Thursday, May 29, 2008

My New Toy Part 2

My first camera was a foldable. It wasn't mine really but belonged to my half brother. It was made in Germany so you can be assured of its quality, especially the lens. Unfortunately upon my returning it to my brother, he let his son played with it and it was damaged beyond repair.

I bought my own camera from a photographer friend in Kulai. It was a Pentax SLR with screw mount lens. For RM850 he threw in a 200 mm lens with it. It was in 1979 and RM850 was alot of money. Later I bought another Pentax SLR Spotmatic from an antique dealer in Kota Bharu. I bought it for a song at RM140 with a flash thrown in 1981. Both cameras went underwater in Besut and the Spotmatic didn't recover from the ordeal despite being sent for repair in Kuala Lumpur.

A few instamatic cameras followed due to the ease of use when we travelled.

My first digital camera was a GP camera that came free with the signing up with a credit card comany. It got damaged and had to be sent back to Taiwan for repair since it was under warranty. It took a long time to come back. I bought an Olympus AZ1 which is a fixed focus camera and I had a great time using it. It will become my backup camera.

Seeing Mat Salo and Zabs with DSLR at the book signing ceremony with Awang Goneng at Kunikuniya KLCC in late November 2007 set me afire to own one someday. Since I had just bought the notebook then that set me poorer by some RM3400 inclusive of peripherals, I had to keep the thoughts just in my mind. Well the rest as they say it is history when the 15th of May 2008, I collected my dream DSLR, a Sony Alpha 350.

I didn't take any picture with the camera on the first day as the whole lot of them were repacked in the box with the memory card not in the slot yet. As with any new delicte equipment, I prefer to read the manual first before attempting to do anything with it. Step by step I will explore the camera until I was sure that at the press of any button, it won't damage my precious toy.

As an example of the product of the Alpha 350, lets view some pictures, all taken with the automatic mode hehehehe.
My grand daughter Az. Ain't she cute?

The clown at the school sports day near home.

The adorable Balqiss

A close look at a lily.

My impression of the Alpha 350 is superb for someone who hasn't use another DSLR before. That goes to show that I can't be relied upon to make any appraisal of such a camera. Digital Camera magazine reviewed the entry level Alpha 200 in their May 2007 issue and they will review the 350 most probably in their next issue. So please wait for their professional review OK?

Svllee commented on my previous post that now with the DSLR I may need to procure a bigger external harddisk and my survey at Monaliza Mastura Computers KB Mall shows that a 160 GB external Hard Disk is available at below RM250. Hey thats big enough and affordable and I am going to get one soon. The 80 GB Hard Disk that I gave to my son in law cost me almost that much and it was bought in Xian China where such things were supposed to be cheaper. That is how much price of storage tools has gone down.

I will be uploading more pictures into my flickr photostream soon. Meantime you can view more pictures here.

Read the detailed review here .

22 comments:

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Pak Zawi
Read about you in the Malay Mail today.
I too made lots of friends through the blog, from far and wide.
And I too regret not starting early.
Nevertheless, the satisfaction lies in sharing stories and opinions and getting people to share theirs too.
Happy Blogging!

Pak Zawi said...

Fauziah,
It is that soon that they pub up the article in Blogspotted Malay Mail? It was only yesterday that I sent them the proofed copy and the picture of ugly me to Sheila Rahman! Now I am in the same leaugue as Tunku Halim and Bee Ean who was featured earlier. I forgot to ask Sheila how she spotted me.
Why not you be featured too? You deserve it more than me since I am just a newbie in blogging.

Unknown said...

Salam PakZawi...
I'm always impressed with people like you and MatSalo for you two really have the flair, passion and always know which angle, the effect of lightings and all in photography...this will make your blog more colour as the photos surely beautify it more...

but above all, i love to keep on looking at your grandchildren esp Balqiss...she's sooooo adorable...

take care Pak.

Awang said...

Salam Pak Zawi,
I guess the A350 LCD can be tilted up for waist-level shooting or down for overhead shots.So bila nak upgrade to high grade lens macam carl zeiss & G lens which is mainly for sony alpha.
Saya ni..not the right person to critic your fotoshot(wah!!macam AF pulak)overall nice DOF and photos not bad after all....
So kena beli lah Malay Mail..nak lihat kawan dalam paper.
So happy CLICK with bigman toy(dlsr).

Pak Zawi said...

Dalilah,
I am an amateur photographer. With digital cameras you can shoot many many more pictures than you wanted with different settings and you choose the better ones to post.
Glad that you like Balqis's look. I am going to Labuan to nanny her after being with me here for 6 months.
Cant imagine life without her after this.

~ GAB ~ said...

Salam,
You do have the same hobby as I am. That's great.

Do visit my flickr to see my amateur works, www.flickr.com/photos/melor/

Mind you, MELOR is due to the place where I come from in Kelantan.

Pak Zawi said...

