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N.A.S.A.L. *
Posted by Albert, 2:45:20 PM 30th January 2008 in Pictures

* Not A Show At Laundry

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Tarquin's birthday was a good reason to come to Laundry. This is not Tarquin this is his queen.

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All shots with the Minolta 50mm F1.4 at F1.4 ISO1600. God bless SuperSteadyShot!

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...which, unfortunately, does not help with moving subjects in insanely dark places.

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Dance dance.

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Whoa, check out the lights maaan. Trippy.

Replies: 5

Last Gig Of 2007!
Posted by Albert, 2:32:20 AM 29th January 2008 in Pictures, Geek, Music

It was the No Black Tie Acoustic Countdown one 30th of December 2007.

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Otam, who we all think sounds black.

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We kid you not the kid has the blues the folk and the gravel-y voice to pull it through. Plus some catchy melodies.

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Azmyl Yunor! Good ol' folk singer with a touch of humor.

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Mia Palencia! This lady got a lot of soul.

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Paolo Delfino Gomez! Jason Mraz/John Mayer styled songs about the opposite gender. Of course, he doesn't take upon it too seriously, with some of the funniest lyrics sang that night.

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Reza Salleh! Emotional, heartfelt ballads with lush compositions, and modern rock numbers. *

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Pete Teo is almost the Man In White. Folk, with a touch of something else. *

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Raffique Rashid, yay! Always the one with the funniest stories told in lyrics. He had the most booming, classic, dramatic, macho voice of them all. I don't quite know how to describe it. *

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Shelley Leong! Jazz-tinged musings of life. *

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...and, of course, the violent guitar slapper and tapper, Az Samad.

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This is the double-tap...

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...and another, in double time!

Technical details:

All shots used the Sony Alpha 700 with the Minolta 70-210mm F4 "beercan" lens shot wide open at F4. Yes it's scorchingly sharp. All shots at ISO1600, except the second animation which mixes two sequences of ISO3200 and ISO6400. Finally, the last animation was entirely in ISO6400.

* pictures marked with an asterisk might've been taken by Waifon or Patrick. I'm not sure exactly which but that means my style can rub off on other people wow!

Replies: 17

Blue Skies
Posted by Albert, 2:32:28 AM 28th January 2008 in Pictures

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Pride.

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Hope.

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Prodigal.

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Transition.

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Juxtaposition.

Replies: 8

Sk8
Posted by Albert, 4:02:30 AM 27th January 2008 in Pictures, Jokes

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A filler image, better than nothing on a weekend.

Replies: 2

N.H.M.
Posted by Albert, 10:47:19 AM 25th January 2008 in Love

My new office featured a grand relocation; I am now seated amongst a bunch of quiet workaholics.

We were having lunch with newfound colleagues who usually sat at the other end of the office. Somebody cracked a joke, and I laughed.

"Eh, your laugh is like Lisa's!" (Names changed to protect privacy.)

"Oh really? I've never heard her laugh before even though she sits opposite me. She's always busy at work."

"You know, this means something! You guys are meant to be! Fated! No other people I know laugh the same way!"

Fortunately, Cupid never shot any arrows in our direction.

I know someone who eats Indomee the exact same way I do, and we share the same preference for food and have the same food allergies. Does Cupid shoot?

No.

Why?

While it would be cute, it would eventually be too horribly cutesy for everyone, the way we do everything alike.

(...though an opposite-like couple can still be horribly cutesy, heh.)

Replies: 9

G.I.G.!
Posted by Albert, 4:10:23 AM 24th January 2008 in Pictures, Music

Have A Happy M.U.N.D.A.E.*, 10th December 2007, at No Black Tie.

*musically universal non-destructive aerodynamic experience

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Reza Salleh explains his existence to two white chicks before the show.

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Warren Chan sings soft like a baby.

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Shelley Leong being emo on piano.

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Paolo Delfino, cynical and lyrical.

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Shelley does the double-tapping thing!

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Broken Scar returns!

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50mm F1.4 at ISO6400 on the Sony A700. ISO6400! The color remains the same!

