DR KOH KHO KING

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…)

Just updated some new smilies to my blog…I like smilies…but I don’t like the one that WP supplied.

Here’s mine…

smilies	smilies
8)

Now I can smile more often…

My brother in law asked about this shoe today…I thought it is kinda interesting and nice. Seems pretty cheap at ebay, less thanUS$100, while it is selling at over US$300 in Japan!

Descriptions

Nike celebrates Finish Line’s 25th Anniversary with an exclusive collection like no other. Inspired by athletic achivement and iconic moments of the last few decades, they’ve blended performance with style, unique materials and color together with stories that have shaped both companies times. Each shoe in this exclusive collection is about dreams becoming reality and athletes becoming heroes. Charles Barkley and his team dominated the court in Nike Air Force 180 shoes to become legends. Draped in red, white, blue and gold, this premium hoops shoe is about to conquer the court fo a second time.

Shipping from USA to Japan is a hefty US$40 charged by the ebay seller…more than 50% of the selling price…hmm…total will be around US$120…hmm…I don’t wear sport shoe actually. Need to think again…and again…and again…

I have been using Paint Shop Pro program since version 4…that was more than 7 years ago…and I just love this program.

Why not photoshop? One of the main reason for me to go for Paint Shop Pro during the early days is because it is a FREEWARE. Yes, free to download and use on your computer. That was in version 4 and version 5. Version 9 and later is a paid software, but later Corel bought JASC and the last version from JASC was version 10. Version 9 was later given as a free software together with Lexar professional memory card, which is definitely a very very good value!

How is Paint Shop Pro as compared to Adobe Photoshop? For me, it does everything I needed in photo editing. Curve, contrast, brightness, unsharp mask, crop, border, layers, etc. It also is much easier to use and less resource hungry like photoshop. I can start and use my PSP within 5 seconds after launching, but for PS, I have to wait for 10s or more. Of course, if you have very fast PC, you might not notice the difference.

Today, I download the 30 days trial version of PSP from Corel website. I was already about to BUY already (already in the PayPal page, one click away from paying), but since there is a 30 days trial, I thought why not? I clicked the cancel order button and went back to download the software to try out first. The latest version is Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and my experience with PSP is mainly based on version 6. I want to see how much improvement it has after Corel bought over JASC, and the US$89.99 is worth spending or not.

What I am expecting from the latest version which I think is lacking in the dated version 6:

• Better noise removal
• Faster processing
• RAW file processing (version 6 can process raw file but loading takes ages…)
• More features on borders, templates, effects…etc.
• Smarter one step photo fix (available in version 6 as well, but I wonder if there is any surprise in the latest version)

Basically, that’s it. I don’t really need a software that has tones of features that I don’t use but burden down my computer.

Now…let’s see some examples that I run through PSPPX2 just now. The photos below are taken using Nikon D200 at IS3200, I set the camera at high ISO the night before and forgot to set it back to low ISO. My wife used the camera the next day to take Megumi’s photos… Originally posted at: 看我笑得见眼不见牙

(Take note that the before images are already of some processing previously…which used automatic batch process…hence the quality still not so good and some sharpness already lost)

Before

After PSP

Before

After PSP

You have to click the photo to appreciate the difference. There is a nice Skin Smoothing command in PSPPX2 which I find it delivers good results. The above is just a quick test…I will have to get some RAW files to test it further, but I think I am definitely going to buy one before the 30 days trial period ends up.

Yes, Megumi has a very special new year shirt…we purposely bought this for her. We bought it few months before…and you can see it is a bit tight now for Megumi…hahaa…but it is all worth it.

Photo for remembrance, as I don’t think the shirt can fit her again next year…

Megumi:”Do I look like a mouse? Red Golden Mouse?”

“Papa…help!”

Actually Megumi fall sideway after I took the first photo above…she still can’t sit well especially on the soft bed.

Got a new PC yesterday…what a surprise!

They said I am the senior in the laboratory, so the new PC is for me. Yes, there is only one new PC, but there will be another few coming in April 2008 (few months away), which will be given to to the other few “seniors”.

Just managed to migrate all my data and files today, also have to remove all sensitive information in the old PC…

Specifications?

• Intel Core Duo 3.00GHZ – E6850
• 3GB Memory
• 300GB HDD
• 19 inches LCD monitor
• Microsoft optical mouse 3000
• Speaker
• Keyboard
• DVD-RW

Very fast as compared to my previous PC…I am a happy man.

