Uncategorized – Alwin Kok

The Viltrox 9mm f2.8 Air is the latest addition to the growing “Air” lineup. If you’ve been following the series from the start, you’ll notice an interesting trend: the focal lengths have been gradually moving wider: 56mm, 35mm, 25mm, 15mm, and now an ultrawide 9mm. It makes me wonder what Viltrox has planned next. Maybe something in the 75mm range? But that’s a speculation for another day.

Intro

This isn’t my first time shooting at the 9mm focal length. I actually owned the Laowa 9mm f2.8 years ago, and I absolutely loved how ultrawide it was while still staying incredibly compact. Unfortunately, I eventually had to let it go to fund other lenses at the time.

The Viltrox 9mm f/2.8 Air was first announced on 19 September 2025, launching initially for Sony E-mount and Nikon Z-mount, with the Fujifilm X-mount version following on 26 November 2025. Viltrox has clearly been putting strong focus into expanding the Air series, and the 9mm is yet another step in that direction.

Before I continue further, I would like to thank the good people in Viltrox for sending this lens to me. As always, my thoughts and opinions remain entirely my own, based solely on my real-world testing.

Design and Build Quality

The 9mm f2.8 Air continues the design language established like its siblings. It shares the same clean, minimalist aesthetic, no aperture ring and a smooth manual focus ring with minimal resistance. It truly retain the consistently compact form factor across the series.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/1250″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 1250 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 1250 . Nostalgic Negative*

Like the rest of the Air lineup, this lens uses a plastic build quality and a 58mm filter thread. The build feels solid with no noticeable creaks or cheapness, and the matte finish does a great job resisting fingerprints. Oh yes, a lens hood is included as well.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f4. 1/140″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/1100″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/180″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

The weight is also in line with the family’s philosophy of portability. At 175g, it sits comfortably among the other Air lenses, which range between 170g and 180g. Consistency seems to be a deliberate design goal here, and Viltrox is clearly sticking to it.

Image Quality

Wide open at f2.8, image quality is impressive for such an ultrawide lens. Distortion is well-controlled, it is barely noticable with my not-so-perfect eyes. Sharpness is good, with pleasing contrast and almost no chromatic aberration. Some vignetting is visible at f2.8, but honestly, that’s quite normal for a 9mm lens and not something that detracts from real-world use.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f5.6. 1/680″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/90″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/900″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative*

When it comes to background blur, it isn’t my favorite look. The subject separation is definitely there, but the way the blur renders feels a bit forced and not entirely natural.

Sun star is fine, but some flares are noticeable. I think it is fine as it gives some characteristic from the lens optic.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f16. 1/100″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

Focusing

Autofocus performance is fast, accurate, and responsive in most shooting situations. The only time I noticed a slight slowdown when I am focusing at the minimum focusing distance.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 1600 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 400 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/280″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Focus breathing is very minimal, which is great news for videographers who want consistent framing during focus pulls.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/500″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 640 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 250 . Nostalgic Negative*

Minimum Focus Distance (MFD)

With a 13cm MFD, you can get extremely close, so close that your lens hood may cast a shadow into the frame. At such distances, the image does soften slightly at f2.8 and loses a bit of contrast, but this is expected for ultrawide close-up shots. Still, it’s a fun feature for anyone who enjoys creative perspectives.

*Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/3200″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/125″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative*

Price Point

At USD 199 / EUR 229 / GBP 190 / CAD 289 / JPY 33,000, the Viltrox 9mm f2.8 Air is very attractively priced for an autofocus ultrawide lens. For comparison, I used to own the Laowa 9mm f2.8 in the past. It costs USD 600 and was manual focus only. That alone shows how strong the value is here.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 200 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f8. 1/105″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/300″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative*

Others

As with other Viltrox lenses, a USB-C port is included for firmware updates, located discreetly at the rear of the lens. Personally, I prefer this design over exposing a port on the lens barrel with only a rubber flap for protection.

Viltrox 25mm f1.7 rear USB-C port. (Slipped my mind about taking the shot for the 9mm f2.8. Anyway, it’s for illustration purpose.)

It seems that weather resistance is not stated anywhere about this lens, let’s treat it as non-existance.

Who is this for?

An ultrawide lens like this has a lot of creative potentials. Whether you shoot landscape, cityscape, travel, astro, or even experimental portraits, having a 9mm in your kit can open up new possibilities. Even if you don’t use ultrawide lenses often, it’s one of those focal lengths that’s great to have when inspiration strikes.

*Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/125″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

Left: *Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/10,000″ . ISO 320 . Nostalgic Negative*
Right: *Fuji X-M5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/7″ . ISO 3200 . Nostalgic Negative*

Conclusion

The Viltrox 9mm f2.8 Air stays true to the philosophy of the Air series: compact, minimalist, and affordable. I also want to give credit to the Viltrox design team, the consistent size and weight across the Air lineup is a huge advantage for gimbal users and for photographers who want to pack multiple lenses in a small bag. In fact, if you own all five APS-C Air lenses, their combined weight is under 900 grams. That’s incredible portability.

