10 Years of Marriage

It's been a long time since I blogged about my personal life. For the past few months, this blog has turned into a review site, thanks to xinmsn who has engaged me to be their resident tech blogger. That opened lots of doors to the PR agencies who reached to me for reviewing their clients products. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience so far, and I hope to continue to offer my personal opinions to products that can help you experience life better.

Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. I am proud of how my marriage and my family has forged my life. Although sometimes I'd wished it was better, I reflected upon myself and asked whether I deserved better. With that, I humbly felt that I have been given what I deserved, and much more.

Like any significant dates, I did not put in any lavish celebration today, because I felt there is no reason to make only that one day special. To me, every day deserves to be significant.

Cheers to Life.

The importance of good modems and routers: A Survey

Are you getting the best of your modems and routers?

Eh, you must be wondering how "best" can one get out of your modems and routers. Aren't they all the same, differentiated only by technical specs on the access bandwidth?

But increasingly, we own many electronic devices that are wirelessly connected to the Internet and other networks. Many of us own smartphones, laptops, and tablets, and we spend so much time online with these devices. In my case, I have 5 devices that connects to my wireless router (more when I get products for reviews), and sometimes I do notice connectivity problems even though my device is right next to the router.

Out of curiosity on the usage patterns and state of wireless connectivity in Singapore, the below survey aims to discover how wirelessly connected Singapore households are, and how much Singaporeans understand their routers and modems – devices that usually sit quietly in the room, but plays a critical role in connecting us to the rest of the world! When you lose internet connection at home, isn't the modem and router the first thing you would check?

Please spare less than 2 minutes to answer 9 straight-forward questions. Your contribution to responding to this survey will help us understand how we perceive modems and routers, and eventually help you, consumers, improve your home broadband experience.

Once the results are tabulated, I'll share the results here on my blog.

Olympus PEN E-P3 Review

Having tested the PEN Lite E-PL3 and PEN Mini E-PM1, what's left for review to complete the latest PEN trio launch is the PEN. The E-P3 is the top-line Olympus mirrorless camera and offers a lot more manual controls than the other 2 models, catering to the advanced users.

After testing the E-PL3, followed by the identical E-PM1, I was not prepared with what I was about to experience on the E-P3. The combination of a fast AF, lag-free shutter release, plenty of customisation options, and lots of hardware buttons make the E-P3 an astounding camera.

Included with the review unit is the Olympus M. Zuiko 12mm F2.0 full-metal lens, which further add to the retro look and feel.

The pop-up flash mechanism is well-secured and seems to be able to take some abuse.

Here's a glance of all the buttons on the camera. The function list is generally similar to E-PL3 and E-PM1, just that with dedicated buttons, you can invoke the functions directly.

The E-P3 is not small and certainly not light. Here's a comparison with some cameras I have on-hand.

Olympus E-P3 and E-PM1

The E-P3 is identical in size to the Samsung NX100. The NX100 is much lighter as it's a plastic body.

Olympus E-P3 and Samsung NX100

Like the E-PM1 and E-PL3, the E-P3 has a long list of custom settings that you can configure. Let me list down a few here to share with you the extent of customisation:

• Choose whether to reset the lens to infinity when the camera is turned off.
• Choose the direction of focus ring to adjust focus.
• For face priority, choose whether to focus on the left eye, right eye, or nearest eye.
• Select functions for the 2 rotating dials on the camera for each of the PASM modes.
• Choose the direction of the rotating dials.
• Choose to hide any Picture Modes.
• Choose whether to keep warm colour for Auto White Balance
• Choose to hide the Custom Menu that contains all these settings!

What I like about the E-P3

• Fast AF and shutter release. I was impressed that I could capture some fleeting moments.
• Art Filter Bracketing. I can set as many filters for bracketing as I like. One shot, and the camera processes the rest. But don't choose too many, for the camera will take a long time to save all the images, thus slowing down your shoots.
• Touch screen. It has certainly sped up area focusing during shooting mode. I also like how you can smoothly swipe around enlarged images during playback, and how you can double-tap the screen to zoom into the area immediately. The touch response feels quite natural.
• Detachable Grip. I can choose the type of grip I want, or remove it completely.
• Customised Fn buttons to invoke Mysets. It's more useful that I thought. When I press and hold, the camera settings change to the Myset that I defined. This is better than requiring me to switch the mode dial to a custom mode, which is how LUMIX is done.
• Orientation sensor. When you change the orientation of the camera during playback, the images rotate too.
• Wireless Flash Commander. With external Olympus flash units are used, the E-P3 built-in flash can trigger them.

