Post Call Sunday

The call last weekend was a strange one. It was busy during the day but in the evening, things just chilled out. I was able to watch United's game at the lounge and had a decent uninterupted sleep.

The post- call day being Sunday also helped a lot. That allowed me to take my time doing the rounds and get on with my day. I happened to wake up early, and despite having to hop over to Ara Damansara to see a referral, I was done well before noon.

I took a quick nap during lunch time and soon got bored. The weather was pretty decent - it had been gloomy and cool in the past week - and decided not to stay in.

I first drove to APW where Riuh was going on. Had some coffee there before setting off to Bukit Bintang with my camera. Before I knew it, I was exploring the decorations and making enquiries on GoPro. All in a real nice pace. I even had the chance to have a look at iMac Pro at one the shops.

Anita prepared dinner that evening and asked me to get home early to eat. Kind road traffic allowed me to return in plenty of time. It certainly was a full afternoon ...

You Handsome Devil

I attended a product launch the other night. It was for the brand new Leica camera, the CL. A mirrorless interchangeable lens APS-C camera which was compatible with the Leica TL lenses.

Typical Leica, they didn't come cheap.

There used to be a couple of Leica Stores in town, but the one at Starhill had closed a couple of years back. The one left was located at Avenue K, right next to KLCC. That was where the launch was done.

Don't press that!!!!An Executive from Leica Asia Pacific was next giving some corporate spiel Some real-life samples from a local photographer Wong Mun KeatA simple affair mainly to introduce the new camera. The event started off with speeches from the Leica Excutives, both local and regional, followed by a brief talk by a local photographer, Wong Mun Keat telling us his experience of having the new camera along for a week. He shared some sample images as well and gave us a bit of flab our of how it was like with the new kit.

The camera could be bought with a brand new pancake lens kit - and f 2.8 Elmarit - or alternatively with a standard zoom lens. I noticed that most of the better images were taken using a higher-end Summilux. That would mean investing in an extra lens to get the best out of us camera. That combination, plus the trimmings could easily set me back RM 25000, which frankly still be inferior to the setup I have at the moment.

The bottom line is the quality would not be as good as the M system and its lenses. Yes, you do get autofocus but the camera just felt front heavy with the wide lenses. Plus, there was no stabilization on the basic system. And since I preferred a 28mm look anyway, using my Leica Q made more sense if autofocus was needed.

That doesn't mean that the CL system was bad. Far from it. If I didn't have the Q, I would've bought the new kit and gave it a good go. With the pancake lens, it just felt great on the hand. Plus you still get glimpses of famous Leica colour. So far, there are no addition to my camera cabinet ....

Dull Outing

Since I had a few hours to spear - while taking Anita out at the mall - I decided to have a walk around Bukit Bintang to see how cool the weather would be.

It was cold alright. And it was also rather dull. The light quality wasn't great and the outdoor photos just didn't have that usual pop when it came to colours.

Looking down the Bukit Bintang Entrance to PavilionThe main foyer was still being prepared ...More flowers outside ...The entrance was full of people ...

While walking, I realised that Sungai Plaza had been complete torn down. And it was not really to make way for the new MRT line. The project there was to supplement the new transport network and from what I heard, there would be a new luxury apartment cum hotel taking over the space.

A cutie ...Street performerCan't seem to catch a decent light ...Time to scuttle back ...The place was still flat with no sign of piling being done yet. Looked like the place would be a construction for a few more years ...

Sunday Afternoon in Town

It has been a while since I had the chance to get my camera out for a free spin. It was a Sunday and frankly, I had done my chores and was looking forward to a quick lunch with Anita. I had some time after lunch for a quick walk.

After late lunch at Pavilion, I took the M-P out around Bukit Bintang. The weather was not too inviting and to be frank, it was threatening to rain all afternoon. Not exactly conducive for a photowalk, but I must not complain.

There was nothing much going on there at the moment. I guessed, with Ramadhan coming up soon, the decor would be gearing up to that. Anita did her shopping, while I just hang around for a while. I was too lazy to walk all the way to Low Yat, and soon turned back. I settled for a quiet coffee instead.

Back with the Cron

After taking the new zoom for a couple of spin, it became very clear that I should stick to primes for photowalks. Zooms were good for the family outings and general use, but for my own snaps, definitely prime lenses were the way forward.

I just was not impressed with the new zoom despite it being top of the line. And I don't think it was the fault of the lens per se. It was more of a personal choice and the fact that I had been spoilt by the quality of the Leica lens I had with me.

So, to prove the point that I still possess some photography mojo, I went for a quick walk around Bukit Bintang last Sunday. With me came the Sony Alpha 7 mark II with the Leica Summicron-M 50mm through an adaptor of course.

The result? Stunning photos. Definitely the lens - and the fact that the Sony was full-frame made a major difference. The colour rendition was a lot better and I don't mind the manual focusing. It took a bit longer to get the snaps, but I was a lot happier with the setup.

The main difference was the micro-contrast on the lens. The Leica had them in abundance. I would still use the zoom, but only when the need arise. For my usual walk-about, the Alpha 7 and Cron combination looked to be with me for a while.