2011 is a not so good buy yet not so bad year.

- 21st Oct 2011 – i fractured my talus bone. i had 2 screw in my ankle forever.
- 25th Oct 2011 – my pico dolly arrived
- 4th Dec 2011 – im married to Theresa Pah
- 14th Dec 2011 – my wife bought me a Canon 5D Mark II

Now i’m back on my feets, training hard to be able to walk as per normal as soon as possible.

Pico Dolly

I’ve been following CheesyCam on DIY projects on photography & videography. In 2011 they created a dolly call Pico Flex Doll. Initially they only do sale within US. Until later date then they post oh ebay for international buyer. I was so excited back then and i ordered it soon after discussing with my buddy, Desmond, about it.

Never regret buying it. It open up alot of new and possible way of videography. It can mimic slider movement and it is able to run around in fixed circular motion.

Canon 5D Mark II

I still cannot believe that my wife went to buy a Canon 5D Mark II for me secretly with the help of my buddy, Desmond, to guide her on the price and location to buy. I was stunned when she appear with the box of Canon 5D Mark II kit. My initial thought was that she is trying to trick me with the box, but i realize she is not so resourceful enough to get the box.

Love her so much, thanks darling.

I’ve been eye on this camera for the longest time. After selling off my Canon 500D on May 2011, i was dslr-less for more than 6 months. I had to do my photography on my Canon G12. I did regret selling my 500D as i still can do my normal photography with it, but i wanted more. I want more control for videography, 500D video function is all automated. Thus i sold my 500D and use the money to buy a Apple iPad 2 instead.

Now with this Canon 5D Mark II, i’m able to do some serious photography and videography again. Hopefully im able to regain my leg strength as soon as possible then i can go for some outing with my photography friends out there…

I’ve recently bought an extreme sport video camera, GoPro® HD Motorsports HERO. Basically this video camera is like a toy camera, but can REALLY withstand extreme height impact and it can even go underwater with the selected housing.

Gopro Camera survives 3000′ fall.

HD Shark Bite GoPro!

Future First Person Shooter

Even famous youtube video channel  freddiew use it!
Well beside recording video, i love the timelapse function. Usually i’ll have to bring my G12 + timer remote + gorillapod to the location and they are usually quite heavy to bring around … with Gopro i  simply need my Gopro camera and gorillapod; that’s all.

GoPro HD Timelapse

Here are the Gopro HD Hero specs:

Professional Quality, Full HD Video

1080p, 960p, and 720p in 30 and 60 fps (720p). The HD HERO line of cameras offers three different HD resolutions, giving you three filming modes to capture the best angles for any given activity:

• 1080p: 1920×1080 True HD featuring a 127º angle of view, 30 fps, and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
• 960p: 1280×960 Ultra Wide and Tall HD featuring a 170º angle of view, 30 fps, and 4:3 aspect ratio. See more of the action above and below than widescreen16:9 resolutions can show.
• 720p: 1280×720 Ultra Wide HD featuring a 170º angle of view, both 30 and 60 fps, and 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio

5MP Photos, Automatically

HD HERO cameras can shoot hands-free, 5 megapixel photos automatically at 2 / 5 / 10 / 30 / and 60 second intervals until the batteries die or the SD card is full (2.5 hours). Or set it to single shot, triple shot, or self timer for more traditional photo taking.

Audio Excellence

We’ve invested more in the HD HERO camera’s sound system than most companies spend on their entire camera development. You’ll only be hearing the sounds of your sport, not the howl of the wind. How? Obsessive audio engineering and an understanding that good sound is as important as good video.

Rechargeable Lithium-Ion, Built in Battery Warmer

The rechargeable 1100mAh lithium-ion battery (included) lasts for 2.5 hours of constant recording. It can be recharged to 80% capacity in just 2 hours when plugged into a computer’s USB port, or in 1 hour when plugged into a USB compatible wall or car charger. Camera can also be used while charging…handy on road trips where it’s fun to leave the camera rolling. Camera also features an integrated battery heating system for keeping your battery warm in winter activities.

