being the Olympics silver medalist, which he lost out to Lin Dan, he described himself as a person who loved basketball. Well, a good thing his mother put some sense into him to play badminton. He is in a better spot now!!

The prime motivator to his current success is his coach cum mentor, Datuk Misbun Sidek. A cherished player by his own right, Misbun has been the strong guiding force to Chong Wei's achievement. He simply put the importance of trust between them that is the pinnacle of their success.

Misbun saw talent in Chong Wei about 8-9 years ago, and requested to have him under his direct tutelage. The move worked marvelously.

Now Chong Wei is at the top of badminton world!

What Misbun likes about Chong Wei's approach was he wants to listen; full trust to the mentor. And Misbun is a disciplinarian in which he got the full brunt from his late father. He needs a strong player to withstand his strict training regimes.

Any training regime put by Misbun, Chong Wei will do. Simple. It may sound old school, but with Misbun's understanding of the game both on and off-court, it is not surprising that Chong Wei can deliver. With proper guidance, real talent can be transformed into success.

Chong Wei's capability cannot be refuted, with his ability to do whatever the coach's will is something rare indeed. Himself a stroke player, some of the power drills requested during a match he will do. Change gameplans? No problem. Now that require a huge amount of skill. Kudos to Chong Wei!!

On a lighter note, Chong Wei did confess that his first motivator was his desire to own a car (which Misbun asked the first time about his badminton goals). That remark made the crowd burst into laughter. It may be funny, but it worked wonders.

Look at him now. He is at the top of the world!

More photos can be viewed HERE. (Click the link).

Zuiko and ISO3200

Most people say, the small sensor 4/3 system is noisy. While it's true to a point, it is not as bad as it seems. With proper treatment, and understanding of Olympus' philosophy in noise management, the noise can be tamed. One thing to understand is that the E-3 has one of the best shadow gradations, albeit quite a limiting highlight gradations. The rich shadow gradations ensure stunning tones, but is guilty of showing lots of noise in high ISO situations.


The image below was shot in ISO3200 with Noise Filter set to Standard. With accurate exposure, the noise was well controlled. That's the trick. Nail the accurate exposure, and the shot will be fine. And thank goodness to E-3 accurate metering, this should not be a huge problem.

E-3 with Zuiko Digital ED50-200mm f2.8-3.5 SWD

200mm, f3.5, 1/30s, ISO3200

This image was captured at the beach of Jimbaran, Bali. Two ladies purchasing corn from the peddler. I was just sitting at the dinner table about 50 feet away. With the long reach of the 50-200mm lens, and E-3's super great Image Stabilization, all I needed was a few shots to get it right.

Click on the image for 2048 x 1536 size.

E-30 and Colorful Night Lights

I was at Sunway Pyramid one night.

The beautiful night lights that adorned the shopping mall was not to be missed. Here is a handheld night capture using the Zuiko Digital ED9-18mm F4-5.6 lens.

Please click on image for 100% view.

E-30 with Zuiko Digital ED9-18mm F4-5.6

Light Tone, 18mm, f5.6, 1/13s, ISO800

Zuiko and a Balladeer

Other than photography, I also have passion for music. In this case, playing my Ovation Balladeer S771.

Solid spruce top with silky satin finish, rosewood fretboard, cutaway body design with 22 frets, mid-depth bowl, chrome machine heads, high-tech pre-amp; all producing a solid mellow but rich tone!

Either play it loud, or play it fast, play it rock, or play it jazz... the solid crisp tones just ooze out.

Actually, this 7 year old guitar was an accident purchase. You see, I was a student of Mr. Billy of Mahogany Bangsar for 6 months. There, I was expanding my guitar and musical forte with further studies into classical discipline and latin jazz techniques. Bossa Nova was the ultimate acid test, playing finger-bending solos, with beautiful studies of works from Bonfa and Jobim.

Upon completing my studies, I decided to get an acoustic guitar, particularly classical. This was in tune with the Bossa Nova movement that I was into right then.