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 500 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/100″ . ISO 800 . Nostalgic Negative*

*Fuji X-E5 . Viltrox 9mm f2.8 @ 9mm . f2.8. 1/1300″ . ISO 125 . Nostalgic Negative*

At a 13.5mm full-frame equivalent, the 9mm f2.8 Air may be niche to some but with its solid autofocus, good optical performance, and very reasonable pricing, it’s a fantastic ultrawide option to keep in your collection. You never know when you’ll need it, and at this price, it’s an easy lens to justify.

Thank you for reading.

If you are interested in this lens, head down to this affiliate link to purchase yours.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here are shot by me.
2. Most of the shots are straight out of the camera with some shots edited via In-Camera Raw Processing.
3. The opinions are based on my experience. If there is any mistake, please kindly drop me a message and I will gladly make the amendment.
4. I reserve ownership of these images, if you wish to use my images, please notify me.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

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Viltrox Vintage Z1 – Flash for Nostalgic

April 24, 2025April 24, 2025 Alwin Kok

Lately, there’s been a noticeable rise in the popularity of external flashes, particularly vintage manual models. Viltrox, a brand we’re already familiar with, has also jumped on this growing trend.

The Vintage Z1 is the company’s latest introduction to the world of nostalgic portable flash in the market.

Before I proceed further, I would like to thank the good people in Viltrox for sending this beauty to me. Having said that, my thoughts and experiences shared in this post remain completely unbiased.

X-M5 with Viltrox 25mm f1.7 and Vintage Z1

X-T5 with Viltrox 25mm f1.7 and Viltrox Vintage Z1

Design and Build Quality

At first glance, the flash exudes a classic direct flashgun aesthetic—and it pulls it off beautifully. It features a plastic body complemented by a leather-like material on the top, creating a two-tone look that enhances its vintage appeal.

Don’t get deceived by its plastic construction. It’s actually well-built, feels good in the hand, and is impressively lightweight at just 116 grams.

Controls

Z1 comes with a 1 button, 1 knob, and 2 switches. Button is testing out the flash output. The knob is controlling the power level of the flash output, it has a total of 7 levels from 1/1 to 1/64. The first switch is the power-on/power-off, and the second switch is to control the Off, S1, and S2 switchers.

Left: X-T5 with Viltrox 25mm f1.7 and Vintage Z1
Right: X-M5 with Viltrox 25mm f1.7 and Vintage Z1

S1 and S2 are optical slave modes that trigger a flash when they sense another flash burst. This is useful if you have multiple flash setups for your shots.

However, both switches are different in responding to the other flash shot. S1 triggers on the first flash burst, while S2 skips the first flash (pre-flash) and triggers on the second burst.

X-T5 with Viltrox 25mm f1.7 and Vintage Z1

Flash Power

While this flash does not spell out the power output in watts, it is stated to have Guide Number (GN) 12 at ISO 100.

Color temperature

It is stated at 6500K with variables around 200K, which falls under “Daylight” range.

Price Point

It is priced at 49.99 USD / 56.99 EUR / 47.99 GBP. In my opinion, this is one affordable price tag for a manual flash and it does not break the band if one ever want to give it a try.

Others

It features a built-in 1100mAh battery and charges via a USB-C port. In my testing, a full charge took closes to an hour—fairly average charging speed, and perfectly acceptable in my opinion.

X-T5 with TTArtisan 23mm f1.8 & Viltrox Z1

On paper, it’s rated for between 400 to 10,000 flashes per charge. That sounds like a lot, though it’s a bit tricky for me to verify firsthand. So, take that number with a grain of salt—and just recharge it whenever it feels like the right time.

Who is this for?

X-T5 with Brightin Star 50mm f1.4 & Viltrox Z1

It’s a great choice for photographers looking for an affordable, pocket-sized flash to carry on any occasion. It also makes a thoughtful gift—perfect for birthdays, Christmas, or simply when you feel like surprising someone.

Conclusion

The Viltrox Vintage Z01 is a solid product with enough flash power for casual use. While using manual controls without having the TTL (Through The Lens) function takes a bit of trial and error to get the perfect shot, it’s a fun and rewarding way to dive into the art of flash photography. This also means that it works with any camera that comes with a hotshoe.

The Viltrox Vintage Z01 appears to be a direct competitor to the Godox Lux Junior. That alone shows just how popular this trend has become lately.

If you like the product, please refer to this link to place your order.
If you like other Viltrox products, you can use this code “ALWINKOK” to have a small discount.

Thank you for reading.

If you like my works, please follow me on either one of the 2 Instagram accounts:

https://www.instagram.com/alwinkok_

https://www.instagram.com/alwin.portraits

If you have a Facebook account, feel free to join Fujifanboys FB group.

If you like my content and you want to show some support and keep this blog alive, you can buy me a coffee here.

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First hospitalization after 2 decades

August 4, 2021 Alwin Kok

The History

I went to Ng Teng Fong (NTF) General Hospital A&E on 25 July 2021. It was my 4th gastric cramp in 6 weeks. On my first encounter with gastric cramp at night on 13 June 2021, it started at about 8pm and the pain did not go off since then. After 3 hours of constant cramp, I decided to visit the 24 hours clinic for help. It was a wrong decision made. After spending hundreds of dollars, the medicine was useless and a waste of time. I decided to visit the NTF A&E for help. After some medication via injections, it was cured. I was discharged on the same night/ early morning.

