Olympus E-P1 lens cases

The Olympus E-P1 is the most compact interchangeable lens digital camera currently on the market. See my earlier entries:

• Olympus Pen E-P1
• Part 2: Some test shots

Consequently, I've been looking for a secure yet highly configurable solution for carrying a few lenses with the camera.

I decided to search secondhand camera shops to find small lens cases for my Voigtlander Nokton 35mm f1.4 classic portrait lens and the M.Zuiko 14-42mm collapsible kit zoom.

My sincere thanks to Ivy Hou, photographer and camera otaku, for taking me on the equivalent of a "pub crawl" through selected used camera shops in Tokyo despite the summer heat.

The mission was successful. As you can see below, the Takumar f1.8/55 lens case from Pentax is exactly the right size to hold the kit zoom: it fits so snugly it seems amost purpose-made for the job.

The Nokton has a protruding focus tab so the same degree of fit is not possible, But the slightly slimmer and taller Pentax Takumar f3.5/28 lens case seems to work reasonably well.

Currently, the E-P1 body goes in the Kata DF-408 case shown above in the middle.

I plan to put the body attached to a pancake lens, possibily the pre-advertised Panasonic when it becomes available, in that or a similar rectangular soft case unless something special in a secondhand camera shop turns up.

The idea is to be able to string required lenses and plus other accessories and take only what I need.

My lightweight carbon-fiber/magnesium Gitzo Traveler can also go on the belt comme ça.

Shenzhen Panorama

Shenzhen (深圳) is a major new city in mainland China adjacent to Hong Kong (香港) that has seen explosive growth (from negligible to a semi-official 14 million in a few decades) due to its special economic zone status.

[Fisheye view from my room on the 19th floor of the Southern Union (南方联合) hotel.]

Because Shenzhen is flat and doesn't have a natural center, it's perhaps difficult to get an appreciation of the extent and layout of the city unless one goes high up.

(By the way, it's also where the Century South China Table Tennis Club (深圳市世纪南华乒乓球俱乐部) I described in a previous blog entry (here) is located.)

The observation floor of the Diwang Tower (地王大厦) 300m up (slightly higher than the highest floor of the Eiffel Tower) is an ideal place to take photos the day after a typhoon has passed through to clear the air.

[Looking south and west.]

One can be easily forgiven for making the mistake that the paddy fields are in mainland China and the tall buildings are in Hong Kong, but of course, it's quite the reverse here at the border between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The Shenzhen River is the narrow ribbon here that limits Shenzhen's urban sprawl to the south. Before economic development, I would wager the land on either side of the river was quite similar-looking.

Looking directly south towards Hong Kong, if you click on the picture below to magnify, we can make out the residential flats of the village of Sheung Shui (上水) (part of Hong Kong) in the distance beyond the fields.

A detail from the picture above: the border crossing building at Luohu (罗湖) and railway station with Sheung Shui in the background:

To the west, we can see Lizhi Park (荔枝公园) through to the electronics shopping area of Huaqiang Bei (华强北) to the center of Shenzhen. In the distance, you can make out the Pearl River (珠江) and the hills on the other side.

The Century South China Table Tennis Club is at the north end of the Lizhi Park (to the park's near right corner). Detail below:

To the north, Guangzhou ( 广州) is the provincial capital and a larger (and more crowded) city, just 91 miles (147 km) or just under an hour away by (200 km/hr) intercity train.

Looking to the east, Shennan East Rd (深南东路) runs straight and true. Hong Kong people would say Shenzhen is wide and spacious. It's all relative...

The Southern Union (南方联合) hotel - from where the first fisheye picture was taken - is located next to the gold-colored buildings in the middle background.

Now, if you revisit that fisheye picture, you'll see that the hills behind the buildings are actually in Hong Kong.

Next post, I will revisit the skyline of Hong Kong.

The cities of Guangzhou (15.3 million), Hong Kong (7 million) and Shenzhen (14 million), all about an hour or so apart by fast train, form the core of the Pearl River Delta area (珠江三角洲). The Pearl River Delta is one of the engines driving China's recent economic miracle.

Olympus Pen E-P1 part 2: some test shots

I took some random test shots using my new Olympus Pen E-P1 micro-4/3rds camera.

(See previous blog entry here.)

I have four compatible lenses and two adaptors.

