Dell Vs Lacie - Round 2

See Round 1
2 months after calibration of both panels...
The DELL2707
2mths after

Recalibrated/profiled

The LACIE 321
2mths after

Recalibrated/profiled

Consistency? Lacie wins hands down. Even though both panels have shifted.. the Lacie is still more consistent. Overall, again this simply re-enforces my previous finding that although the DELL has a bigger gamut and more estate.. its still not quite THE LCD for critical color work. The Lacie simply is better.. due to the SA-SFT panel AND the better 12bit gamma circuitry within. Note the Grey level consistencies of both panels, the charts simply speak for themselves.
Obviously, you get what you paid for. The Dell 2707 panels costs a third less than the Lacie 321 offering bigger gamuts and estate with higher response rates targeting more towards the gamers/multi-purpose users rather than the color specialists. That said.. the Dell is still a great LCD and just about as good as it gets short of dual DVI panels.

Images from yesterday

New 2008 Option Package

Hi guys/gals...

After carefully reviewing situations and conditions for 2006/2007/2008, I've decided to introduce 3 new packages to mark the year of 2008. Most of my clients are of Generation X and Y so the packages have been named to suit. We now live in the new era of high technology and the new packages have been carefully designed to match both advances in technology as well as cater for the previous generation.

I'm therefore proud to present to you the following new rates and packages:

Generation XY - The Premium High Tech Wedding Package to bridge the generation divide.
Infinite-XY - The Classic Wedding Package with a touch of technology.
Virtual-XY - The all Virtually Digital Package.
One-XY - Simply One

More information in the Rates and Packages page.

Test your color sensitivity

What do you see?
Are the two pictures above similar or identical?
How many of you cannot read the numbers in the circles?

Back to the old days

About 19 years ago, I had the opportunity to handle a Nikon FM2. It belonged to my brother though I was never quite given the opportunity to continue shooting with it. A year later, I managed to save up enough to get my own. It was no Nikon nor Canon.. but a Chinon. Believe it or not.. I still have it. I found it sitting in the storage room in a dark corner. The lens, of course, was engraved with wonderful green stuff that's the bane of all photographers.. The body was suprisingly still in reasonable condition with a bit of rust here and there AND most importantly.. still worked.





From that time till today, I've had the opportunity to shoot with a few cameras including a Nikon F60 with a 28-135 Vitacon lens. Yeah.. I was a dark knight back then. Whilst in the UK, the F60 helped provide images to a new business start-up of a friend and fellow chess enthusiat for his brochures. A few years ago..Then I made the jump to Digital with the Minolta 7Hi and sold my first image to an international bank. It felt good. After that, I was shown the light (as if.. hehehe). And from the darkness, emerged a new light.

Till today, my film camera, stayed in the dry cab until recently.. when I came across an new old Contax G1 sitting in Guan Chuan for sale. Its still there. I didnt buy it. I couldnt justify the price asked because the camera was still new. I did, however, come across one for sale from a user in a forum and ended up buying it.

[Image from Contax site - until I can shoot my own]
(Thanks Michael! I think I'm going to enjoy waiting for someone else to develop and process the film again. At least for a change.)
It should be arriving in a few days. Until then, my old trusty 1N is out and about with some fine grained Black and Whites and some Fuji NPS/H renewing old feelings.

PS. In case anyone is asking.. this isnt a point and shoot.. well. kinda..
Its a rangefinder. Not a hard core RF like the Leica Ms but a hybrid.

Reviews:
http://www.camerareview.com/templates/reviews.cfm?camera_id=196
http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Contax-G2
Lots more out there for those interested. Google it!

Job opening: Assistant

Job Description

To assist the photographer in any way as required. General assistance includes:

Primary responsibilities -
1) On location work with photographer
2) Delivering images to and from labs/printers
3) Sorting and making albums
4) Others*
Secondary responsibilities* (will be trained in this)-
a) Processing and editing images
b) Photography

Must be Brunei national or permanent resident with valid driving licence.
Age between 18-25 Male/Female
Speaks English or Malay preferably both.
Education from GCE O and above
Interest in photography/business.
Left handed* Yes, a requirement.

Email CV with photo and salary expectation.

