Samsung NX3000 (review)

Low quality grainy photos really gets on my nerves at times, especially when it's a beautiful moment worth a perfect shot.. Bringing back some sad memories, the DSLR I used to have - a Canon D50 to be exact, was stolen after a break in at home. As devastated as I was, there was nothing that can be done so since then, I only depended on my Samsung Note 3, which had decent quality I would say. Well no complaints except at poorly lit areas, it gets so grainy I'd just give up.

Now a year later, after doing some casual research about cameras, still wasn't really keen to get one (can't get over the lost Canon D50, drama much) but while shopping around, at first looking at Samsung NX Mini, the NX3000 caught my eye. Honestly when browsing through cameras I just really wanted something that has a tilting screen (hey it's selfie generation ok) with decent lens and basic functions. Although feeling unconvinced initially, the salesgirl managed to answer all my questions regarding the camera and we were impressed. She even threw in an extra battery + charger and a 16GB memory card for free.

Totally did not expect to get this on the spot. On the way to decent selflies and wefies! A new little precious baby to bring everywhere. :D
After using it for close to 3 weeks now, I dare say I don't regret choosing this at all. Below are some of my unedited photos.

Things I like about it, in a simplified, non-technical way:

1. It has awesome selfie function (needless to say), most importantly it doesn't make your face yellow.
2. Vivid colors that POP. It uses an APS-C image sensor, which places it in 2nd place to a typical DSLR.
3. I thought a simple mirrorless camera like this would mean less variability, but you still get so many different modes! - Auto (which takes perfect photos already) and a few others where you can specifically adjust your shutter speed, ISO, aperture etc.
4. The body is sleek, light and fits perfectly in my bag, unlike my old DSLR which was so heavy/bulky. (MAJOR PLUS POINT)
5. The wifi and NFC feature that allows instant transfer of photos especially for samsung phones.
6. Although I don't use it much but it allows editing and cropping on the camera itself.
7. The camera app allows my phone to act as a remote control - to take photos without having to click on the camera itself.
8. Detachable lens.
8. Vintage look, nuff' said.
9. Pretty in white! The other two colours available are brown and black.

Things I wish were different:
Honestly up till now I feel that it's such a good camera the cons aren't really cons anyway, BUT if I have to say:

1. Sometimes the auto-focus has trouble focusing on the right objects.
2. Abit unsure whether I would've preferred the NX2000 instead which utilised touch-screen cos it would be then covered in oily fingerprints.
3. The detachable flash gets in the way if I were to tilt the screen, so most of the time I keep it away, which could be troublesome at times when needed.

Still love my new baby heaps!

Travelling Taiwan

My first memory of Taiwan was back in year 2008, as a participant of a 3-week long exchange program called Kuan Mo Tuan (观摩团) which consists of teens and young adults aged 16 to 26. Going alone as one of the youngest participants with 300+ strangers who became friends to me is, until now, still the sweetest experience I've ever had; and also the only one I came back crying when having to part with my new buddies.

This year, we managed to plan a trip to Taiwan before medschool starts again!

The view when cycling round 八里 during sunset

Managed to book a budget return flight from AirAsia for just MYR 620+! The news bout yet another AirAsia fatal crash came just days before our flight, which made all of us shudder at the thought of the risk, but aside from a few moments of turbulence & slight delay the flight was perfect! 

Day 1:

We reached Tao Yuan International Airport at around 11pm. Took a bus to Taipei Main Station which was near our planned accomodation - 台大景福所 (http://www.jingfu.org.tw/jff_loc_ht.htm) located within 台大 Hospital compound. Super grateful for this very nice proper hostel - it was as good as a hotel- to rest in after every tiring day. They charge only 2000NTD per room (2 single beds) so it was perfect for our student-style travelling and budget ! Only thing was that some heaters don't really work so you just put the air conditioning as high as possible, thus it's abit chilly at night, but that didn't bother us much anyway.

Our first meal there was in 7-11 (swt) - it is SO handy especially during winter when all you need is just some warm food indoors.

Lovely place to have the extremely limited rest we can get.

After starvation!

Onigiri -- the triangular wonder! Had a few of those that my friend went like 'hey you come taiwan to have japanese food ah'. But they're so easy to bring around when you need emergency food! At only 28NTD haha

First time don't know how to read instructions and went through all the trouble when there's actually an easy method to open it perfectly   -__-

Day 2:

Woke up super early to get some simple local breakfast, took the MRT to Shilin station to catch a Bus (Red 30) to The Palace Museum 故宫. We missed the free tour time slot but got advice to start exploring from the 3rd floor downwards.  For us art and history (moderate) enthusiasts it was really really interesting! They had "silence officers" and "no-photographing officers" who kept 举牌子 at us even though we weren't even that noisy :( 

Had Beef Noodles 牛肉面 at one of the shops under the MRT stations for lunch.Not super wow actually I think M'sia ones better :P

Just love walking on Taipei's streets somehow.