Yes…you read it right. In fact, this is not the first time…last year Microsoft offered to buy Yahoo! as well, but was turned down by Yahoo!. Now, Microsoft tries it again after the old CEO just stepped down (due to poor performance in directing Yahoo!).

Is Yahoo! for sale? Is Google for sale?

Yahoo is not performing well…in fact, you can use the word BAD. The reason is simple, Google. People are switching to Google for their internet browsing and using habit. I use Gmail now as my main email (Google space outgrow my email growing space), Gchat for chatting (not the only one though, together I use Live Messenger as well as Skype), Google Earth when I need to find a location, Analytics for my website statistics, Adsense to get some $, etc. Eh…I left out the most important one…I use Google to SEARCH!

How about Yahoo!? I don’t use Yahoo Messenger nowadays, I don’t use Yahoo mail nowadays…I don’t use Yahoo to search nowadays…Yahoo? Hmm…I don’t remember using any Yahoo service now.

So…is Yahoo dieing? Not yet…but I believe Yahoo is definitely in trouble. Microsoft sees it. In fact, Microsoft is worrying that they might be the next Yahoo and get swallow up by Google…so they want to get Yahoo now in order to retain some market share to fight the “don’t be evil” Google.

How much? US$44 billions. I don’t know exactly how much that is…but I remember Youtube was sold at US$1.65 billions few years ago by Google. I guess Microsoft should have bought Youtube…as it is definitely the most successful online video sharing site nowadays. Yes, I use Youtube service. When Google bought Youtube, many asked if Google overpaid…but now it seems cheap to me (seeing how much influence Youtube has on the internet).

Back to Yahoo…so is it sold? Not yet, for now. Yahoo share up nearly 50% after Microsoft announced the buying news. Those insiders must be laughing all the way to the bank now…

Rumors that Yahoo might seek other buyers alternatives, e.g. Apple. Yes, I think Apple has a more healthy image than Microsoft…and people like Apple. Yahoo + Apple = New Life. Steve Job is definitely one of the smartest guy in the world. With him guiding Yahoo, there might still be chance to survive. Microsoft? They can’t even survive on their own now…not sure how they can inject new life into Yahoo.

By the way…Yahoo…if you are listening…you should launch your Publisher Network to people outside USA. I have been waiting for more than a year…and you still not including internet users from other country to join. There are many people who can’t use Adsense, or have been banned by Adsense, they want alternative and I am sure Yahoo is the best alternative to Google. You should grab this chance, opportunity…but after one year waiting…you are still not progressing. What a shame…what a disappointment…

Rolleiflex MiniDigi AF5.0

A new 5 megapixel mini digital Rolleiflex, for those who knows the difference!

Specifications

• Effective Image Size: 5MP （2304×2304 pixels)
• Lens: 4.9mmF2.8
• Focus Distance: 10cm to infinity
• Memory Storage: miniSD
• Monitor: TFT 1.1 inches
• Body Colour: Black and Red
• Battery: CR2
• Weight: 100 grams
• Origin: Japan

I relaunched BlogMalaysia.com last week, after a database corruption and lost over hundred of entries in BlogMalaysia.com.

What is BlogMalaysia.com?

It is a website that list out all the URL address of bloggers in Malaysia. More like a yellowpages.

After the relaunched, I reconfigure the system to allow only registered members to post links. Why register? By registering an account at BlogMalaysia, member can later login to edit the Links if there is any changes to the descriptions or new URL of your blog. Without registration, this cannot be done and can’t be edited by the blog owner. In long run, this is a better way than having blog owners contacting me each time they want to change or edit their blog information.

It has been a week + since I relaunched the site…so far there are 13 members/links registered. Almost like one new member a day…hmm…not as fast as I would have hope for.

I have been promoting BlogMalaysia.com at PhotoMalaysia.com and ShaShinKi.com, these two websites have many visitors daily. I have thought of using paid advertising to promote the site…but it is a bit burden for me at the moment…so will let BlogMalaysia.com grows by its own for the time-being…

If you have a blog and are reading this…do head over to BlogMalaysia.com and register your blog there. It is Free and it promote your sites to more visitors and audience without having you to pay a cent.

This is the first heavy snow in winter 2007/2008. Not the first snow, but the first heavy snow.

Was waiting and hoping to have this kind of heavy snow…glad that finally able to see and experience it “again”. Yes, in winter 2005/2006, there is an even heavier snow and it was right before Christmas.

