The Host Movie 2013 Review!

If you're wondering if this post is related to photography, well, it isn't.

In fact, I've been invited by Golden Village to the movie preview of The Host.

To sum up the story without disclosing too much; our planet earth has been invaded by an alien species with requires the human body as a host to survive, much like a virus. The story revolves around a young girl by the name of Melanie Stryder, who, refuses to be controlled by her alien invader. She and her alien invader then work together to overcome the challenges presented to her and the remaining human survivors before they are all overtaken the the alien species.

I would rate this movie 4/5. Before catching this movie, I was kinda afraid that the movie will be similar to twilight (I'm not a fan, apparantly). Although this movie does have a little "twilight" plot in it, I'm still loving this movie for the original storyline, and action. Remember to go catch this movie!

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Canon Announces 700D & 100D

Canon announced the long awaited EOS 700D to replace EOS 650D, as well as a new EOS series, EOS 100D.

My first at both cameras, they are quite closely priced, but what are the major differences between them?

 Amazingly, the cheaper EOS 100D gets a really awesome Live View AF system that covers 80% of the frame, while EOS 700D only gets a miserable 30+%. Now that is PRETTY COOL.

Both cameras uses the same Digic 5 sensor with 18.0 megapixels. There are news about Digic 6 sensor and it could be released in the coming EOS 70D. This is a very big deal.

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Queenstown Cinema & Bowling Centre

I've been a frequent visitor to Queenstown, since I began staying in Redhill 20 years ago. Back in the 90's, when I was young, Queenstown is a bustling place to be. There was everything from big restaurants, Cinemas, bowling alley, fastfood, and more! You wouldn't need to travel out of Queenstown to find what you need.

But slowly over the years, many things have changed. Restaurants are gone. Cinemas, bowling alley, fastfood are all gone. Even the hawker centre is gone too! Is this the bustling Queenstown that I have always remembered?

Everything that is a testament of the old Queenstown has already been torn down or rebuilt, with the exception of this: Queenstown Cinema & Bowling Centre.

This place has been vacant for at least a decade, but currently still hasn't been planned for deconstruction or refurbishment. But that won't last for long now, because Queenstown is one of the most expensive prime land for real estate in Singapore and redevelopment will make perfect ($$$) sense.

I wanted to have a look inside, but everything was secured tight with locks, so I can only take some shots outside. I used a combination of Nik software filter (Bleach Bypass @ 25% opacity, and Cross Processing method C01) for a little old school look.

 This should be the ticketing counter and main entrance

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How To Open RAW Files On Your Computer

As mention in the previous post RAW vs JPEG, RAW is an excellent file format to use, but it does have it disadvantages, such as when viewing it on the computer.

There are many programs available in the market that can read and manage RAW files. I'll name a few common ones and list out their advantages and disadvantages. (Photoshop is not included because it can only read RAW files, but not manage them)

ACDSee Pro

http://www.acdsee.com/en/products/acdsee-pro-6

$49.99

 Advantages

- Easy to manage files - Just like browsing through windows explorer

- Quick view available
- Good photo editing functions included

- Native support for RAW files and many other file formats

Disadvantages

- Costly

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