AIM CONFERENCE CENTER MANILA and ASIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT circa DECEMBER 2011

I was booked at the AIM Conference Center Manila, with an acronym ACCM, early this month. I was booked here a few years ago and now here I am again!

This is a most convenient hotel if the venue of your conference or business is within the AIM Conference Center and also if within the Asian Institute of Management.

This is how ACCM describes itself in their website!

http://www.accm.aim.edu/

The only Conference Center with F&B and lodging facilities in the heart of Makati. ACCM is the ideal venue for conferences, seminars and other business gatherings. Supported by a team of seasoned conference experts. Here, event requirements are anticipated and the service approach is always creative, to ensure the success of your business meetings.

"Indeed at ACCM, we take business at heart.
Come visit us to experience the difference."

ACCM Location. (from website: http://www.accm.aim.edu/)

OUR LOCATION:

AIM Conference Center is located inside the campus of the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), one of the finest graduate schools in Asia. It is strategically situated in the heart of the Makati Central Business District. A mere 5-minute walk from the city's major shopping centers, embassies, banks, airline offices, and multinational companies. The business and conference center combines the comfort of home with the state-of-the-art technology required by modern business travelers. From the first-class executive lodging to conference facilities, food and beverage services and recreational amenities, AIM Conference Center seeks to satisfy the needs of conference organizers, participants, and guests.

This is the facade of the Asian Institute of Management, in front of Greenbelt I and located at Benavidez cor. Trasierra Sts., Legaspi Village, Makati City, 1260 Philippines. 

The ACCM Hotel entrance is separate from the AIM entrance.
The ACCM was decked with Christmas ornaments as Christmas season is in the air.

This is the Front Desk of the ACCM.

I was booked at the 9th Floor, the Philippine Floor.

 (from website: http://www.accm.aim.edu/)
GUEST ROOMS

     At the AIM Conference Center Manila, we offer 106 Executive Room Accomodations for the discerning business traveler. We combined the comforts of home with up to date IT features to suit the demand of our guests. Rooms are equipped with dataports providing easy internet access for laptop users

Since this is a Conference Hotel, there is a business-like air noted, meaning, I don't see frills at all, which doesn't matter anyway.

This is my room booked for a single person, but note, how big the room is and there are two double beds available. 

It isn't so expensive, too, costing about P 2200.00 for a single person and about P 2600.00 for two persons, without breakfast.

If you decide to get breakfast, this has to be booked a day earlier and you can get a breakfast plate. There is no luxury restaurant here.

This desk is very important for the hotel guest, although, the yellow light isn't too conducive for reading.

There are more than basic amenities provided a mini refrigerator, TV set and extra pillows.

The bathroom is very adequate with a shower facilities. No tub here and this is not needed anyway.

Soap, shampoo, conditioner and toothbrush are given, but I think, there is no hair dryer available, and this is not expected, too.

There are hangers provided in the closet.

As we go down to the ACCM, we walk through these path as we go to the Asian Institute of Management.

still within ACCM and we go through the glass doors to AIM school 

the pathway to AIM

Here are some images of the Asian Institute of Management campus...

Near the Pool

Zen Garden

We also have the "class picture" at the Zen Garden.

Conference Rooms

SGV Conference Room

More modern classrooms

First Philippine Holdings Caseroom

Now back to the ACCM Hotel after a long day, these are the Makati skyline from my hotel window!

AIM Conference Center Manila (ACCM Hotel) is a very functional and complete hotel, which is most convenient if the venue of your conference or business is the ACCM and AIM or near the Greenbelt 1/3/5 area!

Contact Details: Manila Branch

Address : Benavidez cor. Trasierra Sts. Legaspi Village, Makati City, Philippines.

Phone No.: (632) 750-1010

Fax Nos.:   (632) 750-4459

                  (632) 751-7160

Email : accm@aim.edu

For Inquiries Please Call:

Sales Department : (632) 750-1010 ext no. 2035-2041

   Reservations:  (632) 750-1010 ext no. 2015 and 2020

  

NIKON COOLPIX P300 COMPACT CAMERA: MACRO AND ZOOM

This is the third of my blogs on the Nikon Coolpix P300 compact serious camera with a low aperture of f/1.8!

Let us now look at images taken with the macro.

This is not the best macro compared to other similar cameras but a 3 cm distance is acceptable.

These are the food shots I took.

Here are some macro shots.

These are the zoom shots from the Nikon Coolpix P300.

