Thursday, June 6, 2019

Huawei P30 Pro has not only super zoom. Dark sight, too.

I heard about Huawei P30 Pro's super zoom capabilities. Because P30 Pro has periscope lens which can optically zoom in for 5x.
It isn't end there because it can do 50x zoom which isn't optical zoom though.

You can easily find article like this:

or you can see super zoom in action from youtube video:



And then suddenly the US president Trump and his administration added Huawei to the entity list which means any U.S company is not allow to do business with Huawei. More simple term is "Huawei ban".

So I didn't have time to know more about Huawei P30 and P30 Pro.


And I just found this youtube video:

The Huawei P30 Pro Is The Low Light Camera King And It's Not Close by ben's gadget reviews.



P30 Pro can take photo in the pitch black--dark sight.

I took screenshot from the video:
Screenshot of youtuber ben's gadget reviews' P30 Pro pitch black dark shot.
As you can see, it was very dark alley. And P30 Pro can take a photo like that.

Screenshot of youtuber ben's gadget reviews' P30 Pro pitch black dark shot.

Here is the comparison shot--P30 Pro vs iPhone XS vs Galaxy S10 vs V40.

Screenshot of youtuber ben's gadget reviews' P30 Pro pitch black dark shot.
Same comparison shot but different location-indoor pitch black shot.

As you can see, P30 Pro made whole new concept of nighttime photography--with just smartphone.
I would say P30 Pro blows competition--Google's night sight, out of the water.
And I'd like to name the P30 Pro's night mode as 'dark sight'.


Here is interesting comments that I'd like to share:
Screenshot of youtuber ben's gadget reviews' P30 Pro pitch black dark shot video's comments.
jim kuan commented:
If Apple were to do this, they will make a huge deal out of it.  They will have convention style announcement and give it names like "Quantum Retina Night" technology of the future.  And Huawei just puts it in their phones and says, "oh, by the way, we got a camera that can shoot in dark." 


Anyway, when I saw that video, I tweeted about it like this:



You probably need more evidence. So I will put some more articles.
Huawei's P30 Pro has the best low-light camera, better even than Google’s Pixel Night Sight, and it sets a new benchmark for night photography.
quoted from Huawei's P30 Pro raises the bar for low-light photography @ April 1, 2019 by Vlad Savov


Very low light: No contest

The P30 Pros ability to shoot in the dark is downright amazing. In fact, the darker it gets, the more stunning the results compared to any other smartphone out there.
quoted from Huawei P30 Pro vs Pixel 3 XL: The ultimate low-light camera comparison @ April 2, 2019


Below one is the good example. Author tried to do the blind test but he couldn't...
Huawei ruined our comparison

The initial idea behind this article was to take the best smartphones available on the market in terms of photographic capabilities, take pictures in dimly lit environments or at night, and then have you vote to choose the best shot. However, Huawei managed to ruin the comparison: P30 Pro in most scenes is unbeatable and too easily recognizable.
quoted from Huawei P30 Pro ruined our night camera blind test @ April 24, 2019 by Luca Zaninello



Huawei sets new standards in mobile photography with P20 Pro--and P30 Pro, too.

Many people think that Google Pixel 3 XL's night sight is game changer. But Huawei P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro actually beat the Pixel 3 XL include night sight--which not many people know.


Here is the some of things you probably didn't know because people in your country don't use Chinese smartphone.

Marvelous! Huawei sets new standards in mobile photography with the Leica Triple Camera, and....

Overall, the P20 Pro offers the most comprehensive and flexible package, with the best image quality in terms of our comparison devices.....

The big advantage for the P20 Pro is its Leica Triple Camera, which blows the Mate 10 Pro and the competition out of the water.....

Huawei has set new standards for mobile photography with its Leica Triple Camera. The P20 Pro is the device against which all other smartphone cameras will now be compared.
quoted from NotebookCheck.net Reviews - Huawei P20 Pro Smartphone Review @ April 20, 2018 by Daniel Schmidt


I don't really bother to checking out DXOmark score because DSLR cameras and lenses weren't that reliable source to get to know the DSLR camera and lens.
But smartphone was quite simpler than DSLR or mirrorless camera. Because photographer's diversity of photographing chances and styles with variety combination of DSLR camera and lenses makes hard to justify the DXOmark score.


When the Huawei P20 Pro was reviewed, there has no match to any other smartphone.
You can read more details in the review.

