Samsung Galaxy S4: Comparing Camera Quality with Galaxy S3

As the newer smartphone, it is a given that the Galaxy S4 is a better camera compared to Galaxy S3.

• Sharper - a tad too sharp for some, perhaps.
• Higher pixel density means more details (13mp vs. 8mp)
• Improved white balance
• Larger maximum aperture (f2.2 vs. f2.6)

Crop Details

Galaxy S4 crop

Galaxy S3 crop

Angle of View

The one attribute that the S4 loses to S3 is its angle of view. S4's equivalent 35mm view is 31mm, while S3 is around 27mm. This means S4 captures a little less wide view, which is a real pity, as camera users would appreciate a wider angle for self-portraits or shooting landscape.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S3

The new S4 appears to be more conservative in exposure. As demonstrated below, the S4 is under exposed and narrower angle of view. Of course, this is not a major issue, as you can easily override the auto exposure.

Samsung Galaxy S4

Samsung Galaxy S3

The camera resolution has been a talking point for HTC One. Personally, I prefer high-res images as I usually shoot to document more than social sharing, which requires lesser pixels. HTC One is spec-ed to be social friendly. If you live for social sharing, then HTC One is the better choice. If you need a smartphone with a competent camera function to store high-res images, then it has got to be the Samsung Galaxy S4. But don't dump your S3 yet: its camera function is still superior to a lot of other new smartphone models.

Samsung Galaxy S4 : Camera Shooting Modes

Samsung Galaxy S4 has a number of new camera shooting modes, which I admit are pretty neat.

• Auto. This standard mode allows you to shoot with image effects like Vignette, Sepia, Vintage, Cartoon.

• Beauty Face. It detects face and beautifies it with processing.
• Best Photo. The camera captures 8 shots so that you can choose the best shot. To save multiple shots, press and hold the thumbnail to tag for save.
• Best Face. When you have to take a group shot and afraid not everyone looks their best, the camera captures 5 shots and you can select the best faces among the shots to mix into a perfect shot.
• Sound and Shot. You capture a still image and tags a voice recording.
• Drama. The camera captures multiple shots of action and lets you merge them together into a single shot.

• Animated Photo. The camera captures a short motion clip and you get to choose the areas that you can freeze them. The end result is a 752x422 GIF file (6MB) that shows only a specific image area in motion.
• Rich Tone (HDR). It creates a high dynamic range image, where the sky is not overexposed and the shades are not underexposed.
• Eraser. The camera captures a few images and highlights the areas that you might want to remove to form the final shot.

• Panorama. Creates a panoramic shot.
• Sports. Increases shutter speed to help you shoot faster.
• Night. Decreases shutter speed to help you capture more light in the dark. This mode is rather redundant since you can activate "Auto Night Detection" under Auto Shoot mode. (edit 15 May: I found that by activating Auto Night Detection, you lose the ability to activate White Balance and Anti-Shake)
• Dual Shot. Captures images using both front and back cameras at the same time. My favourite shoot mode. You can choose a variety of frames, and change the size of the smaller image. You  can swap the front and rear camera as main. You can even do video recording with dual cameras, and during the live recording, you can swap the camera, remove the small frame, or bring it back up. This is really a new experience in using your 2 cameras. (Note: this video recording flexibility is possible only if you start the video recording with dual shot mode)

So many camera shooting features. Question is, which one should you use in any one situation?

And that is a decision you have to make before you take a shot. Say, you use Best Shot mode and took multiple shots, but there are unwanted background people that you wanted to remove. You can't. You have to reshoot using Eraser Shot mode. Say, you use Eraser Shot mode, and you liked to make it into an Animated Photo. Not possible. Say, you use Animated Photo mode, and you liked to keep a still image in full resolution. Not possible, you can only save as GIF.

