There has been rumors in the internet on Nikon D700. The most recent (not so recent…already been a month) is some handphone snap photos of D700 brochures by a printer (will he lost his job for this courtesy?). Below are some of the handphone photos from this kind heart person… 
The prism seems quite low…Nikon D3 prism is very high. Full frame for D700 with low prism?
Large, bright viewfinder! Read More
Leica is discontinuing their legendary 50mm F/1.0 lens. There will be a limited final 100 units production before ending the production life of this lens…here are some of the limited edition pictures:
This is sure a luxury and keeper for those who can afford it…available in July 2008. 
Saw this rumor in the net at http://www.thaidphoto.com website…looks quite real…
Specifications
I think this flash looks really cool! Didn’t know there can still be such improvement to a flash…
SAN DIEGO, Jun. 19, 2008 – Sony is expanding its a (alpha) system of accessories to include the new HVL-F58AM flash unit with exceptional features for versatile and flexible external lighting control.
Quick Shift Bounce and Expanded Versatility
This new flash features a new and innovative Quick Shift Bounce system. It offers more creative ways to achieve lighting, flash and bounce angles you may not have been able to experience before.
The flash head can pivot 90 degrees left and right on a horizontal axis in addition to the conventional up and down vertical adjustment. With this system, the camera and flash unit can keep the same orientation regardless of portrait or landscape shooting. This gives a higher degree of flexibility when arranging the direction of light.
For example, you can take full advantage of the flash unit’s built-in bounce card even during portrait shots since the flash head can maintain the same orientation as it would in the landscape position.
Enhanced Operability and Ease-of-Use
A powerful performer, the HVL-F58AM flash unit features a maximum guide number of 58 at 105mm and ISO 100. It recycles (or recharges) in as little as five seconds, approximately 55% faster than the predecessor HVL-F56AM model, so you are ready to capture the next shot. And because it features a quiet recycle charge, there’s no whine to distract you from your subject.
It also has a large, easy-to-read LCD screen that is about 13% larger than its predecessor’s. Its intuitive control layout makes it easy to control flash functions and configure the settings based on your shooting needs.
Wireless Auto Flash Control
This new flash has wireless auto flash control so you can remove the flash unit from the camera and easily light subjects from different angles. Photographers can create soft shadows to add depth to their images and avoid the strong shadows and hot spots that can occur with front lighting. The HVL-F58AM flash unit can also control the ratio of lighting from several off-camera flash units.
Up to three groups of flashes can be set up for optimal, complete control of lighting via a wireless connection. Flash output ratios can be adjusted automatically without having to do tedious exposure calculations. Additionally, you can fire a modeling flash to preview flash effects before taking the picture. Even with multiple units, the modeling flash fires according to the flash ratio you have set.
Advanced Features for Optimal DSLR Performance
One of the flash’s most advanced features is its sophisticated zoom control that automatically optimizes illumination angles that are suitable for either APS-C size or 35mm full frame sensors. This control reduces light “fall-off” at the periphery of images.
It also has an advanced white balance compensation system that gathers color temperature information, complimenting the white balance information reading of the camera. This achieves more accurate results when the main unit is in auto white balance mode.
Other features include: high-speed synchronization at shutter speeds of up to 1/4000 of a second, ADI flash metering, manual flash and zoom (six levels), multiple-flash, and a supplied mini-stand for greater wireless freedom.
Price and Availability
The HVL-F58AM flash unit will ship in September for about US$500 (RM1650) at sonystyle.com, Sony Style® retail stores (www.sonystyle.com/retail), military base exchanges, and authorized dealers nationwide. Pre-orders begin online on Jun. 20 at www.sonystyle.com.
Nikon Malaysia Promotions @ ShaShinKi.com!
16th June ~ 15th July 2008 or while stock last only!
Visit http://shashinki.com/shop/ for more info!
Visit http://shashinki.com/shop/ for more info!
Many speculations have been flying around in the internet regarding how many count Canon DSLR camera shutter can last. Instead of just guessing around, I have decided to refer to Canon Japan themselves. Yes, need words from Canon Japan themselves in black and white (or colour) instead of just verbal talk.
