Well, my reply to him was to do all the research first and decide on the model before going to the PC Show to look for a bargain.

PC Show 2010 Featured Ads on DL

Because of a meeting earlier in the morning, I didn’t get a chance to read the Straits Times’ Digital Life until lunch time. The items on my shopping are not available in Singapore yet (i.e. the Apple iPad and iPhone 4) so there is really no hurry to find out what’s on offer at the PC Show tomorrow.

If money was no object, I would like to buy a mini notebook or large netbook for carrying around to surf the internet and reply email. I find my 15″ MacBook Pro is quite a hassle to lug around and my eeePC too small for practical use. So I need a smaller and lighter notebook or a netbook with a larger display, at least 11.6″ display.

HP Mini Laptop – Mini 311

Lenovo Thinkpad X100e $799**

I believe both the HP Mini and Lenovo Thinkpad X are not the latest models and should be available at a bargain price at the PC Show. And here’s more cheap laptops.

Asus Pro23A 12.1″ Mini Notebook $898**

If you are looking for latest netbook with an even larger screen, you may want to check out Asus Pro23A which has a faster SU3500 processor and 12.1″ display for $898.

PC Show 2010 Asus Booth A2008(L4) & B2011(L6), Suntec Singapore

The Star Buy at the PC Show 2010

I think the best bargain on notebook comes from MSI. It was a big ad in the Digital Life but I took note of the “STAR BUY” banner and attracted to the Intel Core i3 processor.

Yes, MSI CR420-i3 has a Core i3-330M processor and 14″ HD LCD, and it’s going for only $899 at the PC Show. It was $999 at the IT Show 2010 3 months ago.

MSI CR420-i3 14″ Notebook $899**

PC Show 2010 MSI Booth B2101, Suntec Singapore

Why No Acer MIni Notebook?

Because I cannot find advertisement on Acer Notebook in today’s Digital Life PC Show Special!

**Prices in SGD as advertised in Straits Times for the Singapore PC Show 2010.

Click here to see Singapore Airshow 2010 Photos at Flickr

Singapore Airshow Aerial Display Photo Tips

If you want to taking photos of the Singapore Airshow aerial display, you will need a long zoom lens that extends 300mm and longer.

Since you will be shooting in bright sunlight and hopefully clear blue sky, you don’t really need a fast lens. I was shooting at aperture at ISO100, F/8 and shutter speed 1/1000 without monopod – tripod will be useless, unless you have one that is as tall as you.

Why a Long Zoom Works Better than Long Telephoto

For DSLR users of Nikon, Canon and Sony Alpha, I would think a long zoom lens is more practical than a long telephoto. You can zoom out(shorter focal length) to locate the jet fighter and zoom in when you take the shot.

Even if you are using a long zoom compact camera with F5.6 or slower e.g. Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1, Canon PowerShot SX120 IS or Lumix DMC-FZ35, no worry. Because you should get enough light to shoot at high speed by increasing your ISO.

And it really doesn’t matter if you are using DSLR.

Singapore Airshow Aerial Display Checklist

Here’s my camera equipment checklist for Singapore Airshow 2012 Aerial Display:

• Set auto-focus to Continuous AF
• Set exposure control to Manual
• Set sequential shooting to Hi (approx. 5 frames/sec)
• Long zoom lenses 100-600mm (35mm camera equivalent)
• Bring extra battery
• Bring monopod

I used it to take landscape, scenery, sunset, people, food and etc.

More and better resolution pictures at my Flickr LX3 Photostream.

The Original FX Trilogy

Back in 2007, when Nikon launched the first FX format DSLR – D3, it also rolled out two new lenses, and bundled it with an older lens; many call these 3 lenses the ‘FX Trilogy”

• AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
• AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
• AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED

Image Sensor: Nikon FX vs Nikon DX

Those numbers work out to be 131% larger area for FX than DX format. More area to pack more pixels resulting on lesser noise.

When you use a DX lens on a FX camera, the resulting image is smaller than the FX image sensor area and you’ll get a cropped picture with lesser pixels and lower resolution. This wastes much of the capability of the FX cameras.

Use Non-DX Lens on Your D700

All non-DX lenses, older AF or manual focus, will give you full frame image on the FX format DSLR.

In other words, non-DX lenses are FX lenses!

You can really get amazingly good picture with the right lens on the Nikon D700! Here’s a video comparing D700 vs F5 using the same 85mm/F1.8 lens. So you see, you can use your good old Nikkor AF lens on the new D700 to get even better result.

Why the Sony Ericsson C905

All the 4 camera phones were tested for outdoors, close-up, low-light and fast-motion shots. The Sony C905 came up first in 3 of the categories and third for fast-motion or action photography. The 2 seconds shutter lag seemed to be quite a problem. However, if you want sharp picture with the right exposure and color temperature then Sony C905 is the champion.

Samsung Pixon M8800

The Samsung scored #1 for fast-motion photography, #2 for outdoors and low-light, and #3 for close-up shot. From the series of 4 test, I would think it ranked #2 overall.

If you are looking for the fastest 8MP camera phone then the Samsung Pixon’s 1 second shutter response will ensure that you don’t miss that fleeting moment.

Youtube: Samsung Pixon Design & Interface

LG Renoir

The LG Renoir KC910 is the weakest of all. The Renoir was #4 for outdoors, close-up and low-light. In terms of response, it is #2 – just a fraction of a second slower than the Pixon.

It is apparent that if you are going for the sharpest and fastest 8MP camera phone then the $888 LG Renoir will not be the like candidate because you can get the Pixon for $10 more and the C905 for an additional $50.

Prices of 8MP Camera Phones

The following are retail prices in Singapore Dollars without contract:

• Price of Sony Ericsson C905 – $938
• Price of Samsung Pixon M8800 – $898
• Price of Samsung Innov8 i8510 – $1,098
• Price of LG Renoir KC910 – $999

8MP Camera Phones Shootout Results

YouTube High Quality Videos with Sony T100

The Sony Cybershot DSC T100 digital camera is not a new model, I have been using it for more than 1 year.

So far I am happy with the videos and photos taken by the Sony Cyber-shot digital camera. In fact, I prefer using my little red T100 to my Olympus DSLR when it comes to group and candid shot.

High Quality Video Settings for Sony T100

To take high quality video for YouTube, you will need to set the T100 to Movie Mode and then select Image Size to 640(Fine).

I would recommend to have at least 2GB of memory if you attempt to take high quality video at 640(Fine) and still want to have space for still photos.

Memory Capacity for High Quality Videos

I am using a SanDisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (MSPD) which I bought at the recent IT Show in Singapore. With a 4GB MSPD, I can record up to 52 minutes high quality video in 640(Fine) mode or 3 hours in 640(Standard) mode!

Windows Movie Maker & WMV

If you are using Windows Movie Maker to edit your video before uploading to YouTube, you have to take note of the settings when you video is saved in Microsoft’s WMV format.

When saving the final edited movie as WMV for uploading to Youtube, choose “Other settings:” and “Video for LAN(1 Mbps)” or “Video for Local Playback(1.5 Mbps)”.

Here’s the minimum settings at a glance:

1. File type: Windows Media Video (WMV)
2. Bit rate: 1Mbps
3. Display size: 640 x 480 pixels
4. Aspect ratio: 4:3
5. Frame per second: 30