Bucket Tech: HUAWEI P60 Pro DXOMARK rating

We all want photography that capture what our eyes see. That’s why smartphone cameras are doing away with sharpening the megapixel resolution of the photography and focusing on improving the overall experience in order to closely replicate what the human eye sees. 

Take the HUAWEI P60 Pro example, which has developed its smartphone camera holistically with the Ultra Lighting Telephoto Camera, transforming the experience of photography through the art of Light. From a redesigned optical path to a large aperture lens, here’s how the P60 Pro’s breakthroughs make it the next big thing in the flagship smartphone market. 

Ultra Lighting Camera: No Detail Left in the Dark

It’s always frustrating when parts of an image are obscured by a lack of light, replicating your memories in the most inaccurate way. To dissipate any darkness in photographs, Huawei introduces the Ultra Lighting Telephoto Camera to its latest HUAWEI P60 Pro.  With a redesigned optical path, it now stands as the smartphone camera with the highest light intake in the industry: The Ultra Lighting Telephoto Camera, together with its Multiple Lens Groups, has an F2.1 large aperture that lets in 178% more light.

How was this possible? Unlike most smartphone telephoto cameras, maintaining the slim size of the smartphone device may mean smaller photosensitive sensors and aperture size, resulting in blurry photographs due to insufficient lighting in a dark environment. The HUAWEI P60 Pro redesigns its optical imaging path to create its Ultra Lighting Lens Group which works with the RYYB SuperSensing sensor to revolutionises the camera’s light intake. In fact, all this was achieved while ensuring that the overall smartphone build remains compact and thin at 200g.

Now, when taking photographs in poorly lit indoor spaces or during a night out in the city, users need not fumble with different filters or add extra equipment to take in all the sights they want to in High Dynamic Range (HDR) photographs. They can instantly point and shoot to capture the moment without losing out on any detail or having to wait for camera adjustments to be done.

Telephoto Super Macro: Goes the Distance so You Don’t Have to

The Ultra Lighting Camera is also surprisingly able to double up as a its macro photography camera.  Built with an additional set of a Long Travel Slide Zoom Lens Group, it allows flexible control of the focusing distance. This means that the telephoto camera is capable of clear imaging from long-distance shots to zoomed-in macro close-ups.

And thanks to the camera’s powerful light intake, the HUAWEI P60 Pro’s macro telephoto camera can be used in any lighting conditions. This means you can shoot with your camera at any time of the day; whether it’s during a bright and sunny nature walk or in a darkly-lit indoor theatre. This is more especially useful when capturing wildlife photos, even during night time. Users can use the telephoto lens from a longer distance to record facial details of animals even in dark-lit environments. This means you can immediately point and shoot a photo of an animal – such as a bee in landing on a flower petal or a bird resting in a tree – without needing to go closer to them and potentially distract or scare the subject.

SLR-Level Image Stabilisation: Telephoto Anti-Shake Sensor Rotation

The HUAWEI P60 Pro also introduces the industry's first Telephoto Anti-Shake Sensor Rotation, which uses the countering dynamic motion of the sensor instead of the dynamic motion of the lens

In the HUAWEI P60 Pro, the optical distance is shorter due to the anti-shake sensor, taking away any unsightly effects from unsteady or jittery hands. Under the same error accuracy, the performance of optical image stabilisation is greatly improved. From the centre of the photograph to its four corners, the anti-shake consistency increases by 58%.

Super Moon Scene: Reimagine the Night Sky

The new Super Moon Scene gives users a new creative tool to photograph the moon in a brand-new light. Gone are the days of over-zoomed blurry moon photographs – Super Moon Shot uses AI to enhance the details of the moon to produce better and clearer shots of the night sky. With an advanced focusing mode and HDR effects, the smartphone camera can capture an accurate and richly-detailed shot of the moon from right where you are.

Users who love night photography can experiment with this feature and position the moon next to scenic views, such as dramatic city skylines or silhouettes of forests. Without past inhibitions of poor quality night photographs, nature and landscape enthusiasts can now take their smartphone cameras out on a photoshoot at night.

Stand a chance to win

HUAWEI is calling on the “everyday, the always ready to capture the moment” enthusiast. Capture the hidden beauty in everyday life and share your moment (photograph or video) with us and stand a chance to win a share of R200 000 worth of prizes the #SeeTheUnseen competition brought to you by the HUAWEI P60 Pro.