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The superb, amazing, powerful-crooning Najwa! She would blow Alicia Keys out of the water. She made me wish I was a record producer so I'd sign her up on the spot.

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Got a light?

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Got a tissue?

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Got an accompanying guitarist? (For Najwa.)

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Kevin's Geeetar! (Pronounce it like how it is in The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love at 1:52!)

Replies: 5

Ally Fun
Posted by Albert, 1:08:01 PM 22nd January 2008 in Pictures

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* Photoshopped to remove address and chat. Could be further edited to read "boys are mean a lot to me" instead of "boys are mean" hehe.

Doubled my Russians says:
hey wait a minute, you're not pinkpau!

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
i wish i wasnt

Doubled my Russians says:
it's not you! she has color and doesn't look like an elephant!

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
giggle

Doubled my Russians says:
yeah, and she's kinda tallish too
which makes me wonder, how big are baby elephants?

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
very big

Doubled my Russians says:
like, how big? bigger than a pinkpau?

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
definitely

Doubled my Russians says:
okay, what did you do with pinkpau? what do you want with a pinkpau, oh giggly monochromatic baby elephant?

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
giggle! im not saying!

Doubled my Russians says:
did you eat her? she certainly looks delicious

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
no
albert do you know any nice guys who wont break my heart

Doubled my Russians says:
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
*pats*
i'm sure there are nice guys out there who see beyond looks, size and heft
elephants can be endearing and adorable in their own sweet way
so, i'm sure you'll charm some guy's heart with your elephant giggle
i just know it

?.?.?* pinkpau says:
sigh i just keep getting the feeling that all they want are my tusks

Doubled my Russians says:
don't you say that!
i know there are songs about what you got inside that trunk
but not every guy is like that.
a real man will keep you and will respect your tusks till death does you guys apart
i mean, yeah there are those who marry elephants for their tusks and hope for low life expectancy and sell their tusks
no wait, why'd i say that
not that i know anybody who does that!
i just... heard from a bird
you know, those little birds
that hop on the backs of animals and whisper stuff
but you know what TRUE LOVE is?
when you both put your full tusk in each other

Replies: 6

23 Questions
Posted by Albert, 12:03:55 PM 21st January 2008 in Jokes, General

1. What colour pants are you wearing now?
Tan.

2. Do you prefer light or dark haired guys?
Light haired guys. Easier to spot them in a crowd.

3. Are you currently frustrated with a boy?
Yeah man, that punkass hasn't returned my money!

4. Do you have a best friend?
Kawan I semua best kan? Tapi yang hutang I, tak best.

5. Who was the last person you hugged?
The smitten kitten.

6. Have you ever had your heart broken?
Oh yes, she told me she was already together with another guy even before we broke up, and I got up and slapped her. So much for my beliefs in non-violence.
If you follow how I do memes, you'd know some of that is fiction.

7. Have you ever thought of having plastic surgery?
No, my skin is a bit tough and will need metal instruments to puncture and cut my skin. Plastic scalpels do not cut it.

8. Do you like your life?
Why, yes, I do! Wait...

Do I?

Really?

Do you?

Shit, now that you ask it that way... I wonder if I am really happy with my life, or if it's just a reflex response.

9. Do you shop at Hollister?
I don't know where Hollister is.

10. Has one of your friends ever stolen a boyfriend from you?
Yes. There was a time when Mr. Sia was largely missing in action. Watch your back imma gonna get ya!

11. Have you ever jumped in the pool with your clothes on?
Swimwear is a form of clothing, so I'd say... yes.

12. Do you have more friends that are girls or boys?
Let's see - girly males not much (I just don't attract their friendship), boyish males many, girly females not so much (thank GOD!), boyish females some. Thus, more boys.

13. How long have you had MySpace?
MySpace won't tell me, but I first joined because Reza used one of my pictures on his MySpace profile and I wanted to see if he credited me.

Because he's good-looking, has a sexy voice, and gets me into gigs for free, I'll let him off.