The second encounter was a month later. Exactly the same scenario for me and this time I went straight to A&E. And then I was discharged on the same night/early morning.

The third encounter happened on the 14 July but this time in the early morning. The cramp started off around 6am and I visited my neighborhood General Practice (GP) clinic. He went through my medical records via the Electronic Medical Record Exchange system to understand my situation and then he also jabbed me with pain killer. He also wrote a memo in case I have to visit the A&E anytime soon.

Day 1

Back to 25 July, after understanding my situation, the A&E doctor decided to admit me to the hospital. From here onwards, I will try to remember my experience as much as possible.

Before approving to get admitted to the hospital, I had to undergo a swab test at 7.30 am and waited for 2 hours for the result. After tested negative, I was on the waiting list to be warded. During this period, I was in the A&E waiting for updates. From here, you get to see how busy the A&E is. Probably lacking nurses is one of the issues here but I also notice that miscommunication seems to be a norm “practice” too. The meals served in the A&E were cold.

After staying in A&E for over 18 hours, I have the opportunity to go to a hospital ward room. While I had made a request for at least Class B1 ward, it came out to be a Class C ward. I made feedback to the nurses and they asked me to ask the check with night duty nurses in the ward. Oh well, at least I have a proper bed to sleep in for now.

Unfortunately, I had a stiff neck and the pain causes me unable to sleep. I informed the nurse about it and they activated a night duty doctor to come to me. It was around 3am when the pain had gone.

Day 2

There were 2 groups of gastroenterology and hepatology senior doctors with trainee doctors who consulted me in the morning. After which, they arranged Computerized Tomography (CT) scan on Day 2 and an endoscope scan on Day 3. Besides that, I had 7 tubes of blood drawn. Because of CT scan, I am not allowed to consume any food and drink, and hence I had an intravenous (IV drip).

The CT scan was conducted in the evening. So what’s for my dinner? The doctor suggested only clear soup. It was quite an experience for me because I literally had a day without any food. Luckily my wife brought me soup to drink.

While I thought my day 1 going to be “miserable”, the night duty nurse asked me if I want to have any fruits and milo? I told her that the doctor advised me not to eat anything and she said actually I am able to eat but I have to fast from 12am onwards. That’s the instruction received. Of course, I asked for the fruits and milo before my sleep.

Day 3

Another round of consultations and this time the doctors arranged for me for the Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on Day 4.

Another Day without any meal (so far). My appointment for the endoscope scan had managed to push forward from 5.30pm to 1.30pm. That was a good sign but I have actually waited in the waiting room till 4.30pm before my turn. I have no idea how I spent these 3 hours of my life lying on the bed doing nothing.

The endoscope scan was a “quick” one because I was injected with anesthesia. I was told that I should be half-conscious in this scanning but seems like otherwise.

Fortunately, I was allowed to eat my meal.

Day 4

Finally, I had my breakfast. Again, there seems to be some miscommunication despite my meals are ordered in advance by registering with the system. Eventually, the nurses managed to get the right breakfast for me.

I had my MRI in the early afternoon. The usual long waiting time before entering the scan. During the MRI scan, I am supposed to stay awake and focused on my breathing but I have fallen asleep at the end of the process. I cannot believe I can fell asleep in such a noisy and loud environment.

In the evening, I was informed that I am able to discharge and follow up with a few medical appointments in the coming weeks.

Conclusion

The doctor concluded that I have gallstones in my gallbladder. Fortunately, the gallstones seem to be as small as a grain of fine sands. He recommended me for an operation to avoided many other potential events like an infection to my nearby organs and organ blockage, et Cetra due to the gallstones.

Via the MRI scan, it was observed that I have fatty liver but no suspicious arterially enhancing lesson with washout is seen. And also observed that I had an unusual spleen found near my liver.

I have a total of 7 spots been poked for IV and blood draw. 4 on the right and 3 on the left. As of today, I still can feel the pain on my front hands. Probably it will take a while longer to get a full recovery.

Experience with NTF

During my stay with NTF, I observed there are a few miscommunications and misinterpretations of messages between the staff and between various departments. I also witness a few arrogant patients and I think it’s great that the nurses really try their best to handle those patients and they handle it quite well. They had trained well and cope well with their Emotional Quotient (EQ) to handle such situations.

On my Day 1 stay, I noticed the area surrounding the IV needle which was on my left elbow was red. So I asked various staff (from A&E nurse to Ward Nurse & night duty doctor) and shared my concern. Most of their responses were told me to ask for the doctor’s advice and the night duty doctor told me to wait for the doctor who handled my case for advice. So I waited till morning and asked the senior doctor and she told me it was swollen and immediately instructed the nurse to remove it and helped me to apply for some medicine. She commented that this should not “wait”.

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Oppo Find X3 Pro – Is it really “Awaken Color”?