Conclusion: Game changer

We are used to every new smartphone camera generation being slightly better than the previous one, but looking at the images and test results from the P20 Pro, it seems Huawei has skipped one or two generations. The results are simply that good. The P20 Pro’s triple camera setup is the biggest innovation we have seen in mobile imaging for quite some time and is a real game changer.
quoted from Huawei P20 Pro camera review: Innovative technologies, outstanding results @ March 27, 2018 by Lars Rehm


You can find similar talking like this about people in your country don't use Huawei smartphone:
A majorly disappointing aspect of this entire test is just how unlikely it is for the US is ever to see a Huawei-made handset.
quoted from Pixel 3 Night Sight vs Mate 20 Pro Night Mode - 9to5Google @ December 3, 2018 by Damien Wilde
I will just quote some:
There isn't tons of detail but from what we had to work with initially, I think that Huawei seems to handle lighting a little better than the Pixel in my experience with both smartphones.....

Instantly with the Pixel and Night Sight, we see a greater level of detail, but it feels a little whitewashed overall.

As you can read this 'a little whitewashed overall', right?


The Pixel's eagerness to whiten up images in Night Sight is....

The Pixel tends to whiten up warmly lit scenes, which we feel does rob them of their ambience....

....it will handle incandescent lights better and preserve the vibe of the scene.
quoted from Night mode ON: Pixel 3 vs. Mate 20 Pro : Night Sight vs. Night mode @ November 23, 2018 by GSMArena team

You can read last part--"preserve the vibe of the scene".

Is this the reason why people trying to take photo of?
If you are familiar with computer, you will know the term wysiwyg--what you see is what you get. Whitening the scene wasn't that great way, right?

I'm not just making this up.
Here is the comment from Pixel 3 Night Sight vs Mate 20 Pro Night Mode - 9to5Google @ December 3, 2018

Screenshot of comments from Pixel 3 Night Sight vs Mate 20 Pro Night Mode - 9to5Google.

Skipper commented:

I use a Pixel 3, but one of its problems is photos look fake. Don't get me wrong, I love tinkering with instagram's filters, but come on, if you compare 3's photos with the 20pro, it's pretty obvious that 20pro is more realistic with 3 physical cameras capturing a "wider" aperture look, while Pixel's digital light enhancement is just that, "digitally enhanced", which mean "fake" look by tuning up highlights and shadows.

SF Media commented:

both are amazing..but the pixel is too bright for a night.



Anyway, Pixel 3's night sight probably improved a lot and Pixel 4 which wasn't come out yet, might be better.

But Huawei P30 Pro again made whole new concept of nighttime photography--with smartphone. And super-zoom, too.

Game changer phones which not many countries were available to buy. Because the U.S president Trump and his administration trying to destroying one private company--Huawei.

Friday, May 31, 2019

$150-ish Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Global Rom version already support widevine L1.

I don't watch Netflix or Amazon prime so I didn't know what this widevine thing is.
But I could find some question about it in Xiaomi MIUI Official Forum which currently merged with Mi Community.


Xiaomi flagship Mi 8 is still L3.

Mi 8 is Xiaomi flagship smartphone line--Mi series which was released last year and this year, Xiaomi released Mi 9.
So people are saying Mi 8 is Xiaomi's flagship smartphone but why Mi 8 don't support widevine L1 which is important because L1 device only support HD in Netflix and Amazon prime.

Screenshot of Xiaomi Mi 8's DRM Info 1/2

Screenshot of Xiaomi Mi 8's DRM Info 2/2

If you see the first screenshot, you can see the Mi 8's firmware version info. - 10.3.2.0 which is Miui global stable newest version.
And L3 from the second screenshot.


You can read about Widevine from Wikipeida
or I will just quote from important part from Widevine digital rights management explained @ December 11, 2017
Android devices support either L1 or L3 security levels, depending on hardware and software implementations, as does Chrome OS. 
If your device is only L3 compliant, you're capped at sub-HD resolutions. Only L1 secure devices.....play back HD or higher quality content...


Redmi Note 7 launched in Korea and it's widevine L1.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 was launched in Korea at April 15, 2019. And this model probably is same model like European version which had global version.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Korean version - Global Version.

After launched in Korea, I heard that Redmi Note 7 support widevine L1 from Xiaomi community in Korea. But I don't have a Redmi Note 7 to screenshot myself.
And I just bought it a few days ago so I did capture the screen.

Screenshot of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7's DRM Info 1/2

Screenshot of Xiaomi Redmi Note 7's DRM Info 2/2

You can see the Redmi Note 7's firmware version info. - 10.2.8.0 which is Miui global stable version.
And L1 from the second screenshot.



HD streaming isn't available yet in Netflix, probably.

I don't subscribe to Netflix so I don't know.
But some people are saying HD streaming wasn't available in Redmi Note 7 which suppose to work because it support widevine L1.
But I heard that you can download HD video files in Redmi Note 7.

