If I wasn't mad, this would probably never work.

SIM Eject Tool

2008-03-21T00:25:00.001+08:00

What do you open?

Hidalgo and Metro Manila Camera Shops

2008-03-20T00:21:00.000+08:00

# Aperture Trading Corporation
Address: 5th Flr., Prosperity Bldg., 395 Banaue St., Quezon City
Tel: 732-8991, 731-1708
Fax: 741-9743 (telefax)
E: aperturetrade@yahoo.com
Contact: Frank Tsai
Products: Visio, Falcon Eyes, Nikon, Canon, Tamrac, Image Tank, Compact Drive,

Avenue Photo Supply
Address: 712 R. Hidalgo St., Quiapo, Manila
Tel: 733-2761, 733-5474, 734-3307
E: avenue98@info.com.ph
Contact: Wilson Lu
Products: Quantum, Nikon, Canon, Olympus, Slik, China brand lights, Radio receivers, Bulbs, Flash bulbs, Tamron, Tiffen, Domke, Kodak, Fuji, Ilford Film, Widest range of Lighting equiptment in Hidalgo.

Fotohaus
Address: 713 R. Hidalgo St., Quiapo, Manila
Tel: 734-4471, 734-3304 to 05, 733-4565, 733-5531
Fax: 733-5528
E: fotolam@vasia.com
Contact: Lety C. Uy
Products: Nikon, Canon, Fuji, Kodak, Rechargeable batteries, Lamination equiptment, Film, Dry boxes

Henry's Photo Supply
Address: 310 P. Gomez St., Quiapo, Manila
Tel: 733-7723, 734-6198
Fax: 734-4018
E: henryscamera@yahoo.com
Contact: Henry Ong
Products: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, Assorted Studio lighting and lots of batteries

Jerry Tieng
E: jerry@photos.ph
Products: Nikon, Canon, Olympus, good source of 2nd hand Lenses.

JT Photoworld
Address: 1132 Pedro Gil St., Paco, Manila
Tel: 523-4396, 536-6590, 536-6591
Fax: 521-3621
E: inquiry@jtphotoworld.com
Contact: Jerome Tan
Products: Distributes Sigma products, Cameras and Lenses for Nikon, Canon also has Flashes.

Mayer Photo
Address: 111, 113, 115 C. Palanca St., Quiapo, Manila
Tel: 733-7598, 733-7722
Look for: Ramon Ong
Products: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Olympus, good source for high end lenses.

Watson Photo Shop
Address: 312 P. Gomez St., Quiapo, Manila
Tel: 733-7697
Look for: Philip King Tan Tang
Products: Nikon, Canon, Sony, Fuji, Sunpak, Olympus

Updated Website... Again?!?

2008-01-23T00:26:00.000+08:00

http://www.randytamayo.com/cf_index.html

Review: Canon EOS 40D Unabridged

2008-01-23T00:16:00.000+08:00

After months of feverish anticipation, Canon released in September 2007 the new EOS 40D. It is the fifth generation in Canon's perennially popular prosumer EOS DSLRs.

The 40D advances Canon's mid-range Digital SLR by a big leap forward - making it the no brainer choice for advanced amateur photographers and enthusiasts as well as a second body to the photo professional.

10.1 Megapixels and DIGIC III
The camera sports a 10.1-megapixel CMOS imaging sensor matched by the super-efficient DIGIC III image processor. This is about a 2-megapixel jump from the 30D (and 20D) and now shares the same resolution as the EOS 400D.

The DIGIC III Image Processor is the latest advancement to Canon's proprietary DIGIC technology which delivers superior image quality, ultra-responsive performance and extended battery life. DIGIC III also is said to provide a speedier interface to the memory card.

6.5 FPS
A big news for most is the.5 frames per second shooting mode. This lets you capture bursts of up to 75 Large/Fine JPEGs or 17 RAW images. Using a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card, I managed to capture 18 RAW images in burst before the camera slowed down. For JPEGs, I stopped shooting after I hit about 10 seconds shooting non-stop in hi-speed burst. With the 1.6x FOV crop that 'lengthens' the reach of telephoto lenses combined with the rapid-firing 6.5 frames a second, sports photographers and birders will love this camera. Wedding photographers won't go wrong with this one either. While we won't all be Henri Cartier-Bressons, this snappy offering from Canon gives us more opportunities to catch that 'decisive moment.'

