Canon Event at BGC: The Victor's Mark

This post originally appeared at the GMA News Online Website. The link to that post can be found here.

The Canon event, entitled “The Victor’s Mark”, marks the launch in the Philippines of Canon’s two DSLRs: the APS-C sensor sized Canon Eos 80D and the new flagship camera, the Canon Eos 1Dx Mark II.

The new 1Dx Mark II offers weather sealing, built-in GPS, a full-sized sensor, 4K video shooting and 20 megapixel stills. It can also shoot at a whopping rate of 14 frames per second! It is prized at 279, 999 Php and is available for pre-order.

The Canon Eos 80D, an evolutionary successor of the 70D, has a new 45-point autofocus system, Full HD movie capture, HDR movie capture and a 24.2-megapixel photo size. It retails at 70, 999 Php.

The program was spearheaded by Canon USA’s Explorer of Light and Sports Illustrated photographer Simon Bruty. He showed different scenarios where he used the camera to its full potential in sports, portraiture and even in photojournalism.

Present at the event were several Canon executives.

Also at the event were several Canon Philippines Explorer of Light members.

The Victor's Mark was hosted by celebrity and fashion model Sarah Mayer.

Photos shot with a Canon Powershot G15.

A Trip to the Orlina Museum in Tagaytay

The wife and I, with the in-laws were treated to an overnight stay in Tagaytay by a family friend. It was a really wonderful experience!

Sandwiched between the awesome adventures was the trip to the Orlina Museum. It was just inside the main road used to go in and out of Tagaytay and it can be easily missed. It's a good thing I saw the sign right away!

Entrance fee was just 100 pesos and this will let you inside the 5-floor building. When you step inside, you will be treated to some of the best works of art!

I took a lot of photos and these are just some of my favorites.

If you happen to pass by Tagaytay, then make sure to check this place out. It's worth it!

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

Merrell Chameleon II Storm GTX

Taking a break from the usual tech blog post...

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Living in the Metro Manila presents a lot of challenges. You have over-population, vehicular traffic congestion, just to name a few. But there is another problem that one has to contend with because of the fact that we live in the tropics: it can rain anytime. And since this is Metro Manila we are talking about, a slight amount of rain can mean ankle-deep street flooding... At the least.

While living in the US, a pair of insulated boots became a very important piece of clothing accessory. When winter hits, you'll be screwed if you don't have a decent pair of warm pair of shoes. And thick socks, of course. In the Philippines however, where it rains a lot in any given year, you definitely need a pair of water resistant shoes.

Enter the Merrell Chameleon Storm II GTX.

This pair of shoes is very nice, design wise. It has a seamless construction and it feels as if there is no part that has no value. It has an aerodynamic feel and I feel that running water will just run around the shoes. Traction of the sole is good, especially while I walk the streets of the Metro. I feel that this pair of shoes will also hold itself up if used on rough roads and unpaved paths. I've used it for driving and, despite the odd two hour congestion on the nasty streets of Metro Manila, the shoes still felt comfortable.

The wife warned me that I might be weirded out by the Vibram undersole. Well, I was, at least at the start. But now I actually kind of dig it. I don't feel my feet getting strained by the shoes even if I wear it for, say, the whole day. It's comfortable to wear and I don't mind wearing it from morning til night.

Now, the only thing that is slightly not good is the fact that the shoes can make your feet hot if you do a lot of outdoor walking. Well, this is to be expected because of the water resistance offered by the shoes. Your feet can't breathe as much when you wear this pair.

Well, that is something that I can live with. I will not take the shoes jogging anyway, so I'd rather have dry feet than spend the whole day out-and-about with wet feet and shoes...

The Merrell Chameleon Storm II GTX is Highly Recommended!

Photos shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 100mm f/2.8L EF Macro.

Sony Philippines Launches New 4K-HDR and Full-HD Televisions

N.B. This post originally appeared on the GMA Network website. The link to the post can be found here.

The Sony Event, entitled “Infinity” showcased the launch of new lines of HD televisions. The beautifully crafted sets on the event were designed by the partnership between Sony and lifestyle store Heima.

"Infinity" was held on March 30, 2016 at the Shangri-La at the Fort Manila in Taguig.

The highlight of the event was the launch of a new 4K television.

The new Bravia 4K HDR offers offers higher brightness, higher contrast and more vibrant colors using Sony’s new “Slim Backlight Drive” technology. This new technology boosts peak brightness and black levels more precisely and enhances contrast levels while maintaining the TV’s slim form. The company’s “4K Processor X1” and color mapping technology called “Triluminos Display” produce a wider color range with accurate color details at any brightness level.

Sony also announced a new Bravia Full-HD lineup that features “X-Reality Pro”. This technology provides stunning details for any content, even when viewing TV broadcasts, DVD, Blu-ray or internet videos. Pixels are upscaled using Sony’s proprietary picture processing technology.

All TVs are wi-fi equipped, making access to online content really easy. The Bravia X9300D, X8500D and W800C are equipped with Android TV OS that allows enhanced content navigation and voice search, among other things.

The 4K HDR TVs range from 55 inches to 75 inches and will be available this April 2016. Prices for these range from 100, 000 pesos to 280, 000 pesos.

The Full HD TVs range from 32 inches to 55 inches and these will be available starting May, 2016.

Starting from second from left, the event was attended by Rovilson Fernandez, the event's host, L.A. Benitez, the Marketing Associate from Heima, CJ Deacosta, Product Marketing Officer for Bravia, Nobuyoshi Otake, the President and Managing Director, SONY Philippines. The group was flanked on either side by the two models of Sony Bravia.

Photos shot with a Canon G15 and post-processed in an iPhone 6s+ using the iOS app VSCO