I don't know much about this so you should ask about it to Netflix.
And you can check Netflix's help page about the "Using Netflix on your Android phone or tablet".

Monday, May 27, 2019

Huawei price shock? Where can I buy that $130 P30 Pro you mentioned?

Here is the article - Huawei Price Shock: Value Of Flagship $1150 P30 Pro Comes Crashing Down To $130 @ May 26, 2019
saying that it values $130. Because of Huawei ban.


On the same site, the Huawei P30 Pro, also in good condition, will now return just £100, less than $130. It has lost almost 90% of its value.


"Trade-in prices for the P20 Pro are now as low as £50," which quoted from U.K.'s Express newspaper--P20 Pro SHOCK as Huawei fans suffer most devastating news yet | Express.co.uk @ May 25, 2019
Quoted from Huawei Price Shock: Value Of Flagship $1150 P30 Pro Comes Crashing Down To $130 @ May 26, 2019

This newspaper screenshot the trade-in values from MusicMagpie websites.

But as you can see from the photo, they were selling refurbished Huawei P20 Pro for £314.99 to £459.99.
So they can make £300 to £400 from cleaning the phone? Is this what people call it as "rip-off"?


Huawei price shock? Where can I buy that $130 P30 Pro or  £50 P20 Pro you mentioned?

If you can't see clearly, you can use this link--google photo link.


Trade-in company don't want to risk--because of Huawei ban. Sure, price will drop because of update issue.
But it doesn't mean secondhand price drop like £50. See above--in the photo. Even musicmagpie.co.uk sell £350 but buy £50?
Huawei P30 Pro return just £100, less than $130??

Do some research--you don't even need to be in UK to find out--> Just google with "second hand p20 pro in uk".

If price drop like that, people will buy it form there and sell to other country--that's why a lot of people carry iPhone to sell other country--several years ago.

If I can buy P30 Pro for $130, I will surely buy it --3 or 5 of them. And P20 Pro for £50, I will go to buy 3 or 5 of them.
And if I can't sell it in my country(because almost nobody use Huawei phone), that's okay. Because I can give to all my family and friends.


* Many times, ebay.com won't sell many Huawei smartphone--or Xiaomi smartphone. I know this because I did try to buy it from there. I think reason is not many people (in the USA), using Chinese smartphone. So I don't think it will impact rest of the world--I mean secondhand price of Huawei smartphone.

* Here is the list of link that I use in the photo:



Saturday, March 16, 2019

Can Raspberry Pi boot from USB flash drive? And about how to do it guide.

Simple answer is 'yes, it can' but read on....
Or skip to the "So I will write summary first:" below.
Or skip to the "Raspberry Pi 3 B+ support USB boot.  How about Pi Zero W? Or other Pi?" below.


Not everyone is beginner, I think.

When people looking for how to guide for installing the OS(operating system), they were probably beginner or very first time trying to use Raspberry Pi. If that's the case, step by step guide might be very good choice.

But even so, it is better to explain general concept, I think.

If someone already knew some computer stuff, he or she probably doesn't need that step by step guide. Because Raspberry Pi is computer that means it is same concept.
For example, someone is Windows user like me and some Windows user knew if computer--motherboard support USB booting, Windows user can simply go to the CMOS setting and do boot from the USB stick.
So I'm thinking Raspberry Pi is computer so it might support USB boot, too.

So I'd like to know whether Raspberry Pi support USB boot or not. Or I might have to do something to get USB boot.
That's what I want to know, right?



So I will write summary first:


BCM2837-based Raspberry Pis which were all the Pi 3 models include compute module 3 and Pi 2 Model B v1.2, support USB host and Ethernet boot.

So if you have any of models with BCM2837, you can follow any general install OS guide (and install to the USB flash memory stick) which you might already knew.

And if you have other models include Pi Zero and Zero W, you need single file on your micro sd card and then it will boot from USB memory stick. So you can boot from USB memory stick and also need micro sd card with single file which I will explain below.



thought about boot from SD and then USB.

I am currently using the multiboot via berryboot.

And sometimes, I felt berryboot wasn't enough what I am trying to do. So I am thinking about like that.
3 or 4 OS on SD card and then 1 or 2 OS from USB flash memory.


So I was googling about it like this:
how do i install raspbian on usb memory


And I clicked below guide:

And read this part:
Important information
This tutorial is out-dated and has been updated here: ....
So I did clicked link which is below guide:

I have a Linux machine but most of my data--Raspberry Pi image file and etc, was on Windows which is my main computer.
So I clicked Windows version tutorial--below link.


I appreciate the detail guides. But when I am trying go through this guide it made me very confusing.
See this "Step 2 – Install Raspbian to the micro sd card"
And then "Note: If you’re using a Raspberry Pi 3+, you don’t need to do step 2. Jump straight to step 3."

