Wenger Ranger S55 Official World Scout Knife

A decent find..
Last year, I made a trip to Singapore.
While combing the shelves at a popular shopping mall in Orchard Road, I came across a Wenger S18 Official World Scout knife.
Its also one of the latest design by Wenger, the other official contractor for the Swiss Army, featuring an evo-grip design.
Unlike its predecessors, which are mainly plain looking, the World Scout knife is very appealing.
What made it even more endearing, was a gift box that comes with the knife.
And with a little discount thrown-in, I paid about $45 Singapore Dollars for the find.
Ironically, there is a smaller version which was more expensive.
I've been keeping the S18 ever since..

Little boy and big guy: The Ranger 55 and S18

Some recent development..
I found out that there is a dealer selling Wengers in Kuala Lumpur.
Its been a while since these knives are actually seen on the shelves.
To add to my collection, I was searching for the Ranger S55, a larger version of the official World Scout Knife which is also offered on the World Scout Movement's on-line store.
This knife retails for USD67 from a retailer on Ebay. Shipping it to Malaysia, is a different story...
So, after doing some homework, I traced the distributor of Wenger Swiss Army Knives to a phone number somewhere in the city centre.
I managed to get hold of the guy who is responsible for bringing in the knife and was told that the S55 was available..


The waiting game.. 
So, I told the guy, who is a very nice person and also passionate about his product, about the official World Scout Knife.
"I have it somewhere.."
His assurance was its availability and a decent price. 
I waited and finally, an email came.
Its ready for pick-up and we set a place to meet for the deal.
After inspecting the Ranger S55, which is in pristine condition, I cut the deal with the seller. 
And my collection is complete!


Gallery

First impressions: Olympus OM-D

Is it worth it? 
I attended a product launch today at a fancy restaurant in Damansara.
Well, my main intention was to hand back the Olympus EP-3 loan camera which I had used for a couple of weeks.
Other than that, it was to touch-base with my contact who represented Olympus Malaysia in Public Relations.
The guy was pushing for me to purchase the new Olympus OM-D.
I sat through an hour of presentation of the entire Olympus product for 2012 and the place was really crowded.
Since the geek from our tech page was in attendance, I was just scouring in the background. 

Olympus camera's OM-D complements its micro four-third system

Changing the game...
I kinda lost interest in all the jibba jabba given by the Olympus product manager on their new OM-D camera.
Big words like: "Changing the game" was used repeatedly throughout the session.
As far as I am concerned, there are many choices when it comes to an interchangeable lens system to cover the serious amateur market.
For the OM-D, Olympus is pushing its five-axis image stabilizer and electronic viewfinder.
And all the marketing and sales jargon was thrown-in by the Olympus dude to draw the crowd.
I kinda dig the weather-sealing, but with a pricetag of RM4K for the camera body with the 12-50mm F3.5 - 6.3 kit lens, I think this camera is way overpriced.
Kit lenses, even with a motorised zoom and weather-sealed protection, does not impress me.
At the end of the day, its a coke bottle lens.
And for my kind of work, even though the camera is rugged and compact, the sheer looks of it could be just too 'intrusive'


Conclusion
It would take a lot to sway my views on purchasing this camera.
No, I don't need a micro four-third, not when I still have my reliable G-system from Canon. 
The factor that would sink the OM-D is the price. Too expensive, too much for so little. So, better luck with the next OM camera..

The OM returns..

It's back!
After making an exit in the early 90s, the Olympus OM system is back.
Re-incarnated as a micro four-third system, the new OM boasts of weather-sealing while it maintains its compact size.

A noteworthy camera..
I remember the OM system when I was a kid.
A camera shop at the Koperasi Supermarket in Jalan Raja Bot, Kuala Lumpur used to sell a full-range of the OM system.
As a matter of fact, the OM-1 was a favourite camera among students in the 70s and 80s.
The most sought-after OM was the OM-4ti, which was complemented with a full-range of Zuiko lenses.
Sadly, when film was outdated, so did the entire OM system.

The Olympus OM-D

A new beginning..
There's a lot of excitement about this new camera and it will be launched in Malaysia on Feb 09 (tomorrow).
This new SLR-styled camera will be competing directly with the micro four-thirds from Panasonic.