Here’s what I found in Canon official camera brochures:
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III – 300k shutter duration test
Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III – Did not mention in the brochure, other than just “Accurate Highly Durable Shutter”. However the shutter picture is same as the 1Ds Mark III picture, so I would guess it to have the same 300k shutter duration test as in 1Ds Mark III. Read More
Since I have both products in hand, so instead of asking others how is the speed of both (main interest in TEKQ speed), so I did a simple read and write test to the memory card.
TEKQ Professional 233X Ultra Pro CompactFlash (CF) 8GB Memory Card (Lifetime Warranty)
Buffalo MCR-A30H/U2 30 in 1 USB 2.0 High Speed Memory Card Reader Writer
The Buffalo MCR-A30H/U2 30 in 1 USB 2.0 High Speed Memory Card Reader Writer is among the fastest USB reader/writer in the market nowadays, so this should eliminates the bottleneck of the writing or reading speed of the memory card withhold by the card reader/writer.
Test Files
Results
I got this lens few days ago for one of my customer. With his permission, I tested the lens to check for focus accuracy.
I must say that I really like short macro lens. You can go so close to your subject yet still be able to focus.
Depth of field from macro lens at such close distance in macro mode is very very shallow. This creates a very interesting effect especially if you are shooting some “interesting” subjects. For macro, most would have choose to shoot at F11 or more. For portrait or children photography, you can try shoot at the widest aperture, you will love it!
Tamron has recently announced an update version of their very popular 28-75mm F2.8 lens to incorporate built in motor to the lens for the Nikon mount version. This means that the new lens will now be compatible with Nikon D40, D40X and D60 DSLR cameras. Of course, this new version is also fully compatible with all other Nikon DSLRs including the latest D3 and D300. This is a full frame lens, so yes it is fully compatible with Nikon D3…but who on earth that can afford a D3 will want a third party lens on their camera?
The lens is now available at ShaShinKi.com:
RM1,295.00
Lens is directly import from Japan and will be checked/tested before sending to customer.
I am very proud and please to announce that Dr. Teh (dtbh) very first ebook on “Portraiture Post Processing for Beginners” is now available at ShaShinKi.com!
In the busiest shopping street in Osaka, Japan…when night fall…these people will just sit by the side and rest there…no, they are not begging for money…
Noisy version
Clean version
Which one do you prefer?
Took this photo today…
I want to emphasis on the golden sunlight on the dome…so I purposely underexposed the shot by 3 stops, and then enhanced it further in PC.
What do you think?
Went to an electronic store today (in Japan) and got the chance to test and play play with a Nikon D3. I got my new TEKQ Professional 233X Ultra Pro CompactFlash (CF) 8GB Memory Card (Lifetime Warranty) with me, so was able to slot it in and do some test shots and bring them home.
My best model, Megumi was just beside me. Her mum was shopping in a store nearby.
The camera was set to ISO6400 by the previous user or store owner, I did not check the initial setting before taking shots of Megumi…but I think it is great that it is set that way and I can see how good the D3 performed at such ISO! Lens used is Nikon AFD 50mm F1.4.
All photos below are none edited or sharpen in my computer. Only resized and cropped for web sharing purpose.
Here’s a shot that I took (resized for web purpose):
Below are 100% crop (click to view in full):
I must say that I am very very impressed! Not only details are still pertained, but colours are very well and no shift to weird colour matching at this high ISO! (which is always a problem in my Nikon D200)
I received many emails today from members of PhotoMalaysia, asking why their accounts being suspended (it is not) and why PhotoMalaysia site is down (true).
PhotoMalaysia is undergoing an emergency maintenance that must be carried out at the moment. This is not in our schedule actually, as we normally would inform our members in advance before the down time. However, this must be carried out in order for us to continue serving.
Please bare with us for the down time of PhotoMalaysia. Things are under control and PhotoMalaysia will be back to serve more securely, faster browsing and better services soon!
Yours sincerely
KOH KHO KING
Co-Founder / Administrator
www.PhotoMalaysia.com
[ShaShinKi.com]
Aipo Dry Cabinets (Digital Series)
ShaShinKi.com is now the official dealer of Aipo dry cabinet in Malaysia.
