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Not really news as such. 01/09/09 Canon officially unveiled the EOS 7D. The rumours circulated for quite some time now, however 7D was expected to be the successor of highly regarded full frame 5D. Now 7D turned out to be quite a surprise, mostly in the sense that it’s another camera in APS-C series such as Rebel (XXXxD) and XXD series cameras.
I assure you, this was purely accidental.
Japan has its share of interesting bugs from nightmarish Giant Asian Hornets to extremely cool miniature tanks – Rhinoceros Beetles, or kabuto mushi as they are called in Japanese, since they resemble a samurai helmet.
Extremely delayed post. No point to apologise as none of the parties – me as the poster and you as a reader really care. Instead, have a look at the photos, should you have the interest.
Kind Regards
Seriously, what a useless blog this is. Maybe this is because I am out living life instead of blogging about it? Or perhaps because I don’t have a life, which is rather a silly statement to begin with.
In whichever case, Detroit-Chicago Express is inviting you to club Domina in Nagoya for Sweden V Japan club night, Monday 13/07/09.
Line up is as follows.
Sweden: Dmitri Reyer (3BYK Records)
Japan: Mr. Soda (Out Records), Kondoh (Vogue), Chiyo (Vogue), Jin (Ham Sallad), Mio (Ham Sallad)
Everything will be thrown on the decks, but perhaps as name hints most of the tracks will carry Detroit/Chicago influence – the classic flavours of house and techno unbeknown to large mainstream masses. This is certainly not an event for the purveyors of minimal filth (take it as a joke).
Admission Fee – 1000 Yen.
Be there, although, if you are looking for some mainstream party, check Japanzine or some other similar rubbish “publication”.
Nyan!
I have been to few clubs in Nagoya but never managed to write anything about those. Perhaps it is a right time now.
Nagoya today has a rather interesting club scene which reminds me a lot of Stockholm at the time I was residing there. Well, there are certain differences.
Dropped by new Canon Plaza in Nagoya today in order to calibrate my horrid 16-35mm F2.8L USM and had a chance to play around with the new EOS 5D Mark II. I was not allowed to use the CF card I had with me and only able to share this with you in words.
First impressions are very positive:
Start-up is a bit slow, with “Sensor Cleaning” message popping up. Likely to be disabled through Custom Functions, I however did not have enough time to venture there.
Shutter trigger is not spongy at all (something quite a few 5D users experienced). The body is rather heavy especially with the 24-105mm kit lens attached, however very ergonomic. Daily using 350D I struggled to find the power switch to my great embarrassment – I would personally prefer it to be located in a manner similar to 350D/400D/450D bodies, but this is individual.
The menu navigation using the dial and joystick (both located at the back) is a bit tricky at first, but something one can easily get used to after few days of shooting. Although I shot in Full Manual mode, I had to choose neutral preset in the menu to disable all in-camera PP.
The screen is simply great. Initially being sceptic towards the LiveView I found it very handy and am really looking forward to using it in the future.
Image quality (IQ) is great and equally the colour reproduction. It felt as one could almost do A1 prints straight from the camera with no post-processing. The IQ is obviously affected by the lens’s optical quality and the kit EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM is contributing well.
As I am not interested in the video recording capabilities of the 5D MkII, I haven’t tested it at all.
Overall impression is exciting. I didn’t have a chance to use the original 5D and obviously cannot compare both side by side. I had a chance to compare the 5D Mark II with the 1DS Mark III and must say that my preference is with the first. 1DS MkIII stuns with the price tag, focus points, and AF intelligence (actually less than intelligent as many already experienced) but the 5D MkII has better overall feel to it. Don’t call me on this one – it’s just a personal preference.
I posted previously the official Canon 5D MkII demonstration dates and if you are in Japan around that time you have a good chance to play with it yourself.
Last sunday I visited Centrair, Aichi for the first time since my arrival in Japan (back in February 2008) in hope to acquire my favorite sweets – Kurikinton (chestnuts mashed with sugar). Traditionally, those are enjoyed with green tea throughout autumn. Unfortunately, they are still not on sale yet and so a box of “Raisin Sand” had to suffice.
These sweets native to Nagoya has very little to do with sand, instead Japanese “sand” is nothing other than shortened English “sandwich”. Each of the sweets is a two soft buttery biscuits with a creamy filling between. The usual variety can be easily obtained in many gift shops around Nagoya – particularly in the massive underground shopping centre in Sakae. Once bought they should be consumed within 2 weeks.
This particular variety deviates slightly from the original due to addition of raisins. Box can be only purchased in Centrair (possibly in Toyota City), so if you are passing through I would recommend grabbing a box or two, as it is not only enjoyable to eat yourself but also makes an excellent gift. Price for 12pcs box is 1550 Yen, alternatively 1050 Yen for 8pcs box and 550 yen for 4pcs box (although the latter escaped my attention).
Happy Munching…
Last Sunday my in-laws and me visited Tokoname, Aichi (near Centrair airport). The Tokoname Boat Racing centre was turned into a pottery fair. To be fair (no pun intended) it was a rather modest fair market type of fair sporting pots, vases, mugs, etc. Tokoname is famous for pottery, and besides all sorts of pottery a fair deal of Tanuki and Manekineko were on display. Tokoname is proud of it’s huge Manekineko statue, which recently became famous thanks to “Nanikore Chin Hyakkei” variety show.
If you are stuck in Centrair waiting for some reason, and maybe you even brought your camera with a tele-zoom, visiting boat racing grounds during the show can be fun. It is only one train station and about 15 minutes walk away…
But, in order not to deviate from the topic for much longer – I bought a Bonsai tree. His newly acquired name is Tomodachi-kun (The Friend). So far, he (indeed “a he”) is living next to my computer screen in a rather modest fashion. He is not a whingeing type, although is not very talkative either, I must admit.
Today we had a first photo shoot. Being an excellent model, he understood straight away what the photographer was after and did his best trying not to move much around. I think it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