3-inch LCD
The 40D borrows the 3-inch LCD of its bigger cousin the Canon 1D Mark III. It is bright and images are clear and visible even in daylight. The color on the LCD is also one of the best as far as Canon camera LCDs are concerned. The image colors on the LCD almost always appear similar when viewed on a calibrated monitor. With the large LCD space, there is now room to allow you to view the RGB and Luminosity histograms at the same time.

There are reports that the LCD of the 40D shows soft images. It does not mean that the captured images are soft pre se but on the contrary, the captured images are tack sharp. My theory about the "soft looking" LCD images stem from the smallish thumbnail the camera generates to display the captured image. The thumbnail generator seems to be producing small thumbnails that are a little soft for mosts taste. I say that it must be the thumbnail because images on the LCD when in Live View are very sharp. So when you do some elimination, the images are sharp when viewed on the computer, the LCD is sharp when in Live View but the image appear soft on the LCD when previewing, it could only be the thumbnails.

When shooting in the field this could be deceiving as you are presented with soft images but what you really have are sharp images.

Viewfinder and Autofocus
The 40D boasts of an improved viewfinder. For the first time in a prosumer EOS DSLR camera, the ISO can now be seen in the viewfinder. The 40Ds viewfinder is also slightly bigger and brighter than the previous model it replaces.

Aside from the improved viewfinder, Canon also made the focus points more sensitive making focusing faster even when using slower lenses.

The auto-focus points retain the 9-point diamond layout of the 30D. Another new feature of the 40D is the ability to use interchangeable focusing screens. You can opt to replace the standard Precision Matte screen with a Grid-Type focus screen to make your rule-of-thirds/golden mean compositions easier or a Super-Precision Matte screen to make manual focusing so much sweeter.

Sensor Cleaning
First introduced with the 400D, Canon's Integrated Cleaning System also made it's way to the 40D. The cleaning works by making the anti-alias filter vibrate in ultrasonic movements to shake off dust particles and grime that cling to the filter. The cleaning which takes about 2 seconds each time and it happens when you power-up the camera and when you shut it down. It can also be called upon manually whenever you want to do some ultrasonic cleaning.

Aside from the ultrasonic integrated cleaning system, the 40D also has dust mapping built into the camera. This allows you to pinpoint which part of the sensor has dust and the Canon DPP software that comes with the camera will later use that data to 'remove' the dust from the images. And finally, there is still the good-old manual way to do it using your favorite dust blower and/or sensor swab (not recommended.)

Live View
Another feature the 40D shares with the 1D Mark III is Live View. Live View turns the 40Ds 3-inch LCD display into an electronic viewfinder - almost as if it were a point and shoot camera. The Live View mode of the 40D is more advanced than the Live View mode of either the 1D Mark III or the 1Ds Mark III as it allows you to enable auto-focus even when in Live View mode. Its 1-series cousins does not allow you to auto-focus while in Live View mode.

When the 40D was with me, I did not get to use the Live View feature much aside from checking that it really does auto-focus with it activated; and for showing the feature to a friend who asked what Live View was. I was concerned about a couple of things. Sensor Heat and Noise. We all know that keeping the sensor 'On' for an extended period of time causes the sensor to heat up. And a hot sensor will generally make noisier images than a colder sensor. This is similar to the reason you run noise reduction on your image after doing a long/bulb exposure, like say a night shot.

With that in mind, Live View is more of a novelty and a use-only-once-in-a-while feature.

Some Weather Sealing
Weather sealing is now also starting to inch its way to the lower-end models of Canon's DSLR line-up. This feature used to be solely in the territory of the 1-series EOS DSLRs. Not even the EOS 5D has it. In the 40D, Canon opted to weather proof the battery door and CF compartment.

And while we are speaking of the CF card compartment, the 40D no longer shuts down without warning when you open the CF door and making you lose data, unlike previous models. If the camera is currently writing data to the CF card and you open the CF door, the camera makes a beeping sound and warns you that data is still being written unto the CF card. This should give you enough warning to delay for a few moments popping the CF card out and replacing it with a fresh one.

Handling
Canon reduced the size of their mid-range DSLR starting with the 20D. The 30D saw further reduction in cameral volume. The 40D however brought back the volume of the camera to 10D sizes. It is also a close size to the 5D. For some, the size may be too big and too heavy - especially for smaller hands. For me, it handles very well and makes perfect balance with my EF24-70L f/2.8 and EF70-200L f/2.8 - even without a battery-grip. It has some heft into it but it gives you that feeling of a finely built and rugged, sturdy camera.