In comparison. HTC One does not impose that restriction. After you capture a Zoe, which is a 3-second footage of 20 4-megapixel images, you can choose to process the Zoe into either a (in Samsung Galaxy S4 terms) a Drama Shot, Eraser Shot, or Best Face shot.

So, what would you do in real life? I would only shoot in Auto mode most of the time. Samsung has got some awesome shoot modes, but it needs to allow the user to do post-processing into multiple effects, to make use of the software innovation that Samsung has developed.

My favourite mode is the Dual Shot mode, and I would buy the Samsung Galaxy S4 because of this revolutionary feature that is only possible with a blazing multi-core processor. HTC One's got Zoe, the Galaxy S4's got Dual Shot.

Samsung Galaxy S4: New Exciting Accessories

As part of the review, Samsung provided a few accessories that demonstrate the capabilities of the Galaxy S4.

S View Cover
This is a must-have accessory for all S4 owners, transforming your S4 into a different experience. The flip case offers protection for your smartphone as well as allowing you to interact with the smartphone within the see-through window view. When there are incoming calls, you can see the caller and take the call without opening the flip.

With the S View case, you no longer need to use the power button to turn on and off the screen. Simply close the flip and the S4 turns off the screen, and open the flip to wake it up. Best part of all is: you can still use the rear camera when you fold back the case, unlike the normal flip cases.

Wireless Charging Pad
This accessory demonstrates Samsung's advancement in their consumer technology. To make it happen, you need the charging pad and the charging rear case. It takes a much longer time to complete the charge as the charge current is merely 650mAh. During charge, the pad emits a soft electrical pulse that is audible in a quiet environment. Charging on your bedside is not a good idea unless you are a heavy sleeper.

The charging pad must be powered by the higher-rated 2A charger which is included in the package. When used with an incompatible charger, the LED will blink in orange.

A small issue is that you would not be able to enjoy the wireless charging and the S View at the same time. To do wireless charging, you would have to swap the rear casing, adding hassle to the entire experience.


New Charger's Rating
The Galaxy S4's charger is rated 2A, and gets your S4 fully charged in little over 2 hours. And despite the S4's larger battery capacity of 2600mAh, the battery does not last any longer than the earlier models. For my kind of use, it can get by the day, but at times when I was bored and kept using the phone, the battery will drop by half within 3 hours. Using a lower-rated charger simply means it takes longer to complete the charge.


In the upcoming posts, I will share about the new camera shooting modes, and how it works (or not) in real life situations.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs. S3: The Screen Comparison

I've decided to review the Galaxy S4 with a micro-blogging approach. I shall cover a specific subject and brief about it. But eventually, I'll produce a singular review about everything I learn about the S4.

First, the screen. In the S4, I have selected the "Professional Photo" screen mode. In the S3, I use the "Natural" screen mode. They are the modes that had to be used to avoid the over-saturation of display colour.

The S4 colours look warmer and more accurate than S3 with its infamous cold-blue cast. Both screens offer identical wide viewing angle.

Its higher pixels per inch (ppi) means the images look sharper, less artifacts.

As the display aspect ratio is identical, the amount of content displayed on the S4 and S3 are also the same, as compared to HTC One where the display aspect ratio is longer/wider.

Without a doubt, the S4 surpasses the S3's screen, delivering more accurate colour without appearing too saturated.

Galaxy upgraders can rest assured.

Just In: Reviewing Samsung Galaxy S4

I've just received the Samsung Galaxy S4 review unit, along with accessories like the wireless charger pad and the S View Flip Cover.

With my earlier review experience on the Sony Xperia Z and HTC One, I have high expectations on the Samsung Galaxy S4. Frankly, the phone sells itself, and if you are willing to fork out the price, you will never go wrong with this phone. But if you are one geek that wants nothing but the most rational and informed decision, then you can stick around my blog as I unveil my opinions on the Galaxy S4. And i just a short 12 hours of experiencing the phone, I already have some startling views.