After guitar and after guitar tested in the shop, especially the Ramirez line, I decided that for the money well spent, I needed and electro-acoustic. Aha! Billy quickly pushed a Martin dreadnaught! Nope, I said. Too BIG!!

Takemine, Gibson... nah! All fell short.

I wanted a mellow but rich and crisp tone! I wanted a solid wood top! I wanted fast frets action! I wanted simplicity! I wanted the electric guitar feel! I wanted low string action!

Well, Billy said, all you need is an Ovation.

Yeah right! Selecting one was a nightmare. There were multiple models.. different bowl depth, different body designs, etc., etc... I was stumped!

Then, I told him about the sound I wanted. He said, in that case, you need a satin finish. Usually they have mellowish tone. He was right!

Ovation Standard Balladeer S771. Yup! Perfect!!!!

All the images were captured using the E-3 and ED 50mm F2.0 MACRO lens.

Zuiko and a Giant

I was passing by the row of shops just after having dinner at Mak Jah's.

I was surprised to see this new landmark adorning the Putra Heights skyline at night. The bright neon signage just attracted me to go nearer and nearer. It was not a problem, just a few hundred yards behind the row of shop houses.

Driving by the empty streets, I was looking for the nice angle for the shoot.

I took out my E-3, and latched on the ED35-100mm F2.0. Lighting was not the issue, nor did the lack of a supporting tripod/monopod. All I need was good in-body stabilization and fast aperture. Apparently, I did not check the shutter speed; thus, I ended up with ISO1600. I could have gone down to ISO400 with the shutter speed just kicking in at about 1/15s. Somehow, I liked the texture of the shot. The noise added some gritty dimension to the image, reminded me of film.

Shooting at F2.0 also did not bother me although it was a landscape shot. Since this was based on 4/3 format, the depth-of-field was adequate to render the palm trees and the building in focus. There was a slight flare; as expected though as I shot handheld through the car's windscreen.

Considering the location just a few hundred yards from my house, my shopping days are going to be much easier. I just hope it opens by Chinese New Year. That will be just GREAT!

Zuiko and a Baby

Shooting babies is fun; because they don't move much. It's much easier than toddlers.

One requirement, though. Please switch off the flash!

35mm, F2.0, 1/60s, ISO1600

Looking at babies when you are in solace is relaxing, and puts delight to your soul.



14mm, F2.0, 1/60s, ISO1600

In this shot, my grandma was cradling her youngest great-grandson with the other 3 great-grandchildren hustle around. The drama of this shot entailed me to change it to monochrome. And I boosted the contrast to excite the situation.



35mm, F2.0, 1/60s, ISO1600

After a nice feed, the baby needed burping. Who else to give it other than mama.

The split of color and sepia incited the idea of different generations captured in a brief moment of time.

More images here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mfahrur/sets/72157608771905694/show/

*** A little technical here ***

With the E-3 and ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD lens, I used A-priority and I set the ISO to Auto with maximum limit to 1600. All of the shots were at F2.0 and about 1/60s shutter speed. The ISO ranged from 800 to 1600 depending on lighting.

All shots were originally in Vivid mode, and other settings was at default. Auto White Balance was superbly accurate.

I used Flickr's Picnik for post processing, and mostly used the softner filter to add the soothing mood to the images.

***

Zuiko at Night on Putrajaya Lake

It was not often that you get a chance to cruise on a special occasion under the moolight with the lake's breeze billowing your hair. I had this chance, and I can say, once in a lifetime. It was on the 8th of August 2008, or 08.08.08, and the Putrajaya Lake Cruise had a special dining experience on offer. To top this, I also took the chance to arrange for a birthday celebration for my beloved wife.

The cruise started at the ferry pier, just near the Putra Mosque. By 7.45pm we arrived and were ushered to a nice reception lobby with refreshments. The cruise started at 8pm.

