Olympus FE 3000

Finally, I own a Point and Shoot camera! The Olympus FE 3000.

Actually, I was not planning to get a camera, but when my wife’s Olympus Stylus 770 got spoilt and after a series of events. I suddenly ended having this cam.

First, let’s start with the death of my wife’s Olympus Stylus 770. It’s supposed to be a shock proof and water proof camera so it was actually a big surprise for me when it just suddenly stopped working, yes it won’t turn on!

After checking with the Olympus service center, they gave me an estimate of repair costs ranging from SGD 163.00, if the lens is spoilt, to SGD 250.00 if the main circuit board got wet. Yes, you read the right thing, THE MAIN CIRCUIT BOARD GETTING WET from a water proof camera!

Actually, according to the Olympus staff, this is actually a normal reason why their cameras die, the internals get wet. They told me that the water seals of their cameras will surely work in 1 year, after that they don’t recommend you to go diving with their cameras. They also told me that it is recommended that I purchase an “underwater case” for their water proof cameras if I am really serious in getting their cameras wet!

They also told me of a possibility that MAYBE, water came in from the battery/memory card cover or USB cable cover which is a normal problem for them.

This information was really very difficult to digest for me. Imagine purchasing a camera which they advertise will work under water if their conditions are met. I understand that nothing is perfect but to the public who wishes to get a water proof camera, will be surprised too if they find out about all these Ifs and Buts by Olympus. Olympus should explain this in their advertisements/websites or maybe they should have a “watch me first” before using your camera DVD included in every purchase.

Now, enough of the complaining regarding the Stylus 770 and back to the FE 3000. I traded in my wife’s Stylus 770 and got the FE 3000 by adding SGD 202.00. I know the deal is not that good but I just want to get rid of the Stylus 770 and I really don’t want to just throw it away.

I got the black FE 3000 which seems to look better than the silver, I can’t seem to find the light blue color here in Singapore. The FE 3000 is lighter but I must say that it could have been better if they included a dedicated button to switch from still to video camera.

It has 10 mega pixels and all the other stuff you should expect from a point and shoot camera.

Honestly, I am really happy to finally own a Point and Shoot camera. It’s a lot portable compared to my Nikon D90 and since I am not expecting much from the quality of pictures this tiny camera can make. I’ll just be happy owning one by looking at all its positives. My D90 will definitely make up for all the negatives of my new FE 3000.

Here are some additional pictures from our old Stylus 770 and our new FE 3000.

Filipino Food in Lucky Plaza: Jologs

Jologs by Café Calle Real is a Filipino restaurant in Lucky Plaza.

Jologs may be a negative word for some but in Singapore, they serve one of the best “SiLogs”!

SiLogs means a meal with “Si” Sinangag (garlic Fried Rice) and “Log” Itlog (Fried Egg).

The most popular “SiLog” has got to be Tapsilog which is Tapa (Marinated Beef) with Sinangag and Itlog!

Now to summarize my experience:

Food that is readily prepared is available: To hard to tell, but I think YES

You cannot see where they prepare the food, but once you find a seat, you don’t have to wait for too long before the food arrives.

Day Visited for the first time: Saturday

Time/Meal: Dinner

Day Visited for the second time: Wednesday

Time/Meal: Dinner

Good for Corporate Lunch/Dinners: No

Good to eat with Foreign Friends: Maybe for the adventurous

The thing is, Jologs is located in Lucky Plaza and their space is a bit cramped. If your foreign friends can deal with all these, then you may invite them to eat in Jologs.

Recommended for people who will try Philippine Cuisine for the first time: Yes

If we will only talk about the food, definitely a must try!

Jolog’s is located at #04-03 Lucky Plaza Singapore 238863

Their contact number is (+65) 6887-5724 and their website is:

http://cafecallereal.com/aboutus.html

Filipino Food in Lau Pa Sat: Mack’s, Happy V (formerly Jolly V), Panyeros and Mang Kiko’s Lechon

Lau Pa Sat, almost everyone in Singapore knows about it, so going to the place is not that difficult. Of all the food stalls there, four (4) serves Filipino Cuisine.