Shockproof, Bombproof, Waterproof to 180’ / 60m

Don’t let a little water, or even a ton of water get in the way of getting the shot. Proven in heavy surf from Hawaii to Tahiti, Southern Mexico to Northern California, HD HERO cameras can handle it thanks their highly engineered polycarbonate exoskeletal housing. Waterproof to 180’ / 60m and tough enough to take a spin across the asphalt, GoPros are built to take a beating. Replacement lens kits are also available for $20, so there’s little worry of scratching the tempered glass lens while going for glory. Trash the housing in a massive crash? Replacements are available for $40. It’s a GoPro…go for it.

Tech Specs:

Camera Optics

• Lens Type: Fixed Focus (2ft/.6m – ∞), glass
• Aperture: f/2.8 (high performance in low-light situations)
• Angle of View: 170º ultra wide angle in WVGA, 720p, or 960p mode
• Angle of View: 127º wide angle in 1080p mode

Video

• HD Video Resolution Modes: (subject to change, pending final firmware release)
  • 1080p = 1920×1080 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 15 Mbit/s data rate
  • 960p = 1280×960 pixels (4:3), 30 fps, 12 Mbit/s data rate
  • 720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 15 Mbit/s data rate
  • 720p = 1280×720 pixels (16:9), 30 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
  • WVGA = 848×480 pixels (16:9), 60 fps, 8 Mbit/s data rate
• Sensor Type: 1/2.5″ HD CMOS, 2.2µm-sized pixels
• Light Sensitivity: Super low-light sensitivity (>1.4 V/lux-sec)
• Video Format: H.264 compression, saved as Windows- & Mac-compatible MPEG4 (.mp4) file
• Exposure Control: Auto with user selectable center weighted average and spot metering settings
• White Balance: Auto

Audio

• Microphone: Built-in, mono with AGC (automatic gain control)
• Audio Format: 48 kHz, AAC audio compression

Photo

• Resolution: 5 megapixel
• Capture Modes: Single shot, photo every 2, 5, 10, 30 or 60 secs.; 3 photo burst; self-timer

Storage

• Memory: SD card (SDHC), up to 32GB capacity (not included)
• Average recording times (using 32GB SD card):
  • 1080p (30 fps): 4h 21m
  • 960p (30 fps): 5h 26m
  • 720p (60 fps): 4h 21
  • 720p (30 fps): 8h 09m
  • WVGA (60 fps): 8h 09m

Camera Connectors & Cables

• PC Connection: USB 2.0 (data connection and battery charging)
• HDTV Out: HD NTSC & PAL (component cable incl.)
• Audio Out: Combo 2.5mm jack with stereo audio and composite video out
• PC Compatibility: Windows® Vista or Windows® 7; Mac OS® X 10.4.11 and later

Power & Battery

• Battery Type: Rechargeable 1100 mAh lithium-ion
• Battery Life: Approx. 2.5 hrs
• Charging: via USB to computer or optional power adapter
• Charge Time: 80% capacity after 1 hour with optional power adapter; or 2 hours with a computer’s USB port

Waterproof Camera Housing

• Depth Rating: Up to 180 feet / 60 meters
• Construction: Polycarbonate and stainless steel
• Hardware: Stainless steel

Size & Weight

• Dimensions (H x W x D): 1.6” x 2.4” x 1.2” (42mm x 60mm x 30mm)
• Weight: 3.3oz (94g) incl. battery, 5.9oz (167g) incl. housing

I’ve tired shooting video with my Gopro with my buddy Fai Ming, here are the footage (usually we do it at night due to road  safety; i still hope to do a day shoot)

Driving + Fai Ming

If you love video and want to try something different, why not invest on a Gopro =]

Purchased it through their Korea website (http://www.konovaphoto.com/). But its kinda buggy, thus i had to contact them to make payment thru paypal and requested for EMS delivery (Total cost: USD$330) .

Well EMS delivery to Singapore, isnt as fast as i thought. The delivery was send on 19th April and arrive on 23rd April (supposedly), because Singapore Speedpost did not attempt to notify me earlier for the delievery. Thus i managed to request for another delivery on today. Overall the package arrived unharmed, so i have no complain.