All dry cabinets come with 5 years warranty.
All price shown with FREE Shipping within Penisular Malaysia.
Full range at:
AIPO Digital Series AP-102EX Dry Cabinet (102L) RM980.00 
TIPA 2008 Awards
TIPA has announced the 2008 awards to various categories in the photography fields. A quick scan see no sign of Pentax in the list. Some worthable mentioned:
That’s all for the DSLR categories. Sorry…no sign of Pentax (nor Olympus…).
Below are the winners of various categories:
| D-SLR entry-level | Sony α200 |
| D-SLR Advanced | Canon EOS 450D |
| D-SLR Expert | Nikon D300 |
| D-SLR Professional | Nikon D3 |
| Medium Format D System | Sinar Hy6 series |
| Ultra Compact Digital Camera | Samsung NV24HD |
| Compact Digital Camera | Panasonic LUMIX FX-500 |
| Superzoom Digital Camera | Fuji S100 FS |
| Entry-level Lens | Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS |
| Expert Lens | Olympus Zuiko Digital ED 12-60mm F2.8-4 SWD |
| Professional Lens | Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED |
| Prestige Camera | Sigma DP1 |
| Innovative Design | Manfrotto ModoSteady 585 |
| Flatbed Photo Scanner | Canon CanoScan 8800F |
| Small Format Photo Printer | HP Photosmart A826 – Home Print Centre |
| Expert Photo Printer | Epson Stylus Photo R1900 |
| Multifunction Photo Printer | Canon PIXMA MP970 |
| Large Format Printer | Epson Stylus Pro 11880 |
| Fine Art Inkjet Paper | Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk |
| Imaging Storage Media | SanDisk Extreme Ducati range |
| Imaging Innovation | Casio EXILIM Pro EX-F1 |
| Photo Software | Apple Aperture 2 |
| Colour Management System | X-Rite ColorMunki Photo |
| Accessory | Metz Mecablitz 48 AF-1 Digital |
| Digital Accessory | Wacom Cintiq 12WX |
| Photo Frame | Sony DPF-V900/DPF-V700 |
| Expert Photo Projector | Panasonic PT-AX200E |
| Professional Photo Projector | JVC DLA-HD100 |
| Film | Kodak Professional New T-MAX 400 |
| Camcorder | Panasonic HDC-SD9 |
| Mobile Imaging Device | Nokia N82 |
| Retail Finishing System | KODAK Adaptive Picture Exchange(Apex) |
| Photo Kiosk | Sony Compact Picture Station |
| Photographic Display | Samsung SyncMaster XL30 LED BLU |
| Photo Service | CEWE Photobooks |
| Storage Back-up | LaCie 2big Triple |
More info at:
http://www.tipa.com/awa_2008.lasso
Brand New Canon EOS 40D at LOWEST PRICE!
Japan Import Set (one year ShaShinKi.com Warranty (with official Canon Japan warranty. For warranty claim, send to ShaShinKi.com shop in Perak, we will send to Canon Japan at our own cost)): 
Canon EOS 40D (10.1 Megapixel) Interchangeable Lens SLR Digital Camera Body Only
RM3,395.00
Canon EOS 40D SLR Digital Camera with Canon EF-S 17-85mm IS USM AF Lens
RM4,495.00
Canon has achieved their total EF lenses selling record to 40 millions as in February 2008!
Canon EF lens was first selling in March 1987, when they first introduce the new EOS series with fully electronic lens mount in BIG lens mount size!
In Jan 2006, Canon has achieved 30 millions production of their EF lenses, and just around 2 years time, another 10 million accumulated! (Imagine the profit they are making…)
Currently, there are 64 lenses offered by Canon to the world market. If you are rich enough…you can try collect every one of it… 
The very latest and now selling product at ShaShinKi.com!
TEKQ Professional 233X Ultra Pro CompactFlash (CF) 8GB Memory Card (Lifetime Warranty)
Original price = RM255.00. By using the discount code below, you will be able to get a RM100 OFF! Making the memory card price only RM155.00!
