CONCLUSION: Great function at reasonable price!

AEE Magicam Underwater and Sports Camera

I got a chance to review the new AEE Magicam underwater and sports camera.  It’s less known to the public than GoPro here in Manila, but after using it, I conclude that it’s a pretty good contender.

Pricing is not yet set here in the Philippines since it is new but it will soon be available in Pixel Pro.  It should cost lesser than the GoPro and unlike GoPro which doesn’t include the LCD attachment in the initial purchase, this AEE does.  It also comes with more accessories included in the box such as the remote control, lcd monitor and extra battery pack.  For GoPro, you would have to buy these separately.

Mounting and Installation on a Surfboard

I installed everything myself! You need to buy an extra accessory for surf board mount.  GoPro uses suction tube, whereas AEE uses 3M adhesive.  Mind you, this adhesive is pretty strong.  It’s pretty safe especially if it’s new.  It comes with two parts so that in case one gets detached, you still have another one clinging to your camera.  Be sure to have that safety thread hold on 🙂

Installation was very easy.  Just make sure the board’s surface is dry, wax-free, dirt free.  Clean it well first before sticking the 3M mount.

Comes in 2 pieces, in case one part gets ripped. Unlike the suction where although secure, when it’s gone – it’s gone.

*thank you so much to Kristel for the photos above 🙂

AEE Magciam sports camera put to test (Surfing Video)

AEE Magicam SD21 Specs

• With LCD glass screen: real-time display various status
• External TFT display screen， real-time display video content or play recorded content
• With IP68 standard waterproof case, and the waterproof depth is 60 meters, two kinds of housing design
• Support setting, replay, delete ect. operations with connecting to 1.5″ TFT display screen
• With built-in dismountable high-capacity lithium battery, it can be re-charged
• HD video recording/photo snapping function with various models
• Self-time function with front indicator and timing recording
• Laser indicator function make record and snapshot easlier. 
• 1/3 inch CMOS sensor 8.0 Mega Pixels
• Recording MOV videos, to be directly played by PC or uploaded onto video websites
• Auto exposure, auto white balance, easy to operate;
• F/3.0 aperture, and support nightshot
• 10x Digital zoom
• 170°extra-large wide-angle lens
• Auto recording when acceleration occurring (function as the black box of the car) *optional
• Auto stand-by for power saving
• Supporting fast forward and fast rewind, and skipping of contents in the next segment (when connecting with TFT screen player)
• Supporting time setting (RTC function) and time superposition function;
• Supporting USB2.0;
• Built-in microphone, forming high-quality stereo voice recording effect
• HDMI output, AV-OUT function
• Support TF card (max. 64G)
• Build-in buzzer for sound indicator
• Photo 180 degree reversal function
• Low battery alert
• Memory capacity alert
• Wireless remoter (record, stop, photo snap, laser indicator)
• Various sport accessories, truly realizing the video recording of sports;
• Good seismic resistance;
• Support system: Windows 98SE/2000/Me/XP/Vista/Mac OS

Parameter List

• Pixel: 8.0M CMOS SENSOR(3200*2400)
• View Angle:170°
• Snap mode:3M(2048*1536)/5M(2560*1920)/8M(3200*2400) 
• Record mode:1080P 720P WVGA QVGA
• Frame rate:1080P/30fps 720P/30fps WVGA/60fps QVGA/30fps
• Record format: MOV(H.264 video compression)
• Snap format:JPEG
• Memory medium: Micro SD/MMC(Max 64GB SDHC)
• Store Consumption:(2GB SD card)  Snapshot3M(1900pcs) 5M(1160pcs) 8M(770pcs); Record:720P/60min, WVGA/135min
•  Display: LCD screen
• laser power:1MW
• digital zoom : 4x
• AV OUT :support NTSC/PAL VGA and HDMI 
• USB Jack:  USB2.0
• Microphone: Support Built in 2 Microphones
• Power consumption :500mA@3.7V(MAX) 
• Lithium battery :1000mAh
• Record time: 2.5h/ battery
• Operation system:  Windows XP SP2/Vista or Above/Mac OS. CPU:Pentium4  1.5GHZ above, RAM:1GB above 
• RTC function :support
• Store temperature : -20℃–60℃
• Operation temperature :  -10℃—50℃
• Operation humidity :  15~85%RH 

AEE Magicam vs GoPro Hero

I have also tried GoPro Hero  and by comparison,

• AEE seems sharper than GoPro.  Some experts say, it’s GoPro’s case design that ruins its sharpness and color.
• GoPro is wider than AEE. Some experts say, too wide – too distorted and they’d rather have AEE.

for video testing side-by-side between the two cameras, check this out:

As for AEE Magicam, it gives sports and film enthusiasts an an option with great function, quality at a very reasonable price 🙂 

AEE Magicam will soon be sold at Pixel Pro branches in Manila.

