Photo: Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM

As I expand my photo hobby from landscape and travel to portraiture, I notice the great limitation of my current lens line up. Make no mistake that my Sigma 18-50 F2.8 is a very versatile and excellent piece of glass, it does however lack quite a bit on the far and narrow end. With its tightest end sitting at 50mm, it’s at the minimum focal length for portraiture. As I found out in the model photography workshop I joined over the past weekend (more of that on another post), 50mm is the widest you can use for portraits.  Anything wider would have you taking photos of your girlfriend looking bloated and distorted. 

Gadgets: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

After all the speculation which of the currently released Galaxy Tabs out in the market was successor to Samsung’s rogue tablet 2 solar cycles ago, the widely successful Galaxy Tab, Samsung made official last February its REAL successor, the Galaxy Tab 2. It would herald the arrival of the next generation Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 plus, 7.7″, 8.9″ and 10.1″ variants.

The Galaxy Tab offered a more compact and portable alternative to the recent surge in tablet platforms. The GT-P1000 had a 7.0 inch touch screen which was a third smaller than that of the standard all the while retaining the same capabilities of your iPads and Acer tablets. It’s not small enough to fit in your pocket like its smaller, more recent kin the Galaxy Note but it still beats having to lug a letter sized metal hot plate. Another advantage of the 7.0 inch screen was the added little bit of privacy compared to full sized tablets. This meant you can enjoy watching your SNSD Music videos on your daily commute without having as much peering over your shoulder like that of full sized tablets. I still wouldn’t recommend it though.

As for the Galaxy Tab 2′s improvements from its predecessor, it now sports a 1 GHz Dual core processor and 1 GB of RAM. It still has a 7.0 inch screen and still no Super Amoled like the 7.7 model, but the improved WSVGA graphics is a welcome upgrade from the original’s TFT LCD. Samsung also put it through a welcome weight loss program. looking sleeker with a profile similar to that of current Tab units. At 10.5mm, the curved edges will now prevent me from accidentally bludgeoning hapless would be muggers like I do with my Otterbox clad GT-P1000. Maybe I can just use it to hack at them instead. Maybe.

Slated for release in late Q3 or early Q4 of this year, Techindstriya.com pegs the 3g and Wi-Fi only versions prices at $550 and $420 respectively, a shy cheaper than the current 7.7″ model. It has definitely shelved my plans of picking up the Galaxy Note. Though gifts are still definitely welcome.

Source: Samsung Mobile Press
TechIndustriya.com

Gadgets: Canon 5D Mk III

And so Canon takes the covers off of their “entry level” full frame DSLR; the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. With a launch date slated for this February 27/28, it has budding pro-photographers drooling for a while now, ever since rumors started flying out late last year.

So far, here’s what Canon Rumors has found out about regarding the specs:

22mp
61pt AF
100% VF
3.2″ LCD
Dual CF/SD Card Slots
Price: Around $3500 USD

If there’s one thing I’m curious about is the pixel density of this beauty. And being realistic, as much as I would gladly sell my car to pay for this, it’s still ridiculous for me to spend that much on a single purchase, let alone the amount of debt I’ve accrued because of my hobbies. Right now, I can only hope that some kind souls, *cough*Edj/Ashley*cough* would decide to pick up a Mk III and sell me their current gears at bargain bin prices. Wishful thinking.

Panasonic Lumix GF1: New Blogging weapon

Earlier this year, I figured that I could use a more portable camera that I can use for everyday snapping while still maintaining a fair degree of manual controls. Having a long zoom range would have been preferable, but interchangeable lenses were OK too. While there has been a healthy line up of advanced P&S and pro-sumer cameras that met my criteria, the Panasonic GF1 stood out above my short list.

“Just one more thing…”

Stay Hungry, stay foolish. Think Different.

Silicon Valley and the rest of the digital world mourn the passing of one of the greatest visionaries in the IT Industry. Easily one of the greatest minds of the Social Media generation.

I was never much a fan of the brand that he created, and betrayed him, he resurrected and pretty much raised from the ashes and steered right up to the top of the IT industry. Such a great mind and asked for nothing less than excellence. Even during his tenure outside of Apple, he gave us 3D animation in the form of Pixar Studios. Yes, THAT Pixar. And upon his return to Apple, he gave us the iMac and inspired us to “Think Different”. His iPod’s could probably have saved the music industry from the invasion of digital downloads. With the introduction of the iPhone, being and staying connected took on a completely new meaning. And what first generation of Apple Mac I’s did for personal computing, the iPad is doing so again. I think HP’s “The computer is personal again” campaign would have been more appropriate for the recent and last developments “Steve” gave to us.

Now, before I get accused of fan-boying for Apple, let me tell you that I was more a fan of the man that led them to the stars. As most people who know me can personally attest, that aside from the one iPod touch I got from my dad a few years ago, I have always swayed away from the brand. But I cannot ignore, let alone deny, the fact that his visions have affected my digital lifestyle today. Social Media and personal blogging made a giant leap forward with his innovations and pushed the boundaries of how our world is documented. No longer did people rely solely on traditional journalism. Current affairs are now streamed directly from the eyes and ears of those who are there as it happens. Less than a decade ago, I never would have imagined myself to be blogging and sharing my personal exploits to the world, and yet now my social circle has more than quadrupled, sharing and talking similar interests with people from thousands of miles away. The way Steve Jobs’ visions revolutionized the digital industry is in a word insurmountable. The last time I’m aware that someone made such an impact with how we lived our lives was when Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.

And so,

Dear Steve Jobs,

Where ever you are, thank you for inventing and re-inventing mobile personal computing.

Sincerely,
An Android user.

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Of Typewriters and Yellow pages

While the lecture prank above would definitely bring snorts and giggles in today’s age of laptops, iPads and Blackberrys, 15 or so shy years ago, the thought of lugging a typewriter to campus was not too far fetched.  Students then actually wrote down their notes with their #2 pencils and ruled notepads. The most hi-tech doodads you’d most likely find in backpacks then would have been a scientific calculator, a black and white screened Gameboy, a Sony Discman, the odd Tamagotchi or a Nokia 5110 dual band GSM cellphone.  Save for the scientific calculators, the others mentioned are by now considered dinosaurs.  Antiquated technology.