The Polaroid Pogo Printer in the box

Many shutters have been clicked, so many people have been photographed, so many smiles have been captured. Yet it’s rare that I get to return the favour of sharing their moments with us photographers. I wanted to give something back, even as simple as giving their own photo.

When I saw the Polaroid Pogo printer for the first time, I thought it was a very handy device to give instant photo to people. Its introductory price was steep two years ago (about P4000+) but when I saw it a couple of months ago it has gone down to half its price and thought about getting one. I thought it would be useful to bring to Myanmar where I could give photos so select individuals so I bought a unit.

The Pogo size comparison with a mobile phone

The Printer

The printer itself is small and handy, slightly larger and thicker comparing it to the size of popular smartphones, in this case, I compared it to my Nokia N8. On one side is the compartment where the paper is fed (max 10), on one of the longside is the interface for the power while the other is the interface for the USB and power button and indicators.  It’s pretty straightforward and easy to figure out.

The charger is quite large for the printer

One disadvantage I saw here is the huge charger which is almost the size of the printer itself. I hope the next time they’ll make use of a smaller charger. That in the way, I just make sure I fully charge the unit (which takes about 2 hours+) to make sure I can print about 14-15 photos on full charge.

ZINK Papers

The ZINK Paper

The box comes with an initial set of 10 ZINK paper. The Polaroid Pogo uses ZINK technology paper where the paper has crystals which reacts to heat and then produces the photo. It’s pretty neat and instant like the good old Polaroids except that you don’t have to shake it on air or tap it. It’s also water-resistant and has an adhesive back to make use of it as a sticker. The papers can be bought locally for P180 for a 10 set piece. Not really cheap so it’s worth thinking which ones to print.

Printing via bluetooth

Printing

The printer can be loaded with up to 10 piece of ZINK paper including a SMART Paper which comes with every paper set. That SMART paper placed under would automatically spit out by the printer then it would be ready to print with the actual paper. There are two ways to print – USB and Bluetooth.

Connecting the device through bluetooth

Most Bluetooth capable phones can connect with the printer. Upon initial device recognition and connection, you can then browse through the gallery for the image you choose then “Print” in the menu. Just choose the Polaroid Pogo as the printer. One minor quirk though that led me to an hour of troubleshooting. Once the device has been recognized and trusted by the device the “Print” command no longer works, instead I found “Send” the image to the printer would do the work. I’m not sure if it is just the Nokia phone but it kinda made me panic a bit at first.

Printing via PictBridge

The other way is when connecting the camera directly to the printer via USB. Most cameras nowadays have PictBridge like my Olympus E-PL1. This was a lot simpler to do. Just connect the camera and choose the Print option. The gallery would open. Just choose the photo and print. There are other options like the number of copies.

Direct to Camera Printing is easy

One thing missing though is connecting it directly to a computer. I hope they add that feature on future releases.

Print time and image transfers usually take about a minute or so.

The Polaroid Pogo Printer produces decent prints

Print Quality

I wasn’t expecting top notch quality like let’s say the Canon Selphy which is a larger 4R portable printer. But I was quite satisfied with the decent quality of the prints which is good for posterity purposes. It has the grainy and instant quality to it. I do notice that dark photos when printed turns out a bit muddy that’s why I try to brighten them up in-camera first before I actually print them.

Giving photos prints as a way of saying thank you

Verdict

When I was in Myanmar, I had the chance to use the Polaroid Pogo Printer and it amused a lot of people when I hand them instant prints. My horsecart and motorbike drivers really appreciated it they have a photo along with the payment I gave. A family I met with two talented sons was very happy having their family photo. The mom kept looking at it and smiled back full of gratitude.

I guess it works and it gives me chills when people appreciate it. It may not have the top quality printout but it’s the thought that really counts here. I didn’t have trouble bringing the printer when I go out to shoot (of course leaving the charger at the hotel) nor had trouble printing out once I knew how. Polaroid Pogo is a fun little toy I really enjoyed using. It definitely has a place inside my photo bag.

Sony Alpha A550 DT 18-55mm Kit Contents

The year 2009 has been ground breaking for digital cameras. Every manufacturer seems to be putting out new features and technology that are changing the way people do photography. Sony was able to contribute to this growing technology by introducing their EXMOR R sensor. Sony Philippines was generous enough to give me a chance to play around with two of their recent cameras and both uses the new sensor technology EXMOR R with new BIONZ Processing engine. And the first up is their Sony Alpha A550.