How to Enter?

Capture your moment (photograph or video) of the #SeeTheUnSeen” tell us in a short sentence about your moment. For more information: Click here

Entry Points:

1.  Enter via the HUAWEI’s social media pages, find the competition post, follow the instructions and share your moment; 
2.  pages, find the competition post, follow the instructions and share your moment; 
3. Enter via SuperSport United FC social media pages, find the competition post, follow th instructions and share your moment; 
4.   Enter via GQ’s social media pages, find the competition post, follow the instructions and share your moment.

Exciting hey! So, what are you waiting for? Get capturing and sharing #SeeTheUnSeen and stand a chance to win a share of R200 000 worth of prizes.  

Various T’s&C’s apply

Bucket Tech: HUAWEI Kicks Off the Global XMAGE Awards 2023

 

Huawei has officially kicked off the HUAWEI XMAGE Awards 2023. As Huawei’s open platform for smartphone photographic excellence, the annual competition celebrates inspiration and creativity, through amazing photos and videos captured with Huawei devices around the world. Since 2017, users from more than 170 countries and regions have participated in the yearly competition, contributing nearly 4 million entries to date. This makes the HUAWEI XMAGE Awards a cultural heritage of its own, containing fragments of human history from worldwide perspectives.

Capture and Inspire: A New Direction for XMAGE Awards

This year’s XMAGE Awards hopes photographers everywhere – casual or professional – will seek inspiration in their photography. The award takes its name from Huawei’s proprietary Imaging Research & Development arm XMAGE. Like its namesake, XMAGE Awards aspires to help photographers find inspiration and be innovative in photography.

Launched in 2022, the XMAGE brand focuses on optical system, mechanical structure, imaging technology, and image processing in photography. All four pillars of XMAGE now form the tenets of Huawei’s new and upcoming smartphone camera technology, such as the latest HUAWEI Mate 50 Series’ Ultra Aperture Camera and HUAWEI P60 Pro's Ultra Lighting Telephoto Camera.

New Night Walk category to capture Wonders of the Dark

This year's competition has the following categories: Night Walk, Portrait, Art & Fashion, Outdoor, Hello Life, Storyboard, Action and Storytelling.

Night Walk is a new category, encouraging users to photograph the hidden wonders of night life, using Huawei’s unique night-photo settings.

 Attractive prizes and new judges

This year, the following prizes will be given out to outstanding submissions: 3 Grand Prize winners, 24 Best-in-Category winners, 27 Runner-up winners, and 5 Honourable Mentions. Winners can receive up to USD 10,000 in prize money.

New judges were invited, including Molife Kumona, GQ South Africa Editor-in-Chief. This also includes five leaders in photography: Chen Xiaobo, Vice President of China Photographers Association; Chinese fashion photographer Pei Tongtong; Portuguese landscape photographer José Ramos; Australian portrait photographer Jessica Hromas; and Li Changzhu, Vice President of the Consumer Strategy Marketing Dept at the HUAWEI Consumer Business Group.

The XMAGE Awards Submissions will close at 23H59 GMT+8 on August 15, 2023. We look forward to your participation and seeing your creativity come alive.

Users can visit the unified global submission channel via XMAGE Awards 2023 for their submission, as well as submit their entry via HUAWEI Community. Entries must be images or videos captured with a Huawei mobile phone, and there are no restrictions on when the work was captured or using which Huawei mobile phone.

For more information and competition terms and conditions, as well as submission, please refer to the competition website: https://gallery.consumer.huawei.com.

Bucket Tech: HONOR To Be With You (Competition)

 

As the world comes together to celebrate one of the biggest events in sports, HONOR shines a light on the heroes who are found off the field. Whilst attention is turned to the players, teams, and nations striving for victory, with the launch of its latest campaign, HONOR wishes to commemorate all the fans and players who make it all possible.

For millions of fans across the globe, football is so much more than just a game. It is a passion passed down from generation to generation, something to pin all your hopes and dreams on, a place to share extreme highs and devastating lows, a community, a sense of belonging.

HONOR believes that this emotional connection and mutual admiration which unites fans and players, is at its essence the true spirit of football. The real glory is not found in the heroism of one player, team or even nation but in the dedication and devotion shown by long-standing supporters. During this football event, HONOR invites those fans to tell the players they’ve loved for decades: it’s an “HONOR to be with you”.