"Step 3 – Install Raspbian to the USB Flash Drive"
The process is exactly the same as step 2, but this time we choose the USB flash drive as.....

And here--"If you're using a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, you can skip step 4."

"Step 4 – Prepare the Raspberry Pi for boot from USB"

"Step 5 – Boot Raspbian from USB Flash Drive"


Huh?
I realised that it is exactly same step as install Raspbian on micro sd card.

I have Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and Pi Zero W. So I already knew how to installing any OS on micro sd card.


As you can see, it took very long time to figure out.
Unfortunately, I clicked very old guide--May 2013. That probably is the reason though.



Raspberry Pi 3 B+ support USB boot. How about Pi Zero W? Or other Pi?

I am thinking newer Pi can support boot from USB memory stick but how about Raspberry Pi Zero W which I also have.

So I googling about it and found this:


This question already reveal how to do the booting from USB stick.

Quoted from the question.
The older Raspberry Pi's (Pi 1, Pi 2 and Pi Zero) couldn't boot from a USB-device, but the Raspberry Pi 3 has support for it. The Pi and Pi 2 have semi-support for it (using an SD-card with a single bootfile).

So if I wanted to boot from USB stick in Pi 1 and 2, I can place single bootfile--which I don't know it yet.

And other people answered that Pi Zero W use older chip like Pi 1 and 2.

And then I found someone wrote about that single bootfile--bootcode.bin.
And pointed to the source:
Special bootcode.bin-only boot mode section in Raspberry Pi boot modes - raspberrypi/documentation
Quoted from above link:
USB host and Ethernet boot can be performed by BCM2837-based Raspberry Pis (these are all Pi 3 models, and some Pi 2Bs). In addition, all Raspberry Pi models can use a new bootcode.bin-only method to enable USB host and Ethernet booting.

Just format an SD card as FAT32 and copy on the latest bootcode.bin.

This is useful for the Raspberry Pi 1, 2, and Zero models, which are based on the BCM2835 and BCM2836 devices, and in situations where a Pi 3 fails to boot (the latest bootcode.bin includes additional bugfixes for the Pi 3, compared to the boot code burned into the BCM2837).

If you have a problem with a mass storage device still not working even with this bootcode.bin, then please add a new file 'timeout' to the SD card. This should extend the time it waits for the mass storage device to initialise to six seconds.

I'm not 100% for sure yet. But if Raspberry Pi use BCM2837, USB host and Ethernet boot will support.

And I found all the Raspberry Pi specifications from Raspberry Pi - Wikipedia.
Screenshot of Wikipedia's Raspberry Pi Specifications section.
And as you can see, Pi 2 Model B v1.2 uses BCM2837. And all the Pi 3--3 Model A+, 3 Model B, B+ and Compute Model 3, lite, 3+.


So if you have Pi 2 Model B with v1.2, Pi 3 series and Compute Model 3 series, you can just install any OS on USB stick and remove micro SD card.

If you have other version include Pi Zero W, you can format the micro SD card and copy the bootcode.bin file.


Yes, I haven't tried it yet. But I think those are from the Raspberry Pi's official repository.
So I'm sure it will work.



Kali and Raspbian booted from USB flash drive.

I probably have to get more information about it so I just found this:
quoted from above link:
HawaiianPi wrote:
The Pi3 will check for a boot SD card first, before booting from a USB device. If no boot SD card is found in 5 seconds, then it looks for a boot USB device.

I think this is quite similar process as USB boot in PC--desktop and laptop computer.

When I read from above link, someone said some USB disk won't work. And I wasn't sure about it--If it's FAT32, why it shouldn't be.

But first I tried with quite old 8GB USB stick, it didn't work--Pi 3 B+ without micro SD card and Pi Zero W with single file on micro SD card.
So I thought I need to do something.

And I realised this could be compatibility issue. So I put my kind of new memory card read which can read SDXC format card, too.

Tada!


As you can see that micro sd card slot is empty.
Kali lite booted from USB Flash memory stick in Raspberry Pi 3 B+.
That USB memory stick doesn't work with USB boot--I tried like 2+ os and also with Pi Zero W.


This time, I tried same USB memory card reader with Pi Zero W. And it worked well.
And I had to put single file in micro sd card.
Raspbian stretch booted from USB Flash memory stick in Raspberry Pi Zero W.

If you'd like to connect more than two USB stick, portable hard disk or SSD, things became quite complicated. Because Raspberry Pi doesn't know which USB drive to boot from.

So you have to search more about it.


I hope you did learn about the basic concept or process of USB boot in Raspberry Pi.