Mack’s Chicken Inasal

Panyeros

Happy V Fried Chicken (formerly know as Jolly V)

And Mang Kiko’s Lechon

Although they all cater to the Filipinos working and visiting Singapore, the food on their menu does not compete with one another.

You will also often see foreigners ordering from them, especially at Happy V.

Since basically Lau Pa Sat is a food court, we can assume that the experience  for all three stalls is almost the same.

Food that is readily prepared is available: Yes

Day Visited for the first time: Friday

Time/Meal: Dinner

Day Visited for the second time: Sunday

Time/Meal: Dinner

Good for Corporate Lunch/Dinners: No

Not unless your department wants to have a corporate meal in a hawker center.

Good to eat with Foreign Friends: Yes

It’s Lau Pa Sat so basically, I’m sure majority of your friends have been there.

Recommended for people who will try Philippine Cuisine for the first time: Depends!

Mack’s Chicken Inasal – Yes, their menu is very Filipino although most of the time, they only can offer 3-4 dishes. You may plan to eat Tapsilog but on your visit, they only have Chicken Barbeque.

Mack’s is the only place in Singapore where you can ask them to prepare a “malasado” fried egg.

Panyeros – They do not have a regular menu. You can just pick which one’s you’ll like to try.

Happy V – Fried Chicken and Rice! The only difference is the gravy! They also have Pizza, Pasta and Burger Steak but these may or may not work with your guests since we all know that Filipino Pasta is sweet.

Mang Kiko’s Lechon – I will have to say Yes, it’s lechon! But come to think about it again, its only roasted pig.

ASUS P525

I have written a couple of articles about various gadgets in this blog but I have never written anything about my “primary phone”. Yes, to people who have two or more phones in the bag, there is always 1 phone which does all the heavy lifting.

In my case, I use the Asus P525. Not one of the prettiest devices if you see it. I even use it with a leather case which makes it even bulkier.

This phone has been with me for the longest time; it has been with me for more than 2 years and for a time, I have built a small accessory list around it.

This includes a Bluetooth Headset,

a Stereo Bluetooth Headset

and a Bluetooth Keyboard.

The Bluetooth Keyboard was one of the hardest things to find, I once used an IR Keyboard but it’s not as reliable as the Bluetooth version.

Now back to the Asus P525. Once upon a time, this was the most reliable Windows Mobile Device available in the market! While other devices froze or had screen alignment problems, the Asus P525 just kept working. One Major complain about this device is the positioning of the joystick. Some people got used to it but there will always be people like me with fat fingers who can’t seem to get the hang of using its phone pad.

The Asus P525 was also the first Windows Mobile Device with a usable camera that has Auto Focus! When this phone went out, everyone was surprised with the photos its camera can produce. Today, no one will be happy with its 1.3 mega pixel camera, but for small chores, it is more than enough for me.

Here are the most useful apps installed on my phone (not including games):

Don’t Sleep Wifi – This prevents the phone from “sleeping” when using wifi or Bluetooth

Lextionary – Dictionary

Novi Remote – Universal IR Remote

Peek Pocket – Scans available wifi hotspots

Pocket CM Image Viewer

Pocket CM Keyboard – On-screen virtual keyboard

SyncMate – Enables me to Sync my phone with my Mac. It also allows me to organize songs using iTunes

TCPMP – AVI player

Although the Asus P525 is in no way able to compete with the new Windows Mobile devices coming out, I will have to say that this might be the last Windows Mobile Device for me, not unless a manufacturer finally decides to release a Windows Mobile device with a capacitive touch screen.

Reliability wise, it has got to be the best phone I have ever used. It never fails! Definitely one of the best gadget purchases I have made!

For the Asus P525’s specifications, please click here.

Here are additional pictures of my Asus P525.

Filipino Food in Lau Pa Sat: Mang Kiko’s Lechon

Just saw this stall in Lau Pa Sat front of Panyeros last Sunday.

Sadly, I was not able to try any of their food as they were closed for their equipment’s maintenance.

