Lowepro Stealth Reporter 200AW Review

Few photo companies make better products that are used real photographers than Lowepro. They also listen to their customers - when I complained that their old website had too few pics, they added tons of pics in their new website with different views of the product. Other cos, like Crumpler, are fad products that look good but fade away fast as they are just not usable in the field. I really dont like Crumpler's websites as well. Look at my previous post to see why I sold my Crumpler.

What is a Stealth Reporter (im gonna call it SR from now on) you may ask? Its a stealthy bag that is typically used by reporters since it is so light and fits in so much gear. ok, it is fairly obvious that this is a camera bag, but it doesnt scream - steal me like a Crumpler (to crumpler addicts - cmon guys, stop kidding yourself - it is fairly obvious a crumpler is a camera bag carried by a loaded person). The AW designation means this bag is All Weather and comes with a light grey (hmm 18% grey??) rain proof cover that can at least make sure your gear stays dry until u sprint to the nearest cover.

My SR is the 200 version - its the middle brother in the series - there is a 100, 300, and 400 as well. Its a nice size for a shoulder bag - you can fit in a decent amount of gear - i can fit a single SLR (e.g. D70 with 12-24mm), a spare lens (85mm or 50mm), flash (SB800 or 22s), blower and mini tripod. any more and my shoulder would hurt anyway. The SR is a fairly secure bag. The top flap is fastened to the bag using a single plastic qliklock so it is fast and quiet to take your gear in and out. the middle of the top flap has a zipper so you can reach in and grab your gear wo opening the flap. I dont use this feature as the opening is rather small on the 200 model. The SR comes with a nice shoulder strap and and is lightly padded - there are the usual foam dividers in the bag to partition your gear. The foam isnt as thick as Crumpler but it is adequate and the advantage is you can squeeze more stuff inside compared to crumplers.

Nikon FE SLR

The old fogeys amongst us will sometimes venture into manual SLRs and being gadget freaks, will ask, what is the best manual SLR to start with? For starters, most people will say the Nikon FM2 - "it operates without batteries" they say. Some would recommend the Nikon EM - this is pretty cheap and dandy. The richer folk would say - get the FM3A - but at USD800 for a used copy, this isn't a cheap option. Not me, I would tell you to get a FE.

The Nikon FE is the forgotten cousin of the Nikon FM/FM2.

It was launched in 1978 and it is much cheaper than any version of the FM2 or FE2 that you can find in the used camera market today.

Most people snap up FM2s because of the Titanium shutter (FM2n) and the ability to work without a battery. However, they forget one thing, metering is lost without a battery. Which is where the Nikon FE comes in. This is a camera that is the equivalent of the FM2 when a battery is inserted. With the battery removed, the FE is only capable of shooting in M90 mode - which means it can be triggered with a shutter speed of 1/90s. Not perfect, but good in a pinch. The Nikon FE uses 2xLR44 batt.

I bought my 2 FEs (one black, one chrome) at a bargain basement price of 120+ US dollars each a couple of years ago.

They work perfectly even though both are around 25 yrs old and I suspect they will keep on running longer than me.

The best thing about the FE is that it is an SLR that is pocketable and the feel of using one is magical. It reminds one in this digital age what it means to BE a photographer. To slow down, compose, to meter carefully, hold your breath and squeeze the shutter release oh so gently to get the shot. Now how many DSLR owners do that nowadays? Most shoot in blazing 5FPS in full auto mode.. And the sound of that shutter... utterly mechanical in nature with a nice solid "click". Not a uninspiring "thack" that I heard while using my colleague's Canon 30D.

The bad thing about the FE is that is uses film.

Oh, not the loading part. Loading a roll of film is an incredibly satisfying experience. It feels the same as loading a gun (or a PEZ dispenser) in some ways. Popping a can of film, you get a whiff of the film chemicals which is familiar and organic in a way. You have then to pop the film back of the FE, insert the film canister and insert the film leader into a slot of the camera's takeup spool making sure the sprockets align. You then close the film back, set the film ISO using the ISO dial and you are ready to go. Fire off a few frames (make sure you choose a fast shutter speed like 1/125s) until the avail frames display shows "0".