#HONORtobewithyou

HONOR has kicked off the #HONORtobewithyou campaign with a clip which captures the power of the emotions experienced when we come together to express the love we have for our teammates, the respect for our opponents, and the shared admiration between players and fans. Whatever the journey’s outcome, it has certainly been an HONOR to be with you.

Fans can enter for the chance to win the 2022 national team jersey of their most beloved player by uploading a photo of that player’s jersey along with a message of dedication to their Instagram feed, using the hashtag #HONORtobewithyou and tagging the nominated player along with three of their friends. Or follow & retweet @honorglobal | @HONORSouthAfrica campaign tweet by tagging the nominated played along with three of their friends. The jersey can either be a real shirt, or entrants can get creative by fashioning a replica out of something else, such as upcycling old bed sheets, painting it onto their bodies, or any other creative way.

Bucket Seat: BMW M4 Competition Convertible

This week saw BMW unveil the topless version of their most controversial model yet, the BMW M4 Competition. With the M3 and M4 already being acclimatized to the market, there still are some who still get uncomfortable looking at the large grille. Yes it is in your face and rather different from the brand but come now guys, its time to build a bridge, for me and many others, it looks great and the performance speaks for itself so lets forget about your opinion on the cosmetic aspects. Needless to say there was always going to be a performance model of the M4 and thank the heavens because BMW have opted to re-introduce the soft top. I mean, no offence to the hard top on the previous model but if you've ever driven the 4 Series with the folding hard top, you would know how much extra weight is added to the rear when folded as well as the car just not feeling hundred percent balanced. The only good thing I could speak about the folding hard top was that it looked cool while being opened or closed, almost like a transformer but that's about it for me. 

Anyway, lets not dwell on the past and look to the future with the all-new M4 convertible and my isn't she a beauty. BMW say that this is a new generation of top-class high performance sports car for the premium midsize segment. At the heart, the new M4 convertible retains the M TwinPower Turbo 3.0L inline 6-cylinder beast that powers its siblings the M3 and M4 Coupe, delivering 375kW and 600Nm of torque which propels the can from 0-100km/h in just 3.7 seconds! Doing that with the roof down must be another level of thrilling and probably will give new meaning to the term "feeling the wind in your hair". The engine is a high-revving one so you will be able to hear the sweet symphony of the exhaust even better with the convertible. 

Just like its hard top sibling, the M4 convertible will be offered in a host of colours and options for the end user to choose from, which includes all the cool stuff like multi-spoke rims, carbon kit, carbon seats not to mention some great textures and trims for that interior. Standard spec includes three-zone automatic climate control, ambient lighting, hi-fi speak system, plus BMW Live cockpit professional featuring fully digital display grouping, cloud based navigation system on BMW Maps and BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant. BMW promises an emotionally engaging drive with this new M4 convertible and I'm pretty sure it will deliver. The BMW M4 Competition Convertible M xDrive will be available in South Africa from the fourth quarter of 2021. Pricing yet to be announced. 

 

COMPETITION: A Breakfast Run without a ride

For a biker, there's nothing better than you, your bike and the open road with your bike mates but what if your planned breakfast run that you and your mates have been planning for weeks starts with a disaster when you motorbike doesn't start? Imagine getting all your gear on, the sun is shining and you hop on your bike but but you hear the mood-killing 'click'. After muttering a range of expletives, you wonder, could it be the battery?

You remember this could have been avoided if you'd looked out for these telltale symptoms as explained by the battery specialists which include:

Trouble starting your motorcycle

Like any vehicle, a motorcycle requires electrical power to get going, and without a fully functioning battery, your motorcycle will struggle to start. 

Trouble when idling your motorcycle

In addition to the battery providing a spark to get going, ti also keeps your motorcycle running at idle. If you have to keep the throttle open to keep the motorcycle running, it's time to get that battery checked and replaced. 

Take your motorcycle to a trusted battery specialist. Should your motorcycle battery need replacing, follow these tips when choosing a battery. 

