Features

National Selfie Day with the OPPO F5 Youth

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OPPO invited media and fans to somewhere magical for the celebration of their National Selfie Day. I’m not sure how this celebration of taking selfies was born, but knowing what OPPO does best, it’s expected.

I brought the new OPPO F5 Youth, which is the cheaper variant of the main OPPO F5, to the picturesque Enchanted Kingdom and took — you know it — selfies.

If you’re following me on Twitter (@danielmorial), you already got a peak of what I did around the theme park. All the succeeding photos were shot using the OPPO F5 Youth in auto mode unless stated otherwise.

Let’s begin!

We arrived in the park at high noon and the production team was still setting up the stage for the program and mini-concert to be held in the evening. While they were cooking things up, I chose to walk around the park.

EK hasn’t changed much since it opened over a decade ago. Back in elementary, this was a staple destination for my school field trips; it still seems to be since I saw a lot of students in uniform. It was cloudy but the OPPO F5 Youth handled the situation pretty well. Seems like the phone is not just for taking selfies after all.

There was a lot to see inside the park. With so many details in the structures, my walk became an impromptu photo walk. Check out the samples captured by the rear 13-megapixel camera during the day:

To my surprise, the phone managed to impress with its snaps. The pictures are generally pleasing (perhaps the location helped a lot) and have above-average quality for a budget phone. The auto white balance is spot on most of the time, but the shutter speed needs to keep up for a sharper image.

It’s a selfie phone, so here are the selfies

The F5 Youth has a better front camera compared to the rear since it’s a phone made to take selfies. It has a 16-megapixel front camera with an f/2.0 aperture and software enhancement built-in (marketed as AI) to capture great selfies.

The front camera doesn’t have autofocus like on the rear, but it seems like the sweet spot for sharp selfies is at arm’s length. It already has a wide aperture for a natural bokeh or blurry background effect as seen in this sample:

But if you want the creamy bokeh which dual camera phones deliver, there’s a toggle in the camera launcher to enable it. Even without a secondary sensor, the phone was able to take a decent selfie with background blur, although it’s not as clean as we had wanted.

As mentioned, the F5 Youth features AI facial recognition for the purpose of delivering nicer and more natural selfies in beauty mode. We already featured the different levels of the new beauty mode in our hands-on of the regular F5 variant, but the F5 Youth has a slightly downgraded front sensor.

Here are a trio of selfies with our resident artist MJ in various settings:

I definitely prefer the one without beautification. Auto or letting AI decide seem to be just fine when you want to hide your blemishes, but setting it on max made us look like life-size porcelain dolls.

Night photography

When the sun set, lights lit up the park wonderfully. It was a different vibe; better if you ask me. Here’s a sample with beauty mode set to auto:

In this image, AI worked well in making my face smoother and hiding freckles aside from the nose area. Also, I had to keep my hand steady to avoid blur because of the slower shutter speed to allow more light in the sensor. As a result, any moving objects in the background were completely smudged.

Here’s another one with a strong light source hitting my cheeks and beauty mode turned off:

Low-light photography with the rear camera is also not bad since I was able to take decent stills of the thrill rides. Since the shutter speed setting when set to auto takes its time, it’s fun to play with fast-moving objects like the roller coaster and drop tower.

Details are lacking and the digital noise is prevalent in the low-light stills. Manual controls for shuttle speed, ISO, white balance, focus, and exposure value are available under “Expert Mode” in the camera app if you want to get creative.

Time to call it a day, but before that…

Before the National Selfie Day wrapped up, OPPO announced a new F5 handset with more memory and storage dubbed the OPPO F5 6GB. After the announcement, the Parokya Ni Edgar band took the stage and the crowd sang along.

Even without a zoom lens, there’s a 2x zoom toggle in the camera launcher. It’s just digital zoom with a few software tricks to sharpen the image.

That wraps up the National Selfie Day of OPPO. With three F5 variants to choose from now, which will your GadgetMatch be?

SEE ALSO: OPPO F5 hands-on: A nearly borderless selfie phone

[irp posts=”22751″ name=”OPPO F5 hands-on: A nearly borderless selfie phone”]

Tutorials

How to set up Apple Pay on your iPhone

It’s as easy as a single tap.

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Apple Pay is officially in the Philippines!

Pushing the country forward into a cashless and cardless future, Apple has now brought its contactless payment system to the Philippines. As with other countries, Apply Pay will work seamlessly and easily even for those who have problems with technology.

Now, despite how easy it is, sometimes we need to be pointed in the right direction. Here’s how you can set up Apple Pay on your iPhone:

Everything starts with the Wallet app. First, open your Wallet app. Tap the “+” button on the top and select “Debit or Credit Card.”

Normally, this is where you can input your card details (which you can still do, by the way), but the default method now is to just tap your card on the back of your iPhone. Your phone does the rest. You might need to confirm with your bank, but it’s as easy as a single tap.

Pick which cards to use. Once you have your cards online, you might need to change which one is the default card. Again, it’s easy. Just drag your preferred card to the front.

Afterwards, you can tap to pay in supported stores by priming the Wallet app for use. Tapping to pay is also available for Apple Watch. Meanwhile, online transactions can also work on MacBook.

Secure, all the time. If you’re worried about your security especially with online transactions, Apple keeps your information only between you and the seller. They don’t store your data.

