iPhone 6 128GB Grey

Was browsing the web and came across a slightly mint 128GB version. Bought it off an Ang Mo who was given the phone by a friend of his, which actually belonged to her son.  Friend left country and since he is an Android user, decided to sell it off.

Got it at a bargain and learning how to use it.  Now trying to sync it with the MacBook Pro but the Calendar failed.  Must ask buddy to see what went wrong.

Happy with the purchase though and will change the casing to a gold one when the next school holiday comes around.

SMC Pentax-FA* 28-70mm F2.8 AL

Thanks to Frank for poisoning Ben and me on the lens.  This was actually bundled together with the film body Z-1 75th Anniversary Special Edition, Titanium Silver/Balck body.

It is now very difficult to even locate a good copy around the world as only 500 were made.

It was introduced in 1994 to mark the 75th anniversary of Asahi Pentax and came in a nice looking red box, but alas, the owners decided to break up the set to sell them separately.

I managed to take over from Ben as he decided he wanted a more mint copy from Japan and so got it for a friendship price.

I am now loving the lens on the K1 as it really is fast.

Fujifilm Flash Ef-20 and LHF-X20

Managed to get one brand new and unused EF-20 flash for the X30.  Seller also taught me how to set the flash.  Small and good enough for travel.

The day before, I managed to get the LHF-X20 hoof and filter set from another seller in brand new and unused condition as well.  Now it completes the X30 look with a silver hood and a 40mm protector filter.

Have been shooting the X30 at home to test out the flash and it works enough as a fill in flash, better than the on board flash.

I am glad I managed to get these 2 good deals.

Pentax F85mm F2.8 Soft Lens

Collected the lens on Tuesday morning from the brother of the seller.  It is a smallish lens with 49mm diameter and a metal hood that overs almost the whole lens when inverted.


Tried it out on landscapes and cityscapes so far and it looks very dreamy.

I love this lens.  Will have to try out on models if I get the chance to again.

OLD BOOKS TO RELEARN PHOTOGRAPHY

Found some old instructional manuals/references so planning to read them and relearn some old stuff.

Ayer Rajah Photo Interest Group 4th Anniversary Event

A charity event organised by the ARPIG and it was a fun outing.  Brought along the Cononmark B4 strobe and learnt from Martini the basics of using it for the shoot.

The photos turned out great although I had a few hiccups to learning and mastering the strobe.

I am glad I bought it as I can get the hang of it in that 2 hours of fun with 6 different models to shoot.

Protectionfilms24.com

The replacement screen protector came in today as well.  This time I managed to get it stuck onto the K1 LCD.

Yay!!

Pentax Q 5-15mm F2.8-4 02 Lens

Managed to get one good condition 2nd hand lens from eBay and it came without the front lens cap.  Will have to order one in.

Protectionfilms24.com

Bought this AirGlass protector from the site for the K1 and the Q. The Q protector was ok but the K1 version could not stick as it was curved.  Wrote in to them and they requested photos and now awaiting the replacement protector to arrive.

Ordered two more K1 AirGlass protectors for my friends and one for the Fuji X30 and awaiting for   those to arrive too.

Continuation of Pentax K1

I tested with the FA31mm F1.8 Limited lens on Saturday at Changi Airport T2 and it looks good indoors but unfortunately, I could not test outdoors as it began to rain heavily.

Wanted to do a test today, but did not have a chance so will see how in the next couple of days.

Updates to the K1 Saga

Wanting to improve my flash photography to the next level, I decided to invest in a portable studio flash system. Thanks to a friend who introduced my to the Cononmark B4, a fully manual system at a decent price, I decided to purchase it for future investment.

After getting it, I wandered to Black Market Camera to look for a Tamron 24mm F2.5 MF lens but ended up getting a K50mm F1.4 at a decent price point.  The F1.2 version cost 3.5x more.  Furthermore, the condition and glass was excellent.

I had to service my father-in-law's VW Beetle and so decided to bring the 3FA Limiteds and the 2 50mm (K50mm F1.4 & Chinon 50mm F1.4) that I had out for a spin, but the weather was not in favour of me doing it.

In the end, managed to take only 2 shots of the display at Changi Airport T2.

More updates next week.

Pentax K1 Full Frame Camera

I pre-ordered through a friend who knew the distributor in Vietnam.  He flew back for the Labour Day long weekend and flew back on the 4rd of May 2016 and I collected the camera that night.

My initial view of the K1 is that it is bulkier and much heavier than the K3 APS-C camera and the grip is well contoured to have all the 4 fingers around it, unlike the K3 where the pinky finger is hanging off the camera body.

The first lens that I attached to the K1 was the FA31mm F1.8 Limited, as I wanted to see how it worked with the K1.

It had a nice feel to it as the camera seemed to balance out and I could shoot with one hand.

It is now day 4 with the K1 and I tried the K85mm F1.8 as well as the Chinon 50mm F1.4 on the K1.  Awesome!  I will need to bring the K1 to school and try out with the various lenses that I have.

Feeling SUPER PISSED

This morning, one of my BEST PA Crew got busted for carrying a pack of cigarettes to school.   The DM decided that he is ALL KNOWING and so decided on PA OIC/TICs behalf to suspend her from PA duties without consulting us about it first.

I even spoke to him to ask that he let her come back so that we can use her to conduct camp in June 2016 and it is when the Sec 4s officially step down from the CA, but HE did not even bother to consider my request.

I see this place as no more future as the so called DM/Teacher/Counsellor oes not even give a kid a chance to repent and decides that this is how she should be punished.

Now he writes an email to the teachers and then in the email asks the school counsellor to ensure that she is fine????

WTF!!!