Lens hood on the MX500

Tom Weir · March 8th, 2003, 04:20 AM

Sony Premium tapes are ?8 including sales tax in Ireland so about ?6.50 without.

Your camera prices are great in Singapore...

Frank Granovski · March 8th, 2003, 04:39 AM

Yes, when you convert the Irish Pound to Canadian, it comes to about the same price here in Canada.

Tom Weir · March 8th, 2003, 06:07 AM

Hey, we are all Euros now bar our friends in the UK. The symbol didn't translate into the forum.

6.50 euros = 10.50 CDN

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 8th, 2003, 07:47 AM

But I must say that the SGD$6 tapes are the lowest quality types from either Panasonic, JVC or Sony. I haven't seem Maxell or Fuji MiniDV tapes here, though.

I would guess that prices of tapes are about the same in Malaysia as in Singapore. Steven?

Frank Granovski · March 8th, 2003, 08:38 PM

Oops. Not too long ago I had a bus stop chat with an Irish gal, and she did tell me they used Euros instead of the Irish Pound.

-------------------------------------------------
The brain's the first thing to go.

Tom Weir · March 9th, 2003, 03:23 AM

Normally cultural differences are something I love, I always enjoyed working with different money in Europe. But the euro really opened my eyes to value differences across europe.

A Sony VX2000 was 200 euros dearer in Stuttgart than Dublin, a fact which surprised me.

But the recent dollar fall has meant that DVD-R drive cost about 250 euros... and importing from the US became competitive again. I know quite a few Irish who go to NYC to buy camera gear.

Steven Khong · March 10th, 2003, 09:42 PM

Hi, Yow!

The price of tapes in Singapore that you mentioned, $6 Singapore - that's quite low. Are they the 90LP / 60 SPs? Did you have to bargain for them?

Anyways, in KL, the listed sticker price for SONY 90LP / 60 SPs (without the digital chip built in) can be quite high in comparison: about Malaysian RM 28 = Singapore $15 = USD $7 or so. Cut throats! :( :(

I know this place in Sungai Wang that can get you Panasonic 90LP / 60 SPs for about Malaysian RM 15 = Singapore $8 = USD $ 4, after bargaining. "Cheapest place in Klang Valley" was their boast.

Hmm... looks like you can get cheaper consumables in Singapore. Oh, the price, Singapore $6, does that include tax? Mine is already including tax.

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 11th, 2003, 09:20 PM

After getting familiar with the seller, and buying many things from him, I get Sony 90LP/60SP non-chip tapes (red packaging) at $6.00 each, and sometimes at $5.50 (when you buy more, like 10 pieces). Panasonic 90LP/60SP non-chip is about $5.50, and $5.00 if you buy more (like 10 pieces). These are the basic, beginners' tapes, but I have no problems with them, so far. In any case, most of my tapes are used only once for recording and playback a few times during editing and viewing.

All prices quoted are in Singapore Dollars. Tax included.

Steven: when you need tapes, maybe I can get a bunch of them and pass them to you.

Eric Fong · March 13th, 2003, 10:31 PM

Is it better for me to get the MX500 from Malaysia or Singapore ? Please give advice (Steven & Yow) !!
Has anyone got any still pictures taken from MX500 ? Please send some to me, cause I want to see if its really a 3 Mega Pixel quality ! thanks !!

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 14th, 2003, 10:49 AM

The pictures are REALLY 3MP.

But they are also grainy 3MP. If you print to 4R (6" x 4"), you'll probably not notice the grain, though. After a little touching up softening in Photoshop, I'll say that you'll probably end up with about 2MP equivalent in sharpness and details.

My Fuji S602Zoom is a real digital still cam with SuperCCD (whatever, blah blah) and I shoot at 3MP. I'll say that Fuji's SuperCCD is already inherently noisy, but the MX500 is still noisier.

