Back from my ski trip at Yongpyong, S. Korea

Took by Olympus T-610, a Tough P&S camera.

A broken Nikon Coolpix P50

It was an accident: I tried to snap with the P50 in a dangerous position. When I tried to pull back, I didn't notice the ditch behind me, so I fell. I am okay, but I bump the lens of the P50, so it can't retract into the body again.... sad.

I believe there was a misalignment in the gears of the lens driving system, so I tried to take it apart and see if I can fix it at all. As you can see, the result was a disaster: after I remove the back and a circuit board, I couldn't remove the remaining circuits.... that means I can't even get my way to the lens driving gears....

I never have good experiences in fixing my cameras. I hope I am a better photographer than a camera technician.

The pix was taken with my Nokia phone. Sorry for the bad quality.

A new camera 'system' design from Ricoh: smart or dumb?

Ricoh announced the new GXR camera 'system', with a whole new concept of interchangable lens... the camera is actually a I/O interface, and the 'lens module' actually includes lens, focusing mechanics, and image sensor.

IMHO, this is a dumb design and this system is doomed. Immediately after I read the news, I came-up with a lot of problems for this idea:
- Cost: every lens module is another digital camera without the I/O. Don't think that will come cheap
- Choices of lens: Only Ricoh is making the lens module. How many choices do you think Ricoh will offer you?
- Reliability of the mount: The mount is slide-in type, with a lot of electronic connections for the LCD viewfinder, memory cards... etc. When dirt gets into the lens mount of a traditional DSLR, you may get a dust mark in your photos. But if dirt gets in the GXR module mount, you may get a card writing error.

Honestly, I can't see any point with this product. I am very happy with my Pentax and DA Limited lenses.

"Passed by...." / On Selinium Toner

An old snap with slide (yes, the expensive slide). This shot was shot on ISO100 slide, handheld at approx. 1/4s, scanned with film scanner, and digitally altered to monochrome with Selinium tone.

Speaking of Selinium tone, it is actually more than an artistic style.

In the good old days of black-and-white photography, the photo paper was treated with chemicals. Because of the acidic nature of the 'fixing' process, b/w photos are prone to color fading over time, particular when photos are not washed in running water long enough. For additional stability of the photo-print, an additional step called 'toning' is often used. Most toner will alter the color of the print, e.g. Sepia Toner will add a brown tone to the print. Selinium Toner is the most stable toning chemical, and often used in gallery display.

The morning market

The market was not yet opened. Sunlight shines through the canopies of kiosks, casting different shades of shadows. I was on my way to work, and snap this with a P&S camera.

Took with color negative film, scanned by film scanner, digitally change to monochrome.

Underwater photos

It's not by Pentax, but my lovely little partner Fuji F10 plus the underwater housing. I am not a diver, and I find it real hard to take underwater photo for a new hand like me...





Using the underwater housing in the pool, I also that the following photo accidentally... the 'special effect' was caused by water splash all over the camera...