I was walking through MidValley on the weekend when I saw that the Sony Center over there had a contest for the Sony NEX-F3. This is exactly the very same camera that I used to take awesome photos like this in Germany:
This incidentally became my profile photo for Facebook, Twitter and my other social media sites. Heh.
I also took quite a few in Sibu, you can see the sheer quality of photos here:
My backyard. It used to be bigger and filled with mango, rambutan and apple custard trees but it was chopped down and paved with concrete to make way for parking. There were five cars at one point before my dad sold one off, junked one and I drove mine to KL.
The biggest temple complex in Asia or South-East Asia. I think it’s the former and it’s located in Sibu.
One large garden snail. We eat this in Sibu. It’s considered a delicacy. I’m kidding, just took a photo of it to show the incredibly low noise in low light conditions. I snapped this after midnight when I went out back for a smoke.
I’m telling you, it sure was hard to return the review unit, I really fell in love with the dSLR quality images with easy shooting modes that the Sony NEX-F3 affords.
Thus, I tried to enter the contest. It’s quite easy, really. Just head into any of the 10 participating Sony Center outlets on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) and go to the counter where the Sony NEX-F3 is.
You won’t have any trouble finding it – there are promoters there to help you with the process.
Basically, what you do is to take a photo of yourself using the 180 degree tilt function (a camwhore photo self-portrait in other words ;)) and they’ll help you upload it to the official contest website.
I did mine at the Sony NEX-F3 media launch with Kim, Rachel and Shah – didn’t win anything though – and asked the promoters if I can do this again at the Sony Center.
It turns out that you can – just take a self-portrait of yourself and upload it to The Ultimate F3 Photographer Contest. The contest requires you to upload shots taken with the camera at the Sony Center itself. However, you can also bring your own SD card and slot it into the Sony NEX-F3 if you want to keep the photos. :)
One of three Sony NEX-F3 units awaits you! I hope one of them is mine, this is really a nifty camera to bring traveling.
I only managed to get it right on the third shot and that’s coz I flipped the LCD screen 180 degrees so I could see myself and frame the shot. I was aiming for a dSLR look with a heavily defocused background. I’m really bad in self-portraits – I think the technical term for this is camwhoring. ;)
That’s the most famous Protestant church in Dresden right there. I travel around quite a bit – I just came back from Germany and I went to Jakarta before that. I couldn’t make it to another one this month due to a conflicting date but I’ll be heading to Nepal and the Philippines next month.
I’m what the industry call a FIT (Free and Independent Traveler). Basically, what that means is that you’re the adventurous trailblazing type who tends to go backpacking alone. That perfectly describes my two previous trips to Europe. This is the third.
I’ve had no problems with people running away with my camera, not even in the slums of Sri Lanka (don’t ask) or going on a totally badass adventure in Georgia with strangers. You need someone to take your photos when you’re traveling alone and while I’m not a huge fan of camwhoring, I concede that it’s very useful sometimes.
The picture above is of the Sony Center in Berlin – the only one that has a cinema which shows English movies without subtitles. I brought the Sony NEX-F3 to Germany. All the photos in this post was taken using that. I wanted to see if it would make me take better shots. I have a dSLR but I wanted a more compact camera that I can stuff into my windbreaker pocket. You can try that with a dSLR – but be prepared to get tackled by the London Metropolitan police. ;)
The Sony NEX-F3 uses a large, high performance Exmor APS CMOS sensor that allows it to capture dSLR quality photos even in low light. It has interchangeable lenses and it’s very easy to use.
Let me show you my awesome photos!
This is a view of Dresden late at night. I was surprised at the low noise and incredible detail. I used this as my Facebook cover photo. Heh.
Old school cash register. Appropriately shot in Retro mode. I normally wouldn’t get a good photo in the lighting conditions of the restaurant but this turned out very well.
Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski in Dresden – a view from my room. President Barrack Obama also stayed here when he visited. I doubt it’s the same room though.
I like how you can set manually adjust the Background Defocus, Brightness, Color (compensate for Warm or Cold), Vividness or just let it go on auto in Superior Auto mode. It usually gets it right.
There’s also scenes presets and settings inside to let you easily shoot in a wide range of picture effects with the full time continuous auto focus:
Pop color. Flowers in summer. It was unusually cold for the first few days, which was why I had a windbreaker on and just a shirt for the last few days.
