The PenFan's PhotoBlog

The new generation of mirrorless system cameras such as the Olympus Micro Four Thirds Pen Lite E-PL2 is compact and light weight. The image quality from these Micro Four Thirds cameras is good enough for most applications. The Micro Four Thirds system also has a comprehensive range of compact interchangeable lenses and accessories which add versatility to how images can be captured. All these advantages have made the Micro Four Thirds and mirrorless system cameras one of the fastest growing segment in the digital cameras market. The Olympus digital Pen series are a very popular mirrorless system cameras. The charms of the Pen series are many, the main one being the total size of the system. The camera body is small yet not too small for the average human hand. The system lenses are in matching sizes and balance well on the Pen camera body. The Pen series of cameras each has a different appeal and character in their design which make them stand out f...

Camera manufacturers tend to release new cameras around the third quarter of each year to catch the yearend and Christmas shopping seasons. This is the best time of the year to get good bargain of cameras that are about to be superseded by the newly launched models. If all you want is a camera to take good photographs most current models in the market will suffice. The newest model might get you faster frame rate, focus faster, better performance in low light and better features in the HD video area. If you need those features or faster performance then wait for those newly released models. For us we love a good bargain buying brand new camera from reputable shops. That is certainly better than buying used or shopping for second hand goods. We saw an ad on the local newspaper where a large local retailer was having stock clearance of cameras from Canon, Olympus, Sony and others. The E-PL2 sing...

Whenever the word "cheap" is mentioned someone will be quick to jump the gun and say "Good things are not cheap and cheap things are no good". Although this statement is true most of the  times but it is not absolutely true. For instance sunshine and fresh air are free therefore cheaper than cheap. Do you dare say they are no good? IT products such as computers, mobile phones and cameras are getting cheaper as technology progresses, so are today's IT products no good? What about cameras? Are cheap cameras any good or no good at all? Personally I think we should open our eyes and look at cheap cameras with an open mind. Most cheap cameras are good or good enough for most users. If you pay more you will buy yourself more features, longer zoom lens with wider aperture and better camera body. However very likely the cheaper cameras and their slightly better brothers from the same company may have the same image sensor. Recently I did some checking and compared ...

Other than photography I have a passion for tea as well. As usual I am taking my tea break and this time is LongJing cha. In English LongJing cha means The Dragon-Well tea. LongJing cha is the national drink of China and ranks amongst the top 10 most famous tea from China. In JiangNan area in China LongJing cha is mostly drank from a tall glass tumbler. The officials in Beijing prefer gaibei or lidded tea cup with their LongJing Cha. As for me, I have my Dragon Well tea with a tiny Zhu Ni teapot . Refreshing LongJing cha or Dragon-well tea in mini Chinese tea cup. - E-P1 Industar 61 L/Z 2.8/50mm, f4 1/4s ISO200 Many tea merchants have proclaimed that no one should use a teapot with LongJing cha. They said the delicate Long Jing tea leaves would get cooked by the heat in the teapot and spoil the taste. Well, if you know the reason "why" you can always overcome the problem with little difficulty.  Since the problem lies in o...

Is there a Tokyo Street in Kuala Lumpur? Not really but there is a Tokyo Street at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. It's just a name created by some  marketing genius from Pavilion shopping mall to boost more shoppers and visitors to  the mall.  Tokyo Street at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur is located on the 6th floor of the mall. Giant Lantern at Tokyo Street Pavilion Kuala Lumpur. - A570 IS 1/30S f2.8 ISO200 Based on the advertisement they put up and the write-up by the press, I got the impression that the Tokyo Street occupied a big portion of the 6th floor or at least half of one wing of the mall. I also imagined all of it are Japanese shops or shops dealing with Japanese products. Actually,  Tokyo Street Pavilion occupies just  the end corner of the Mall on the 6th floor. There are 32 shops at the time of writing but some are really tiny. Maybe the lot size and the rental rate follow Tokyo properties as well. The entrance i...