14. Have you ever slapped a boy in the face?
No. Is it enjoyable? Will he enjoy it? Do you know any boys who want to be slapped in the face? Drop me a comment, let me know!

15. What are your biggest fears?
Slapping a boy in the face, and then him enjoying it, and then him trying to convince me that it's enjoyable to be slapped by slapping me as well.

16. Has anyone close to you ever passed away?
No, but many people close to me have passed wind.

17. Have you ever cried yourself to sleep?
When I was a baby, and my dad said he was going out to the shop to buy some bread. Father of mine!

18. Have you ever not been able to get someone off of your mind?
A greater challenge is to get someone off your waist.

19. Do you believe in the saying, "Once a cheater, always a cheater"?
No. A good expulsion from school should do the trick.

20. Have you ever had a good feeling about something?
Yeah, every time she calls.

21. Do you ever wish you were famous?
No I didn't. I think somebody else's wish got granted on me instead.

That must mean that somebody else woke up one day with t!ts and a killer ass.

22. Are you currently missing someone?
Yes yes. Oh and I share the missingness of the nation - we're missing Sharlinie! Please find her.

23. Please tag 5 people:
John F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin.

Whatdya mean we can't tag dead people? The morgue does it all the time!

Replies: 4

A Post About My Girlfriend
Posted by Albert, 4:07:22 AM 20th January 2008 in Love

She follows me around. Or maybe, I bring her around.

I see her at work.

She's by my side when I sleep.

I love walking with her, and stopping to smell the flowers.

She hangs around.

She opened up my eyes to new horizons. She captivates and captures. She inspires me.

You have no idea how proud I am of her - I can sit and talk to guys for hours about her. They say I'm bordering on obsessive. They don't know how much more than obsessive it is. She's always on my mind.

And yet, I introduce her to my guy friends. If they like her too, I am all the more happy.

Likewise, she helps me meet chicks! I can't tell you how much I take that for granted, that she's so accomodating.

For she, now she, I really positively love and will feel a strong sense of yearning when I don't see her, and it saddens me that I do have such a strong dependency on her.

I am not afraid to be seen with her. She sits on my lap on the bus and I shoot a straight face at whoever looks at me with very much a disapproving glance. They're just jealous.

And here's another thing to be jealous about - she doesn't mind polygamy, as long as she knows that I love her the most. :)

Which comes to another tangent - I... well, I have not had sexual relations with her. Some say it's very wrong. Am I one to waver to beliefs imposed upon us?

Replies: 21

Bone-breaking Blues
Posted by Albert, 4:06:32 AM 18th January 2008 in Pictures, General

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Kids, watch out when you slam the car door. Make sure any of your fingers are not in the way.

You might break a bone and need surgery. For real.

(No that's not me it's Tarquin. You're a brave man.)

On a more serious note, don't sleep with your arm hanging over a chair! You could get a compressed radial nerve and paralyze your hand like what happened to great guitar shredder Dave Mustaine. Fortunately, he was very determined to getting back to his Megadeth glory days and managed to recover fully.

Replies: 5

Triple J
Posted by Albert, 8:55:50 PM 16th January 2008 in Pictures, Music

29th November 2007 - Juke Joint Jupiter, Laundry Bar! This was Eddy's blues-rocking gig.

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Triple6Poser featuring the multi-talented Khai and his Danelectro.

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Then, there's Henry who plays for the fans.

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And, of course, footstompin' harp-blowin' Eddy.

Yeah there's a bassist and drummer hidden from pictures.

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Good ol' blues jam with Majesty. Yes the familiar dude is cousin to Rithan (of Deja Voodoo Spells).

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Spot the bass slut!

I smelt an unorthodox Jimi Hendrix-like jam. A band to look out for!

They also did The Doors - Love Me Two Times. Fortunately, no naked Red Indian man made a cameo.

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Yummy fans.

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Then, there was Curtis Blues Review, who I finally saw after a long time with a new lineup. This picture shows Eddy making a guest vocalist appearance.