Discount Coupon Code (-RM100 Off!): TEKQ-1 (key in the code in the Payment Page at ShaShinKi.com)
Free PosLaju Shipping within Malaysia!
TEKQ Memory card is made in Taiwan (the kingdom of world famous memory card makers), with product life time warranty. The speed of 233X ensures that you are not only getting the big 8GB memory space, but also the high speed performance for your digital SLRs!
Only available at ShaShinKi.com, for a limited quantity for this special offer price only! This offer is originally valid for PhotoMalaysia members only, but now I am offering it to my blog readers. 
Happy shooting unlimitedly!
I have again spent my last weekend in updating the design of ShaShinKi.com, trying to give a more advance and elegant look to it.
The homepage or door to ShaShinKi.com store is still the same. The major changes is the shop part.
In my initial design theme, the main colour is black, with gradient grey and white. My wife said that it is not so good to make the website looks so dark, so I change the background to something more refreshing, but not too bright or unfriendly for the eyes.
I chose red as the main colour of the background, not the bright eye piercing red but dark elegant red. I want the feel of big curtain in an orchestra hall, presenting the store of ShaShinKi.com to the world.
Here’s a thumbnail view of the site:
Besides the background, I have also changed the infobox bar colour to something more 3D and also enlarging the font so that it can be read easier.
Search ShaShinKi.com for photography products – Cameras, Lenses, Accessories…
Testing to see if the codes will work or not.
Update: Yes, it works!
I spent the last weekend in redesigning the product page at ShaShinKi.com, I am pretty happy and satisfied with the results…so here to share with you all my excitement.
I have always wanted to make the product page more user friendly, clearer and easier to browse. With my limited knowledge in php, I have to spend extra time to try and error.:P
Here’s the results:
What are the changes?
1. Product image has moved from right to left.
2. Bigger product image (250 x 250px) now, give clearly view of the product.
3. Clear listing of Brand, Category, Model #, Stock Status, Price and Quantity selection.
4. For product/s with Option, it will be shown below the Price before Quantity.
5. Boxed Picture. Personally I find this makes the image neater to show.
6. Brand name Clickable, to browse products under the same brand.
7. Added a title bar “Product” to the right column of the product page.
I hope this gives a better shopping experience to my customers at ShaShinKi.com. You can see the actual product page in action at:
http://shashinki.com/shop/nikon-full-frame-digital-12mp-live-view-9fps-p-1167.html
Happy shopping!
This post is not a family post…but photography post of some of the scenes I captured during my family Sakura visit to Hiroshima city.
Below is the must visit place for those who visited Hiroshima. The ruptured building was previously the City Hall of Hiroshima before World War II. Atomic bomb exploded right on top of this building…this is the remaining and always serves as a remembrance for the young generations to come.
While adults are enjoying their chit-chatting under Sakura trees, childrens love to play bubbles around…
Yes…everybody just love to sit under Sakura trees and enjoy their meal. Some did BBQ there as well. Weather is nice, not hot and not too cold.
As of March 2008, Epson P-5000 and P-3000 supports RAW format images from the digital SLR cameras listed below:
| Manufacturer | Model |
| Canon | EOS 5D, D30, D60, 10D, Digital Rebel, Digital Rebel XT, Digital Rebel XTi, 1D Mark II, 1Ds Mark II, 1D Mark II N, 20D, 30D, 40D** |
| Epson | R-D1, R-D1s |
| Fuji Film | S2 Pro, S3 Pro |
| Konica Minolta | Maxxum 7D, Maxxum 5D |
| Nikon | D100, D1H, D2H, D2Hs, D1X, D2X, D2Xs, D70, D70s, D80, D50, D40, D200, D300**, D3** |
| Olympus | E-1, E-3**, E-300, E-330, E-410**, E-500, E-510** |
| Pentax | *istD, *istDs, *istDL, *istDs2, *istDL2, K100D, K10D |
| Sony | DSLR-A100, A700** |
The camera models listed here have been tested by Epson and were found to be compatible. Other camera models may be compatible, but have not been tested.
** In order to view RAW images from these camera models, make sure you update your P-5000 & P-3000 firmware to v1.20.
Firmware download at:
For those who are interested…
Markins – the Winner!
