It’s easy to complain about a lack of craftsmanship in Thailand. Pass any half-cocked building site and you will not see much evidence of artisans in residence. But then you stumble upon places that remind you that there are craftsmen working here; they are just not involved in building your condo which may never be finished and will fall to pieces within a year if it is (allegedly).

We found such a place this afternoon. A tiny temple close to Sattahip with quite exquisite wall carvings. We had been there before but I was playing with my pinhole then; so felt the carvings deserved some proper photos this afternoon.

0515 is a ridiculous time to get out of bed; but such was necessary this morning in order that we could head out on a reconnaissance trip to a new macro location. There were three Olympus E-M1s in the party (visitor Kevin, neighbour Nik and myself), plus a Fuji XE-1 carried by another Nick who was our guide and subsequent breakfast host. Nick used to lug around a massive Nikon but has now seen the light; so there was not a flappy mirror to be seen anywhere.

After breakfast, Nick gave us a show of some of the shots he has captured recently; all of which made us feel that we might as well just throw away our cameras; but it does show what going out every morning for months on end can achieve.

Not a great outing this morning; the brain refused to get into gear; but the E-M1 was a joy to shoot with. Used auto-focus to acquire first lock, and then clicked the lever to engage manual focus with automatic zoom for fine tuning; such a smooth process.

Not many shots to show for such an early start; but here are a few:

Three Olympus EM-1s!

We have pretty much cleared out the Big Camera Pattaya stock of E-M1s; but there is still one left, a kit with the 12-40mm, if you want one.

Comments 🔗

2013-11-12 | Bob James says

Not at those prices!

Although Panasonic introduced a couple of Micro Four Thirds cameras in 2008, it was the arrival of the Olympus EP1 and Panasonic GF1 in the second half of 2009 which really launched the format, and led to the rise of other mirrorless cameras from the likes of Sony and Fuji.

We were in at the start, and I still have my rather battered GF1 and she who must be obeyed will not let me sell her pristine EP1. And now, four years on, it is enlightening to stick them next to the latest and greatest Micro Four Thirds Camera, the E-M1.

Pattaya was graced with a visit by the Prime Minister this week, taking time off from the urgent task of relieving thousands of people from the consequence of their misdeeds (including, totally coincidentally, her brother) in the name of “reconciliation”. Which is why there are protests on the streets.

Anyway, the PM came among us to review the latest in a long line of marine cock-ups, the Koh Larn ferry sinking. She did the appropriate tour and photo opportunities before sitting down to tell everyone they had to enforce the rules which they had singularly failed to do on this occasion and several other occasions before this latest disaster. One can’t help feeling that, once the PM is back in her car and causing traffic chaos all the way back to Bangkok, nothing much is going to change.

Good morning and welcome. It’s a sunny day here in 1896 and George Eastman is launching the latest in his rapidly expanding line of Kodak Cameras, the Kodak Bullseye 2. Needless to say, your favourite magazine, APReview is on hand to bring you the facts on this exciting new device.

It’s only four years since the Boston Camera Company launched a camera of the same name. Mr. Eastman liked that camera so much that he bought the company and has now re-launched the camera under the Kodak brand. And here it is:

Thank you for your latest newsletter. I was most surprised to receive it; as I have been most surprised to receive the last eighteen or so newsletters given that I unsubscribe from your mailing list every time I receive one of your promotional puff pieces.

I know where I went wrong, my mistake was giving you my email address, as detailed here. Your mistake has been to act in a completely non-professional manner by continuing to bombard a completely disinterested, and now completely pissed-off consumer with information about projects in which I have no interest; even if they come with a free iPad Mini and a choice of kitchen furniture in pastel colours. Many companies include an unsubscribe option with their newsletters; but only an unprofessional company would ignore people who unsubscribe.