Image Quality and Color Fidelity
The new buzz in DSLRs is the use of a 14-bit A/D converter. In theory this increases the number of colour and luminance values available four times! This should mean smoother tonalities and less banding especially when extending the dynamic range of an image.

Also, an new addition to Canon's file formats is sRAW. It is basically a RAW file, only smaller. In sRAW mode, the number of pixels is reduced to one-fourth that of a standard RAW image and the file size is cut in half, while retaining all of the flexibility and creative possibilities associated with full-size, conventional RAW images.

With the brief time I had with the 40D, I can say that the images it produces are excellent which goes without saying that it leverages the industry-leading results Canon has given its faithful users the past 6 years. Images coming from the 40D can hold their own beside images coming from a 5D, which is the current benchmark for DSLR image quality across all ISO ranges. The colors coming from the camera are wonderful - even in the standard setting.

A few rainy days with a state-of-the-art camera does not really do it justice. In spite of that, I fell in-love with the camera so much I did not want to return it. I was making petty excuses just to hold off returning the camera for a few more days. I shall soon get one for myself.

Leopard Boot Camp: Change NTFS Volume Name

2007-11-28T01:24:00.000+08:00

Ok so you have Leopard and have installed Windows Vista on Boot Camp.

Problem is, whenever you go to you Mac OS X OS, you see an Untitled drive on your desktop and no matter how much you click on it to change its name, it won't allow you. Not even Get Info will do the trick. Annoying isn't it?

So what do you do now?

You can either unmount it. Or...

Hide it... Or...

Change it's name... in Vista.

Here is what you do:

1. Boot into Vista (or XP)
2. Open Windows Explorer
3. Right-Click your Boot Camp drive
4. Select Properties
5. Put a meaningful name to your Drive (I put "Vista" on mine)
6. Re-boot back to Mac OS X and you should have a new name for you Boot Camp drive.

Apple Macbook Pro 15" 2.2Ghz

2007-11-21T01:31:00.000+08:00

I upgraded my 3-year old plus Titanium laptop to a new Apple MacBook Pro last Sunday.

It is definitely overdue. And definitely worth it.

I got the entry level 15" MBP. It ought to be enough for my needs.

Specs:
15.4" LED Backlit Widescreen LCD
2,2GHz Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa)
120GB HD
2GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 128MB card
iSight
Keyboard lighting

With Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard of course!

More here:
http://www.apple.com/macbookpro

What can I say, I am a Mac nut.

Canon EOS 40D

2007-11-21T01:27:00.000+08:00

I succumbed to upgrading my 400D to a higher end 40D.

This should give me enough power to do whatever it is I need to do.

Here are a few stuff from the camera:
10.1 megapixels
DIGIC III
3.0" LCD
14-bit imager
6.5FPS
Self Cleaning Sensor
Live View Mode
9-point AF

A review will be out soon - by me of course.

I was considering getting an Apple iPhone previously but decided to upgrade my cam instead.

15" MBP 2.2Ghz + Canon EOS 40D

2007-11-20T02:00:00.000+08:00

'nuff said.

On The 1st Of October 2007

2007-09-28T00:01:00.000+08:00

Glorietta.

Slim And Lite And White

2007-09-18T00:56:00.000+08:00

Ahem.

Retirement: Close Your Eyes...

2007-09-11T03:25:00.001+08:00

From:
Close your eyes and pretend it's all a bad dream. That's how I get by.
It's not about living forever. It's about living with yourself forever.

To:
If I wasn't mad, this would probably never work.
Thank goodness for that!

Review: Canon M80 Unabridged

2007-09-11T03:09:00.000+08:00

In September of 2006, Canon launched the portable Canon Media Storage Viewer M30 and M80 with Canon EOS photographers in mind.

Both units feature a huge 3.7” TFT screen at VGA (640x480 pixels) with 160º viewing angle for image and video viewing. It uses 18-bits to render color with a screen contrast ratio of 250:1. The M30 comes with a 30Gb hard drive and the M80 comes with 80Gb to store digital images, movie and sound files in varying file formats. They both have a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface and slots for CF and SDHC cards.

The unit I have is the higher capacity model. With its tough magnesium alloy bodie and a navigation system very familiar to EOS owners, the devices add a vital link to the workflow of professional photojournalists and location and outdoor photographers.

In the box, the unit itself; the BP511A battery and charger with cables; a pouch; a stand (M80 only); A/V cable; and the manuals (simple manual is printed, the advanced manual is in the CD in PDF.)