Out-of-the-box

I saw a lot of review on YouTube, most of them need to adjust their slider bearing to make it more smooth. But for my case, it was originally smooth enough to slide sideway easily. The side legs for the slider are nicely packed in a black bag which was original wrap with bubble wrap. The legs did not have a smooth finishing coating like the slide, but it doesn’t really make a much different since we will use the legs to put them on the ground. They provide a few tools and a instruction manual to teach us how to adjust the bearing to make it smoother.

Setting Up

You do not need to read on the instruction manual to set up the slider. Its fool proof. Along the slider there are 5 mounting point. On the extreme ends, there are mounting holes for tripod (Thread size 3/8″-16″  & “1/4″-20) side by side. Below the track, there are 3 mounting point for the sliders too. Thus you can mount on two lightstand, or 1 tripod.

Overall

For a price of  the slide @ USD$310, there nothing much you can pick on. You are paying for a slider using bearing. Most slider out there don’t use bearing (i’m referring to those with the same price range) .

If you are looking for a better slider, see no further my idol – Philip Bloom Signature Series Pocket Dolly

(http://www.kesslercrane.com/bloom-pocket-dolly-s/96.htm)

This dolly is modified to Philip Bloom’s requirement which he feels that it is worth for everyone.  It also allow you to purchase Oracle Control System to motorized the sliding motion. But the total cost is way over my budget and does not justify my purpose.

Verdict

If you are looking for a slider and limited budget, Konova is the ideal one. It comes in different length of  80cm, 100cm, 120cm, price varies with length too.  Buy a decent fluid head to go along with it too. Currently i’m saving up for a decent Canon 5D Mark2 body, thus other purchases will come after that.

The test video
Action speaks louder than words, thus i’ve done a quick test video. Not the best, but a decently good one. The sliding movement maybe abit jerky. Because i tried to control my movement, thus when my muscle twitch it cause the it to be jerky.  Well practice makes perfect.

Oh well back to photography topic,

Back in march, i attended a Sport Photography that was held by Singapore Sport Council in Jalan Bersa Stadium.

What is Sport Photography about?
Its not about who have the fastest shutter speed, its all about capturing the moment ;

Celebration/Dejection/Stock Photo/Fan

Celebration – without much explanation its understandable

Dejection – well if you missed the goal moment, dejection is the next best thing you should look for ..

Stock Photo – what’s that? well its a photo that is kinda like a portrait shot of the player with the ball running …
example: ABC FC signed some young dude to be their striker, your company tells you that they want a stock photo of him to publish on their website / newpaper.

Fan – sometime its nice to see some crazy fan in some crazy makeup or costume

Overall
The speaker for the workshop is a company affiliation with Reuters. Thus what he focus about is the speed of getting the quality image that a photographer have to cover, and being able to send it back to the editor as fast as possible. Thus we were splited into group and we have to cover at 45min soccer match.

Lesson learned
I did not do a research before hand thus there were some setting i was not sure of.

ONE SHOT / AI FOCUS / AI SERVO

One shot – usually use for portrait
Ai servo – usually use for sports or to track moving subject

Ai focus - hybrid but not recommended to use.

I was shooting in One Shot throughout the match, and 95% of the shots were out-of-focus .. that hows stupid i was.

Sports Photography doesnt encourage shooting in RAW because you simply do not have time to post-process before sending to the editor and its really stupid to send RAW file format to the editor. Sport Photography usually look at the White Balance and the key moment, composition is not really important in this case.

Learn something new? pass it along .. =]

“Star Burst …”

“Silence …”

After reading the spec, my first impression isnt that good. First, the plastic body is a big disappointing factor. Then come with the SD card factor. And lastly, lower fps.

Comparing the Size, 60D is much smaller then his elder brother 50D. But can be a good thing for those who hate the weight of 50D. ( 822g vs 755g )

Overall, if i want to upgrade my 500D to higher tier, i’ll definitely go for 1.6x crop (Canon 7D) or Full Frame (5D Mark II).

Well lets wait for 5D Mark III or 7D Mark II … muhahaha (evil grin) …

Singapore Youth Olympic Closing Ceremony held one 26th Aug 2010

Fireworks photo can be found in my flickr stream

First Youth Olympic held in Singapore, the Lion City

“Separation Gap”