Here are some cheerful cupcakes to light up your day.
Take your pick of favourite vibes from these cheerful cupcakes. Photo taken with an Olympus E-450 with Zuiko Digital 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens. Photo credit: John Tan.
Got a box of these cheery cupcakes during the launch of the BlackBerry Q5 smartphone in Singapore some 2 weeks back.
Have been saving this snapshot to cheer up the day.
The last place you’d expect to go on an African Safari would be on a mountain on the outskirts of Beppu in Japan – as chilly winds and light snow ushered in the winter.
Different types of food was provided for feeding different types of animals.
In every family holiday, you’ve got to dedicate part of the itinerary to the kids.
Handfeeding a black bear with tongs.
So we decided to check out this African Safari theme park half-an-hour’s drive from Beppu in Japan.
It’s actually the Kyushu Natural Zoological Park, with more than 1,300 animals of 70 different species, spread over some 115 ha of rolling mountain plains.
You can self-drive your car or take the bus. We took the latter because that came with the opportunity to hand-feed (or tong-feed) the animals up close from within the bus.
There’s no question this lion prefers the bigger morsel holding the tongs with the tiny morsel.
You can still drive your own car along the same route as the bus after the bus tour, but we didn’t have time to linger, and had to give the rest of the theme park – which included a petting area for tamer animals – a miss too.
I did harbour fantasies of patting this lion on the head until he convinced me that although he may bear a slight resemblance to my golden retriever at home, he is anything but.
This was meant to be a treat for the kids, who love animals.
Back to more docile animals.
But it turned out great for the parents too, as we’ve never had the chance to feed wild animals this up close before.
Here’s a smiley camel.
Perhaps it’s time for a real safari?
Not sure if these Cheetahs appreciate the impending cold season – all huddled up like. Photo taken through the grills of the safari bus.
* The photos in this article were taken with a Nikon D800 and Olympus E450 SLR.
The elephant’s trunk is actually rather dexterous.
Always thought that the proper attire for an African Safari were khaki shorts, not wrapped up in winter wear like this.
This bully of an adult giraffe kept butting the other giraffes away to hog the food.
So we decided that there was a 2-week window to grab a quick break. But that’s like one-week away. Is it possible to plan the usual DIY self-drive holiday at such short notice?
Aerial view of Fukuoka, our gateway to Kyushu.
The answer is yes, with the advent of the Internet. Here’s a recap of what I did for my own holiday.
Cutting it close
I booked the air tickets the day we decided to go for the break, the car rental the next day, 3 hotels on the third day, and the remaining 3 on the fourth day.
The remaining days were spent planning the itinerary for each stop.
It’s as close to the date of departure as I’ve ever tried going on a self-planned, self-drive vacation.
First the obvious, decide how long you’ve got and where you want to go. In my case, we’ve long wanted to visit Kyushu in Japan, and the window of opportunity available was roughly two weeks.
If you’re thinking of visiting Japan, I recommend this site called japan-guide.com. It has comprehensive descriptions of popular tourist spots all over Japan, as well as travel tips for Japan.
Even more useful is its forum where vacation planners get their queries answered in detail with advice from a community of fellow travelers, as well as useful links to resources – such as timetables, rates etc – outside of the website.
Next book the air tickets. The availability and price of last-minute tickets usually determine whether your vacation destination will become a reality.
Cameras of choice
For this vacation, I’m entrusting our memories to the Nikon D800, with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED and the AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II lenses.
That’s almost 4 kg of camera gear but for the sake of image quality, I believe the 36.3-megapixel full-frame camera and two FX lenses from Nikon are worth every ounce of their weight.
Besides, we have the rental car to carry the gear between sights.
For a second camera, my wife will be carrying our trusty Olympus E450 with the ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens.
I use Zuji.com to get a feel of the airlines plying Singapore and the possible stops and the price range, then if there’s time, check competing sites or the airline’s website for better rates.
For Kyushu, it was pretty straightforward, only Singapore Airlines fly directly there from Singapore – to Fukuoka. It’s straightforward until you hit the SIA website. For a premier airline, it sure has a terrible website for bookings and reservations – plenty of long waits.