Winter 2006/2007 was a warm one. No heavy snow and melt right after it snowed.

The heavy snow happened on Sunday morning (20th Jan 2008). Megumi, Lydia and I still drive to church, as the snow isn’t very strong yet and the road was still not frozen. During the Sunday service, the snow continue. After church, around 12noon, the snow became even heavier.

Right after Sunday service, youngs and olds all starts the snow fight!

Read More

How fast is your memory card? How fast is your camera writing and reading speed? How fast is your computer writing/reading speed? How fast is your card reader?

Does it really matter?

A friend of mine, Aaron Kok took up the trouble and spent time to do the test below. Hope you will find it useful.

Camera – 1D Mk3

PC – Sony Vaio notebook – Centrino 2ghz

Card Reader Tested

- Buffalo PCMCIA CardBus (RCF-CBA)

- Buffalo MCR-A27

CF Card Tested

- Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB

- Sandisk Extreme III 2GB

- Lexar Pro 2Gb 80x

- PenDrive 4Gb 155x

SD Card

- Kingston 2Gb Elite Pro SD

Tests are NOT scientific, just done to satisfy myself to purchase cheaper cards . Tho keep in mind on reliablity. So far only cards have failled me is kingston CF and Lexar Pro. Kingston was exchanged for Sandisk and Lexar was replaced. Lexar works fine now.

Buffer Clearing Tests. 6 shot burst. Time calculate from 1st shot till camera stops writing via the write light..

Test done by taking photo of a clock and taking final shot when buffer clears. Error of approx +-1 sec. All these are done via eyes and just the windows clock, not an actual timer.

Compact Flash

- Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB - 6 seconds

- Sandisk Extreme III 2GB - 6 seconds

- Lexar Pro 2Gb 80x – 10 seconds

- PenDrive 4Gb 155x – 20 seconds

SD Card

- Kingston 2Gb 50x Elite Pro SD - 6 seconds (it feels as it it clears much faster, will need to do more bursts to test)

There are differences in some card when it clears the buffer. Some will show the buffer dropping smoothly, some clears 1,2, then wait, then clears another 3, then wait and clears ones.

Card to PC – 200MB Multiple RAW Files

Buffalo PCMCIA

- Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB - 20 seconds

- Sandisk Extreme III 2GB - 20 seconds

- Lexar Pro 2Gb 80x - 25 seconds

- PenDrive 4Gb 155x – 30 seconds

Buffalo USB

- Sandisk Extreme IV 4GB - 15 seconds

- Sandisk Extreme III 2GB - 13 seconds

- Lexar Pro 2Gb 80x - 20 seconds

- PenDrive 4Gb 155x - 18 seconds

Credits to:

• http://www.aaronkok.com/ 

Found this photo in my hard drive…so instead of just deleting it…I thought I should at least give it a chance to share to the world…

Yes, I took this photo quite some time ago.

You can click for very high resolution file (1500×1500 px)

Take note of the circuit/electronic contacts. It is located on the rear element itself. For F1.2 aperture, the lens element has to be very big, hence no space for the electronic contact except on the lens itself. Incredible design.

As informed by our forum member, silentshutter, we are proud that PhotoMalaysia has once made itself to the major newspaper, New Straits Times, New Sunday Times, on 13th January 2007 in Malaysia!

Scan/Photo by: azerak01

• http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/S…le/index2_html

BlogMalaysia.com – Malaysia Bloggers Directory!

What’s the hottest thing on planet now?

Yeah…blogging…

A new phrase in the late of 20 century, so very popular now in the 21st century.

What is blog? It is more like a diary, a personal webspace to post one’s thought and sharing. Blog becomes so popular with the boom of internet and many free blog space given out by big companies (eg. Google).

For those who have their own domain, the most popular free blog management software out there is probably WordPress. Yes, free but so feature rich! Yes, I am using WordPress for my blog as well. It manages my blog nicely, and the new version has some simple but practical WYSIWYG features for me to type my blog entry sufficiently.

Now…back to the title of this post – BlogMalaysia.com!

I got this domain from Brian (founder of PhotoMalaysia.com) last year, after Brian decided to discontinue free blog offering and let the domain expired. The domain was registered by Brian in July 2004, and was expired on July 2007. Brian has to pay a little extra money to renew the expired domain after it expired (US$10 or US$15 penalty?) and renew with one year fee (US$8.99) to get back the domain, and later transfer it to me. For me to receive the domain at my registra, I have to add another year of subscription. Of course I paid all the suspenses. For me it is still very cheap to get a nice domain name. Quite impossible to register such domain name again nowadays, as most are already grabbed by others.