March 31, 2021 Alwin Kok

First of all, I would like to thank Oppo Singapore for providing the loan for Oppo Find X3 Pro. The unit was loaned and had returned back to them. All the shots shown here are taken by me and some shots were edited with minor adjustments in the photo itself.

In this review, I am purely sharing my experience with this phone and its camera functions. Nothing much about the hardware and Android side of the phone, etc. I will leave the full review of the phones to expert reviewers.

Overview

The model that I received is Gloss Black. The reflective chrome design is very sexy and appealing to me and so does my finger prints. It equips with 6.7 inch 10-bit OLED screen which also spell out that it is not a small phone. Fortunately, I still feel good to hold with my big hands. It also equip with 5 cameras, 4 at the back and 1 selfie camera. And that is the main topic of this review.

10-bit

This is the first camera in the mobile industry that provides 10-bit image quality which means it is able to display approximately 1 billion colors (as compare to the competitors at 8-bit 16 million colors). This also means that the colours represented in the photos are far much richer and more color depth. And it save in HEIF format. I think this is the second mobile phone manufacturer supporting HEIF beside Apple.

However, when I upload the 10-bit photos to instagram or other social media platforms, it actually compress to 8 bit before uploading.

26mm Focal Length (Macro lens function enabled)

Main lenses

There are 2 primary lenses, one at 26mm F1.8 wide lens comes with OIS and the other one is 15mm F2.2 ultra-wide lens. Both equip with Sony IMX 766 50MP Quad Bayer sensor. The result from this lens is pretty impressive. The 50MP gives pretty decent and usable image quality. The color results give punchy, rich and high details. am not a person who love to crop my photos away, but with the resolution it offers, it is okay to crop a bit without losing details in the images. When you select 50MP options in your camera, you will not have the capability to shoot with the telephoto because of different resolution that it offers.

These 2 lenses are the only lenses that is capable of shooting 10-bits colors. When you select this mode, your photos are actually downsize to 12.5 MP. According to the official that explains to me, they think that 50MP 10-bit file size is too huge for consumer to use and hence they decide that 12.5mp is the sweet spot for 10-bit shooting. Logically, I accept their explanation but as a photographer, I wish to have the option to harness the power of 50MP 10-bit raw files.

Telephoto lens

It is a 52mm F2.4 telephoto lens. What make is different is it can only shoot at 13MP but it offers up to 5x hybrid zoom. Unfortunately, there is no official statement on what sensor it is using. The results of the 5x hybrid zoom is above average while the 2x zoom is consider relatively good. The sensor able to preserve much of the details and loses minor contrast in the image. It is also quite comparable to the 2 main lenses at 12.5mp.

Microscope lens

This is probably one of the interesting feature that Oppo has offers so far. It can shoot at 60x magnification with between 1mm to 3mm distance off the subject. While many claims it comes with auto-focus, I am unable to tell if the auto-focus is actually focusing. I feel like it is more like a fixed-focus lens. Although it can only snap 3MP and in only square format (1:1 aspect), it is a very fun application to see the world differently. It has the always-on ring-LED flash since we are focusing at 1mm to 3mm distance. I would love to see Oppo will improve this lens to a higher and usable megapixels and brighter LEDs light.

Selfie lens

32MP lens at 26mm wide. Again it is equip with an unknown Quad-Bayer color filter sensor. The overall image is considerably usable with a little bit of softness. Color and contrast are within the average range. Unfortunately, I have lost the selfie shots. I have no idea why it is not save in my hard drive before I returns the unit. Careless me.

Expert mode

Oppo provides Expert mode for user to control the camera function. They allow user to control ISO, shutter speed, exposure compensation and manual focus. But they do not allow user to control the aperture value. I have no idea why. I also asked the Oppo official staffs and no one can explains why. Oppo not providing such function. I hope they can allow it someday via OTP software upgrade or in its successor.

Overall

The shots taken with using the main camera and telephoto camera to shoot in portrait mode is something that I do not like. The result dent to be over beautify and bokeh background is too heavy and strong. It is not natural to my eyes. As for night shots, most camera phones suffer from loss of details and contrast, this camera is no exceptional but I can still accept it. Beside all these, I love this camera phone for overall shooting experience. It has the image quality of what this era of camera phone should have and one step ahead of every competitor has to offer.

Something to take note of if you want to be one of the pioneers of having 10-bit photos in your pocket, you can only enjoy the full 10-bit colors on this phone and some monitors that support 10-bit colors. Beside that, I notice there is a downscale from 10-bits color to 8-bits color when you share your photos to the social media platforms.

Nevertheless, it has the typical focal lengths of what I need to shoot for my daily life. I am a person who is not fancy about the ultra zoom like 50x, etc. I prefer not to sacrifice image quality over long focal length. If you are looking for a new flagship camera phone and not going to change in the next 2-3 years, I think you can consider visiting one of the flagship stores in your country to experience it and try it out.

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Convenience over image quality

September 22, 2020 Alwin Kok

Recently, my friend engage me for photographing advise. He bought a DSLR with a 18-300mm lens 8 months ago. I shall not name the brand as I think the discussion over here is not about the brand.