Also, it’s not easy to make a transaction without your consent. You need Face ID, Touch ID, or your password. If you lose your phone, you can easily shut your phone down with the Find My app to prevent malicious parties from making transactions.

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Accessories

DJI Osmo Mobile 8P: From a videographer’s perspective

Better tracking, fewer buttons

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DJI’s smartphone gimbals have always chased one goal: delivering cinema-smooth footage without forcing you to carry a heavy rig.

The Osmo Mobile 8P (OM 8P) makes its priorities clear right out of the box. This is not a simple refresh. DJI rebuilt how you control the gimbal, and that decision shapes the entire shooting experience.

Freedom behind the lens

The biggest change is the FrameTap remote, and it’s the kind of upgrade that fixes a problem you didn’t realize was slowing you down until it’s gone.

On the standard OM 8, adjusting your framing meant reaching for your phone every time, which broke the flow of shooting and pulled you out of the moment.

FrameTap puts that control back in your hand. You can reframe shots and manage the gimbal without touching your phone at all, and for anyone shooting solo, that alone changes how usable the whole setup feels. Tracking has taken a real step forward too.

ActiveTrack 8.0, paired with Module 2, held onto its subject even after they stepped out of frame for a moment, then picked them back up without much fuss.

It also lets you sit off-center in the shot instead of forcing you into the middle every time, which gives you more room to compose something that doesn’t look like every other gimbal video.

None of that would matter much if the gimbal itself wasn’t solid, and it still is. The OM 8P holds onto the same foldable design, magnetic phone clamp, and built-in tripod that made the OM 8 easy to live with.

And it remains one of the better compact options for stabilization, tracking, and portability in one package.

The tripod legs are a touch wider this time, and that extra width does make a noticeable difference on uneven ground.

The trade-offs in touch

The trade-off for all that new remote functionality is a control scheme that takes more getting used to. More of the gimbal’s functions now live on the FrameTap touchscreen, the joystick is smaller, and switching between shooting modes takes a few extra taps compared to the OM 8. It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s a learning curve you’ll need to budget time for.

DJI also removed the zoom and focus wheel, so if you leaned on that dial for quick adjustments, you’ll feel its absence here. Module 2 no longer lets you plug a DJI wireless mic in directly either.

You’ll need to connect it to your phone instead, which adds a step to a setup that used to be simpler. Phone compatibility is still a limiting factor as well. DJI lists support for phones up to around 300g and 11mm thick, so bigger phones or ones in chunky cases may not clamp in properly.

Finding your ideal workflow

The OM 8P makes the most sense for solo creators who want dependable tracking and the freedom of remote framing without stepping up to a dedicated camera like the DJI Osmo Pocket.

If you’re already shooting on a phone with a solid camera, this fills the gap nicely. It’s a tougher sell if you prefer physical buttons over touchscreen menus, or if your phone runs on the larger and heavier side, since fitting it onto the clamp might be a problem before you even get to shooting.

Price, availability

DJI is offering the OM 8P in three combos, so how much you pay depends on how much of the ecosystem you actually need.

  • Standard Combo (PhP 7,499): the gimbal itself, with 8th-gen stabilization and the detachable FrameTap remote included.
  • Advanced Tracking Combo (PhP 9,199): adds the Multifunctional Module 2 for the improved subject tracking we tested.
  • Creator Combo (PhP 11,099): the full kit, built for creators who want everything DJI bundles in from the start.

Is the DJI Osmo Mobile 8P your GadgetMatch?

The DJI Osmo Mobile 8P asks you to relearn a few habits in exchange for a gimbal that finally lets go of your phone. If hands-free framing and steadier tracking matter more to you than a dedicated zoom dial, this is worth the adjustment.

If you’d rather keep things exactly as they were on the OM 8, that learning curve might be the deciding factor.

Swipe right if you shoot alone often and have been waiting for a gimbal remote that actually works. The FrameTap remote alone justifies the upgrade if reaching for your phone mid-shot has been slowing you down.

Consider this if reliable tracking matters to you, especially if you’ve had a subject wander out of frame and stay lost on older gimbals.

And of course, get this if you already own a capable phone under the weight and thickness limits, and you’d rather invest in a smartphone rig than jump to a dedicated camera like the Osmo Pocket.

Swipe left if you lean on physical dials for zoom and focus, and moving those functions to a touchscreen sounds like a downgrade rather than an upgrade.

This is not for you if you use a DJI wireless mic and want it plugged directly into the module without routing through your phone first. Or, your phone runs heavier or bulkier than DJI’s limits allow, since no amount of enthusiasm fixes a clamp that won’t close.

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Features

GadgetSnaps: Westminster Abbey

A thousand years of history, unfolded with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra

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Graphics by Vincenz Lee | GadgetMatch

Westminster Abbey isn’t just another stop on the London tourist trail.

It’s the stage for coronations, royal weddings, and burials that span nearly a thousand years, all still playing out under the same vaulted ceilings that have been standing since before most countries had names.

Once you get past the crowds and the audio guides, a quieter version of the abbey starts to show itself: worn stone steps, poets resting a few feet from kings, light that shifts across the nave like it’s in on the performance too.

While losing track of time in Poets’ Corner (yes, me, playing amateur historian for an afternoon), I unfolded the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra and decided the abbey deserved more than a quick tourist snap.


All photos captured using the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra.

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