Accutone Headphones: Pisces and Taurus

Accutone has been designing and producing professional headset solutions for call centers, offices, enterprises and SOHO. Now they started venturing into professional stereo headphones for mass-market consumers. In this review, I tested the PISCES BAND and TAURUS. They are both rated "Class B" which are tuned for ultra bass.

Accutone Pisces Band

PISCES BAND

Retail price: S$249

Key Specifications:
· Accutone Pro-Level headset, Class B – Tuned for Ultra-Bass
· Foldable headband design
· Apple-certified in-line 3-button digital remote control with omni-directional microphone (volume buttons does not work on Android devices)
· High-grade aluminum enclosure, tangle-free cable
· Available in Black, White and Orange
· Lightweight at 150 grams
· Speaker size: 40mm
· Speaker type: Dynamic
· Frequency Responses: 20Hz – 20kHz
· Impedance: 32Ù ± 15% at 1kHz
· Sound Pressure Level: 118 ± 3dB at 10mW
· Cable Length: 1.3m
· Operation Temperature: -25°C to 50°C


I like the bass response on this unit. Compared to my other flat-response monitor headphones I owned, the PISCES BAND really pumps my bass-heavy tracks without distortion. Alas, it is achieved at the expense of the higher frequencies, which sounded muffled and muted.


TAURUS

Then when I tried the TAURUS in-ear phones, I hear great potential.

Retail: S$79

Key Specifications:

· Customisable Bass Output using Accutone unique Bass-Tuning technology
· Dual-wearing method using proprietary Spin-Cable design
· Class B – Tuned for Ultra-Bass
· High-fidelity microphone included with answer-call/play-music button
· Ergonomic rotatory volume control
· Tangle-free cable, 3 sizes of earbuds, zipper case, Nokia Phone converter included
· Lightweight at 10.5 grams
· Speaker size: 9.2mm
· Speaker type: Dynamic
· Frequency Responses: 18Hz – 20kHz
· Impedance: 16Ω ± 2.40(15%) at 1kHz, 0.126V
· Sound Pressure Level: 118 ± 3dB at 10mW
· Cable Length: 1.2m
· Operation Temperature: -25°C to 50°C

TAURUS retains the impressive bass response from the PISCES BAND and delivered clearer frequency responses at mid-tone and treble. I let a few of my peers listened to it and they are very impressed with the quality. My wife thought it beats her Sennheiser CX300-II which costs almost double the price.

The best part of all is that you have the ability to adjust the bass output using a screwdriver included in the package. This is almost the perfect earphones for consumers who love heavy bass but still wants clear treble production. I also like the rotary volume control which lets me adjust volume a lot easier and faster.

One common feedback I get from first-time users is: how are these earphones worn? See, as the cable joints can be rotated, there is no fixed way to wear it, and that might be a good thing. As long as you get the earbuds firmly stuffed into your ear canals, you can wear it any way you like.

A high-priced headphones doesn't guarantee better audio quality. It merely means the cost of production is higher. Only your ears can decide whether you like the sound. The Accutone TAURUS is definitely of great value and surprisingly delivers astounding audio and distortion-free ultra-bass. I'll be on the lookout for the other Accutone models to experience them when I get the chance.

Olympus OM-D E-M5

There are numerous independent reviews that give the Olympus OM-D E-M5 the thumbs up. I was equally impressed when I attended the launch event. Recently, Olympus passed me the E-M5 for a more  personal review.

Without a doubt, the E-M5 is one classy camera that delivers the necessary photographic functions that a proper camera should. Besides the list of new features I mentioned in the OM-D launch article, here's a few more:

Extensive shoot settings and customisation capability. Like the PEN series, the E-M5 contains lots of customisable settings. For instance, you can choose whether the camera auto-focuses on the left or right eye or the closer eye. You can choose to map your preferred functions to the various hardware buttons to meet your shooting style.

Weather proof. The E-M5 plus the kit lens 12-50mm can withstand water pouring on them. That means the camera will survive wet environments like swimming pool or fountains.

