Some friends asked me that I have not been posting photos online for quite sometime and wondered I have stopped shooting. Well, definitely not! Photography is still my no.1 Hobby and I just bought a A7R didn't I? :)
I am shooting less often nowadays because mainly my subjects (the kids) are bored with my camera. Once they see I'm holding one, they would hide from me :P. And if I managed to get them to pose, they would make silly and funny expressions in front of it without any prompts from me. I wonder whom they learnt that from.... tehehehehe
Anyway, I did shot quite a lot of slides last year and only managed to send them to develop recently. Got them back yesterday and spent a day time to "copy" them to digital. You may view them over my flicker stream under landscape 2014.
A short review on Maige TV. IPTV box
That's where the discussion and research on how to get World Cup at a cheaper rate started. And I didn't found the cheapest option but an interesting one that allows us to watch various satellite and HBO cable channels over the Internet. This is known as IPTV (IP stands for Internet Protocol). What it is? It's basically something very similar to Mio TV by Singtel that uses an Internet connection to stream/broadcast a show.
There are various brands for such IPTVs and currently one of the most prominent one is by Maige TV. This box is a device dedicated to streaming video on demand and online. There is a local distributor for both Singapore and Thailand but I decided to be cheapo and ordered a unit via Alipexpress.
I placed an order on the 9th and only managed to receive my box on the 17th. Shipping was by DHL and was considered fast as there was a week break for the Songkran over here. Price I paid was $390SGD for the box, wifi adaptor and shipping in total. $50 cheaper then the local distributors but I would recommend those with non geeky friends to get it locally. I will get to that later.
Hardware wise. HDML cable was included but no batteries for the remote. The box and the remote feels cheap. Cheap like those China made Media TV boxes. Not necessary a bad thing but at this price point I was thinking it should be better. Let's say we deduct the subscription and shipping cost. The hardware will be around $200. So 200 for such hardware is a bit errrmmmm.
Video quality? Streaming was good on my fibre connection here in Maesai. Both Wired and Wifi - N tested. 1080p HD quality for most channels and some even have Ultraclear which I find streams very well. I have tested the device over various time and it does hangs once in a blue moon. Quite normal for IPTVs boxes. There is a refresh button on the remote so just hit that and it will resync again. Not occasionally but for certain channels do get it more often than others. Live streaming of soccer was good over here though but as usual like Mio TV, there will be a slight delay compare to real cable broadcast. The new box also provides 7 days playback functionality and Video on Demand which I find it to be very useful. Basically you can watch any shows you had missed within a 7 day period. Video on Demand library is pretty awesome. G.O.T, Battlestar and tons of Cantonese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Japanese dramas are available. Movies are updated frequently. The kids watched a few cartoons on the box already. Frozen was one of them :P. The software interface is responsive and fast compared to bloody starhub cable box. It came default in Chinese though and even though you changed the interface language to English, mos of the show listings will be in their native language. Even for the titles in V.O.D are in Chinese for English drama. Like those found in latest media player, firmware can be upgraded so I guess there will be improvements coming up. The device also has an additional usb port for HDD so it can be used as a media player box too. I have not tried that portion as the online content is more important and comprehensive for me.
For a full channel list, check it out here. Last count was 366.
Installation was a breeze for wired connection. Just plug an Ethernet cable (provided too) to your router, HDMI to the TV and power adaptor you're ready to go. Once powered on, it will prompt you for activation or renewal. I contacted the seller to activate the box for me. Yes, it's via subscription and the 1st year subscription is included in the package. The chap was online and it only took a 5 mins wait to get it activated. Renewal is on offer at $100 SGD at the moment but according to the site, the usual price should be $140. My advice is to just use it till it expires and renew afterwards. Yes it might be more expensive later but what if they go bust? So ignore the subscription till it ends. Wireless however was a pain in the ass for me. 1st was the USB port issue which I managed to solved quickly. Then I couldn't connect to my WPA enabled Wifi even after I entered my passphrase correctly numerous time. I thought it was due to the port but it could detect my home's SSID so I guess its the encryption portion. In the end. I created another SSID with no WPS and serve as a single guest account on my router and it worked fine after that. Not exactly secure but at least it works for the moment.
IPTV is relatively new. Content providers are still willing to provide content to these newcomers as they still pay their license fee and yes, it's legal. Beware if there are no subscription fees at all. But data carriers like Starhub and Singtel might easily sabotage these newcomers by putting a QOS on such servers. Not likely to happen in Thailand but not too sure about SG. If lotsa people buy this box then we might see it happen.