So, what am I going to do with the domain? My personal blog? Nah…I don’t want to use that domain name as my personal blog. I actually plan to make a Malaysia Blog Database or Directory, with as many Malaysians blog URL as possible. I found a nice software for the project, and found a nice template design for it…but not as perfect as I hoped. Modification and study structure of the software are a must, if you want your site to be unique and looks good, you need to pour in your effort.

I did a basic design for it few months ago…and try to gather as many bloggers info as possible to key into the database. But one thing I knew, I can’t survive like this. I don’t want to key in the info myself, I want bloggers to come and register their URL themselves at BlogMalaysia.com!

How? Honestly I have no idea. It is hard to promote a new site…very hard actually. Online forums will definitely not allow me to promote BlogMalaysia.com for free, and I do not have a budget for advertisement (maybe I shall find some budget for advertisement…).

Today, since I was quite free and have the mood (most importantly), I revisited BlogMalaysia.com and did some changes to the template design. Below are some of the improvements that I have done in the last couple of hours (yeah, learn something new too):

• Edited site preview with previews from new source (previous girafa preview is no longer available).
• Make site preview image clickable to the actual URL. I have wanted this feature since day 1, but don’t know how to do it. Today I manage to solve it out myself.
• Make Latest Links clickable to the actual URL. Was having problem previously with broken links.
• Added favicon.
• Added little “” mark to each line in the right sidebar. This makes the side bar easier to view and click.

I shall think of what to add next…if you have any suggestion, feel free to comment.

PhotoMalaysia 2008 Exhibition “WHAT NOW!” has been reported in a tabloid, SINAR HARIAN, on 10th January 2008.

Original news posted by PhotoMalaysia member, salimdom, at:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40356

(correction in the news: PH Chan (maxby) is the director of the exhibition project, but the founders of PhotoMalaysia are Brian and myself. )

High resolution picture can be read at:

http://shashinki.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/photomalaysia-sinarharian-highres.jpg

Yes, it was launched tonight! No…I wasn’t there but I am as excited as everybody!

Here’s a photo took by one of our forum member (magic), which is also The Star photographer:

(Photo by Glenn Guan. Original photo posted at:
http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30546&page=10)

The exhibition has already been featured in Malaysia TV (RTM2 on “Hello On 2” program), and I heard NTV 7 will air the news about the exhibition as well.

Of course, not forgetting Malaysia largest English newspaper, The Star, will also publish the news about the exhibition in their StarMetro Central in a couple of days time.

I am really proud for the commitment and dedication PhotoMalaysia members have contributed to the exhibition.

Lastly, if you are interested in seeing the evening before the launch (preparation of the exhibition), go to:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40127

I saw Megumi photo there!

(can you spot where is Megumi? The same photo I have posted here before…)

(photo by sean eng)

Do drop by Central Market Kuala Lumpur if you happened to be in KL between now and 27th January 2008!

My wife was very busy on 03 January 2008 since early morning.

In traditional Chinese culture, we eat “shou mian”, drumstick and red egg during birthday. Yes, my wife took the trouble to colour the eggs to red.

Then in the evening, my wife baked a birthday cake for me…

Early stage…

Icing dressing! Yes, must have icing else can’t call birthday cake…

Megumi also join “eye-sharing”. She touched the cake/icing actually “on purpose”.

Wordings…dedicated to…me lah…who else?!

See!

Finally, family photo!

Thank you, dear. Thank God for my lovely and caring wife, my dear megumi and my family back in Malaysia and my sister in UK. In Jesus name I thanked.

———————

Eh…forgot to mention…where is my birthday present? Yes, there is one. My wife asked me long ago…and I make it clear…yes, I want a Nikon D3.

Here come D3…made in Japan by my wife. One and only in the world…

(To ShaShinKi.com customer. Don’t worry, you will not receive the above D3 if you ordered one at ShaShinKi.com…I promised… )

I have restarted Google Adsense in September 2007 – this time for real and of course, with all honesty. Do not click on the ads yourself!

Site…

My main site that listed my Adsense content is PhotoMalaysia.com. I am the co-founder of PhotoMalaysia.com, so I have full control over it for the ads and daily operation of it. Of course, also because I now take the burden of funding the server rental cost, which hit over RM5k or US$1.5k a year.

