It’s studio shoot day today for a slew of new gadgets.
From Left: Huawei MatePad 11 (2023) with Smart Keyboard and M-Pencil, Huawei Watch Buds, and Huawei Mate X3.
First off the block is the Huawei Mate X3, Huawei Watch Buds and Huawei MatePad 11 (2023), seen in this photo.
Also shot today is the Acer Swift Go 14; the Sony Xperia 5 IV; the PRISM+ Q75 Ultra; the Dell Pro Webcam; and the Belkin power bank cum wireless charger for Apple Watch.
Stay tuned for reviews.
Sony launched its 2022 Bravia XR TVs with Mini LED in Singapore at the ArtScience Museum. Here are highlights of the 2022 Bravia XR Lineup.
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The new Bravia XR television series from Sony Electronics includes the MASTER Series A90K and A80K 4K OLED models, the X95K 4K Mini LED model and X90K 4K LED model.
The models and price & availability of the 2022 Bravia XR TVs in Singapore can be found here.
Key highlights of the 2022 Sony Bravia XR Lineup include the following.
More details below from the press release.
The 2022 lineup that Sony Electronics is introducing for its Bravia XR televisions features XR Backlight Master Drive Technology for the new Mini LED models. Price & Availability below.
The new Bravia XR television series from Sony Electronics includes the MASTER Series A90K and A80K 4K OLED models, the X95K 4K Mini LED model and X90K 4K LED model.
Powered by Cognitive Processor XR, the XR Backlight Master Drive precisely controls the latest generation Mini LED backlight in the X95K series for “incredible” brightness.
“Sony is committed to offering the best viewing experience possible, no matter the at-home environment or content selection. With best-in-class picture and sound quality, our new TVs enhance any on-screen streaming and gaming content to create a powerfully immersive big-screen experience,” said Melvin Pang, Head, Field Marketing Division, Sony South East Asia.
Sony boasts that the new technology allows viewers to “enjoy an unprecedented dynamic range with incredibly dazzling lights and deep blacks, as well as beautifully natural mid tones with almost no flare or halos around highlights”.
When watching movies, viewers can experience our enhanced Acoustic Surface Audio+ for OLED models and Acoustic Multi-Audio for LED models, precisely matching the position of the sound with the images on the screen for a truly immersive audio/visual experience.
The lineup also includes new features that customise and enhance at-home entertainment.
Together with Netflix, Sony has released Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode, which automatically adjusts image processing based on ambient light, so users’ favourite shows and films look like the creator intended, under any lighting conditions.
More details below from the press release.
tech4xmas: If you’re looking for an affordable pair of earbuds with good sound quality that’s synonymous with Sony, the no-frills WF-C500 true wireless earbuds will make a good Christmas gift.
The Sony WF-C500 earbuds offers good audio quality at an affordable price.
The WF-C500 offers good value-for-money in terms of sound quality but at the expense of features that are found in other earbuds of similar price range or higher.
At an affordable S$139, the WF-C500 has had to forego frills like noise cancellation, transparency mode, wireless charging and automatic pausing when you remove one or both earbuds.
The earbuds are IPX4 rated so they’re splash resistant.
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Freshly unboxed Sony WF-C500 True Wireless Earbuds.
Battery life is reasonable at 10 hours with full charge, plus an additional 10 hours from the pill-shaped charging case.
This is plenty long for me although it’s common for charging cases to provide twice the full charge of their earbuds.
I like that a quick charge of 10 minutes gave me a full hour of mileage.
Sony has announced the new Alpha 7IV (available in Dec 2021) with 33-megapixel full-frame sensor, as well as two new flashes (late Nov 2021): HVL-F60RM2 and HVL-f46RM. Prices TBA.
Sony positions the Alpha 7 IV as the “perfect all-around camera for today’s imaging enthusiasts and professionals who shoot all scenarios”.
The new Alpha 7 IV (model ILCE-7M4) features many of Sony’s imaging technologies including the latest BIONZ XR processing engine and AF (autofocus) capabilities based on the flagship Alpha 1 model, combined with streamlined operability and enhanced reliability for photos and movies.
The newly developed 33MP full-frame back-illuminated Exmor CMOS image sensor offers good image quality and Wide ISO sensitivity range expandable to ISO 50-204800.
Key specifications of the Sony Alpha 7 IV. Click to enlarge. Full specs here.
The latest processing engine BIONZ XR used in the flagship Alpha 1 delivers high-speed AF, uninterrupted continuous shooting at 10fps with AF/AE tracking and a large buffer for a smooth shooting experience.
This year’s contest will see a new videography category being introduced to celebrate more diverse perspectives across the country. This year’s theme is “Our World In Colour”.