Overall conclusion is if you want EPL/Soccer, HBO, Discovery Channels and other major news English channel, this box has it all. Video Quality is great. Installation is a hassle for Wi-fi (for me) but otherwise not a major issue. Would I recommend it? Yes I would if you really enjoy watching cable TV and do not want to pay too much for all the channels. Especially the sports one. But not highly recommend it as the initial cost of getting the box is high. Even worse is that the box and remote is pretty cheaply build externally and whether it will last more than 3 or 4 years is an issue. If the entry price is not more than $300 then I would highly recommend it.
A short trip back - 2014
The long break for schools in Thailand starts from March till the 1st week of May. That is for the majority of public schools in Thailand. I took the family back to Singapore to visit my sis and mum again. We hit the road on 29th March and returned on the 7th.
This trip to SG was mostly unplanned. Plainly just to let the kids to spend some quality time with grandma and aunt. The road trip started with a Sam Law (Tuk Tuk) trip to the Maesai bus station. From there, we took the bus to Chiang Mai. Then we switched to a Sawng Tiao (Red Pickup truck taxi) to the airport and flew out via Silkair. It was hectic but actually quite fun as the kids get to try different sorts of transport in a single day. Over in SG, we spent most of the time at their aunt's home. We did however, revisited the Sentosa Watercove Park and Jurong Bird Park.
This round, we flew out from Chiang Mai instead of Bangkok like last year and due to financial constrains. We didn't even stay in Chiang Mai when we returned from Singapore. Normally, we would stay a few days either in Bangkok or Chiang Mai after our return from Singapore but we didn't. We just took a taxi straight back to Maesai and actually for this trip, we aren't as tired as it used to be.
It might be due to the kids are older so its now as daunting as it used to be.
This trip to SG was mostly unplanned. Plainly just to let the kids to spend some quality time with grandma and aunt. The road trip started with a Sam Law (Tuk Tuk) trip to the Maesai bus station. From there, we took the bus to Chiang Mai. Then we switched to a Sawng Tiao (Red Pickup truck taxi) to the airport and flew out via Silkair. It was hectic but actually quite fun as the kids get to try different sorts of transport in a single day. Over in SG, we spent most of the time at their aunt's home. We did however, revisited the Sentosa Watercove Park and Jurong Bird Park.
My sister also took some leave from her busy work schedule and brought the kids to a toy store and they bought another set of LEGOs. So they are pretty occupied at her flat.
Overall, I didn't get to meet up with friends on this journey. I will be returning to SG again in early July. Reason? Bloody reservist again.
Seasons - 4 sunsets with different moods.
I think I had not posted any photography related posts for quite some time. The main reason is that I had not much of ideas lately and I can't find any outstanding photos to share with lately. I had an artistic inspiration recently and here is the result.
The idea was to shoot a particular sunset with multiple shots and see if I could photoshopped later to have totally different moods and feelings.
Here are the 4 shots. You can click on them to see a bigger version. The 4 shots are titled
Spring - 春
Summer - 夏
Autumn - 秋
Winter - 冬
Which one do your prefer? And yes, all shots were taken on the same day at a slightly different location. I took some time to scout around my area.
The idea was to shoot a particular sunset with multiple shots and see if I could photoshopped later to have totally different moods and feelings.
Here are the 4 shots. You can click on them to see a bigger version. The 4 shots are titled
Spring - 春
Summer - 夏
Autumn - 秋
Winter - 冬
I saw this coming almost 8 years ago.
I woke up this morning and was reading the news online when I saw this on BBC.
Singapore has topped 131 cities globally to become the world's most expensive city to live in 2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821
I'm not surprised at this announcement at all but I just recalled the time when my girl was just born in 2006. I was thinking about the option I can provide for my girl and my wife if I was to choose to bring them back to Singapore. I guess I made the correct decision then. Again, I'm not dissing Singapore being expensive or whatsoever. To certain people (those rich ones :P), it's still a fantastic city to be in. And I would easily choose Singapore over Bangkok if it's the only choices I can make.
Frankly if I was to bring them back to Singapore then, Boy boy won't be around as I sincerely don't think I can afford to have another kid as a sole bread winner. Missus can't speak English and it will be tough for her to get a job which means our income will be limited.
In short, wages have been stagnant since 2000 while the city moved on at a ridiculous pace without allowing us, the majority middle income group to catch up. And this to me, is not growth of a country but a perversion of growth and wealth among the top earners/leaders in the country. What's even worst then this is the majority of Singaporeans still have not waken up from their dream that it's not the fault of gahment policies. Sad.
Singapore has topped 131 cities globally to become the world's most expensive city to live in 2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26412821
I'm not surprised at this announcement at all but I just recalled the time when my girl was just born in 2006. I was thinking about the option I can provide for my girl and my wife if I was to choose to bring them back to Singapore. I guess I made the correct decision then. Again, I'm not dissing Singapore being expensive or whatsoever. To certain people (those rich ones :P), it's still a fantastic city to be in. And I would easily choose Singapore over Bangkok if it's the only choices I can make.