Multi-purpose kit lens. The kit lens supports 2 ways to zoom: electronic and mechanical. Electronic is useful when doing video to allow smoother zoom. Mechanical lets you zoom faster for faster framing. The kit lens also boasts a Macro mode, a feature not available in most mirrorless cameras' kit lenses.

Touch screen. It makes accessing some shooting functions easier. For instance, selecting AF area.

Attractive retro design. The E-M5 is the most unoriginal design, and people love it.

Well-tuned image quality. The E-M5 offers improved noise control, white balance and colour tones out of the box. You can also fine-tune the white balance or exposure using custom curves during shoots.

Very fast AF performance. The AF speed of mirrorless cameras has improved leaps and bounds. When you use the E-M5, you have to be impressed at how fast the camera focuses, but only with good lighting and when coupled with latest lenses, like the 12-50mm kit lens.

Built-in high-resolution Electronic Viewfinder (EVF). If you are shooting outdoors and you find it hard to use the LCD monitor, the EVF comes in handy. The great thing about E-M5 is that you can switch between the 2 screens anytime when using the camera - be it shooting stills or videos or during playback.

Attractive street price.  At about S$1400 (body only), the E-M5 is without a doubt an extremely value-for-money camera, offering advanced camera controls and wide lens range for hobbyists and professional like.


While the E-M5 is a beautiful camera with comprehensive photographic functions, I find the usage experience slightly under the weather. I shall list a few observations:

Buttons layout.  I find it difficult to turn on the camera with one hand when the on-off switch is located at the bottom right of the camera. I find it difficult to press the small buttons that are placed close to one another. When I use the EVF, I can't operate any buttons or dials like I could on a DSLR.


No built-in flash. To retain the retro look, pop-up flash is omitted. But I'm sure most of the E-M5 owners wouldn't mind.


Steep learning curve due to customisable buttons. It's a good thing that many buttons on the E-M5 can be customised - only if you remember. Perhaps I don't have a good memory, but I find myself not able to remember all the settings and buttons I customised. And it comes to a point that it would be faster to look for the function under the menu.


Comparing with the Samsung NX20
I always liked the Samsung NX series because I find their buttons and interface are easier to interact with from a conventional photographer's perspective. A few things stand out during my brief comparison:

• NX20 weighs lighter
• NX20 has built-in flash
• NX20 is easier to adjust shoot settings
• NX20's AMOLED screen has more articulations
• NX20 captures more image details under good lighting
• E-M5 has more buttons that can be customised
• E-M5 has faster AF
• E-M5 EVF works more effectively than NX20, whose EVF and LCD doesn't switch as instinctively
• E-M5 has touchscreen capability to speed up shooting, like selecting AF points
• E-M5 has better shadow noise control at high ISO

Shootout
I brought the E-M5 out for a "swim" at Port of Lost World, Sentosa. It was a positive experience: the camera's weather-proof design helps me to be more daring within the wet playground. I like how I can quickly adjust EV compensation with the front wheel, and when I find the sun too glaring, I use the EVF to compose my shots.

The resulting images are vibrant, and even though I had a few images where I accidentally overexposed the shots, the camera manages to retain the details.

Final Thoughts
I have nothing too critical to pick about the E-M5, other than its physical appearance (not a fan of retro look cameras) and small button layout. That aside, the E-M5 is a mirrorless camera that many enthusiasts and even reputable review websites praise for its phenomenal image quality. For consumers who do not like the OM-D design, they could consider the PEN series to achieve similar shooting capabilities.

Close To You

Late last night, I was browsing my news feed and one of my friends shared a Yukie Nishimura recording of "Close To You", a Carpenters classic.

I liked her arrangement, which adheres to the original whimsical feel. I've always liked how this song tugged my heartstrings and I was glad I came across this piano version which inspired me to do my own arrangement.

I recorded this in one take.

My wife prefer Yukie's version. What about you?

For reference, here's the original Carpenters version.

Samsung NX 85mm F1.4 ED SSA Lens Review

Having waited months since its availability in Singapore, I finally got a review unit together with the Samsung NX20 last week.

At 696g, it's huge and heavy compared to the lightweight NX body - even the heaviest NX11 weighs only 353g. With a minimum focal distance of 0.82m, you can't use it for close-up shots like my favourite 60mm f2.8 MACRO lens. Focusing speed is not very fast but silent. You can override auto-focus anytime by turning the focusing ring.

