X'mas Decorations @ Orchard Road - 02/12/11

Hey guys,

Just sharing some clips which I took whilst walking around Orchard Road.
It was an impromptu thing, so I didn't have any tripods or whatsoever haha

Cheers

SONY A77 AF on video S mode

Yes yes, I know... Almost a month of no activity and the first thing that I blog about is some geeky tech shit. So what? I'm really excited about this one!

So anyways, I've managed to get the SONY a77 DSLT to run it's video S mode with autofocus.

This unlocks a few windows of possibilities since the official release mentions that AF was not supposed to happen for A, S and M modes.

Let me know what you think.

Personally it's exciting, yet scary at the same time. With the knowledge of an upcoming firmware update (got that rumor from sonyalpharumors.com), this could either mean that the video AF get implemented or on the horror spectrum, removed!

Nature has plans for you

So my bro wasn't feeling well and I had to get food for him on my way back.

"pork porridge" he says.

And pork porridge I got. But I sure didn't order this!

Worst part of it is that the rain got lighter the moment I decided to take a bus back...

SONY Alpha 77 Video Test

   
Have been a lil' busy because of the mid-terms, which is still on-going by the way.

Anyways, I've recently bought a new camera!!! And yes, that would be the greatly anticipated SONY SLT-A77.

So basically what's so cool about this is that aside from the option for you to do videos with full control of your aperture and/or shutter speed, you can also choose to go for a full auto mode which allows you to shoot with a constant phase detection autofocus (google: Phase detection vs Contrast)

Been trying out the video capabilities of the camera for a while already and I must say, I love it! Here's a quick run-down:

1. Continuous AF

While it can be a lil' tricky to get used to. It is pretty useful once you get the hang of it. Best used when you have centralized action and wanna maintain your focus on it. There's a tracking option as well.

2. Picture effects

Most awesome would be the fact that I can throw in a picture effect ie Toy Camera and the resulting images look very much like it has gone through a quick round of post processing! Just check out 2:30 onwards and you'll see what I mean.

3. Stabilization

Being an in body stabilizer, I benefit from it regardless of the lens that I have on. This, paired with the DIY Fig Rig that I've built, creates a pretty useful setup for 'handheld' shots.

If there's anything you'd like to know regarding the camera, feel free to drop a comment and I'll try to test it out for ya.

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Slowing Down - MacRitchie Reservoir

Went down to MacRitchie Reservoir two days back.

Last time I went there was about a year ago when we had to participate in a 10km run around part of the reservoir. Aside from that I suppose I've visited the deeper regions of the reservoir about 5 times in my 20 years to date.

Still, I can't say that I was well prepared for the journey. It was sort of a last minute decision to go for the treetop walk and to be honest, I started regretting it about a quarter way through; I was carrying various stuff including my macbook (don't ask me why I brought it along, it's not for the monkeys).

Anyways, the video is a simple compilation of some footage which I took whilst walking around. Deliberately lowered the speed of most of the stuff as I wanted to show that MacRitchie is a nice place to go and just... Slow down... Get in speed with mother nature...

Thought it would be an appropriate thing to share since we're currently living in a society where everyone is always rushing for things to be done... Sure, time is money, but money isn't everything. Learn to appreciate the little things in life and we'll all be happier as a whole I guess.

Cheers

Future leaders of the country

I am... Somewhat concerned of the type of people we will be having for 'future leaders' in their respectful line of works.

This happened just yesterday, while I was on my way home. The bus passes by quite a few junior colleges so it's pretty normal for the bus to get crowded with students.

I overheard two of the students talking to each other, presumably about their mandarin oral examinations. I have to say... It was disturbing for me.

So as it turned out, student A was having trouble with the "open conversation" or topic debate part of his examination. The topic? Wet markets vs supermarkets. The duration? 5 minutes.

He said that he had to pause for 2-3 minutes...

You know what's worse? "aiya I'm also not from china what..."

I'm not sure if it's an issue with not knowing what the issues are regarding the topic of wet markets vs supermarkets, not being able to speak in your mother tongue or thinking that speaking in your mandarin is only for the mainland Chinese. Either way, it's just bad... Especially knowing that these are the "cream of the crop", the "smart thinking people"... Right?... Right?

And student B could still "yalor" to everything student A says...

Is there something I'm missing here? If there's something I should know about please let me know :D

Hawking Punggol and Sengkang

So apparently there have been talk about 'hawker centers' that will be built around the new residential areas in Sengkang and punggol.

Personally, I'm all for it, provided these are true blue hawker centers and not some silly excuse for one.

I'm looking at the one located just 5 minutes' walk from compass point. Sure, the place may be non-air conditioned, there is also a wet market right behind as well.

But the only thing where it fails is price. The rent is so high that it is offset by the food prices. To sum it up, it's a food court disguised as a hawker center.

That said, I hope that the land does not end up being leased to high buffers like kopitiam ie buangkok. It's bound to become another compass point case study.

We need good food at good prices!!
(btw the Yong Tau Fu dish below costs just $3)

Throw Your Blackberry On The Ground

So apparently, the news reported that a Blackberry server crashed few days ago, sending lots'a users into the mobile cold zone without internet, email and their beloved BBM.

Countries affected were South Africa, India, some in the Middle East and some other countries that doesn't include Singapore (Yipee).

So what does this mean? Get an iPhone, or something non-BBed. Why? You can go all angry-villager on the telco when they fail, most of the time resulting in free days that you can exploit :)

CHEERS! I'M BACK

Alphadslr.com 4th Anniversary (XMM shoot)

Thought I should share some of my stuff here Enjoy!

General Anesthesia? *vomits*

*Transfered from my Tumblr*
Hi guys,

sry for the long break… too many things happening (good things) and I haven’t really got the time to sit down and write. apologies on that.

as most of you would’ve seen from the last photo, my right arm is bigger than an x’mas ham. that’s the result of my recent surgery…

boy… surgery sure was a ride! first, i had to register my name n stuff at the day surgery centre. shortly after, they directed me to the holding ward where i’d change into the operating attire (funky lookin’ i might add) and clear my systems.

“sir what is your full name and IC number?”

“do you know what operation you’re going for?”

“mr. bruce lim, can i ask you what time did you stop eating from?”

“what time did you stop drinking from?”

“do you have any metal in your body?

“are you wearing any contacts?”

“are you wearing any jewellery?

“do you have a flu, cough or runny nose?”

“have you passed urine, sir?

yes… they asked me all those… A LOT OF TIMES!!! And the worst is, I get more nervous each time they asked!

Finally they told me that I’m going to the operating theatre… dumbass of me to say that i could walk there on my own… barefeet! of course, the nurse ignored that statement and wheeled me to there (pretty far away, i might add)

Things were cool in the theatre… A caucasian doc administered the anesthesia and he was cool… said something bout “gonna do the michael jackson, only difference is that he’s not with us anymore…” well that sure put my mind at ease… (actually i might have remembered it wrongly but the point is that he made an MJ joke that they understood)

stupid sam told me that the GA would be administered like a gas… well, maybe that was the case for everyone else but not me man! i knocked out even before they put anything on me… think mine was administered via IV instead…

so i closed my eyes and the next thing i knew, 3 hours had passed and i was being wheeled out… Apparently, they had trouble waking me up so I had to stay in there for a lil’ while longer :\

Was fine when I waited for the doctor… Til I started eating… somehow, i started feeling giddy and shortly after puked…

I continued vomiting for a while until i finally reached home… boomer much?