Saw this pic on the web today and I just couldn't resist to re-post it here. My oh my... I feel sick in the gut just looking at them.

From top to bottom left to right:

• DA*200; DA*55; DA*300
• DA 12-24; DA 14; DA 17-70; DA*16-50; DA*50-135
• DA 18-55; DA 16-45; DA 55-300; DA 50-200; D-FA 50; D-FA 100

I've got three of these i.e. those with strike-through, and a smattering of other lenses. I long for the bolded one - DA* 55mm f1.4 and of course, a few others not in this pic.

LBA kills!!!

Photo credit to Paolo Flores - http://www.pbase.com/pablof

Pocket hole size: RM1,300

Now this is the elusive one. The one that I have been wanting to have for a long, long time. I even purchased a couple of studio strobes before I managed to get this, and I'm not quite sure why either. Anyway, the important thing is I got it, and I will see to it that the flash earns its keep for all the night shooting that hobbyist like me do a lot. Only journalist, pros, and retirees have the time to do mostly daytime shoots. Hardworking people like me and you have only the weekends and holidays for that... sigh-

If you're serious about photography there's no escaping this. Yes I know there are photographers who don't like flashes as it can be quite cumbersome to carry one around. It means that you can't just take your camera with a lens attached in a small pack and go. With an external flash you certainly will need a bigger pack to bring your gear around. I got a really good, compact bagpack that carries a camera body, 17-70mm + 70-300mm + 50mm lenses and of course this flash but that's another story.

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Took a stroll at the Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park and then later went to Chow Kit to get some fruits. I definitely need to visit both places again soon as there are so many photo opportunities there. Below are new additions to the gallery, a few from today and a couple shot from KL Tower a few weeks ago (from KL Tower).

Enjoy!

Another good shopping experience, this time online at Shashinki.com.

I've been aware of this website for a while and have been drooling over many of the photography items they sell. Just never brought myself to order anything - all my photography purchases have always been offline.

But last Thursday I had one of those moments of impulse online buying. It was early in the morning at the office, going through my RSS feeds and somehow ended up at Shashinki... Before I knew it, I've placed an order for 2 items i.e. a camera strap and spirit level for a total RM63 - cheap and free shipping, which is why the decision was easy.

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I do. No question about it.

However, I also see so many people getting into the Digital SLR bandwagon without really thinking whether they really need it or not. One thing that escapes many when making the decision to spend their hard-earned money on a camera is that buying a DSLR is not just a matter of buying one camera and that's it, you're done. It is about investing into a system. In my case, I've decided to dive head long into the Pentax system almost by accident, but it's a decision I'm very happy with nonetheless.

Have a look at this photo on the left (click it for full image). Guess what camera was it taken with? If you're thinking any of the usual digital cameras, either point and shoot or DSLR, you would be wrong. This was taken by my dad (my first photography teacher) with a Sony DCR-SR300E, a digital video cam that can take JPEG still images instead of just videos. Yeah you read that right, not even a real photo camera! Put a lot of us DSLR-totting wannabes to shame, really...

By the way, for you Canon p&s users out there who would like to do more with your camera but can't afford a DSLR yet, you should try the Canon Hacker's Development Kit, or CHDK. In simple terms, this is a non-destructive, software-based way to get more out of your Canon Digic II & Digic III cameras. It's a software addon to you firmware, loaded from the memory card when you start the camera, and it will enable you to access a variety of functions that were not available to you before. And that include stuff like capturing your images in RAW format, take longer exposure shots, auto-bracketing, etc.

I finally received the split focusing screen for my Pentax K10D tonight. That's about 20 days after clicking the button on Ebay but whatever, I'm very satisfied with the purchase.

I got it from an Ebay seller based in Shanghai who goes by the name cowy07. He sells all sorts of photography accessories, even some obscure stuff like this one. The price was very reasonable - C $20.99 or about RM92, including shipping. Am I recommending him? I suppose I do...

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...from behind?

This is a follow-up from my previous post on the trip to Inobong Visitor and Research Centre. I stitched up some photos taken from the viewing platform and put it up here using a very basic, no-fuss DHTML-based panorama viewer.

Instead of cluttering this pront page, click the link below to view the full post, and of course, the scrolling panorama image of Kota Kinabalu. Enjoy

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I went back to Sabah for a short break recently. Actually it was more of an unplanned trip due to a cousin's wedding, which I gladly took as a reason to purchase the not-so-cheap AirAsia flight from KL to KK.

As usual, I tried my best to maximise the time I had in KK (mainly) to take some photos. In particular, there was this place that I've heard from a friend not too recently, which is a hill station where one can view almost the whole of Kota Kinabalu, save for those hidden by the hills that stradles the city centre.

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