KL Photo Festival 2012

So, was it worth the trip to attend the KL Photography Festival last weekend? It was for me. For the longest time, I had been looking to get hold of a computer screen colour calibrator. I had been searching around Low Yat for the last few years, but nobody really knew what I was talking about. The KLPF a couple of years back was right disappointing. So, when I set off, I made a list of things I was looking for.

Those were, a decent printing service, a decent portable flash system, and maybe a camera bag. But I couldn't believe my luck when I came across a Datacolor booth, the maker of the Spyder products. Nice! They make the Spyder4 screen calibrator, the SpyderCube camera grey point calibrator and many other stuff. Before long, I was lugging up the stuff from there. I got he Spyder4Elite system, and well as the cube, all with a 25% discount. But I wasn't done yet.

Yes, there were plenty of modelsI was quite surprised to see the number of people carrying heavy camera gear with them to shows like this. Yes, there would be models at the booths for them to get photos off, but plan to browse. I only carried my iPhone. That was enough.

The show this year was much better than the previous, much to do with the recent announcements of products at Photokina. The market for compact system cameras were definitely expanding. I spent some time at the Olympus booth, taking a close look the the OM-D EM5. A neat little camera. Very capable despite the small size. Gat autofocus, but I suspect that the colour reproduction as well as low light performance would be found wanting compared to my X-Pro1. I was also disappointed with the choices of lens for the micro 4/3rd system still. The best of the bunch would be the Leica 25 f1.4. But I have already have the 35 f1.4 on my Fuji. The zoom may be a bit better but I would rather use my 7D and my L lens for that.

They had a separate area for photography tourism packages..... as well as photography talks .....I should stick to what I have at the moment and slowly expand. I was sure that all systems have their strength and weaknesses. It all depended on how you use them.

The next stop would be to look at the flash system. The Elichrome system was mighty cool, but the system - complete with remote trigger - would only be available in Malaysia in the next couple of months. Got the contacts of the dealers and I might give them a visit later in the year.

He next item I bought was a camera tripod. My old one had been a bit wonky and I needed a second stand for my Speedlight. I picked up a nice Manfrotto carbon fibre unit with a ball head at half the price! Bargain!

Last items was light box, for still life photography. A nice portable unit which fold neatly into a bag, with its own light source. It also came with diffusers and multiple backgrounds. A bit expansive but I thought I got what I paid for, judging from the results I was getting. More on the photos on that in my later post.

I left the show with my hands full, with plenty of explaining needed to be given to Puan Anita when I reached home ....