These are all shot on the Autobahn from a fast moving vehicle to demonstrate:
Partial Color: Red
Partial Color: Green
Partial Color. Blue
Partial Color: Yellow
Back-light auto compensation of a faux stained glass window. There’s also a built in flash that pops up if the scene is too dark! :)
Videos are shot in HD and you can use the modes available – this is shot using Retro mode. :)
Schloss Charlottenburg (Schloss means Palace) in Panoramic Mode. You can also do this in 3D (it saves in an MPO file) and display it on a 3D TV.
Automatic scene detection and Auto HDR makes skin tones amazingly natural. I literally shot this from the hip so you can get a sense of how fast the auto-detect works:
Imagine the stuff you can do with this! There’s lot of customization possible. You can make the sky bluer for example.
Please…tell them, I am God. ;)
Do you want your very own Sony NEX-F3? Join The Ultimate F3 Photographer Contest and get a chance to win one of 3 cameras! It’s very simple – all you need to do is drop by any of the 10 participating Sony Outlets on a Saturday or Sunday, take your own photo using the Sony NEX-F3 and upload it (the promoters will assist you). Click on the link above for the Sony Outlet closest to you.
I love it! The Sony NEX-F3 makes me look like a better photographer than I really am. ;)
It’s very difficult to pose properly underwater due to the natural buoyancy of our bodies. /science teacher mode
I highly applaud this group who practiced their underwater shots until they got it spot on.
I was at the My Water Moments with TX5 event at Mali Cove, Sunway Lagoon on the 7th of August. I had to wake up really early and dragged myself out of bed but it was well worth it!
Sony events are always awesome and this one was no different.
Jestina! w00t! The water was very enticing with the heat so I was very tempted to take a dip. You know how I am with temptation, it always wins. >.<
I went for a swim before the event started and Yuen Yee and Karen was kind enough to oblige carrying my t-shirt back to our table (since I neglected to take it off before I went into the water, that was how appealing it was).
Feet friends! Jesus walked on water. You can too! =D
My Water Moments was organized for Sony Cyber-shot TX5 owners as well as bloggers and the Nuffnang contingent was there in droves!
It aims to highlight the features of the camera by a series of games and I must admit, most of it was very creative!
Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink! =D
The first game highlights the temperature proof feature of the digicam several working TX5 cameras was placed in a box of ice cubes and the groups who managed to get the most in a set won. There was a lot of frantic digging around the ice for this activity as well as abuse meted out to the digicams in the spirit of competition…
…but have no fear! The second task was actually THROWING the TX5 INTO tubes from a distance of three meters. These tubes are color coded, matching the colors of the cameras and you’re supposed to throw the right color into the right tube. The digicam is shock proof so this was also partly to demonstrate that.
The third task illustrates the dust proof characteristics of the camera a lot of the cameras was placed into a box filled with Styrofoam and you have to dig out 10 of each color.
I saw some of the groups being overly enthusiastic and throwing the digicams to the floor but each and everyone survived.
The digicams I mean, the participants obviously are still alive and kicking. ;)
The fourth task is one of the more interesting ones.
You’re supposed to dive underwater and grab the water proof TX5 which were floating under the water. I took this video with my very own TX5 and check out how trippy it is:
The digicams were floating around and moving with the currents in Mali Cove so it’s not easy to actually do this. I tried and I got a bad case of eye irritation from the chlorine in the water. It’s still a damn good video though and one of my best from this session. :)
The fifth and final task is at the Underwater Pose Station (where everyone can pose underwater and get a free photo developed). This is rather challenging as you have to be creative and defy gravity, er, I mean buoyancy by staying underwater long enough to come out with a great group pose.
Consider this the Top 5 Things You Can Do With The TX5.
A lot of groups in teams of 5 participated – kudos to the winners for they worked hard for it.
Lunch was provided and it’s a proper catered lunch instead of packed stuff there’s rice dished out, chicken curry, vegetables, an omelet with generous ingredients, and honey chicken. I loved the cake and ice cream provided as dessert too.
We had a lot of fun at the My Water Moments with TX5. I liked how they blended the features of the camera into games which reflects the characteristics of it. The food was good, the games were great, and the crowd was awesome!
My only beef with it is my failed JAWS attempt. No one even noticed me. FML max.
I like to bring around a compact camera that I can slip into my pocket for capturing moments – it’s like an auxiliary brain for me. I bring a digicam everywhere and if you’re clumsy person like me, you’ve no doubt dropped your digicam countless of times.
I have even dropped it in a waterfall, much to my chagrin. The digicam was a complete write off but luckily the memory card was still intact. Sigh. The quote which goes “Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy” is true indeed…until now! (at least the water part)
I have recently acquired a Sony Cyber-shot TX5 camera which meets all my requirements – it’s water-proof, shock-proof, dust-proof and even temperature-proof!
