Archive for the ‘Lumix’ Category

Holiday greetings: Happy Lunar New Year 2016

Monday, February 8th, 2016

Happy New Year to all the people from cultures that celebrate this traditional festival! And to all Chinese around the world, Happy Chinese New Year!

A photo posted by John Tan (@tech4tea) on

It’s Chinese New Year today and the beginning of the Monkey year in the Chinese Zodiac. Happy Chinese New Year!

It’s the first day of the Lunar New Year. This year, it’s the year of the Monkey, according to the Chinese zodiac.

We took the photo when our family visited Jigokudani in Nagano back in 2008 to see the unique Snow Monkeys that indulge in the natural hotsprings there amidst the Winter snow.

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COMEX 2012 (30 Aug – 2 Sep) at Suntec Singapore

Sunday, August 26th, 2012

This Thursday, the third of four large annual IT exhibitions in Singapore will kick off at Suntec Singapore. For four days from 30 August to 2 September, the COMEX will open from 12 noon to 9 pm (Admission FREE).

COMEX 2012, 30 August to 2 September, 12 noon to 9pm, Levels 3, 4 and 6. Admission FREE.

COMEX 2012, 30 August to 2 September, 12 noon to 9pm, Levels 3, 4 and 6. Admission FREE.

COMEX 2012 will be held on three Levels – 3, 4 and 6 of Suntec Singapore. With more than 830 exhibitors, COMEX claims to be Singapore’s biggest IT and consumer technology exhibition.

I will be listing some of the promotions available during the exhibition. To see a consolidated list of postings related to COMEX 2012, click here.

You can also click on the COMEX 2012 button (that looks like the logo above, on every page of tech4tea.com during COMEX 2012) near the top of the sidebar on the right and below the search box.

Here are the floor plans for the exhibitors on Levels 4 and 6.

The four major IT exhibitions in Singapore are:

Exhibition Dates Venue
IT Show 2012 8-11 Mar Suntec Singapore
PC Show 2012 7-10 Jun Suntec Singapore
COMEX 2012 30 Aug – 2 Sep Suntec Singapore
SITEX 2012 22-25 Nov Singapore Expo

Happy Father’s Day

Sunday, June 17th, 2012

Yay, it’s Father’s Day today! To all fellow fathers out there – Happy Father’s Day!

DIY ice-cream for Father’s Day. Photo taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 using “Cute Dessert” Scene Mode.

DIY ice-cream for Father’s Day. Photo taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF5 using “Cute Dessert” Scene Mode.

And for those looking to do something different for your father or the father of your children, here’s something you can try – especially if he’s allergic to dairy products or diabetic.

Delicious & healthy! No post-processing on the photo except cropping and resizing. I’m impressed with the sharp focus (despite being hand-held) and vibrant colours.

Delicious & healthy! No post-processing on the photo except cropping and resizing. I’m impressed with the sharp focus (despite being hand-held) and vibrant colours.

Thankfully I’m neither of these but it was fabulous to be served with a big dollop of this home-made ice-cream first thing in the morning of Father’s Day.

So here’s the how-to, courtesy of mamatimes.wordpress.com.

Keep a couple of bananas until the skin turns slightly black cos some netizens say they have to be really ripe. Slice them up and put them in the freezer.

You can add other fruits, like strawberries. Just toss them into the freezer. Once frozen, throw the lot into a food processor and you’re done.

What’s left is the dressing up and topping. You can add rainbow candies, grounded peanut or chocolate chips or powder. Enjoy!

New MIL camera: Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

Panasonic has launched a new Micro Four Thirds mirrorless interchangeable lens (MIL) camera.

It is available now at S$1,099 for either the single-lens or twin-lens kits (details within).

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 comes in five colours: Black, White, Red, Brown, and Gold (limited edition).

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 comes in five colours: Black, White, Red, Brown, and Gold (limited edition).

The LUMIX DMC-GF5 is the latest member of the LUMIX G Micro System.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 remains compact despite having a built-in pop-up flash.

The GF5 remains compact despite having a built-in pop-up flash.

As an MIL camera, it marries the image quality and lens-changing flexibility of DSLRs with the compactness of point-and-shoot cameras.

The DMC-GF5 includes a built-in flash, 12.1-megapixel High Sensitivity Live MOS sensor and an improved Venus Engine for image processing.

Maximum ISO settings reach a maximum of 12,800.

The DMC-GF5 has a 920,000 dots, 3-inch touch display, which allows the user to choose where to focus and to release the shutter upon focus.

When powered off, the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5X is compact enough to fit in the trousers pocket.

Compact enough to fit in the trousers pocket.

Touch zoom is also available simply by mounting the LUMIX G X Power Zoom Lens (H-PS14042 lens or H-PS45175).