How it was started is that he noticed my posts in Instagram on a similar event as he took and he noticed that my photos were sharper, the edges of the photos also looks better than his and his images suffered from purple fringing. So I requested to view his images and then I asked him what was the lens he used for the shot. After knowing what lenses he used for his shot, I told him it might be the lens limitations.

I also further explains that for a lens with such a long focal length and in a small & compact package has lots of trade-offs. First, the lens usually comes with smaller aperture value which, in return, requires to bump up the ISO to achieve faster shutter speed. Especially when shooting at the tele-end. Second, soft image quality is usually observed, this is usually due to the limitation of the glasses inside the lens. Third, chromatic aberration is hard to control. Every lens does have some level of chromatic aberration. Just how good does the manufacturer willing to control it.

So I also told him that I usually shoot with prime lenses and some decent zoom lenses and definitely not the travel zoom lens. I have also explained the benefits of using prime lenses and shorter zoom lenses. Sacraficifying my image quality and sharpness of the images over convenience is not my way of photographing. Both image quality and sharpness are something that you can’t recover from post processing.

When all was said and done, he still think that the convenience of not keep changing lenses is in his A-list, everything else is secondary. This is personal preference and I respect his preference. I have explained the pro and con and he should understand it. I hope he can continue to gain more experiences in photographing.

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It has been awhile…

September 11, 2020 Alwin Kok

I have stopped posting for 3 months due to work, hobby and family. Here are my updates.

I have been shooting on the street more often from the start of “Circuit Breaker” phase 2. After months of staying at home, carrying my Fuji cameras around Singapore to fulfil my shutter therapy is awesome. You can see my instagrams as I am still actively sharing my photos.

Main instagram account

Portrait account

And so for my job, as an engineer, I need to travel around Singapore for projects. Bringing my X100V to work is quiet fulfilling as I get to take some photos while commuting.

More gathering with family and friends (with a limit of 5 pax) over a dinner has become more luxurious and we treasure every moment even more than ever.

During these 3 months, I have assist a friend to get his product video launch. I have also written a few articles for Fuji X Passion and FujiLove blogs. In the name of passion, I am happy to provide my hands and legs for my friend and also present my thoughts in their blogs.

Here are the link to the posts:

The joy of using Fuji’s film simulations

On the Street with 200mm

While blogging is not my primary hobby, but I will be progressively updating with new contents in this blog in the months to come.

Thank you.

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Fuji Fanboys 2nd Annual Best of Show Exhibition

June 4, 2020September 23, 2020 Alwin Kok

Early this year, the biggest Fuji Fanboy, Ivan Joshua Loh, had organized the “Best of Show” Exhibition in it’s 2nd year. This is an interesting exhibition, there is no theme or genre at all. Be it landscape, cityscape, sports, macro, fashion, foods or portraits. He has only one rule and it has to be “Fujifilm” camera. It does not matter if it is taken with film or digital. All you need to do is to hashtag “fujifanboys_2nd” in 5 of your most favourite photos. Apart from the top 10 winning prizes, all the top 25 photos will be exhibited in Fujifilm Studio Singapore for a month in July 2020.

I took part in his first exhibition competition last year and it was organized locally in Singapore. We actually submitted 3 photos via email and I was lucky enough to be 1 of the 25 to be exhibited in Fujifilm Studio. There was no prize back then but it was sort of an achievement because there was about 300 submissions and I was selected. It was probably one of the greatest achievements in my life.

I had submitted 5 for this year submission. Wish me luck. : )

The 2nd year Fuji Fanboy was called on 20 April 2020 and the deadline is 10 June 2020. There are approximate 3000 submissions so far as of today.

Below are the rules if you are interested to submit.

1. Maximum of 5 submissions per person at IG
2. Each submission is required to hagstag #FUJIFANBOYS_2nd
3. Submission deadline 10th June 2020.
4. Follow IG @FujiFanBoys

My first submission for Best of Show Exhibition 2020.

My second submission for Best of Show Exhibition 2020.

My third submission for Best of Show Exhibition 2020.

My fourth submission for Best of Show Exhibition 2020.

My last submission for Best of Show Exhibition 2020.

Disclaimer:

1. All the shots taken here were shot by me.

2. I reserve ownerships to these images, if you wish to use my images for whatever reasons, please notify me and we can see how to works thing out.

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Budget & Camera

June 2, 2020June 2, 2020 Alwin Kok

Buying camera is never an easy task to being with. Of course, if budget is not an issue, you can purchase what you want off the shelf from the store immediately. But there are still a group of people who are more cautious about money spending, especially for the young one, be it a student or a young workforce.

Continue from my previous post, my friend had replied to me he want to use it for mainly for travel and causal family and friend shoot during weekends when there is a gathering or two. So he also further asked me to help him to recommend him what camera, lenses and accessories he should prioritize within the given budget with his usage. He So after understanding what he wants, I had work out some camera models & lenses from various brands and accessories. Over here, it’s all about Fujifilm. So I shared with you what I had shared with him.

With a budget of SGD2000, I have a few models for him to try out. These are based on suggested retail prices, street price should be slightly cheaper. (Due to Circuit Breaker, I am not able to get the street price.)