Next is the car rental. I use ToCoo car rental. It helps you check the rates for multiple car rental companies with cars available in the cities where you intend to pick up and drop off the car. But you’ve got to compare rates manually yourself.
Computing on the go
For computing, I’m bringing along the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Ultrabook, a BlackBerry PlayBook, and the Seagate 1TB Backup Plus.
The X1 Carbon is sleek in design, wonderfully thin and light, yet powerful enough for surfing Web and running Photoshop and Dreamweaver CS6 for photo-editing and blogging back in the hotel room.
The 7-inch PlayBook keeps the children entertained with game apps, and serves as an e-book reader. Its biggest bugbear is that it’s the Wi-Fi version and does not have 3G, but I don’t use 3G data in Japan anyway.
To store and back up the 40MB RAW photo files generated by the D800, I brought along the 1TB Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive. The 2.5-inch plug-and-play drive constantly backs up the hard disk and makes posting photos online a breeze.
Usually, I pick up the car at the airport, drive off to the first destination and return the car at the airport I’m flying off from. If the pick-up and drop-off locations are different, check if a surcharge is levied and how much it is.
Fuss-free music
For music in the hotel room, we’re bringing along the Jabra Solemate portable speaker. Instead of lugging stacks of CDs around, simply download your favourite tracks onto an SD card and plug it into the Solemate.
What I like most is we can play our song collections and playlists wirelessly from our smartphones, tablet and Ultrabook via Bluetooth. It’s portable, easy to use and the sound quality is superb.
Finally, book the hotels. I know some Japanese so I used to browse Japanese booking websites and hotel websites directly, calling them on the phone for enquiries and reservations.
This time round, I discovered that my favourite accomodation-booking website for Europe holidays – booking.com – now has quite extensive list of hotels in Japan. Enough to find hotels that fit your budget in most places in Japan.
I like booking.com because of its clear information and easy booking. So even if you don’t know ANY japanese, you can still find and book accommodation easily.
Smartphones
We don’t use smartphones an awful lot, but for the record, we’re bringing along the Android Sony Xperia ion and an aging iPhone 3GS.
I’ve left the Nokia Lumia 900 at home because Nokia maps does not have the navigation map for Japan, and I’m renting an English GPS with the car anyway.
Another website that I tried last year – hotels.com – seems to be only beginning to move into Japan, with poor selection and high prices. I’m hoping there coverage and pricing will improve over time.
Once you’ve gotten the flight, car and hotel bookings out of the way, what remains is the physical packing for the big day.
Olympus will be at SITEX 2012 at Hall 4B, Booth 4C10 in the Singapore EXPO.
Click to view or download Olympus promotions for SITEX 2012. (Caution: 7MB PDF file with 20 page-flyer booklet)
Check out Olympus promotions for its range of cameras.
S$150 discount and freebies for its (super-)Tough TG-320 (S$198 UP. S$348), which is both waterproof (3m) and shockproof (1.5m).
Olympus WS-813 voice recorder. “Best Karaoke Companion” with 2,043 hours (LP mode)
Or get S$267 worth of discounts and freebies with an Olympus XZ-1 (S$498 UP. S$748) compact camera that comes with an F1.8 bright lens is still alluring.
For those moving beyond compact cameras, enjoy up to S$600 of discounts and bundled gifts for the retro PEN mini E-PM1 (S$498) and PEN E-P3 (S$998-S$1,298) mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras.
Olympus also sells voice recorders and very fashionable accessories for its cameras.
Check out the new Olympus LS-14 (S$398) and WS-813 (S$238) voice recorders.
Olympus has released the Recommended Retail Prices for the new Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 for Singapore. Two options are available – a Single Lens Kit (S$1,098) and a Double Zoom Kit (S$1,348).
The Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 body comes in Black, White, or Silver and comes with either a single lens or two lenses.
The micro four thirds mirrorless interchangeable lens PEN Lite E-PL5 was first announced at Photokina 2012 in Cologne in mid September, together with the STYUS XZ-2 flagship camera (RRP to be announced later).
The RRP kit options for the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 are listed below:
Option 2: Double Zoom Kit (S$1,348)
Olympus has unveiled two new cameras and three new lenses for Photokina 2012 (18-23 September). At the same time, it is consolidating all its compact cameras under the new STYLUS branding.