Equivalent to the 35 mm camera, the Nikon Coolpix 300 zoom is 24 - 100 mm, which gives a really wide angle and sufficient zoom.

I didn't expect the camera to have a zoom lens but the range is fine and the digital zoom is also good.

Set 1.

Wide angle

Midzoom

Full optical zoom

Full digital zoom

Set 2:

Wide angle

Midzoom

Full optical zoom

Full digital zoom

Set 3.

Wide angle

Full optical zoom

Full digital zoom

.I know I am going to enjoy this camera which is exceedingly useful for daily use.

This can be stashed in the bag without any bulk, very discreet and useful, indeed!


P.S. When I was on the road and wanted to get shots  on landscape or interesting scenes that immediately caught my eyes while I was in a moving van, point and shoot cameras always lag, even this Nikon Coolpix P300, and this is supposed to be faster in putting the camera on to start shooting.
My son said, "Mom, better put out the DSLR since you're missing a lot of shots!"
So for on the road trips, where I start clicking away, DSLR always win!

NIKON COOLPIX P300 COMPACT CAMERA: NIGHTSHOTS

I chose the Nikon Coolpix P300 compact camera by chance as I described with the prior blog.

Here are the night shots I took, of which I was very happy!
All these shots were taken without tripod (therefore, HANDHELD!) and all these are unedited!!!


This is the first set of Night shots. 

Panorama night shots

HongKong Harbor panorama

This is the second set of the Night shots.
Night shot without zoom

Heritage 1881 

Night shot with midzoom

Heritage 1881

Night shot with full optical zoom

Heritage 1881

Night shot with full digital zoom

Here is the third set of Night zoom shots.
Night landscape shot without zoom

HongKong Harbor skyline during the Symphony of Lights

Night landscape shot without zoom

HongKong Harbor skyline

Night landscape shot with full optical zoom

HongKong Harbor skyline

Night landscape shot with full digital zoom

HongKong Harbor skyline

This is the fourth set of Night zoom shots.
Night shot without zoom

Tsimshatsui Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree

Night shot with midzoom

Tsimshatsui Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree

Night shot with full optical zoom

Tsimshatsui Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree

Night shot with full digital zoom

Tsimshatsui Ferrero Rocher Christmas Tree

Here are other night landscape shots taken with the Nikon Coolpix P300.
I was satisfied that the movie quality Esprit building wall images were well captured by the camera.

This was taken away from the building and through the store door.

This was taken across the street in Canton Road for the first shot and zoomed for the next.

Here are night portrait shots taken with the Nikon Coolpix P300.

in Tsimshatsui

in Temple Street, HK

As long as I was satisfied with the shots is all that matters, isn't it?
And indeed I was !!!


I was happy with the battery life, too, and this is very helpful and practical for "my use", which means overuse for others.
This is more likely, because I don't need to use the flash in many instances... and with good results.


Now, I am on my way for "Happy, happy clicking"!!!

ON CHOOSING A COMPACT SERIOUS CAMERA: NIKON COOLPIX P300

I finally found MY COMPACT SERIOUS CAMERA:  the NIKON COOLPIX P300 CAMERA!!!

I already have a Nikon D90 DSLR, a Nikon Coolpix P500 Superzoom and a Sony Cybershot T300 compact camera.

I bought my Sony T300 camera last May 2008 and is the camera I bring around daily. But for the past months, the Sony couldn't function optimally. After a few shots, the camera vibrates.

I bought the Nikon Coolpix P500 superzoom last March 2011 because of its unique "paparazzi" quality, unfortunately, it couldn't be brought around everyday.

More so with the Nikon D90 DSLR camera, which is so difficult to lug around especially, that I also bring my laptop everywhere.

So this time, I was in search of a "perfect compact serious camera". 

What does this mean?!?


I found this in the internet...
http://www.cameradebate.com/2011/canon-s100-vs-panasonic-lx5-vs-olympus-xz-1-vs-nikon-p300/
What are High-End (Premium) Compact Cameras?

Before we jump right into the specs an analyze them, let’s talk about high-end point-and-shoot cameras in general. When we search for a point-and-shoot camera, we are usually concerned about few things: image quality, noise in high-ISO, speed and of course, the overall design of the camera. Compact Point-and-shoot were first of all designed to be small and lightweight. It’s not that Canon or other vendor couldn’t come up with a larger camera with the same specs. All the fuss is about miniaturization, and the ability to pack a lot of advanced tech into a small housing.

