The Canon Powershot SX530 HS - An Ultra Powerful Zoom Camera!

When I reviewed the Canon Powershot SX610 HS, I was already greatly impressed by the zooming power of that camera. And then the Canon Powershot SX530HS dropped onto my lap.

The SX610 HS's 18x zoom seems so paltry compared to that camera. The zooming capability of the Powershot SX530 HS changed my view of power zooms forever.

Let's start of with the basics...

The camera shoots about 17 megapixel stills and Full HD videos. It's focal length ranges from 24mm to 1200 freaking mm!!! It has 50x zoom!!!

Let that sink in first...

It has 50x zoom!!!

It has a built-in flash and built-in wifi and NFC antennas. There's a 3-inch fixed screen at the back and optical image stabilization is also built-in.

The camera is well-built - there are no squeaking parts when it is held, though I felt as if the camera is on the light side... Another camera I am reviewing, the Canon G7x Mark II, seems more dense than this one. Though don't take that as a knock on this camera. I just felt that this camera is light for its size.

This is the first Canon camera that I held that came with a lens cap that can be attached to the camera via a string. I thought that was an innovative idea because you wouldn't have to worry about the lens cap getting lost. But, come shooting time, I find the hanging lens cap really annoying. I ended up not using the cap at all. Wish the lens cap has a built-in clip so that, when you are out shooting, the cap can be clipped, say, to the camera strap...

The photos produced by this camera are good, especially in amply-lit situations. The photos get grainy though, in low-light situations. This is because, when you zoom, the maximum aperture opening gets smaller. (The reason for this is to cut down the camera's size. If you make this with a huge maximum aperture, then the camera itself will be huge!) Actually, the maximum opening is not as big as, say, a regular point-and-shoot. This camera's aperture opening maxes out at f/3.4 on the wide end and f/6.5 on the telephoto end. However, this is typical for these types of cameras.

So, what can you do with this camera?

First of all, tracking of this camera is good. When it comes to camera reviews, the first thing I test is how good it is in tracking moving objects. This camera is really good with that especially in the wide end. And since you can go Full Manual with this camera, you can pan your shots and produce really nice pan-blurred, motion photos.

Macro photography is also handled well. If you set the camera to Macro mode, then the minimum focusing distance is reduced to less than two inches! You can really go in and make pleasing flowers photos. Even your food photos for Instagram will look good if you take photos with this camera.

And since this camera has a zoom lens, then your portraiture will also benefit from this. Just start your portraits with the lens zoomed, say ¼ of the way...

But really, this camera is mostly beneficial for those who really want to "go in" to their subjects. To demonstrate, I will post here a sequence of photos from full-wide to full-zoom and you will see the power of this camera.

With this all-in-one camera, you can photograph the whole scene and the full moon!

But, having a great zoom range comes with a great caveat: when zoomed all the way, a small movement of your hand will produce a great movement in the lens. Moving your hands slightly - a small tremble, too much caffeine in your system - and you will easily lose your subject. That's why Canon put special buttons along the side of the barrel: the Zoom Framing Assist button, when pressed and held, will make the lens zoom out to a wider focal length. This will make it easier to see your subject. Once you found your subject, you can focus on it again and let go of the Zoom Framing Assist button. The lens will zoom in to the original setting and you can go and shoot your subject again!

Other camera features include remote shooting via wifi, image transfer to your smartphone or tablet, Canon's proprietary Creative Shots and High Speed Autofocus. But really, this camera is meant for those who wish to see more through a narrower field of view. If you are going to a Safari, if you want to photograph the moon, or if you want to do street photography - from across the street - then this camera is for you.

The Canon Powershot SX530 HS is Highly Recommended!

Thoughts on the iPhone SE

As the coming of the new iPhone looms near, I would like to share my thoughts on the iPhone SE. It's been a long time coming but I wanted to really think about what I feel about this device...

So, while walking in one of my favorite Metro Manila mall, I chanced upon the iPhone SE. While inside the store, I was able to test the many features of the new phone. I was even able to sneak in some shots.

My preliminary findings are as follow...

First of all, I will discuss the elephant in the room: the "old" design... To be honest, the iPhone 5s is my most favorite iPhone design so far. It has a 4-inch screen and, as the old advertisement for the 5s showed, it's perfect for us with opposable thumbs.

Also, the boxy design makes the phone highly grippable. In the whole time I had the 5s, I never put it in a case since I wasn't afraid that I was gonna drop it. The iPhone 6s+ is a different story altogether: the rounded edges make it really, really slippery and, the day after I bought it, I immediately bought a case for it.