Plus, they finally have a second guitarist again. This was great because Russell could finally have his chunky rhythm chops and buttery leads. There was a slight Stevie Wonder tinge to his cover of Eric Clapton - Change The World. Then, there was a rockabilly The Police - Every Breath You Take. Awesome!

I shouted FREEEBIIIRDDD!

They played Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama. Close enough. "We just need three guitarists" is what every blues shreddin' band says. Every blues band must have a 12-bar blues jam, and they did just that.

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Deja Voodoo Spells! That's the insane shredder Rithan.

He crooned Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Chile Blues (not to be confused with Voodoo Child). He then sequed into the golden Stevie Ray Vaughn version of Jimi Hendrix - Little Wing (with his own insane double-tapping bits added in)!

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Of course, much much later, the actual Voodoo Child intro made its way in between this awesome oriental song.

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Singalong dude.

There was the staple Hendrix cover, Fire, as well.

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Then there was this new punk song which sounded somewhere between The Cranberries and Nirvana, and Queen - Stone Cold Crazy.

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Blues rock chicks are the best. No funky dressing, just straight up woman.

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And that dear sir is the blues.

Replies: 0

They Came From Down South
Posted by Albert, 2:41:22 AM 16th January 2008 in Pictures, Geek, Music

Rewind to The Idea Of North, Alexis Bistro, Great Eastern Mall, some 28th of November 2007.

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Nicholas Begbie on tenor. The young awkward dude.

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Andrew Piper on bass! He looks a bit like Will Ferrell.

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Patricia Delaney-Brown on soprano.

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Naomi Crellin on alto.

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This German vocal-effect-ful song, My Hat It Has Three Corners, was cute!

Some of the songs performed were Sergio Mendez - Mas Que Nada (yeah the song that Will.i.am bastardized with the Black Eyed Peas), The Beatles - Sister Sadie, Sting - Fields Of Gold and Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive. There were also jazz standards which I never knew the names of.

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Then there was Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely (with an excellent vocal harmonica solo by Nick.)

Though, to be honest, I wasn't completely blown away until they did the vocal effect bits. There'd be nothing to set them aside from a top-notch acapella group that does contemporary covers. In that sense, maybe I like unconventional acapella, like simulating the sound of a car starting or rockapella. It gets far more interesting when they simulate the sound of drum rolls!

That said, maybe it takes a finer ear than my rock-corroded receptors to appreciate how they pull off the simpler-sounding, less flashy stuff.

On a technical note, I shot all of these from a table next to the entrance of Alexis. Yes, that's right, all the way at the end. Thanks Nicholas for letting us crash your table! Shot with either the Minolta 50mm F1.4 or Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan at ISO1600 or ISO3200 on the Sony Alpha 700 and cropped a lot to show you how much I can get out of a ISO3200 shot. Interestingly, the noise reduction at higher ISOs on the Sony is luminance noise reduction, not chroma noise reduction like on the Nikons. Debateably the Nikon may look better at 100% because it has monochromatic noise and doesn't have blotches of color... but the Sony retains color fidelity and tone even at ISO6400.

To simulate chroma noise reduction, load a noisy image in Photoshop, duplicate the layer, apply a Gaussian Blur of say 3 pixels, then change the Blending Mode to Color and Flatten Image. Notice that the edges lose color and you get a pastier look.

More on this here:
Alpha 700 shoots the Cirque du Soleil

Replies: 6

Two Fly
Posted by Albert, 8:56:40 AM 15th January 2008 in Pictures, Music

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Fly FM's 2nd Flynniversary, 24th November 2007.

I got a call from a producer/ex-colleague (funny, most of them are ex-colleagues) and I was to pretend to be a mechanic from Jinjang who has a crush on Jules. Uh, right. Jules? C'mon. Her sister, maybe. At least I got VIP tickets!

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So much for that. All we got was a tent with free food, far behind from the stage. The stage is lit in pink here.

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But nothing could Barricade me from Love Me Butch! And so I ran up front. Okay, the first picture should come here in sequence but it's so cool it should be up first.

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Altimet!