What's not so desirable:

• Heavy. E-P3 is a solid piece of camera gear. The white powder-coated review unit shows quite a bit of wear and paint chips, but otherwise, I am assured of its build, but at a weight.
• Slow start-up. The LCD monitor appears rather fast but the shutter does not work until about a second later. So you need to anticipate the moment by turning on the camera earlier.
• Videos exhibit rolling shutter effect. When you record jerky video, you notice that the footages wobble. That's because there is some lag to scan and record from the top of the frame to the bottom of the frame. 
• Menu layout. There are some settings that I am unable to access quickly. Searching for some parameters proves to be a test of memory. E-P3 is not for the user who fancies setting changes on-the-move. But you could rely on the Mysets to preconfigure your commonly used settings and then choose the Mysets during your shoots.
• Lacks post-processing filters. If you did not shoot with Art Filters, then tough luck. You can't post-process it after the shot. Workaround: enable Art Filter Bracketing during shoots, then delete the effects that you do not want.

Olympus E-P3 on 12mm F2.0, next to 40-150mm F4-5.6

Summarising the PEN Experience
The Olympus E-P3 is the camera of choice for photographers who desire a great deal of customisation on their shooting parameters. The E-P3 user is one who understands the technicalities of camera settings and takes control of their final image output.

Olympus has implemented most of the advanced features across all their 3 latest PEN cameras. But for the LITE E-PL3 and MINI E-PM1, fewer buttons means more difficult to use the sets of features. Needless to say, among the 3 new PEN models, the E-P3 offers the best usage experience, and should be the one to get to fully appreciate the interface and functionality of an Olympus PEN camera.

Panasonic LUMIX GX1: The Secret Preview in Sep 2011

The date was 20 Sep 2011. I was one of the few in Singapore invited to a Panasonic media meet-up. The purpose: to preview a new Panasonic mirrorless camera. They called it the LUMIX GX1.

The information embargo ended on 7 Nov 2011 1pm (+8 GMT), which obviously indicates the exact date and time of the impending public announcement and launch.

Specs worth mentioning:

• 16 megapixel Live MOS sensor
• 0.09 sec Light Speed AF
• AF Flexible mode: camera re-focuses even after AF is locked, if camera detects that subject has moved.
• ISO 160 - 12800
• 4.2fps continuous shooting
• 3-inch 460K touch screen
• Full HD 1080/60i
• Electronic Level Gauge
• Bundled with the new X lens 14-42mm with power zoom for smooth jerk-free zoom during video recording

At one look, the GX1 is indistinguishable from the GF1. Call it "retro" design if you want, or a "reboot", but Panasonic understands that a semi-pro cameras are not all about size. One of the most common comment heard during the secret meeting was: "This should have been the GF3!" Well guys, Panasonic has saved it for their debut GX-series!

Side by side: LUMIX GX1 and GF1

With the GX1, Panasonic sends a clear signal that the GF-series will continue to get smaller and cheaper, and not catering for the "step-down" users, a term they use to describe DSLR users looking for an alternative camera system that offers good image quality and manual handling. The GX1 has a non-detachable rubber grip, built-in flash, and a hotshoe, which will delight most of these step-down users.

As I only had a short time to try the camera, I shall provide further detailed comments about the operations of the camera once I get a review unit from Panasonic. Till then, feast yourself with press photos from Engadget, comparison table from CNET, and a preview write-up from DPReview.

Camera Partition Padded Inserts for Normal Bags

With the increasing number of Samsung NX camera and lenses, I was planning to purchase a smaller camera bag to house them while I travel around. Currently I used my normal messenger bag and backpack to hold them, but this is definitely not the safe and rugged way to transport camera equipment. Yet I like to use my normal bags because they come with lots of compartments to put my other non-camera stuff.

Then I remembered a few years back I saw some huge padded compartments going for sale. I figured such products should be available online. The challenge is to find the right keywords to google their existence.