If you want my immediate decision, I would still say the HTC One is a much more polished device, inside out, while the Samsung Galaxy S4 is a more value-for-money device, with the list of unending features. As for Sony Xperia Z, it's the choice for accident-prone users who needs a weather-resistant phone to save their lives, plus it does come out as a beautifully designed gadget - love the prominent power button.

More insights on the new Samsung Galaxy S4, soon.

Samsung NX300: Extreme Image Noise Test

I have written a review on the Samsung NX300 covering most of my opinions and comparisons against the earlier NX models. In this post, I will focus on the image noise review.

In theory, a large image sensor size delivers fewer image noise. In general, the previous NX cameras did well in image details and noise at lower ISO, but beyond ISO 1600, they did not do so well compared to the competitors. Will NX300 fare better at extreme ISO?

Here's how NX300 (right column, ISO 1600-25600) fares against the older NX20 (left column, ISO 1600-12800), shot with the same exposure setting. Save the image to your local desktop and zoom-in to pixel peep.

My observation:

1. NX300 exposure metering seems to be a tad underexposed.
2. NX300 white balance is more aggressive (my room lighting is daylight, which is towards the warm tone)
3. The amount of noise between NX300 and NX20 appears to be similar, but the NX300 noise is more natural while the NX20 noise appears with banding.

Here's comparison shots of the NX300 with the Sony NEX-6 (same exposure settings, at ISO 25600).

The images further confirm that the NX300 is conservative in the exposure metering, more aggressive in white balance, and processes images in higher contrast. The Sony NEX-6 is still unbeatable when it comes to chroma noise reduction, but at the expense of image details.


Extreme Results
The NX300 is already an improvement against the older NX models, where images at ISO 12800 are practically unusable in full resolution. In this post, I am pushing the NX300 beyond what most of us would be using. Sadly, NX300 Auto ISO only allows up to ISO 3200. Samsung is too modest: it should allow Auto ISO up to 6400 because noise is really good enough for most consumers, and allows us to shoot at higher shutter speeds.

Samsung NX300 Review: A Leap for NX-Series Mirrorless Camera

When Samsung launched the NX10 in 2010, I was impressed with its design that is oriented towards professional use, with image quality that surpasses other mirrorless competitors at that time. I was sold by its form factor, the number of buttons and controls available for the user to make quick shooting changes. Samsung then released the NX100 for the market segment who prefers a modern rangefinder look while retaining the same user convenience. The i-Function was introduced to make shoot setting changes even easier. The rangefinder design is further re-thought with metal-body NX200, and NX11 was launched with minor design enhancements, but the innovation did not leapfrog, merely changing the interface, increasing pixel count, adding shooting effects. I thought the camera interface got more laggy, which I attributed to more processor-intensive features. The third-iteration NX-series (NX210, NX20, NX1000) introduced Direct Wi-Fi functionality that lets you link the camera to your smartphones for wireless image transfer, and increased its focus on the entry-level market. The image quality, however, did not improve drastically and by that time, other mirrorless competitors have overtaken and delivered stunning low-noise image quality.

Thankfully, the NX300 introduces many improvements and finally sets many things right.

Touch screen: a long-overdue feature, and with it, many touch features come with it, like touch focus, touch shutter. The menu is also redesigned to make it touch-friendly, and the touch response is pretty good. It's so much easier to use the on-screen keyboard to compose messages and upload images over Wi-Fi. You can also crop images in any dimension. I would wish there is an option to disable the touch screen. Some buttons are also duplicates to the hardware buttons, like Menu, Fn buttons.

AutoShare: image streaming to your smartphone as you shoot is possible, and works just like third party Wi-Fi SD cards. This makes the Wi-Fi image transfer function a lot more instant and less hassle.

Low-noise high ISO: Improved noise reduction for high ISO. NX300 can now shoot at ISO 25600 but the output is not usable. Auto ISO limits up to ISO 3200, so you would need to manually select higher ISO.