Only shortlisted candidates will be called for interview.

AkadNikah.com

Akad Nikah is the solemnisation of a Muslim/malay wedding. In Brunei, every weekend, there is a wedding happening somewhere. Some are small and amongst friends whilst others are witnessed by an entire nation. Weddings in Brunei are a joyous and exciting time where families both nuclear or extended get together giving each other a helping hand and contributing to the joyous festivities as well as catching up with local gossips. Children can be seen running making new friends and playing with old.

The Akad Nikah site webspace is sponsored by me and the website is dedicated to the support of SMARTER. I hope there will be contributors out there that will contribute to the site and directly to the support and understanding of Autism. As parents, none of us will know if any of our newborns are autistic and having an organisation out there like SMARTER already in place and ready to support us with all the necessary resources is something we should all think about.

Akad Nikah depends on revenues from advertising/subscriptions in order to contribute to SMARTER. I know there are many talented bloggers out there who cover weddings on their blogs and I hope they will contribute their energy to something that benefits a charitable organisation instead of simply blogging. It is something we can all contribute to whether we are bloggers, photographers or vendors.

Akad Nikah is managed voluntarily by a ex-wedding client of mine with the help of her siblings. I hope the commitee and contributors will grow over time.

Thank you for listening.

Rgds,

David

Cost of quality

Rendering a client's slideshow.

Anyone want to sponsor one of these? I find I'm forever paying for these things.

The price of progress

These few days had me deep in thought. Years ago when I started shooting weddings, my pics were so so.. today, when I compare pics taken then and now.. they were huge bounds apart. Everything from style, quality, technique and deliverables are different. That got me thinking.. my passion for photography is to strive for a better picture at every click. Not every click is a work of art... but my aim is to find something better everytime. Looking to capture that moment, to tell the story and all with the right amount of artistry. What I shoot today must be better than what I shot yesterday. What I shoot tomorrow must be better than what I shoot today. And here lies the dilemma.

Nobody wants the same style of pics (wherever possible) as the previous person.. we all want unique and individual pictures to tell the story of the happenings of the day and the ambience. So my job as your wedding photographer is to make your wedding as individual and beautiful wedding. Thus, my hope is that the next wedding is better than the previous.. so I improve and clients are completely satisfied. So if I improve at every wedding and deliver better pictures each time, then what of the previous wedding? How does one feel so see pictures that I take and deliver getting better?

One way of differentiation is, of course, price. As we improve and better our skills, equipment and services, so prices raise accordingly.. however, prices cannot rise indefinitely and I do not want to shoot just for the upper segment of the market and I do not want to see rates going higher than necessary. I'm currently happy with the rates I command and I want to keep the rates the same.. but obviously, insyallah, the pictures will keep improving.. so the question here lies.. how do you feel about the photos you get today if you then compare it with pictures of weddings taken three months in the future.. do you feel the grass is greener on the other side? Having thought about this, i know there is nothing I can do about it short of raising prices (which I am not going to do at the moment). All I can do is assure you that the pictures I shoot for you today is the best in effort and creative vision as I always do at every wedding. No wedding is ever the same but the effort and commitment I put in at every wedding is always my best.

If any of you has any comments or recommendation, I'd be grateful for any feedback.

Thank you.

Rgds,

David

Noise

Ching Ming

Ching Ming.. a chinese tradition.. a day for the living to remember the dead. A day to remember our ancestors... this was taken at the KB chinese cemetery yesterday. I went down with my father at 5 am to beat the morning heat.

To be or not to be

Am thinking of doing all preweds now outdoors.. i.e. no more studio.. what do you think?

Photojournalist Recruitment

Am looking for photojournalistic photographers.
Freelance. Paid per event. Must be experienced and capable of shooting at Rizqun i.e. high ceiling environments and low light.
Using Canon EOS SLR from 350d and above. Fast 2.8 lenses.

Send me your online portfolio.
Portfolio must consist of the following:
An album of creative photography images
An album of event photography images indoor environment

Include your name and contact number, a list of camera gear...

If you are shortlisted, prepare to bring along an album of prints consisting of images shot from ISO100-1600 AND a DVD of sequential RAW images taken from an event.