Back to Adsense…I would like to share with you some of my experience of how I notice the increase in revenue after I make some changes to the placement and contents of my Adsense ads.

Miracle Skyhigh Profit? Dream on…

Initially, I have high expectation from Adsense. After hearing and reading lots of success stories with Adsense, I was hoping that PhotoMalaysia can generate high income for me after I put up Adsense there. I was wrong…at least initially.

Do not expect your members to click ads in your site if you do not place them strategically. Warning: DO NOT ASK OR PROMOTE OR INVITE YOUR MEMBERS TO CLICK ON THE ADS! THIS IS NOT RIGHT AND ILLEGAL AND WILL RESULT YOUR ACCOUNT BEING TERMINATED!

My Statistics

My revenue from Adsense in September (starts from 5th September 2007) is just US$15.78, with total 293 clicks and 235,263 page impressions. For me, this is quite disappointing since I was hoping to get hundreds of dollars from Adsense. So I did not work further with Adsense in October and November, since I thought Adsense did not help much…so I might as well try selling ads myself.

September 2007 revenue:

• Total earning (USD): US$15.78

October 2007 revenue:

• Total earning (USD): $28.82

Yeah, October is better than September by nearly double! But still…not much…

November 2007 revenue:

• Total Earning (USD): $25.05

Hmm…less than October…seems like it is going to be static at average US$2x.xx if I am not going to do anything.

Another reason for me to go back to Adsense is because selling ads yourself isn’t easy. I don’t get many advertisers myself…and my ads are selling at low price too. So, might as well try Adsense again…since many have successful story with it.

One thing I notice in Adsense report is Page Impressions. It tells you how many times the ads is being served at your site. Put it in simple way, the higher the impression, the more frequent the ads being shown at your site. The more frequent the ads being shown, the higher chance people will click on it. Also take note that while the total click for November is less than September, but I got higher revenue in November because I got higher page impression in November.

So, I come to a simple and short conclusion: I should put more ads in strategic locations in PhotoMalaysia.com.

More ads yes…but what about strategic locations?

Have you seen websites with lots of ads and are mainly driven by Adsense than the content of the websites themselves? Yes, there are many. As a visitor, I immediately got put off by those ads driven sites. I don’t want PhotoMalaysia to be like that. I don’t want to hit my members with lots of ads and making them angry or feel distracted. Ads should serve its purpose of attracting customers but not frustrating viewers.

Do remember that a forum is driven by members, not the otherwise. Your forum will not be forever hot and active if you pushed your members away.

With that in mind, I carefully choose locations for my ads. Of course, Adsense ads are pretty nice looking and doesn’t really make people vomit. The best thing I like about Adsense is how relevant the ads is to your website. No gambling or porn ads as well. Definitely good and suitable for my photography forum.

So, in December I have added some new Adsense ads toPhotoMalaysia.com. You can check out my ads location in PhotoMalaysia.com, must easier than having me describe each and everyone here. In general, for high hit pages, I put ads on top, bottom and sometimes middle (for those lengthy page). Frame up my ads so that they melt and look nice with the website.

So…how is my December revenue?

December 2007 revenue:

• Total Earning (USD): $37.61

Yeah, hit over US$3x.xx. Better than the previous few months.

Now, starting year 2008…I have added up some extra ads locations, mainly in the Photography section (Gallery) in PhotoMalaysia. We got quite a number of hit in Photography, so hopefully it will drive more members to Adsense.

Another note to Publisher. I notice that Image ads though is more attractive, but it can only serve ONE ads per time in that particular space. So, it is good to have multiple ads in some high hit pages with both image and text ads (I set my site to let Adsense determine it for me).

Final words…(temporary)

I must admit that I am still very new to Adsense. There are still lots of things for me to learn and find out, which can only be learn through experience. I will report and post my findings from time to time…sharing this most successful and largest ads campaign in the internet ever (period).

PhotoMalaysia will have its first ever exhibition in Central Market, Kuala Lumpur from 9th January 2008 to 27th January 2008!

Exhibition detail:

• Date: Jan 9 (Wed) – 27 (Sun) 2008
• Time: 11am – 7pm daily (closed on Mondays)
• Place:
  The Annexe Gallery
  2nd Floor, Central Market Annexe,
  Kuala Lumpur,
  Malaysia
  Tel: 03-2070 1137 or 03-2274 6542

The Opening receptions:

• Place: Central Market Annex (top floor)
• Date: 8th January 2008 (Tuesday)
• Time: 8pm

Public members especially photographers and PhotoMalaysia members are welcome to visit and participate in the opening ceremony!