RAW processing: when shooting with RAW, the NX300 does not freeze as long compared to the earlier models, as it flushes the buffer faster to allow new RAW shots.

Smart Mode: Renamed from Scene Mode, and with new presets that appear to be more useful. Beauty Face, Landscape, Macro, Action Freeze, Rich Tone, Panorama, Waterfall, Silhouette, Sunset, Night, Fireworks, Light Trace, Creative Shot, Best Face

USB charging: You can now charge the camera with portable power packs.

Other note-worthy specs and new features:

• The NX300 body consists of aluminum-metal finish, rubber texture, and plastic base. This is in contrast to the NX200/210 that sports full aluminium body. But I have to admit, the NX300 retro design is more appealing.
• 8.6fps: Improved from 8fps on NX20, giving you a little more frame to freeze the moment.
• 1/6000s: Improved from 1/4000s on most models (1/8000s for NX20).
• Hybrid auto-focus system: touted to improve focusing speed, but based on my experience, the improvement is not noticeable when compared to NX20.
• Peak Focusing: helps in manual focusing, where the areas in focus are highlighted in colour.
• HDR: Available under Dynamic Range option.
• NFC: allows faster pairing of devices for Wi-Fi connection.
• A single Samsung Smart Camera App that allows you to connect the NX300 to your smartphone for MobileLink, Remote Viewfinder, and AutoShare. Previously, you need to run separate apps for the respective features.
• 50fps (PAL)/ 60fps (NTSC) for Full-HD video
• Larger 3.31" LCD screen
• 280g, including battery BP1130, which is a newer model from NX200/210/1000. It appears the older battery BP1030 cannot be charged using the NX300 USB port. Neither can the new NX300 battery be charged on the older battery chargers. However, both batteries are identical in size and can work with the cameras.

Evolution of mode dials.

A list of features from previous NX cameras have been removed in NX300:

• MAGIC Mode, a feature that lets you capture an image within a pre-defined frame.
• Movie Mode, the dedicated mode is redundant anyway, since you can press the video record button in any mode.
• Sound Picture, one of a key selling feature in previous NX cameras, found its way to Galaxy S4 smartphone
• i-Function Mode removes "i-Effect" which basically allows selection of existing Scene modes, and adds a new feature called "i-Depth", which the user controls depth of field via Defocus to Sharpen slider.
• The Smart Panel (with the press of "Fn" button) has lesser icons on display, which I suppose is to provide better touch experience. As a result, some functions have to be adjusted in Menu.

Summary of Thoughts

The Samsung NX300 is definitely a much improved mirrorless camera, and a good looking one too. The camera performs a little faster than the older models, its touch screen brings about new interaction experience, the images are cleaner at high ISO, the hardware buttons remain largely unchanged for the benefit of the traditional users like myself.

I will be comparing images with the older NX cameras as well as some competitor models to find out whether Samsung NX300 matches or surpasses them. Subscribe to my blog on Facebook to receive the latest updates.

Guest Blog: Singapore and Malaysia Chinese

I have invited a guest blogger to share this article. Iris was an active blogger with a large following and she shares her life experience. It was through that blog that I got to know her, and privileged to be her wedding day photographer. She closed down her blog to concentrate on building up her family and career. She has recently started a baking blog and a Facebook page of doll clothes.

I am very inspired to do a Chinese compilation of Singaporean Mandarin and Malaysian Mandarin. I am not very good in my Chinese, but I think I am good enough to make a simple compilation for the two distinctly different and unique Mandarins.