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James Baum and Dina of Malaysian Idol!

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Ahli Fiqir gets their angguk-ing and geleng-ing. Not my cup of tea; their beats annoy me the same way Black Eyed Peas do.

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Gimme the mike, gimme the mike yo. Most shots stalked with the great Minolta 70-210mm F4 beercan.

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She went off stage to have a singalong. Those up there above Delicious had a better view without having to get tickets!

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Next up, venerable shredder rock band Deja Voodoo Spells!

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By then, it was evident that each band was allocated only 2 songs or less, so they hacked it into a long, long jam with a bass solo (playing the Doraemon theme!)

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Rithan knows the guitar like the back of his head.

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Tremblin' tremolo!

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Melissa Indot.

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MUSE-like Meet Uncle Hussain.

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It's Superman!

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The insane crowd, sadly, came mostly for Hujan. Fortunately Hujan was at the end of the live bands so the crowd wouldn't leave until then.

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Transcient Vortex, Jungle Jerry and Bass Agents played after that but I didn't stay.

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Oh, and of course, fireworks! Which big concert doesn't have them these days? I know the hitz.fm 10th Birthday Bash did!

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Rainin' fireworks.

Replies: 7

I Ex 9xi
Posted by Albert, 7:20:02 PM 13th January 2008 in Pictures, Geek

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Some mamak in town, I met up with some A-mount hackers. This is the coolest sling bag I've seen, which would fit my style if I liked having a camera on my back.

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A deceased Minolta 9xi, the world's fastest autofocus SLR back in 1992. God bless its soul.

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The pentaprism.

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Full-frame mirror assembly next to an APS-C sized mirror on the Sony Alpha 100.

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Viewfinder and the LED display below.

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The shutter assembly was some amazing design - it had 2 shutters coming from top and bottom, and this enabled the world's fastest shutter speed of 1/12000th of a second. (And a flash sync of 1/300th of a second.)

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Two powerful motors - the left one advances the film at 4.5 frames per second, the right one definitely drives the screw that focuses the lenses. This was the fastest AF body in 1992 (and its motor was seen in the Minolta Dynax 7, too.)

In between those two is the AF unit, with 3 hex screws. These 3 screws, accessible from the bottom of the camera under a sticker (which carries over to Sony dSLRs, even) can be adjusted to fix backfocus, frontfocus and alignment problems.

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A rather dark screen. David the owner/hacker says Nikon did this part a lot better.

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Of course, Minolta designed this better - the 5xi also has this wide grip. Notice that the thumb does not curl up at all. The thumb rests comfortably. While it did look odd when I saw a 7xi, I finally understood why.

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Screw you. No, screw lenses.

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This is as much as we could piece together. The AF/MF switch (below the lens release, not clear in picture) is not a switch but a spring-loaded toggle. Very useful (though a 2-position switch is easier for n00bs to remember if they're in AF or MF mode.)

Justin then enforced brutality upon it to further disassemble the already broken shutter assembly.

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The mirror, and the half-mirror underneath that reflects some light to the AF unit below.

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Very hard to wipe clean.

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Internally, a lot of parts were Mitsubishi chips.

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The shutter assembly was made by Nidec Copal Electronics.

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Date of birth. 24th September 1992.

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Motor.

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(Cut to Ament's pop-up flash diffuser, blu-tacked to the hotshoe cover. What, your camera does not come with a hotshoe cover?)

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Ament with the A-mount bling.

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Justin enforced more brutality and got this - the AF unit. The shiny bits are the microlenses that focus light onto the AF sensors.

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Four AF points.

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Surprise a lens cap shot! Oh, and all shots were taken with either my Minolta 50mm F1.4 or Justin's Sony 100mm F2.8 Macro. It is a superb lens, with great liquid color and bokeh. I dare say better than the Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro, because it does not make tiny specks look like donuts. The Tamron does that and it's not pretty!

Replies: 4

A200 and the 300mm!
Posted by Albert, 1:18:59 PM 10th January 2008 in Pictures, Geek

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Shots from the Sony Roadshow in Midvalley Megamall:

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Pre-sale Sony A200 for RM1999 with kit lens and 2 GB memory stick.

