ROBIN WONG

I gotta say Olympus really knew how to make truly small and compact cameras that can not only perform well, but also was so fun to use. I took out the Olympus PEN E-PM2 and M.Zuiko 25mm F1.8 out for some street shooting sessions in downtown Kuala Lumpur, and I was reminded of how amazing this little combo truly was. It handles so well for such a small camera, it has super fast AF, really good image quality with pleasing, beautiful colors, it has built in image stabilization and it was just so easy to use. I enjoyed the session tremendously, and that was what Micro Four Thirds was about - tiny camera, big pictures, the PEN Mini embodies that 100%. We need a new, updated version now in 2025, hopefully OM Digital Solutions brings this back! Latest POV video here (click). 

The most common question that I get is why do I shoot so much on the same streets, again and again, don't I ever get bored of repeating the same routine over and over again? Well, the beauty of doing the same routines, walking the same paths is the familiarity of the location, and you know every turn and corner, you know the details inside out, so you can be prepared for the unexpected. That is also the exciting part of shooting on the streets, you will find something unusual, something you will not know will happen beforehand, and the surprise is worth the redundant process of walking the same streets all over again. When everything is new and shiny, traveling to new locations, it takes some time to settle down and be comfortable with the new environment. If you already spent enough time getting to know the surroundings deep enough, that is when magic starts to happen. So, I will keep going back to the same locations, but with an open heart and mind, and I will get my shutter clicks happen, capturing something interesting. It isn't about finding something completely new or extra-ordinary to shoot but finding beauty in the most ordinary settings and make it worth clicking your shutter button for. 

Emilie Talpin (OM Anbassador, US) recently sent me an AK Diffuser made for insect macro, and I thought it would be great ot test it out. I shot these images at least half a year ago, and while I was testing the diffuser, some thoughts came to mind about the amazing Olympus 60mm F2.8 Macro lens. I personally think that is one of the best macro lens ever made, but it was released in 2012 and it is about time the lens gets some update. OM Digital Solutions should consider making a Version II of the 60mm F2.8 Macro, with improved AF speed and reliability, as well as better control of focus breathing that can make a huge difference for macro shooters who do focus stacking work. Oh, and why not introduce Insect Ai Subject Detection AF, that would be awesome too! I share these thoughts and more in my latest video here (click). 

Here is a little-known fact - Olympus claimed that the image sensor used in their first Four Thirds interchangeable lens DSLR camera, E-1 was a full frame sensor! It was mentioned in the official press release, official product descriptions and specifications pages on their website as well as a technical diagram showing the inner workings of the supposedly "full frame" sensor. Technically, it was a full frame sensor as there was nothing to crop from, the Four Thirds system was 100% newly designed digital system, unlike the traditional 35mm format that made a somewhat lazy transition to digital from film. I explained this and more, with plenty of evidence on how Olympus Four Thirds was a full frame, and how the original technology and innovations introduced in the E-1 have shaped the future of imaging, and were adopted by both Canon and Nikon in their respective RF and Z mounts when they went mirrorless full frame - using the same tech that Olympus introduced in the E-1 15 years prior! You can check out the video here (click). In this video, I am sharing my latest images from a shutter therapy session which I did with the Olympus E-1. 

I had a chance to have a quick hands-on with the latest Fujifilm X-E5 camera, special thanks to the newly opened N4 Camera Store in MyTown Shopping Mall at downtown Kuala Lumpur. I personally think the camera checks all the right boxes - it is compact in size, beautifully stylish in design, has built in EVF, tilt LCD screen, built in 5-Axis image stabilization and it features flagship level internals like 40MP image sensor and latest processor from X-T5. I thought the camera was almost perfect, until I saw the selling pirce, retailing at USD1700/RM7000 body only, that was perhaps the only big complain that I have. A smaller complain would be the AF performance no being on par with my older Olympus PEN E-PL7, you can see the comparison I have done in my latest video where I share more about my thoughts on the X-E5 here (click). 

Last Friday, for the first time in my life, after doing YouTube for so many years, I was hosting guests remotely and have them on my Live Stream. It was a nerve-racking experience. I knew I was a bad multi-tasker, doing solo Live Streams was already stressful enough, and this time I had to bring in not one, but two important guests, all being broadcasted Live on YouTube. So many things could have gone wrong, me dealing with new software, and having to keep the conversations going was not an easy feat, at least not for me. All things considered, minus the small hiccups there and here, I think the Live Stream went as well as can be, and I was grateful as things could have been a lot worse. I call this achievement unlocked!

In some Olympus cameras, there is a hidden feature called HandHeld Starlight, which technically is a multishot noise reducton composite technique that can effectively get rid of high ISO noise, producing clean low light images. I tested the Handheld Starlight mode of my Olympus PEN E-PL7, shooting images ranging from ISO1600-12800, and the results are very impressive - though JPEG only, the images retain very good amount of details, yet suppressing high ISO noise. I went out to test this around the streets of Kuala Lumpur, and made a video (you can watch it here) to explain the mechanics behind the Handheld Starlight mode. I am sharing the images in this blog entry. I wish OM System includes this feature in their higher level flagship camera, like the OM-1 series.