None of the pricing is available yet.
The Recommended Retail Price of the Olympus PEN Lite E-PL5 has just been announced.
Option 1: Single Lens Kit (S$1,098)
Option 2: Double Zoom Kit (S$1,348)
The new Olympus STYLUS XZ-2 with its selection of accessories. The PEN Lite E-PL5 has its own set of chic accessories.
Photokina 2012 begins tomorrow and ends on Sunday. Below is a summary of the slew of cameras and lenses that Olympus has lined up for the biennial trade show in Cologne, Germany.
| PEN Lite E-PL5 micro four thirds MIL camera |
|---|
 Skipping the inauspicious number “4” in the Japanese language, Olympus introduces the E-PL5, the successor to the E-PL3.Available in October 2012 in Silver, Black or White.
Features:
|
| STYLUS XZ-2 compact camera |
 The first member of the new STYLUS line, the XZ-2 is the successor to my favourite compact, the XZ-1.As the latest member of the STYLUS X series, the XZ-2 will be the flagship of the Olympus compact cameras.Available in November 2012 in Black.Features:
|
| M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 Limited Edition Black Kit Lens |
 This lens will have a limited worldwide release of 3,000 sets, with 50 allocated to Singapore.Available in early October 2012.Features:
|
| M.Zuiko DIGITAL 17mm f1.8 Lens |
 With product launch scheduled in the first half of 2013, the detailed product specifications are not determined yet.It will have the same snapshot focusing mechanism from the M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 12mm f2.0 lens.It will also feature the MSC (Movie & Still Compatible) mechanism for fast, quiet autofocusing. |
| M.Zuiko DIGITAL ED 60mm f2.8 Macro Lens |
 This lens promises high resolution and contrast, as well as the ability to shoot close-up with 1x magnification.MSC mechanism for fast, quiet autofocusing.Dust and splash proof construction for secure shooting under poor conditions.Enhanced control with focus limit switch and indicator window.
Available from early October 2012. |
Olympus will be at COMEX 2012 at Suntec Singapore at Hall 404, Booth 8205.
Click to view or download Olympus promotions during COMEX 2012. Caution: Large file (14MB PDF).
Check out Olympus promotions for its range of cameras. S$150 discount for its (super-)Tough TG-320 that was just launched this month (at S$348). You can get now get the waterproof (3m) and shockproof (1.5m) adventure camera for S$198.
Another of my favourite is the XZ-1. It’s been around for a while now but its F1.8 bright lens is still alluring, especially with a discount of S$250 from S$748 to S$498, plus gifts worth S$175.
For those moving beyond compact cameras, check out the retro PEN-series and OM-D E-M5 mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras.
Olympus also sells voice recorders and very fashionable accessories for its cameras.
The Olympus Tough TG-320 is 3m waterproof, 1.5m shockproof and -10⁰C freezeproof for the adventurous. The 14-megapixel compact digital camera is available in blue and red in Singapore at S$348.
The Olympus Tough TG-320 is available in Singapore in blue and red for S$298.
Looking for a rugged camera that you can bring for that white-water rafting trip? Check out the Olympus Tough TG-320 digital compact camera.
| Olympus Tough TG-320 | |
| Megapixels | 14 MP |
| Optical Zoom | 3.6 x |
| Wide angle | 28mm |
| Max zoom | 100mm |
| LCD | 2.7″, 230k dots, TFT colour |
| Movie | 1280 x 720 px |
| Waterproof | 3m |
| Shockproof | 1.5m |
| Freezeproof | -10 deg Celsius |
| Flash | Built-in |
| RAW | No |
| Image stabilisation | Dual IS |
| Size /mm | 96.3 x 63.4 x 22.7 |
| Weight | 155 g |
| Price | S$348 |
It is waterproof up to a depth of 3m and shockproof against falls from up to 1.5m, with Olympus’ distinct lens barrier and a sliding double lock mechanism
To prevent picture blur due to camera shake and subject motion, the TG-320 features DUAL IS uses a CCD-shift image stabilisation mechanism and high-sensitivity image capturing, by an equivalent of up to 4 shutter speed stops.
The TG-320 records HDTV (1280 x 720 pixels) movies in MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 format.