With le sister!

Later on we took the MRT to Dan Shui station and took the ferry across to Bali 八里. Rented a bike each for 100NTD, but BEWARE of this first shop on top of a little hill you will first see when arriving at the port. They charged us 100NTD for each a bike till 8pm whereby just a little further up people are renting it at 60NTD. Not only that, when we returned the bikes at 7pm+ the guy insisted that we have to pay an additional of 40NTD each for being "late". All 6 of us knew he was lying but he called us liars instead 你们说谎，看！脸红了！srsly wtf. Argued back and eventually he was like 'ah ah ok whatever go away' when he knew he won't get his extra money. Sigh tourism is always tainted by these kinda people. *rage* BREATHE. Anyway, the scenery was really nice! We even cycled on the same road Jay Chou filmed his 不能说的秘密 during sunset!!

Matcha Mango ice cweam! We had so much of ice-cream everywhere we went!!

Awesome squid there!

Local food Ah-gei 阿给 and some noodles with fishball.. Wasn't very wow either or maybe we just weren't used to the taste..

Went to Shilin Night Market after returning to Taipei.

Street style Xiu Long Bao 小笼包 mmmmmmm!

The streets at night..

Crowded and busy street!

Loved this one. Fried Milk (?) 炸牛奶 which tastes soooo.... 牛奶.
Just beside there was another shop selling beef 烤肉 which was soooo tender and yum!

Day 3:

Took the High Speed Rail from Taipei to Dou Liu 斗六 then rented a taxi to Janfusun Fancyworld the amusement park. I had a SUPER FUN, SUPER CRAZY time on the rides. Except for those who had motion sickness - not a good idea, since there were still a lot of bus trips to catch up and down, they were practically feeding on Dramamine. The taxi trips ate up quite a big chunk of our budget. Can't remember the exact amount but from Janfusun to Alishan cost around 3000NTD for the 6 of us. 

Reached Alishan at around 8pm; ate at some stall and 7-11 (again!) which was super useful cos it was even COLDER up there especially with the wind, we couldn't even move outdoors.

While buying tickets for the theme park and taxi, these 2 SUPER ADORABLE siblings were playing with us. Love all the pups in Taiwan, their fur are all so pweeeety, somehow they seem to be more human than all the dogs in M'sia and they understand chinese so well!

Had a stop on the way up to Alishan. Served with amazing food and hospitality by the locals who were almost wrapping up for the day. The owner enthusiastically chatted with us and treated us to some taiwan beer.

1st from the right: Very friendly and loud man, bit high too from all the alcohol.
The shop is called 山之美 

Cold until don't wanna get up.
This was the Alishan Catholic Hostel we stayed in for ard 400NTD/night; bunkbeds!. I'd say it was sufficient considering that none of us were brave enough to shower or even take off our clothes up there. And there wasn't a heater, only a humidifier.

It might seem acceptable, but when the wind blows... you're doomed.

Day 4:
Woke up at 5am shivering even though the blanket we had was a thick cosy one. Proceeded to get ready, had whatever tapao-ed breakfast we bought, then off we went. The train costs a reasonable 100NTD but we adventurers wanted to enjoy the hike.

Halfway through we weren't very sure we were enjoying. Partly cos we had to literally run breathlessly for the sunrise because the sky was starting to light up when we were just here. Look at that endless road up.

First scene once we got to the top. At this point, I think the hike was worth it ^^

Beautiful marshmallow clouds; the mountains were peeping out

Yay! Priceless feeling.

First light of the day.

After that I was shocked to find that my socks were soaked in blood because there were cuts from my toenails. They were short to begin with but I guess this hike was just too intense LOL. So remember to wear your most comfy pair of shoes haha.

After the sunrise we went down by foot and joined the rest of the tourists to see the ancient trees and temple. There was a beautiful waterfall on the brochure but apparently it is only nice during summer.
Then we took the high speed rail back to taipei hotel and celebrated X's birthday!

A quick shot of the wonderful weather while the high speed rail was shooting past everything!

Went on the MRT to Xin Bei Tou 新北投 public open air hot spring which cost us only around 40NTD. The place was CROWDED, especially with the elderly. There are 4 different temperature pools - the UBER burning hot, hot, warm and cold. We didn't go for the private ones and I think if you are there just for a hot spring experience, the public one is quite good already if you don't mind sharing with so many other people. They have fixed cleaning times though, so REMEMBER to check the hours, bring your swimwear, and sufficient towel+clothes to cover yourself while lining up for the washrooms. (I had a good time shivering while queuing up in almost bare skin) I think a good tip to remember is not to go too quickly from the hottest to the cold pool, because ALL of us had dizzy spells once we did that. x.x They have proper instructions to read before entering.

Dinner at the supposedly famous 温泉拉面 restaurant after having a quick shower. Can't miss it if you're walking from the Xin Bei Tou MRT to the public hot spring.

