Trends in Digital Cameras: Variable-Angle Screen, Touch Screen and Wi-Fi Connectivity

Like the smart phones, the technology in digital cameras has kept on moving. Latest digital cameras especially DSLR and micro 4/3 mirrorless cameras have features that include tilting or variable-angle LCD screen, touch screen and Wi-Fi and NFC (near field communication) connectivity. Those features which are now popular to photographers will probably become standard for most digital cameras in the future.

In addition to camera control buttons, a touch screen provides the photographer convenience in selecting settings and working through the various menus in the cameras with just the touch of his or her fingers on the camera monitor.

Articulating screen, unlike fixed screen can be changed of its position around a hinge or a pivot. It helps the photographer compose his shots from various perspectives. There are two types of this screen, the tilting screen and the variable-angle screen. The tilting screen moves around one axis that is up or down. The variable-angle screen moves around in two axes that are right angle to each other. The screen can be tilted up and down up or move to the side of the camera.

With Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity, a photographer can seamlessly transfer or share pictures from the camera to the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Pairing his digital camera with his smart phone installed with Android apps such as Image Sync, a photographer can use his phone to remotely control camera operations.  He can view what is seen by the camera lens trough the smart phone screen, adjust basic settings such as ISO, shutter speed and aperture and activate the shutter to finally take the picture.                                                                                                                

The variable-angle screen, the Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity are some of the best things that ever happen to one who loves to take his own picture such as self portraits or selfie or group picture where he wants to be included in the group. With his camera mounted on a tripod, he can take a desired pose by viewing himself in the camera’s articulating screen that is faced to his position. Using his phone as a remote controller, he can then activate the shutter when appropriate settings are in place. Most often, in taking pictures such as landscape, it is desired to have a very slow shutter speed and deep depth of field. In such situation hand holding a camera to take a picture is not ideal because a slight movement of the hand will cause blur in the picture, and a tripod and a self timer or remote control on which a smart phone is used will come in handy.

Major digital camera manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, Sony, Samsung, Fuji, Olympus and Panasonic have incorporated the variable-angle screen, touch screen and Wi-Fi or the combination of all these features in some of their latest digital camera models. Pentax has also joined the band wagon by introducing into the market the K-S2 entry level DSLR with Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity and variable-angle screen.

The variable-angle screen, the touch screen and the Wi-Fi and NFC connectivity have become popular to photographers so that they are come on to would be buyers of digital cameras. Hopefully, in the near future, when the cost of camera production goes down, those features will also be available even in the most affordable and easy to use point-and-shoot camera.  And indeed, they have brought the world of digital photography to a higher level, and they also give the photographer a more enjoyable and better ways to take and share pictures.                                                                                                                             

An All Saints' Day at the Cagayan de Oro Gardens

November 1 is the All Saints’ Day which is a religious occasion to many Filipinos. It is a time of the year when they commemorate all the saints of the church.  Although the following day, November 2, is the “All Souls’ Day”, most Filipinos observe these holidays as a single occasion.  They differ in their ways to honor their departed loved ones during the occasion based on their religious beliefs and cultural practices. Generally, they do it by visiting the tomb of their departed loved ones, offering flowers, lighting candles and praying. In some private cemeteries the families or relatives of the deceased bring along with them foods and tents to spend an evening vigil in the memorial park.

Cagayan de Oro Gardens is one of the memorial parks or private cemeteries in Cagayan de Oro City.  It is also a sort of a nature park because of the trees, gardens, manicured lawns, artificial lagoons and other amenities that adorn the place. An added bonus is the scenic terrains that can be seen beyond the park. These include hills, mountains, roads, river, orchards and other man-made and natural terrain features. 

Mindanao University of Science and Technology

The Mindanao University of Science and Technology (MUST) is a higher education institution in the Philippines. Its campus is located opposite the sprawling Lim Ket Kai shopping complex along C.M. Recto Avenue in Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro. The university offers 40 bachelors degree programs, 16 masters degree programs and 3 doctors degree programs in the fields of education, architecture, engineering, information technology and science.

From its humble beginnings in 1927 the university has evolved from a mere trade school into a state polytechnic college, and finally into a state university of science and technology.  

This year marks another milestone in the university’s history with the inauguration of state-of-the-art eight storey engineering complex. The event was attended by high department of education and other government officials.

Garden of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village

The Gardens of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village of Cugman, Cagayan de Oro is a Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) managed and operated nature-park. It is nestled on 7.2 hectares of the 800-hectare reforestation and watershed area. Amenities in the park include an amphitheater, camp ground, swimming pool, air condition cottages, dormitory, resto-café, souvenir shop, mini zoo, hanging bridge, among others.  

Located within a government protected land area, the park offers visitors a forest retreat in a mountain that is near the heart of the city. The shelter of the trees and the breeze from the sea create a pleasant atmosphere for the visitors in this mountain retreat. Overlooking the eastern part of the city and the province, the park treats the visitors with a panoramic view of Macajalar Bay and the eastern coast of the city. For the lovers of nature, the park is an ideal place that is away from the hustle and bustle of the city.    

 

Alay Kapwa 2014

Alay Kapwa is a Lenten Evangelization Action Program of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines that is held annually in the different regions in the country. The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro hosted the Mindanao Region launching of the program which was conducted on March 3 and 4, 2014.      

                                                                                                                                                        

Activities of this year’s program include mass, lectures and visits by the participants to the different Catholic charitable institutions in the city such as The House of Hope, The House of Joy and The Home of the Aged. The participants also visited the house relocations projects of the victims of Typhoon Sendong.  

                                                                                                                          

“One Human Family without Poverty and Hunger”, the Alay Kapwa theme for 2014 aptly describes the Catholic Church and its faithful endeavor to help the poorest and the most unfortunate people in the society. Jesus Christ gave up his life for the forgiveness of our sins. Alay Kapwa somehow aims to follow his example by offering the church and the participants’ time, talent and treasure to help their needy and sick brothers and sisters.

Rev. Broderick S. Pabillo