Mat Mayer Travel + Street Photography in Southeast Asia + Worldwide
Street photography in Chiang Mai. Plus some landscape photos taken when filming videos for Uscenes relaxation videos. Also, some photography from nearby places in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Such as Bali, Vietnam and the Philippines.
Check out the video below for a bargain which combines a cheap vintage Pentax 135mm f3.5 lens with an even cheaper Olympus A200 tele converter (or tele-adapter).
The above combo could cost as low as $35 for a 300mm equivalent focal length APSC camera lens, or 400mm on MFT bodies. With a wide f3.5 aperture it creates very shallow DOF, making it a fun way to enjoy wildlife photography.
Below you will find a quick review and introduction to the excellent MPB.com - an eBay alternative which pays well.
The website operates in the UK, USA and Europe. You can buy used camera lenses and cameras. You can sell used cameras and lenses. You can combine the two to trade in your old camera gear when upgrading.
MPB offers a warranty when buying camera gear. They offer free collection when selling or trading in camera gear. They buy gear for reasonable prices and seem to be a very honest and reputable eBay alternative. Far less hassle than selling privately.
Hoi An recently begun an initiative to end the eating of dog and cat meat in the popular tourist destination. Let's try and pressure the Vietnamese government to ban cat meat and dog meat in Vietnam.
Stop Dog and Cat Meat in Vietnam
The image below links to a gallery on Flickr where I took many cute photos of cats and dogs loved by their Vietnamese owners. Mostly in Hanoi and Hoi An.
Fuji 50mm f2 is near perfect, but at f2 it doesn't have enough background blur. To get that extra bokeh (and light), the Viltrox 56mm f1.4 sounded like an awesome alternative. Except for one issue...
The Future 50mm or 56mm lens for Fuji's FX Mount
Hopefully Sigma will bring out their APSC 56mm f1.4 in the future. They said it might even appear in 2021. That is a sharper lens than the Viltrox and controls CA much better. Although it won't have an aperture ring.
It has a little weather proofing. It is priced in between the Fujifilm 50mm f2 and the Viltrox 56mm f1.4. But for now the best lens is subjective.
The Viltrox 56mm f1.4 at f1.4
Which lens should I buy, the Fuji 50mm F2 or Viltrox 56mm F1.4?
If you are doing paid work like weddings and portraits I would go with the Fujifilm. It is a great little lens. If you are more into casual photography for yourself and want more bokeh, the extra fun of the Viltrox 56mm lens is worth it for the f1.4 aperture, despite the horrible chromatic aberrations.
The Fuji lens is more expensive. The Viltrox 56 is slightly cheaper than a used Fujifilm 50mm f2. Don't let a few bucks influence your decision. You either want optical excellence or blurrier backgrounds.
I have no hesitation in buying the 50mm f2 used because it is weather resistant, so its unlikely to have dust or other internal issues. I have had 2 copies used and because it isn't an everyday focal length, they were both in superb condition.
Hoi An Street Photography During 2020 and early 2021
Here are a few street photos I have shot in Hoi An. Its been a nice place to stay during 2020 and now into 2021. The virus is generally a non issue here and GDP has increased. But tourism has been hit hard as the borders are closed except for repatriation flights and experts.
For me, that is actually a plus as it makes Hoi An street photography easier with less people around. Usually there are loads of tourists as this is the number 1 destination in Vietnam, but currently there are only Vietnamese people visiting. Which they are doing more so in 2021, which is good for the hotels who can at least make some money on weekends. For street photography I can choose to go out on the busier weekend days or quieter weekdays.
These photos are compressed versions from Google Photos, usually of a small size (2048 pixels on longest side). These were all taken in or around April 2020. Every 6 months or so I will hand pick a small number of photos for my gallery at https://mat-mayer.myportfolio.com/
Flickr allows much higher quality photo uploads than Instagram and Facebook. The old Vietnam Street Photography group has been inactive for years, so I just created a new one at it would be great to see some of your shots on https://www.flickr.com/groups/vietnam-street-photography/
Anyone can join and there are no limits to the number of photos at the moment. Please just keep them related to street photography in Vietnam. Ideally with people in, candid, color or monochrome, whatever you like. I hate butting boundaries on street photos, but lets keep it mainly "street" please.
