anthroblogia

After getting my camera stolen a couple of months ago, I have finally got a camera again and feel like a real blogger again!

It was weird going to a blogmeet without a camera, and I would find myself reaching for my belt but grabbing thin air...

I'm no expert in cameras, but I liked my previous one (PowerShot S80) because it had quite a lot of manual options which means you can control the aperture and shutter speed; in particular, what I really liked was that the LCD screen would give you a preview of the picture with slower shutter, etc. So even an ignoramus like me could occasionally do some nice night shots and the like.

I don't want a dSLR, although they do good pictures I find them too much hassle to carry round - so although they have got pretty cheap, I was still looking for a 'prosumer' compact. After reading DPReview I found out that my best choices were either the Canon PowerShot G10, or the Lumix LX3; and ShaolinTiger confirmed this, with some extra useful information, as well as prices in Malaysia.

The general consensus is that they are both pretty good, although DPReview recommended the LX3 in the end

"If you want more SLR like controls and a longer zoom - and don't mind the bulk - go for the Canon G10. Me personally? By that point I'm using an SLR. For a carry anywhere 'walk around' camera I'd go for the LX3 every time" (DPReview)

I went and had a look at them: in Low Yat the LX3 was going for RM1550 (but a lot of places were 'stock finish already'), and the G10 was 1750 (cash prices). The G10 is definitely bulky, and the LX3 much more portable, but in the end I went for the G10 anyway because:
• It still has that 'preview' function when using the manual mode
• The lens cap is an automatic close-by-itself one, the LX3 is one that you have to take off and hold it or something (and then lose it)
• There's a three year guarantee on the current promotion, and I had good experience with the Canon service centre here before

So, here are a few photos - first, Lucky looking completely unimpressed with my new camera...


Gambit, however, is practising his best profile

(why do dogs get 'green eye' and not 'red eye' with the flash??)

and this is a random shot of some pastis

Last Friday was the preview of Star Trek, and AMBP had organised a gathering of Trekkies, Trekkers, and Bloggers. This was the second AMBP gathering I attended, last year here.

The event was emceed by the very capable DJs from Red FM


and of course Trekkies/ers were in evidence


There was a treasure hunt organised, which I thought was pretty well put together - but I was by myself and it took well longer than I expected, so I had no chance to win the Gopher GPS which was the first prize. While I was going around the mall searching for clues I saw these happy shoppers


I also met Horng, KY,Suanie and Josh Lim! There were bloggers everywhere!

Afterwards, we took the opportunity to camwhore with Captain Kirk's chair
Continue reading "Star Trek Camwhores"

Today has been procrastination day - for some reason I couldn't get started on anything really... so I've spent most of my time watching Malaysian Dreamgirl (Actually that was yesterday, while writing this I further procrastinated by camwhoring)

I'm not that interested in models and so on, but I like to watch a Malaysian show - the people all seem a bit more real and close to home. The concept of the online reality show is interesting and they are doing a good job overall. Though the bits they have between scenes, the speeded up shots of KL are kind of boring I find - I mean, who needs to see more traffic jams?? Also the relentless plugging of various corporate interests (Beautilicious, Lim Kok Wing, etc...) is tiring.

I like seeing the bits with photo shoots, when they are talking about how to do the poses, etc. It's interesting to see all the work that goes into presenting oneself as a model; and I understand more why some girl bloggers like to try out their different angles and all that when they are camwhoring. In fact, it makes me feel like trying it out a bit - just out of interest and for fun, though it feels kind of silly to me


OK - there you go, me camwhoring. Conclusions: yes I am getting old! Too much smiling and wrinkles shoot across my face like Freddy Krueger or something! Solution? Only show small photos where it’s difficult to make out too much

Which is my best profile? I have no idea - they all look pretty dodgy to me! What do you think?

Back to MDG: I particularly liked the photo shoot in series nine with Jimmy directing them, he explains well what he wants and why he’s doing it; the catwalk episode was OK too, though one of the models looked scarily thin; the other one seemed to be a very conscientious teacher though.

As for the competition. Who would I vote for? I guess Juanita, Dawn, or Shasya would be in my top list. I find Ming kind of boring, and Farah looks so just so uninterested in it all.

Another thing I'm curious about (and why I started to write this post actually) - the MDG film streams really well, much better than YouTube etc. Even when some other sites are taking ages to download - the most obvious reason I can think of is that they pay streamyx to guarantee them full speed on the network. If that's the case, then network neutrality is already history in Malaysia; not good