GX GARNERINGS

Sony Hong Kong has started the presale of its a55. During the presale period, purchasers will be given the accessory kit, including a camera bag, a filter and an extra Sony proprietary battery, for free. The delivery will be from 6 to 12 October. Details here . (Nevin's note: The "filter" is a multi-coated lens protector. An unboxing report showing the presale freebies is here , in Japanese.) ( Further Note: During the presale period, purchasers are entitled to 20% discount on Sony's photographic accessories, not including, regrettably, the lenses)

  This photo was taken with the TC-1 mounted on the GX200 using the Macro mode.  The TC-1 was fitted with a CP filter to facilitate a better control over the contrast. The subject is a palm tree.  These are the leaves.  The exposure combo was made to highlight the outlines and the heavily sunlit parts of the leaves.  The mysterious atmosphere reminiscent of an underwater shot of the coral is intended.

This view to the old Shanghai Street is reminiscent of the Hong Kong in the colonial times in the 50's as depicted in the recommendable memoirs Gweilo. Signboards are seen in many countries, predominately in this part of the world, not the least Hong Kong.  There is something special about signboards in this city but they themselves are not what characterise the so-called signboard culture here.  What is special about signboards in this city is, apart from being aglow in neon lights when the sun retires at night, how they clutter up the skylines. Whenever you look overhead in the city area in Hong Kong, there is no chance that you don't see signboards.  There are not just a few of them, but a great number stretching out as much as can be, fighting for space and climbing over one another.  It seems as if there would never be enough signboards to show people what they can expect along the streets and up in the buildings where whatever unthinkable kinds of ...

...are young ladies who rock!  When they appear, the camera immediately becomes the prima donna no longer!   Pretty enough for today.  Now get back to work.

Samsung people have replied GX Garnerings that the NX100 bundle set, including the camera body, the kit 20-50mm lens and the SEF15A flash (GN 15!), is priced at HK$5,290 (about US$678 or £480). Roll down for more product shots and the spec table. NX100 Image sensor 14.6 Mega-pixels APS-C size CMOS sensor Useable lens Samsung Lenses Display 3.0" VGA AMOLED Display ISO Equivalent Auto, 100 - 3200, Extension settable : ISO 6400 Shooting modes SmartAuto, Lens Priority, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Scene, Movie Scene mode Beauty shot, Children, Close Up, Text, Sunset, Dawn, Backlight, Fireworks, Beach & Snow, Night, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Sound Picture Movie recording 720P HD Movie Recording (H.264) Storage media SD, SDHC (Up to 32GB) EVF Optional GPS Geo-tagging w/ Optional GPS Module (GPS10) Battery life Still : 420shot , 210min (CIPA Standard) Movie : 130min Dimensions (WxHxD) 120.5 x 71 x 34.5mm (excluding the projection part) Weight 282g (wit...

Hong Kong - September 14, 2010 - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd today announced the launch of the unique Samsung NX100 - an innovative mirrorless camera equipped with the world's first i-Function lens, putting the perfect picture at the fingertips of all photographers through a completely new way of controlling your camera. The NX100 is set to dominate the new mirrorless camera category. The innovative new product has benefited from Samsung's expertise across multiple technology areas, meaning that the camera's key components are 100% produced internally. This unique process has been combined with Samsung's detailed and extensive program of consumer research, which provided valuable insights that the company's designers and engineers have incorporated into the NX100. Finally the unparalleled product is complemented by an extensive line up of lenses and accessories which give photographers the full package to explore their creativity. The launch of the NX100 follows th...

Kowloon West is the best place for doing sunset shots in this territory. When the old Kai Tak international airport was still in use, chances were that the photographer could get in the picture a plane flying out to this direction. Here in the image the wash of pinkish orange tinging the sky is peaceful. The silhouettes of the cranes springing up from the barges rightly balance and complement the tinge on the upper half of the image while the dots of street lights break the otherwise monotonous swath of darkness at the bottom. In the film era, the surefire way to get the 'right' exposure combo for sunset shots was to spot-meter the area right below the sun without including it. In the digital age, this technique does not rule such shots as the moon rules the tides, so to speak, because the photographer can tweak the shutter speed and the aperture value while monitoring the real-time result on the screen. But if you know this trick, doesn't it give you a sense of "...

The last GX poll was concluded last week and a total of 150 votes had been casted. Probably because our readers are fans of Ricoh cameras, the champ is Ricoh GXR, winning over 30% of the total votes or 46 aspiring buyers. The first runner-up is, again, Ricoh's very capable camera – GRDIII. The second runners-up, Samsung's EX1 and Oly's E-PL1, are a bit further down the road, closely followed by the E-P2 and Sam's NX10. However, recently, we have seen launches of many new cameras. So there are probably many more pent-up fancies to be tickled and a new poll, if put up, can end up with different results. Now that the so-called EVIL serious compacts are selling at cheaper prices, the rationale and temptations behind buying a smaller-sensor serious compacts, like the EX1, GRDIII and G11, with a marginally cheaper price tag and a slightly less bulky size have lost much grounds. Unless, maybe, the camera can be critically downsized to like Canon's S95. So, if the ...

Pelican: "Where is the fish?" Fish: "Hey, I'm up here!" Flying, back to Hong Kong.  This is Sunday.  Have a good day!