With some luck, I managed to find the items in Gmarket Singapore using the words as listed in this blog title.

Fitting the padded inserts into my haversack.

It appears only a few "major" brands sells such life-saving products. One of them is called Puleme from Korea. There are lots of sizes to choose from. The general mentality is of course, to get a partition as big as possible, so that you can put more equipment. But if the partition is too big, it would not fit into the bag. While the messenger bags are generally broad and short - like 40cm - haversacks or backpacks are narrow and tall - like 25cm. My decision is to get one size to fit all bags, so I chose the model P7518 (exterior dimension L26.5 x W10.5 x H21cm).

I placed my order on 25 Oct via Gmarket, opted for registered mail, and I received the postal pickup note on 2 Nov. That was blazing fast! The item is packed in a box parcel, which ensures the product will not be crushed during shipment.

I am extremely satisfied with my purchase, and I am considering buying a few more sizes to use for my other bags of various shapes. This product works because it allows you to use your existing nice-looking bags to carry camera gear with protection. You can also use the partition to transport other fragile items, like glass products,

New Gmarket sign-ups will get $1 discount coupon, and if you connect your Gmarket account to Twitter or Facebook, you get another $3 discount coupon! Note that Gmarket has many sellers, just like eBay. In fact, Gmarket is supported by eBay.

Oh, forgot to mention. My total bill for this purchase, including $3 and registered mail: S$15.32.

Samsung NX Prime Lenses: 16mm, 60mm and 85mm

Together with the launch of NX200 mirrorless camera, Samsung has released several important fixed focal lenses that will satisfy the demanding photographers. In this blog, I'll share with you the sample photos and how these different lenses can help you in creating your images.

16mm F2.4 iFn (EX-W16NB)

NX200 with 16mm lens is a great combo for street photography

With this ultra-wide angle (UWA) lightweight lens, you will be able to capture that little bit more scene. I always like a good UWA to add some dynamic perspectives to my images. This Samsung lens is very versatile for both close-up and scenic shots. Edge-to-edge is sharp and no visible distortion.

NX200 dynamic range is impressive

Good depth of field. Focus is on the mouse scroll.

60mm F2.8 MACRO ED OIS SSA iFn (EX-M60SB)

Macro lenses are typically slow in AF. Not this Samsung lens. Focus is fast and quiet with supersonic actuator (SSA), and focusing ring is mechanically linked so you can override the focus any time without the need to switch modes (identical to the Nikon AF-S lenses). You can do that for all NX cameras, not just the NX200 where it comes with Direct Manual Focus (DMF) function. Well-engineered with internal focus mechanism, the front lens element does not move out at all. It also comes with a Full/Limit switch to accelerate your focus for non-macro shots.

Look at the size of the 60mm lens against the NX200.

This is another must-have lens for your photographic collection. With a macro lens, you can capture images that are much closer and with shallower depth of field.

Comparing depth-of-field with 18-55mm

Uncropped macro shot of the yam cake

Cupcake compliments from The Batter Baker

Macro shot of the 16mm lens

85mm F1.4 ED SSA (EX-T85NB)

The 60mm macro lens is already quite a good lens for portraiture for its shallow depth of field, if not for the slower AF. But such is the case for all macro lenses. So if you specialise in portrait photography, you will certainly be very interested in this 85mm lens. With a very large aperture of F1.4, it captures pleasing bokeh.

Here's my review in a separate blog post.



In case you missed, the following Samsung NX lenses have been in the market for more than a year. Have you got them? Should you get them?

20mm F2.8 iFn
This wide-angle lens appears to be a stop-gap measure (albeit a lengthy one) before the launch of 16mm. In practice, this lens is merely half stop brighter than the kit lenses, so personally I don't find this lens helpful unless you really want to travel light and forsake the zoom capability of kit lenses.

30mm F2.0
This is the so-called standard lens because it is equivalent to 45mm in full-frame. The attractive features of this lens is its extremely thin profile and large aperture. An excellent companion to the 16mm for street photography.


The NX Lens Line-Up So Far
Samsung NX has been in the market for almost 2 years. With the current launch of these much-anticipated lenses, the NX system is now capable of achieving professional images. While the drawback of Samsung NX system is the lack of third party lenses, Samsung has made it up with careful R&D, resulting in lenses that produces high quality images.