You can find more info of the exhibition at:

http://www.photomalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39780

This exhibition is organised by:

• PhotoMalaysia
• The Annexe Central Market
  

Sponsored by:

• Canon Malaysia
• ShaShinKi.com

Yeah…ShaShinKi.com is one of the sponsor!

AOL has announced that it will stop providing support for Netscape Navigator browser after 1st February 2008. Last version of Netscape Navigator is v9

Once a rival to Microsoft IE and once the best internet browser and most user used browser…its day is to be remembered…hence I just have to post this in my blog.

Netscape has went through many changes, from a freeware to a paid software then back to freeware. I think the PAID stage is killing it off. Sueing Microsoft for monopoly…etc.

Most internet users are now using IE or FireFox. Personally I am using FireFox 99.9% of the time, occasionally I open up IE for some testings or plugin support. FireFox is a freeware, booming for its simplicity and great features and of course the speed.

Netscape last version will be v9, AOL has removed the download link but you can still download it from various other websites. Take note that SUPPORT will no longer be provided.

AOL / Netscape suggests turning to FireFox for replacement browser.

News of Netscape Navigator discontinued at:

http://blog.netscape.com/2007/12/28/end-of-support-for-netscape-web-browsers/

Download FireFox at:

http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Can receive email but can’t send out email using Outlook Express?

Can send email previously, no changes to the OE setting, suddenly can’t send email today?

What happened?

This is what happening to my computer at home since many months ago. I checked the setting of my OE, everything seems fine. I checked and reconfirmed my username and password, everything seems fine. I did not change anything before this happened. So what went wrong? I can receive email but can’t send out email using my own server/domain name!

I have setup another gmail account in my OE, I can send email and receive email no problem with this gmail account on my OE.

The problem is with my business email account – shop@shashinki.com. Yes, my own domain and my own server.

What is the problem? My problem?

No, it is not my problem. After many months…finally I got the idea last night of what could be the reason. I did some search on the internet and found some clues as well.

It is your ISP that suddenly changed their policy to BLOCK port 25 on all SMTP! I was using Yahoo! BB – broadband service in Japan.

Yes, nothing wrong with my PC or OE setting, but sudden change of my ISP to block port 25 on SMTP makes me unable to send email out through my own server.

Why the block of SMTP port 25?

Simple reason, to tackle spam. Many people send spam messages via their own computer to others, so ISP block port 25 (common port number used by most server by default) in order to reduce spams.

Solution?

Simple, change your server’s SMTP port to other than 25.

Not so simple if you do not have access to EXIM on your server. If you are on a shared server, or rent just a small space from others, then you most probably will not have access to EXIM setting.

If you have access to WHM (web host manager from CPANEL), then you can change or add extra port to SMTP easily! It is under Service Manager. Go to Exim on another port and add whatever number you want (eg. 100 or 2775 or 88) and checked the box to enable this option. Then in your OE, use this same port setting on your SMTP, and viola! You can now send email from your OE via your own email account and server!

For those who do not have access to WHM, contact your server provider and ask them about alternate SMTP port they are using. They should inform you the port number.

Hope this little info helps…

Canon EF Lens Work III

The Eyes of EOS

• Hardcopy
• Over 232 pages
• Printed in Japan
• Black hard cover with Red colour sleeve
• With almost all Canon lenses information inside
• Stunning photos accompany with each lens
• Optical Technology and Terminology
• MTF graphs for all the Canon Lenses

I used to sell this book at RM50 per copy in year 2004, over 100 books I have sold…long before I started up ShaShinKi.com business. This is such a great book that I wish Nikon has such a book for me to keep and collect. Canon Malaysia doesn’t sell this book, but give away during the promotion time (road show, introduction of products, events…etc.). Every Canon users or even Nikon users (I don’t own Canon system now but I still keep a copy myself) should own and get one of this book. There are PDF downloadable version available in the internet, but nothing beats the real hardcopy book which you can keep on your bookshelf, bring to your toilet, laying on your bed reading before you sleep (hope to catch a good dream?)…etc.

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Saw photos of a interesting lens today, Sony Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 24-70mm F/2.8 ZA SSM!