On this topic of video vs still, in low lights, the still cam exposes longer (sometimes keeping the shutter open for up to 15 secs!) but the video cam can only have shutter of 1/25 sec at the lowest, so any lower light, it'll use digital gain, which is about the same as changing the ASA/ISO upwards, ie equivalent to using more sensitive film, which will inevitably be more grainy and noisy.

However, I don't own an MX500, I have merely downloaded a file from MX500 on the net (EXIF still intact, so it should be original file) and played around with it.

Why don't some MX500 users here send Eric some pictures!

About buying in Malaysia and Singapore, the diffrence in probably too small to make a trip. Last hear was sub RM5000, and in Singapore it's SGD 2300. That's about 2% difference at the most!

Steven Khong · March 15th, 2003, 12:48 AM

About getting the cam in Singapore or Malaysia....

If you are living in Malaysia most of the time, and hardly go to Singapore, then you're better off buying in Malaysia.

Try going to Boeing Electronics in Sungai Wang, KL (oh, I'm assuming you're staying in KL / PJ!) and they can get you a good price. Then you can also build a relationship with them, so that you can get other stuff next time for cheaper.

If you get it in Singapore, you have to service it in Singapore. It's no joke & might not be worth the trouble - unless you're always going to Singapore.
If you send it down to Singapore for repair, I hope you have an agent that is a reliable techie capable person who can check the cam after it's repaired before sending it back to you in Malaysia.

Besides, I think the MX300 & MX350 may be better off for you, if you think you will be working in low lights i.e. evening light or even a room with a single florescent light, or perhaps a wedding banquet where they use dim yellow lights, which the MX500 is not good at (just too bad, what a waste!)

All the best on your decision!

Frank Granovski · March 15th, 2003, 01:21 AM

Are the low light/high resolution MX300 and MX350 still available?

Yow Cheong Hoe · March 15th, 2003, 11:05 AM

<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : Are the low light/high resolution MX300 and MX350 still available? -->>>

Well, the MX300/350 is not a low-light performer, just better than the MX500. The resolution of the MX500 is certainly better then the MX300/350, at the rated 540 lines, max for MiniDV.

The 300 has been off the shelves for over a year in Singapore. Occasionally, you can still see the MX350 on the shelf of Harvey Norman (a large chain store) here. But Harvey Norman sells at almost RRP, which will be SGD3800 for the MX350 and SGD3300 for the MX500. You can still bargain a little for teh salesman to lower his own commision, but that's about limited to 10% to 15%.

Frank Granovski · March 15th, 2003, 06:01 PM

Thanks, Yow.

What I meant was that the MX300 and MX350 requires less LUX than the MX500. I just mentioned that they were good low light performers because the other member mentioned, "I think the MX300 & MX350 may be better off for you, if you think you will be working in low lights i.e. evening light or even a room with a single florescent light, or perhaps a wedding banquet where they use dim yellow lights, which the MX500 is not good at (just too bad, what a waste!)"

Personally, I don't think the MX300 and MX350 are good either in low light conditions, say in shooting a wedding reception, with the lights turned down. There's always video light though. That'll help with cleaner close-up shooting. It's too bad you can't get the 1/25 manual shutter setting. That would help make a difference!

Tom Weir · March 16th, 2003, 06:41 AM

Every now and then a ghostly reflection of the lens fills my screen... never noticed it shooting but when I hooked up a monitor.

I realised that it is the UV filter reflecting the lens.

I thought that it might be due to the sequence on my MX300: Lens - Hood - UV filter. The gap might be exacerbating the possibility that this woudl occur. But there was no way to hook the Hood on once the UV filter was attached directly to the lens.

Any thoughts?