The camera comes with 8 Magic Filters – Pop, Pin Hole, Fisheye, Sketch, Soft Focus and Punk inherited from the previous model, and the newly-added Watercolour and Sparkle.
Magic Movies recordings are available in Pop, Sketch, Fisheye, Soft Focus, Punk and Watercolour, giving them a distinct look and artistic feel.
You can shoot dynamic 3D photos in any mode from macro to landscape. You can view the 3D effect on 3D-compatible TV sets or computers.
The camera also includes a face-detecting Pet Mode and is compatible with Eye-Fi SDHC memory cards.
Available at selected POPULAR stores.
The new WS-811 (S$158) and WS-812 (S$188) incorporate newly-developed, high sensitivity, low noise directional microphones ensuring the human voice is captured in optimal stereo quality. Available now.
The new Olympus WS-811 (S$158) and WS-812 (S$188) voice recorders are available now.
The Olympus WS-811 and WS-812 promise a high signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio for pure-sounding recordings.
Olympus WS-811
The two models also allow recording levels to be set manually to ensure complete user control.
Files can be saved in mp3 or WMA format
These multi-function devices combine a stereo recorder with USB stick and mp3 player functionality.
Playback speed can be adjusted to allow for quick and easy perusal of file contents to boost efficiency.
Files can now be located more easily due to the Calendar Search function.
This allows recordings to be found via the date they were created.
Scanning through and listening to the files is also made more comfortable and fast due to playback speeds up to 3.5x quicker than normal on the WS-812 (2x speed on the WS-811).
These slender, lightweight audio recorders require only one AAA-type battery and deliver up to 27 hours of recording time (in LP mode).
Calendar search screen
The internal memories of the Olympus WS-811 (2GB) and WS-812 (4GB) can be extended with a microSD Card slot enabling up to 32GB of additional storage capacity.
An integrated USB port provides USB stick functionality and facilitate the fast and easy transfer of files directly to and from a computer, without the need for cables.
Battery life has been extended. The new sub-CPU and audio codec, power consumption is reduced by around 8% allowing 27 hours or more of recording with a single AAA-type alkaline battery.
Olympus WS-812
Additional features of the WS-812
The WS-812 incorporate CD-quality 44.1k/16bit PCM (WAV) recording.
Sound recording levels can be set manually.
Voice Playback technology distinguishes the human voice from other sounds so that non-voice portions are skipped and only those with voice are played back.
Fluctuating sound levels because of soft or loud voices, or due to people speaking from various distances from the microphone, are balanced out by the Voice Balancer function.
Recordings may also be played back using the Voice Changer feature (WS-812) that lets the frequency and playback speed of voice to be adjusted to suit individual needs and preferences.
Files can also be simply moved between folders for better organization.
Main features of the Olympus WS-811 and WS-812 are listed below.
The VN-711PC (S$98) and VN-712PC (S$128) from Olympus are now available. These new entry-level recorders come with a built-in stand and 2GB of internal memory.
The new Olympus VN-711PC (S$98) and VN-712PC (S$128) voice recorders are available now.
Olympus VN-711PC
The Olympus VN-711PC and VN-712PC are simple to operate and allows beginners and students to record messages, notes and conversations.
Large buttons make the recorders easy to operate, and the adjustable font size on the LCD means that all information is clearly seen on the screen.
Up to 99 index marks can be set to flag important places in individual recordings.
An integrated low noise microphone promises a high signal-to-noise ratio.
Files can be saved in WMA format.
The internal memory of 2GB enables up to 34 days of recording time. Up to 1,000 files can be stored across five folders.
Olympus VN-712PC
The VN-712PC has a microSD Card slot to extend storage capacity.
A new Calendar Search function has been added to help find files quickly and easily.
A dedicated file search button allows users to locate files by recording date.
In addition to WMA, recordings can be saved in MP3 format.
During playback, a Voice Filter improves the sound quality of human voice and variable playback speed control means users can make adjustments to suit their personal listening preferences.
The Scene Select function ensures optimal recordings through preset environmental settings that can be selected based upon surrounding conditions, and a low-cut filter can be invoked to further enhance recording quality.
Main features of the VN-711PC and VN-712PC are listed below.
