#13- Due to heavy rain we went for a second TT session and after that, we hung about the KLCC Park.


#14- Cheeky!


#15- Who would have known?


#16- Somehow I like how this turned out.


#17- Cautiousness.


#18- Going home.

lugiamcg: On the Jalan P.Ramlee side of KLCC. The other pictures give you a hint of where we were! And yes, the paint job is as nice as it looks.

The effect is vignetting and high contrast.

destfull: You will eventually find a better framed annoyed person. Keep at it!

Banzai_san: Thanks!

Probably a less tilted shot would work better. The 2 food shots are a bit tight especially since you've led us to see an interesting pattern in the background.

Lenses with focus limiters:
http://www.mhohner.de/sony-minolta/lenses....=1&tr=0&flsel=0

mastering89: For the tree shot, if the sun was lower or blocked by the branches you would have less flare. For the waffle try pulling it closer to you so you have a cleaner background.

You can still make the shots brighter in Photoshop. Use the Levels tool.

And yes, the hot ice-cream shots have a WB that is too warm. Nice corn shot though - can see the air heating!

wha7ever: Cool tips!

ieR: The green peas are distracting and the shot seems slightly underexposed (overdone highlight recovery?) The shadows make it less appealing.

d4rkholeang3l: Linux people are on their own on that one LOL. A touch of saturation would help your otherwise good shot. So would picking a darker aperture e.g. F11.

eddybeh: Crop it out lor what to do. Or you make the whole picture darker but add shadow fill (not sure what program you're using.)

The A850/A900 can use DT lenses but very hard to frame (when you try it, you will know why.)

lwliam: Cool star-shaped flame! Though the framing of the steamboat is a bit not-here-not-there.

alex_cyw1985: I like #1! Let's see it big.

wingster: If you could make it look like it was floating without the support beam (careful lighting with a pen light) that would be great.

prazole: I like #2 though you could also try one with a darker aperture to get all the cacti in focus. I like the composition of #3 also!

kmarc: A CPL may not help that much in such a situation. Get one, and see for yourself. Often it might be better to process later. Also, you can always clone out the telephone line.

cjlai: Although I am not a fan I can feel the greasiness of it.

Banzai_san: Thanks! Not my favorite of the series though (I like the black-and-white ones more.)

A lot of people here and there selling the beercan, no need to look so far.

neo_lam: Keep your 20th of March 2010 free - Choen's talk at Galeri Petronas and maybe we have another street shoot.

cjlai: Would prefer the apam balik shot from the front so you see the finished product nearer to you, and the moulds behind it. The hot drink shot is a bit tight especially at the bottom - it should stand out more.

tanjq87: Eh? I'd think 400mm was already pretty close if I remember.

yfchin2: I guess I'd prefer his shot with more midtone colors (green).

eddybeh: It's a bit too warm. Do remember to set your WB when in tungsten light! Also, try to focus on one item when shooting food first before trying to fit everything.

alex_cyw1985: Perhaps you could compose with just the couple. The tree isn't so clear. Also try processing the Kampung Nelayan Beserah so the twigs are a different color or shade from the house.

For those who ask here's a quick reference!

To enter the Custom Function menu on the HVL-F56AM:

- hold down the Select button for 3 seconds
- press Select to cycle through the Custom Functions
- press - or + to change the options of each Custom Function

The Custom Functions are:
1) Wireless channel WL CH-1/CH-2/CH-3/CH-4
2) Flash range units m/ft
3) Time to auto power off 4 minutes/15 minutes/60 minutes/-- (none)
4) Time to auto power off when using wireless flash 60 minutes/-- (none)
5) Recording modes in which manual flash and multiple flash may be set M/PASM

Those in bold are my recommendations.

To enter the Custom Function menu on the HVL-F58AM:

- hold down the Fn button for 3 seconds
- press left or right to cycle through the Custom Functions
- press up or down to change the options of each Custom Function

The Custom Functions are:
C01 - HSS on or off
C02 - Channel 1 or 2 or 3 or 4
C03 - CTRL1 (CTRL+ to trigger F42/F58 on A700/A850/A900) or CTRL2 (CTRL to trigger F36/F56/F42/F58 but only on A850/A900)
C04 - PASM or M (means you can use Manual Power flash even if your camera body is not on Manual Exposure mode)
C05 - TestM (strobe for 4 seconds when you press Test) or Test3 (3 strobes) or Test1 (one strobe)
C06 - Power Saving 30 minutes, 3 minutes, 0.5 minutes or off
C07 - Power Saving when in Wireless 60 minutes or off

cjlai: Ah, finally, portraits from the portrait lens!

lwliam: Congratulations!

dreadlessdream: You are the groom?

nabelon: The compact Alpha is worth the wait as it appears to be smaller than Micro Four Thirds bodies.