This must be the first stall in Singapore that sell’s Lechon!

Anyway, I’ll make updates once I have time to visit Lau Pa Sat again.

Mang Kiko’s Lechon is located at Stall #27 at Lau Pa Sat.

Netbooks! To buy now… or not to buy… yet!

Netbooks! These small laptop computers have gone a long way, sometimes I can’t imagine that the model that started it all had a 7 inch screen and a 2-4gig Solid State Drive… the EEE PC.

Yes we are still seeing new laptops trying to use a solid state drive but we still opt for the traditional hard disk since it has more space, I honestly think we can forget about the 7 inch screen since its really too small!

Two years from the introduction of the EEE PC, we can see a wide range of Netbooks from various manufacturers; almost all models have the same Atom processor, 2.5 inch hard disk and a 10 inch screen.

Now as for the real reason why I’m writing this article, to buy now or to wait?

Netbooks as we know uses a low powered processor. I think we can almost compare it with the older Pentium 4 processor which was great during its time but slow compared to today’s requirements.

Because of this processor, Netbooks used either Linux or Windows XP. Linux was ok however users started to install the more familiar Windows XP and to date, almost all brand new Netbooks are shipped with a Windows XP.

Windows XP was installed because Windows Vista performed badly on a Netbook, all HP 2133 users will agree with me.

Yes, you might say that Vista performed really bad with almost any computer and this is the reason why Microsoft has been working really hard for Windows 7.

Now this is where I will recommend that we all wait for Windows 7 before you purchase a Netbook.

I am sure that once Windows 7 come out, Microsoft will stop support for the Windows XP they almost pulled the plug on XP but they saw that they have to extend it a bit or else all Netbooks will run on Linux.

I just bought a Windows Vista Home Premium which I use on my Macbook’s VM Ware. It costs almost SGD 500.00. If Windows 7 (Netbooks edition) will have the same price, upgrading your Operating System will almost be as expensive as getting a new Netbook.

I would recommend that if you can hold your plan to purchase a Netbook, better hold it and wait for Windows 7. It will be a lot cheaper to buy a Netbook with a pre-installed Windows 7 than to buy one that runs on Windows XP then have it reformatted with a new Operating System later on.

If you really need a Netbook NOW, then by all means go to the nearest computer shop and make that purchase. But if it’s not that important, I really suggest you wait for Windows 7.

Filipino Food and Duxton Rd.: Kamayan… 2!

**Kamayan is now back to its previous location in Tanjong Pagar**

This is related to my earlier post about Kamayan Filipino restaurant in Tanjong Pagar. A place where I eat almost everyday since it’s just a couple of blocks away from where I live in.

I will keep the earlier article unchanged as I hope to make people compare the old Kamayan with the new one.

Kamayan Tanjong Pagar has transferred to Duxton Rd. (near Craig Rd.).

View Larger Map

Not to far from the old one BUT eating there now is a totally different experience. The new place is cramped maybe smaller by 50% compared to its previous location. You may want to consider that they now are air-conditioned.

As per this category’s guidelines here is a summary of my experience:

Food that is readily prepared is available: Yes

Day Visited for the first time: Wednesday
Time/Meal: Dinner

Day Visited for the second time: Sunday
Time/Meal: Dinner

Good for Corporate Lunch/Dinners: No

Good to eat with Foreign Friends: Maybe for the adventurous

Just like the old Kamayan, they still cater to the Filipinas working in the nearby Pubs.

Recommended for people who will try Philippine Cuisine for the first time: Maybe for the adventurous

*please see my post above*

You may want to consider the proper timing when visiting this restaurant due to its limited space. I always have my dinner at around 8 p.m. during this time, those working at Pubs within the area are finished eating.

Visiting too early (around 5 p.m.) may limit your choices of food.

Food is still great and prices are reasonable. They have now replaced their plates and utensils with disposable ones but still the experience remains the same.

I will not say the place improved but definitely the food is still the same.

My New Nikon MB D80

Finally, I was able to purchase a MB D80 battery grip for my Nikon D90!