The DMC-GF5 uses Contrast Auto-Focus (AF) to capture and lock on to fast-moving subjects within 0.9 seconds.

There are 23 scene modes with pre-canned settings for various photographic situations.

A Creative Control mode increases filter options to 14 from 6 in the DMC-GF3.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 has a 920,000 dots, 3-inch touch display.

The GF5 has a 920k dots, 3-inch touch display.

The new filters are: Soft Focus, Dynamic Monochrome, Impressive Art, One Point Color, Cross Process, Low Key, Toy Effect and Star Filter.

The existing six filters are the conventional Expressive, Retro, High Key, Sepia, High Dynamic, and Miniature Effect filters.

A dedicated video record button records 1920 x 1080 Full HD video with stereo sound, in either AVCHD or MP4 format.

The DMC-GF5’s Intelligent Auto (iA) mode includes AF Tracking, Face Recognition, Intelligent D-range Control, Scene Selector and ISO Control.

Nice muscular design in the Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5.

Nice muscular design in the GF5.

iA Plus mode adjusts exposure compensation and white balance for superior image output.

A newly added angle detection sensor makes it possible to tell whether the photo was taken horizontally or vertically, whatever lens is used.

The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF5 is available now and is priced at S$1,099 for either of two kits:

  • GF5X: Body with 14-42mm LUMIX G X lens
  • GF5W: Body with 14mm F2.5 pancake lens, and 14-42mm standard kit lens

Note: the Micro Four Thirds lens has a crop factor of 2, so a 14-42mm lens has a 35mm equivalent focal length range of 28-84mm.

Lumix compact cameras: Spring/Summer 2012 line-up

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

Panasonic has a line-up of 10 new Lumix compacts comprising 4 from the High Zoom series, 2 from the Tough and Active series, and 4 from the Stylish Casual series. Prices are yet to be announced but they will be available in April.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ30 pays a visit to the Mont Saint-Michel.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-TZ30 pays a visit to the Mont Saint-Michel.

The slew of 10 new models features optical zoom LEICA DC lens starting from ultra wide angles, ultra-thin aspherical lens system. as well as nano surface coating technology for superior image quality.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-SZ1, SZ7, TZ25 and TZ30 from the High Zoom series.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-SZ1, SZ7, TZ25 and TZ30 from the High Zoom series.

4 new High Zoom LUMIX cameras

The four new travel companions comprises the LUMIX DMC-TZ30 (14.1 MP) and TZ25 (12.1 MP), as well as the slimmer LUMIX DMC-SZ1 (16.1 MP) and SZ7 (14.1 MP).

The TZ30 comes with a powerful 20x optical zoom and an upgraded built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) for the avid traveller.

Starting from a wide angle of 24mm to the maximum zoom at 480mm, the TZ30 sports a 20x optical zoom LEICA DC lens, up from 16x in its predecessor.

The GPS allows geo-tagging for photos taken in 203 countries.

The DMC-SZ7 has a 14.1-megapixel MOS sensor with full-HD video recording while the DMC-SZ1 has a 16.1-megapixel CCD sensor and HD?? video recording.

The more modest 10x optical zoom starts from a wide angle of 25mm and zooms to 250mm.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT4 and FT20 from the Tough and Active series.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FT4 and FT20 from the Tough and Active series.

2 new Tough and Active LUMIX cameras

For the more adventurous photographers with a more active lifestyle, there is the LUMIX DMC-FT4 (12.1 MP) and FT20 (16.1 MP).

The all-weather DMC-FT4 is fully protected against water immersion (up to 12m), dust and sand, as it is strengthened with inner rubber padding and reinforced glass.

It is also freeze-proof, enduring temperatures down to -10 degree Celsius.

With shock-resistant material on the exterior and folded optics and supplementary dampener to protect its lens unit, the FT4 is dust-proof up to a height of 2 metres

The FT4 is also equipped with a built-in GPS.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FH6, FH8, FX80 and S2 from the Stylish Casual series.

Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FH6, FH8, FX80 and S2 from the Stylish Casual series.

4 new Stylish Casual LUMIX cameras

For casual users looking for a stylish and compact shooter, there is the LUMIX DMC-FH6 (14.1 MP), FH8 (16.1 MP), FX80 (12.1 MP) and S2 (14.1 MP).

The DMC-FX80, DMC-FH8 and DMC-FH6 are all slim, because of the LEICA DC Vario-Summarit lens rated at F2.5.

The 5x optical zoom ranges from 24mm ultra wide-angle to 120mm.

The DMC-FH8, DMC-FH6, and DMC-S2 are capable of recording dynamic HD video in 1280 x 720 p at a smooth 25p (PAL) in MP4 (FH8) or Motion JPEG (FH6).

The DMC-FX80 is capable of full-HD recording at 1920 x 1080 50i (PAL) videos in AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format.