Taiwan Trip

A day after the Macau trip, we are off to Taiwan. We were a bit tired, so we decided to have a more relax trip and abandoned going to Hualian. The trip consisted of eating, eating and more eating, as well as visiting Taichung and a few well known tourist spots. Here are some highlights.

中正紀念公園

中正紀念公園兩側的國家戲劇院及國家音樂廳

中正紀念堂 - 升旗儀式

國家戲劇院

淡水黃昏

漁人碼頭

@龍山寺

忠烈祠

忠烈祠內

忠烈祠 士兵操

士林夜市

西門町

hello kitty 主題餐廳

台北101

文武廟

日月潭 – 左:月潭, 右日潭

玄光寺

水渡碼頭夜景

美麗華摩天輪

台北車站

Macau

This year's end of the year trip includes a 7 days stop in Macau. I made it to the end without losing money in the city of gamble Here are some highlights.

The ruins of St Paul Church 大三巴牌坊

 

Macau Skyline 澳門夜景

Grand Lisboa 澳門新葡京

Wynn 永利

吉祥樹 in Wynn

富貴龍 in Wynn

澳門觀音像

The Venetian 澳門威尼斯人

City of dreams 新濠天地天幕

Sunset @ Macau St Paul 大三巴牌坊日落

The famous Macau Beef and Pork Jerky 澳門鉅記餅家豬肉乾牛肉乾

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII Test Shot

Recently, I had a photo shoot with the new Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII.

Here is a test shot taken right before the photo shoot. The shot was taken handheld to test the

• response of the AF – I didn't have any problem with the AF. It was fast and accurate even during low light in the evening. I didn’t recall any long AF hunting.
• sharpness of the lens – the 100% crop image speaks for itself
• VRII – I did notice the difference between VRII and VR. Camera shake is less apparent even at low shutter speed.

I have also noted my first impression of the lens here.

The settings were f/4, ISO 400, 1/125s, f=200mm

Here is a 100% crop on the eye straight out of the camera. Amazingly, you can find three people in this image. One with the camera, one with a reflector and the model herself.

Model: Gigi

First photoshoot using the new Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII.

Model: Gigi

Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII
Flash: SB-600 wireless triggered

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII Arrived

Finally after a long search, I have found the new Nikon 70-200mm f/.8 VRII. It first came out on the 27th Nov,2009. It is a bit shorter but fatter when compared with the original 70-200mm.

I did a photoshoot with the 70-200mm VRII yesterday (more on this in a few days) and my impression so far:

• 
  
  I didnt notice much of the weight difference, in fact the shorter length makes it easier to maneuver and provides a better balance with the body.
  
  
  
• 
  
  AF seems fast and accurate.
  
  
  
• 
  
  the lens is sharp. More on this in a few days with some test shots
  
  
  
• 
  
  big difference with VRII,  it stablises faster,  less wearing on my arms. Also noticed less camera shake images.
  
  
  
• 
  
  the zoom ring is a bit wider, providing a better grip
  
  
  

Currently away in Asia

I am currently away in Asia and returning in mid Jan, 2010. The trip includes travelling to Hong Kong, Taiwan and parts of China.

I will keep you posted with regular updates and photos.

Camera gear for this trip include Canon SX10, Nikon D700, Nikon 20mm f/2.8, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8. Expect some serious photography on this trip :D

Taken with Canon SX10