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EXIF included.

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100% crop of the ISO1600 image. To be fair, I picked a darker area of the picture to show you how much noise will appear in the midtones. It gets much cleaner in brighter areas.

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EXIF included.

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100% crop of the ISO3200 image.

It seems that the A200 lies somewhere in between the A100's decent ISO400 and the A700's decent ISO1600. I didn't shoot at what would theoretically be the A200's decent ISO800.

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The camera feels nothing like how the studio shots portray it; the right thumb rests on a very, very nice candybar/soap shape. Some people have complained of the A100/A700's "chins" stabbing the flesh of their thumb but I think this will not happen with the A200.

The buttons were a wee bit small (being used to A100 Nintendo-gamepad-size buttons.) The D-pad was excellent, even better than I remember on the A100. The body feels more unified, unlike the A100 which had different textures front and back.

I LOVED that the switches were much less rigid. On the A100 the AF/MF switch was a pain to flip. On the A200 it feels like a spring is helping you.

Quick Navi is not implemented as is on the A700, sadly - instead you press the Fn button and you see a menu of 6 functions. I prefer this to turning a rigid dial on the A100 as it's truly all in your right thumb now!

When I tried the A200 with Sony 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 DT, I saw the focus slide smoothly in, and recognized that giddy feeling from when I first tried the A700. Yes, they got the fast motor!

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It can track with 3 FPS with the 16-105mm. Comparing it with the A700 in 3 FPS Drive Lo mode it felt the same!

Of course, going back to a 2.7" 320x240 screen is a bummer. You do feel it. They retain the speedy scrolling through images. Go Sony! (Show this feature off to Canon users, whose 40Ds will wear out fingers just rolling dials.)

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More EXIF!

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To be honest, I am not fully convinced on SSM, USM or SWM. They all feel the same - smooth, but not always working as easily as you'd expect on super tele lenses. It felt like when I touched a Canon EF 600mm F4L IS USM and wasn't impressed.

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The one shot that got away due to a safe ISO800 instead of ISO1600 on their demo A700 unit. If only I'd set it to ISO1600, you wouldn't see motion blur as she flutters her eyes.

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Bokeh is of course superb and liquid. I dare say it has liquid bokeh priority, sharpness second, ala Minolta.

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Sorry guys, there is no Depth Of Field Preview button.

Funny thing is, the 3 main things that the Sony A100 had over all other brands, which I was proud to point out and used extensively, are missing in the A200.

- Direct Manual Focus
- AEL button becomes Spot Metering Toggle
- DOF button (which doubles as AE and AF lock, did you guess?)

Replies: 19

So Neee-ar
Posted by Albert, 12:37:49 PM 8th January 2008 in Pictures, Geek

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Yes, the Sony Alpha 200 has been announced, as the successor to the A100.

Differences:
  • 2.7" screen (A100 had a 2.5")
  • ergonomics and more relevant buttons like the return of the ISO button, and something like Quick Navi on the A700. No more dialling with the A100!
  • improved noise control with ISO3200 maximum (to be found out, despite it using a 10.2 megapixel CCD sensor)
  • AF is 1.7x faster than the A100, with better AF tracking
  • quieter shutter sound (the A100 shutter sounded manly but loud, which some people may like)
  • auto pop-up flash (I don't like it as I find this very annoying and n00bish, if I want flash I'll pull it up myself. Fortunately it doesn't in PASM modes)
  • battery indicator in percentage (A100 has 4 bars ala Nokia phones)

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I love the top view design.

Personally, I prefer its design to the A100. There is a more streamlined design especially on the top, where it takes on the handlebar-shape of the A700. There's no more silly A100 dial on the left; the ISO button returns, and you can see a silver O-ring like the A700 for future weather-sealed lenses.

The only thing I find kinda tacky is how they wrapped "10.2 megapixels" along the AF/MF switch.

You can try the A200 and A700 at the Sony Alpha Roadshow!

