Tech News: Apple's Next iPhone is Set to Come in June

Just after the amazing iPhone 4s has been released only last year, a new generation of Apple's proud iPhone is set to come June this year. 

Though it still has not been confirmed, according to CNET, the 6th generation of iPhone will be announced during Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference (or WWDC) which is going to be held from June 11 until 15 in San Francisco. 

Many iPhone enthusiasts would definitely be excited to know what Apple has got to offer on the new feature to be included on the newest lines of the iPhone. 

iPhone Camera in Street Photography

 (iPhoneography has become a new platform of photography all together)

Ever since the iPhone came out, people of all ages from different continents have begun to experiment with one the blessed feature of the amazing device - it's camera!

The iPhone 3Gs comes with a 3 megapixel camera, the iPhone 4 features an increase of 5 megapixel rear camera while the latest iPhone 4s allows user to fully appreciate it's 8 megapixel rear camera. Though megapixel really doesn't mean much when it comes to iPhoneography (Photography using your iPhone). What really make your picture stands out in a world of iPhoneography is the way you see the world through the lens - Composition. Lighting. Exposure. These are the elements which makes an iPhone photo be regarded as an art form.

Speaking of art, many iPhoneographer around the globe have began to use the iPhone in doing street shots. Street photography requires a level of discreet and anonymity, in which the iPhone delivers all of them. It is discreet, compact, easy to use and it is always with you so you don't have to worry yourself about having to carry many equipment with you all the time. 

The iPhone has only ONE button - AND THAT IS THE BEAUTY OF IT!! Though some app such as Camera+ allows you to adjust the exposure, you are basically limited to just one button to capture an image. However, through that limitation comes a sense of creativity, and though that, you are encouraged to create an amazing image of street shots. 

Street photography with an iPhone is a lot of fun. You can experiment with many different subjects and each shot will produce a different results. One of the known facts of street photography is that it mostly involved candid shots, random strangers and are completely unpredictable. 

(An iPhone street shot by street iPhone photographer Chun Tong Chung)

 (Discreetness of an iPhone allows an iPhoneographer to get any shots without alarming the subject)

 (Composition is one of the elements you need to master to achieve an interesting result)

Like many street photographers would do, shooting from the hip would be relatively easier with an iPhone as it would offer a camouflage from the public as a phone and not a camera. You can also try many different ways to capture a discreet shots with your device on the streets. And sometimes, you don't even need to be pretend like some Russian spy and you could just shot your picture at your eye level. Its doesn't matter whether you are discreet or not. It doesn't even matter on HOW or WHAT you are shooting with your iPhone. There are no right or wrong ways in photography as long as it suits your style of shooting.

(Shooting from the hip allows you to get a shot upfront of your subject without perceiving any form of threat or hostility)

You can definitely hone your iPhoneography skill and a sense of sight through street photography. It allows you to think outside the box and also connect with the society around you in many ways. 

It's Been a While

It's been a while since I last posted any posts on this blog due to all the stresses from the exams. More will come soon, I assure you.

Thank you dear readers :)

Fujifilm X-Pro 1 : The Successor of The X100 & X10

    The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 - Retro styled camera body with sexy modern feature

The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 is the successor of the retro-styled camera with a body designed like a rangefinder camera - the Fujifilm X100 and the X10. The X-Pro 1, like it's name, is actually aimed towards serious photographers who wanted to experience and own a unique camera unlike any other. One of the most feature looked forward by fans is the availability of the hybrid optical and the electronic viewfinder,though the usage of the optical viewfinder would seem more appropriate especially when you're using this sort of camera. (Well, I don't see any point of using the electronic viewfinder anyway considering that optical viewfinder is always better)

SPECS WISE:

- 3.0" inch LCD screen

- 16Megapixel

- APS-C X-Trans CMOS sensor

- EXR Processor Pro image processor

- Dual magnification hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder

Front view of the Fujifilm X-Pro 1

 Top view of the Fujifilm X-Pro 1

Rear view of the Fujifilm X-Pro 1

Just like its predecessor the Fujifilm X100 and the X10, X-Pro 1 is a vintage designed camera which houses a modern technology - the usage of sensor. Just like the camera's predecessor, the X-Pro 1 comes in a relatively compact body but with a large sensor - the APS-C sensor which is normally reserved for DLSRs. So, its a small camera body with a large sensor, users either professional or amateur photographer can definitely get a lot done with this little rig here.

The Fujifilm X-Pro 1 with its arsenal of interchangeable lenses

So what are the differences between the X-Pro and the X100? Well, one of the feature which made the X-Pro 1 seemingly more superior than the X100 is the fact that it comes with an interchangeable lens. Yes, you can swap your lenses to give you more control on your preferred focal length. 

Some of you may see the X-Pro 1 being the same as X100, except that it has been injected by steroids and beefed up with protein shakes. The difference in sizes between the two models are not what made this camera an "X-Pro 1" though. 

In addition, the X-Pro 1 has a lock on the dial button so that accidents of switching the dial by mistake would not happen. Another improvement made by Fujifilm is that the X-Pro 1 has a more user friendly interface and faster responds compared to the X100. When the X100 went into "sleeping" mode, it seems that it would take forever to "unsleep" it - in other words, the responds of the camera in "sleeping mode" were quite slow. However, Fuji managed to overcome this camera and offers users a faster, more responsive and more convenience with the improved performance level.