1. Shown mounted on camera: Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-42mm (f/3.5-5.6) kit zoom (micro-4/3rds mount).
2. Back left: Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 manual focus prime lens (Leica M mount).
3. Back right: Olympus ED Zuiko Digital 8mm (f/3.5) Zuiko fisheye lens (4/3rds mount).
4. Not shown: Olympus ED Zuiko Digital 9-18mm (f/4-5.6) wide-angle zoom (4/3rds mount).

5. Voigtlander VM adaptor (Leica M to micro-4/3rds).
6. Olympus MMF-1 adaptor (4/3rds to micro-4/3rds).

First light with the Nokton (1/100s, f1.4, IS, noise filter: low). Available light, ISO 3200.

Title: Lunch

Checking for noise and detail at the C-clamp area below the Guinness. 100% crop:

Title:焼酎 (Shōchū) [Nokton 35mm/f1.4, 1/100s, ISO 800.]

Soft focus image courtesy of natural means: from condensation on refrigerator in the humidity of summer.

Title:京王線 (Keio Line) [Nokton 35mm/f1.4, hyperfocused 1/30s, ISO 125.]

Taken from a moving train. IS comes in handy. Using Manual mode to explicitly set a slow shutter speed. Normally, one would use a manual aperture lens in Aperture priority mode on the E-P1 (the camera will automatically choose a shutter speed that gives proper exposure).

Title:愛ちゃん (Ai-chan) [Nokton 35mm/f1.4, 1/1000s, f/1.4, ISO 200.]

Outside Tokyo Taiikukan (東京体育館). Notice only subtle blurring of the background despite f1.4 on the 4/3rds sensor and 1/1000s fast shutter speed.

f1.4 on 4/3rds depth-of-field is equivalent to f2.8 (2x) on a full frame sensor. Given that, and subject distance required for framing, perhaps a lens with f1.2 capability or even faster would have been better. But then the it wouldn't be so nice and compact as the 35mm f1.4.

Title: Tokyo back street [14-42mm M.Zuiko kit zoom, 1/125, f/6.3, ISO 200.]

Taken through the window of Ootoya (大戸屋) just behind Yoyogi station (代々木駅). Just a stone's throw but a world away from the severe modernity of the NTT Tower and the hustle and bustle of Shinjuku station (新宿駅).

If one doesn't need shallow depth-of-field from the f1.4, or its low-light capabilities, the slower f3.5-5.6 14-42mm kit zoom is actually much more versatile and less fiddly than the manual focus Voigtlander prime.

Title: Natural lighting

360° spherical panorama: interior.mov (full resolution, 12MB)interior2.mov (low resolution, 1.6MB)

At Tokyo University. Use Quicktime Player to view either of the full panorama .mov files.

This is my first spherical panorama with the E-P1. Taken with the 8mm fisheye lens attached via the MMF-1 adaptor on a special rig. More details next post.

Olympus Pen E-P1

The Olympus Pen E-P1 represents a new generation of compact, interchangeable lens cameras on the micro 4/3rds lens mount.

Here, I have the equivalent of manual transmission on a car. That is a Voigtlander Nokton Classic (35mm, f1.4) manual focus prime lens mounted using a VM (Leica M mount to micro 4/3rds) adaptor. No information is transmitted via the adaptor to the camera. Metering works in stop-down fashion. Manual focus assist is available on the E-P1 using liveview.

The camera came with a neat Olympus standard zoom that collapses for compactness. Here is my 3 lens kit:

These are three different lenses all with different mounts. Two adaptors are used here.

Shown mounted: my general low light and portrait lens. Voigtlander Nokton Classic (35mm, f1.4) Leica M mount. VM Leica M to micro 4/3rds adaptor (no electrical contacts to transmit lens information, so manual use only).

Back left: general purpose mid-range zoom. Olympus micro 4/3rds 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 collapsible kit zoom. No adaptor needed (full range of functions).

Back right: my spherical panorama lens. Olympus 4/3rds 8mm f3.5 fisheye lens. Shown with Olympus 4/3rds to micro 4/3rds adaptor (information about lens communicated to camera, full range of functions).

Lenses made for micro 4/3rds and Leica M mounts are much smaller and lighter than regular DSLR lenses. For example, the regular 4/3rds format fisheye shown above is huge by comparison. I also have a 9-18mm 4/3rds wide-angle zoom lens (not shown here). And that is similarly large.

