Good job guys! Man I forgot about Google Translate! I've emailed the product manager, hopefully he can bring this in also.

(I do hope there is an English language option in the menu...)



Only for A850/A900 users.

achew: Nice catch on the hair light!

It probably is due to the background lights on the top, causing the underexposure. If you notice the highlights from the far-away lights are not blown.

amadeo: Yes it is - on top, you see two things;

1) Cats-eye bokeh due to the front element being not big enough for the whole lens (77mm already still not big enough!)

2) Rectangular cropping due to the rear baffle which is rectangular. I wish it didn't have this.

fansoption: It's the Tamron 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 lah.

SHOfrE3zE: Interesting, and unconventional.

tanjq87: Rectangular cropping can be seen on the OOF highlights nearest to the top edge. The top 2 discs have the bottom cropped while the 3rd and 4th disc are regular cats-eyed discs.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/420523...ff85138d5_b.jpg

The A500 is in Malaysia already, first sighted at PC Fair 2009; you can definitely find it in Lowyat Plaza on the UG floor (not Tarita, but one of the shops near it, facing the kopitiam.)

e-jump: Pick your focal length correctly - the 24mm F1.8 may be a fair bit more comfortable for fuller-body shots. Then there's the group-shot champion, the 20mm F1.8 (on APS-C). If you're on F1.4 priority then there is no escaping the Sigma 30mm F1.4.

If you're thinking of full-body shots at close range, under 1 meter, the 20mm F1.8 would be your best bet. It's the closest you can get to 17mm anyway!

ieR: SAM/SSM may or may not be faster than a screw-drive lens. For example it is widely known that the Nikkor AF-D 50mm F1.4 focuses faster than the Nikkor AF-S 50mm F1.4G SWM.

Focusing accuracy also depends - the Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 is bad and slow on the Canon/Nikon but good and fast on the Sony/Pentax.

kevinwcw: I keep forgetting to ask! Argh. There are talks about the A550 with 18-55mm kit lens coming in soon. If you don't need a camera now, you might save money by waiting!

lehtung: The butterfly showdown is awesome! I hope you got one from the side as well!

achew: Not really. It all depends on the angle of the face.

Kul | Mo0: It's just how I like it, with a wee bit of vividness.

This is what happens when you walk into Studio Zaloon, master poisoner place. Here's the Sony 28-75mm F2.8 SAM lens (left) next to the Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 (right).

Mechanically, the Tamron is more convenient, allowing DMF to work on the KM7D/5D and A100/A700/A850/A900. It also lets you use the AF/MF switch on the body of any A-mount camera.


However, the Sony is far superior optically, wide open! Too bad the SAM motor does not allow manual focus override, nor does it understand that the body is in MF mode.


Then, there is the tiny Minolta 50mm F1.4 Original (left) taking a 49mm filter thread, next to the huge Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM (right) taking a 77mm filter thread.


Minolta 50mm at F1.4. It loses contrast wide open and isn't always accurate.


Sigma 50mm at F1.4. Amazing contrast and bokeh wide open! It also is clear of the annoying brightline bokeh that plagues the Minolta/Sony 50mm F1.4 and Minolta 50mm F1.7.


Minolta 50mm at F1.4.


Sigma 50mm at F1.4. Note the less obstrusive bokeh and vibrant color. Contrast is also pretty high!


The Carl Zeiss 135mm F1.8 is of course the reference for contrast - Zeiss lenses are always superbly contrasty, with oodles of fine detail!


This post has been edited by albnok: Dec 25 2009, 12:52 AM

Then over at Sony Style Berjaya Times Square, was the new Alpha Flash Light Kit - buy two Sony HVL-F58AM flash units and get this free!

It consists of one bag, one light stand, one shoot-through white umbrella, one black-outside-silver-inside umbrella, and one adapter.


I've never seen anything like this, where the umbrella holder is independent from the flash screw mount holder. Also note the ballhead.


Instructions!


Shoot-through.


Bounced off the inside of the black-outside-silver-inside umbrella.


The stand goes up to 2 meters high.


That's about as high as it goes (note the reflection behind Malek.)


The bag also comes with two openings. Cool!


And finally, I ended up in the new Nikon Showroom in Berjaya Times Square, just opposite, where I finally tried the Nikkor AF-D 135mm F2.0 Defocus Control lens.

It was not any much heavier or lighter than my Zeiss 135mm F1.8, and just slightly slimmer using a 72mm filter thread whilst my Zeiss had a 77mm filter thread.

Unfortunately, I did not have a SD card to save any pictures from the DC - however, I'd say that it was inconvenient if you were manually focusing because each time you change the Defocus Control, it shifts the plane of focus rapidly. So you'd have to refocus be it AF or MF. This is a pain, just like the Canon MPE-65 where changing magnification shifts the focus plane so much you lose sight of where you are!

And of course, the color - it was rather muted in the out-of-focus areas. There is something about Zeiss lenses that pick up ambient light, and light that bounces off colored surfaces, that shows in pictures. The Nikkor did not have that.

Oh and Merry Christmas to everybody!

This post has been edited by albnok: Dec 25 2009, 12:53 AM

hafeez73: Wow, you can pick out the SRP on the D90 text? SRP = Suggested Retail Price.