Forgot what isit really. Some very QQ fish part.

RAMEN! Oh the beef was superb.

Headed to Rao He market (get to Songshan 松山 train station) and had a nice shopping time! A tiny miscommunication gave us abit of trouble meeting up because the train station itself had like at least 4 exits and we could only find each other half an hour before the last train left o.O

Their scallops are soooo good at such a reasonable price. With a whole list of different flavours to choose from.

SMELLY TOFU! 臭豆腐 *pinch nose* Smells like garbage but actually tastes good, just like... fried tofu.

Street view while waiting around the train station cause we were separated.

Day 5:
Paragliding day in Keelung 基隆! Looked forward to this because doing anything like this especially in the winter gives a whole different feel to it. At this point of time I think we were so tired and most of them had constant travel sickness already. Took a bus to 萬里小学 and they had people to come pick us up, appreciated that service. Here's more info: http://yamei-club.emmm.tw/ and they're really friendly, we only called to enquire 2 days before. Paid 1600NTD per person, which includes a ~10 minutes paragliding and a GoPro camera filming whereby they will give you your whole recording in the memory card after that. They have other packages but I heard this is one of the cheapest around there.

Part of the view. Didn't have enough battery to take a panorama view :(

Moo moo, mario, and cloudy!

While waiting to catch a bus to Jiu Fen 九份

Up in Jiu Fen 九份! At the far end can see the same islands seen during paragliding.

九份舊街 Jiu Fen Old Street

Couldn't get over this UNTIL NOW. The best taro balls I have EVER eaten. The green ones (not in photo) were so so so smooth I ate it sooo very slowly.

All the cats, dogs, whatever animals there are all so furry! This man was feeding tuna to these fat kitties :3 And they were all so smart they would raise one paw to hold the spoon.

Lots of tea shops.

View from above the very hilly place.

Jiu Fen was famous for being taken as a reference in the movie Spirited Away so I was tryna catch some red lanterns. Seems like a whole lot of it weren't lit up anymore, unlike this tea shop.

So we decided to pay a visit. And ended up drinking tea there and having our fortunes told (free fortune telling with the tea order)

On the way back at 1 am we got too hungry thus rented bikes (YouBike charges 10NTD per 30 minutes, we used our credit cards at the kiosk, so convenient!) to cycle to Xi Men Ding. Heads up about credit cards: Don't panic if you see an outstanding amount of around 2K NTD cause that's the pre-auth charge that will be refunded a few days later. In fact, we spent only RM 3.43 after cycling for more than an hour.

Didn't find food we wanted but had a nice time riding on the empty night streets.

Day 6:
Went to Taipei 101 to get our tickets in the morning (because there would be a long queue in the evening), then left to Xi Men Ding 西门町 to shop!

The long line early in the morn at Yong He 永和

Famous Yong He dou jiang you tiao 永和豆浆油条 for brekkie!

Another way of eating the 油条

Taipei 101 mall, such posh!

Obligatory Taipei 101 tourist shot!

Cause I like Chibi Maruko-chan. In 西门町

Famous Ah chung mee sua with a huge crowd in front of its shop. Too bad they don't sell oysters with it.

Flash your student ID to get a student price - 450NTD! Usual price 500NTD

Amazing view from floor 89. Sadly when it rains they close the floor 91 open air observatory deck (so remember to check weather forecast!) Went there back in 2008 and it's definitely worth a go.

Always so bittersweet to leave a lovely place. Bye bye taiwan. Be back soon!

A few fun facts/tips:
1. The whole trip took around MYR 2k (including flight, accomodation, food, transport, buying some souvenirs)
2. Weather there is so dry that my nail polish cracked up, there were a few bleeding lips and fingers were so dehydrated. Good thing was that it's easy to dry your hair.
3. In case you don't already know, they use traditional chinese, so it'd be better to travel with some friends who know how to read them. Most of us know them anyway because taiwan drama subtitles ftw since young!
4. Bring extra layers during winter; you won't regret, especially when the wind comes.
5. 悠遊卡 Easycard - equivalent of our Touch n' Go - can be easily bought at the MRT stations and the deposit is refundable when you return it at the counter. We only topped-up (minimum 100 NTD each time) when we were running low on credit.
6. Found out that getting change in Taiwan is so convenient I didn't have to ask at cashiers like I do here; there are special machines just to get small change eg. 1000 NTD they even let you choose how many 500s or 100s notes you'd like.
7. We bought a Taiwan SIM card to share among the 6 of us - just in case - and to call any local restaurants and the paragliders. It costs 300 NTD for a new one, which included 50 NTD talk time and unlimited mobile data! So the whole time, we used our extra phone to set up tethered wifi hotspot for 6 phones, with decent speed too ;)

Have fun!!!
p.s. Will add on more if I remember anything else, and feel free to ask!