With a high-end P&S camera you’ll pay more, but you do expect to get a lot more for your money. Canon and other vendors know that, and they do the best they can do make sure that you’ll get what you paid for. With premium digital cameras you can expect to get a high-sensitive and relatively large sensor. Furthermore, the camera should be equipped with a fast lens (usually F2.0 or faster). A lens that includes advanced optics in order to be used with a relatively large sensor. Of course those cameras can’t compete against Mirrorless ILC cameras in terms of image quality, and the reason relies in the size of the sensor. In almost all cases, the larger the sensor, the better the image quality is. Those premium compacts are intended for those who don’t want to buy themselves into an interchangeable lens compact camera. The camera is aimed towards the advanced photographer who needs a camera that performs better than what’s on the market today.

I remembered a friend buying a Lumix LX5 camera because of the low aperture which is very helpful in low light situation... exactly what the Nikon P500 superzoom missed in feature!

So in the internet, I was in search of compact cameras with an aperture of f/2.0!
In my final assessment of all reviews, I finally chose the CANON S100 camera! And I thought, I'll buy this once I am in HongKong this December 2011!


It seems fate never wants me to get the Canon camera!
Last March in Singapore, I was looking for the Canon SX30 superzoom which was not available due to the Japan tsunami accordingly and I ended up with the newly introduced Nikon Coolpix P500 superzoom.


Now in HongKong, equipped with my internet assessment, I was all set with the Canon S100 camera which again was not available! WHHHHAAATTT!!


And they offered the Nikon Coolpix P300 camera, which they claimed was even better with a faster lens with a lower aperture of f/1.8!


I was sort of shocked because I didn't even bother to look up this camera!
I had to look up the internet again for the Nikon P300 and the features were fine.


I was wondering why the Nikon P300 camera didn't get the best reviews.
This is what I found out from some internet sites.
http://www.cameradebate.com/2011/canon-s100-vs-panasonic-lx5-vs-olympus-xz-1-vs-nikon-p300/
Nikon P300 – Cons & Pros

What’s exciting on the P300?

• Back-illuminated Sensor (BSI) technology
• Nice zoom range (4.2x) with a 24mm wide angle
• F1.8 among the fastest together with the XZ-1 (at the wide end)
• Has a pop-up flash
• Fastest burst in the group (7 fps)
• 1080p Full HD video recording with stereo sound
• Can shoot slow-motion videos at 120fps (640×480)
• Wide range of camera software-based functions
• Lightest camera in the group, second smallest
• Gorgeous 921,600-dot 3-inch screen, the best in the group

Anything that might be missing of lacking in the CoolPix P300?

• Smallest sensor in the group (1/2.3″)
• 1cm macro would be nice (feat. 3cm)
• Only 8 seconds minimum shutter speed
• No hot-shoe (can’t add an external flash)
• Only 240 shots battery life, second worst after Canon PowerShot S100
• Can’t shoot Raw

For the Nikon Coolpix P300, these are what I found... 
1) I found out that it didn't have the RAW feature - - - whhhaattt again? 
    So this doesn't matter much for me since I have no use for the RAW feature, either!
2) Lumix LX5 has a higher ISO range which could be extended to 125800
    But, ISO range of 3200 is good enough for me.
3) Lumix LX5 has a hot-shoe.
  But if the aperture is low, then I might not necessarily need this... and I wanted compact!


Similar features include 24-100 mm zoom (at 35 mm equivalent) with a 3 mm. macro minimum focus range with the Canon S100.
It has one of the highest sensor resolution of 12.1 mp same as the Canon S100.


But, Nikon has the fastest lens (f/1.8), best full resolution video at full HD and the fastest burst in the group!
It also is the lightest and with a gorgeous 921,600-dot 3-inch screen, the best in the group


Canon S100 came out the best of the group by this evaluator, but as I said it was out of stock at the time I wanted to buy!


Here is another review:
Nikon Coolpix P300 winner at...
High speed shooting and video... very good image quality with bright saturated images, also the second smallest camera, but importantly offers hand grip at the front and back (unlike the S95), and offers the lowest price. Unfortunately the camera lacks RAW support, which could put some people off this camera, as you will have to trust the JPEG results straight from the camera.


Also, the Nikon P300 camera is cheapest of the bunch.


Anyway, sometimes when we decide to buy, it is not usually what we exactly want. 

I found out for myself that it is the Nikon family to which I am drawn to by circumstances.
Anyway, for my initial shots , I am quite happy with the Nikon Coolpix P300!


I will show you my initial shots in the next blog!!!