So why am I discussing the iPhone 5s whereas this should have been a post about the iPhone SE? Well, it's because the two phones share the same design. Really, all the cases you bought and is in existence for the 5s (and even the iPhone 5 before it) would fit the SE. There really is no design difference. (And I believe accessory-makers breathed a big sigh of relief when Apple released the SE. All of their accessories made in 2012 will still work with the new phone!!!)

Is this a bad thing? Well, some Apple pundits deem this as a sign that the company is running out of ideas. I don't know about this. For me, this is a sign that Apple is reusing the design, the components, etc, to bring the cost of the phone down. You see, if the company didn't need to product test something for, say, rigidity, strength, etc, then that would bring the cost down. If they are able to recycle some of the parts, like the aluminum case, the screen, then that also will bring the cost down.

Also, when it comes to design, I wouldn't bet against Jony Ive...

Anyway, as far as the exterior is concerned, the only thing new are two things: the phone is now branded with "SE" at the back and it now also comes in, yep, "do-not-call-it-pink" Rose Gold. So the iPhone SE now comes in Space Grey, Silver, Gold (which appeared first on the 5s), and now Rose Gold.

But, as most things new from the company, it is what's inside that matters. The iPhone SE has a new processor, a new embedded motion co-processor (the very first one of which also appeared in the iPhone 5s! Are you seeing some trend here?!?), a new 12-megapixel stills and 4K video capture from the rear camera, and a NFC antenna which, as of this writing, is useless for us in the Philippines since Apple Pay is not yet available in the country. Essentially, these features can be found in the newest flagship phones, the 6s and the 6s+.

Conspicuously absent though are the 5-megapixel front camera, 3D Touch, the second generation Touch ID and the barometer that can read elevation. Apple doesn't explain the absence of these things but I am guessing that it is due to the limitation of the space in the SE. Of course you can put more sensors in a bigger volume and I feel that the company was constrained and, thus, they limited the capabilities in the SE. My second guess is they also, again, want to bring the cost down so they limited the functionalities that they put in the new phone.

So, how did the phone fare?

Well, in the brief amount of time that I got to spend with the phone, I noticed a couple of things:

One, this phone is really, really snappy compared to my old iPhone 5s! Apps open faster, multi-tasking does not slow the phone down, and changing from one app to another is a breeze. However, I feel that it is still slower than my 6s+, though I just might be biased... (Remember, I only spent a few minutes with the phone) But, if you are coming from a one-year old phone or older, you will be blown away by the processing speed of the iPhone SE.

Another thing that blew me away was the SE's rear camera. It has the same module as in the iPhone 6s and they essentially produce the same photo quality. The only thing missing on the SE is the optical image stabilizer which will reduce blur in low-light situations. Or when you had too much caffeine... Take note though that the optical image stabilizer feature is only available in the iPhone 6+/6s+.

The SE also has a super slo-mo camera capture, True Tone flash, panorama and auto-HDR. Again, these same features are brought down from the iPhone 6s/6s+.

So, if I were to sum up the reason for getting an SE, it will be these two: faster performance and better rear-facing camera.

One thing which I wish Apple put in the iPhone SE is the newer front-facing camera. The company put it in the iPad PRO 9.7 (and the 6s and 6s+) and yet they didn't put it in the SE. If it's a question of engineering, i.e. they couldn't put it inside because of the smaller space, then I would have understood the situation. But if it's a matter of saving cost, then I wish the company had taken a slight hit for it: we live in the age of selfies and snapchats and I believe the company is short changing their potential customers with the lower-spec'd front facing camera.

But all-in-all, the iPhone SE has become a very nice entry level for those who want to get into the Apple ecosystem but are turned off by the high entry price of the iPhone 6s/6s+. And anyway, Apple's hardware are just a gateway drug... The company doesn't stop earning after one buys an iPhone (or anything in their lineup...). The company also earns from music, movie, app downloads... And each "Made for iPhone" accessory also brings in licensing revenue money for the company. So those old accessories from 2012? Apple will also earn from those...

But, the main question still is: would you get an iPhone SE?

I love my iPhone 6s+ and I couldn't think of going back to the smaller phone. Well, maybe a 4.7-inch iPhone... But if, say, I am using a non-iPhone device and if I am not willing to spend so much on a phone, then I would consider getting the iPhone SE. It is a new phone in an old form factor, a form factor that I actually love the most... So yes, if I were you, I'd get it.

It will be a great primary phone or, as in my case, it would be a great second phone!