Follow them on Facebook for updates: https://www.facebook.com/pixelproinc

Comparison Chart between AEE and GoPro Cameras

*click to enlarge chart

Here are some important tips you need to know when you want to take surfing photos.

1. Wipe-out shots look cool!
I’m not going to hold back this trick that I realized by myself when I was taking surfing photos. This is no secret, but many fail to realize how awesome the shot is – when your target gets wiped out! Most surf photographers focus on “capturing the moment” but this is just basically “luck” and timing! Patience is a virtue indeed – and just keep on shooting.

This is actually a wipe-out shot.  It’s me and I’m about to fall in .01 seconds

Looks cool though!

2. Try shooting on water.
When you do, make sure your camera is either water-proof or has a secure camera casing. Taking shots while you’re on water gives a more real photo with splashes of water here and there and you get to capture your subject in different angles – up front, sideways while the wave is making a barrel, underwater and many other angles!

Just be sure to hold the camera still. Switch to video mode at times – just in case!

3. Light is your best friend.
This is important when you are shooting by the shore. The best light usually happens early morning. Sunset shots usually just give you silhouettes and unless you are taking an “artistic” surf shot, try to avoid taking photos at this time and maybe, enjoy the time to surf yourself!

This was taken at noon.  And you think the lighting is best at this time, well – it is not! Notice the shadows that cover the surfer’s face and body.

4. Zoom lens!
Zoom lens is important if you are taking shots from the shore. You need at least a 200mm lens or an 8x zoom digital camera, or higher.

5. Be patient and alert.
Get ready to take photos when you see your subject paddling and getting a wave. Try to put your settings to “burst” mode so that you can capture every move without missing any happening! Remember to take even the wipe-out shots!

6. Move!
Don’t just shoot from one angle. Try to find the spot with the best light, but also move around and try taking photos on different sites.

7. Respect.
Don’t publish unflattering photos like nipple slips or a really ugly facial expression or an awkward wipe-out position. This is very unprofessional.

Best of all, have fun taking photos! If you want to make this a career, enroll in a photography class in your local area. But if you just want to have fun and try this, just remember the tips above and have fun shooting!

My best shot for this series… Thank you Nica for touring us around 🙂

Thank you Thunderbird!

I <3 this shot 🙂

Cliff

Fantastic View!

Front view of Thunderbird!

… no comment

Blue and Green

There were ants on the ground @_@

Catch me do a cartwheel on 4:00 😛

[flickr album=72157624522709387 num=53 size=Square]

Contact Details

Resort Address: Poro point Freeport Zone, San Fernando City, La Union

Telephone no.: +63.72.888.7777

Makati Office:  24 F Salcedo Towers, 169 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City

Telephone no.: +63.2.886.5555

Fax no.: +63.2.894.3333

Email: pororeservations@thunderbird-asia.com

Right…

Me, and butterfly photography!

I know I’m not really a hardcore photographer but I have patience… If you would have seen me inside that butterfly garden, you would see sweat dripping down my back and everywhere… Now, that sounds disgusting!  But I am a very determined woman!

I did not really have macro lenses or what not… so I just used my defective kit lens (18-55mm Nikkor) with my Nikon D40 and my Panasonic Lumix LZ10.

Leh, no grabbing the photos and using it without my permission okay?

la la la…

Here we go 😀

General Information

Open daily from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

General Admission: P 20

Senior Citizens and Students (with ID): P10

Children below 5 years old: Free

The La Union Botanical Garden was initially maintained and operated through the countrywide development fund (1995-1998) of the  then Congressman Victor F. Ortega representative, first district of La Union.Â. To maintain the garden they have specialized people and use the best Outdoor tips for gardening. Presently, The garden is being managed by the La Union Botanical Garden Foundation and being subsidized by the city government led by the then Hon,  Mayor Mary Jane C. Ortega and now presently by the Hon. Mayor Pablo C. Ortega.

By the Entrance

La Union Botanical Garden, Cadaclan, San Fernando, La Union Map

You need patience to capture them beautifully… this one isn’t even as beautiful as I hoped it would be

Pink Frame

Purple Gray

Spider ant

eh? monkey! why that pose leh?