I was born a Malaysian, grew up in Malaysia but received my education in Singapore. I travelled to and fro the JB-Woodlands causeway from Primary 1 to Secondary 2, after which I moved to Singapore. I worked in Singapore but I have many Malaysian colleagues. I married a Singaporean and I have two lovely and beautiful Singaporean children. One of my rare but amazing “talents” is that I have the ability to switch from Singapore Mandarin accent to Malaysian mandarin accent naturally and fluently. Some of my Malaysian friends who had been in Singapore for a long time can do this too, but most of them cannot control which accent to use. Some have to rely on who they are talking to, and in reciprocal, they will use the same accent to engage in that conversation, while others will switch accent depending on the country they are in (Singapore or Malaysia). I can be so good, that I can talk in both accents in a 3-party conversation involving me, a Singaporean Chinese and a Malaysian Chinese, switching between the two accents simultaneously. Those who know me long enough can vouch for me.

Majority of Singaporean Chinese incorporate English words into their spoken Mandarin, I have great difficulties searching for the Singapore counterparts for many unique Malaysian common terms during my course of compilation. My list below is not irrefutable and I may not be 100% correct, because of our close proximity, I do encounter Singaporean friends saying certain things the Malaysian way and vice versa. I did the compilation out of personal interest; I do not meant to imply which Mandarin is more superior or inferior than the other.

I observed that Singaporean Mandarin is heavily influenced by Singlish and the local dialects, mainly Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese, and many sayings are borrowed from the English and Malay Languages. Throughout the generations, Singaporean Mandarin had deviated far from the Standardised Mandarin or Putonghua used in Mainland China. Singaporean Mandarin bears the closest resemblance to Malaysian Mandarin. Malaysian mandarin has a stronger accent than Singaporean Mandarin, mostly emphasizing on the 3rd tone and 4th tone (Hanyu Pingyin), there is hardly any light tone (“qing shen” 轻声) or retroflex (“qiao she ying” 翘舌音). Although both Mandarins are distinctly different in their accent (tones), it is interesting to note that each country has their own colloquialism.

Many Singaporean find televised variety show programs featuring Malaysian Mandarin entertaining, I agree it did bring laughter to many people. I applauded their efforts to imitate the accent, like all language, it is not an easy feat. Nonetheless, people fluent with Malaysian Mandarin, like me, would easily spot mistakes in the featured Malaysian Mandarin used in such shows. This is simply because Malaysian Chinese and Singaporean Chinese would have said certain things differently.

The differences between the two Mandarins do not stop at just their distinct tones or by simply adding the word "几" ("ji") in front of each expression.

Let me give you a scenario, Singaporean Chinese Family placed their order at a Malaysia restaurant and asked for some hot and cold water to be served to them, they will usually call for 烧水、冷水… but any Malaysian Chinese would had called the same thing, 滚水 and冰水 respectively.

Here is my humble list of compilation (feel free to comment):

Singapore	Malaysia
等下	慢点
发霉	生菇
还钱	给钱
多少钱？	几多钱？
零钱 / 散钱	屯子
半小时	半个钟
一个小时	一个钟
五分钟	一个字
谁告诉你？	谁人跟你讲？
没空	不得空
有空	得空
吃力	够力
厉害	够力
赚钱	赚吃
赚不多	赚不到吃
烧香/上香	点香
不三不四	伶仃
赶不来	做不出
很爱美	桥婆 / 发桥
发薪水	出粮
真的是	讲真的
也是	马是
解冻 /解冰	退冰
而已	罢了 (liao)
逛街	出街 / 走街
旅行	吃风
煮水 / 烧水	煲水
有趣 / 可爱	得意
开水	滚水
冷水	冰水
清汤	六味
菜头粿	炒粿
清草水	凉粉
摩托车	摩托
杀虫剂	蚊油

Singapore	Malaysia	China Putonghua
等下	慢点	等一下
还钱	给钱	付钱
赶不来	做不出	赶不出
很爱美	桥婆 / 发桥	很爱漂亮
发薪水	出粮	发工资
真的是	讲真的	确实是
没有ink	断水	没有墨水了
烧水	滚水	热水
清草水	凉粉	仙草水
干笔	水笔	墨水笔

Thanks Iris for her article! If you have any comments, feel free to post below so that she can respond.