1. Check for a warranty, while battery wear and tear may be an important factor to consider, sometimes a battery will have a factory fault, which is when a warranty is essential. Battery Centre are one of the few specialists that offer 24-36 month warranty's that are valid around the country.
2. Make a conscious switch to lithium-ion, with many auto manufacturers switching to low-emission engines to protect the environment, why shouldn't you? Lithium-ion batteries are longer lasting and require less maintenance.
3. Check the power ratings, power ratings indicate the battery's strength. The higher the power rating, the better it works in your motorcycle. They may cost a little more but in the long-term they have many more benefits. Again get a specialist's advice. 

Don't miss out on feeling the wind in your hair on the next breakfast run with the crew, drop the battery specialists for a free battery and alternator check. 

We've teamed up with the battery specialists at Battery Centre to give you! Our loyal readers the chance to win a voucher to Battery Centre worth up to R2500! For more information check our Facebook and Instagram page

Bucket Seat: BMW M8 Competition Coupe & Convertible

So after numerous leaked imagine, spy photos and renders, the BMW M8 has finally shown its face officially and boy is it a great looking one. The 8 Series has already gained lots of attention since its launch locally and it most certainly does turn heads when its on the road, the presence of it is unmissable, add on BMW's most powerful V8 engine to it and you just have a recipe for all kinds of beautiful. Well, I doubt BMW would want the word beautiful and the M8 to be in the same sentence since this is the ultimate M car from their stable (yes, yes I know the M760Li has a V12) but in sports car terms this is the pinnacle of M cars there is to BMW. 

Along with the M8 Coupe and Convertible, BMW have also shown us the Competition package for both variants. These will include added extras like Individual paint cars, black chrome kidney grille, along with the side gills in the same colour. Mirrors, rear apron inlay and rear spoiler finished off in high-gloss black and exclusive forged 20-inch light alloy wheels in biclour. The Competition pack also comes with an M Sport exhaust system with black tailpipes which from the launch video sounds brutish as hell. 

In the heart of these beasts you'll find the high-revving V8 power plant which as mentioned before is the most powerful V8 produced by BMW, it's a M TwinPower Turbo that develops 441kW and 600bhp for both the M8 Coupe and M8 Convertible. In the Competition, the performance has been tweaked for the 4.4 liter unit, with it producing 460kW and 625bhp. The cars come with an eight-speed M Steptronic transmission which has drivelogic, helping the cars perfect balance and optimal power to wheel ratio is the M xDrive system.  Zero to hundred times for the M8 Coupe are 3.3 second with the Convertible lagging by 0.1 seconds, while the Competition Coupe does it in 3,2 seconds. 

The chassis is model specific and has been designed and tuned with specific demands of track use in mind. One of the features of the chassis that stands out in particular is a newly developed integrated braking system, an M-specific version of which presents the driver with two different brake pedal feel settings. The new range topping models from BMW M will celebrate their world premiers as part of the BMW Group #NextGen event taking place at BMW Welt in Munich on from the 25th of June till the 27th. Now official word from BMW SA on when they will be available locally but I have a suspicion with BMW M Festival due in SA this October, keep an eye out for this one. 

Bucket Tech: Samsung bringing Summer home

We're glad to announce on the blog that from now on we will be bringing you news from one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world to our platform, Samsung. With summer and the festive season heading our way, Samsung are hotting things up in the market with some awesome giveaways planned for customers and loyal supporters of the brand, giving you more reasons to celebrate. This summer, Samsung will be rewarding those who buy or upgrade to Samsung with the chance to win a premium Samsung TV's and they will be giving everyone a chance with weekly winners winning a share of R5 million in prizes!

"Whether you choose to buy or upgrade to a Samsung smartphone for yourself, or to delight a loved one, there could be extra reasons to smile. In fact, hundred high-definition, visually astounding reasons. We're looking forward to bringing joy and uniting South African families at this very special time of the year" - Cambridge Mokanyane, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung South Africa.

So how can you put yourself in line to be one of the lucky winners? Well its quite simple, buy a Galaxy smartphone (whether it be prepaid or contract) and stand a chance to win your share of 5 million rand of Samsung Premium TV's. The smartphone you buy will decide the TV you win, we have a guide on what phone equals what TV you would be eligible to win below.

• Note 9/ S9/ S9+  - You can win a 75" or 65" QLED TV
• A7 - You can win a 55" UHD TV
• J6+ / J4 - You can win a 43" UHD TV

*Promotion period is 6 weeks, which runs from now until 6 January 2019.

