I’m blogging again… not that I have anything to say… but it’s precisely because I have had nothing to say for so long now that the silence on this blog is so deafening that I am blogging again even if it means totally spurious, nonsensical, terribly uninteresting and totally self-indulgent dribble…
I bought a new digital camera - the Canon Ixus 70 - that I had been anticipating. It’s been at least four, if not five, years since I got my last digital camera, a Nikon Coolpix 4500. While the Nikon is in many ways still a rather good camera (read a review here), its size (bulky) and slow reaction time has become somewhat of an issue especially when compared to what’s available in the market these days and how I intend to use a digital camera (casual, impromptu shots on the run). A few months back, I realised that I had taken very few pictures in the last three years - there are very few that document my stay in Australia - and I didn’t bring the Nikon along with me on my fieldtrip to Malaysia and Thailand last year due to size and weight issues. The Canon Ixus 70 was thus an “essential” update to my gadget collection, one that I think will get much use.
The Canon Ixus 70 is a great buy. It’s exactly what I wanted and expected. The design, in terms of aesthetics, size and functionality, is so fabulous that I’m quite sure, in time, it will prove to be one of those classic products of our consumerist society, much like the iPod and the now defunct Nokia 8210/8250. Bar the absence of one or two feature/s, I’m very much in love with it. I like the fact that it “boots up” very quickly and that the menus are super responsive. The menus, functions and buttons all seem pretty well thought out and “integrated”. The pictures taken are “classic Canon”. Admittedly, “camera shake” is a bit of an issue but that’s inherent in digital cameras in general, especially since I tend not to use flash (as a preference). There are heaps of features built into this camera that I personally think is quite unnecessary as they are functions that can be better performed on a computer with proper software, e.g. colour swapping/highlighting, however, these are additional features for the gullible consumer, and this is a mass consumer camera, and they do not detract from its main features and functions. The one or two feature/s that I wish was present is the ability to set either aperture and/or shutter speed, though admittedly these are features that I would use occasionally rather than frequently. So, all in all, I’m very happy. This is one camera to keep and cherish.
Speaking of fieldtrips, I’m in the process of prepping for a three-month tour of Seoul (8 weeks) and then Kuala Lumpur (4 weeks). I didn’t blog much when I was in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore last year except for a few private emails to selected friends where I whinged to no end about Bangkok. I hope to fare much better this time around especially since I intend to photo-blog and thus show-and-tell!
Meanwhile, here are some photos of my most recent trip to Sydney, taken with the new Canon of course (clicking the picture on the left will pop-up a slideshow). It was a somewhat extended stay as I met up with my cousin who was visiting from Hong Kong and a very good friend who was visiting from Adelaide - both visits were back to back. The weather wasn’t great: it wasnt the cold so much that I minded (it was apparently record breaking for Sydney) but the almost absence of heating in Sydney 
(Sydney-siders, in fact, I dare say, most Australians, have a warped perception that their country is constantly warm or hot) and the wet (I don’t like wet. Anywhere. Period.). However, I did get a couple of perfect Sydney days with sunshine and blue skies and most of all… I saw the “Free Hugs” guy on Pitt Street Mall!
Anyway… perhaps one of the reasons I don’t have much to blog about these days is that I have pretty much stopped psycho-analysing my own existence. I know I have a lot of personal neuroses and anxieties but even those have to stop somewhere! While I might still use my intellectual prowess to probe my academic endeavours (although that’s seriously open to debate), I’ve somehow managed to desist from applying those same skills to my own life for quite some time now… though interestingly that hasn’t stopped me from analysing other people’s lives and commenting - some might call this “bitching”, though quite frankly, everyone “bitches” to a greater or lesser extent and it can be quite a healthy activity. So honestly, why tar it with negative moral judgements?!? We should all celebrate the art and act of bitching!
On that note…
Posted on July 20th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: blah blah | 1 Comment »