I decided to take it for a spin up in Genting under different conditions to see how well this camera performs. I intended to go to Fraser’s Hill but decided that Genting gives me a more exhaustive repertoire of lighting conditions and shooting opportunities.
This is my favorite photo. The Cyber-shot TX5 has excellent low light performance. I used the Handheld Twilight mode and it captured all the psychedic details in this rave-meets-bowling center perfectly.
I haven’t bowled in years and Naomi beat me by 3 points. >.< It was luck more than anything, I got a strike once and a spare in another but most of my attempts went down the drain (pun intended).
The next day was spent at the theme park where I covertly recorded several of the rides. *feels like James Bond*
This video illustrates just how good the recording frame rate of the Sony Cyber-shot TX5 is. It’s that ride in Genting called Space Shot where you drop so fast the seat of your pants actually lifts off the ride for a second.
The best thing about the video recording function in the TX5 is that it records in Full HD at 1280 x 720! I wish I had this when I went to KK coz my other digicam only records at a paltry 640 x 480 – which was awesome…in the 90′s. >.<
I also like the easy mode switching in the TX5 – there’s Scene Selection, Anti Motion Blur, Inteligent Auto Adjustment and…iSweep Panorama!
A very angry Whopper
Okay, now here’s some proper shots in Gourmet Mode:
I went to Manhattan Fish Market to check out their new offerings – it’s a new menu based on American Idol:
Manhattan Idol.
Flamin’ Tuna Pie. They really mean flaming when they say it, the cheese is heated until it’s warm.
Awesome presentation and a great dish but my favorite, hands down goes to:
Shrimp on the Rocks. Fresh and juicy shrimps served on a bed of ice with Cajun Honey Mustard as the dip. Delicious!
Well, if you’re been using digicams for a long time you’ll know how difficult it is to get panoramic shots in the past. It used to be all manual – take a photo and part of that will show up for you to align with your next shot. It’s just painful to have to do that and most of the time it doesn’t come out right.
However, with the iSweep Panorama mode, you just need to literally sweep your Cyber-shot TX5 to capture a panoramic scene! The wonders of modern technology!
Underwater video is a breeze to use too. You might get a couple of weird looks since water-proof digicams aren’t that common (underwater casings alone sometimes costs more than the actual digicam). I’ve actually gotten stares and even a shouted warning – “Hey, careful, your camera is touching the water!“. Haha!
Unlike the bulky monsters in the small water-proof digicam segment, the Sony Cyber-shot TX5 manages to come up with a tough water-proof, shock-proof, dust-proof and temperature-proof digicam that is sleek and slim. You’ll be proud of slipping this baby out when you need to take photos and it’s sturdy enough to go anywhere with you.
Even underwater so you can take photos like this:
Trust me, a water-proof digicam is a sound investment – hey, water damage is pretty common, someone might even spill their cocktail on your camera on a weekend night out. ;)
You have the option of taking photos is 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio too!
Nuffnang is running a contest called My Water Moments – just take a photo and explain how it connects to the theme of The World’s Slimmest Water-proof camera. Hint: Write about how the photo would be improved if you have a water-proof digicam like the Cyber-shot TX5. It’s water-proof up to 3 meters! You also need to mention the features of the cam before submitting the URL here.
The best 3 entries will be given a free Sony Cyber-shot TX5 digicam! =D
The Sony Cyber-shot TX5 retails for only RM 1,499 and comes with the ExmorR sensor for low light performance. It has a burst mode capable of 10 frames per second at 10.2 MP which makes it ideal for me for those of you who’ve endured my constant requests of taking several shots in a row coz the perfectionist in me demands the best shot. Heh!
Now, I’ll only need to ask you to take one photo…in burst mode.
phobia /f’oʊbiə/ Synonyms: noun: fear phobias (plural) A phobia is a very strong irrational fear or hatred of something
Remember my post entitled Fear of the dark? BTW, for red blooded men “hatred” is a synonym for “fear”. ;)
I just thought you’ll like to have an insight into the XY Chromosome brain.
I managed to get my grubby paws on a Cyber-shot TX7 and decided to take it out for a night out of clubbing!
I wasn’t disappointed.
I’ve always been apprehensive (Read: afraid) of taking photos at night due to the tragic results that inevitably happens. I’ll take 10 photos in a row and ALL of them will turn out bad. >.<
However, ever since the Cyber-shot TX7 I have faced my fears and conquered them! Here’s my awesome night out at Zouk in KL with friends the previous weekend.