It was actually a full cruise through the lake, and we were dining with cuisine from Hilton Putrajaya. I had chicken, my wife had salmon. All I can say was, the experience was breathtaking as we were cruising down the lake with the moonlight and city lights lining the lake's rim. It was purely romantic!!

Some beautiful scenic shots to savor the beautiful experience of the cruise.

Actuall, the cruise U-turn point was at PICC. There, the captain had the ferry to a halt for about 5 minutes. I went up the top of the ferry, for open view of the scene. It was beautiful!!!

** A bit technical here **

For the moon over PICC shot, I used my E-3 with the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5. This lens was a pocket rocket. With fast aperture and 4x zoom, the size is still small with less than 0.5kg.

I framed at 14mm, with the aperture at F3.5, shutter speed 1/4s and ISO2000. To ensure proper metering, I offset the exposure compensation to -1EV.

Thanks to in-body Image Stabilization (IS) feature, I was able to capture the image without blur, although the ferry was rocking its way on the lake's wake. It was truly amazing.

**

Also, throughout the cruise, we passed the bridges of Putrajaya. the following images are some that I managed to capture. The ferry was cruising at about 10-15knots, and I had to be quick to capture the bridges while the ferry was passing by. It was fast!

** A bit technical here **
The ferry was passing under the bridge. Quickly, I framed at 14mm at A-priority, with the aperture at F4, shutter speed 1/20s and ISO2000. To ensure proper metering, I offset the exposure compensation to -1EV.
Again the IS did the job for me to get blur-free images.
**

Not to be missed was to definitely have some beautiful portrait shots with the Putrajaya cityscape. Although the situation for photography was very difficult, I managed to pull it off.

** A bit technical here **
The biggest trick was to capture portrait with a dark background with the ferry moving and rocking. I used my E-3 with the Zuiko Digital 14-54mm F2.8-3.5.
I framed at 14mm, with the aperture at F2.8, shutter speed 1/15s and ISO2000. To ensure proper metering, I offset the exposure compensation to -1EV. Flash was used to illuminate my wife, at TTL -1.3EV.

With 4/3 system, the F2.8 actually provide a similar Depth-of-Field of F5.6 on a full-frame 135 system. Thus, the portrait is already at optimum setting.
**

One thing I can say about the experience; It was out of this world!

Zuiko inside Gua Tempurung

About a couple of weeks back, I went to Gua Tempurung near Gopeng, Perak with my office mates. For just RM6, we were on a journey to see one of nature's beautiful splendor; and of course a rather tiring affair with the stairs.

One of my colleagues who was very keen with the hike uphill.

The journey began. Through a small opening, we were greeted with a huge chamber lined with stalagtites and stalagmites (hope I spell it right). The condition was surprisingly humid, though. Yellow tungsten lights provided ample lighting into the total darkness.

And all I cared about was to snap some nice cave shots.

This shot was quite breathtaking for me, at least. It showed the size of the cave, with both its depth and length. The sheer volume really showed! The stairs looked like model scales you see in Home Fairs.

To make this shot, I used the Olympus E-3, with the Zuiko Digital ED14-35mm F2.0 SWD lens. The aperture was at F2.0, with ISO at 1600 and shutter speed at 1/5s. This shot was done handheld, thanks to IS within the E-3 to provide the necessary stabilization; thus, sharp image.

The end of the tour was at Stage 2. There were 4 stages, and the RM6 we paid only allowed till here. The last image is actually at the end of our journey, where I snapped my buddy.

As for the final image, a little trick was required to make the portrait work. The exposure was the same as the cave image described. Only that I put a fill-flash on-board the E-3 to provide the necessary luminance. Also, I used the 2nd Curtain flash to ensure the background was captured in its ambient nature. There was one slight problem, there was not enough Depth of Field in this shot to render the background sharp. I might needed to shoot at F2.8 and bumped up to ISO3200 to make this work, though.

And one amazing thing, with such a fast zoom lens, at F2.0, the E-3 was able to focus in the dimmest of darkness.

Kudos to Olympus. This is really a great system, at least for me!!!!