A Trip To The Thai Jungles With The Olympus MJU1050SW and Canon EOS D60
December 15, 2008
The steaming glutinous rice burnt his tongue and Adrian lunged for the water jug. The diners around the wooden table concealed their sniggers and Adrian felt a little better, for his sudden movement caught the attention of his fellow diners. He was having a traditional Kantoke dinner in a tiny restaurant that seemed out of place in the crowded streets of Bangkok. Very soon the ice was broken and conversation flowed.
‘I’m a globe-trotter’ said Adrian, slurping his Tom kha gai ‘I don’t just travel places…I capture them in my cameras to be treasured for eternity….I’m headed to Uthai Thani now. I’ve arranged for a camp in a wildlife sanctuary there. ’ ‘Oh, to the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary?’ asked a bearded old man. ‘That’s a biodiversity haven…It’s a paradise’ ‘Yes’ said Adrian, I’m all geared up for yet another trip to the wilderness’ He unzipped his back-pack to reveal his comrades for the adventure – Olympus MJU1050SW Digital Camera and Canon EOS D60 Digital SLR.
‘The Olympus MJU1050SW, my friends, is a 10.1 megapixel digital camera, which is shockproof, waterproof and freeze proof!’ Said Adrian to the five men around the Kantoke banquet. ‘And this is the 6.3-megapixel Canon EOS D60, which is Compatible with all Canon EOS system lenses. I’m looking forward for some fine shots of wildlife with this one’
The men took turns to admire Adrian’s digital gadgets and were full of praises for both the gadgets. It was time to leave and Adrian’s heart was heavy, for now a warm camaraderie had formed between them. With an Advanced Face Detection of up to 16 persons, his Olympus MJU1050SW shot a picture, which when seen in the HyperCrystal II LCD, revealed 6 smiling faces tracked perfectly within the frame. It was yet another picture, which went straight to Adrian’s heart. He now had a special album, composed of photos of friends he had made during his trips around the world, and this shot he mused, will indeed be special.
Uthai Thani, a place known to be once inhabited by prehistoric people, was about 219 kms from Bangkok. All through the bus journey, Adrian wished that Tia was there with him for this wild sortie.
The abundance of natural resources was the first thing that Adrian noticed, the minute he set foot in Uthai Thani. He immediately took out his chic Olympus MJU1050SW and shot some sharp pictures with the high-precision 3x optical zoom. The Sakae Krang River, which formed the backbone for provincial trade provided some interesting pictures. Even as the afternoon sun was at its brightest, the assiduous life of the raft residents was caught with panache, thanks to the Shadow Adjustment Technology of the MJU1050SW.
Lunch was an elaborate affair and Adrian enjoyed it immensely. He especially relished a spicy pork sausage called ‘name’, which was a regional specialty. Before leaving for the sanctuary, Adrian decided to visit Wat Tha Soong, a sprawling Buddhist temple complex. He took another bus to reach the temple and this time, he had his Canon EOS D60 at the ready to capture the brilliance of the temple.
What a place that was! Spread across hundreds of acres, the temple housed thousands of Buddha images in different postures according to Buddhist scriptures. It was a field day for Adrian. He flourished his D60 across every image he could see. In the Continuous Shooting mode, the D60 shot 17 large images at up to 3 frames per second. Combined with a shutter speed of over 1/250, the D60 produced some splendid shots.
After the spell-binding experience at Wat Tha Soong, Adrian took a night bus to the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. It was past mid night when he reached the sanctuary. After a refreshing sleep at the Huai Mae Di Ranger Station, where he had pre-booked for his stay, Adrian was up before day light all set to capture the Thai wilderness in his Olympus MJU1050SW and The Canon EOS D60.
Adrian trekked to Namok Hin Lat, a waterfall near the Ranger Station. He captured the multi-layered waterfall with the Canon D60's TTL auto-focus that came with three focusing points. However, Adrian was not extremely satisfied with the D60’s auto-focus, as the cascade was not captured with the sharpness that he desired.
He then decided to try a shot with his Olympus. Using the high-precision 3x optical zoom, he shot a pleasant shot of the waterfall, which was shot with ease, for he shot with reasonable clarity without moving a single step forward. The vigour of the fall was captured even in direct sunlight and Adrian found it easy to compose and shoot due to the extra-wide angle and anti-glare technology of the 2.7’’ HyperCrystal LCD.
