The Winged Man. Olympus E-P3, ISO 200, f8, 1/320 sec
On the first day of Ramadan, the setting sun effused an unusually warm glow. Jalan Raja Alang was teeming with people and hawkers peddling all kinds of mouth-watering food. I filmed this bustling Ramadan bazaar entirely with the Olympus Pen E-P3. Except for a couple of shots where I used a tiny ‘kitchen-table’ tripod, the rangefinder-shaped camera was handheld most of the time.
The folks at Kampung Baru were friendly and chatty, making it a wonderful place to try out the new camera. Surprisingly, the on-board microphone performed very well. The AVCHD footage was edited on Edius with a little colour grading applied to tone down the very warm sunlight. Watch the embedded version here or download the Full HD 1980 x 1080 clip from vimeo.com/tvsmith. Watch it on your HDTV!
The Chinese Haval H5 SUV, successful participant of the 2011 Dakar Rally, rolled into Malaysia yesterday. Debuting alongside it is the Wingle 4wd/2wd pick-up truck, also from Great Wall Motor or GWM.
GWM Haval at the 2011 Dakar Rally
Great Wall Motor of China was established in 1984 and is now the 2nd largest local auto company in China. It sold more than 380,000 units in its domestic market and exported more than 50,000 units to various countries.
In Malaysia, Green Oranges Sdn Bhd (GOSB), is the exclusive distributor for Great Wall Motor vehicles. Its subsidiary, MAZS Sdn Bhd, will assemble selected GWM, Hafei and TGB ATV models at the Gurun plant.
At the launch yesterday, GOSB signed a MOU with the Cambodian government to mark their collaborative effort to develop a similar industry in Cambodia.
GWM Haval H 5 rolls in with a lion
GWM Wingle 5. The Wingman Always Gets The Girls 🙂
Green Oranges & SMS Group VIPs at the launch ceremony
Haval H5 Brochure Pic
Haval Interior
The Wingle 5 Brochure Pic
The Wingle 5
The Haval diesel-powered SUV is priced from RM 120,000, while the Wingle 5 pick-up truck starts from RM 59,888. For more info and specs, visit http://www.gwm.my/
Petaling Street in Chinatown Kuala Lumpur may be a visual treat but the traders can be a little aggressive. They do not like a camera in their face. Which is quite reasonable, considering almost every product sold there is a counterfeit. And don’t forget that nervous worker is probably a foreigner with a counterfeit work permit.
So when the Nepalese guy stuck his pinkie into his nose, I breathe a sigh of relief. It was their secret code of approval for the diminutive Olympus E-P3 camera. The illegal network of walkie-talkies crackled through the labyrinth of tarps but no one pulled out a machete. Phew! Of course, little did they know that the tiny, harmless, touristy-looking camera can produce a video with quality better than any of the fake Blue-ray discs sold there 🙂
I set out during twilight and it soon became night. The myriad range of lighting conditions gave the E-P3’s auto white balance and exposure metering a good workout. I chose to arm myself with only one lens. The new Olympus m4/3 12mm f2.0 street videographer’s lens. The low light capability of this combo is quite amazing, as you will see.
The new Olympus Pen E-P3 & M.ZD 12mm f2.0 lens. Backpacker-friendly too
Those unfamiliar with this KL landmark, may find the following trivia interesting:
The messy peanut pancake (kuih apam balik) hawker is sort of an icon there. He is quite friendly to photographers who shoot and don’t buy.
The corner winter-melon-dried-longan drink remains the most popular stall there. See that woman with two cups.
I wanted to capture the sounds of the Chinese conversations between traders. With so many tourists from Middle East countries there, I ended up with a fascinating ambient sound track full of Arabic chatter instead 🙂
If you have a media player and a big screen HD TV, you can also download this Full HD clip from vimeo.com/tvsmithand watch it large and loud.
