18-200mm vr (first impression)

i love the distance scale which is missing from my previous 55-200mm vr and 18-55mm, it is extremely useful for the application of hyperfocal distance. felt that the combination of it with d40 is a bit unbalanced due to the extremely light weight of camera body. i have never handled a lens which is more than 0.5kg before so i still need some time to familiarize myself with handheld shot at shutter speed of less than 1/10s. will try to post some shots this weekend if possible, currently thinking of doing the test shots at either botanical garden or sungai buluh wetland reserve. will also be getting a tent this weekend for a pulau ubi camping "expedition", probably next week or the week after.

brother is going to hk again next week, might ask him to try getting a 12-24mm from the usual shop if possible. very broke now, i have already pre-spent the bonus which is expected to be coming only in end of december. where is my santa claus when i need one?

a friendly visitor (the moments)

2 days ago, i heard some noise out of my window, and realized that there are a few friendly visitors (or rather unfriendly) at my neighbour's house. they went in and out of the house, making lots of noise and by the time i picked up my camera, only one of them left. should have given more space to the right of the photo but was restricted by the windows, i have no intention to make it to government's statistic for those who fell off the windows.

18-200mm vr is coming!

my lovely wife helped me pick-up a 18-200mm vr from hongkong at great price yesterday. she was supposed to get the 12-24mm but since it was out of stock, she settled on the 18-200mm vr instead. can't wait for her to come home, i want my new lens! i am selling my 18-55mm and 55-200mm vr now in a local forum, anyone interested do drop me an email. both are great lens but i can't afford to keep changing lens when i am travelling, also for the limited compartments on my great offtrail2. With 18-200mm mounted on my camera body, 50mm f/1.8 and upcoming 12-24mm each fitted nicely in the 2 side pouches of my offtrail2, the combination is just perfect for light weight trekking/travelling.

18-55mm II is a very light, yet sharp lens when stopped down to f/8. as for 55-200mm, the vr is great which i can handheld at 1/5s and yet still produced a very sharp photo.

changi airport terminal 3, singapore (the journey)

changi airport terminal 3's open house has started on 12 november 2007 and will end on 9 december 2007. you can either do a self-guided tour at $1 or follow a guided tour at $3. The money will be donated to Singapore Cancer Society so it is really worth while if you have some free time to spend. construction works are still going on at most of the places so i would suggest to go at a later stage, perhaps first week of december when more works are done.

i spent 2 hours at public area for photo-shooting and since i am not particularly interested in architectural stuff, i did not make an effort to go for the restricted area tour. architectural shot is really not my cup of tea, did quite badly in perspective control. if you are interested to photograph the public area, i would suggest to go around 6.30pm or later when there is not many soul around.

visit this site if you want to know more about the new terminal.

changi airport terminal 3, singapore (the moments)

singapore street scene (the moments)

plans for 2008

bali, indonesia:
joyce is planning a march 2008 trip to bali, 5 days 4 nights with 2 nights at ecolodge, 1 night at ubud and 1 night at villa nearby airport. sounds good, just waiting for the right moment to get the air ticket.

siem reap, cambodia:
courtesy of jetstar's anniversary promotion, i managed to grab my air ticket to siem reap at a good price of S$123 (fuel surcharge and airport tax inclusive). my wife will be travelling together with me, finally my turn to visit the famous angkor wat. guess who will be travelling with me this time? my brother and my sister-in-law. my usual travelmates are not joining this trip because ruins are not their cup of tea.

kuching, malaysia (the journey)

i was born in the lovely cat city (kuching) of hornbill land (sarawak). small peaceful town where i grew up until i decided to part with it to pursue my career few years back. nobody wish to leave their birth place for the stinky dollars but life is just too tough for some of us. in the search of meritocracy, you aren't left with much choice but to head towards a different direction.

my recent trip back to my hometown has prompted me for some soul searching ater i realized that i have not been spending much quality time taking photos of the place where i call "home". the trip to kuching was again a short one but i managed to sneak out for an hour or two to take a couple of shots of my hometown. my photos did not do justice to my lovely hometown but i am confident that each time i re-visit my hometown, i will come out with a better shot.