The iPhone 5S Camera

So, the weekend had been spent taking the 5S through its paces and the main focus was on the camera. How much if an impact it was?

The quality of the 4 compared to 3GS was huge. And the jump was maintained when the 4S was released. I had been happy with the 4S until I got my hands on the HTC One and as a camera phone, the One was not short of awesome. But it remained what it was. A mobile phone with a camera. It's nowhere near my X-Pro 1.

So, in came the 5S. Does the camera present a big jump compared to its predecessor? Bear in mind that I jumped from the 4S, the quality increase was expected. I do not have a iPhone 5 to compare it to, so I did the next best thing. Comparing it to the HTC One. But I would leave that to the next entry.

Let's just look at the camera on its entirety. The snaps were good. And coupled that to the Camera+ app, the photos were really good. The focusing speed was faster and they tend to find the right focus points as well.

But I found that the snaps tended to be underexposed and cooler temperature-wise. Nothing that Camera+ couldn't fix.

Is it spontaneous enough? Unfortunately I did not. I found that snapping photos were fiddly for some reason. Compares to the HTC One, the photos tended to be warner and brighter. Maybe it was just the screen, but the same was seen on the computer monitors as well. I tended to like the HTC One snaps better, and tended to get the photos I wanted first time.

Maybe it was an unfair criticism for the new iPhone since I only had it for one weekend. I understood the HTC One's quirks better having used it since May. I might change my mind in a couple of months.

I will post up comparison photos between the HTC One and the iPhone 5S on my next entries.

Ed - the comparisons are here in not one, two, three or four, but five instalments!

Kyoto Station Slideshow

More on the Kyoto trip here.

Out with the One

The haze was clearing up nicely last weekend, and listening the reports that it nay return, I could see horde of photographers coming out during the weekend with their gears around their neck. With the Ramadan coming soon, I guessed most people would take this last couple of weekend to go out in the hot sun, while still able to dine outside.

I took the One last weekend as I left my camera at the Gombak house. I went for a walk around Pavilion and Bukit Bintang, and there were certainly plenty of stuff to look at. I also managed to enjoy some lunch while I was there since I was mainly alone all weekend, while Anita and the boys were still in Ipoh.

I should have some time off this coming weekend as well. I would definitely be going out as well. Last year, I took the camera out to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to visit the market. Best to it the first weekend of Ramadan when the crowd wouldn't be as crazy yet .....

Packed KLCC

I had some me time earlier and I used it to have a browse at Kinokuniya, and a quick meal. I noticed that the place was packed. Not with locals. But with foreign visitors from the Middle East as well as Indonesia of all places.

The Middle Eastern visitors looked distinctive with the women in long black overcoat and their face covered in niqab, plus their husbands in shorts and sandals. It was a couple of weeks before Ramadan and I was sure they were here for a quick holidays before returning home during the fasting month.

And oh boy, do these lot like to shop?

Lugano as a Town

Lugano was actually a quaint little town which happened to be at the strategic southern tip of Switzerland, right by the Italian border. The language they spoke there was Italian, and so were the signage. This'd driving into Switzerland proper from Italy would have to go through this town and clearly, during the summer months, with the lake and plenty of hot sunshine meant that the town was more like in Spain rather than Switzerland.

On the day I arrived, I could see people sun bathing in the sun. It was that hot.

Another aspect of the town was the fact that it was hilly. Very hilly. With the town centre - where the congress was held - located in the valley by the lake. My hotel, on the other hand was right on top of a hill - it felt more like a mountain. It took a 40 minutes bus ride to get to and from the hotel, which only ran hourly. And the last bus being at 7 pm!

Although the town centre was in the valley, the hill came right near the edge of the lake, creating a steep incline. Walking around the town then became a challenge. Most of the residential area were zoned at the hill edges, connected by winding series of road snaking up the mountains.

The hills also became the attractions of the town. There were many fonecular train taking us up the hills, and we took one yesterday. As the main train terminal were also up the hill, there was a small train leading up to it right from from within the shopping centre. Quite fun actually.

Walking around would take some stamina. And as the commercial area were on the flatter part of town, space was at a premium. This meant that the streets were narrow and walking around would bring surprise as you'd never guess what would be behind the corner for visitors with a camera like me.

I was there during the beginning if summer and the start of the Lakeside Festival. There were concerts and other activities being planned for the months and the city looked lively when I was there. I got some extra information when I spoke to an English student doing some waitressing job there during the summer. She told me about the festivals and places to go to. Unfortunately, today was the last day I would be in town and I already had the day planned out for me.

To be honest, there was plenty to discover in this interesting and picturesque little town. I wished that I stayed near the city centre as I SaaS sure there was plenty more to explore there given the time. I would blog about the Congress separately as I felt that I learned a lot at the meetings. Something that I should vesit maybe once every four or six years - the meeting was held every couple of years. Puan Anita had told me that she would be tagging along the next time I were to come here. She had been here before - with me back in 1996, but we only just passed through the town then en route to Lucerne.