Unified stored ticket system in LRT

I just had a new find recently, well, I don’t know about the others if they know this, it is just about the stored tickets of LRT Line 1 (LRT1) and LRT Line 2 (LRT2) working for both lines. Yes, you read that correctly!

I heard from my officemate who accidentally used her LRT1 stored ticket in LRT2 that the machine accepted and displayed the proper amount the card contained. I have verified this with LRT1 and LRT2 and they both said yes the cards will work either way but not on MRT Line 3, I have tried and proven it (hehehe).

This new find is very convenient for me becuase I live in Cubao and I usually visit my girl friend who lives near 5th Ave. Station of LRT1. I can just ride the trains with only one stored value ticket instead of being trapped in a jammed traffic in EDSA from SM North to Monumento because of the on going construction of the LRT1’s North Extension Project.

Enjoy travelling with this new convenience.

-Xycris

Define: Full Frame

I have been fascinated in the world of photgraphy being too technical and pricey yet once a picture is taken it can bring a story of its own.

Photography today has been made available to everyone where you can easily buy a camera, take a shot, and have it stored or printed. You can either opt for the film based or the digital based and have the point-and-shoot ones or the highly sophisticated ones, it is your choice as what people say, “tools are only as intelligent/ wise as the one who uses them.”

Many people today would prefer to have the digital cameras because of the ease in previewing the photo even right after the shot, can be printed or stored, readily editable, and very portable. However, film based cameras will still be in the market today because it still do provide a different feel for some photographers and more inmportantly the shots are not easily editable, it is very useful in crime scene shots or to show off you are good photographer because your shots are not edited. As for me, I want to have both as learning is a good experience.

The term “full frame” is one part of my learning experience in photogrphy. I have been searching for the definition of “full frame” camera and somehow I ended up with the 35 mm film, the standard size of the film in both still and motion pictures. Full frame simply refers to the usage of the the entire width and height of the film and the 35 mm film size became the standard size and was internationally recognised in 1909, since it bacame highly popular after its introduction in 1892 by William Dickson and Thomas Edison.

The standard size of a full frame film is 24 mm × 36 mm, so how does it apply to the digital cameras? Digital cameras have sensors to receive the light and record it as an image. The mixture of sensor size and pixel detail, the dots in the digital image, of the camera greatly affects the quality of the image where the closer the sensor size is to the full frame size the greater the detail in the image it provides per pixel output. Simply put the more pixel placed per sensor size the more quality in the image is lost. Putting it in practice, a 1/1.8″ sensor is 7.18 mm × 5.32 mm offers lesser detail at 12 megapixels resolution compared to a 24 mm × 36 mm sensor size of a Leica M9 or many full frame DSLRs at 12 megapixels.

However, there is a catch to the sensor size. The bigger your cameras’s sensor is, the more expensive it gets. Furthermore, in the compact camera world, the optical zoom and sensor size is inversely proportional because of the lens design limit. Meaning, the higher the optical zoom it provides the smaller the sensor size is!

So, if you plan on buying a camera, better opt for the one with the best value for your money. Know the technical details of the models you are choosing from especially when it comes to the compact digital cameras where many now offers high optical zoom sacrificing the size of the sensor. Still, the cheapest full frame camera is the film based considering you get all that in a simple point-and-shoot film camera and for Kodak it was named instamatic series.

VCF Alabang Kid’s Ministry Team Building

We just had our team building activity last Saturday 15th day of August 2009held at Yamaguchi Resort, Dama Noche St., Calamba, Laguna (I hope I got the address correct).

 It was a great event being able to meet and be close to other people in the Kid’s ministry of VCF Alabang. It was even accompanied with a great sunny day, a good pool and a high slide, good tasting food, and Ptr. Carlo’s birthday! “Whatever it takes!” - we will continue to reach and guide the new generation.

I was not able to capture the portion on the way back to Alabang, Muntinlupa inside the bus while we were stuck in traffic along SLEX because the camera just ran out of power.  Jester, Alvin, and Jeremiah just made an improptu puppet act giving eveyone a good time, I look forward to having them perform it again.

 Here are our photos captured in my camera while it still had power:

(Photos still soon to come)

Here is the album link to get the individual pics.

Batangas Getaway

I went to Salao, Batangas last 9-11 of July 2009 to have a vacation getting away from all the hassles of Metro Manila (air pollution, noise pollution, etc.), work, and whatever is there in Metro Manila not found in the provincial areas. I was with my girlfriend, Gellene, and stayed at her grandma’s house.

The first date of our vacation was timely for her grandma’s birthday celebration and their place was filled with her relatives! I got to meet almost all one by one, but I am sorry if I might not be able to remember their names

The food was great as well. My girlfriend’s aunt, Ka Marissa, is great when it comes to cooking food! Though my mouth and throat got itchy when I ate a spoonful of “gabi” leaf (now I am aware I have a second source of allergic reaction where the first is alcohol) still it did not stop me from eating the other delicacies from a good tasting rice to thesumptuous viands to the lavish desserts of “puto”, “suman”, and other truly native Filipino food. However, someone brought two cakes but it tasted good so I might as well mention it here.

Nature was great! It was really green out there and the place is a vast farm land for rice and corn. I get to enjoy good air and all green sceneries were just splendid that taking pictures of them might justify for their beauty to be shared. The place coupled with the fine weather was a real peace for the mind being able to rest from all the troubles Metro Manila brings.

Thanks to the advent of digital cameras and we’re able to take endless number of pictures! Just see a few of them here:

Here is the album link to get the individual pics. 

The 2009 Photographer’s Greatest Toy

I was just sniffing some cool devices over the Internet and there was this specific brand that was at the tip of my tongue, thanks to Google, I was able to remember it. Remembering the brand was one thing as they are a really knwon and trusted brand but this particular beta product of theirs struck my curiosity: http://www.s.leica-camera.com/ The Leica S2

In the Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera world, I was already at awe at Sony’s a900 offering superb performance with 24.6 megapixel images, however, this specific new find gadget totally blew me off! I am already amazed by the brand ever since I came across it way back then when all I knew was just about film based SLRs and this device just left me drooling onto it.

Here are the teasers they have provided that might interest you:

• Ergonomically designed - smaller and more compact than other DSLRs of other brands
• S-Lenses - offering optimum performance and detail quality with dust proof and waterproof metal fittings and good flash synchronisation
•  3.0″ Display - has 460,000 dots (other brands with the same size have 300,000 dots or lesser)
•  Maestro image processor - Leica’s dual processor system enabling optimum performance at great speeds
•  37.5 megapixel effective resolution
•  Ease-of-Use - provides an easy to use 4 button menu panel with a click-wheel to navigate quickly and intuitively
•  Organic colour LED - allows you to see the camera’s settings clearly even under the bright sun

Overall, the camera is really superb, however, Leica is still doing some improvements on the model as it is still in beta stage so those features listed above and on their website can still change to totally blowing you off your mind! Further information, currently a 32GB CFC can approximately accommodate 400 shots.

My conclusion: I want one. However, my financial status states I don’t have sufficient funds to purchase one unit in the next ten years!  So help me God.