Johor Premium Outlets (JPO) @ Kulaijaya, Johor with the Fujifilm X100

OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE JOHOR PREMIUM OUTLETS ON 11th DECEMBER 2011

Passed by the JPO a number of times on the NSE on the way down south. 

The JPO actually soft launched on 2nd December 2011 and so happened that I was on the way down to JB on 3rd December... Thought of dropping by and checked the website at http://www.premiumoutlets.com.my/ to get the directions to the JPO.

Funnily enough although the JPO is listed as being at Kulaijaya, you have to exit at Senai (U) to get there. It's fairly straightforward after you exit the NSE and there are plenty of signboards leading you to the JPO.

When we got to the JPO, there was a MASSIVE jam just to get into the place!!! Not wanting to get stuck in the jam I decided to turn around and head back to the NSE and vowed to return another day.

It so happened that I was in JB again for the weekend and we decided check out the JPO on 11th December which so happened to also be the official opening of the JPO by none other than our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Hmm.... better get there early then....

The JPO opens at 10am and we arrived there at 9:30am. There was still parking available but it was filling up fast...

This was the picture of the parking lot at 10:30am... FULL!!!

First impressions? Wah... Looks exactly like the outlet malls in USA. It was only later that I found out that it was indeed managed by the same people that run the Premium Outlet malls in the USA.

Since the JPO only opened at 10am. A quick stop at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for a morning latte.

 Open walkways but with strategically placed crossings in case of rain.

Check out the line at COACH!!! Waiting for it to open.

For more pics of the JPO, click the link below:

Canon PowerShot S95 vs FujiFilm Finepix F100fd

Just got my new toy...

A Canon PowerShot s95. Since I'm currently using this camera, I can't use it to take pictures of itself soooo..... this is what it looks like. I don't have such a shiny table to take this picture so its obviously not taken by me.

My previous camera was a FujiFilm Finepix F100fd which I had bought based on this review:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q408premiumgroup/

This is what it looks like.

Why then did I buy the F100fd and now the S95?

The reason I went with the F100fd in the first place was due to its superior low-light performance.*
* compared with other compact cameras at that time.

I have always believed that something should be 'fit for its purpose' and I wanted a camera that could take decent low-light pictures without using a flash. I am often asked why I don't just get a SLR and main reason is portability. I like to carry a camera around with me all the time and lugging a HUGE SLR around did not really appeal to me. Besides, with the number of people carrying SLR's nowadays, I also didn't want to look like a 'poser' as well.*
* not that I'm implying that everyone who carries a SLR around is a poser.


SO..... at the time the F100fd was touted as having some of the best High ISO low-light shooting capabilities. I must say that it was certainly a big step up from my previous PowerShot and the quality of the pictures was quite impressive.

Canon subsequently released the PowerShot S90 which boasted a f2.0 lens which promised even better low-light performance. I almost bought one at the time but I didn't quite like how the front control ring felt and there were also universal complaints about how the control ring on the back did not have any indents to prevent it from moving.

And then Canon released the S95 which fixed these issues and I couldn't resist.

So far, I am really happy with its performance and have no regrets purchasing the S95. The f2.0 lens has really made a difference and the feel and quality of the camera is great.

So how do these cameras compare in low-light conditions?

First up, the FujiFilm Finepix F100fd at ISO1600.

To be fair I shot the scene again with the F100fd at ISO800.

Because of the brighter f2.0 lens the Canon S95 could shoot at ISO1000.

No contest. The S95 is noticeably sharper (check out the wording on the notices) and less grainy. Works great!!!

The S95 also has a special low-light shooting mode which shoots at ISO3200 and reduces the pixel count to 2.5 MP.

Still acceptable if a little more grainy.

Compare this with the F100fd at ISO3200 which is virtually unusable.

The Canon S95 is GREAT and it suits my purpose. Still compact enough to be carried around everywhere I go and still capable of decent low-light shots.