Fascinating

Close-up

Ferdz (ironwulf.net) taking photos of Lam-ang (a hero in Philippine Literature – Biag ni Lam-ang)

Just used my digicam Panasonic Lumix LZ10 to do macro shots

The world is beautiful

Close Up 😛

busy Butterfly

Poor flower, all eaten by grasshopper

still using digicam… quality not as good as SLR… which made me think of buying a new one *faints*

Serpent Eagle

They probably feed on serpentsssss 😛

Philippine Sea Eagle “the suplado”

Eagles have really strong features.  I got intimidated just by looking at it resting on top of a rock… good thing there’s a cage, if not I… *faints*

Hawk Eagle “The Pirate”

I called him that because his other eye is injured 🙁

Unlike the other eagles above, I can say that this Eagle is more like a “rockstar”

he’s a goofy kinda eagle…

Rofus Night Heron

I named him “Spock”

because he looks like spock 😛

what a show off lol

O_o mushroom growing on top of the mini fountain

La Union Botanical Garden’s mission is to establish a garden for environmental education, scientific research, biodiversity conservation, aesthetic recreation and public service potentials.  It also aims to bring together as complete a collection of all Philippine native plants and all ornamental plants suited to the climatic zone of the lowland areas of Northern Luzon.

more photos here.

Hope you enjoyed reading and viewing my photos hehe 😛

I only used my digicam Panasonic Lumix LZ10 in almost all pictures because my Nikon D40 kit lens’ auto-focusing is broken 🙁

Up next on my Thunderbird Resort Series of Adventures,

the MACHO Temple!

That’s right

Temple of MACHO!

I LOVE bread!!! Like breakfast won’t be complete without it…

Jam and butter is also a must…

Sometimes, with one sitting, I can eat 5 mini buns of bread *faints*

Anyway, I love cheese too so there you go 😀

Toasted bread with jam and butter inside *drools*

They have a Medley of Home Made Breads and Rolls

Heaven!!!

How do you like your eggs?

For me, I love my eggs cooked soft boiled for 8 minutes.

The 8 minutes thing was something my mom taught me.

Sunny side up is okay as well but the soft boiled egg is the best because there’s no oil needed 😀

And so, here you go.  The usual breakfast items.

No. 1 on the list BACON

YUM!!! Especially if it is cooked with butter!

They also had the Chicken and Pork Adobo (CPA)

Vince’s favorite – Tocino.

I also had my Malaysian friends try this 😀

I didn’t know how to describe it or translate it to English at first 😀

I just said, it’s like sweetened pork…

Do you have any other English terms for this?

Let me know and comment love below 😉

Of course, you wouldn’t feel you’re near a beach without some fish or seafood.

I skipped the soup because I knew I would be eating a lot of bread.

They had Wonton Noodle Soup and Lomi Soup on our second day.

To all who loves dairy products… that would be me 😀

I didn’t get the milk though… and the yogurt, I forgot to get one *plak*

The fruit juices were nice (especially the Melon Juice) but at that time, I was craving for chocolate so bad so I had Cold Milo 😀

Vince got a lot of Tocino 😛

Chow time!  Don’t be deceived, that’s just my first plate 😛

Ta-da… I forgot to mention about eating fruits before anything else.

Nice view of the restaurant… <3

Next up on my series of Thunderbird Resorts Vacation is the different places we went to during the city tour… Love churches?  That’s up next 😉

Till next time foodies,

FlairCandy

Thunderbird Resorts is inspired by Mediterranean architecture.  It is like being in Santorini Greece and you just need to drive 5 to 6 hours away from the city. When we went there, it was sunny by day and but it rained during the afternoons.  I didn’t mind though, the weather just made me want to chill and relax more.  It made me want to sleep and forget the city buzz.  For what its worth, just looking outside the veranda overlooking the sea and the pool is just therapeutic enough.

I can’t really say enough how I loved being there.  You have to experience it for yourself.  The rooms are around Php 5,000 a night which is really not bad for a relaxing luxurious getaway.  It includes breakfast for two (which is also lovely to blog about it next).

*All photos are copyrighted.  Ask permission before grabbing 🙂 photos taken by Nikon D40 and Panasonic Lumix LZ10.  For more details of the pictures, click image 😀

View from the third floor

View at night 🙂

view beside the hallways

Golf cars that you can rent to roam around the compound.  They also have bikes you can borrow for free 🙂

Just some nice view with the blue skies

The Beach where you can swim… Be careful though don’t swim here alone, make sure there’s a lifeguard or something.

View from the lobby / veranda

Some place I find romantic 🙂 😛

beach front 🙂

The dome

Surround Sound System

The really lovely cozy comfy rooms.

Digital Media System.  I played music through my USB.  You can play your iPods here 🙂

HD LCD TV

Really spacious bathroom ^_^ love it!

Rain shower 😛

Clean toilet

Robes, regular towels and beach towel

Lovely room lovely bed! Very comfy!!!

View outside our room… ahh, looking at this picture makes me want to go back.