I have a WX-1, which has the Exmor-R backlit CMOS sensor, and while it does desaturate at ISO1600 and above, the files are very workable in Photoshop. I can bring back the color and contrast. Of course you don't get the depth of field, but having a 24mm equivalent F2.4 sensor and usable ISO1600 is always good.

Zicron, love the unconventional take on #1! And kudos for being close enough for #3.

eddybeh: Try one for yourself, you'll find it's not bad really.

Kul | Mo0: Not all USM/SWM/HSM/SSM is fast. It depends on the lens. The F1.2L USM lenses have slow focusing. The only true consistent benefit is Full Time Manual Focus.

ieR: SAM is not totally quiet! You'd need SSM for video. And the new models introduced MF Check LV so there's no such thing as "removing the letter LV". If anything the A450 spells out "MF Check Live View" because there is space on top, compared to the A500/A550. The fast LV is called Quick AF Live View. Did Sony hire you to redefine their marketed terms?

Also, the body affects focusing detection speed (and focusing speed, for screw drive lenses.) The A900 focuses the 70-200mm F2.8G SSM faster because it has a F2.8 sensor to detect WHERE to focus to. It also helps that it has a wider view on the A900.

MF Check Live View is for manual focus lenses. I've tried using the A550 in Quick AF Live View with the Opteka 85mm F1.4 and it seems to be misaligned; I simply could not get accurate focus even using the 2x Smart Teleconverter. The MF Check LV mode however was accurate.

I would not make that claim about the A550 being better at AF than the Canon 7D (if that is what you meant.) While the Canon 7D has had its fair share of people complaining about its accuracy it seems to offer more complex control (but then it is an almost-professional series body - Canon only classifies 3/1 series as professional.) The 5D MkII's AF system is known to be weaker than the A900's - then again, the 5D MkII was not marketed to have professional AF.

If we were to look at DxOMark we'd know the A550 and Canon 7D ISO performance are matching.

Fighteden: Don't bother swapping your A300 for an A330 unless you like the body grip. The A330 does not support a battery grip.

Banzai_san: The A700 has TWO sets of cross sensors and one separate F2.8 sensor in the middle.

The A450/A500/A550 has ONE cross sensor in the middle.

signither: I usually set it to 1 meter F8 for above-the-head group shots and 0.3 meters for one or two faces. 2 meters for further away subjects and infinity for landscapes. You may set it to a further away distance for a diagonal fisheye as my numbers are for circular fisheyes.

I noticed the Samyang 8mm F3.5 doesn't have a DOF scale to give you a good clue what will be in focus or what will not. However we know darn right about everything is in focus anyway!

ieR: Both of them rate between ISO801 and ISO809 so if you say "little" some people might think it is a lot more.

kmarc: A fresh set of AA batteries should recharge in 4 seconds at 1/1 manual power on the F42 and F58.

Also for testing the flash zoom, put the kit lens on and turn it from 18mm to 55mm. The flash should zoom together.

nashakir: If it takes 12 seconds then it's going to die already.

yfchin2: Tighter crops would be better.

Kul | Mo0: I was expecting pictures of you rolling in action! But cool.

hokc77: Congratulations on making it down. Nice #2 and #4!

porkchop: Yes only the A700, A850 and A900 have dual cross sensors and a F2.8 sensor.

e-jump: It is just a bit overexposed, and you could pick a more interesting road and align the center exactly.

lauyamonk: Not liking the shrubs at the bottom of #1. Well done on #2 and #4 though, and #3 looks violent LOL.

lwliam: Ewin has a 3rd party A700 vertical grip but it is really cheap-looking. It doesn't have the lowered shutter.

eddybeh: I can't read Chinese but it looks like he was using a plastic TLR which has a cheap lens which is only sharp in the middle. Nothing to do with DOF.

Though, TLRs have split-prism rangefinders which are only on the center so you can only focus well on the center. If the outside has ground glass then you can use that to focus off-center as well. Same thing in manual focus SLRs.

nashakir: Evergizer? Is that a typo? Energizer MAX or the normal RM11.90 for 4AA Energizers are good alkalines. Fresh out of the box they give me a 4 second recharge for 1/1 power. Have you used yours?

Unless you mean NiMh rechargeable batteries. I had 2500 mAh Energizer batteries become unchargeable recently (one by one they could not be used, many months later.) Then again this is normal for a lot of rechargeable batteries.

jerrylyh: I like the idea of #2 but not so appropriate on this. #3 would probably be better as a landscape.

This post has been edited by albnok: Mar 7 2010, 04:35 AM

e-jump: Good luck on the quest for overhead bridges!

Mikeshashimi: Well birded! Add a bit of crispness using Unsharp Mask at say 100% 0.5 pixels 4 threshold.

nashakir: I get mine at 7-11. Dunno if they stock fakes but I've never gotten a fake in KL.