Frankly if I was to bring them back to Singapore then, Boy boy won't be around as I sincerely don't think I can afford to have another kid as a sole bread winner. Missus can't speak English and it will be tough for her to get a job which means our income will be limited.
In short, wages have been stagnant since 2000 while the city moved on at a ridiculous pace without allowing us, the majority middle income group to catch up. And this to me, is not growth of a country but a perversion of growth and wealth among the top earners/leaders in the country. What's even worst then this is the majority of Singaporeans still have not waken up from their dream that it's not the fault of gahment policies. Sad.
Dream Camera? - Sony A7R
Enough about meself. This post is about another camera (Yes, camera again... booorrrinng) that I recently accquired while I was back in Singapore. The new Full -frame (35mm) Sony Alpha 7 R. I got it at a special price from James of Lobangking.com.
The camera was released in late 2013 and I knew I would replacing it with my Nex-7. I want Full Frame. Period. I am so used to taking film and getting the FOV of a true 35mm lens while I am shooting so it was a no brainer. My initial choice was the normal 7 version. Not the R version as I think 24Mp should be more than enough for me. But when I learnt about the price of A7R that I would be paying for. I jumped for it. 36MP is nothing much but NO AA filter. That I am interested.
I have worked with digital medium format files before and all of them do not have an AA filter on their sensors. The files are sharp and crisp and very very malleable for post processing. My conclusion comes to the same after shooting with my A7R for a month. It's image quality is good, very very close and to me personally, surpassed MF film in resolutions and details. Some may argue that MF film can resolve better if I use drum scan. Maybe? But I have no luxuries of drum scanning in Thailand so I guess for me, this little camera is an ultimate landscape camera for me. For shooting portraits of my family, it's a bit sharp and I need to reduce the sharpness in LR before printing them. All the pores and scars can come out especially if I used the 135mm Sonnar.
There are some nitpicks of course. Battery life sucks, Loud thunderous shutter. These I can live with as I am not that trigger happy and I have enough spare batteries around. Shutter is not a major concern, I am used to loud mirror slaps of my Hassy last time and I don't really shoot in quiet places. The major dislike is there is no in built image stabalizer (AS) like the Olympus and the old Alpha DSLR used to have. I am so used to AS on my a900 so I found a lot of shaky shots on my A7R. Still usable but it just could be better.
Dream camera? Not really but quite close ... almost there.. :)
1st post of 2014!
I'm back!! Literally in Singapore for a few weeks before I travel back again. It's the usual 3 months routine to come back and clear some backlog stuff over here in Sillypore.
I broke my own tradition of not writing a last post in Dec 2013. I actually had a draft but I decided not to publish it as its a bit wee sensitive at the moment. For those dying to know, it's about my views on the recent protests in Thailand. Maybe when all the dust settles and if I feel like it I will relook at that entry and publish it.
I also received an email from TOC, asking me for permission to republish some of my future posts. I'm a bit honored actually. I'm just a Sillyporean in Thailand, minding my own business and blogging about my life there. Wonder who will be interested in such a boring guy anyway.
The web is a very funny thing as blogging is no longer the "in" thing nowadays. I wonder who still read full length blogs nowadays. I do but I think I'm the few rare ones. Tweeting (Twitter) and short messages such as status updates in G+ and facebook are much more common nowadays. So that's what I have been experimenting recently for the pass few months. Posting more status updates on facebook rather than writing something here (ok, it's an excuse, I'm just plain lazy. :P)
Anyway, for those who are really interested inspying following me. I have activated the followers in Facebook. So feel free to "follow" me instead of sending me friend's request (I only add those whom I know personally :) )
Thanks for reading and I will be writing soon since. Singapore got new things to see leh.. A new Expressway and DT line. Must explore.
I broke my own tradition of not writing a last post in Dec 2013. I actually had a draft but I decided not to publish it as its a bit wee sensitive at the moment. For those dying to know, it's about my views on the recent protests in Thailand. Maybe when all the dust settles and if I feel like it I will relook at that entry and publish it.
I also received an email from TOC, asking me for permission to republish some of my future posts. I'm a bit honored actually. I'm just a Sillyporean in Thailand, minding my own business and blogging about my life there. Wonder who will be interested in such a boring guy anyway.
The web is a very funny thing as blogging is no longer the "in" thing nowadays. I wonder who still read full length blogs nowadays. I do but I think I'm the few rare ones. Tweeting (Twitter) and short messages such as status updates in G+ and facebook are much more common nowadays. So that's what I have been experimenting recently for the pass few months. Posting more status updates on facebook rather than writing something here (ok, it's an excuse, I'm just plain lazy. :P)
Anyway, for those who are really interested in
Thanks for reading and I will be writing soon since. Singapore got new things to see leh.. A new Expressway and DT line. Must explore.
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