March 14th, 2003, 10:49 AM	#25
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	The pictures are REALLY 3MP. But they are also grainy 3MP. If you print to 4R (6" x 4"), you'll probably not notice the grain, though. After a little touching up softening in Photoshop, I'll say that you'll probably end up with about 2MP equivalent in sharpness and details. My Fuji S602Zoom is a real digital still cam with SuperCCD (whatever, blah blah) and I shoot at 3MP. I'll say that Fuji's SuperCCD is already inherently noisy, but the MX500 is still noisier. On this topic of video vs still, in low lights, the still cam exposes longer (sometimes keeping the shutter open for up to 15 secs!) but the video cam can only have shutter of 1/25 sec at the lowest, so any lower light, it'll use digital gain, which is about the same as changing the ASA/ISO upwards, ie equivalent to using more sensitive film, which will inevitably be more grainy and noisy. However, I don't own an MX500, I have merely downloaded a file from MX500 on the net (EXIF still intact, so it should be original file) and played around with it. Why don't some MX500 users here send Eric some pictures! About buying in Malaysia and Singapore, the diffrence in probably too small to make a trip. Last hear was sub RM5000, and in Singapore it's SGD 2300. That's about 2% difference at the most! __________________ Cam: Panasonic MX350EN, SOLD my MX8EN Mac: G3 400MHz PowerBook, 256 MB, OS 9 PC: Pentium 4 2800MHz, 512 MB, WindowsXP SW: iMovie, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, Ulead Video Studio, various little utilities

March 8th, 2003, 04:20 AM	#16
Tom Weir New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dromahaire, Leitrim, Ireland Posts: 15	Sony Premium tapes are ?8 including sales tax in Ireland so about ?6.50 without. Your camera prices are great in Singapore...

March 8th, 2003, 04:39 AM	#17
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Yes, when you convert the Irish Pound to Canadian, it comes to about the same price here in Canada.

March 8th, 2003, 06:07 AM	#18
Tom Weir New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dromahaire, Leitrim, Ireland Posts: 15	Hey, we are all Euros now bar our friends in the UK. The symbol didn't translate into the forum. 6.50 euros = 10.50 CDN

March 8th, 2003, 07:47 AM	#19
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	But I must say that the SGD$6 tapes are the lowest quality types from either Panasonic, JVC or Sony. I haven't seem Maxell or Fuji MiniDV tapes here, though. I would guess that prices of tapes are about the same in Malaysia as in Singapore. Steven?

March 8th, 2003, 08:38 PM	#20
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Oops. Not too long ago I had a bus stop chat with an Irish gal, and she did tell me they used Euros instead of the Irish Pound. ------------------------------------------------- The brain's the first thing to go.

March 9th, 2003, 03:23 AM	#21
Tom Weir New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dromahaire, Leitrim, Ireland Posts: 15	Normally cultural differences are something I love, I always enjoyed working with different money in Europe. But the euro really opened my eyes to value differences across europe. A Sony VX2000 was 200 euros dearer in Stuttgart than Dublin, a fact which surprised me. But the recent dollar fall has meant that DVD-R drive cost about 250 euros... and importing from the US became competitive again. I know quite a few Irish who go to NYC to buy camera gear.

March 10th, 2003, 09:42 PM	#22
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	Hi, Yow! The price of tapes in Singapore that you mentioned, $6 Singapore - that's quite low. Are they the 90LP / 60 SPs? Did you have to bargain for them? Anyways, in KL, the listed sticker price for SONY 90LP / 60 SPs (without the digital chip built in) can be quite high in comparison: about Malaysian RM 28 = Singapore $15 = USD $7 or so. Cut throats! :( :( I know this place in Sungai Wang that can get you Panasonic 90LP / 60 SPs for about Malaysian RM 15 = Singapore $8 = USD $ 4, after bargaining. "Cheapest place in Klang Valley" was their boast. Hmm... looks like you can get cheaper consumables in Singapore. Oh, the price, Singapore $6, does that include tax? Mine is already including tax.