X-T30 with XC 15-45mm (SGD 1549) + XC 35mm F2 (SGD 299) = SGD 1848.
X-E3 with XF 18-55mm (SGD 1399) + XC 35mm F2 (SGD 299) = SGD 1698.
X-T200 with XC 15-45mm (SGD 1148) + XC 35mm F2 (SGD 299) = SGD 1447.

Talk about camera body, X-T200 is the newest among this 3 choices but I will advise to get X-T30, given that it is using the latest sensor and processor. The longevity of the camera should last longer. X-T200, on the other hand, has bigger flip LCD screen for selfie and vlogger to use. Auto focus is not as fast as X-T30, probably similar to X-E3. Unless you love to selfie, X-T30 is my recommendation.

Usually I do not recommend XC 15-45mm lens but it seems that XC 16-50mm MK II is no longer available in Fujifilm Singapore. If I have to choose between these two XC lenses, I prefers XF 16-50mm over XC 15-45mm. Wait a minute, isn’t 15mm (22.5mm in full frame equivalent) is wider than 16 (24mm in full frame equivalent). Yes, it is wider and definitely helpful when you need that wide to cover some shots especially on landscape sceneries and group photos. The reason of not recommending is not because it has poor optic quality but because it is using power zoom lens which in my opinion is much slower than manually zooming.

XF 18-55mm is my most preferred choice among all 3 choices. This is my first and only zoom lens from Fujifilm. To me, it is the standard of what premium kit lens should be. As most of the time, even for for travel, I use prime lens, unless situation does not allow me to do so, I will use this XF 18-55mm.

If you notice, I also included XC 35mm F2 inside all the 3 packages. This XC lens features plastic barrel but the optic quality is the same as XF 35mm F2. Of course it is lack of aperture control but I think it is okay. It is Fujifilm’s fifty nifty lens. It is the cheapest prime that I will definitely recommend to newcomers if they are entering to Fujifilm’s playground.

“XC class lenses can be viewed as Fuji’s budget oriented X-Mount lenses. There are currently only two XC lenses, both feature plastic barrels and lack the aperture rings often found on their XF R siblings. XC lenses also feature slower apertures but still feature ED and ASP elements to ensure consistent and high image quality. Often found bundled with Fujifilm’s lower priced mirrorless cameras, both the current XC lenses are under $400 and can be identified by the inclusion of ‘XC’ in the lens model designation.”
From Shutter Muse

How about accessories?

First and foremost: Filters
I used to mount filters a lot and I always believe that they help to protect the front piece of glass. Just like “screen protector” logic to mobile phone. But I was wrong. I dropped one of the lens (not fuji) without the lens hood before and it actually scratched the front glass. Conclusion: no matter how, hood over filter. Always mount hood. Unless you want do special effect with certain filters, then it’s okay. By the way, getting cheap filters might also degrade the image quality.

Second item: Battery
This is important. For me, I have tons of spare batteries. Currently about 9 batteries in used with 3 brand new in box. I always bring 2-3 spare batteries with me for shoot and about 6 spare batteries for travel. That shows how afraid I am of losing batteries to shoot. It is not an excuse that not able to shoot certain things when I want to and the reason is because I forgot to bring extra battery. Depending on the retail shops, they might give you a spare battery as a free gift. So I think getting an extra one more battery should be sufficient for starter, which mean 3 batteries in total.

Third item: Cleaning kit
Basic cleaning kit is important. Typically getting a package that includes a decent blower, wipes, pen brush and microfibre cloth is good to start with.

Fourth item: Dry cabinet
If you do not intend to expand your lens collection so fast and so soon, you may consider to get a reasonable size digital dry cabinet. A 30 litre size is selling approximately SGD89 in Singapore. If on a budget, a dry box is doing fine with silica gel.

Fifth item: Tripod
Cheap tripod does the function of being a tripod but usually it is not stable and weak when exposed to outdoor environment. I do not recommend getting it. Tripod is not really essential unless you want to explore long exposure landscape photography. If you do, purchase a good one. But you are on budget, save up on some money to get it. This is something you shouldn’t save money on or you might be regret.

Last but not least: Memory Card
Never ever invest in cheap memory card. Why? Why do you want to take the risk of having problem with your memory card? What if your photos are corrupted because of the cheap memory card? In my opinion, it does not worth the risk at all. The price of getting decent brand memory card is reasonable nowadays and I don’t see why we need to take risk in getting a cheap one.

The above are the general idea of what I have shared with my friend. I hope the tips are helpful in your adventure of getting your first camera.

On the other hand, I have also compiled as list between USA, Singapore and Hong Kong for your info. The price list is based on May 2020.

