{"id":50188,"date":"2026-07-01T01:33:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/blog\/50188"},"modified":"2026-07-01T01:35:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:35:39","slug":"ep299-%e6%9c%89%e6%ae%b5%e6%99%82%e9%96%93-olympus-c-af-38mm-f2-8-%e8%88%87-harman-phoenix-ii-200","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/blog\/50188","title":{"rendered":"EP299: For a While There \u2014 Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 with Harman Phoenix II 200"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nRoll 299<\/p>\n

Film: Harman Phoenix II 200
\nDeveloped & scanned: DEP Lab 2025\/10\/8
\nCamera: Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

For a while, every Saturday morning we'd bring our son into Taipei for a two-hour English class. Later, when the teacher changed, we switched to a different school \u2014 Friday afternoons, three hours, near Taipei 101.<\/p>\n

These regular weekly trips into the city gave me a reason to walk around. Just walking, nothing more, but I found it genuinely good for me. As someone who works from home, I always need some excuse to get out and about \u2014 otherwise life gets unbearably dull.<\/p>\n

This roll documents one of those afternoons taking my son to English class \u2014 casual shots taken around Taipei 101.<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#1
\nThe film box itself, at minimum focus distance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#2
\nI'm very used to the angle of view of the Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 \u2014 it has more of a \"fixed gaze\" quality than a typical 35mm. If I had to crown the best 38mm fixed-lens compact, I'd give it to the Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 rather than the Contax T2 38mm f2.8, because I think cost of ownership is the single most important factor when evaluating a camera. The C-AF is cheap enough to be the obvious choice for exploring the 38mm focal length. The Contax T2's lens is sharper, sure \u2014 but think about it: has any photo ever won an award just because the lens was sharp?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#3
\nThe Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 comes in two versions: a silver body without date function, and a black body with date (Quartz Date). I'd bought two date-version bodies before, but neither could display the date. This date version actually works \u2014 I'm so happy to have finally found one. With a date stamped on the photo, though, it means you can no longer rely on rotating and cropping after the fact.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#4
\nChecking whether the iPhone Air is here in person.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#5
\nThe Apple Taipei 101 store, where there's always a class going on and always someone not paying attention. I was surprised that Harman Phoenix II 200 found the indoor light insufficient \u2014 and this was with a 38mm f2.8 lens, no less.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#6
\nWhen I was younger I loved everything Apple. Now I'm more lukewarm. I once made a pilgrimage to Apple's Cupertino headquarters \u2014 Apple Park wasn't finished yet back then \u2014 and I passed by Steve Jobs's former home while I was at it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#7
\nThe time changed, and so did the light.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#8
\nSometimes I buy Apple products simply because I have no other choice \u2014 though generally speaking, Apple products are good. The iPhone has been around for nearly 20 years now, and people still call it a luxury good. I genuinely don't get it. Isn't it just an electronic device? Usually, calling something a \"luxury good\" carries a hint of snobbery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#9
\nConfirming the coordinates.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#10
\nHarman Phoenix II 200 should probably be shot at ISO 100 too \u2014 metering at ISO 200 comes out slightly underexposed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#11
\nOn the way back, leaving Taipei.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#12
\nThese past few years I've become quite comfortable with driving. I wonder if the future me will get into used cars? For now, I think I'll pass...<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#13
\nI often share stories from my own childhood with my son \u2014 like how I loved keeping fish as a kid, and even kept piranhas once, which is how I ended up getting bitten.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#14
\nTree test.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#15
\nI'm a Fuzhou local.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#16
\nNeeded to cool off a bit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#17
\n7-Eleven actually prohibits photography inside its stores.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#18
\nWithout my noticing, the Panasonic commercial microwaves that once held the highest market share in convenience stores have all been swapped out for Midea units.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#19
\nPersonally, I find Harman Phoenix II 200 no less difficult to handle than Phoenix I 200.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#20
\nSlide film is incredibly expensive now \u2014 strictly speaking, you can't find cheap repackaged slide film anymore. Otherwise, for blue skies, my first choice would still be cross-processed slide film.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#21
\nWe looked at each other.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#22
\nMalayan night herons are a common sight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#23
\nEvery time I see this horse, I think of how my son looked riding it when he was very small. Am I too easily sentimental as a father?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#24
\nA rare sight \u2014 a spotted dove drying its wings on the grass.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#25
\nA park with a rain shelter is a wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#26
\nMid-Autumn Festival. We went to a friend's place for a barbecue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\n#27
\nMy friend simply hired a food truck to come and do the grilling for us. Incredibly convenient.<\/p>\n

-<\/p>\n

That's this roll \u2014 Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 with Harman Phoenix II 200. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roll 299 Film: Harman Phoenix II 200 Developed & scanned: DEP Lab 2025\/10\/8 Camera: Olympus C-AF 38mm f2.8 - For a while, every Saturday morning we'd bring our son into...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1956,2868],"tags":[2025,2028,2058],"class_list":{"0":"post-50188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-olympus-c-af","8":"category-harman-phoenix-ii-200","9":"tag-deplab","10":"tag-iso-200-color-film","11":"tag-38mm-fixed-focus-point-and-shoot-camera"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50188"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50188\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50190,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50188\/revisions\/50190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zeals75.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}