I love the rich and textured quality of the photos. There’s Intelligent Auto Adjustment – perfect for the lazy ones among us.
Hand-held Twilight is another Godsend from the good people at Sony. A lot of clubs don’t allow you to bring in dSLRs so a compact that can rival a dSLR in night shots is your best bet.
There are also heaps of Scene Selection options – from Twilight Portrait to Gourmet (for taking food photos) in addition to whimsical features like Pet.
Food, glorious food! It finally looks like what it should be!
A panoramic shot! Easy peasy to do.
The thing that really takes the cake in terms of the Cyber-shot TX7 is the option of taking 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio photos.
You won’t know how useful widescreen is until you’ve used it in a club with people jostling you around and elbowing you to get some dance space. You can also take 8 photos in a row – perfect for OCD people like me who likes to choose the best possible picture from a range.
Personally, the feature I like the most in the TX7 is the ability to shoot in HD quality video, so I’m going to show you how well it performs in low lighting conditions with multi colored strobe lights messing with the sensor.
I have had a lot of problems with shooting videos in my previous digicam and with the HD quality video recording with this, it’s really tempting me to go back to Cyber-shot digicams. It’s sleek as hell and easy to slip into your pocket or purse for a great night out. The touch screen works wonders too in getting a lot of appreciative glances from the people around you. ;)
Check out the full product specs here. All photos taken with the TX7, except the ones featuring it, obviously.
I only have one complain about the Cyber-shot TX7. I’ll have to return it tomorrow. :(
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark, I have a constant fear that something’s always near. You know that Iron Maiden classic? I always get reminded of the chorus whenever I have to take photos at night. It always comes out terrible – noisy if I set the ISO too high, overexposed if I use flash.
Case in point(s):
Birthday karaoke session gone wrong due to low lighting
Flash fail
This pristine beach in Kota Kinabalu looks like a sandbox in a playground
Overexposed…and not in a good way
WTF is this? I can’t even tell if it’s chicken, beef or pork. I am forced to caption it as Mystery Meat.
Another beef (no pun intended) I have with my digicam is that it can’t record in High Definition. HD is the way of the future, even YouTube supports HD uploads now. I feel like I’m in the Stone Age (okay maybe not, Bronze Age can?) whenever I take videos with my digicam – the details are lost and with a lot of people connecting their computers to large screen LCDs now you really need to film in HD to keep up.
This is what my videos look like currently:
640×480 – VGA. It’s a marvel…back in 1994 when that was the resolution of most monitors. Now with large LCD monitors running on high resolutions it just looks like a postage stamp. :(
Enter Sandman! (another song reference)
The new Cyber-shot TX7 is loaded with the BIONZ IPE (Image Processing Engine) which I am really familiar with. I can vouch for the image quality. Combine it with the Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar lens and a respectable 10.2 MP “Exmor R” CMOS sensor that reduces noise and you have the perfect digicam for night photography!
Blur be gone!
The Cyber-shot TX-7 has features like sweep panorama and anti-motion blur in addition to the impressive Handheld Twilight mode. You won’t have to worry about shaky photos and with the AVCHD Full HD movie recording mode, you’ll be able to present your nights out in full glory!
At 1920 x 1080 @ 50i movie mode, you’ll be hard pressed to find another digicam with similar qualities. It’s a touch screen digicam too, and having had 3 Sony digital cameras in the past, I have to say that it’s very nifty. The best part about it is that you only have to touch the LCD screen to focus on the subject.
Alright party people! You’ve had nights out where you think you captured awesome photos but when you go back home and upload it to your computer, you find out that it’s crappier than a lavatory full of excretion. Right? Right?
I won a Sony LCD TV from Sony Style. It’s from this contest the good people at Sony entered for me when I purchased my dSLR. The lucky draw gift I snagged is the KLV-20S400A BRAVIA LCD TV. It retails for RM 1,799 and it’s a flat, compact LCD TV which you can also use as a monitor. Check out the specs here. It’s brand new (just picked it up last Sunday) and unopened and comes with the full Sony warranty.
I need cold, hard cash more than a TV to get through the month (please refer to previous post) so I’m planning to sell it. I’ll let it go for RM 1,300 (RM 500 cheaper than retail) but before I list it on Mudah.my I’ll give anyone who reads my blog the opportunity to purchase it for RM 1,200.
Email me if you’re interested. I’ll even cut a deal with you for more discounts if you’re a blogger (Terms & Conditions apply of course ;)).