* Additionally, those who purchase a Note9, S9/ S9+ will automatically receive a R500 accessory voucher plus 6 month Samung Care+ screen protection. 

Visit the Samsung Website for more info

Bucket Babe: Cee Bailey

Spring has sprung but it sure doesn't feel like it, with most of the country still battling the icy cold we thought we'd bring you some content to warm you up. We got a smoking hot featured model today, don't let her size fool you because you know what they say about dynamite? She definitely packs a punch and a woman who knows what she wants. 

BIO

Hi everyone, my name is Cee Bailey and I'm 28 year old. Modeling  has always been a dream and making in the industry was hard but working hard I have managed to achieve a few of my goals. I was featured in the October issue of FHM SA 2011 and from there I made cover for MollMagazine and featured in Maxim S.A.

I am currently competing in Maxim Magazine cover girl search and it would be an ultimate dream to achieve it. I love the outdoors, animals and getting in front of the camera to express my alter ego.

LINKS

 

As Cee mentioned, she is currently in the running for the Maxim Magazine Cover girl search and she could really use your votes to help her out. Maxim Cover Girl - Cee Bailey

Q&A

1. Hot girls and hot cars go hand in hand, what ride would you like to  see yourself in?

• Hot girls and hot cars go hand in hand, I would love my ride to be thee Mustang GT500!

2. What sandwich are you most likely to make for me? and will it be toasted or plain?

• Oooohhh I love a chicken and mayo toasted sandwich that is what I'll make for you!

3. Everyone loves popcorn (well I think they do) what is your topping/ sprinkle of choice?

• I love popcorn, my favourite is salt and vinegar..

4. Dream cover shoot?

•  Maxim Magazine!

5. If given a choice, full time model or full time executive, what would you choose?

• Full time modelling and to travel with it is the goal.

6. Growing up you must have had someone you aspired to be, so who is your role model?

• To be honest I have always wanted to act as well so once I have achieved my modelling I would love to act and the actress that inspired me is Cameron Diaz.

7. Anyone holding that hand yet? or is it available?

• Holding this hand? Not yet (married that is....)

8. Obviously being a female you would love fashion. Favourite label/ designer?

• For shoes it hs to be Aldo, Lingerie, La Senza and clothing I would love to be sponsored by Guess.

9. What type of music gets your booty shaking?

• I love hip hop and pop, it makes my body goove.

10. Which city is your dream party destination?

• I would love to go anywhere in the USA!

Corona SunSets Durban 2018 - Win Tickets!

With tickets for the Corona SunSets Festival in Durban at the end of September selling fast, we thought we'd give a few lucky people a chance to win tickets to probably the biggest event to the kick off the Durban party season. With a lineup that includes the likes of international DJ and producer Robin Schulz and a host of South Africa's hottest artists, like DJ Fresh, Timo ODV, Lady Zamar, Goodluck to just name a few, you know this party is not to be missed. 

But what makes the Corona SunSets Festival unique, is the whole setup, having attended events in Cape Town and Johannesburg, I can honestly say Durban is in for something special. It's unlike any other festival that's been held before in the Province. It's a very laid back setup with lots areas for chilling, a beach sand dance floor area with the Mandala stage prominent from all views. It's a festival dedicated to the sun and at SunSet the Mandala lights up with the performances. The music will be different to what you're used to hearing most dance festivals with a more deep house vibe as well as their hits. 

Sounds like something you'd like to attend? Well you and a partner could partying the night away at Shongweni on the 29th of September courtesy of the Bucket and Corona SunSets Festival. We have 5 sets of double tickets to give away! And it's so simple to enter, all you have to do is follow us on Facebook or Instagram and follow these instructions.

For a Facebook entry, share THIS POST and state "I want to win with the Bucket and Corona" be sure to tag us in the post. Entries will only be valid if you have "Liked" the Bucket Facebook Page . 

Instagram entry, comment on THIS POST with "I want to win with the Bucket and Corona". Again, entries will only be valid if you are following the Bucket Instagram account. 

There is no limit to entries, and the competition closes on Friday, the 24th of August. Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced on Saturday the 25th on both Facebook and Instagram.

If you would like to purchase tickets, you can do so via the Nutickets website