Samsung NX200: Quick Review

Months after the official announcement in Sep, the Samsung latest mirrorless interchangeable lens camera NX200 is available in Singapore. Here's a list of new features to get you excited.

• 20.3 effective megapixels
• 7 fps continuous drive
• Up to 12800 ISO
• Magic Mode to shoot with Smart Filters and Magic Frames
• i-zoom is a built-in cropping feature to let you "zoom" in the photo up to 2x without affecting the image quality
• Movie Mode that shoots Full HD 1080p
• Panorama Mode allows capturing in 2D and 3D
• Bundled with external flash with guide number 8 at ISO 100

Hidden Gems
There are some other features that are not highlighted on brochures, but I find them really useful and gives more reason to get this camera:

• Direct Manual Focus option lets you adjust focus manually after you half-press the shutter, even if the focus is not locked.
• When doing multiple shots per shutter press, the photos are grouped together during playback so that you don't have to scroll great lengths to get to the next set of photos. Very useful if you shoot like 30 frames burst mode!
• Burst mode (10/15/30fps) images are now in 5mp size.
• Auto ISO works in Manual mode. What this means is that when you set your own Aperture and Shutter, the NX200 will select an ISO to achieve the correct exposure. Of course, you can select your own specific ISO.
• In Aperture or Shutter mode, you can adjust the aperture or shutter using either the top jog dial or the navigation wheel, and of course via the iFn button on the lens. Saves the need to remember.
• In Movie mode, you can use the P/A/S/M to set your shutter and aperture independently.
• In Movie mode, you can set recording speed of 0.25x to 20x.
• The USB port that connects the NX200 to the computer is the generic micro-USB size similar to mobile phones.

And finally, some of the existing NX features that make the camera much more usable than some of the competitors:

• Direct buttons and controls - ability to make changes to shooting parameters instantly.
• APS-C Sensor - ability to capture images with greater details and lower noise.
• User Interface - more interactive and guided for the users who needed the extra help.

Gone with the Wind
Samsung has removed the smartshoe, which means NX200 will not support electronic viewfinder. The battery capacity is also smaller, which in theory will reduce the number of shots per charge. There is also no more direct button access to White Balance, but you can easily do it via iFn button on the lens or via Smart Panel. The AEL button is also removed, something that old school photographers would miss but certainly not the new users. (edit: latest NX200 firmware allows you to select AEL as a custom function. Download here.)

A More Complete Camera System

Together with NX200 launch, Samsung has launched some of the much sought-after lenses.

• 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 OIS iFn
• 16mm F2.4 iFn
• 60mm MACRO F2.8 OIS iFn SSA
• 85mm F1.4 Portrait

Not forgetting the existing lenses that might interest you:

• 20mm F2.8 iFn
• 30mm F2.0
• 50-200mm F4-5.6 OIS (New version with iFn)

Comparing the NX Series
While the NX200 is the smallest NX camera by far, the dimensions are well balanced without sacrificing usability. The grip size is about the same as NX11, the body dimensions are similar to NX100 except it's shorter. Although the body appears thinner, the mount actually protrudes a lot out of the body, a trick many mirrorless makers use now.

Image Quality
The most important question beckons: how does the image quality of the 20.3 megapixel APS-C sensor look?

The NX200 has definitely improved noise level. Here's a comparison with Olympus E-PM1.

Uncropped images

Cropped result

Here's a comparison with the NX11.

I find that beyond ISO 3200, the NX200 exhibits higher levels of chroma noise, and at ISO 12800 becomes unusable. While the Micro Four-Thirds competitors appear to have less distinct chroma noise, they lose in image details. Sony NEX appears to retain the upper hand in terms of sensor quality, but the camera design and lens range may be less appealing.

Summary
Samsung NX200 continues to offer direct shooting controls and implement thoughtful physical design (like good grip) to attract both traditional photographers and new users. Samsung has revamped its shooting interface to improve usability, although as an advanced user myself I find that it is beautified at the expense of operational efficiency. NX200 requires more time to save images in continuous burst mode and in RAW, but otherwise retains the lightning-fast startup and shot-to-shot speeds.