Camera and lens description	Adorama (US) (USD)	B&H (US) (USD)	Singapore (SGD)	Hong Kong (HKD)
X-T30 w/ XF 18-55	$1,299.00	$1,299.00	$1,999.00	$6,290.00
X-T30 w/ XC 15-45	$999.00	$999.00	$1,549.00	NA
X-T30 w/ XF 23f2	NA	$1,348.00	NA	NA
X-T30 Body	$899.00	$899.00	$1,399.00	$4,350.00
X-T20 w/ XF 18-55	$899.00	NA	NA	$5,050.00
X-T20 w/ XC 15-45	NA	NA	NA	$3,890.00
X-T20 Body	NA	NA	NA	$3,220.00
X-E3 w/ XF 18-55	$799.00	$799.00	$1,399.00	$4,540.00
X-E3 w/ XF 23f2	$749.00	$1,052.50	$1,299.00	$4,680.00
X-E3 Body	$499.00	$499.00	$999.00	$2,520.00
X-T200 w/ XC 15-45	$699.00	$699.95	$1,148.00	$4,580.00
X-T200	$599.00	$599.95	NA	$3,890.00
X-A7 w/ XC 15-45	$499.00	$499.00	$849.00	$3,680.00

XC 35mm F2	$199.00	$199.00	$299.00	$1,380.00
XF 35mm F2	$399.00	$399.00	$699.00	$2,290.00

Table comparison

Disclaimer:

1. All the shots taken here were shot by me.

2. I reserve ownerships to these images, if you wish to use my images for whatever reasons, please notify me and we can see how to works thing out.

Uncategorized

Which camera suits you?

May 25, 2020May 26, 2020 Alwin Kok

Every now and then, there will be some friends asking me about what camera to get. A gear that is able to get beautiful shot of their lovely subjects. I am glad they approached me to help them with making their decisions. I hope I can assist them to understand what they need before spending unnecessary money on an equipment.

My friend contacted me early last week. He said he saw my post in Instagram showing so many camera bodies and asked if I still keeping all my old Fuji cameras. After some causal talk, he started to ask me what camera should he buy if he want to invest in one of them.

And then, I started to throw him some questions so that I can understand what is his intension for willing to spend money on a camera whereas nowadays mobile phone also produce very pleasant results. After some sharing of tips and pointers, he decided to think over it. Notably I decided to share what are my questions over here and hope newcomers can do some considerations. Over here, I am not sharing about technical skills and knowledge but rather understanding what is your needs and wants before getting an equipment.

“There is no rush to get the camera. Take your time considering it and don’t forget to ask questions when you are in doubt.”

1. What is your purpose of having a camera?

If you are thinking of learning photography, then you have to ask yourself what is the reason to make you want to learn?

Photography is about forever learning and improving. Upon reaching the limit that you think you can’t proceed further with the current gears, you expand with additional one to continue to achieve it. It’s a passion that you have to continue to grow at your own pace. Patience to learn is one of the critical key components.

Let me share with you about an example:
About a decade ago, I had a friend who got a camera for a reason. He wanted to learn to shoot portraits so that he had more opportunities with shooting models. Thanks to the recommendation by the salesperson, he spent a lot of moneys on getting a camera body, together with flash and many lenses. Many months later, he asked me where can he sell all his gears. Out of curiosity, I asked him what was his reason selling them? He said he cannot achieved what was deem to be his expected results, also claimed he had to spend a lot of time doing learning how to shoot and process the photos. And so, he decided to call it a day.

If you wish to take beautiful shots for travel, daily lifestyle, etc., then you have to ask yourself this question: can your mobile phone do the job?

If your answer is you want better image quality, does not mind the hassle of bringing the camera out and also the hassle of transferring your photos from a camera to your phone (or maybe transfer to a laptop first) to post photos on social medias. I have no objection with your reason because you are clear of why you need a camera.

My Fuji family members from another view.

2. What is your budget?

Having a budget in mind is always important. It will set you a target of what you can buy within that given amount. When I first started to learn photography, I actually overspent the budget that I had. I spent exactly the budget on the camera, without knowing that I need to get accessories such as dry cabinet. Luckily, the camera did come with some starter kits like extra batteries, not so useful cleaning kit and an unstable tripod. So I had to spend more to for a dry cabinet.

My point here is that it is always better to give some allowance to the budget you set for. I think 20% allowance is a good spot. For example: if you have a $1000 budget, keeping $200 aside for unexpected purchase.

3. Are you looking at brand new or second hand market?

This is pretty straight forward. If you are looking for brand new, you can get advice from your photography friend on which good reputation shops you should get your camera from. If you are in Singapore or coming to Singapore for a holiday, you can also drop me an email or DM me in Instagram, I can share the information with you which my preferred shops.

As for second hand market, this is tricky for an inexperience person as you need some knowledge to spot the condition of the camera. For example: certain sellers tend to sell at a lower price than the market offers and we need to know why are they willing to let go at a much lower price tag.

Nonetheless, this might be a good option if you are unsure if you want to pursue this hobby further. If you are no longer interested, then selling off in the second hand market should be able to recover most of the money spend.

4. Is there any camera brand preference?

This is an importance question. You have to love the brand and the camera you are buying. If you are getting a camera brand that you do not like then it will be in a funny situation.

If you do not have any brand preference, I will suggest you to go and try the cameras out in the shops. After all, you have set your budget, identifying which camera within your budget is a simple task. If you are still uncertain with the camera and if your friend has the same camera you want, you can try to borrow from him or rent from camera rental store. Please try out the camera with at least one full week. If trying out for a few days or over a weekends, you might not have sufficient user experience with the camera. So I think a week or more is a preferred option. After all, it is not a small amount of money that you are going to invest.

