GX GARNERINGS

(Leica X1) Just as anything old, the sight of sole proprietors carrying on a keysmith business is few and far between in Hong Kong. As if old things had no practical value, the government is rather keen on bulldozing away them in the name of urban renewal. The project to replace which is known as "sports shoes street” to locals with dull sports-themed shopping malls is a case in point. Used to be filling the street in Mongkok were a variety of sports gear shops. The shops' individualities, characteristics, offer of cheap grey-market items, together with the chance to bargain, were what made the street popular among shoppers. The preservation of these elements for the success of the sports shoes street can never be achieved by yet another silly mall.

(Leica X1) I tried to convert the DNG file to black and white and couldn't end up with a better image than the one produced by the camera itself. Hmm…

(Leica X1) With an APS-C sensor, the X1 (same applies to X2) cannot offer an extensive DOF at larger aperture as the D-Lux 5 does. And neither the slower focusing speed nor the fixed lens at 35mm helps turn the camera to be as versatile for street photography.  But as far as my experience goes, it is probably some unknown special appeal of this camera to the passers-by which allows me to make blatant attempts to tweak the camera for five seconds at three or four metres in front of the subjects before taking the shots. I usually find subjects pausing to look at the camera and into the lens for a period long enough to cater for finishing a shot. The X1's lens render very sharp images at f5.6 which is usually set on mine. One silly thing that makes me enjoy using the X1 is the recorded mechanical-ish shutter sound as it clicks.

(Leica D-Lux 5) Although it is turning cooler with a day's rain patches, the passion of the photographer has not been dampened. In fact, a raining day can be a photographer's good friend.

(Ricoh GX200) Enjoy!