The breeze from the rattan forest surrounding the waterfall pulled Adrian with invisible strings and he decided to mellow out a bit among the shady trees. Along the path of the short hike, Adrian discovered a wild flower in full bloom that exuded a wild fragrance. The daring display of colours thrilled Adrian and his Olympus was busy again, with the TruePicTM III Image Processor, the blood-red flower was shot with true-to-life colour.
The leaves of the rattan forest, known to change colours in different seasons, were a beautiful shade and it was the D60’s turn now. Adrian discovered that the lens of the D60 had two stabilization modes, the first to capture stationary targets and the second, to capture targets that are moving horizontally. He used the first mode now, and shot the brilliantly coloured flora and was delighted with the clarity.
Adrian decided to break for a quick lunch, for the hike left him exhausted. He lounged a while at the Ranger Station and prepared himself for a four hour long hike along the Khao Hin Daeng Nature Study Route. He put on the hiking boots that he had saved especially for this particular hike, for a four hour hike required the perfect shoes, the perfect clothes, the perfect mood, but most importantly for Adrian, the perfect digital camera.
The Khao Hin Daeng Nature Study Route provided the perfect platter for a nature-lover and for a photography enthusiast like Adrian, it definitely was Eden. The pristine air and the lush, wild vegetation did wonders to Adrian’s photographic skills. The Nature Study Route provided for a variety of vegetation that included the deciduous forest, deciduous dipterocarp forest, mixed deciduous forest, and dry evergreen forest. With the Perfect Shot Preview of his MJU1050SW, Adrian viewed the effects of various settings including zoom, exposure, white balance and metering before taking the shot. This provided him an extra edge over the camera settings and it put him at ease.
Along the route, was a marsh that was surrounded by a mess of smelly twines and muck and Adrian decided to take a closer look. He stopped short within a few steps, for a sudden movement caught his attention. Coiled around a decomposing branch was a Wagler's Pit viper. It took a few seconds for Adrian to realize the importance of such an encounter, for he was now facing one of the most deadliest snakes in Thailand. Without a moment’s hesitation, he took several shots with his D60 in the "shooting priority mode," so that he could view the pictures in between shots. Adrian was at arm’s length to the snake and he felt like Steve Irwin, for he was so close to the unpredictable, yet so bold. He had never been so daring!
He stood there, shooting the beauty with a reticulated pattern of greenish tint, until it moved on. Adrian suddenly realized that he was almost knee-deep in the marsh. A smooth body of a marsh Iguana slithered against his feet and he leaped with a slurpy noise to run for his life! And lo! He dropped his MJU1050SW in the water amidst all the commotion. But his MJU1050SW was as sturdy as a cowboy, for it was shockproof up to 1.5m and waterproof up to 3m.
Though Adrian was a bit shaken by all that running and the sudden pump of adrenalin in his veins, he was not a bit shaken in spirit. And there is good reason for that, for there still exists a good number of English men who thinks monitors are venomous. Then this one was a giant, even if not as big as a Komodo. He hiked on, and reached the sight-seeing point, Pong Thian. He rested his tired legs for a while and fantasized about shooting a tiger or a leopard when a 
shrill bird-cry caught his attention. On closer inspection, he identified it to come from a red-breasted parakeet. All thoughts of shooting tigers and elephants left him and Adrian readied his D60 for some bird photography.
His Canon EOS D60 6MP Digital SLR, which came with interchangeable lenses that supported all Canon EOS series lenses presented many avenues to experiment. Adrian used a Phoenix 100mm f3.5 macro lens and panned the camera along the motion of the bird. It was indeed an excellent camera to shoot birds, but on rare occasions, it also produced some blurred images. Adrian even shot some pictures of the elegant and lineated barbet and was proud that he was evolving as a decent bird photographer.
Adrian also shot some wild orchids along the way with his 
Olympus MJU1050SW Compact Digital Camera and he found the TAP Control Menu very convenient, as he was spared the press of a button every time. It was pitch dark when he walked back to the Ranger Station. He took a different route, that was less used. His mood was quite dull, for his flight was due the next day. He couldn’t imagine living amidst the hustle and bustle of London after such a lullaby in the lap of mother nature. Just then, a sound behind the near-by bushes distracted him. He looked right into the very spot and thought he saw a flash of bright orange. His heart raced and he tugged at his D60. But then, it was gone in the wink of an eyelid. Was it a tiger? Well, Adrian never did find out!
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