GX GARNERINGS

Last month, ImpressWatch of Japan released the voting results for the best cameras of 2009. The voting was done separately for two categories, namely, the interchangeable-lens cameras and the compact cameras. The votes were casted by the Japanese readers. That is to say, the results reflect which cameras are more popular in Japan only. But since Japan is the sole biggest camera maker and trend leader of the market, the voting results offer reference to the general direction the camera technology is going. Valid votes totalled 9,502 votes, representing a 21.4% increase over the same in 2008. For the compact camera category, Canon PowerShot S90 is the winner, followed by GR DIGITAL III. Canon also secured a 4th place with its PowerShot G11. Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR is 5th, winning in its better performance in higher sensitivity (which has been outdone now). Cyber-shot DSC-WX1, an interesting camera with nice night IQ performance by way of its back-illuminated high-sensitivity...

In the Samsung NX10 Video Commercial post, Rob commented: "I would also like to see something (similar to NX10) from Pentax that could use my Pentax lenses including AF ones." He continues, "I can understand if Canon are scratching their heads wondering if the world has gone mad and can they really get away with selling yet another range of lenses for a new camera system!" While Rob's comments remind us of an old issue of "how do I do with my lenses" when considering abandoning a boat (brand), Marco sounded a wake-up call to some camera makers.  He wrote in his comment, "(NX10 is) Aimed at the creative and younger crowd with no investments in lenses." Here we are, sitting at the table with our troop of lenses on it and contemplating the chance of an adaptor for using them on the better camera of another brand  or another system. Now, the issue is not just in making a camera better and smaller  It is more in making a ca...

^The four largest Chinese characters spell out the name of the kiosk, "Li Wo Tsing Ho" (literally, Beneficial Peace Scale Business).  The kiosk sells traditional Chinese scales which are rare things now. The previous post of a NX10 commercial vividly depicts the fun of street photography: carry a camera and observe and see the unexpected scenes present themselves around the next corner. Street photography is a photography genre of its own.  To me it is primarily about candid pictures.  And for candid pictures, the guiding principle is timing.  It follows that a street photographers do not and actually cannot ask for permission to take pictures for most of the time. ^The old shopkeeper takes pride in her business.  She starts business around noon after yumcha and closes early in the afternoon to make time for taking her grandchild from school. Some fellow photographers mock street photographers as cowards for shooting without asking. ...

Suss out the size of the upcoming NX10 in this video. Oh, we all hope that it can be made smaller. We need truly compact cameras with a large sensor, don't we folks? That said, Samsung's is a wlecomed move. Now, who will be the next? I bet Sony. Canon? They will probably not budge while still having a lion's share of the camera market. But they will slip in when the market is more mature... and get a lion's share again. Nikon? Hmmm. Fujifilm? Probably still busy with their DSLR look-alikes? What say you?

^The inside of this stationery store was rather dimly lit as you can guess from the exposure combo. The GF-1 kit zoom lens did okay in locking the focus here. The man is the owner of this store which he inherited from his father. If a veteran photographer has a state-of-the-art camera fitted with the largest sensor on earth, but the lens has a really sluggish focusing speed, what will happen? He'll probably be mad about missing most of the shots. The first impression I had with the GX100, which was the first serious compact I played with, was its slow focusing speed. Well, the slowness was not that slow but slow enough to be discernable to anyone who primarily uses a SLR or DSLR. ^The plague in black with the name of the shop written in Chinese calligraphy had a smooth surface which, complicated by the dim light, could have inconvenienced the focusing if the lens do not perform well in focusing. The GF-1 with its kit zoom lens took a wee bit longer than a DSLR to lock the focu...

As the days of the film are numbered, some white knights (also yellow and black and red knights, to name a few) coming to its rescue. Because of them, it is not yet the time to sound the death knell for the film era. Along with these Lomo cameras on the shelf are a wide array of expensive films.  Take the Fujifilm Reala 100 for example.  It is known for rendering images in good tonal values and edge sharpness, and sold for HK$45 per roll (about US$6 or UK£4).  A roll of Fujifilm 100 Superia costs HK$18 per roll, as a reference. The charm of Lomo cameras is in the possibility and necessity to combine light, exposure and photography in a single entity, which is more or less the soul of film photography.  In this light, Lomo cameras cannot be  digitalised up to now. A very important member of Lomography, the Holga camera, was originated in Hong Kong.  Holga is actually the Cantonese pronunciation for the words, "very bright".  It w...

Pure Yoga offers a chance for you to win a Canon SX1 by joining a photo competition. Participants are required to send in photos showing weird places where yoga is practised. The competition opens for people in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan from now on until 12 April 2010. Join here .

This busker is having a break for his stiffen limbs and sits aside reading his assumedly iPhone. ^100% crop This is Sunday.  Take a break for your stiffen creativity from school assignments and work.  Have a good day!