I know a battery grip is not that important but it really helps give you a more comfortable grip of your cam and a better shooting position when shooting portraits.

This is the initial reason why I sold my older Nikon D40, I can’t seem to find a battery grip for it here in Singapore. There is this 3rd Party brand Ownuser that made battery grips for the D40 but I can’t seem to find a store selling it (as you know, I don’t like purchasing stuff from Sim Lim).

So back to my MB D80, I was so pleased playing with it, it gave me a feel that I had a new camera again. Without batteries, it did not add much weight to my gear but adding the 2 batteries inside and you’ll feel the extra weight.

It came with all the buttons I needed although I was hoping Nikon considered adding a function button too.

Here are some pictures of my new battery grip!

Please note that photos were taken using my mobile phone.

Gadget Review: Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 Lens

This is the newest addition to my photographic equipment.

The Tamron SP AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF)

As usual for gadgets, this too has a sophisticated long name printed on its box, but basically, the most important information is the 17-50mm f2.8. That said this is an upgrade from the 18-55mm lens you get when purchasing a dSLR Kit.

Di stands for Digitally Integrated, which was specifically designed for digital cameras with image sensors equivalent to APS-C Size.

IF stands for Internal Focusing, making this lens work with the Nikon D40, D40x, D60 and the new D5000.

This lens is very well built, holding it actually feels better compared to my old 18-55mm Nikon Lens.

It has a metal mount, uses a 67mm filter which will not turn as the lens focuses.

Another great feature of this lens is that it has a lock which will prevent your lens from creeping out when stored in a bag.

The lock can only be used when the lens’ zoom is at 17mm.

The Aperture of this lens is constant, it will not change no matter how you zoom in and out. This is very helpful as you focus more on framing the subject that checking if there were changes in your settings.

This lens also has a switch just incase you want to focus manually.

There has been a lot of reviews about some focusing issues on the Tamron 17-50 f2.8 lens so I suggest that you test the lens before making an actual purchase.

Although this lens has an Internal Motor, focusing is a bit slow and noisy! The noise was actually enough to make me think that the lens will transform to a Decepticon after focusing. I bet you won’t mind the noise when shooting outdoors and just remind yourself of this lens’ price when you think the focus motor is too noisy indoors.

The package only came with a lens hood, front and rear covers and an owners manual which states that you should not hold/force the focus ring when the Auto Focus mode is activated.

This is a very good lens and a cheap one compared to the OEM lenses.

Here are samples of pictures taken with this lens.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/37412600@N00/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/507559@N21/

Photography!

It has been more than a year since I started this hobby, being a communications major, we had photography as a subject. It was really really fun! But photography in the mid-90’s was different since it was very expensive! You spend on Film, Developing and Printing! I can even remember having un-developed film at home.

Last year, I was just looking for a regular camera to use while I am here at Singapore. I really wanted to buy a high end Point and Shoot like the Canon S5is but the price was too near the Nikon D40 Kit making me purchase the latter.

I have always known how to use an SLR but to my surprise that a dSLR has so many buttons and so many settings that you can change. I have always played with the Aperture and Shutter Speed way back my Film days but ISO, Metering and Auto Focus was totally new! Yes, my Pentax P50 SLR did not have auto focus! But it had a built in light meter! And way back those days, my camera will set automatically to my Film’s ISO!

Having used the Nikon D40 for more than a year really brought me back to my college days where I really enjoyed a specific subject!

Now, this is something I do to keep myself busy during my free weekends. If there are any corporate activities, I also tag my camera along just to take quick snap shots.

I originally wanted to take Pictures of Singapore Landscape! But when I ran out of places to shoot, I have tried shooting portraits! These are two very different subjects and you will really notice the difference with the lens used. From a wide angle lens, Sigma 10-20mm, to my Nikkon 55-200mm!

Taking pictures of people is very different from taking pictures of place. The human face is much more complex!

I have upgraded my camera to the D90 and slowly purchasing accessories to have all that I need.

You can access my flickr account to view some of the pictures I have taken. Here’s a quick link to my landscapes, portraits, and everything else.

Photography is a fun hobby which I intend to keep!