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Last Post @ portal.chester.sg
Blog
Friday, 26 September 2008

On 9 Aug 2005, PORTAL.CHESTER.SG creates its first post.

On 25 Sep 2008, PORTAL.CHESTER.SG has its last.

After this post, the PORTAL shall stop publishing new articles and maintaining updates on all the content.

We thank you for your continuous support in making this portal a useful site to seek reviews and viewpoints.

All new reviews and posts shall be posted exclusively at Chester's personal blog at http://musicphotolife.blogspot.com/ . Visit there now, as we just posted a review on the latest Fujifilm FinePix F60fd.

All new photos shall be uploaded to Chester's Flickr site at http://flickr.com/photos/chestertan/

The original intent of separating PORTAL from personal blog is to provide an unbiased and professional viewpoint. Over the years, trend in citizen journalism has made readers open to  viewpoints and reviews in a personal environment. Therfore, there is no longer a need to draw the line between casual comments and specialised reviews.

This site will remain active for as long as the server runs. There is no intention to shut down this portal since web space is cheap. All past articles will not be migrated to the blog. If any of the links to external sites happen to be broken, you can still contact us to check.

Chester continues to look out for the latest gadgets and technological news that interests him and to share his opinions for your benefit.

Update your bookmark to http://musicphotolife.blogspot.com/

Bye bye. See you soon.

 
Sony DSLR Alpha 900: Full Frame at 24.6 megapiixels
Photography
Wednesday, 10 September 2008

 They say it's the industry's worst-kept secret. I say there is nothing to hide. Sony has been showcasing the DSLR prototype for the past 2 years at various trade shows, and so there wasn't much of a surprise when it finally materialise in the A900.

But you have to take your hat off Sony for creating this megapixel wonder. While Nikon focuses on photographic features and Canon on trying to beat Canon, Sony walks its own path and delivers a strong selling proposition. With a 24.6 megapixel full-frame sensor, one can do wonders. Even in APS-C format, the A900 can capture 11 megapixel images. That alone is already better than most APS-C DSLR, like Nikon D200.

Feature-wise, there is nothing to shout about. ISO is limited to 100-6400, a far cry from Nikon D3/D700 25600 ISO. There isn't even a Live View that is sort-of a default feature in most modern DSLR. While the in-built anti-shake isn't a new feature, Sony claims to be the first full-frame DSLR to have that.

But I do like the custom memory function, something that I have been yearning for in DSLR. What you can do is to set one memory with high ISO and manual WB for available light photography, then the other set to low ISO and flash WB for flash photography.

The Sony Alpha A900 will be out in Singapore by end of this month.

 
Nikon D700: Hands-On Review
Photography
Saturday, 06 September 2008
 Thanks once again to T3 Singapore, I have a week-long hands-on review on the Nikon D700, the second full-frame (FX) DSLR model. The sensor and processing engine is identical to D3, so expect the same image quality as the D3, with review images easily available online.

Like all other reviews I did, I always provide personal experience on the stuffs I write. After I experienced the D700, I uncovered several usability benefits and issues apart from the obvious specs revealed on press releases..


Read more...
 
Nikon D90: The First Video-Recording DSLR
Photography
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
It's about time a DSLR supports video recording, and Nikon D90 will go down in history to be the first to implement that. And with the rage about high ISO, D90 will fit even better to the mass market.

Definitely an undeniable plus point for existing compact digicam owners to upgrade to DSLR, the only small issue is the mono-audio recording. That also means more room for improvement. In time, you'll see Full HD recording capability, or even supports external microphone for professional-grade recording. Sounds like a convergence with the camcorder.

Only problem against compact digicams: size.

Twice, Nikon beats Canon to the DSLR race. In 20 Aug 2007, Canon announced the 40D. 3 days later, Nikon hit Canon with D3 FX and D300. This year, Canon announced 50D on 26 Aug. 1 day later, Nikon threw out the D90. In any case, there is nothing to gloat about. Technology replacement is getting so fast that any technological lead is easily overtaken in the next cycle. In this case, Nikon beats Canon twice in the consumer market.
 
Bedsheepz - Envirosax reusable shopping bags
Lifestyle
Wednesday, 09 July 2008

 Bedsheepz specialises in children merchandise and retails environmental-friendly products that is safe for the Earth and your child.

They recently expanded their catalogue with Environsax (tm) bags that are cute and stylish.

 Product Features: 1. Lightweight, portable, waterproof, reusable, affordable. This bag rolled up in a carrying pouch small enough to stow into a glove box or a handbag. 2. With reinforced seams, each surprisingly large bag holds the equivalent weight of 2 supermarket plastic bags. And…they’re really, really cute!! Envirosax eco-friendly bags are designed in Australia.

Check out other products like bedding for toddler and children, Kukunest toddler sets, and wall candy.

http://www.bedsheepz.com/

Read more...
 
