Impulse Buying Since January

Been spending much time on ebay looking for accessories since I bought my dSLR end december. People who know me well will know that I am really slow and 'ngiao' in buying things, must survey few rounds first to get the best value-for-money deal. Ebay actually provides a good ground for people like me to purchase used item below market price, although there are risks involved but I think it's worth trying.

Won 7 items on ebay since January:

KM 70-210mm F4 Beercan for GBP87.60 - about the market price for the discontinued model, but the condition of the lens is mint so I am happy with it. Comes with the original metal hood which can goes up crazily to GBP20 on ebay!

Fuji Finepix Z1 5.1MP for GBP88.50 - new camera easily cost more than GBP200, the condition and quality of picture is good and the ebay seller sent me extra memory card and battery so it's a good deal.

Velbon Compact 2 tripod for GBP7 (the postage cost me GBP6 though) - the condition and built quality is superb, a new mid range Velbon will cost about GBP30 in shop. Need it for night photography.

4 hoya filters:

• 55mm Skylight 1B for USD$4.80 including postage - I bought the new UV filter for my kit lens in KL for RM60.
• 49mm Close-Up (+4) for GBP2 - great value!
• 49mm HMC Skylight 1B for GBP1.50 - need it to protect my 50mm F1.7
• 55mm Circular Polarizer for GBP5.50 - this will cost more than RM100 new in KL, very good condition
  

50mm F1.7 for USD$65 including shipping cost - no doubt the best deal among all, very happy playing with the lens now!

Off loaded some item on gumtree for future upgrade funding:

my SAL 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 - bought it in Sg Wang KL for RM800, sold it for GBP110 before it drops further. Dare not risk it on ebay though worrying won't get what I want. It's selling for GBP180 in UK and some of these were sold for GBP140 on ebay!

also sold my 2 used 55mm Hoya lens filters which were used on my old Canon system for GBP3 each, happy enough since it has been laying there for many years. I bought my Canon EOS 50 for RM1,600 many years ago and put it on ebay now for just GBP30 yet nobody is asking!@#$%!!

Looking for a longer telephoto lens now but will be more patience this time until there's a good deal.

Borough Market

Haven't really had a real test on my 2 newly added lens so decided to bring them out last weekend.. I picked the 250 years old Borough Market near London Bridge, as I think market should be a colourful place to have fun with my camera.. But again, weather wasn't brilliant and most time was cloudy...

photos taken with 50mm F1.7, a value-for-money lens indeed:

Borough Market

wild rabbits for sale (dead)

tomatoes - i love the colours don't you?

unknown flower or vege?

yellow flower (roses?)

the oyster bigger than my palm

english looking english man making english cake

artisan foods

fresh fish in the market

how nice is it to enjoy a cup of hot coffee in the cold weather (this was taken with the beercan)

unknown plant at southwark cathedral

i bet this tree at the cathedral must be more than 100 years old

trees by tate modern (where a lawyer who works 16 hours a day jumped down to end his life today)

walked along river thames to test my 70-210mm F4 beercan:

i have no idea what breed is it but it's damn funny and cute!

her partner, damn funny looking isn't it?

kids all love it

street performer by river thames

Fuji Finepix Z1

saw justin's photos in rome and switzerland taken using fuji finepix z1, the picture quality amazed me, colours are vibrant and image is sharp.

this model is quite popular and the biddings are competitive on ebay, after a week, finally i won the fuji finepix Z1 with 2 batteries, 128mb + 256mb XD cards for GBP88, to give it to my sister (i know damn cheapskate lah getting an used camera as gift)...
photo taken using my 50mm, aperture F1.7 at ISO1600 in my room to compensate the low light condition, noise level is quite high indeed.
alongside my ixus 30 which has accompanied me through the past few years journey.

some quick test before i sent it back to malaysia:

london eye
borough market 01borough market 02
southwark cathedral

weather wasn't brilliant as usual, but overall the Z1's performance is quite satisfying.

Craving for Nasi Lemak

I seriously miss the chinese nasi lemak behind ho cheng yun flats in KL. During my december trip back in KL, we only able to make it there once even though it is just a stone throw away from my house. This is the place that tells you why my gf gained so much weight when I was around.You can order nasi lemak with various dishes - curry chicken, long beans, fried or boiled eggs, kacang, ikan bilis and sambal of coz, and they have my favourite gizzard as well! I am so so so hungry thinking about it...

Arrival of my prime lens

Finally the minolta maxxum 50mm F1.7 prime lens is added to complete my dSLR system line up, thanks to dyxum forum member jeff from US who sold it to me at just USD$65 including shipping cost.

The used lens price has gone mad on ebay to GBP50-60 easily. My ultimate target is the sony alpha 50mm F1.4 but it's selling new in KL at RM1,400. I am happy with the F1.7 since the 1 stop different doesn't really affect much on photos that i want to take at the moment.
my line up from left to right: 70-210mm F.4 beercan, 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 (will get rid of it if the price is right to fund for a minolta 100-300mm APO D), 50mm F1.7 and 18-70mm F3.5-5.6

tested the lenses at borough market during the weekend, the outcome was satisfying, will post the photos later after editting, not yet familiar with the commands in adobe photoshop cs2 yet.

Snowfall in London

it's not common to have snowfall in london but this year's winter on 8th February i had seen the real snowfall for the first time and it was said to be the heaviest in a decade.



not really that heavy but i kinda like the feel and have set my goal to visit the alps for a ski tour probably the next winter.

How sinful are you?

Your Deadly Sins

Envy: 20%

Gluttony: 20%

Pride: 20%

Sloth: 20%

Wrath: 20%

Greed: 0%

Lust: 0%

Chance You'll Go to Hell: 14%

You will die at the hands of a jealous lover. How ironic.

How Sinful Are You?

a silly test i know, can't really agree that gluttony as one of my deadly sins and 0% on lust though.

it says i will die in the hands of a jealous lover... haha... by my garang gf? possibly a remake of fatal attraction?