Markins are now available at:
After testing over hundreds of lenses…I have come out with a focus test method that I felt is most convincing to myself. I call it:
INDEPTH FOCUS TEST
There are many focus test chart flying around in the internet, I have printed out some and test them using my Nikon D200 DSLR. However, I found those test chart to be NOT ACCURATE, as it mainly influenced by the position and accuracy of the focus sensor of your DSLR. Some DSLR tends to focus on the subject that is of higher contrast or nearer to the sensor. Some differs.
In order to eliminate the camera focusing sensor position “error”, I developed the INDEPTH Focus Test method, there the camera focus sensor will have no problem in locking focus onto the target, and can give accurate focus photo for evaluation.
Below is how I tested lenses that I ordered for my customers at ShaShinKi.com.
Put two cards (with wordings, eg. namecard, so that you can check sharpness of the wordings later) on your table, one with a lens cap at the bottom so that it is around 1cm higher than the other. Focus on the lower card and take a shot (make sure your shutter speed is above 1/200s, or use flash to freeze motion). Take another shot with focus on the upper card.
Distance between card is around 5mm, separated by a lens cap.
When you focus on Card A, Card B should be blurred (out of focus).
When you focused on Card B, Card A should be blurred (out of focus).
Check the sharpness of both shots. It should show sharp on your focused card and blur on the opposite one. Same as the second shot.
Repeat the above test at different focal length if your lens is a zoom.
After the close distance test, try take a few shots at infinity or far distance. Again, choose a subject which have some clear wordings on it so that you can check the sharpness and clarity on your camera LCD screen later.
If your lens is good, all should be sharp.
(Updated on 20th March 2008 with picture. A picture is worth a thousand words…)
Canon EOS 40D + EF 24-105mm F4 L
I have to chance to test this incredible combo recently, ordered by one of my customer and I was instructed to test the set making sure that they are in perfect condition before sending out to my customer.
No, I do not test the set intensively, but briefly within a hour of checking and testing several functions of the camera and lens.
This is really an incredible combo! The Canon EF24-105L lens is so very solidly built, very good to hold and produce stunning quality images!
Fujifilm F100FD just released on yesterday in Japan and I have the privilege to be the among the first to get my hands on one!
The box…
Front view…
Rear view…
Ok…I knew the above are meaningless…I will update with some actual photo tests at various ISO later…getting tired already today…
For your information, the available ISO setting from Fujifilm F100FD are:
Wait for my update “tomorrow”…
Sorry for the late in updating, here’s the continuation of the review:
I ordered a Tokina AT-X 116 PRO 11-16mm Lens for my customer few days ago.
As usual, I check every unit of lens before sending out to my customer. To my dismay, I found the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO 11-16mm Lens that I received on 13th March 2008 (Thursday) is defective. There are some defect or weird pattern on the front element coating. I showed it to my wife and she agreed on the “butterfly” pattern.
The defect is actually quite hard to notice, unless you put it under the correct light angle.
The photo below is under a slightly different angle (see the lens hood angle is different), and you can’t really see or detect the “butterfly” defect:
Here’s a closeup of the butterfly:
For me, it is NOT acceptable, though unlikely the defect is going to be shown on the final image.
Since my customer trusted on me on getting a good copy of Tokina lens, so I always put myself in my customer’s shoe. If I have to pay $$$ for a lens, I would expect it to be “perfect” or “near perfect”. Since I can’t accept this kind of defect myself, so I rejected the lens and returned it to my supplier. I shall receive a replacement on Tuesday or Wednesday.
My apologize to my customer for the delay of delivery by extra few days… 
Yes, I sell the lens at ShaShinKi.com. The Tokina AT-X 116 PRO 11-16mm Lens can be ordered at:
I just did a new ads design for ShaShinKi.com.
230 x 260 pixels – 100kb
Yeah, it is a GIF animation ads. Linking to of course ShaShinKi.com.
I do hope to learn FLASH ads in future, but at the moment I have no idea of experience with FLASH…so can only stick to animated GIF or JPEG.
Comments welcome for the improvement of the ads design.