The 85mm lens is huge and heavy compared to the latest Samsung NX20.

The lens is better in its overall build and optical performance compared to the Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AFD I owned. Less fringing at large aperture, less haze effect when shooting against light, and certainly much sharper. From the photos taken with it, many people liked the bokeh, i.e. the blurness of the out-of-focus background.

More photos of my friendhere.

Another set of photos taken with another friend.

Check out the shallow depth of field from the below photos:

Uncropped image

100% crop

What you notice is that the lens focuses sharply at the tip of the eyelashes. The eye ball, despite a mere millimetre difference away, is clearly out of focus.

How would a normal kit lens like 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 compare with this 85mm f1.4 portrait lens? Here's your answer.

See the background blur? That's bokeh.

The NX 85mm f1.4 is the most expensive lens among the NX lens, but it is certainly worth it. A camera is useless if the lens does not help you capture the images you want. A slow lens (small aperture) will reduce shutter speed and potentially make your handheld images blur. The 85mm f1.4 is the brightest lens in the Samsung NX line-up. If you love to capture powerful portrait images, then this lens will give you the shooting edge.

Nikon D800: Review

It felt like a long time since I held a digital SLR, as I have been shooting with mirrorless cameras recently. So when I held the D800 for the first time, it felt really big. But I like the grip design which moulds more comfortably for the hand.

I was surprised that the D800 is not much larger than the D300 despite being a full-frame camera, and just slightly heavier.

I didn't have a lot of time to explore the D800, but here are some specs I'd like to highlight:

36.3 megapixels. When cropped to DX, you still get 15.3 megapixels, compared to 12 mp on D300.


3.2-inch LCD screen. Slightly larger than D300, the screen appears to have better colour tone and contrast.


4fps. The most disappointing aspect of the camera, my D300 can fire 6fps.


Full HD recording, 1080p 30fps. During recording, you can autofocus and adjust aperture, and the ISO varies according to the lighting conditions. I would recommend manual focus because the focusing motor will be picked up by the built-in microphone. The video output is the best I have seem among the compact and mirrorless cameras.

Auto ISO Sensitivity with Minimum Shutter Speed Settings. This allows the D800 to auto adjust shutter speed based on the focal length, or you can override with a fixed value.

91K pixel metering sensor. Compared to the miserable 1005-point sensor, the D800 ensures better metering especially when shooting portraits.

CF and SD storage slots. Allows you to choose several ways to save your images in the 2 cards. Great to increase your storage before you need to swap cards.


Enjoyment

The better white balance, metering, faster and more accurate auto focus, larger viewfinder due to full-frame, improved body design. They all made me fell in love shooting with DSLR again.

Nikon D800, 50mm f1.4. ISO 400, 1/400s. Aperture-priority, matrix metering.
Resized with Lightroom 4. No image adjustment made.
Window light to the left of model (my daughter).

With a higher pixel count, there is higher possibility that the images turn out to be less sharp due to handshake and focus blur. However, this issue is largely exaggerated. From the images I have taken, they looked fine. Remember, the D800 captures 15.3mp with APS-C size, and that is smaller than Samsung NX20 (20.3mp) or Sony NEX-7 (24mp).

Stumble Blocks

When I brought the D800 for an assignment shoot, I was appalled that the image review freezes when the camera tries to save the RAW images. I believe a faster memory card would help but still I was disappointed. The slower fps is also a small setback but it didn't really affect my shots as I did not require higher fps for the assignment. But for other assignments with faster actions, the D800 would not perform as nimbly as the D300.

With larger image size, the file size becomes huge. The average RAW file of D300 is about 13MB, while the D800 captures about 34MB. Requiring more processing power and time, editing D800 images would really slow down your workflow.


Will I Buy It?

If I were shooting with DSLR as often as I used to, then I would buy it without qualms. If I had spare cash, I would buy it. If someone were to give me one, I would use it. And it appears my daughter also likes the look of it. It's been a long time since I captured pleasing candid shots of her. Nikon D800 is great for almost anything except for action photography requiring high frame rates or fast image reviews.