As more lenses get released in micro 4/3rds mount, there will be concomitant weight and size saving to be had without loss of image quality. There is a Panasonic 7-14mm wide angle zoom available now. Plus a 45-200mm telephoto zoom. (Double those focal lengths to get the 35mm equivalent values.) And rumor has it a pricey Leica Summilux 30mm f1.4 in micro 4/3rds native mount is coming.

The camera body is much smaller than my year-old Olympus E-520 DSLR yet has superior image quality. It's a breakthrough in terms of technology and versatility for cameras of this size.

[Unfortunately, my E-520 has a busted LCD display. That's my excuse for getting the Pen E-P1.]

In fact, it's not much bigger than my point-and-shoot (P&S) Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5.

It's pictured here with the collapsible Olympus kit zoom (14-42mm, f3.5-5.6) mounted (collapsed).

Given the 2x crop factor over full frame 35mm, it actually has the same maximum wide angle as the Lumix lens (4.7-47mm, f3.3-4.9) but does not reach anywhere near as far in terms of telephoto ability. The Lumix has a tiny image sensor by comparison, which allows for lens miniaturization but has other tradeoffs in terms of image quality.

In short, normalizing focal lengths to 35mm equivalent sizing, the Olympus kit zoom would be equivalent to a 28-84mm zoom, and the Lumix to a whopping 28-280mm zoom.

(According to the specifications, Olympus kit zoom also slightly slower in terms of max aperture than the Lumix lens, though that not a meaningful parameter here given the difference in image sensor size.)

As a hiker, I've been looking for lightweight but versatile equipment for taking landscape and 360° spherical panoramas. In terms of portability, I will carry on a belt the 3 lens kit setup shown previously:

Shown here is a tiny Kata DF 408 case surrounded by a pair of Lowepro lens cases.

One holds the 8mm fisheye. The other holds the Nokton 35mm/f1.4 and Olympus kit zoom. Padded belt not shown.

Going modular is the most versatile solution for me. For example, when hiking I will leave the Nokton behind but carry a lightweight Gitzo carbon/magnesium tripod and panohead.

I've re-organized and expanded the test shots that were here to a separate blog entry...

Doha

This is my third blog entry on Doha. Previous two entries:

• Museum of Islamic Art
• CMU Qatar

It definitely makes for an interesting juxtaposition of cultures. Let's see here: gutra, thobe, sandals, and no riding gloves on what looks like to be a BMW R 1200 RT tourer.

Not to mention, powerboating and dhows as we'll see below.

I stayed in the high-rise section of Doha (shown in the distance above).

The Al Corniche Rd connects that section to the purposely low-rise section fronted by the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), which is right next to the location where I took the above photo.

(Click to see an enlarged annotated satellite view of the area.)

It's a nice 10K run from my hotel along the waterfront to the Diwan (nr. the MIA) and back. That should give you some idea of the scale of the place.

On the day I arrived there was a Class-1 World Powerboat Championship race going on right in the bay. Using the 10x zoom on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5, I found it hard to properly track the boats: However, I was able to capture the next boat cleanly with my point-and-shoot camera (despite shutter delay) because it was dead in the water: Qatar has a long tradition of boating given its fishing and pearl diving history. Next to the MIA is the port where traditional dhows are still built: Here is the view looking south from the man-made hotel beach (though I'm sure the sand is locally sourced) towards the port and museum area (in the far background):

Hmm, perhaps the view is clearer from a higher vantage point:

(Yes, I took a brief swim in the Persian Gulf. It was surprisingly warm even in April. As a sinking swimmer (see here), I enjoyed the buoyancy offered by the sea water. However, as a scuba diver, I rate the visibility as downright murky though.)

You may also have noticed the huge project near the top of the satellite map. That is the Pearl-Qatar, an immense project which is still under construction (like much of Doha). Supposed to be a Riviera-style man-made island complex. Perhaps appropriately, this is the southern view from the patio of Bice, an Italian restaurant there:

I didn't get to see much of old Doha (if it exists). On a brief visit to the souk, which looked rather gentrified, I managed to take two 360° spherical panoramas:

(Use Apple's free QuickTime Player to view the special .mov image files, which can be zoomed and rotated 360° in all directions. Click on the links to see the spherical panoramas.)

souk1.mov Hello Majd!
souk2.mov

That's it for my Doha entries. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Doha: CMU at Qatar

(See my previous entry on the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) here.)