Highly Recommended!

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO

Playproof by Rhinoshield

Apple makes absolutely gorgeous devices. I use a laptop bag whenever I lug around a MacBook. But whenever I use one, I generally don't put them in a case. This is because my laptop is, most of the time, put on a table when I use them and there is only a slim chance of them falling to the ground.

However, the same cannot be said about iPhones and iPad. This is because these devices are meant to be held while being used and there is a great chance of them slipping and falling to the ground. This is especially true with Apple's latest smartphones, the 6s and the 6s+: the rounded edges of these devices make them really hard to hand-hold and are, therefore, drop-prone. My iPhone 5s was never in a case, but I felt that I couldn't do the same with my iPhone 6s+.

Thus, a shock-proof case might be a really good investment after you buy an iPhone 6s/6s+. And what better way to protect your precious investment than wrapping it up in something that promises protection from drops of up to 11 and a half feet?

First off, the Playproof does not add much to the dimensions of the phone. It is thin and it wraps beautifully around the phone. The back is fully covered and the same is true for all four sides. There are cut outs along the sides to give way to the mute switch on the left, and the headphone jack, lightning port and speaker grill at the bottom. There is a cut on the back to give way to the camera lens and the TrueTone flash.

The lip of the case is elevated so even if you put your phone face down, the screen of the phone won't be touching any surface. (And if you want more protection, you might consider getting a screen protector for your iPhone also!)

But all these things mean nothing if your phone won't be protected from drops. And boy does this case deliver! I personally witnessed the case tested several times and I have the videos to prove it! If it was my phone I'd still feel uncomfortable having my phone dropped on purpose, but with this case, I am confident that my phone will be saved from accidental drops.

This Playproof by Rhinoshield is Highly Recommended!

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO

Olloclip Studio - The Perfect iPhone 6s+ Case for Olloclip Photographers

I've always been fascinated by the Olloclip lenses. With it, my iPhone photography has gone beyond what the phone itself can accomplish. The iPhone camera in itself is already very good, but the different Olloclip lenses add more muscles to the already capable camera phone.

To recap, there are several types of Olloclip lenses. The ones in my arsenal are, first, the wide angle lens and the 10x macro underneath it and the fish-eye lens with the 15x macro underneath it. My second set is composed of the 2x zoom lens, the wide angle lens and the polarizing glass.

With the zoom lens, I don't "pinch to zoom" to get "closer" to my subjects. Doing this is actually a really terrible idea because you will just be enlarging the pixels - you are not actually moving closer. If you want to get closer, you have to walk!

The iPhone has an equivalent of 34mm focal length, making it perfect for street photography, but if you want to get a wider field of view, you would need a wider-angle lens. This is where the wide angle lens of Olloclip comes in handy.

And with the fish-eye lens, you get a much, much more of the view!

And of course, macro photography is something the iPhone cannot do on its own: it simply is not capable...

Finally, the polarizing lens helps reduce glare and reflections in your photos.

However, no matter how great the Olloclip lenses are, it has one limitation that may discourage a lot of people: since you slide the lenses to the body, using the lens prohibits you from using a case. I myself often found myself in such a dilemma: I bought an Apple silicone case but when it comes to using the "clips", I still needed to remove the case. And I missed several photographic opportunities because of this...

The solution to this problem is the Olloclip Studio. This is a case made specifically for either the iPhone 6/6s and iPhone 6+/6s+. The case provides ample protection for the phone and it covers all sides of it. There are cuts along the sides to give way for the mute switch, the speaker grill, the power port and the headphone jack. You can place the phone face down and still feel confident that the display will not touch the surface.

With the case on, the iPhone-case system is built like a tank. Though I rarely drop my phones, I feel confident that, if ever I do, my iPhone 6s+ will be able to handle the impact.

But, the thing that sets this case apart from all the rest is its compatibility with the different Olloclip lenses. The cut at the top of the case makes Olloclip photography (yes, that's a thing) a possibility. You don't need to remove the case anymore if you want to use your Olloclips.

But not only that, there is a railing at the back of the case where you can attach the different accessories that came with the case. Yes, there are accessories that came with the case!

First off are a couple of cold mounts where you can attach, say, an iPhone-compatible microphone and external lighting. There are also a couple of attachments that will enable you to mount the iPhone on a tripod - one for the vertical orientation, the other for the horizontal orientation. There is a hand grip that will stabilize the phone when you, say, hand hold the iPhone during a video session. This will also provide a more stable grip during daily use.