But if you do have brand preference, narrowing down to that specific brand and models is a simpler task.

5. Interchangeable lens or no?

Interchangeable lens always give you the flexibility to upgrade lens or camera body as time goes by. Able to change lens give you more varieties of lens to suit your needs to explore more. For example, you are interested to go into sports or birding photography, you can purchase a telephoto lens to meet your needs. Or you are into macro photography, you can purchase a macro lens.

But if you are a causal shooter, does not intend to invest more and only bring out for family occasion and travel during holiday. Maybe a non-interchangeable, powerful enough camera should meet your requirement.

Of course, if you are into learning photography, either one is fine. But I believe an interchangeable camera is definitely the better choice as it does not limit your learning within that lens.

6. As a starter, what lens should you get? (For interchangeable camera)

If on a tight budget, having a kit lens and one prime lens should be a good starting point. A typical kit lens provide you a sufficient focal length coverage from wide to mid-tele zoom range and it covers most common usage and versatility. On the other hand, a prime lens give you a good learning experience of using a fixed focus length lens and it also does provide faster speed for low light situation.

7. What should I spend on the remaining budget?

With the remaining 20% budget, you can spend on extra batteries and memory cards. Usually camera shop does run some promotions and giving out extra batteries and memory cards but no harm getting another one set extra.

Not forgetting about cleaning kits such as a good microfiber cloth (but I use chamois leather) and blower to blow off dust.

As for dry cabinet, if you still have budget, you get consider getting one. Otherwise, I think getting a dry box with silicon gels do helps too. If you still have budget remains, keep it for future use.

One last pointer, there is no rush to get the camera. Take your time considering it and don’t forget to ask questions when you are in doubt.

Thank you for reading.

Disclaimer:

1. All the shots taken here were shot by me.

2. I reserve ownerships to these images, if you wish to use my images for whatever reasons, please notify me and we can see how to works thing out.

Uncategorized

My Stay Home Series

May 7, 2020May 11, 2020 Alwin Kok

“In view of the COVID-19, Singapore Prime Minister first announced the “Circuit Breaker” (CB) measures in 3^rd April 2020 that kicked in four days later and last for a month, forcing people to stay at home and work from home at much as possible in effort to limit the virus’ spread. While there are many non-essential services closed, you still can go to supermarkets and food center to get your needs and foods.”

Before the commencement of the CB, I usually travelled around Singapore every weekend to fulfil my shutter therapy. With this CB in place, basically you are unable to do thing as you used to be. So what can I do at home? How can I spend my weekends to satisfy my shutter therapy?

Product shoot is the first thing that came into my mind. It has been a good 1.5 years since my last product shoot was done (not counting with the recent X100V product shots). I love to shoot product shots in my early days of photography and I love to shoot abstract from it as I love to see the details from it. With that in mind, so I decided to pick it up again. I also intended to shoot with different products every week and hence, It is going to be my “Stay Home” series.

Shooting a product is simple. Just find a product and shoot. It’s fast and quick. i.e. flower, lens, phone, spectacle, kitchenware, fruits, etc.

But getting from a different perspective of the product is not simple. It took a lot of time spend to explore different angles of the product and trial and error to see if the results meet my expectation.

So initially our Government mentioned a month of CB but extended for another month in the recent updates. So from 4 products to shoot, now I have to source for another 4 products to shoot. While writing this post, we are still 4 weeks away to the end of the CB.

Over here, what I posted here are the product shots that I have done for the past 4 weeks. You can look up what products I shot during this period in my Instagram account.

Disclaimer:
1. All the shots taken here were shot by me.
2. I reserve ownerships to these images, if you wish to use my images for whatever reasons, please notify me and we can see how to works thing out.

Fujifilm X-Half – A Week of Finding My Other Half – Alwin Kok on Fujifilm X-M5 – The Smallest X-series yetJanuary 1, 2026
[…] inside, but it’s definitely not the X-Processor 5 found in cameras like the X-T5, X-E5, or X-M5. (My guess…
Fujifilm X-Half – A Week of Finding My Other Half – Alwin Kok on Fujifilm X-E5 – The X-E That We Have Been Waiting ForJanuary 1, 2026
[…] said what’s inside, but it’s definitely not the X-Processor 5 found in cameras like the X-T5, X-E5, or X-M5.…
Fujifilm X-Half – A Week of Finding My Other Half – Alwin Kok on Fujifilm X-T5 – Photography First AgainJanuary 1, 2026
[…] said what’s inside, but it’s definitely not the X-Processor 5 found in cameras like the X-T5, X-E5, or X-M5.…
Alwin Kok on TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 – A Worthy Budget Portrait LensDecember 27, 2025
Hi Alan, I can’t say much for Sony gear, but for Fujifilm cameras’ IBIS, it works fine with this lens…
Alan on TTArtisan 56mm f1.8 – A Worthy Budget Portrait LensDecember 24, 2025
I have this lens and use it on a Sony 6700. Should the camera’s IBIS work automatically with this lens?…

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