Samsung 2253LW Review
August 22, 2008 | Filed Under Other, Photography, Review, Thoughts | Leave a Comment
I got my Samsung 2253LW 21.6″ 2ms LCD monitor today for $289 at Netplus Micro Computers in Myaree. It was their official opening today and I was probably one of the first few customers, if not the first, to buy anything from them in their new store. A little upset because all the stock has yet to arrive at the store and most items are just being displayed today when they could have done it prior to the opening day. The main store is located in Osborne Park, a little too far for me to travel to get my parts.
This review is based on my first impression and my 4th hour or so running it from my laptop. Displaying 1680×1050 which is the same as its 22″ competitors, Samsung 2253LW doesn’t look any smaller than its .4″ larger counterparts. In fact, I reckon it looks larger than the others due to its frame that is rather thick. Sporting a glossy frame and base, it stands out and looks elegant unlike the normal matte look on most panels. However, this means more dust and fingerprint will be collected and is definitely more prone to dirt. I was initially worried that the glossy look of the frame will be distracting when watching a movie, but it proves to be not a problem at all.
Backlight bleeding is minimal on my unit, at least to me anyway, with about 4-5% of top and bottom of the LCD, which is really unnoticeable unless if I probably have another >$500 LCD placed side by side. I honestly don’t think it’ll be a problem at all when watching movies, more to say gaming. I also checked for dead pixel on my unit with Dead Pixel Buddy and didn’t see any dead pixel, so this unit is close to perfect 
Only one glitch that is common among some Samsung LCD panels - the audible humming frequency when the brightness is below a certain point. Mine is about 60 or so? It’s not a problem for me because I set my brightness to 100%, but it still is annoying knowing that you paid your hard-earned money into an item that has problems, small or big.
The viewing angle of this panel is simply great vertically, but not exactly the case horizontally. The colour changes to slight yellowish when viewed horizontally (don’t ask the angle because I won’t know). The base/stand swivels with the monitor, which is quite weird, but thankfully it swivels with ease, so I won’t complain on that.
The monitor can be tilted upwards by a great deal, which is really good, but doesn’t really tilt downwards much, which I would like because I like watching movies away from the desk on my bed. One downside of the LCD is that there isn’t an adjustable height stand for it, so for people with low/high desk, you may need to get either a new desk or chair. Mine is just right, so no fuss with that.
Anyway, enough rambling:
Pros - Great IQ, viewing angle (vertical), swivels & tilts (with limitation), great resolution, response time of 2ms, 1000:1 contrast ratio, elegant looks (may not be the case for some), value for money.
Cons - 8000:1 DCR gimmick, bad Magicbright bullshit (use default please), horizontal viewing angle quite limited (but viewable), buttons a little hard and plasticky, humming audible sound at certain brightness level, no height adjustment.
Don’t let my description of the monitor fool you. I give Samsung 2253LW 4/5 because it’s a great deal for <$300 22″ LCDs and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great LCD monitor but doesn’t know which one to go for.
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Unedited Photos
August 19, 2008 | Filed Under Night, Photography, Places, Portrait | 8 Comments
Okay this one's slightly edited :P
Like Louis Pang always tend to say, when you get the shot right the first time on camera, you got it right. The near perfect shot. I cannot agree more to this.
Last week (or was it two weeks ago), L and myself went to a suburb called Karawara for a minishoot because I once saw a picturesque spot for a shoot. It was a lamp outside the shopping mall that generates the type of light that I personally think is attractive when combined with a subject (or should I say, model). My subject (model) that night was none other than L
It took a while (maybe 5-10 minutes with about 10 shots?) for me to get the right combination of settings on the camera. I was armed with my trusty 18-55mm VR kit lens and 55-200mm VR lens, but I only managed to utilise the kit lens. I am somewhat more confident with the kit lens for reasons unknown. I had my SB600 speedlight with the “fake” Sto-fen diffuser on as well.
Looking up
I could only wish I had a tripod or at least a monopod instead of upping the ISO, but I hadn’t got a choice at that time.
There was a purplish light there, so it's not the camera playing up
I love how L managed to pose for me although at times she could be reluctant. There were quite a lot of people walking past us with some cars and some stares, but we managed to ignore the passers-by and kept the shoot going.
Of course, the night was not without its downs. I just can’t seem to get the white balance right on some shots. Perhaps it was the lighting of the location or perhaps I am just too much of a noob. I tried pre-setting the white balance with my white cardboard (foam), but the results were still unsatisfactory. Then again, other than a few shots of a different lighting, the colours were pretty accurate.
