Beauty in a Small Package..

I have the oppurtunity this weekend to try out my other half's new compact digital camera purchased at Foto Selangor on Saturday afternoon (after the BJ Carnival). I convinced her that for getting the value for money, the best compact camera at the moment is Ricoh Capalio R5. I have been reading many magazines and also did a bit of research on this camera and after actually fondling with this camera at Foto Selangor, I myself was convinced that this is indeed a remarkable small camera. The deal at Selangor Foto was completed within half an hour after we also tested many small compacts such as the Canon G7, S3-IS, and also Olympus 550. In my opinion, the price we paid at RM1080 (including 1GB SD Card) was a bargain considering that this camera is sold for more than 250 Pound Sterling in UK.



A bit on this camera, the new Ricoh Caplio R5 digital camera features a 7.1x optical wide zoom lens (28–200 mm in 35 mm camera format). Combining the Caplio R5’s Ricoh-original CCD-shift vibration correction method and brand new image processing engine greatly expands the range of shooting in low light areas producing high quality images at even higher ISO settings with low noise.

The camera’s macro mode allows close in shooting of objects from a wide macro 1 cm to tele macro 14 cm. This is one feature that I could not find from other units we tested at the shop thus enhanced my confidence on how good this camera is. Another feature that made us fall in love with this camera is on its ability to also capture movie clips. They movie image might not be as good as a DVD quality image but hey, we are more focus on still images here and not into movie making.

So, on Sunday morning, we tested the new compact and here are some results which I would say, quite good for a compact camera. The first four photos were taken using the camera's Macro Mode and the next four basically using the Landscape mode. By the way, the crescent moon in the starting photo was taken using the Macro mode with me holding the camera very close to my telescope eyepiece and I feel satisfied with the result.

OUR VERDICT

The results from our tests convinced my other half that the choice for this compact camera was a good one. The macro capability of this camera is superb and this is helped by the anti-shake mechanism built in the camera making the use of a tripod unnessary. The images are sharp and almost resemble to those produced by my DSLR. However, the telefoto zoom does generate some noise close to maximum zoom when the image is blown up for viewing the details. Well, you can't violate the rule of physics here. Small lens means lesser amount of light can enter the CCD sensor and thus image captured will be less detail as compared to the bigger SLR lenses.

For such a small camera, I think this camera can be a good second to a full-fledge DSLR especially when we want to travel light. But of course, you can't be that creative when using a compact as practically, you will not have any control on aperture or shutter priority functions unlike all DSLRs. Pricewise, this camera is among the cheapest with all those capabiliies.

In short, this camera is very portable and beautiful design with an eye to robustness and quality. I strongly recommend this camera for those intent to start with creative photography but don't have a big budget for a DSLR.

2007 Bukit Jelutong Carnival

On Saturday Mac 24th, I took my other half and my son to the BJ 2007 Carnival. Unlike previous years, the carnival for this year was being held in front of the Guthrie Pavilion along the Persiaran Tebar Layar and facing the undeveloped area in front of this BJ landmark . From the published schedule, the carnival was to start at eleven in the morning but we were already there half an hour early as we were actually on our way to KL.


Since we were quite early, we did not have problem locating a parking space nearby the Guthrie Pavilion. The first thing that we could notice from afar upon approaching the carnival area was the presence of the Guthrie Hot Air Balloon. We could see there were already many people lining up to taketheir turn to 'fly' on the balloon although the line was not that long. I was told that it cost RM10 per person for this ride and also some health declaration form that needed to be filled up for any interested visitors before hopping up on the balloon basket.I initially thought this might be a good idea because if I am up there on the balloon basket, I could get a nice view of the carnival for my photos. However, I didn't fancy the idea of waiting in line and thus decided to abandon this idea.


There were several luxury car promotions under the makeshift tents and we could see cars like Audi TT, Brabus, Jaguar and many more on display. There were also many tents selling food and also many merchandise items on promotion. Many companies like ASTRO , Insurance, and others were also seen to have booths in this event. Carnival atmosphere was omnipresent as there were several clowns entertaining the little ones and giants temporary 'play-pents' could also be seen nearby the golf driving range.


We spent nearly an hour exploring the carnival venue and I think the organiser of this event has done a very good job. Although I did not buy anything or play anything as we are running out of time and in a bit rushing to KL, I can sense that the carnival was a success. Hopefully, Guthrie can continue make this event and annual affair for the joy and benefit ofBJ folks.