Sony’s annual Alpha Creators contest is back for its fourth edition this year.
Boasting both a photo and video contest for the first time, content creators are being invited to capture and celebrate the beauty and vibrancy of Singapore, especially after a year of extraordinary change in 2020.
Sony’s latest wireless speakers feature spatial sound technologies for ambient room-filling sound with Immersive Audio Enhancement and 360 Reality Audio. Price and Availability below.
Sony SRS-RA5000 (left) and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers.
Both premium speakers sports sound calibration to provide adjustment for optimum audio performance based on the environment.
I attended a preview-cum-demo at Sony’s store at Wisma Atria in Singapore and enjoyed the room-filling audio from both the new speakers.
Both the SRS-RA5000 (S$849) and the SRS-RA3000 (S$449) are now available in Singapore at Sony Stores and Sony Store Online.
More details below from the press release.
The Sony Xperia 5 II (S$1,349) is the most compact Xperia to date and focuses on photography, gaming and entertainment. Available in Singapore on 12 November, with pre-orders from 16 October with free gifts.
Xperia 5 II includes Photography Pro with technology from Alpha series cameras for fast and accurate AF/AE, Cinematography Pro “powered by CineAlta” for similar parameters and colour settings as professional filmmakers and a 21:9 CinemaWide display for viewing pleasure.
The Xperia 5 II features a fast camera with technology from Sony’s Alpha series cameras, including Real-time Eye AF for humans and animals for portraits, and up to 20 fps burst shooting with continuous Autofocus that performs AF / AE calculations at 60 times per second.
The Xperia 5 II (S$1,349) with Android 10 will be available in Black, Blue and Pink on 12 November.
Back Covers are available in Black, Blue and Pink to match the corresponding colour of the Xperia 5 II.
Pre-orders begin on 16 October with free gifts – WH-910N wireless noise cancelling headphones and Xperia Gadget Organiser.
Sony boasts that the Xperia 5 II will be the first in the world to offer 4K HDR 120fps slow-motion movie recording in a smartphone – it can capture and playback up to 5x slow-motion when recorded at 24fps.
Its immersive 21:9 CinemaWide 6.1” FHD+ HDR OLED display offers colour accuracy with Creator mode “powered by CineAlta”.
The phone is built for gaming with 120Hz Refresh rate display and 240Hz Motion blur reduction for smooth action, plus 240Hz Touch scanning rate and Touch response improvements by around 35% compared to previous model (Xperia 5) for accurate and quick gaming.
The Xperia 5 II has a 4,000mAh battery with fast charging.
Sony Electronics introduces the Alpha 7C fullframe camera, the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 zoom lens and HVL-F28RM compact flash. Prices TBA.
The new Sony Alpha 7C fullframe camera with the FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 zoom lens.
Sony boasts that the Alpha 7C is the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame body, featuring advanced AF (autofocus) and high-resolution 4K video capabilities.
The Alpha 7C camera (model ILCE-7C), FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 lens (model SEL2860) and HVL-F28RM flash will be available at Sony Stores, Sony Centres, Sony’s flagship on Lazada and authorised dealers from October 2020, January 2021 and November 2020 respectively.
When paired with the compact FE 28-60mm F4-5.6 standard zoom lens, it enables portability and versatility for full-frame imaging.
The HVL-F28RM flash is compact and features an intelligent light intensity control linked to camera face detection.
More details below from the press release.
Initially launched in February this year, the 4K camcorder has just debuted in Singapore. The FDR-AX43 is now available on Sony’s online store at S$1,699.
Sony FDR-AX43 Compact 4K Ultra HD Handycam Camcorder for bloggers
The FDR-AX43 was developed for content creators and vloggers looking to produce footage that’s of better quality than that from a smartphone.
Overall the Sony FDR-AX43 is an excellent camcorder for vlogger looking to improve video quality beyond that of a smartphone and desires an in-built gimbal for more professional footage, with good sound recording thrown in.
The camcorder is the newest member of a line-up that includes the AX33 and AX53, with its main addition being an in-built gimbal mechanism and its Balanced Optical SteadyShot technology for capturing smooth, natural and high-quality video footage.
So instead of purchasing and lugging around an external gimbal setup, it was a pleasure just using the compact FDR-AX43 during shooting.
When sitting down or just standing still, the footage came out totally free of shake.
The flip-screen of the Sony FDR-AX43 can be rotated 180 degrees for taking selfies.
But it’s when you’re walking (or even slightly jogging) that the embedded gimbal does its magic, producing smooth footage that doesn’t look like an amateur Blair Witch Project.
