Category Archives: Tech

How To Take Better Pictures With The Samsung Galaxy S3 (Part 2)

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Lemon Honey Soda Can Be Sublime

Lemon Soda Can Be Sublime. Back-lit with single ML240 light panel from bottom.
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/465 sec with -1.5 stop compensation

In Part 2 of this series, we’ll cover food, glorious food. Since your Galaxy S III will be next to you most of the time, you will probably use it when you come across an interesting dish or drink. Whether you a blogger, foodie or a compulsive Facebook poster, here are some alternative methods to get better pics out of your phone cam.

Secret Recipe's Moist Choclate Mud Cake

Secret Recipe’s Chocolate Mud Cake. Using the GS3’s built-in LED light as fill light.
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/100 sec with +0.5 stop compensation

The best light is natural light. If you can, find a table near the window during the day. Directional light always makes food look good. If you are dining out at night, the Galaxy S 3 has a sufficiently bright LED ‘flash’. The LED light is also good for fill light against a brighter background in the day. But the biggest limitation of a built-in flash is that it is always positioned near the lens. This makes the lighted scene look flat. Since I can’t move or remove it, I carry a couple of tiny external LED lights in my bag.

Lammeya's Chee Cheong Fun with Sesame Seeds

Lammeya’s Chee Cheong Fun with Sesame Seeds lit from side with LitePanel’s Micro.
The ML-240 was used to rim the back of the plate very subtly with its level control.
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/17 sec

With the pair, I can shape and style the dish without touching the food. The lights, when properly angled, can make the food “pop” visually. The idea is to create a window light source, even when there is none or where the restaurant is very dark. Whichever method you choose, remember you are at a restaurant. You are not in a studio, so avoid styling the food itself. Style the light instead. Get it done fast and do not hold up your dining partners for too long. Bon Appétit!

Edible Contradiction: Lameeya's Healthy Fried Tofu

Edible Contradiction: Lameeya’s Healthy Fried Tofu. ML240 used as angled top light to bring out the texture of the fried bean curd.
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/15 sec with -1 stop compensation 

Dashing Duo: Litepanel LP-Micro and Manfrotto Mini-24 (ML240)

Dashing Duo: American Litepanel LP-Micro and Italian Manfrotto Mini-24 (ML240). You can see how tiny both these self-contained lights are. Both have variable output and have precision calibrated colour temperature, handy for video or stills tabletop work on any location.
Olympus OM-D EM-5, ISO 200, f 1.4, 1/160 sec

See also Part 1. Look out for PART 3.

Follow me on Instagram for more photography tips under username: tvsmithmy
Or read and look at more pics starting from the main page of this blog.

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How To Take Better Pictures With The Samsung Galaxy S3 (Part 1)

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Petronas Twin Towers photographed with Samsung Galaxy S3

Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/15 sec

The new Galaxy SIII (GT-19300) boasts a 8mp camera. While the cam is fairly competent, a dedicated compact camera will still run circles around it. But then again, can a compact or dSLR surf the web, tweet, play videos, navigate with its GPS and much more? And still fit inside your shirt pocket comfortably?

This answers another question I am asked ever so often: “Which is the best camera out there?”  The best camera is the one that is always by your side, ready for any unexpected photo moment. Not the expensive dSLR you leave at home because it is too heavy or is unsafe to carry.

As good as present technology is, some users still feel the pictures from their smartphones are not as smart. The reason to that could be surprisingly dumb.

Due to its position and the lack of a cover, the tiny lens is often smeared with greasy fingerprints, without the user even realising it. To obtain the best sharpness from your phone, inspect your lens and wipe it with a clean tissue. You’ll be amaze at the difference it makes!

Also, make it a habit to place the phone camera-end down into your pocket. That way you won’t grab the camera lens when taking it out. Now that we got the most important tip out of the way, let’s look at some settings for night shots for the Samsung Galaxy phone.

Manually adjust the ISO from Auto to ISO 100, unless light is really low and you have no other choice. As with any camera or camphone, the lowest ISO setting minimises picture noise. Another challenge will arise, as a result though. Shutter speed might get  too low, and given its shape, the phone will be difficult to hold steady. It is no fun to carry a tripod, however small, when you have such a slim and light phone. So how?

I use the attached Samsung accessory flip cover as a L-shaped ‘tripod’. Just rest it on any surface and angle it to your liking. This was how I photographed both the shots featured here. Not bad considering the phone was clicking below 1/20th of a second.

KLCC's Musical Fountain photograped with the Galaxy S3

Musical Fountain, KLCC Park
Samsung Galaxy S III, ISO 100, f 2.6, 1/17 sec with -1 stop compensation

Under Settings option, play with S3’s “Exposure Value” slider. It is basically exposure compensation where you can lower or increase the light to compensate for different  lighting situations. In the above picture of the fountains, I slide the value to “-1 stop” to expose for the water jets. Learn how to access this setting and understanding how it works for better pics. I will explore more of this function in upcoming picture samples  under various scenarios.

Look out for PART 2. See PART 2

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Or read and look at more pics starting from the main page of this blog.

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The New Olympus OM-D

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Olympus Malaysia launched its much-awaited OM-D (E-M5), a day after its worldwide unveiling. Inspired by the legendary OM-4 film camera, the classy OM-D is built around a new Live MOS Sensor with 16.05 megapixels and TruePic VI image processing engine.

The new Olympus OM-D (E-M5) in 2 colours

The new Olympus OM-D (E-M5) in 2 colours

A newly-developed 3D Tracking AF system, 5-axis image stabilization, rapid 9 frames-per-second burst shooting and weather-sealed magnesium-alloy body are some of its headline features. The new built-in EVF system has a quick response display at 120fps for minimal lag. It does look better than my VF-2 when I did a brief comparison. For me, the magic of this new camera is its feel and handling.  All the buttons and dials falling in place, naturally.

The new OM-D is inspired by the original OM-4 film camera

The new OM-D is inspired by the original OM-4 film camera

During lunch, I had a chance to catch up with Mr Toshiyuki Terada (Manager, Group Leader of Product & Marketing Planning Group). Mr Terada, as expected, was tight-lipped when I asked him for more information on the sensor and would only say it is new and that there are some obvious improvements over the current m4/3 Pen E-P3. According to him, the new E-M5 has +1 stop noise improvement, +1/3 dynamic range improvement & 30% faster AF speed.

Mr Toshiyuki Terada (right) and Mr Tan Tick Boon, MD Olympus Malaysia

Mr Toshiyuki Terada (right) and Mr Tan Tick Boon, MD Olympus Malaysia

I also asked him about the relatively ‘slow’ speed of the new 12-50 mm weather-sealed lens . He explained that they designed this lens optimised for weight and size. Any brighter, it will have a weight payload, off-setting the compact advantage of the m4/3 system. He also said the camera’s firmware was still being fine-tuned at that time and thus I was not allowed to take home any sample pics. Nevertheless, their PR agency promised a review model the soonest.

Surprise, surprise. The optional VF-2 finder for the Pen fits and works

Surprise, surprise. The optional VF-2 finder for the Pen fits and works

The new model is expected to arrive at shops here in Malaysia some time end of March. Prices and any bundle will be announced later. Look out for some sample pics and a review of the exciting OM-D here soon…

Update: You can see my pics with the new OM-D starting from here