Sandisk is famous of its fast and reliable memory cards and that is why many professional photographers prefer Sandisk. There are a lot of fake Sandisk memory card out there especially compact flash card (CF) and secure digital card (SD). If you google search, you will find a lot of write-up about fake Sandisk memory card and guides on how to differentiate the fake and genuine.

I am more concern on CF card because all my Nikon camera uses CF. Here is a site which I found it very helpful on guides to identify fake Sandisk CF card - click here. But the best way to identify counterfeit card is to get a “PCMCIA” CF card reader/writer for computer laptop. I got mine through lelong.com which only cost me RM25 including delivery. Plug-in the PCMCIA card and CF card and it will function like normal USB card reader. When ejecting the card, go to “Safely Remove Device” and you will notice the name “Sandisk ****” which means that is the genuine Sandisk CF card. If is fake, it will show some other brand name.

Sandisk doesn’t come cheap compare with some other brand, if you are planning to get one, make sure you know what to look for.

I don't carry my camera along when my daughter is with me cause I need to carry her . So, whenever I need to take photo, I will use my trustworthy SE K810, 3.2 mega pixels mobile phone. Photos taken from a camera phone are "Just like box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get" . This two photos taken on "Chap Goh Meh" which is the 15th or final day of Chinese New Year. Amazingly, my 16 months old daughter is not affraid of Lion Dance.

Some shots taken from my recent assignment last week on family portrait. Infact, this is my first assignment mainly on family portrait. Photos taken at their house garden. Luckily the weather was lovely, made the photo shooting so much more enjoyable.

The ninth day of the Chinese New Year is a important day to Hokkiens and Teochews. They offer prayers to the Jade Emperor which traditionally is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. In Mandarin we call it "Bai Tian Gong" (Pray to the Jade Emperor). Come midnight of the eighth day of the new year, Hokkiens will offer thanks giving prayers to the Emperor of Heaven and you can hear fire crackers cracking at your neighborhood especially places like Klang, Penang and Johor.

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I like to eat Yee Sang(chinese style raw fish salad). Infact I ate it before chinese new year, and this time is my third time this year. So, I might as well leave the chopsticks down, give chance to the rest so that I can take some photos.

Yee Sang is usually eaten on "Ren Re"(People's day or everybody's birthday), which is the seventh day of Chinese New Year, the day when everyone grows one year older. Yee Sang is served as an appetizer to raise 'good luck' for the new year. Chinese call it as "Lo Hei"(In Cantonese), just say that it means "All The Best". Families and friends get together around the table, using chopsticks to toss the shredded ingredients into the air while saying auspicious wishes out loud to mark the start of a prosperous new year.

"Lo Hei" to everyone.

I know some of you are curious of Nikon D3 ISO performance, so do I when I got mine. So I tested some few shots. All photos shot in RAW(NEF) file then convert to JPEG. Camera setting set to Auto White Balance, no Flash, normal noise reduction, no further noise reduction was done.

(1) Lens 50mm F1.4, ISO1600, 1/250s, f1.4, 50mm
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(2) Lens 24-70mm F2.8, ISO1600, 1/125s, f2.8, 52mm
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(3) Lens 105mm VR F2.8, ISO3200, 1/400s, f13, 105mm
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(4) Lens 105mm VR F2.8, ISO3200, 1/320s, f25, 105mm
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I handheld shot these 2 macro photos. Is hard to get sharp photos without the help of VR and high ISO of Nikon D3.

(5) Lens 24-70mm F2.8, ISO3200, 1/160s, f2.8, 50mm
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(6) Lens 24-70mm F2.8, ISO6400, 1/20s, f2.8, 35mm
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At this setting, roughly you would know how dim is the light.

(7) Lens 24-70mm F2.8, ISO6400, 1/50s, f2.8, 70mm
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I can set ISO up to 3200 and use the photos straight out from camera without having to do further noise reduction. At ISO6400, photos are abit noisy, but still bearable. Both the new lens are truly gorgeous. Fast focusing and produce sharp images. Nikon D3 outdoes my expectations. White balance is very accurate, very fast focusing and amazing ISO performance. With the 2 new lens, the combination is truly remarkable.

Yeap, you are right. I have got myself a Nikon D3, together with lens 14-24 and 24-70. D3 is now the top, best in Nikon Professional DSLR series. This machine is so hot, is under waiting list. I have book it since early December 2007 and I am glad that it has finally arrived 2 days before Chinese New Year, so that I can have fun with it during break. I am Nikon D200 user, so it doesn't take me too long to go through its 1 inch thick user manual Buttons locations and functions are more or less same as D200 and D2X/s.

The main reason for me getting Nikon D3 is its ISO performance. I have read some review about its ISO performance and couldn't belive my eyes after I shots some photo from it at high ISO ranging from 1600 to 6400. I'm speechless! Shooting at ISO3200 is a dream come true. At ISO6400 is still bearable. Alongside with some new features, Full Frame Sensor(FX), 51 focus points, 2 CF slots, super sharp 3 inch LCD, live view, and the list continue. What can I say? Nikon D3, totally different BEAST!

This year, I have added 3 new pages which are the "Booking Schedule", "Testimonial", and this blog you are viewing. Check back often for latest update.