March 11th, 2003, 09:20 PM	#23
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	After getting familiar with the seller, and buying many things from him, I get Sony 90LP/60SP non-chip tapes (red packaging) at $6.00 each, and sometimes at $5.50 (when you buy more, like 10 pieces). Panasonic 90LP/60SP non-chip is about $5.50, and $5.00 if you buy more (like 10 pieces). These are the basic, beginners' tapes, but I have no problems with them, so far. In any case, most of my tapes are used only once for recording and playback a few times during editing and viewing. All prices quoted are in Singapore Dollars. Tax included. Steven: when you need tapes, maybe I can get a bunch of them and pass them to you.

March 13th, 2003, 10:31 PM	#24
Eric Fong Tourist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Malaysia Posts: 1	Is it better for me to get the MX500 from Malaysia or Singapore ? Please give advice (Steven & Yow) !! Has anyone got any still pictures taken from MX500 ? Please send some to me, cause I want to see if its really a 3 Mega Pixel quality ! thanks !!

March 15th, 2003, 12:48 AM	#26
Steven Khong Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 112	About getting the cam in Singapore or Malaysia.... If you are living in Malaysia most of the time, and hardly go to Singapore, then you're better off buying in Malaysia. Try going to Boeing Electronics in Sungai Wang, KL (oh, I'm assuming you're staying in KL / PJ!) and they can get you a good price. Then you can also build a relationship with them, so that you can get other stuff next time for cheaper. If you get it in Singapore, you have to service it in Singapore. It's no joke & might not be worth the trouble - unless you're always going to Singapore. If you send it down to Singapore for repair, I hope you have an agent that is a reliable techie capable person who can check the cam after it's repaired before sending it back to you in Malaysia. Besides, I think the MX300 & MX350 may be better off for you, if you think you will be working in low lights i.e. evening light or even a room with a single florescent light, or perhaps a wedding banquet where they use dim yellow lights, which the MX500 is not good at (just too bad, what a waste!) All the best on your decision!

March 15th, 2003, 01:21 AM	#27
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Are the low light/high resolution MX300 and MX350 still available?

March 15th, 2003, 11:05 AM	#28
Yow Cheong Hoe Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Singapore, Passport: Malaysia Posts: 407	<<<-- Originally posted by Frank Granovski : Are the low light/high resolution MX300 and MX350 still available? -->>> Well, the MX300/350 is not a low-light performer, just better than the MX500. The resolution of the MX500 is certainly better then the MX300/350, at the rated 540 lines, max for MiniDV. The 300 has been off the shelves for over a year in Singapore. Occasionally, you can still see the MX350 on the shelf of Harvey Norman (a large chain store) here. But Harvey Norman sells at almost RRP, which will be SGD3800 for the MX350 and SGD3300 for the MX500. You can still bargain a little for teh salesman to lower his own commision, but that's about limited to 10% to 15%.

March 15th, 2003, 06:01 PM	#29
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	Thanks, Yow. What I meant was that the MX300 and MX350 requires less LUX than the MX500. I just mentioned that they were good low light performers because the other member mentioned, "I think the MX300 & MX350 may be better off for you, if you think you will be working in low lights i.e. evening light or even a room with a single florescent light, or perhaps a wedding banquet where they use dim yellow lights, which the MX500 is not good at (just too bad, what a waste!)" Personally, I don't think the MX300 and MX350 are good either in low light conditions, say in shooting a wedding reception, with the lights turned down. There's always video light though. That'll help with cleaner close-up shooting. It's too bad you can't get the 1/25 manual shutter setting. That would help make a difference!

March 16th, 2003, 06:41 AM	#30
Tom Weir New Boot Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dromahaire, Leitrim, Ireland Posts: 15	Every now and then a ghostly reflection of the lens fills my screen... never noticed it shooting but when I hooked up a monitor. I realised that it is the UV filter reflecting the lens. I thought that it might be due to the sequence on my MX300: Lens - Hood - UV filter. The gap might be exacerbating the possibility that this woudl occur. But there was no way to hook the Hood on once the UV filter was attached directly to the lens. Any thoughts?