My visit to Doha was made possible by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) at Qatar. CMU-Q is located in a 14 sq km campus (named Education City) on the western edge of the city. Education City is a massive initiative housing multiple institutions and is the flagship project of the Qatar Foundation.

A bit like with the MIA, CMU has just recently moved into a building that looks somewhat quiet and fools the eye, appearing deceptively small from the outside, but is impressively large and opulent from the inside.

To illustrate this point, here is the entrance.

Behind that dark glass is the atrium, here is a 360° spherical panorama of what it looks likes on the other side:

(Use Apple's free QuickTime Player to view the special image, which can be zoomed and rotated 360° in all directions. Click on the link to see the panorama.)

Panorama p3.mov

(Notice how the atrium is lit from above by the Arabian sun. Also, I took this during setup for Meeting of the Minds, an end of semester student poster event: hence, the easels and tables for food. You may also be able to pick out the location of the next panorama.)

The next spherical panorama shows another open area to one side of the atrium.

Panorama p1.mov

(Unfortunately, there are only regular chairs in this picture. When I first arrived, there were wonderfully large red cushions in the seating area with students sitting around chatting and using their laptops. I missed that photo op.)

Next panorama, something at the other end of the size scale: the small but rather classy looking library:

Panorama p2.mov

(I like the way the library has floor-to-ceiling glass affording a view of the outside courtyard but always shielded from the blast furnace of a hot sun that I'm told can reach 55°C in summer. The only direct sun exposure here is filtered through the geometric openings on the far wall.)

Finally, here is the entrance to the building again (rumor has it the cost was $500 million to $600 million): If you click on the picture, you may be able to see water running continously down that center channel.

Ping Pong: Yokohama World Championships

I've been following the 2009 World Table Tennis Championships over the internet, on Japanese TV and live in person at the Yokohama Arena. Whew!

The finals just concluded yesterday.

Let's begin the day appropriately with a little dimsum in Yokohama's own Chinatown (横浜中華街):

Then head on up to Yokohama Arena in Shin-Yokohama (新横浜) to watch the matches.

Me, clutching my precious ticket for the men's and women's singles finals.

6,000 yen. Arena premium seating. Row 7. Worth every penny...

I sat in the section opposite the umpire. Apart from the tv cameras moving around, I got a great view.

Below is Wang Liqin (王励勤), world #5, in game 3 about to deliver a blistering forehand loop to Wang Hao (王皓), world #1:

It's a shame Wang Liqin lost 4-straight. But to be honest, I was really rooting for the other Wang anyway. Wang Hao uses the less common penhold grip. He has a great reverse side backhand loop game as well as a very strong forehand (the traditional hallmark of a penholder).

Here is a HD video clip of a point I recorded using my Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 from my seat. It nicely illustrates Wang Hao's two-winged attack style:

(Also available on Vimeo here.)

Simply put, his two-winged attacking style is the definitive version of the modern penhold game.

(As a penholder, I'm trying to learn the reverse side backhand loop to update my game. See my Shenzhen Ping Pong series on the topic: in particular, the entry here, and the series link here.)

The women's final featured the rather intimidating world #1 Zhang Yining (张怡宁) against the young defending world champion Guo Yue (郭跃), ranked #2.

I also love to watch the attacking style of the lefty Guo Yue. I like this motion blur shot of her looping because, for me, it captures her incredible speed.

All eyes on Guo Yue, as she is about to serve:

She won the first two games, but proceeded to lose the next four. Here is a HD-available video clip I took of a point illustrating her attacking style (score: 5-3 in Guo's favor but Zhang Yining is up 3-2 in games):

(Also available on Vimeo here.)

I used a little bit of zoom on my DMC-TZ5 to capture that rally.

The final HD clip below (at 10-6 and 2-2 in games) when viewed in full-screen mode is more representative of the kind of view I got from row 7 of the premium seating area.

(Also available on Vimeo here.)

(I honestly don't know how people up in the stands can see anything. After all, the ball is only 40mm in size.)

Videos of all the matches are available on the International Table Tennis Federation website (ittf.com). My favorite point in the men's final is at 30:19 in. Score: 2-0 in games and 4-2 in points. Check it out!

A last (panoramic) look at the venue for the 2009 Worlds: the Yokohama Arena:

Awards ceremony: China swept the men's singles (and women's too):

(L to R: Wang, Wang, Ma, Ma)

The championships are over for another two years. Let's head on back down to Chinatown to put on some more weight...