This one here is among my earliest efforts to shoot in macro. I’m using the term “macro” in general term, not in its technical term. Anything up close is macro to me.

I now realise how much more could have been done to this unknown jungle flowering plant than taking a single close-up shot of it.

Posted in Flower Macro 3 Comments »

Posted in Plant Macro 2 Comments »

Okay, I take back what I’ve blogged in April, “Wow! Might As Well Canon Throw In The White Towel In The Race For High ISO Performance“.

I was wrong. Canon is taking note of the development in the industry, and has come back strongly in the race for high ISO performance after Nikon made a huge headway with it through its flagship high end DSLR camera, the Nikon D3.

Canon is doing that it the medium-range segment of the DSLR market, with the release of the Canon 50D which now tops a whopping ISO 12800.

Canon has been the leader in producing clean images at high ISO performance, unrivalled by any DSLR camera just a couple of years ago.

But the release of Nikon D3 — and the upcoming D700 — has rewritten the rule of the game. Now Canon itself is rewriting the rules in the mid-range DSLR segment.

I just hope the race for the high ISO will trickle down to the entry level segment sooner rather than later.

The Nikon D90 — a high-end entry level DSLR or shall I call it the low-end mid-range DSLR — is seems to be doing just that, pushing the ceiling up to ISO 6400 when others are still stuck either at ISO 1600 or 3200.

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I’ve been thinking of buying a new camera as a companion to my old Canon PowerShot G6, the camera I’m currently using for all images on this blog. Canon has discontinued this model following the production of the G7 and G9. Will there be a G10?

Anyway, I want the new camera to be able to do what the G6 couldn’t.

I wanted to upgrade to a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera but it is going to be expensive. I don’t think I can afford them.

A DSLR would be too expensive

I may be able to afford an entry-level DSLR like the Canon 450D but definitely not the photographic set I had in mind because I would want a good flashgun, a macro lens, a fish-eye lens, a 2x tele-converter, a fast telephoto lens — all of which are worth nearly a year of my salary. Sigh!

So I’m now thinking of another point-and-shoot or point-and-click camera to accompany the G6.

What I want in a point-and-shoot camera

1. The ability to take macro shots in two modes — macro and super macro, and with a possible option of mounting an additional macro lens, which the G6 is capable of doing, and with good photographic result that can almost rival those of the entry-level DSLRs, which the G6 is also capable of doing.

2. The ability to take wide angle shots, which the G6 isn’t able to do as its zoom lens starts at a narrow 34mm.

3. A camera with a telephoto zoom, which my G6 severely lacks as it only has 4x optical zoom, with another 4x digital zoom, but I don’t fancy digital zoom. There is still an option to mount a tele-converter to increase the G6’s optical zoom by approximately 1.5 times but, it is still not enough for my need.

3. High-speed continuous shot, of about 3fps, but is there a point-and-shoot camera out there which is able to do that at full resolution?

4. AE lock feature as well as the usual modes — auto, programme, aperture priority, shutter priority, manual and a host of other pre-programme modes.

5. The most important is the image quality. I want a point-and-shoot camera to consistently produce clean, sharp and crisp images throughout the zoom range. I don’t expect the images to be as good as those of the DSLRs but if I can have the G6 picture quality on an ultra zoom camera, I will be a happy man.

6. High ISO capability, which my G6 isn’t able to perform. Even at ISO 200 the digital noise is visible on the G6. I’ve never shot anything at ISO 400 with it because I hate the grain. I want a camera that able to take at least ISO 800 with minimal noise. I don’t expect a point-and-click camera to be able to perform beyond that even though some claim to have the capability of shooting up to ISO 6400.

7. Fast start up, minimum shutter lag, split-second focusing ability.

8. Flip and twist LCD screen. I find this feature extremely useful when taking picture at an awkward angle; and this has been one of the reasons why I can’t part with the G6. I don’t mind about the LCD screen size. Any size will do for me.

9. This is optional but is has become increasingly needed — the ability to capture smooth video, possibly at 32fps.

But if there are point-and-shoot digital cameras out there which have all the features above, I have yet to find it.

Is Olympus SP-565UZ any good?

However, with the release of the Ultra 20X optical zoom (26mm-520mm) Olympus SP-565UZ, I may have finally found not a replacement of the Canon Powershot G6, but a companion for that trusted old camera. The problem is, I’m a Canon as well as a Nikon guy, but I guess I can embrace Olympus if the product is worth it.

The SP-565UZ has an ultra wide angle of view of 26mm — though not as ultra as I would want it to be; one day I hope to see a sub-20mm wide angle lens from a consumer camera — and a powerful “dual image stabilizer” that combines sensor-based as well as digital-based image stabilisation, which I think is a first for the super zoom camera segment.

According to Olympus:

The SP-565UZ’s powerful 26mm wide angle to 520mm super telephoto zoom range represents a culmination of Olympus lens-making expertise. [...]

Offering 26mm wide angle capability, the SP-565UZ enables users to take even more dramatic landscapes, group photos, and interiors, and its 1 cm close-up shooting capability enables them to explore the world of macro shooting. With the wide zoom range, the SP-565UZ packs all this performance into a single camera.

It also has macro and super macro modes, with focus distance of 0.1m (wide) and 1.2m (tele) in standard mode and 0.1m (wide) and 0.2m (tele) in macro mode. In the super macro mode, the closest focusing distance is 1cm.

High ISO. An auto ISO 80 - 1600 is also automatically selected and it also boasts of high-speed 13.5fps sequence shooting although at a reduce resolution of 3.0 megapixel.

What say you Canon or Nikon?

The SP-565UZ does look like an ideal companion for the G6 but there is still no proof yet of its image quality.

If it is good, then I might as well go for it. That is, if either Canon or Nikon is not already thinking of outdoing Olympus in the 20x wide-angle to ultra telephoto zoom segment. What say you Canon or Nikon? Are you already working on something or are you still reinventing the super zoom wheel?

Posted in Camera Raves and Rants 4 Comments »

These are the seedlings of a type of traditional herb among my tribe. It doesn’t cure anything, I guess but it does help prevent some ailments, according to old folks in my village.

I wish I knew what the scientific name was. Anyway, I had been trying to play with the sunlight when I took this picture. The seedlings were in a pot so I’d get to move the pot around get the best out of the sunlight.

I guess I didn’t get the best. The seedlings on the front look burnout. Maybe a reflector would do the trick.

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Obviously, one cannot tempt the fire too much by getting too close to it.

Posted in Still life Macro No Comments »

Don’t curse the darkness. It’s better to light a candle.

Posted in Still life Macro 4 Comments »

I’m down with quite a nasty fever since the past week or so, but the worst is over now. Am now recovering at home.

The fever that hit me, not sure what it was, was quite bad. I was bedridden for three days — with throbbing head, aching joints, feeling cold and burning at the same time — before it finally subsided.

But the nasty cough remained and I had to see the doctor for prescription.

I told the doctor that I might need antibiotic as well but he said, that wouldn’t be necessary. Okay, I said. You are the doctor, I didn’t say.

So he gave me a bottle of cough syrup — shake before use, the bottle says — and an assortment of coloured tablets. I took them and pray that the medicine works because if it doesn’t, I won’t ever return to that clinic again.

I don’t like to be on medication; I guess nobody does. However, I did find the medicine useful in other ways other than for medication… as a subject for “medicine macro photography.”

Posted in Macro Photography Tips And Tricks, Still life Macro 3 Comments »

Posted in Creepy Crawlies Macro, Uncategorized 1 Comment »

Posted in Animal Macro 3 Comments »