The M80 looks absolutely lovely for a product that looks so manly. It is in matte black with a rubber grip on the right side. Several buttons are logically laid out at the sides of the huge screen which takes up most of the M80s face. On top is the built-in speaker; the USB, headphone and power ports behind a plastic cap; and the quick backup button. The right side of the M80 has to latches where a lanyard can be placed.
The bottom side has the SD and CF ports as well as the battery door latch.

Navigating around.
As mentioned earlier, the buttons has the familiar EOS DSLR layout. The left edge has the Menu, Info and Delete buttons. The Menu button shows the related options in the section you are in in the device. The Info button cycles through the various viewing modes while previewing images. It has the plain view (no information is displayed; the luminosity histogram view; and the basic view which shows the file name, date of the shot; image size etc.

The right edge has the zoom out and zoom in buttons; the 4-way navigator with the Set button in the middle; the Cancel button; the direct print via PictBridge button and the On/Off/Hold switch. The zoom-out and zoom-in buttons works the same way as the EOS DSLRs. The 4-way navigation button allows you to navigate around menus; scroll through image lists; and pan around an image in zoom view. The Set button activates your choice. Cancel is used to cancel processes as well as go back to a higher level menu.

When the M80 is turn on, you are brought to the Home menu. From the Home menu you can opt to: do a backup; preview images; play music; play movies or change the M80s settings.

Doing a Backup.
This is half of the main purpose of the M80. It allows you to store the images you have in your memory card so that you can re-use it in case you need to take more photos.
There are 2 general ways to do a backup. First is with the memory card in the M80, press the Backup button at the top of the device for 2 seconds. It will automatically do a full backup of the memory card in place. The second way it to go to the Home menu and manually select to do the backup. You are asked if you wish to backup all the images in the memory card or backup the selected ones only.

A backup of a 2Gb Sandisk Ultra II compact flash card takes almost 8 minutes without verification. With verification, the time is almost doubled. For those anal about data integrity, there is an option to verify the data backed up. This option is turned on by default but you can cancel the verification after the backup if you wish. There is also a Setup option to turn off verification.

The backup automatically creates folders where the files are saved. The folders are named by date of back-up and an incremental extension name for the number of the backup for the day. The M80 does not check if the memory card has already been backed up.

Previewing Images.
This mode is the other half of the M80. This is where you view the images already stored in the M80. It is not meant to replace a properly calibrated screen, rather it provides a larger than camera LCD preview for the images you have taken. You can view JPG, TIFF as well sa Canon Camera RAW files which you can zoom for up to 6 zoom levels. There is a slight lag at the first image zoom level but the succeeding levels are fairly better.

This is obviously a Canon product and as such, it cannot display RAW files for non Canon cameras. So potential users should check if their camera RAW files work with this product from Canon.

When previewing images, you can cycle through the different viewing modes mentioned above using the Info button. At this point you can also delete unwanted images or have them directly printed to a compitable printer. The direct print button requires that a USB printer is connected for it to function, otherwise, it is just a functionless button on the M80.

Playing Movies and Music.
For the true multimedia experience, Canon added the capability of playing both movies and music on the M80. The M80 plays music MP3s and Wave (WAV) files. You can either play it through the built in speaker or using a headphone. For movies, it plays MPEG 1/2/4 and Motion JPEG. It does not however play DivX or Quicktime movies. You can also view movies and images on a TV with a supplied A/V cable.

Device Options.
The M80 has tons of settings you can modify to tweak the device to your liking. In the Display options, it allows you to set the LCD brightness and the length of time it takes before the LCD powers down to save energy. The Backup option allows you to set if you intent to also format the memory card after the backup as well as turn the backup verification on or off. It also allows you to set the language and the date and time for the device.

There is also an option to verify the integrity of the hard drive as well as format it. With regular use of this feature, you should be able to check the reliability of the M80. There is also an option to set a security PIN to secure your device from prying eyes.

Battery and Battery Life.
The M80 uses the common Canon DSLR battery the BP511A. It is the same battery used by the EOS 20D, EOS 30D, EOS 5D and other Canon accessories. On paper, Canon claims that you can download 37 1GB compact flash cards and 32 1GB SD cards into the device. It also says an average of 4.5 hours playing audio. The M80 obviously cannot replace your portable music player with its less than 5 hours playing time.

