Penang Street Art – Fujian 35mm F1.7 Lens Test

Just bought a cheap nifty manual CCTV lens, The Fujian 35mm F1.7. Read some great reviews about this lens and on how interesting the lens characteristic are.

The lens were meant for CCTV and for the old 16mm video recorder, however its start getting popular with the rise of mirrorless camera. Since the sensor on mirrorless camera is closer to the lens mount, with adapter the lens is very much functional. What you don’t have is the auto focus and exposure data.

The characteristic of this lens are, center sharpness, soft edges and on some lighting condition a white halo in the middle that create a dreamy looks. The bigger the camera sensor the bigger portion of soft edges and the smaller portion of the center sharpness. Using on the DSLR is not recommended because the sensor is farther away from the lens mount and you may not obtain focus.

After using this lens, I am starting to love it and on how it handles. The focus ring is very smooth and with the help of Lumix GM1 peaking focus, manual focus is a breeze. The weight and the size are perfect for the GM1. Love the color rendition produce by this lens.

I bought the lens from HERE. The lens have two version the one with 6 blade aperture and with 12 blade aperture which I bought. The adapter is very important, some adapter is too thick that when mount to your camera it wont focus infinity or can not focus past 5-6 feet. The one I bought got no such issue. The package come with 2 close up ring for your macro photography needs.

If you got the time to visit Penang, make a trip to Georgetown to see these street art exhibition. This LINK here will guide you to all the arts. My advice is to visit early in the morning around 8am on weekend before the street got heavy traffic. Due to the constant development, some of the arts are no more there.

Trip to Mumbai, India.

This is my unplanned trip to Mumbai to send my sister that being posted for a job there.

June to early October is a monsoon season in India but fortunately the last 4 days I was there, it only rain heavily in the early morning and in the evening.

Some tips for visitor… if for a short trip… buying a prepaid SIM card is a waste of time. India have a very strict rule for foreigners using prepaid phone line… a lot of paperworks… most Malaysian working here use locals to buy the SIM card.

When driving, you’ll received a lot of honking… not because they mad at you but they want to go through… they don’t use signal. Also… brace yourself for the Mumbai crazy traffic!

Use Autorick to move around Mumbai especially in suburb (autorick is prohibited in South Mumbai). Autorick rider seem to be more honest than taxi driver.

Mumbai has large Muslim community… so halal foods are easier to find.

All images shot with Panasonic LX7 (http://youtu.be/d4lfFkX4lBU). Highly recommended compact camera for travelers who want to travels light. Fast lens (F1.4) and very responsive and most importantly have full manual control similar to DSLR.

Universal Studio – Singapore

How to go to Universal Studio by public transport?

My journey was through the 2nd link, Gelang Patah, Johor to Tuas Checkpoint, Singapore. From Gelang Patah take
Causeway Link bus CW3 or CW4 to Jurong East (RM2.60). When arrive at the Tuas Checkpoint… go quickly for passport check and run to catch back the same bus. The bus will not wait… however if you miss.. you can wait for the 2nd bus around 5-10 minutes… no need to buy new tickets… from Tuas it take about 20 minutes to Jurong East MRT Station

The Singapore MRT network line is easy to understand even for 1st time commuter. Please ask for the network
map at the service counter. From Jurong East, take the East West Line (green) to Outram Park interchange. Alight… and take the
North East Line (purple)  to Harbour Front (SGD3.10 inclusive returned deposit of $1)

From Harbour Front Station you can proceed to the Resort World Sentosa either
by Sentosa Express Monorail (SGD3.00), Walking through Sentosa Boardwalk (free), Shuttle Bus RWS8 (SGD2.00) or Cable Car (SGD24.00 adult).

The fastest would be the monorail… but I take the RWS8 Bus. The Journey take about 15 minutes.

To return back to Gelang Patah… do back all of the above backwards… but from Sentosa to Harbour Front (Vivo City)… please take the monorail… because it’s free! From Jurong East back to Gelang Patah by Causeway Link bus cost SGD4.00. Don’t forget to return back the MRT ticket for a refund of the deposit.

Click pictures gallery below for the images of Universal Studio. Tips – buy the ticket online using Maybank credit card or debit visa card to get 15% discount. All images captured with D7000 + Samyang 8mm fisheye and Tokina 11-16/2.8.