Casio Exilim EX-ZR1200 [Review]

Product Review

After using a DSLR for a few years, finally I have a chance to try out one of the latest Casio digital camera, the  EX-ZR1200. This is the latest addition to the renowned EXILIM series by Casio Singapore.

Main Features
16.1 Megapixels / 12.5x Optical Zoom / 3.0” Super Clear LCD / 24mm Wide-angle Lens / 470 Battery Life / Full HD Movie / 0.15s High-speed AF

I had the black model for a try and was pretty impressed by it’s size, weight (256g including battery) and ease to use.

 

Here are some nice features that you can look forward to:

Self-portrait Function
Brightening Mode – Brighten and smooth the skin further
This new mode gives the skin a lighter tone and smoother texture. Select “Brightening” in BEST SHOT.
Normal Mode (LHS) vs Brightening Mode (RHS).

  

Tilt-type LCD / Motion Shutter
The tilt-type LCD can be opened up to 180 degrees, making it easy to view the display and set up ideal shot for your self-portrait. Simply waving your hand at the camera, even from some distance away, activates the timer. With Motion Shutter selected, you can control both photo shooting and playback display without actually touching the camera. More fun shooting self-portraits.

 

Joey giving it a try while waiting for her dinner.

   

Quick Response
Quick & Snappy
Take photo faster then ever. The 0.25-second shooting interval almost gives you no pause after shooting.

Beautiful
Vibrant Night Scenes – Normal vs HDR Art

Fun at High Speed
Time Lapse – View an action of an extended period in a short time
Shoot and record a subject at specified time intervals to combine the images as a single movie. By compressing the time sequence of changes shot over an extended period, you can accelerate and enjoy beautiful events such as the slow movement of clouds, the transition from dusk to evening, and the flow of traffic and people in city.

Verdict – I am still quite comfortable with my DSLR but wouldn’t mind having a fun and easy camera for travelling purpose. Especially so for attending events when it is just too troublesome to lug my bigger size Nikon around. I would recommend it to those who are seriously looking for an easy-to-use and small size good camera.

Philips Hue - Personal Wireless Lighting

Invited by Philips to be one of the first few in Singapore to witness the world’s smartest LED bulb – Philips hue. What a surprise to see how much the home lighting era has evolved for the past few years. Totally blown away by the simple presentation and demonstration by the Philips team and special guest speakers.

The event was held at The Arts House Gallery and what an apt place to host the guests. The feel of being at the Arts Centre brought forth another level of ‘artistic’ feel to lighting available for home like ours (HDB).

Philips hue allows us to create and control our home lighting directly from our iOS or Andriod devices.

   - The app works on any devices running iOS 4.3 or later, or Android 2.3 or later
   - Allows you to easily control the color and brightness of your hue lamps
   - Base your light creation on photos or expert light recipes
   - Save your favourite settings as scenes for easy recall and even add timers for easy automation
   - Customized pages with a name and background to relate to a specific room

Even when you are not at home or overseas, you are still able to control your home lighting via the website www.meethue.com

- Provides a persistent online presence which the bridges, apps and users can connect to
- Keeps the system future-proof through firmware updates
- Control your home lighting from anywhere with remote access
- Monitor your lights from anywhere
- Share your favourite scenes with the hue community
- Get inspired by other people’s scenes and use them in your home
- Develop your own app for hue with SDK and developer program

It just takes 3 simple steps to install the Philips hue.
Step 1 – screw in the bulbs
Step 2 – connect the hue bridge to your router with the provided LAN cable
Step 3 – install the Philips hue app and you are ready for a whole new home lighting experience

With the connectivity of the bulbs to the Internet services via smartphone or tablet, meaning the bulbs can act as indicators for weather, stock quotes, sports scores, email, social media and more. They can be set to behave in any way you choose. For example, to change color if it is going to rain; to blink if you receive an urgent email; illuminate gradually as the sun sets; or even flash in your sports team’s colors when they score. All these are made possible through Internet automating service, IFTTT (If This Then That), meaning your home lighting can now be connect to the world in innumerable, exciting new ways.

Set different lighting scenes at home to enhance the ambience.
For the kids’ room, dining room, bar table or reading corner.

 

Philips hue will be available for online orders at apple.com.sg
Retail sales at Apple Premium Resellers and Philips branded stores from 11 December.

Product Information

The Philips hue introduction pack includes:

- 3 hue light bulbs of 600 lumen (50Watt equivalent)
- Each hue light bulb covers all shades of white, from warm white light to cool white light, and a wide variety of colors. Each hue light bulb uses 80% less power than a traditional light bulb
- A hue bridge to easily set up your lighting network, with a power supply and a LAN cable to connect to your router
- Note: the hue introduction pack can be enlarged with up to 50 individual hue blubs
- S$319 (including GST)

The Philips hue bulb individual pack includes:

- 1 hue light bulb of 600 lumen
- Note: the individual hue bulb is an extension of the hue introduction pack; you need the hue introduction pack and its hue bridge to operate this individual hue bulb
- You can connect 50 hue individual bulbs to the hue bridge
- S$89 (including GST)

Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary - X Casio EXILIM EX-TR15

Media Invite

Thanks to Casio Singapore, I was invited to be among the first in Singapore to preview the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 camera as it makes it’s world debut at the Consumer Electronics Exhibition (CEE) this weekend at Suntec City Hall 6, booth 6121.

The Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 comes in a beautifully-decorated attaché case featuring the 40th Anniversary Hello Kitty, and a sling that enables users to carry the attaché case on their shoulder, or as a backpack with a variety of Hello Kitty-themed accessories that is bound to delight every Hello Kitty fan. This includes a lanyard, camera pouch, travel wallet, laser-etched plaque of exclusivity and unique serial number as well as a limited production Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ Baby-G timepiece for fans to indulge their passion for Hello Kitty from head to toe.

This is the second partnership between Casio Singapore and Sanrio Company Ltd. The Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 is a celebration of two iconic brands coming together to marry the best in design and innovation. The limited edition camera features built-in wireless connectivity and live view function, unique to the EXILIM EX-TR15, for users to take perfectly self-portraits, share them instantly, while enjoying a stylishly-designed camera.

Weighing only 170g (inclusive of battery and micro-SD card), the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 is only slightly thicker than an average smartphone, and yet, beneath its stylish exterior, the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 packs a punch with its powerful dual-core EXILIM HS3 engine which significantly speeds up post-processing time, so users can take more photos within minutes.

The Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 will also feature exclusive Hello Kitty-themed stamps and frames, allowing self-portraits and Hello Kitty enthusiasts to decorate their photographs with the fashioned feline.

Where to buy?
Priced at $1,499.00 each, 200 units of the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary ♥ EXILIM EX-TR15 is available exclusively at the Consumer Electronics Exhibition (CEE) 2013. An additional 200 units will be sold through premium CASIO EXILIM retailers after CEE 2013.
For more information, please visit: http://www.casio-intl.com/asia-mea/en/news/2013/EX-TR15_10_detail/

If you are a real collector, then don’t miss this!