First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates on the blog section of this site. As some of you already noticed, I have been using the Fujifilm X70 for the past 7 months and I thought it was about time I wrote something about this nifty little camera. 

I've been a Nikon user ever since I started photography in 2011. The reason I chose Nikon back then was simple; the people around me used Nikon so it was the obvious choice. As time went by, I gradually developed a liking for street photography but the more I did it, the less I was enjoying it. As much as I loved my D800, it gradually became a hindrance. When walking on the cramped streets of Hong Kong, the huge size of the camera immediately put the people around me on alert. I was taking less and less photos to the point where I left the camera at home. One could always argue its not the gear but the photographer that gets the shot but sometimes, if you don't have the right tool for the job, you might miss out on opportunities which was what was happening with my D800. 7 months ago, I decided to sell a lens that I haven't been using and used it to exchange for a brand new Fujifilm X70. Here are my thoughts about it after using it for the past 7 months.
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​Being used to the chunkiness of a D800, the Fujifilm X70 by comparison is tiny. As a buy with big hands, I had to buy a faux leather half case and a thumb grip to bulk it up so it could fit in my hand comfortably. When I take the camera onto the street, I immediately notice that size does matters (no pun intended). The stares I used to get when I raise my D800 are gone and people hardly notice that I've taking photos. The shutter is nearly silent which is a plus too. I was surprised how well the apc-s sensor performed. Photos are usable all the way to ISO 6400. The 18.5mm (28mm full frame equivalent) did take some time to get used to since it forced me to get closer to my subjects. If you like the 28mm focal length, you'll definitely enjoy this camera. Did I also mention that the LCD is a touch screen and it flips out too?  Aside from praises, there were a few things that do bug me about the camera. 

The first thing that stood out was the charging time. The NP-95 battery takes around a good 6-7 hours to charge in the charger and the battery only charges slightly faster when I charge it in camera. I did some research online and the conclusion I came up with was that Fuji deliberately lowered the voltage so the battery would last long but the downside was it would take longer to fully charge. If you do plan to get a camera that uses the NP-95 battery, do get a spare. I ended up buying a third party battery from a local camera store so when I run out of juice, I can pop the spare in instead of waiting 6-7 hours for the battery to fully charged. The camera takes around 300+ photos before I have to change batteries so if you are selective of what you photograph, battery life lasts a long way.  The other thing that bugs me is the slow AF when it comes to larger apertures, especially at f/2.8. Turning on face detection has helped AF speed up a bit but it does get a bit annoying when the camera hunts around and end up getting a blurry shot.
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Conclusion
The Fujifilm X70 for me has brought back the fun in photography. The compact size makes it a perfect every day camera that I can whip out for a shot. Along with the near silent shutter, I can walk around the streets of Hong Kong taking photos unnoticed and capturing shots that I would definitely miss if I had used my D800. Although AF can be a pain when used with large apertures, the pros out weight the cons on this tiny camera. While the Fujifilm X70 has been discontinued, I'm pretty sure you can still pick one at your local camera store. 

It's been a while since I've updated the blog section on my site. A lot of changes have happened in the past year, which includes moving to Hong Kong, getting married and a new job. Now that things have calmed down a bit, I thought it would be good to keep people updated on what I've been doing lately. Last week, I stumbled upon photos of a friend who went to the annual Tsing Yi bamboo theatre. Every year during the lunar months of March and April, locals inhabitants of Tsing Yi, Hong Kong set up a temporary bamboo theatre to celebrate the birthday of the Tin Hau (The Empress of Heaven) and Zhen Jun (The True Lord). Two Chinese operas are shown each day during the celebration and surrounding the theatre are hawkers selling traditional HK street food. People from all over the city flock to Tsing Yi during the 2 weeks to join in on the celebrations and food. Not having been myself, a few friends and I decided to go there after work to see what the fuss was about. 

It was around 19:30 when we arrived at the location just about when it was starting to get dark. At the middle of the night market was a temporary bamboo temple which housed the God Zhen Jun and right across from the temple was the bamboo theatre. Since the opera wasn't due to start till 19:45, we wandered off to the street hawkers in search of food. 

More and more people arrived at the night market and it got really hard to move around since people were queuing for food in the dozens. We did end up getting a potato twizzler on a stick after waiting for 20 minutes in line. I got lucky and got lamb on a stick within 5 minutes of waiting in line. There were also street vendors selling dai pai dong style stirfrys, deep-friend stinky tofu (not as stinky as I hoped it would be) and the list goes on. I do wish there were regular night markets in Hong Kong like in Taiwan where one could get off work and wander off to a night market to pick up something cheap and delicious to eat. 

If you felt like you missed out on this annual event, have no fear. This is a twice a year event and the next night market will be held from May 7th to the 11th. To go there, take the MTR and get off Tsing Yi station. Walk towards exit C and follow the crowd of people walking in the same direction and you'll arrive at the night market within 10 minutes. ​ Try to arrive early to avoid the crowd.

Pros
One of the things that I love about this lens is the focal length. I've tried photography at 35mm and always found it too wide and 50mm too confining at times. The 45mm fills that gap completely. It gives a wide angle feel of the 35mm but the framing of the 50mm. Another thing is the size. The lens looks absolutely miniscule compared to the D800 and I can not emphasize how light my camera is now. Did I mention how creamy the bokeh is?

Summary
Even with its drawbacks, I still have to say the Nippon Kogaku GN Auto Nikkor 45mm f/2.8 is one of my favourite all around photography lenses. The focal length makes it easier for me to get the shots that I want and the size is a plus. While the focusing does take a while to get used to ( it also turns the "wrong" way), it is a fun nifty lens that I'd recommend having if you can find one at a decent price.

More sample images here

Last week, the west coast of Korea, especially the province of Chungnam received over 10cm of snow for 2 days straight. It covered the land with a beautiful blanket of white snow and while it was amazing, most of it has melted away. Here are some photos from last week in Taean.