When: 10.00AM - 10.00PM, 9th - 13th January 2008
Where: Centre Concourse, Mid Valley Megamall

There's also the Sony 300mm F2.8G SSM, which isn't spotted in shops anywhere!

There are also contests - Alpha owners can enter a competition and win the Sony 16-105mm F3.5-5.6 DT, while those without can win a Sony H3.

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Also up and coming is the Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 ZA with T* coating and Super Sonic Motor! This will be the Sony A900's standard lens (or whatever they want to call their full-frame camera). To get this range on APS-C you'd need a 16-45mm F2.8.

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There's also a leaked picture of a possible Live View swivel-screen Sony. The Fn button, directional keypad and vertical grip match those seen on the A200. There's also a Live View button on the top-right corner! The vertical grip on the A200 is called the VG-B30AM (and not the VG-B20AM... which hints that the vertical grip was meant for something called an A300.)

Thus, we can guess that there will be a Live View swivel-screen Sony A300. It's not using the A700's VG-C70AM vertical grip so it has less buttons and thus, is less advanced than the A700.

Also, check out this video - Santana Featuring Chad Kroeger - Into The Night.

An unidentified camera, which seems to have the A100's interface, may be another new development from Sony - it can trigger a flash without the pop-up flash being raised!

You can spot the camera at 1:46-1:56. It fires flashes magically! AMAZING!

I don't quite like Chad Kroeger, or any of Santana's rather bland recent stuff, but I felt a glimmer of hope when he did a rock-and-roll solo at 2:11. Though, sadly, that's just rock-and-roll, nothing... Santana.

And now for some sad news.

Herbert Keppler, the former publisher of Modern Photography and Popular Photography (as well as being on the Minolta team when they developed the quick-release iTTL hotshoe) passed away on the 4th of January.

In Memoriam: Herbert Keppler, 1925-2008

His column, Speaking Frankly, is one of the very few that I subscribe to on Firefox. The moment I found it, I traversed the archives and learnt a lot more about camera and lens history.

Replies: 12

The Singer Songwriters Round number something
Posted by Albert, 3:53:03 AM 4th January 2008 in Pictures, Music

15th November 2007 - the Singer Songwriters Round in No Black Tie!

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Pete Teo, folk singer/indie movie star who founded the round.

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Melina William, who played her Tempered Mental progressive-rock stuff all on acoustic, because she wrote all the bits and riffs and chord changes and can thus superhumanly play them all at once. This was why I came, really; to see her infuse basslines, riffs and licks from her band's songs. Oh, and sing atop all these complex rhythm changes, too!

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Reta is transfixed.

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"Hold... still... hold... still..."

Knowing that most people look hilarious or have something stuck up their nose when they look through a viewfinder, I don't close my other eye unless I'm manually focusing on darker lenses.

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Azmyl Yunor, ever the solid folk singin' busker dude.

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Mia Palencia, superb jazz and soulful voice.

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And then it was open mike, with Raffique Rashid dragged up (according to him, from his grave) and he played somewhat uh... dramatic folk? His storytelling voice was haunting, and yet had immense machoness. Songs like Dylan (and some other thing about a woman scorned) were hilarious!

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Reza Salleh and his alternacoustic rock.

Replies: 7

Randomate
Posted by Albert, 2:08:13 AM 3rd January 2008 in Pictures, Travelling

Jeremy wished me a Happy New Year, and may this year be more random than the last. So here's some randomness!

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Shrek ears!

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Which way is up?

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This beer is real gassy.

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Looks like somebody's been reading too much I Can Has Cheezburger.

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Y'know, this one.

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Who tiled Kenny?

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Just what does the design of the crocodile pliers remind you of?

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Upskirt. I did not discover this view. That honor goes to another pervert.

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Midvalley Gardens. Pinnacle of modern creature comforts and *in Chinese accent* Capitalism!

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While opposite, lies the ruins of a village.

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Zoom 100%!

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I've always wanted a place nearby the Bangsar LRT station; it's nicely in between everything.

Replies: 10

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