Day Trip to Colmar Tropicale, Bukit Tinggi

 

Last year,  Jennifer Chin, Noor and I went for a day trip to Colmar Tropicale, the Berjaya 'French village' at Bukit Tinggi. The purpose of the visit to keep out of shopping malls, have lunch and take some photos!

 

Along with my small Leica digital, I brought my Nikon F65 SLR film camera to try out on the girls. The Nikon has auto focus and exposure so they didn't have to wait a lifetime for me to focus and adjust exposure as they are used to with my film Leica's.

 

The results were very pleasing....as was the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Released in 2000, the Nikon F65 basically has all the features of a modern digital SLR

CNY at Bangsar Shopping Centre & Mid Valley

 After disappointing results from the first roll of film taken with my Leica AF-CI, I was determined to try again, only this time making sure I shot in good light. CNY decorations providing just that indoor situation, I used a faster 400ASA film, and used the flash only for portraits.

Film cameras love light, and lots of it. The couple of photos I took outdoors are so sharp and accurate in their color rendering. Indoor shots tend to be yellow/brown when the camera is struggling for light. We tend to forget that a film camera is not just limited by lens apertures and shutter speeds, but also by the sensitivity of the film. Our digital cameras increase their ISO or sensitivity to allow for low light; a film camera struggles with the fixed sensitivity of the film.

However, I am absolutely delighted with the results of this shot. The colors are vivid, sharp and exciting. I have posted 32 photos from a 36 roll, and the photos I omitted were not 'bad' ones, just repeats.

A little history on this camera. It is Leica's first compact camera, but made in conjunction with Minolta. It was manufactured between 1989-1992. It has a 40mm  f2.8 lens, and a 'tele' 80mm f5.6 lens. It has auto focus and auto exposure. It is a rugged plastic construction and bigger and more substantial than the later 'point and shot' cameras.

Millions of these types of compact cameras were used over the years by the general camera users and with very good results. These types of cameras (except Leica brands!) are now being sold for the cost of a Starbucks. yet what lasting pleasure they provide!