Another side of the hotel up front 🙂

Anyway, there’s more to love about this resort.  If you want a day trip you can also ask for them to tour you around the city for P 850 net per person on the weekdays and P 950 net per person on weekends.  This is also good for day trips I believe and in this case, the package includes the use of the pool and food and beverage consumables worth P500.  I’m like “OMG cheap and good!”  This promo is only happening from April 5 to September 30, 2010 though and reservations are recommended. City trip includes the Pindangan Ruins, La Union Botanical Gardens and the Ma Cho Temple which is next in my blog post queue so do come back and subscribe 🙂

Resort Facts

Rooms

22 Deluxe Rooms

10 Deluxe VO Rooms

4 Deluxe Suites

Room Features and Amenities

HD LCD Television with Home Theatre Surround Sound System

Ipod Docking Station with Speakers

In-room Electronic Safety Box

Pantry with Coffee and Tea-making facilities

Free Wi-Fi Access

Jacuzzi bath tub and microwave oven (Deluxe VO Rooms)

Furnished living room, kitchenette and dining  areas (Deluxe Suites)

With hair dryer Daily Newspaper! 😀

Sports Facilities

The Cliffs Golf and Beach Club

Santorini Swimming Pool

Half Court Basketball Area

Water Sports

Jogging Path at the Boardwalk

Volleyball Area

And of course, don’t forget the Beach Area

Other Facilities

Meeting & Banquet Facilities (Patio Santorini, Lobby Meeting Room, Amphitheater)

Hotel Food and Beverage Outlets (Olives Restaurant, Patio Santorini, Pool Bar)

Gaming Facilities (Fiesta that’s open 24 hours)

Food and Beverage Outlets (Vegas Cafe and Cabana Bar)

25 hour Shuttle Service (drives within the compound)

Contact Details

Resort Address: Poro point Freeport Zone, San Fernando City, La Union

Telephone no.: +63.72.888.7777

Makati Office:  24 F Salcedo Towers, 169 H.V. Dela Costa St., Salcedo Village, Makati City

Telephone no.: +63.2.886.5555

Fax no.: +63.2.894.3333

Email: pororeservations@thunderbird-asia.com

www.thunderbird-asia.com

I’m lucky I live in the Philippines!  We have Santorini right in our own country… BETTER!  There are so many beautiful places here in my own home that I haven’t discovered for myself yet.  And just last Monday, I have discovered a beautiful place in San Fernando, La Union, Ilocos Sur that made really think that the Philippines is FTW!  I only know of two resorts yet that has a Mediterranean inspired architecture.  One of them is here at Thudnerbird Resorts at Poro  Point, San Fernando, La Union (Ilocos Sur).

Thunderbirds Resort is what I really needed to take a break from the hectic city life in Manila!  Thank you so much for having us here! 🙂 <3

This is just a sneak peek.  Over the days during this week, I will upload different adventures that we have such as the following:

1.  Tour and Pictures of Thunderbird Resorts at Poro Point

2.  Breakfast at Olives

3.  Cafe Vegas

4.  Fiesta Ca$hino

5.  Golf at Poro Point

6.  The Pindangan Ruins (La Union Church Ruins)

7.  The MaCho Temple (Temple of MaCho) yes… MACHO! 😛

8.  La Union Botanical Garden (and Spock the Duck)

9.  My attempt at Butterfly Photography

10. Luna Church, Pebble Beach and Watchtower

For now, here’s a preview 😛

I’m still here enjoying fast WiFi connection…

Catch you later folks!

Potong Stim! (Malay expression) There still got no waves!  Actually, here were still some baby ones by afternoon and I still tried to ride it… ALONE!!!  And I got a wave, paddled, popped up, rode the board… ON MY OWN!  Without TULAK!!!  This is an achievement for me surf-wise and by this event I am just happy!

I had brunch at Surf Camp (quite expensive) but I was so tamad to go to Patubos because it was extremely hot and humid.  We then, swam, snorkeled and surfed and had dinner at Urbiztondo Grill.  At night, we just watched North Shore on my pc… Then Lush Angel had one funny blooper lol.  Then we slept… So tired!

It’s just the first time that I have seen La Union with these big waves and I am such a trying hard beginner!

The forecast at magicseaweed just showed a really gnarly swell in this area and me and my friends really planned this trip despite the risk of road trippin on some flodded provinces.  Luckily, the storm is leaving Philippines already! I was really looking forward riding some good stuff since I bought a new surf board!

 I had to unpack my board at surfcamp and upload the pictures already.  Thanks to surf camp’s wi-fi!  I had no problem blogging on the go!

 Right now I’m just too psyched! but I’m off to another surf em waves in probably about an hour so watch this space for more updates of our surf trip, pictures, reviews, more about my new board and how I would review it… It’s a Southpoint Bonga Schaper 6’10″…  and I’m ready…

 

TAFN,

Candy

Body Boarding dude

subtle waves

paddling power

the Reverse Surfer

Surfer Girl

Piping it up

Surf’s up!

more pictures here.