A little overexposed, I know, but the "correctly" exposed shot is not as attractive as this one
I shot in jpg because I had no intention of major editing to begin with, and was not really keen to do any post-processing.
There’s so many good shots that I don’t know which one to put up.
Actually, part of the reason of these unedited photos is because I’m still stuck with my laptop which takes me so long to edit the images.
Take for example the first picture in this entry. I took at least 20 minutes just to edit that single shot. Do the math yourself.
Easily my favourite shot
Another reason that I didn’t edit the photos is because I messed around with the gamma and settings of the laptop LCD two weeks ago, causing my monitor to be inaccurate in colours. My plan is to hire a Spyder monitor calibrator from the local Gerry Gibbs CameraHouse after my desktop is set up. They have a $30 hire fee for 3 days, so I can calibrate both my laptop and desktop monitor as well.
If only this shot wasn't overexposed. We tried again and again to get the same shot but didn't managed to after that.
We both got too cold after the shoot and decided to call it a night after about 30-40 minutes.
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Lost Your Underwear?
August 18, 2008 | Filed Under Gibberish, Humour, Photography, Work | 4 Comments
I found it outside work a couple of nights ago. Thought it was interesting, so here are the photos from my N95
Hmm?
Is this yours?
Another angle
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HOYA CPL 52mm
August 7, 2008 | Filed Under Accessories/Equipment, Life in Uni, Photography, Thoughts, Work | 2 Comments
- HOYA CPL 52mm Box
- HOYA CPL 52mm
- HOYA CPL 52mm on 18-55mm VR
It’s finally week one of university. To be exact, it has been three days since university started, but I have already missed out on two lectures. I just can’t bring myself to wake up on time to get to campus, somehow.
Work has been really demanding, with me working almost every night and me not having enough time to spend with loved ones. The only consolation is that my manager told me that I will be trained in a new section in a couple of weeks time, which is timely as I have been dreading to leave my current section.
My sleeping hours are still unchanged, and I’m struggling to reverse it to normal sleeping hours so I can use my day time to study instead.
Believe it or not, I just dozed off and had visuals of work in my head. Ugh. Have a good week ahead
P.S. I don’t know if it happens to you guys, but I fell asleep before hitting the “Publish” button. That’s not the first time it happened.
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Impulsivity (II)
July 29, 2008 | Filed Under Accessories/Equipment, Announcement, General, Photography | 6 Comments
I just bought a couple of items from eBay:
The hood isn’t exactly compulsory, but it’s really annoying seeing how “naked” the lens look by itself, especially when I use the lens in most situations. I still don’t get why Nikon Corporation decides not to include the hood with the kit lens.
This is a “fake” version of Stofen’s Omnibounce, about 1/5th the price of the original Stofen. But what difference will it make? It’s still plastic and I’m sure the results will still be more pleasing on the eye than bare flash by the Speedlight, bounced or not.
I just had to say this - photography makes me feel broke! 
P.S. A friend’s cousin is looking for an assistant photographer. I’m seriously considering it although I may not be what he is looking for.
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“Carrots”
July 29, 2008 | Filed Under Other, Photography, Rough Times | 3 Comments
Thanks to Bryan for the minimal downtime of my blog
This is a pending post from four days ago, but since I have my day off, I shall slowly re-type the post:
It was a normal Friday afternoon. I had to drag my ass out of the bed because some potential buyer of my Nissan Pulsar 1990 Hatchback was coming over to check the car. So, I needed to drive the car to the nearest car wash and give it a quick wash and vacuum. I got out of the house and:
There were carrot pieces all over my neighbour’s pavers.
Carrot
There were carrot pieces under my car.
Carrot 2
There were carrot stains on my driver side-mirror. And it was cracked. With carrots.
Carrot 3
What an insult. The potential buyers did not end up buying the car, of course.
The day followed up with Elvis (the dog) and Monkey (the bird) being sick, not excluding my blog being sick. What a day that was.
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Monkey the Bird
July 25, 2008 | Filed Under Gibberish, Pets, Photography | 2 Comments
Monkey the Bird
Hi! My name is Monkey and I’m a bird! Nice to meet you. Raymond is too busy working to earn money, so I’m here to blog on his behalf. He’ll be back as soon as possible. Don’t I just look so cool? Admit it. I do, and don’t say no because I bite.
Have a good day!
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