CNET have just reviewed the newest addition to Canon’s digital camera line-up, the Powershot G5.

“Although the G5’s black finish makes it look different from the silver G3, the two digicams offer nearly identical features and specs, including the same 4X zoom lens. Throw in the G5’s improved performance and generally great image quality, and you have a hard camera for photo enthusiasts to resist. Only a severe problem with purple fringing gives us pause.”

Website: CNET - Canon Powershot G5 Review

Batu Men #1	Batu Men #2	Batu Men #3

I should have arrived back from holiday today (charter flights permitting…) so normal PhotographyBLOG service will resume shortly :-)




Here are a few photographs from the Batu Caves, a famous temple located on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpa. These two men caught my attention before we climbed the 272 steps and went into the caves themselves.




You can view some more Batu Caves photographs here: Batu Caves Album

Melaka #1	Melaka #2	Melaka #3

We were only able to make a flying visit to the Southern Malaysia town of Melaka, with its distinctive town square of red buildings and fascinating Chinese quarter. Everybody seemed to ride around on bikes, and you could hire one these bike and trailer contraptions, complete with driver, to save yourself from having to walk around in the searing heat. They were a bit similar to the motorised tuk-tuks of Bangkok, albeit without the engine, noxious fumes or breakneck speeds.




You can view some more Melaka photographs here: Melaka Album

Cameron Highlands #1	Cameron Highlands #2	Cameron Highlands #3

The Cameron Highlands is a forested area in the north of Malaysia, famous for it’s tea plantations and walking country. The road journey up to and back down from the Highlands is not for the travel-sick; there must be over 50 switchback degree turns in the road, not helped by the seat-of-the-pants way in which many Malaysians tend to drive, including our bus driver. The temperature is about 10 degrees cooler than in the lowlands, more like England than the Far East, and it rained for most of our 3-day stay there. We did manage to visit this tea plantation though; the huts that you can see in the distance are where the plantation workers live.




You can view some more Cameron Highlands photographs here: Cameron Highlands Album

Kho Pha Ngan #1	Kho Pha Ngan #2	Kho Pha Ngan #3

A complete change of pace today, as we leave London and pay a visit to the Far East :-)




Kho Pha Ngan is one of those small, secluded islands off the coast of Thailand, less well known than it’s neighbours but still very beautiful. I visited the island last year as part of a 3 week tour of Thailand and Malaysia.




We’d been told that the sunrise was well worth getting up for, so despite being something of a late starter in the mornings, I set the alarm for 5.00am and dragged my girlfriend down to the beach. We had the sunrise and the beach to ourselves, apart from the pack of slightly unkempt looking dogs, who simultaneously howled at the sun as it rose out of the ocean. This is the only sunrise that I’ve ever got up to photograph; what a way to start :-)




You can view some more Kho Pha Ngan photographs here: Kho Pha Ngan Album

Westminster #4	Westminster #5	Westminster #6

Portcullis House is one of the newest additions to the London list of interesting buildings, sitting in the shadow of Parliament and Big Ben. It’s a very bold, brash, modern structure that has a lot of photographic potential for isolating patterns and symmetry. The first shot above is the side of one of the Parliament buildings; completely different but with a similar potential as Portcullis house for isolating specific details.




You can view some more Westminster photographs here: Westminster Album

Westminster #1	Westminster #2	Westminster #3

London is full of statues of famous figures from the past, which go largely unnoticed by the public. Most of them are soot-black or bright-white in colour, which provides a good test for the Canon 10Ds metering system. Focusing on the statue’s head and using multi-segment metering didn’t fool the camera and produced a perfect exposure each time.




You can view some more Westminster photographs here: Westminster Album

Westminster Abbey #4	Westminster Abbey #5	Westminster Abbey #6

A few close-up shots of Westminster Abbey, all taken hand-held with the Canon 10D and Canon 70-200mm f/4 lens.




You can view some more Westminster Abbey photographs here: Westminster Abbey Album

Westminster Abbey #1	Westminster Abbey #2	Westminster Abbey #3

This was my first visit to Westminster Abbey with a camera; for some reason I’ve always preferred the other side of London near the City and St Pauls. There’s a lot of potential for candid photography of people, as you can freely walk past one side of the Abbey. Failing that, there’s always the statues to keep you interested…




You can view some more Westminster Abbey photographs here: Westminster Abbey Album

Royal Guards #1	Royal Guards #2	Royal Guards #3

As you walk from Trafalgar Square to Westminster, the parade ground where the “Changing of the Guard” takes place is on the right-hand side of the road. There are always some royal guards on duty, up to 7pm when the gates are closed. Tourists, including what I think are US Naval Officers in the first picture above, gather to stand, stare and have their photograph taken. The Royal Guards are trained not to care; they just go about their business as if nobody else is there.