Nikon Speedlight SB-900
Photography
Tuesday, 01 July 2008
 Nikon finally announces a new high-end portable flash unit. The SB-900 truly caters for the pro, with a totally re-designed buttons and switches to better control the flash. Praise-worthy features:

- faster recycle time
- built-in flash zoom covers 17-200mNew requirements inserted as F04: to allow the Vantive user to override the multiplier for charging the number of channels.m
- hardware switches to manage CLS faster
- three illumination patterns - standard, centre-weighted, even
- auto-detects DX and FX to select suitable light distribution

With the new SB-900 comes a new external battery pack, SD-9, delivering close to 1s recyling time. To avoid meltdown, the SB-900's thermal cut-out function will limit the number of repeated flashes to prevent overheating.

The SB-900 will retail at US$500, or about S$800 when it launches in Singapore in August or later.
 
Nikon D700: Full-frame DSLR
Photography
Tuesday, 01 July 2008
 2 weeks ago, images of the D700 brochure leaked out to the community. While the photos looked genuine, most people chose to believe that it was another photoshop job by some enthusiast.

Today, Nikon finally announces the second full-frame DSLR, amidst fiery discussions among the photography community on the seemingly remote but commercially-justified possibility of a cheaper full-frame model.

The most important question is: how will a smaller full-frame DSLR position itself in order not to cannibalise the D3 and possibly D300? Nikon answers with D700 and the following (limitation) features against D3:
- slower 5fps or 8fps with vertical grip
- less-robust shutter life (similar as D300)
- single CF slot
- 95% viewfinder coverage (100% for D3)
- no 5:4 aspect ratio

But D700 compensates with the following advantages to D3:
- smaller and lighter body
- built-in sensor cleaning
- built-in flash
Read more...
 
Vosonic VP8860
Technology
Friday, 27 June 2008

The Vosonic VP8860 is a multimedia storage viewer that provide professional features of a photo viewer, media recorder and player. The 4.3" TFT LCD screen delivers 800x480 pixels and runs in 2.5" SATA HDD supporting up to 320GB.

I bought mine off a seller who recently got it at the PC Show. His reason to off-load is to fund a Macbook.At $500, it's almost 20% off the retail price. At only 2 weeks old, it's a no-brainer not to get it. Even if I decided not to keep it, I would probably be able to fetch a good resale price.

But as I use it over 48 hours, I find myself attracted to this device. Here's what it works for me:

 

Read more...
 
Olympus E420: First Look
Photography
Monday, 05 May 2008

 Olympus, the pioneer of Digital SLR Live View technology, announces the smallest and lightest consumer DSLR. The divide between point-and-shoot digicam and the professional DSLR becomes more blur with the new 10-megapixel E420.

Early this year, Sony announced the Alpha A350 with Quick AF Live View that delivers true live auto focus capability without any viewfinder blackout or lag. At that time, the Live View implementation by Sony was by far the best. But now Olympus caught up by promising similar instant experience while continue using the existing contrast-detection method. Although I have not had hands-on, this item in the specification means that Olympus continues to use the existing implementation just like the current E510 model, which is, using the main image sensor for auto-focus assist. It is claimed that contrast-detection method is more accurate because it uses the actual sensor to detect focusing while the phase-detection method uses a separate sensor to achieve that.

Despite this new Live View implementation, it must be noted that only selected lenses support this on-screen AF experience. As of now, the list includes only 3 lenses: ZUIKO DIGITAL ED14-42mm f3.5-5.6, ED40-150mm f4.0-5.6 and 25mm f2.8. When using other lenses, the normal phase-detection method applies, which means, the mirror flips-down, then autofocus is carried out, then mirror flips-up.

Olympus adds on several more point-and-shoot features to make E420 a more consumer-friendly camera, one of which is the popular face recognition. It also claims that they have "Perfect Shot Preview", which is a phrase to describe that the Live View will display and preview the exposure settings, the photo effects (like sepia). This is nothing new: Sony already has it in A350.

So from what I see, Olympus new E420 does not offer anything revolutionary to the DSLR market, except for its claimed smallest size and lightest weight at 380g (without battery), thanks to the Four-Thirds format and a shrunk hand grip, something that I believe would not go well with the usual DSLR users. But that is probably not the target market for the E420 anyway.

The E420 will be available in the market within this month. 

 
Sony Alpha A350: Hands-on Review
Photography
Monday, 05 May 2008

 I am heartened to hear that a lot of people find my tech review insightful and refreshing. I would love to review more gadgets but again I am limited by the sources.

This time round, I managed to get hold of the Sony Alpha A350. This model was briefly covered in my previous article and I am glad T3 Magazine offers me a 1-week loan to try it out.

You will read a glossed-up review in the June edition, but meanwhile here's my unedited version.

This review does not cover image quality because a DSLR depends on the interchangeable lens to deliver image quality. The 18-70mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens that I got for testing does not do justice to the DSLR.

And if you want a list of features, you can simply do a search on the Internet or visit the official Sony website.

What I love to do here is to share with you my experience with using this camera at a human level, and not able comparing numbers and statistics.

 

Read more...
 
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