Guest Blog: Nikon Full Frame DSLR D600 Review: Part II

By TJ Xie It’s been more than three weeks since I got my D600. I have been trying to explore its potential as much as I can. Lenses I use are 50mm f/1.8G, 85mm f/1.8G, 105mm f/2.8G Micro and Voigtlander 28mm f/2.8. In this part of review, I will talk about the high ISO performance and show some sample pictures. Before we start, here’s a summary of my experience with D600: 1. Auto ISO setting is fantastic 2. Higher shutter speed is needed to obtain...

Read More

Moleskine App: Put Your Favourite Notes in Digital

If you are a person who likes taking notes, you would not miss the name of Moleskine. Moleskine notebooks have the classic hardcover with the elastic band attached. The notebook is the perfect companion for daily inspiration. Now it brings the same experience from the traditional paper notebook to a whole new digital form, the Moleskine Journal iOS app.  The Moleskine app has iPhone and iPad version, but the experience of its iPhone version...

Read More

Sony RX1 3rd Party Lens Hood and Batteries

Since I've got my RX1, I have been looking for accessories to doll it up. I bought an orange soft button a few weeks ago but heck, it was lost because I didn't screw it on properly. I will have to go down to the shop again for that.. Meanwhile, because the original lens hood produced by Sony is too expensive (S$249!!!), I ordered a 3rd party lens hood from a HK vendor on eBay. Along with that I bought a battery package that includes two 3rd party...

Read More

BigWebStats: Check Out How Well Your Website Performs

As a blogger who runs a website from day to day, monitoring the traffic and other statistics of the blog is essential for me. I personally use Google Analytics for this purpose, as most of other bloggers do. However, I was asked to give a try on this web service: BigWebStats. So I had a look on it and it is pretty easy and great to use! The website interface is clear. All you have to do is to input the URL you are interested in: it could be your...

Read More

Guest Blog: Nikon Full Frame DSLR D600 Review: Part I

By TJ Xie Why D600? Photography is a hobby of mine. I shoot landscapes, events and street photography. There were a few constraints I had with my 3-year-old Nikon D90: 1) the 11-point focus system was too spread out for focus tracking; 2) the poor high ISO performance beyond ISO 1600 and; 3) zoom lenses are too heavy when I go travellin...

Read More

Sony's New Flagship Smartphone: Xperia Z Review, Part II

After writing the first part of Sony Xperia Z review, I went home for a small trip, so it took a while to complete this second part. As I used Xperia S before, it didn't take me much time to get along with the phone. But I have to say that there is still a bit of switching cost if you happen to be an iPhone user like me. Xperia Z is equipped with Android 4.1.2, and I am sure that there is a scheduled update of 4.2 for this new flagship.&nbs...

Read More

Lightroom Tutorial: Create Your Japanese-Style Photos

It has been long since I last posted a Lightroom tutorial on how to retouch skin using Lightroom. I must say that I am no way near a pro-photographer, or advanced user in post processing. I only use a few basic techniques to fine tune my photos. And today I am sharing one of my very often used techniques: how to create Japanese-style photos. What's Japanese-style photo? It is not something clearly defined. This photography style originated from Japan...

Read More

Sony's New Flagship Smartphone: Xperia Z Review, Part I

Before I got my current iPhone 5, I was using Sony Xperia S, which is the flagship smartphone of Sony by then. The reason I chose it is simple. The design is unique compared to other Android phones, both exterior and interface wise. However, in the end, I am not quite satisfied with the phone as it became really slow after use for a while. The short lasting battery could be another reason I gave up on Xperia S (though iPhone 5 is not much better)....

Read More

Cybercrime: Time to Get Prepared

Image Credit: The Verge Suddenly it seems that the technology world is more vulnerable to hacking now than ever, at least it appears to be. We've heard the story that Twitter has been hacked, and then it's Apple and Facebook. And now Evernote, the software that provides online note taking and archiving, has just fallen victim to the hackers as well. Though companies have assured that there is no sensitive information leaked due to the hacking, it...

Read More

Typesetter: Add Text to Your Photos

If you are obsessed with sharing photos on the go , you may sometimes find yourself in the need of adding text to the photo. Today I am introducing a great app that helps you on this. It is called 'Typesetter'. The functionality of this app is straightforward, adding text on the photo. It provides some customization so that your ordinary photo could turn into some really artistic piece of work! Oh did I mention that it's free of charge?    Upon...

Read More