Rather, its the fact that developing film requires you to go to the store for processing and most people would get a 4R printout (matt or glossy, ma'am?). The resulting printout reflects how that store calibrates their equipment and unfortunately, some are WAY off in their calibration. This means color casts, reds that are too red and greens that are artificial. The papers that these shops use make a difference as well. I would recommend all film users to get their store to just process the film and scan the negatives/positives through a proper film scanner. Once the photos are scanned, treat them in the same way as your digital images. Of course, all this takes time but then, whats time when you want to appreciate photos and color and light?

Rotel RA-02 and CD-02

For audiophiles in the know.. you will always have a period of time where you have 2 sets of equipment.

For me, the Rotel RA-02 and CD-02 were my stopgap amp and cd player of choice pre-Naim. For the price, they are rock solid and are more suited for pop, and rock music.

Update...
I paired them with my Bose Acoustimass 5 for a while, Bose CMI.. seriously. When I got my B&W 600 series (very briefly), I swapped in a Naim 5 and the Rotel quickly got sold off...

Budget Hifi choices

Wanna get a new hifi, i kinda like nad for a long time so decided to use nad parts

Thinking of the following -

cdplayer - nad 542 or 521bee or 513
amp - nad c350 or c320bee
speakers - b&w 602 or kef q1 or monitor audio b2
cables - qed
interconnects - qed or van der hull or kimber

Nikon lens choices

Some of my thoughts on Nikon lens choices for a ....

Film based SLR

street photography - 50D f1.8, 85D f1.8
general - 28-105D, 24-85G
primes - 24, 50, 105

recommended set - 24-85 f3.5-4.5G, 80-200 f2.8D, 50mm f1.8D, kenko teleplus pro 2x, close-up filter set.

Digital SLR

recommended set - 18-70 f3.5-4.5G, 80-200 f2.8D, 50mm f1.8D, kenko teleplus pro 2x, close-up filter set.

Trip to the Singapore Zoo

It was hot! a bit of breeze made it slightly bearable. what wasnt so bearable were the tons of screaming kids everywhere. the animals were tolerating the heat ok.. however, i was more than slightly disappointed in the zoo which had not changed much for the better over the last few years since i visited.

It seems that the administration are pretty much content on what they have so far. Another negative point was that a lot of the animals have been "transferred" to the more lucrative part of the zoo - the so called night safari. lastly, i still question why animals who clearly dont belong in the tropic heat are kept here e.g. the polar bear and the penguins. All in all, i dont think i will be visiting any time soon.

Tried out my new old 70-210mm.. CMI unless you are on a tripod or monopod.. lens blur.

UPDATE in 2006 Oct - we joined Friends of the Zoo bcos of Harry... looks like more zoo going this year!

Favorite places to eat in Singapore

We eat out quite a lot (lecheh to cook for 2 pp lah!) so here's a small listing of some nice hawker food i have tried and like in singapore

noodles/bee hoon

prawn noodles at adam rd
hokkien mee at newton circus or smu
fried kuay teow at west coast rd/zion rd/bukit merah
porridge at zion rd
bar chor mee at bedok north
lor mee at upper circular road
wan tan mee at novena food court
soya sauce chicken at ghim moh
satay bee hoon at chomp chomp/east coast center
vegetarian bee hoon at thomson/maxwell
fried fish noodle soup at bukit merah
dry chili mee pok at tiong bahru
beef hor fun at balestier coffee shop/geylang (opposite 24h you tiao)
kl style black hokkien mee at west coast rd coffee shop
slice white fish hor fun at killeney coffee shop/west coast rd opp ginza
ban mee at toa payoh coffee shop
mee rebus at revenue house/adam rd
laksa at katong

rice/porridge

fish porridge at newton circus
nasi lemak at adam road/changi village hawker/jackies bowl east coast
chicken rice at boon tong kee
claypot chicken at clementi
bat kut teh at balestier
curry rice at tiong bahru
congee at zion rd hawker
duck rice at yu kee franchise
nasi padang at katong coffee shop