Uncleawang,
The LCD screen can be tilted up or tilted down. Thats the beauty of the the Alpha 350. I dont have to lie down on the ground for a low angle shot and I don't have to shoot blindly for an overhead shot.
Upgrading to a Carl Zeiss is always a dream. I will take my time since getting a bigger external hard disk is a necessity now with the big picture files eating up my notebook memory real fast.
Feel free to comment as I am so new that I have so much to learn from more experienced people like you. Even young Akmal has so much to teach me.
Please buy the Malay Mail as it is the first time ever that a nainstream media has featured me hahahaha (as if I am that important).

Pak Zawi said...

gab,
We share the same interest beside blogging :).
Melor eh? Do you know Major (R) Aziz Ahmad? He was my classmate when we were schooling in SIS Pasir Mas.
I will add your flickr to my favourite. Will learn up a thing or two from you.

Anonymous said...

The skin tones you produced with your new camera are amazing, Zawi.

Beautiful grandchildren.

What the link for that article about you in the Malay Mail?

Pak Zawi said...

luois,
The skin tones are good? Thank you. At least I am aware of it now.
I am sorry I don't have the link yet. I am still waiting for the reporter to email it to me. I will put it up somewhere after I got it.
All the seven grandchildren are below 8 years old and thus they are all still playful and adorable.

Anonymous said...

dalam byk byk gambar , pB paling suka yg ada clown tu ...
sebab colourful ...

hok laing tu lawa jugok ...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Pak Zawi said...

pB,
Sebab Pok Awi tahu pB suka la Pok Awi buboh tu. Masa di sekolah tu budak-budaksemua mengikut Badut tu kemana jua dia pergi. Bagus juga buat gimmick begitu di hari sukan sekolah-sekolah.
Pok Awi buang so bab pB gi boh dua kali.

Lee said...

Hi Zawi, wayyyyy to go, man! Fantastic camera that, and the pics you took are really beautiful, candid shots.
I too dream of owning a digital camera, presently have a 12 year old Nikon F601 film camera with a portrait lens, 35mm-135mm, with accessory flash and tripod that serves my hobby of taking portraits, making women beautiful thru my lens, ha ha.
But after making my bank manager kelang kabote with my very recent purchase of my first dream, getting the Apple Imac 24 and Canon scanner, Maxtor 500GB HD, dare not mention to my wife about the camera I fantasise about now...a Nikon D300 with a 18mm-200mm lens.
Kena makan sendiri Magee mee or buka sardines with bread, arhaaa ha ha.
How's your daughter, Zawi? Here's hoping she has recovered fully and doing well.
You stay easy and have fun with your new toy, best regards, Lee.

Rusdi Abu Bakar said...

Nice colour Pok Wi,
Wait for my posting for subject placement in the camera frame, you will get more idea about the subject placement & to give your photo more life, not just a photo.

J.T. said...

Hi Zawi

Nice shots. Love the pictures of your grand daughters. Well done.

I am like you when I get any new delicate equipment - read the manual first. :)

By the way, thanks for that article you sent me. I am happy that blogging brought the world to you and vice versa.

Pak Zawi said...

U Lee,
It is just slightly above the entry level SLR. You will go in at a higher level of course.
I am glad you enjoy the shots. Just the early attempts with the DSLR.
You too need to buy your dream camera. We are at the tail end of our life's journey. The earlier we get it, the more time we get to enjoy using it.
You have all the other hardwares with the computer. Don't wait man. Get the Nikon D300 with the 18 - 200 mm lens, you will make not only many other people happy but also yourself happy.
My daughter has almost fully recovered and she has only to go for follow up checkup in 3 months time.
Take care.

Pak Zawi said...

Rusdi,
I am following your posts religiously. Found it to be informative and useful. Meantime I am practicing through trial and errors.
Today I went to Pasar Pagi Wakaf Baru near your home for some practice. Must do another session for pasar malam at the place before posting it.
Keep your posts coming.

Pak Zawi said...

jt,
My grandchildren are the joy of my life now. Always try to take shots of them whenever they are in the mood to pose.
Our equipments are too precious to us so we dare not take risks with it.
Hopefully Sheila will feature you too.
Yes blogging brought the world us and vice bersa.

Unknown said...

hi again. Big boy toys !! yea, soon you be busy snapping here and there. Looks very pro now. Bila nak pergi melancung ? Bolih berlagak jadi photographer.. now got zero fare dari Mas. Kita bolih pergi sama...

Pak Zawi said...

kbguy,
We intend to go to go somewhere during holiday. Butwe will be going on a package either to Hongkong or Korea. If you are willing to go with us I will be too happy to have you and your wife. We can go in a small group. I will keep you informed. We can shoot each others pictures by exchanging cameras hahahaha. That will be fun.

drizzt said...

salam

ahh pokzawi ..i can only dreams about dslr camera for now.. still trying to get the best from my powershot a520 .. hehe

someday ... i'll have dslr .. someday