Conclusion.
This is Canons first foray into a portable media storage device. I can say that Canon is taking baby steps at this point. Much in the same way when they released the Canon D30 October 2000. And in s span of 7 years, Canon has improved by leaps and bounds. I can say the same thing for the Canon M80. It is first generation for a product with several competitors in the market who led the bandwagon long before Canon thought they would take the same path.

It does what it is required to do. And then some. After a week with the device, I can see several points where Canon can improve it: faster image viewing; faster backup times; RGB histogram; histogram overlayed on the image at any magnification (on demand histogram); headphone jack outside the ports hatch; support for more movie formats; support for 8Gb plus memory cards.

ReadMe

2007-09-08T03:03:00.001+08:00

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs forwrad it.

Jack Spade

2007-08-07T02:50:00.000+08:00

There is this Jack Spade bag I have been so wanting for as long as I can remember. I was not getting it as it was a tad below 5000 Php.

Well, I finally got it over the weekend. I got the chocolate color. It's super nice.

Now I want the full leather version.

I also got a Nokia 6300. Loving it so far. Thin and it comes in metal.

mJ

2007-08-07T02:44:00.000+08:00

Shot using a borrowed Nokia N95.

Si Joan.

Mukha akong mestizo. Sabi ko. Kapal. Bleeh!

Hey Now, The Dream IS Over

2007-07-28T03:35:00.000+08:00

It is one of the times when you can't fight fire with fire.

Let's just say, I fell short of her expectations. So to speak.

Hey now, the dream is over.

On YES!

2007-07-24T18:29:00.000+08:00

Thank you so much. I will do my best and promise never to hurt you.

Compromise

2007-07-24T00:05:00.000+08:00

We do it her way with the following terms:
1. A proper introduction is due
2. Honesty is a requirement

If #1 gets a "funny idea" my terms apply to the specific.

Caveat:
Since there is no binding relationship, the above agreement is basically moot and academic.

But she agreed.

:scratches head:

Back to the negotiating table.

LSS

2007-07-24T00:04:00.001+08:00

There is freedom within, there is freedom without
Try to catch the deluge in a paper cup
Theres a battle ahead, many battles are lost
But youll never see the end of the road
While youre travelling with me

Now Im towing my car, theres a hole in the roof
My possessions are causing me suspicion but theres no proof
In the paper today tales of war and of waste
But you turn right over to the t.v. page

Now Im walking again to the beat of a drum
And Im counting the steps to the door of your heart
Only shadows ahead barely clearing the roof
Get to know the feeling of liberation and relief

Hey now, hey now
Dont dream its over
Hey now, hey now
When the world comes in
They come, they come
To build a wall between us
Dont ever let them win

Re-Post: Lonely No More

2007-07-23T06:11:00.000+08:00

The last. Didn't last.

I, Stupid

2007-07-23T04:10:00.000+08:00

To honestly believe I could love and be loved.

Alone still, and waiting. The loneliness and the biting cold are very dear friends. Oh, and the last Harry Potter book (Deathly Hallows) is keeping me company too.

Officemates

2007-07-23T04:06:00.000+08:00

...No-No.

2 answers. Both negative. As if to drive the point straight home.

So it is back to square one, I guess.

- Closing my eyes and pretending it is all a bad dream.

Mental Notes

2007-07-23T04:03:00.000+08:00

*When should the past weigh more the the future?

*When are friends dearer than loved ones?

*Why can't there be only one?

Happiness Ends Here

2007-07-23T03:55:00.000+08:00

she: i can't bear seeing you leaving...

he: and i can't bear losing you to your friends...

she: parang ang hirap ng gusto mong ipagawa sa akin. nabibigla ako.

she (cont): alam mo kung talagang wala sa akin you have to trust me. anyway, magkaiba tayo. thank you.

he: the thing is i've already trusted a girl who said there was nothing between she and her friend. mag asawa na sila ngayon at lonely pa rin ako.

he (cont): alam ko mahirap gawin. it is a necessary evil. but it is the utmost show of loyalty. like i said, it only takes one other guy or girl to ruin it all. nyt. luv you.

Days Of Future Past

2007-07-22T15:18:00.000+08:00

They say living in what might have been is like driving a car with the foot on the brakes while you are looking at the rear view mirror with the gas tank empty. You wonder why you are not moving forward yet you are looking at the wrong direction.

Shit happens. Sometimes it is us who caused it. Other times it is because there is evil in this world. But know this, bad things happen to good people.

Just think of it this way: When you were not able to get the good one in the past, you are given a chance to get a better one in the future.

And that's what I do. When pretending it's all bad dream does not seem to get me by.