others

chicken chop/cutlet at west coast hawker center
toasted bread with kaya at novena food court
chinese rojak at toa payoh blk 177
yam cake at chinatown hawker center
roti prata at thomson rd
pot stickers at people's park
bbq chicken wings at bedok north
"normal" yong tau foo at revenue house
fried/ampang yong tau foo at meridien/siglap/ghim moh
chui kuey at tiong bahru/bedok central
popiah at lavendar food square
curry fish head at muthus at racecourse or at jackies bowl east coast
fried carrot cake at bedok central hawker

dessert

glutinous rice balls in peanut soup at ghim moh/bukit merah
yu tiao, shao ping, bean curd at geylang 24hr place
goreng pisang at toa payoh coffee shop
ham chim peng at margaret drive/ghim moh
bean curd at rochor beancurd

drinks

teh alia at taj mahal at adam rd

Crumpler Budgie Smuggler mini review

Just got back from my short trip to bali, great trip stayed in the bali hilton and travelled to ubud, the mountain areas. decided to post a short review of the crumpler budgie smuggler for a Nikon D70 user..

Capacity
=============
- the main compartment has just enough space for a D70 (or a similar sized non-pro SLR w/o vert grip) with kit lens plus one compact lens
- slightly longer than kit lens OR a flash. in my case, i divided the bag into 2 carrying a D70 (sideways with the grip facing up) plus an olympus mju film p&s with a beanbag on top
- the compartments are very accessible as compared to a backpack model. i found it easy to pull the cam out of the bag while moving..
- the front compartment can store about 5-6 rolls of film, or a PDA + filters..
- other compartment is under the front flap and can be used to hold your memory cards and such but is too thin to hold anything else! - crumpler provided 2 reasonably thick internal dividers (with velcro) but i only used one

Handling and cosmetics
==================
- the bag is made of a tough nylon material and feels rather boxy when carrying it with heavy padding. the specs say its waterproof but thankfully i did not have to verify this!! however, it might not be as weather-proof as the lowepro series with its AW slip on nylon cover...
- the shoulder strap is wide and has comfortable shoulder padding
- there are two straps (hooks?) on either side of the bag presumably to hook other pouches
- i think the bag looks great compared to other makes!!

Other remarks
==================
- the budgie smuggler is ideal if you want to travel light. however if you normally carry more than 2 lenses with a flash or binocs or tripod. you might want to go with larger "messenger-style" models e.g. crumpler 15 love or lowepro specialist aw 100/200
- if you carry more than that it might be advisable to carry a backpack style model e.g. crumpler formal lounge, shrinkle, farmers double etc or lowepro mini-trekker range, unless you have a iron-clad shoulder!

hope you guys like this mini review!

update from 2007- i have sold my budgie smuggler and replaced it with a lowepro sr 200aw. it was a great bag, and i loved the looks, but i just couldnt stand the sound of velcro ripping everytime i had to get the camera out and i was always worried about it in the rain. crumplers are getting too popular with the wrong type of people also... :)

Nikon D70 DSLR

After so long.. and disposing of my c5060, I got a new d70 today. super excited... from what it looks the cam is a blast. Excellent battery life with over 500 shots per charge, and fast shooting makes a large difference from my previous cams.

It comes with a 18-70mm lens.. with the d70's 1.5x multiplier it will be 28-105.. same as my old c5060.. which i sometimes miss bcos of its handiness. It just felt good in the hand. my plan next is to get a longer tele zoom..

UPDATE on 13 may-> i got a 70-210 lens to go with the d70. also a ir remote and some cleaning equipment

Olympus c5060wz

I loved this camera. The feel (solidly built magnesium allow shell), swivel LCD, the size, flash hot shoe, great battery life (BLM-1) and the 28mm wide angle capability made it a unique product that hasnt been matched.

Unfortunately, it had some shortcomings - namely, the slow AF, not so great noise handling and the really weird UI.

For a great review on the c5060 and its predessor the c5050, check out Andrzej Wrotniak's great site at http://wrotniak.com/photo/c-wz/index.html.

My first post

Feeling real bored today so here goes... my first blog!