However, X100 user would definitely miss the silent shutter sound that the X100 provided. Yes, the near silent shutter feature are not available in the successor of the X100. Furthermore, the X-Pro 1 has a slower flash sync. Though this may seems to be a bit of disappointment to some people, but it also means that the camera would be able to fully combine its fastest shutter speed with the large apertures. 

SAMPLE IMAGES:

Behold The New iPad

The New iPad

So you might have heard a lot of rumors (and I do mean A LOT) about the latest iPad. Much of the rumors does actually hit right on the spot and delivers the users with something they had anticipated from the new model of the iPad.

The iPad offers a higher amount of resolution than its predecessor, the iPad 2

First and foremost, the crystal clear retinal display has four times more pixels than the iPad 2, with a 2048 x 1536 resolution so you can have better details and a much richer color from the screen. The higher resolution will ensure users that the 9.7" inch screen will definitely deliver a much crispier and sharper image so that it may look "life-like".

The iPad is operated using the Dual Core A5X processor but the model will bring a "quad-core graphic power" which can gives much more satisfaction to users when accessing the apps as well as games. Basically what it does is that it delivers a smooth, lag-free and the usual Apple "fluid-like performance" even on a larger pixel counts.

Furthermore, the new iPad also provides a 4G LTE option for a faster connectivity. The model is built with the latest wireless technology that allows you to connect to fast data networks around the world.

Camera wise, the iPad offers a 5 megapixel camera on the rear with the recording capability of 1080p at 30 frames per second. The significantly high improvement does brings smile and joy to many Apple's users. But, all talks about megapixel doesn't really excites many iphoneographer's interests. So, the iSight camera uses an advanced optics which can give you a better image quality. At f/2.4 aperture (which is a relatively large aperture) you can't actually expect "Bokeh" or blurred background from a DSLR or even from a 4/3 sensor camera, but it does allows you to capture at low light condition with better quality. Moreover, the camera is equipped with an infrared filters which is typically reserved for the expensive SLR cameras - this gives the image color more contrast and saturation.

SAMPLE IMAGE:

The camera delivers a sharper and crispier image as compared to the iPad 2

The color produced definitely has more contrast and much more uniform 

And guess what? If you're a hardcore user of any Apple product and you seem to have been complaining about your gadget's battery life span running out too soon, let me tell you - worry not! The new model of iPad can withstand up to 10 hours of usage and allows you to spend your precious time with your loved one even longer - by loved one I meant the iPad.

Black or White - Choose your color

The model also consists of the 16GB model, along with 32GB and the massive 64GB to store every app available at the AppStore.  

SPECS WISE:

-  Retinal display with 2048 x 1536 resolution

- 9.7" inch screen

- A5X processor with quad-core graphic power

- 4G LTE option available for a faster wireless connectivity

- 5 megapixel camera on the rear - recording capability of 1080p at 30 frames per second

- f/2.4 aperture 

- Camera equipped with infrared filters - gives the image color more contrast and saturation

- 10 hours of battery life

Mass Effect 3 For Kinect : Instructions Via Voice Input

Whenever I played any games, yelling at the monitor LCD screen is your first instinct (Let's face it, it does not give much help while doing so). But, Mass Effect 3 for Kinect would beg to differ. This game offers you feature which enables you to use your voice to operate and gives instructions to the game itself.

In short, you (yes, yourself) have the ability to instruct the character in the game  to do something using your voice as an input. For example, if you happened to come across an unidentified object or anything suspicious, you could say "examine" or "follow me", and the input voice will cause the character to obey your instruction! Pretty neat huh?

Another neat feature available in Mass Effect 3 is that you would not just being busy giving instruction to the character you're in control, but you also have the ability to instruct your teammates. Basically, you have the power to direct your team in the battlefield to help or assist you in taking down an enemy squadron, or instructing them to switch to the weapon you'd prefer during the battle. All of this feature promises to give gamers a new experience like they had never seen before - it adds another depth to the gameplay as well as giving gamers the impression that the character is actually coming to life. Mass Effect 3 for the Kinect gives you more control and helps you a lot throughout the game as you would be busy controlling the character using the controller, sometimes all you need is an extra hand.

Casey Hudson, the Executive Producer of the Mass Effect series stated, "..We also realized that because our game uses conversation, we wanted the players to actually be able to speak with the virtual character of the game and speak those conversation instead of speaking through pressing buttons"

The game will be released on March 6 on PS3, X-Box 360, as well as on PC platform.

Tech News: Canon EOS-1D X Delayed

October last year, Canon had announced the new model of the professional range of DSLR, the Canon EOS 1D-X which has 18.1 effective megapixel full frame CMOS sensor and 14 fps burst mode in JPEG and 12fps when shooting in RAW. However, a bad news just came out regarding this camera - just yesterday Canon had announced that the release of the latest professional model DSLR would be delayed for a little longer for reasons unknown. Enthusiasts who have been awaiting eagerly for this camera are going to have a little sat back as Canon press release in various regions claimed that the release of the model would have to wait until "late April". Not much information has been told regarding the delay aside form the short notice of "delay in development".

The company says that it's also delaying many accessories made for the model including GPS receiver (GP-E1), wireless file transmitter (WFT-E6B), battery charger (LC-E4N) and pack (LP-E4N), wide strap (L7) and focusing screen (EC-CV).