Banzai_san: Doesn't matter as long as the subject is correctly exposed.

maxizanc: Clean the A550 flash hotshoe contacts with a blue ink eraser.

kmarc: Walk out to a 7-11 and get yourself some Energizers.

hokc77: Indeed, the only thing that truly works is experience!

cjlai: Would prefer the 'frame' to be in focus as well, and slightly overexposed.

fas29: Nice catch on #2. Last I remember getting something like that was in Beach Club. Nice #6 and I notice another F58 in the crowd! Where is this?

Banzai_san: Needs a longer lens to avoid having to crop (thus getting this image quality.) It does look like they are dancing simultaneously but the background is busy.

maxizanc: To ensure that the body is using the same channel as the flash, put the flash on body, then set the flash mode on body to WL. It will get the channel from the flash. Then you can dismount the flash and it should work fine.

Usually it is Channel 1 for simplicity.

kmarc: There's something similiar over there in concept right? 24 hour convenience store?

e-jump: Something tells me you need to get out of the Damansara/PJ area (which is known for illegal signboards LOL). Housing areas would have less signboards.

linkinstreet: Not like the kit lens is long enough LOL.

wha7ever: You could reduce barrel distortion (at the risk of reducing detail in the middle, or expanding detail on the edges.) So it looks more classic rectilinear, or you could go halfway there.

chronic_gam3r: Nice #1 though a bit warm. #2 well framed! Despite #4 having unparallel lines it works well.

maxizanc: The F20 can be used as a pop-up flash, or a wireless trigger (only on the A850/A900). The F58 can be used as well but if you had a F58 I think you'd rather it be off-camera while the F20 takes the job of triggering.

akumirul: What's the story with the Crocs? The flowers are a bit dull and underexposed.

lildaredevil906: #1 could be focused on the person. As it is neither seems to be in focus. Also, the thing to the left and right of what she is standing on could be cropped out of the frame?

There is something disjointed and yet balanced in #2. Not getting #3 but if you put the person in #4 squatting on the bench you could emphasize how small the person is compared to the wall of vines.

lildaredevil906: Can hardly make out the cannons LOL.

lugiamcg: Nice, I like how you managed to get the wheel rotation!

chronic_gam3r: I don't get the connection between "deciding destiny" and the picture.

lwliam: I guess I'm more used to seeing josssticks facing upwards. So if you intended for it to be oriented like a cigarette then the confusion worked.

Awesome train shot!

chronic_gam3r: AHHH! But yeah, a shop owner with a suspiciously big smile might help.

braindead_fr3ak: Art is blank? Or if you flash a projected screen it might not show in the picture?

Or LIFE is blank? Keeps you hanging?

cjlai: Nice, how the caption is in the picture!

e-jump: What if your camera was not on a tripod; instead you lay it on the sidewalk (or on a piece of paper).

irienaoki: Okay, but what is causing the fire?

braindead_fr3ak: Wah the part about people judging in the darkness - you don't know who is judging you; is deep.

Banzai_san: Focus on the stem and the flower. Experiment with different apertures until you get both in focus.

cjlai: Ooo, a fresh look on those arches!

achew: Ah, finally, time to break out the Tamron 90mm! I feel there's a certain tint that makes it look greasier.

e-jump: Congratulations on your intervalometer! I saw it in Digitalsmania but I thought to myself - I would waste it since I don't have time to bring a tripod and shoot stuff.

destfull: USD700 = RM2450 which is too close to the Sony 70-300mm F4.5-5.6G SSM at RM2500.

Mo0: But the 70-300mm G beats it by focusing to 1.2 meters close when the Tamron only does 1.5 meters. The previous Tamron 70-300mm F4-5.6 has a macro switch which allows it to focus even closer between 180-300mm to give a maximum magnification of 1:2x, like the Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG APO "stripper" Macro!

This post has been edited by albnok: Mar 10 2010, 12:56 AM

cjlai: Could use a Digital GND!

wingster: Composition for #1 is alright, WB is too warm. Who is holding flowers in #2 and why? #3 show more of the red posters or show what it's about.

e-jump: IF you had the time, this:

http://www.vimeo.com/9679622

Speaking of composition, here is a fantastic article:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116630

irienaoki: You can't, and it really doesn't matter; I've shot my A100 and A700 past their supposed shutter ratings with no problems.

MechaHerc: No it's not our soulfly (and the PhotoMalaysia ^soulfly is using a minimalist style I've seen elsewhere.)

dinraxxx: Why would I? I'm not some itchy backside buy-and-sell kind of fella.

Mikeshashimi: Love the expression, though in technicalities you could use a darker aperture (say F8) to get more of the koala in focus.

porkchop: With practice!

Kul | Mo0: Finally, some G poison!

mastering89: The bottom part could use some brightening (but keep them in shadow.)


This post has been edited by albnok: Mar 12 2010, 03:48 AM