Revisiting an Important Place and the Important Thing

(Leica X1)

The author took a re-visit with the Leica X1 to the scene of the winning shot which was achieved after some 10 minutes' wait. The waiting didn't pay off this time. It is always skills and luck that matter for a photographer at the end of the day.

This begs the question of why so many photographers spend so much time arguing about and comparing the good and bad of cameras per se. There are certainly many aspects in a camera which a photographer should consider before shelling out the money for it. But the most important thing is whether it suits one's shooting style (Shooting on the street? Having a penchant for manual everything? etc.) and preferences (taste of image character, brand philosophy etc). It is not just the better IQ or a larger sensor (well, discounting the sensors of P&Ss) or a retro design which most users are so obsessed with that measure the star-rating of a camera. The often animatedly debated image quality should be, paradoxically, given lesser importance in real life shooting situations unless the photographer mostly makes large prints (This is not to say that IQ is not important, mark you). Instead, if a camera urges one to use it and grow in creativity with it, it could reflect that the camera suits one's shooting style and preferences. That'll pretty much make the right choice. The author always makes an effort to, and hopefully successfully so, align with this belief when doing and reading a camera review.

Back to the now closed international photography contest, the finalists' shots can be viewed here. My shot taken with the Ricoh GX200 has probably the worst image quality in comparison.

Some asked on the Facebook page if the organiser (Swire Hotels) would have any similar contests in future. Well, understandably, the reply is an equivocally not-yes-or-no. You may bookmark the organiser's blog and check it out every now and then just to be sure to not miss any chance.

Comments

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Final Verdicts: GF2 in Action

(The rest of the GF2 review posts can be found here ) It is widely believed that the GF2 is a paradoxical downward-upgrade version of the GF1. So, after all the discussions of its bells and whistles, how does it perform in reality? First things first. Which or what kind of cameras should we measure the GF2 against for that matter? We believe that potential buyers of the GF2, maybe except for serial fad chasers and the diehard loyalists, are attracted by its smallness in size with a larger sensor to achieve better image quality, especially at ISO 800 or above. However, given the less satisfactory handling with for example just one dial, the GF2 cannot assume the place of a primary camera. Put together, these assumptions suggest that the GF2 is more suited to be used as a backup camera for social and street shots. Let's grill the GF2 on this basis. In the Hand An obvious merit of the GF2 is size. It feels much less bulky in the hand than the GF1 or the NX100, and just lik...

Dressing Up

(Camera: Ricoh GX200) On the street, a group of Chinese tourists are waiting for probably pick-up. With oblivion to the surrounding, this man changes his vest for an unknown reason to the author taking the opportunity to do a snap shot of the scene of an indecent taste. The increasingly common sights, or eyesores considered by some, of people squatting in front of shops or in the thoroughfares, together with more billboards written in simplified Chinese, seem to push this international city towards the Chinese characteristics of the Mainland cities. The other day when the author visited the the aquarium and panda's home in the Ocean Park, there were, among the swamps of tourists, conspicuous signs saying, "Keep Quiet" and "Don't Use Flash". The management of the Park has obviously deployed a much bigger troop of attendants to carry the signs around. On one occasion, one of those attendants was so annoyed that she went up to a tourist and made a big long...

GX GARNERINGS

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