Sony Alpha A550 Right Top Rear controls

The EXMOR R Sensor. This is a new CMOS Sensor designed by Sony. It is also called a back-illuminated sensor since the circuitry is behind the Photo-diodes unlike the common sensors. Since the light would directly be received without passing through circuitry, it promises twice the sensitivity of conventional sensors and low noise.

The Sony Alpha 550 DSLR using an APS-C sized EXMOR Sensor is somewhere on the mid-range line of Sony DSLRs judging by its price range and features. Looking at the back of the box, these seem to be the highlight features:

Sony Alpha A550 Box

• Quick AF Live View
• MF Check Live View
• SteadyShot Inside
• 14.2 Mega pixels
• Exmor CMOS Sensor
• BIONZ Image Processing Engine
• High ISO 200-12800
• 9 point AF
• Dual Slot Memory Stick Duo and SD
• D-Range Optimizer
• Auto-HDR
• 5 fps on viewfinder (7fps on live view)
• Face Detection with Smile Shutter
• 3” Xtra Fine LCD
• Photo TV HD

Sony DT 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 SAM

Sony A550 Body Front with cap

I know Sony inherited the Minolta heritage but I really haven’t used a Sony DSLR before so I was excited to try it and see if I can adapt to it easily with my shooting style.  Here’s what’s inside the box of the 18-55mm kit:

• Sony Alpha A550 DSLR Body
• NP-FM500H Lithium-Ion Battery
• BC-VM10 Battery charger
• Body cap
• Shoulder strap
• USB cable
• Software CD-ROM
• Manual and Warranty

Trying out the Sony Alpha A550 out of the box

Initial Impressions. Take note that these are what I noticed when I opened the box and started tinkering with the A550 with the battery’s factory charge.I will write my entry soon on the A550 as I report actual use on the field.

• The A550 body is light and of moderate size for a DSLR
• Solid “plastic” feel build with gun metal color on top
• Rubber portions with nice easy grip
• I love the high resolution 920,000 dot articulating 3” screen
• Certainly didn’t like the plastic body cap and lens mount cap
• Battery doesn’t have a cap/cover
• Live View is the fastest I have used on a DSLR and works well with the articulating screen
• Viewfinder is just average
• 9-point auto focus is responsive
• DT 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 SAM front element rotates, (could be bad on filters)

The Sony Alpha A550 with DT 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 SAM (Silent Autofocus Motor) standard retail price in the Philippines is Php 64,999.00 as of this writing.

The new iPod Nano 5th Gen

Among the iPod lines, it seems that the Nano, which sits in the middle of the pack had made some drastic changes both in shape and features. Now here comes the 5^th Generation iPod Nano and built into it are new features like the Video Recording and the FM Radio which are not yet present in the current generations of iPods. Apple Philipines distributor was kind enough to send in a test unit to play around with for a while. I took the Nano up on a long road trip up north to rough it out in the Ifugao Mountains.

Build and Handling. It’s a pretty solid little iPod. It’s so slim it could pass for a bookmark. I was worried at times that it could slip from my hands so I was hoping I could put a strap on it but couldn’t find any place to slip it on. Screen’s larger and vibrant but can be hard to see under bright outdoor light. The iPod Nano is actually an ideal size to bring along for travel. It packs a good amount of songs for such a small size.

iPod Nano Shooting a Video

Battery Life. The bus ride going to Banaue from Manila and vice versa takes around 9 hours. Without tinkering much and and just listening to an album or a continuous run of a Genius Mix Playlist, I was suprised it lasted that long and the battery didn’t drain for the duration of the trip.

iPod Nano Camera and Mic

Video Recording. One of the selling points of the new Nano is its ability to record videos (but surprisingly not stills). The MP4 format Standard VGA at 30fps per second is, like it says, is Standard in Quality. Video is decent but audio could suffer in quality as the Mic can’t cope with deeper, bass-y sound. And I think the placement of the Camera and Mic should be somewhere off-center right or left. I found thatmy fingers could be seen when I hold it with my right hand. And there’s this annoying clicking sound as well on the video, have to check if I can turn it off or the Mic is picking up the shutter sound.  Check out the video sample below.

FM Radio. It’s a straightforward feature. The Nano supports on-air tagging but it seems radio stations here in the Philippines don’t support that yet, but the station IDs can be seen.

For whom is the iPod Nano for? Well being in the middle of the line can be tricky but I find there are advantages for the iPod Nano.

• Its slim size, light weight and extensive battery life are ideal for travel
• If you need an FM Radio it’s definitely worth it
• If you want an iPod but can’t afford the higher priced Touch or Classic, this would be a better and cheaper alternative

The 8gig capacity retails at Php 8790 and 16gig goes for Php 10,490