You can view some more Royal Guard photographs here: Royal Guards Album

From tomorrow (2nd July), I will be happily ensconced on a remote Greek island, sipping cocktails and eating moussaka. There’s nothing quite like booking your summer holiday 2 days before actually leaving! The only downside is that our flight leaves at the shockingly early time of 5.30 in the morning… :-(

Using the magical powers of pMachine, I’ve set up a photographic entry to appear at 9am each day until the 10th July , so you should at least have some nice photos to look at until I get back :-)

NOTE: I will not be responding to or even checking my email until the 10th July. Anybody who signs up as a new member will receive their free screensaver/wallpaper when I’ve got back and unpacked. Also there will be no newsletter this week.

There are a lot of new July updates out today! The latest issue of Nature Photograpers Online Magazine includes the articles “Same Old, Same Old?Why does all Nature Photography Look the Same?”, “Introduction to Large Format” and “Focal Length Multiplier”. Well worth a read even if you don’t consider yourself to be a nature/wildlife photographer.

Website: Nature Photograpers Online Magazine

28mm, the online photography magazine, has updated for July with the work of 12 new photographers.

Website: 28mm

Stuck in a photograhic cul-de-sac? Tired of shooting the same old same old? Searching for some much-needed inspiration? Then “26 Things: the international photographic scavenger hunt” might be just what you’re looking for…

“print this page out and take one creative photo for each theme over the month of july 2003.

the aim of this photographic project is to make us open our eyes and get creative with the things and people around us, to see how we each interpret themes.”

Website: 26 Things

The new July 2003 issue of megapixel.net, the “Monthly Digital Still Camera Web Magazine”, features new reviews of these cameras:

- Canon PowerShot S50
- Canon S400/IXUS 400
- Fuji FinePix F410
- Olympus Stylus 400
- Sony DSC-V1

and this printer:

- Canon i850 Bubble Jet Printer

and a look at the Four Thirds standard for digital cameras.

Website: megapixel.net

Photexels have published their first ever review, taking an in-depth look at the Minolta Dimage Xt.

“The Minolta DiMAGE Xt is a well-built and beautifully crafted all-metallic ultra compact digital camera. Its target audience is those who desire a quality digital camera they can carry with them at all times. With its small dimensions and light weight, the Xt easily fits in a shirt pocket, a small fashion purse, or in the front pocket of a pair of jeans. An ingenious design that puts its 3x optical zoom lens inside the camera body means that there is no lens protrusion and gives the Xt its stunning flat design. “

Website: Photexels - Minolta Dimage Xt Review

Imaging Resource have reviewed the Kodak EasyShare DX6340 3.1 megapixel digital camera which has an RRP of $329. Here’s a quote from the review:

“Overall, the DX6340 delivers the bright, vibrant color that’s characteristic of Kodak’s EasyShare camera line. Resolution is a bit lower than average for a three megapixel camera, but image noise levels are quite good, and there’s generally less geometric distortion in its images than I’m accustomed to seeing, no doubt thanks to the high-quality Schneider lens.”

Website: Imaging Resource - Kodak EasyShare DX6340 Review

ePhotoZine have posted a new batch of photographic techniques for the new month of July (is it really July already?!). This months most interesting article is called “Is the image really worth enhancing?”, subtitiled “Making the decision of whether to throw-away or enhance an image”. It’s an interesting look at 4 subtly different images of the same subject and the steps that the author went through to select and tweak the final image. Other articles include “Depth-of-field explained”, “Backlighting still lifes” and “Making a black & white fine print”.

Website: ePhotoZine - July Techniques

Cokin have announced a brand new filter system aimed at professional photographers. The Z-Pro system includes over 80 different filters available in 2 different sizes; 100x100mm for the plain filters, and 100x150mm for the graduated ones. Prices start at ?21.60 for a UV/Skylight filter. It will be interesting to see how popular the new system is, given that a lot of the filter effects can be achieved using Photoshop or other similar imaging software.

Website: ePhotoZine - Z-Pro Filters

Travels with Valerie and Joe is a smart-looking, new weblog with some excellent photography and travel writing. The “Weekend in Belgium” article is of particular interest to me, as the authors seem to have visited the same places that I did in May! (and I’m always intrigued to see what people make of the same subjects).

Website: Travels with Valerie and Joe