Attaching these accessories to the case is simple via the railing that I mentioned. It is a quick and easy method that will help you expand your iPhone photography and videography.

What is not mentioned in the Olloclip website is there actually is a slot where you can thread a hand strap, similar to what you can find in the box of your point-and-shoot camera. I don't know why Olloclip does not advertise this, but this makes shooting with the iPhone a similar experience to that of using a point-and-shoot.

There is one last accessory but this one is not photography-related: a stand... With it you can prop your phone and you can watch a movie hands free. Standing your phone in the vertical orientation with this accessory is doable but highly unstable...

But of course, not all is perfect with this case. Using a case, outside of Apple's silicone cases, will add heft to the phone. For me, this is not actually an issue. And the alternative, the one where I don’t use a case, is a no-no because I find a case-less iPhone 6s+ to be really, really slippery. If you want a thinner case, this might not be for you. And of course, if you use an Olloclip lens, you won't be able to use a screen guard on the phone's display. If you decide to use an Olloclip, you risk having your screen scratched when, say, you put your phone in your pocket together with some loose change.

But all-in-all, the Olloclip Studio is a must-have accessory if you are a big fan of Olloclip lenses. It just makes you Olloclip-iPhone photography a more fun and fuller endeavor. And your phone will also be greatly protected from behind and from the sides.

Highly Recommended!

Also, check out my video review here!

Note: You can purchase the different Olloclip accessories on amazon.com on the following links: Olloclip Studio, Olloclip 4-in-1 Lens, Olloclip Telephoto + Wide Angle + Macro 10x Lens + CPL Lens.

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO

Apple's new Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader

There are now a lot of cameras out there that have wifi antennas. You can use the antenna to transfer your photos from your camera to your phone. And if you have an Android phone, you can even use the NFC receiver on your phone and the cameras to transfer photos just by "tapping" the two together.

However, wireless transfers are not always reliable. With the iPhone, you have to go to Settings, choose the camera as the wireless modem. Then, after it's connected, you open the app from the camera maker, fire the app, choose the photos you want to transfer, hope the wireless connection doesn't disconnect, and on and on and on...

This process is really tedious, to say the least!

So, the easier, and for me, still the best way to transfer photos from your camera to your iPhone is by using Apple's new Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader. (Yes, that's a mouthful...) With this accessory, you can easily transfer photos from the SD card to your phone. No messing with settings, no opening up the different camera makers' applications... After you connected the card reader to your phone, just open up the Photos app on your phone and you will instantly see the photos you took. You can either select individual photos for importing or you can choose to import all.

That's it. Then, you can use any of the million photos apps that are already in your iPhone.

Words of caution though. One, only the second generation of these card readers are compatible with the iPhone (from iPhone 5 to the present). The first generation is only compatible with iPads, so, if you are using an iPhone, make sure you get the right one. How to make sure that you have the latest generation of card readers? Check at the back of the box and make sure that the product code is MJYT2AM/A. Two, you must have iOS 9, or later, in your iPhone otherwise, the phone will not recognize the accessory. If you satisfy both conditions, then, you are all set!

The Apple Lightning-to-SD Card Camera Reader is Highly Recommended.

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO

The Cheero Power Plus Danboard Version Battery Charger - A Quick Review

Some weeks back, my LimeAde battery pack gave up the ghost. It has served me for about four years before dying out. I would have wanted to get a new battery pack from the same brand, but since it is not available in the Philippines, I decided to look for something else.

Enter the Cheero Power Plus Danboard Version battery charger. (Yes, it's a mouthful...)

The battery pack is a cute one! When you look at it, it seems to be smiling on you. It brings about a warm feeling, it cheers you up! Yes, that's how I feel every time... It has a playful look and that is not surprising since the design of the battery is from a manga character Danbo!

To use the device, just plug your USB cable to the battery and then plug the other end to any of your devices that can be charged this way. Then push the button above the rows of LEDs to start charging. Pressing that same button will tell you the amount of charge there is in the battery via those same LEDs.

The battery is rated at 10,400mAh, which means, theoretically, it can charge an iPhone 6s+ and an iPad Pro 9.7 from zero to full capacity! It has two USB ports which means you can charge two devices at the same time. And when you need to charge the battery, you just need to use the included micro-USB cable. Unfortunately, it doesn't have an included wall charger so you will have to use the one that came with your phone or tablet.

You will also find a small pouch inside the box.

I got my Cheero Power Plus Danboard Version Battery Charger in orange and I am loving every bit of it.

It is Highly Recommended!

Photos shot with an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO