Asus MB169C+ Portable Monitor Review – MB16AC Zenscreen Overview

 

 

So I’ve been researching for a portable monitor for quite some time. AOC makes some cheap ones, but they are obliviously inferior to the Asus ones. With the recent release of Asus MB16AC (aka Zenscreen) on the way, I just want to test the water on how good exactly these portable monitors are.

 

I’m currently working as a financial auditor, I work in client’s office most of the time. I don’t have the luxury of having traditional dual monitor setup. I used to carry two laptops, but even though either one weighed relatively reasonable at 2.7lb, the two combined at 5.4lb is just quite heavy. Both the Asus MB169C+ and MB16AC weighs only 800g (1.76lb) is one lb less, makes it a lot easier to carry around.

 

Since the Zenscreen has not yet shipped, the only choice I have now is last year’s MB169C+, world’s first USB Type C portable monitor. Also the main big difference aside from the infinite edge boarder size between the Zenscreen that MB16AC has a Glare finish vs MB169C+’s matte finish. I would choose the matte display any day. Glares are absolutely disgusting in day to day use unless it’s a touchscreen.

 

Two main issues for portable monitors are:

 

1. Connector – display lag. Traditional USB 2.0/3.0 has limited bandwidth, thus the display lags. Also display drivers are required since the raw signal needs to be processed and compressed before being sent to the display. While the MB169C+ supports DP Alternate USB Type C, it doesn’t require any special software to run. Just think it as a DisplayPort monitor with the disguise of USB Type C connector. Thus the lag is non issue here.

 

 

This solution obviously has big support issue though, currently on the market, there are only few laptops support DP alternate USB Type C, with the Dell XPS 13 9350 being one of them. Not every computer with the USB Type C connector can support this monitor results the high return rate for this MB169C+ model. That’s why in this year’s Zenscreen, Asus introduces the hybrid DP alternate with the USB 3.0. Both standards are supported.

 

2. The brightness suffered. Due to limited power draw (8W) these portable monitors allow, the max brightness on this MB169C+ is only 220 cd/m^2.

 

 

The color accuracy is also not that great, thus not good for photography usage. Also the monitor draws current directly from the laptop, the battery life on laptop suffers drastically.

 

Now the review of the actual unit, I got it from Amazon Warehouse Deal, which is a returned unit. Price is $160 after tax. The design is very yester-year with thick bezels all around. The power light for some reason is placed at the left top corner instead of the traditional right lower corner which is very distracting. Three dimension 379.1 x 235.8 x 8.5 mm. It barely fits in my shoulder bag Urban Reporter 250. Weight 800g which is pretty light. But the included leather case adds another 500g or so, it was a very chunky design. I opt to not use it at all. I’m using the recommended Anker Multi-angle phone holder which works fine. The included USB Type C to USB Type C cable is not the longest cable, but it works fine for put the portable monitor next to the laptop. I wonder if the USB C to C cable from Nexus 5X would work?

 

 

The biggest problem I have with display is that the controls are very clucky. It took me two minutes to figure out how the three buttons work. No, the ASUS DisplayWidget Software which allows adjusting physical control with software does not support MB169C+, however, the upcoming MB16AC Zenscreen does. The display supports blue light filter technology which supposedly helps eye strain.

 

 

I have calibrated the display with i1Profiler calibration tool. I was able to get pretty close match with the calibrated XPS 13 9350 look. I did a lightroom session on it and found the display to have acceptable results.

 

In the end, I don’t think I would keep the MB169C+ as the design is quite outdated. It’s hard to go back with such huge bezel while looking at XPS 13 9350’s infinite edge. The huge bezel means I can barely fit the monitor inside my shoulder bag. The new Zenscreen has the thin bezel, and three size at 359.7 x 226.4 x 8.0 mm, is more reasonable (the horizontal size is 19.4mm shorter than MB169C+). But the glare finish for the upcoming Zenscreen is the final nail in the coffin as looking at a reflective screen is very hard on eyes. The Zenscreen’s launch price is a bit too high at $249 as well. I’ll have to wait longer for the perfect monitor to show up. My dream monitor would be a 3:2 aspect ratio with decent resolution at 14-15 inch. 3:2 aspect ratio is really the ideal ratio for placing the monitor horizontal or vertical position, 16:9 is really too tall which hardly makes any sense to use it vertically. The weight could be further reduced to maybe 600g. And keep the matte finish, or offer touchscreen if it’s glare finish.

Camera Bag Review - Lowepro Flipside Sport 20L vs Case Logic SLRC-206

 

 

So I’ve been using the Case Logic SLRC-206 ever since the beginning of my photography life back in 2012. It was a very much recommended bag back in the days with a good quality build. Also the price was very decent for such a camera bag. I’ve got a set of Think Tank Pro Speed Belt system with the respective accessory bags. And I quickly found out that system wasn’t ideal for travel. So my go to bag is still the case logic. The bag was with me, went through some long trip to west side of US (part of route 66) and some trips to China. But during a recent trip to climb the Mt. Huashan in China, I found the bag is quite short on a few features for the active sports type. The one biggest problem with the case logic is the lacking of an integrated water compartment. So I did some research and found this Lowepro Flipside Sport 20L bag. Hopefully it can address most of the problems I had with the case logic bag. The bag comes with two colors of choice, a glacier blue and bright orange. For some reason, the orange one is sold at $100 only, and the blue one is sold at $150. I went with the blue one since I don’t like the flashy orange color. This puts the bag at 2x the price of the case logic. There are quite a few sellers selling this bag from China with price under $100 though (for both blue and orange), not sure about the authenticity…

 

So far I’ve only taken the bag for one photo shoot on the Lunar Eclipse the past month. The bag seems OK for fulfilling my needs, I decided to keep it. So here is a review including a comparison with the case logic SLRC-206.

 

 

Initial impression about this bag is that the build quality including the paddings, the zipper smoothness is not as good as the cheaper case logic.

 

The main features of the Lowepro is the integrated water compartment on the left side while a dedicated tripod suspension system on the right side. And the unique back opening when you can flip the bag (with the waist strap on) and retrieving your gears from the main compartment without putting the bag on the ground. In practice, I like the back opening a lot. It made switching lens a breeze while all gears are available to you right in front of you without ever putting the bag down. This is the biggest reason why I decided to keep the bag.

 

 

As for the water compartment, I tried to put in a 2L water bag, it was a super tight fit. So the manufacturer recommended 1.5L is about the right size. 1.5L should be about right for most situations.

 

 

I haven’t tried the tripod mount yet, as my current tripod is too long when folded and too heavy. I DO plan to replace the tripod with a much more compact and low weight carbon fiber build in the near future. Some people also point out the weight imbalance if only one side is mounted (eg. just the water compartment or just the tripod side, or when you fully consumed all water). I think that’s a valid concern, I just don’t have the opportunity to put it to test.

 

 

The Lowepro is smaller than the case logic. There are three sizes for this particular line, and this model 20L is already the largest…

 

 

Wish they could make it slightly larger, especially on the width and depth.

 

Here is what the inside looks like when all my gears are packed:

 

 

Note if I had the 24-70 attached and left the 70-200 on the side, it would look something like from Lowepro’s web:

 

 

This would be a problem for the tripod side. The tripod seems best positioned is it’s sit straight against the side of the bag. The contoured shape from the overstuffed picture makes the tripod seem impossible to fit in.

 

 

 

But mine looks nowhere near that full. After all, I don’t pack a lot of stuff into my bag. Also it’s possible to configure the bag into just two columns:

 

 

 

The depth of the main compartment feels just one inch too short. I can only fit in a Canon 430 II flash in. I have to remove the Sto-fen modifier. While the case logic will happily fit it.

 

 

I also like the bright orange dividers from case logic. It’s easier to see in the dark. The case logic has overall thicker sides as well, which adds some protection to the gear. The padding in Lowepro seems just not as so great when compared to case logic…

 

 

One of the feature of the Lowepro is that you can take the main compartment out entirely, it includes a cover you can put on to the compartment. I don’t find this feature to be that practical.

 

 

The bottom part of the bag includes a rain cover and it’s fairly easy to deploy to cover the entire bag.

 

 

The rain cover is a tight fit though, if you have a tripod, then it won’t fit… I’ll try to see if I can stick in my own rain cover in there as there seems to be ample space. The soft bottom is really appreciated if you are using that flip feature a lot since that’s the spot will go against your “private part”.

 

 

I do miss the hard EVA waterproof base from the case logic though. I guess the lowepro was meant to be on your back most of the time, especially on the beach.

 

 

 

The padding on the strap is thicker from the case logic. But it tends to slip from my shoulder from time to time. Not a problem from Lowepro though. It stays on my shoulder just fine. So I’m quite happy with that.

 

 

 

The case logic does not have any additional straps to help the bag to stay on. While the Lowepro provide not only the waist strap, but also the chest strap. The length of the straps are fully adjustable to fit most body shapes. So the Lowepro is a clear winner here. The ventilation design is about the same between the two. With the waist straps for the Lowepro, it does feel somewhat bulkier, although it’s actually a smaller bag than the case logic.

 

 

The only downside about these waist straps is the lack of better pockets. There is only a meshed open top pocket on each side. I wish at least one side has a fully closed, well padded pocket with zipper for better protection. This way I can safely store some batteries and SD cards for quick access. I might just DIY a pocket at some point.

 

 

Moving on to the front compartment. There is a slot for small laptop/tablet. I can fit in my 11.6 in laptop in there. (so it should fit an XPS 13 with infinite display) But again, the padding is really lacking here…

 

 

There is another slot across, but the pocket is way to deep, it makes retrieving things really hard. I’m not gonna use that slot at all. I do like the two part design from the case logic in this case. The front of the backpack has two cross slots. One side is smaller while the other side is larger. I’m currently putting some filters in the bigger slot. However, with the waist strap on, it’s impossible to reach any of the compartments other than the main one. So it’s a bit of a nuance. But I can’t find a better place to store my filters…

 

 

 

Overall, I think the case logic is a better bag with very good quality. But the lacking of water compartment and a built-in raincover, plus the slippery strap are the three aspects I dislike the most.            

 

Conclusion:

 

The Lowepro Flipside Sport 20L has some quirks. It’s designed mainly for active sports type and people who doesn’t have a lot of gears. The back opening compartment is a very good idea and seems working out very well for me. But still it’s far from perfect. The ideal bag would be a bag that’s designed based on the case logic as it’s a good quality bag: flipping the main compartment of the case logic, adding waist flaps to have the flip functionality while having that spacious room for much more gears. The right side compartment needs to be way larger to be able to hold a 1.5L water bag. Improve the left side tripod system. Removing the small front bag, exchange for a flap that can cover the EVA base while flip the bag to provide a soft smooth area. Here is a very rough draft of what I have in mind when putting the best of the two bags together:

 

2014 Year End Photography Equipment Purchases - Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM / Sirui Ballhead / Kirk L Bracket

 

 

I guess this would be my first photography related post on my blog. I got into photography about 3 years ago by getting a Canon 60D, then quickly moved to a Canon 5D Mark III 2 years from now. At this stage, I would say I’m pretty comfortable about getting correct exposures with natural lighting using manual mode. Composition wise, I still need much more practices. But for flashes, I’m still struggling understanding the mechanisms. I mean I have some understandings about the flash triangle for exposure and inverse square law, etc, but I just can’t seem to make good use of them. I need more time studying in this area, that’s my 2015 photography resolution. Anyways, here are some of the stuff I bought at year end:

1. Canon EF40mm f2.8 STM
2. Sirui Ballhead K-30X
3. Kirk L Bracket for 5D Mark III

 

 

It’s my first time buying a refurbished Canon lens. I only had three lenses before getting this one anyway… It’s a pancake lens with STM - stepping motor. I’ve always wanted to get this one instead of the nifty fifty. This looks like the perfect combo for the SL1 - my backup camera. I was able to get it for $100 after missing it a few times.

 

 

It’s a very compact lens, plastic construction made it weightless. This is my first prime lens BTW.

 

 

The macro focusing distance is 0.3m, slightly shorter distance to the 24-105mm that I’m using originally. I can get pretty close to the subject if I have the need.

 

 

The 2.8 aperture, being 1 stop faster than the 24-105mm f/4, is good for the low light situation, more bekoh as well. Although might not as faster than the nifty fifty, still good enough for me. I might get a sigma ART prime lens some time down the road, since that’s receiving all raging reviews these days. I’ll play on this one first to practice composition skills.

 

 

The size and the weight on the SL1+40mm could compete with SONY a7+28-70mm kit. I generally like the Canon for simple operation and familiar interface. The SONY a7 was just an impulse buy for a good deal at the time. Although SONY a7 has way more functions and has a full frame censor. I’m still not feeling comfortable to spend more money for the SONY ecosystem, FE 55mm f/1.8 seems the only (prime) lens that I’m interested in, but I could get a sigma ART 50mm f/1.4 for less than that, why bother… Also SONY is way too fast in refreshing their cameras every year, a7II is already out with in camera stabilization… The most disappointing thing about a7 is the battery though, it eats battery like no others, three batteries could barely keep it alive for a full day of shooting…

 

 

Now moving on to the ball head. I’ve got a Vanguard 263AT tripod, which came with this SBH-100 ball head. The tripod pretty much was ruined during the 14 day trip I had in 2014. The first thing I’m doing here is to replace the head. After reading around, I’m vouching for Chinese manufacturers again here, got the Sirui K-30X, which is the middle size of the line. I’m still looking for the carbon fiber legs. But haven’t decided which one to get yet. I can’t even decide if I want a more portable one (5 sections) or a more sturdy one (4 sections). There are just way too many choices out there… And I don’t want to spend $600 for just the legs…

 

 

Now the Sirui ball head seems like pretty good quality compared to the SBH-100.

 

 

The ball head seems a lot more fluid. I hope it could last me long enough.

 

 

The ball head is Arca-Swiss compatible, which is the essential function when I chose it. Intentionally or unintentionally, almost all the mounting plates I got so far are Arca-Swiss compatible. I can finally use these plates. All three of my cameras, and a 70-200 f2.8L get an Arca-Swiss compatible plate attached now.

 

 

I also like the screw has a D ring for easier attach and removal. You get the options to further tighten down with a coin or a allen key.

 

 

Now to complete this whole Arca-Swiss setup, I finally shell out some money on the L bracket. After comparing with RRS, Kirk, and ProMediaGear, I settled on the Kirk.

 

 

It’s a very niche item that cost $150 for just one piece of metal. I could probably make one if I still had the access to the machine workshop, provided if I can get the measurements right.

 

 

My old setup was attaching a Nikon hand strap to 5D Mark III, which the included plate has a 1/4in screw hole that I can attach yet another mounting plate. The setup was very prone to get twisted in the opposite direction and became loose. Worst of all, they all have the slot where you need a coin or the included tool to get attach again. So the L bracket fits the 5D Mark III only should solve this problem. Also by moving everything to Arca-Swiss, I can get rid of the second plate.

 

 

So this is what it looks like after moving the Nikon hand strap to the L bracket. Everything worked out great. The strap is not in the way of the battery door. I really liked the hand strap BTW as I absolutely hates neck straps. The genuine one sells for $90 and is hard to find. But ebay sells a Korean made on for around $22, which I wholeheartedly recommends. The mounting plate included is also a Arca-Swiss compatible one, which I moved to the a7.

 

 

The L bracket fits like a glove to the camera body so no more came loose. Again by buying such an expensive L bracket that only fits specific model, it is definitely a big commitment to the camera. I don’t expect to upgrade the 5D Mark III in the near future.

 

 

The only drawback I can immediately see is that the side (when camera is in vertical position), is completely hollow to allow access to the ports. There doesn’t seem to be anything to latch against the stop pin on the ball head. It could be an issue when mounting in vertical, you gotta be extra careful, otherwise you are risk dropping the camera…

 

  

Well, I said I hate neck strap, I do use it from time to time. I got in on the kickstarter project for Peak Design’s slide. That was my first and last kickstarter backing though. The product turns out had a design flaw. Although the company was being transparent enough about the flaw and provide ways to verify and solve the problem, it was still too much trouble to save 10% for being a beta tester. Mine turned out to be safe after I did their testing so I don’t have to do anything, but still I would rather buy products which just works out the door at a higher price.

 

         

 

Canon PIXMA PRO-100 - How to Disable ICM in printer driver

 

 

The Canon PIXMA PRO-100 is probably the cheapest wide format inkjet you can get if you own Canon system. Or I’ve seen a few times that you can get it for $50 after rebate by buying the printer with Canon 13x19 luster paper.

 

So following the same concept in the Epson guide:

In order to print anything from Photoshop or lightroom with reasonable color accuracy without any calibration, you would need to turn off ICM in the printer driver. The Canon driver has the ICM off option buried pretty deep unlike Epson, took me a while to figure it out…

 

 

So pick the right printer profile in PS.

 

 

 

Disable ICM in printer driver.