Sony DSLR has been of interesting mainly because it inherit the previous very high quality Minolta legendary glass, and of course not forgetting the partnership with Zeiss to specifically produce ZA series of lenses for Sony Alpha mount. Zeiss lenses in autofocus! Something like a dream comes true for many! German glass (Leica, Zeiss, Schneider…etc.) has always thought to be more superior than Japanese glass. How true is it I am not sure, but I sure am interested in this Zeiss if my pocket is deep enough.

Let’s see the two photos I saw in PhotoMalaysia forum (original source unknown):

A few things I found interesting in this lens.:

1. SSM

SSM in Sony means silent wave motor, which means the lens has built in motor, which is great! First in Zeiss!

2. 24mm

Yes! Latest zoom lens in this focal length in Canon and Nikon and now Zeiss has gone wider to 24mm! Great!

3. Full frame lens

Yes, this is a full frame lens. Very possible that Sony will come out with a full frame DSLR soon. Rumors that Nikon D3 full frame sensor is co-design with Sony, so very possible Sony will use the same 12.1MP full frame sensor in their full frame professional DSLR. Minolta has a 9 series professional SLR in their range, Sony will definitely utilize the technology and design from Minolta. My prediction is that we shall see full frame professional DSLR from Sony within year 2008 before Beijing Olympic.

4. Boxed

Yes…if you notice the box in the photo above, which means that the lens should already been in production or available to some! (if the photo is genuine).

5. F2.8 Aperture

Yes, F2.8 constant aperture. I just love fixed aperture lens, which immediately shout to you: PROFESSIONAL GRADE!

I must admit that the design and look of the lens is very sleek and clean. It looks simple, fat but clean. No busy badge or sticker here and there. I wonder how long will the lens extend from zoomed, it would be a dream lens if the length of the lens remain constant during zooming, which I hate in Nikon and Canon similar lenses.

If only Zeiss can make AF lenses for Nikon, that would be my dream lens to get!

I read some predictions in the net on what Nikon will update or comes out in year 2008…really can’t agree with some of those predictions or rumors…so I decided to write my own one here.

I have been using Nikon system since year 2000, following every Nikon news and was (probably still am) crazy of Nikon stuff.

Here’s what I think in Nikon DSLR department:

Nikon D40 / D40X

I don’t know about others, but personally I never like and will never recommend my customers or friends for this camera. The fact that it can only use lens with built in motor really is a limitation and disadvantage. It can’t even use the very popular and good value Nikon AFD 50mm F1.8 lens!

I believe Nikon will discard this model in year 2008 and comes out with a Nikon D60 for it that is able to focus with “normal” lenses. Probably still 10MP. D40 will be discontinued.

Nikon D80

Time for it to get some boost up in order to create another sales frenzy. Call it D90.

Main features:

• 12.1MP 1.5X FOV CMOS sensor with self sensor cleaning ability
• Uses MB-D90 battery pack
• 3″ LCD with 900k dots (same as D300)
• unable to meter with manual lenses
• Live View

Will we see another DSLR from Nikon? Some rumors say that there will be a D3X. I really doubt so. I don’t think there is a need for X or H model differentiation from Nikon in their professional DSLR anymore. I have told many…and my firm believing is that there should only be one TOP model at one time from Nikon. Previous D1X, D1H and D2X, D2H are needed due to the limitation and lacking in technology, so Nikon has to push out two different DSLR for different market needs. Now, with the advancement and maturity of sensor and processor technology, one camera is capable of doing both X and H jobs. No need to separate into two again.

So in year 2008, we will see Nikon DSLR range of:

• D60 (replacement of D40/D40X)
  
• D90 (replacement of D80)
  
• D300 (D200 will discontinue)
• D3 (D2Xs and D2h will discontinue)
  

How about Lenses?

There will definitely be some lenses update from Nikon, the question is which?

Here’s my prediction:

AFS 300mm F/4 VR N

• Time to add VR to this lens. In my opinion, everything that is longer than 200mm should have VR inside. This AFS 300mm F/4 lens has been in the market for quite some time. Nikon will update this lens to AFS 300mm F/4 VR N in year 2008.

AFS 85mm F1.4 N

• Yes, time to update this legendary portrait lens to AFS motor and add nano coating to it.

AFS 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 (IF) VR

• This kit lens will have VR added to it in order to make it more attractive for general consumer. It will be the standard bundled kit lens for D90.

AFS 17-55mm DX G VR

• Time to update this lens to boost the sales and market of DX users. Though not very likely, but still a possibility.

AFS 200mm F/4 Macro N

• This legendary macro lens from Nikon has been around for ages. Time for Nikon to update it to AFS motor and nano coating.

