wong – Ming Thein | Photographer

Review: The 2017 Canon EOS M6

October 2, 2017 by Robin Wong

With the release of the Canon EOS-M5/M6, perception towards Canon’s mirrorless system has changed. Both the M5 and M6 use the same APS-C 24 Megapixels image sensor and dual pixel AF system as Canon’s high-end APS-C DSLR, the 77D, Thanks to Canon Malaysia, I have had the new Canon EOS-M6 to shoot with for the past week. I understand that the M6 is not a new camera and has been on the market since April. Some of you may already have one. I am doing this review purely out of curiosity: to find out where the M6 fits in the almost never-ending choice of mirrorless cameras now. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews, Robin Wong Tagged With: canon, canon m6, eos m6, gearhead, m6, mingthein.com, review, robin, Robin Wong, wong

Life after Olympus

September 11, 2017 by Robin Wong

I left Olympus Malaysia not too long ago, which came as a surprise to many, and subsequently Ming Thein on this awesome photography site as an active contributor. Since then, I’ve been asked by many curious people how my life has been, what I’ve been doing, which manufacturer I’ve jumped ship to (Sony? Fujifilm? *gasp*) and how the hell I can still afford that expensive cup of coffee? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Off topic, Robin Wong, Uncategorized Tagged With: life after olympus, mingthein.com, opinion, robin, Robin Wong, wong

Review: The Olympus Zuiko Digital ZD 12-100/4 Pro

September 8, 2017 by Robin Wong

For the last year, the question I’ve been asked most frequently is when will I review the Olympus M.Zuiko 12-100mm F4 lens? The reason this has been pushed back so long is because I knew I was exiting Olympus, and I wanted this review to be written after I had left the company. While Olympus never restricted me, during my time there, in saying anything I wanted to about their cameras or lenses, I just felt that being completely independent would make it easier to write freely. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews, Robin Wong Tagged With: 12-100, 12-100 review, gearhead, micro four thirds, mingthein.com, olympus, review, robin, Robin Wong, wong

Street photography with the Olympus E-M10 Mark III

September 5, 2017 by Robin Wong

Traditionally, I always bring a new camera to the streets to shoot for review. For the recently launched Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III (full review here), I decided to shoot a different variety of sample shots which included sports, outdoor portrait and landscape. I am all game when it comes to doing something different to keep my reviews fresh. Still, since I had the E-M10 Mark III with me for a few more days, I had to satisfy the itch to have my shutter therapy on the streets. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews, On Photography, Robin Wong Tagged With: e-m10 mark iii, e-m10.3, m4/3, micro four thirds, mingthein.com, olympus, photography, robin, Robin Wong, street, street photography, wong

Premiere and review: The 2017 Olympus E-M10 Mark III

August 31, 2017 by Robin Wong

Update (14 May 2018): Olympus has launched version 1.1 firmware update for E-M10 Mark III, enabling RC Mode (wireless flash TTL).

Olympus just launched a new camera in their OM-D series – the E-M10 Mark III. I personally own an E-M10 Mark II that was launched 2 years ago and have found it to be an extremely reliable and versatile camera to work with. The new and third iteration of the E-M10 comes with a few feature upgrades and improvements. In this article I shall review the OM-D E-M10 Mark III’s performance based on my own experience.

Frequently asked questions at street photography workshops

August 27, 2017 by Robin Wong

For the several years, I have conducted basic street photography workshops for Olympus Malaysia and it’s been a great joy for me to be able to share some tips and tricks on street shooting with my workshop participants. After each and every session, I am amazed at how, regardless of the diversity in participants, the same questions were asked repeatedly. Therefore, I thought I’d share some of these frequently asked questions and a few things I have learned during these sessions today. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, On Photography, Robin Wong Tagged With: faq, mingthein.com, robin, Robin Wong, street photography, wong, workshops

Medium telephoto lenses for street photography

August 21, 2017 by Robin Wong

Given how widely practiced it is, its no surprise that street photography has many rules-of-thumb, and one of them has to do with focal lengths – the traditionally preferred ones have been on the wider end such as 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. However, I’ve often found myself using an unconventional focal length of 90mm. While the wider focal lengths may be more suited for environmental portraits and story telling, using a longer focal lengths allows me to break away from that stereotype and to create a more dramatic outcome.

In this article, I will explore why medium telephoto is my preferred focal length and the advantages of using tighter framing in street photography. It’s important to not that since I primarily shoot with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II and M.Zuiko 45mm F1.8 these days, “medium telephoto” here refers to 90mm in 35mm terms.

Micro four thirds and insect macros (part II)

August 8, 2017 by Robin Wong

This is a follow up to the last article on insect photography but unlike in that, I will not discuss techniques today, but rather why I find the Olympus Micro Four Thirds system ideal for newcomers to photography, who want to explore the world of insect macro. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, On Photography, Robin Wong Tagged With: insect macro, macro, macrophotography, micro four thirds, mingthein.com, nature, robin, Robin Wong, technique, wong

Insect macro photography techniques – an ongoing experimentation (part I)

August 6, 2017 by Robin Wong

1/125sec. F11, ISO200, Wireless Flash fired

When I first ventured into photography, I started with insect macro photography, and it quickly became an activity I indulged in often. Macro photography, I think, is one of the more technically demanding types of photography, and is a good, if masochistic, way to learn and get all your photography basics right. In addition to different techniques to gain magnification, you have to worry about accurate focus, proper hand-holding technique, and the use and control of additional lighting and lighting modifiers.

After a recent attempt at insect macro work (for the OM-D E-M10 Mark II review), I found myself with a renewed itch to hunt for insects to photograph. This in turn lead to me writing this article sharing my techniques for insect macro photography.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Articles, On Photography, Robin Wong Tagged With: insect macro, macro, macrophotography, mingthein.com, nature, robin, Robin Wong, technique, wong

Field test: the Scarabaeus camera clip

August 5, 2017 by Ming Thein

The Scarabaeus is a German hand-made camera holster system that clips to the waist belt allowing quick access to the camera. Generally, special holster for quick access camera attachment systems can be useful for street shooters. Ming Thein and myself have had one each to try out for the past several weeks. . In this article, I shall share my experience using the Scarabaeus camera clip in street shooting scenario. MT will add his thoughts towards the end, having also road tested it.

Disclaimer: the Scarabaeus was sent to us by photoscarab.de; we agreed to try it out to provide feedback because it seemed like an interesting idea and solution to the problem for those who don’t like neckstraps, but still sometimes need their hands free.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Gearhead: Reviews Tagged With: gearhead, mingthein.com, review, robin, scarabaeus, wong