.micro four thirds

oops, but i like it.

Before I continue, I'd like to announce that this is my 200th post.. So yay! :D

And umm.. I'd like to welcome the Olympus E-P1 to the family!

So why did I get a new camera all of a sudden?

Well.. The Cyber-shot T2's still reasonably good but it's just not advanced enough for me anymore.. I love the camera, but I can't help getting frustrated with the photo quality.. What looks "reasonably good" on screen doesn't necessarily look as good on the computer..

Don't get me wrong, I still love the fact that it's so small, and easy to carry around, but I reckon I need something a little more advance...

I did think about going back to Canon, getting one of those super zoom powershots.... But, things do change.

I went for a road trip with some old travel buddies last weekend, and one of us had the Olympus E-P1. A point-and-shoot (oh okay, not quite) that allows users to change lenses.. And not to mention, the ability to take RAW images, as well as full manual settings. Perfect.

Sure, it is a little bulky, but I guess I'll have to choose between image quality, and size. Image quality is pretty important to me – it usually determines whether or not I upload the photograph.

Now all I need is one of those leather jackets for the camera body.. As well as a proper case - something small and snug for the camera, which would then allow me to chuck it into my handbag without worrying about scratches.

...

..Actually, I have no idea what micro four thirds mean. Can anyone explain?

edited: I highly recommend the E-P1 for any experienced DSLR users who are looking for something smaller without compromising functions. If you need flash, you could either invest on an external one or get the E-PL1.

.some random update

Seafood night (bokeh).

I was wanting to get a new pair of jeans from Levi's. A sales girl smiled as I entered the store, and asked if I needed any help. "I'm just browsing, thanks. :)" was all I said. The sales girl decided to tag along behind like a puppy anyway, and that made me really, really uncomfortable. I left the store two minutes later, empty-handed.


What do y'all think?

.manfrotto is the man!

sooner or later.

"If I am going to be doing a lot of landscape (particularly HDR) shots, I'll need a good tripod sooner or later." This is what I've been telling myself for the past year.

A couple of weeks ago, I'd finally purchased a better tripod – The Manfrotto 190XB with the 128RC head. Great for all kinds of shots, including videos. :) I think this will last me for many years to come.

It's definitely a whole lot better than my old $30 tripod, the one that ruined all my New Years eve fireworks photographs and can't even support my 350D + 24-105mm. We actually tested it out in Heathcote, 100km+ away from Melbourne the other night and it was great!

I got it off JB Hi-fi on Elizabeth Street for $370 (original price was about $400), and got a further 30-plus-dollars back from the Tourist Refund Scheme at the airport.Not too bad I reckon, and the guy at the security check-point in the airport showed quite a bit of interest in my tripod.

Security guy: Wow is that a tripod??? That looks pretty good! What kind of photography do you do? Wedding?
Me: Yeah it's a good one.. Hmm I do all sorts of stuff I guess, landscape, wedding, whatever comes by.
Security guy: So this is Manfrotto hey.. Hmm I think I'm going to get one of these too. *wink*
SF & I: LOL

And the first thing my parents said to me was not "You're back!".. Instead, they were looking at the tripod, looking amused, and asked, "What's that?? What did you buy again??" And I told them the whole story of having-to-bring-this-back-for-tax-refund-purposes. I hope they'll be alright with me wanting to take this on our family holiday to Bali later next month, since they'd always complain that I over pack on vacations. :P

.for savoring

mon chocolat favorit.

There was this buy-two-for-18-dollars Ferrero Rocher deal at Coles today and so I decided to buy it. I'm not sure if this is cheaper than usual, but I bought it anyway. The deal should still be around tomorrow so do drop by your nearest Coles supermarket if you're craving for some!

Let's hope I won't finish all 60 of these before Christmas. :P

.new headphone

ATH-ES7 (audio-technica).

Hey guys, I don't think you should borrow me your expensive (or non-expensive) headphones because I tend to overuse them and end up having to buy a new one every year or something. :(
I am going to have to start taking good care of delicate gadgets like these..

Perhaps I could try not to use them too often.. I don't want to go deaf by age 30 (and I think I'm already semi-deaf from 10 years of discman/MD player/iPod).

--

The headphone arrived this morning while I was still in bed, so SF signed the delivery on behalf of me.. And I bought it less than 48 hours ago! :O

Anyways!! I decided I needed one since I work better with a headphone.. And it will also come in handy when I have sound-design stuff to do. Oh, and I'll definitely want a good headphone for travel, since those given out in the cabin are so stiff and uncomfortable. :\

This ought to cheer me up a little from having to stay home and recuperate for more than 2 weeks.. And it did!

.introducing the ASUS Eee PC 1000H

Asus Eee PC 1000H

It was a tough decision to make - there are quite a few reasons behind me getting this sub notebook. And this is the main reason - Some of you may have heard that I will be taking a family vacation to Japan at the very end of this year.. And I'll be spending the New Years in Japan. And I'm dedicated to this Flickr group called 2008: A Year in Pictures, in which I am required to post a photo a day. I want to keep up with it while on the go. My parents will definitely nag at me if I were to lug my 15.4" MacBook Pro around the whole trip so I decided I need something small - not just for this trip, but for future trips too.

I'll do a review of this sub notebook shortly, after I get the hang of using Windows XP. Oh and I've quite a few big plans for this new mini gadget -

1. I plan to install Mac OS X Leopard!!!
2. Get a 2GB RAM.
3. Softwares wanted: Adobe Photoshop CS3 or Cs4, Picasa, and maybe Sims 2? :D

So there you go.