AFS 60mm F/2.8 N

• Similar to 200macro, but as 60mm macro is more affordable to the general consumer, so the urge to update it should be higher than the 200macro version.

Besides the above, how about some wild thought and dream from Nikon?

Wild dreams?

Just some dreams…might not happen in year 2008…but dream for the future!

FD3A

Digital version of the mechanical manual version of FM3A. M stands for mechanical, which is impossible for digital camera to function without electric power, so remove the word M and replace it with D (digital). Rewind crank will still remain, must advance the crank before pressing the shutter release.

Main features:

• 12.1MP CMOS sensor (FOV 1.5X)
• ISO100-6400
• 2.5″ 700k dots LCD
• Shutter speed from 8s to 1/4000s with B mode
• Manual mirror lock up possible
• Fully manual mode, no autofocus
• Price (street) = US$1.2k-1.3k

SP Digital

Reintroduction of the rangefinder system from Nikon that bring new life to their S series rangefinder! Using Nikon S mount, compatible with all previous Nikon S mount lenses.

Main features

• 12.1MP CMOS sensor (FOV1.5X)
• ISO100-6400
• 2.5″ 700k dots LCD
• Shutter speed 8s to 1/8000s with B mode
• Fully mechanical
• Price (street) = US$5.5k

It has been such a long time I didn’t join the International Women club for the Japanese food cooking class which held once a month in the guo min kan (national citizen hall). My “One-Pair” Japanese Language teacher, Nishi Gaki sensei called me up last Wednesday and invited me to the class on Friday. She is the chairman of the club for this year. Thinking of to “support” my sensei and of course cooking is one of my hobbies, I decided to go after “settled” Megumi with my da-lingu on the Friday morning.

And this round, we cooked the Japanese New Year Dishes. Read More

Or should I say…Lioness?

My wife went to buy some shirts for Megumi yesterday. Since it is winter time now, we need to get some thick clothes for Megumi to keep her warm.

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I have the chance to try out a Nikon D3 yesterday. Yes, this is the currently hottest and most anticipate DSLR in the market. Stock is so limited that everybody is searching for one.

Thank God I managed to get one unit for my customer from Japan, else I would be in trouble.

The camera is so heavy…but feel good in hand. Grip can be hold firmly. LCD is big and bright, viewfinder is bright and large! All buttons are nicely laid out…I asked my wife to hold it for a second…she said dare not.

I checked the condition, took 2 frames of test shots, then put the camera back into the box. Yes, my standard procedures of checking the DSLR as requested by customers. This is to make sure that the camera received by my customer is in perfect order instead of them having to send the camera back to me only realizing it is defect upon arriving. Still, D3 as the professional DSLR from Nikon should have very high quality control and check. Made in Japan man…

After putting the D3 back to the box and packed it, I asked my wife when can I get one for myself? As a dealer of Nikon in Malaysia, I can get pretty good price of the D3 for myself. Of course not now as I still have many customers in my waiting list…guess what my wife answered?

Anytime!

I guess she is not serious at all… :’(

I merged these three musketeers into one photo…feel free to use it if you like but please remain the credit to ShaShinKi.com.

Everyday, my wife will prepare some porridge for Megumi the night before, and cook the porridge in a glass bowl together with the rice for our next day meal. It is not an easy job, as my wife will first cook some soup with carrots and small fishes (ikan bilis) in the soup, just to get some extra nutrition for the porridge that she prepared for Megumi.

The work is a lot…but the porridge is only very small bowl, but with lots of love from mother.

Feeding time with morning sunlight shinning through the windows…

Saw the Hello Kitty plastic thingy? Used to use just cloth, but Lydia said very difficult to clean, so we went to Diamond City, Babies “R” Us to buy the thingy above.

Megumi is enjoying her meal for sure…

So delicious…wah..lerr…eh…

Let’s have another BIG BITE! “ARMMmmm!”

Megumi:”enough shooting lah…don’t record all my eating ugly shots…”

Will record another round of eating again in future…

Our main purpose to Tokyo in November 2007, to renew Foong’s passport and to make Megumi’s birth certificates and passport.

Here’s some photos of the embassy:

Front view of the building (the building is grey in colour, roof top is green):

Can see Megumi is so tired…sleeping already…

The is the view of the counter where we do our passport and birth certificate documents:

We managed to get both passports (Lydia’s and Megumi’s) and Megumi’s birth certificate within the same day. Thanks to the staffs working there, they are definitely helpful.