talking about cheating shops...


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sehsuan

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Dec 12, 2002
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www.sportsshooter.com
i will inform STB about this shop that i happened to find very likely guilty of cheating.

initially i happened to meet this group of american musicians, and followed them on foot by guiding them to orchard, since i was going from park mall to borders. one of them decided to buy a battery for his video camera, so when he entered the shop, that's all i thought he wanted to buy. later when i joined him in the store because his other mates were outside, i was surprised to see an add-on lens for the camera taken out by the storeholder. i got curious (come on, all lenses make all of us ppl gian), so i took a look. vitacom 0.45x wideangle convertor. so the boss told the american man, that it makes the image brighter, and said he would even show us the effect. he hooked up the wiring, and then put the WA in front of the videocamera. my gosh - the ho-hum image on the camera instantly LIT UP - and i thought it might have been as well as +2EV on a digital camera!

so i asked to see the incredible lens for myself, and as the man serving us was turning his back, i put the WA in front of the videocamera, and DIDN'T see a damned different in the light level! i took a quick peep over the counter, and then this is what i saw!

03-09-20-cheat.jpg


since i had my 10d in standby all the while because i was taking random snapshots for the american dudes, i quickly took one snap. to think that two days or so ago, the papers mentioned that they'd blacklist all these errant shops openly, and yet this store was using a contraption to evidently cheat people! and the most insulting part was that the "normal price" was ~120 SGD, and discounted to 80 SGD. shame!!!

for those of you wondering how this thing can work logically speaking, when the shopkeeper put the WA on, he actuates the switch to show a brighter image on the TV screen. in other words, there's probably some simple resistors in the device to lower the voltage of the initial video output. the switchbox is the type you can spot in some hdb common areas/schools. or in other words, the default position for the device is to lower the voltage of the video output, and when the WA is placed infront of the video camera, the device is switched to "bypass" the resistors and hence the image becomes brighter. another loophole of this cheat is that the RCA style connectors to the video camera were the red and white ones, and the end that connected to the TV was ONLY the white one WITHOUT an accompanying red cable. no way could a shop be so stingy NOT to throw away a half-usable cable, right?

and since the man didn't really know that i snapped a photo, he inquired about my camera. "what model is that?" apparently he doesn't even know the top 3-in-a-row controls for the 10D... ;(
 

Harlequin said:
So this was the shop that you were talking earlier on the phone....

now you know why i was so worked up...

coconut, luckily the shopkeeper didn't expect me to be coming in WITH the guys, otherwise he'd been VERY careful already.
 

Complain.
This kind of cheating attitude cannot be accepted.
 

so did the chap buy the WA converter in the end after u tried it?
 

sehsuan said:
another loophole of this cheat is that the RCA style connectors to the video camera were the red and white ones, and the end that connected to the TV was ONLY the white one WITHOUT an accompanying red cable. no way could a shop be so stingy NOT to throw away a half-usable cable, right?

hmm...i tot one is for video and the other for audio?

not really need to plug both in....since he want to show video, just plug in the video cable to the video in can liao...

but the little switch that u capture is interesting....did u really saw him pressing the switch when he do demo?
 

Wai said:
hmm...i tot one is for video and the other for audio?

not really need to plug both in....since he want to show video, just plug in the video cable to the video in can liao...

but the little switch that u capture is interesting....did u really saw him pressing the switch when he do demo?

indeed. but you wouldn't have a RCA cable that's R/W on one side and only W on the other side right? at least the R side should be hanging off, but his cable to the TV was ONLY W. to your 2nd query, how about i ask you, why do you think he connected the device in serial manner, to the TV? why connect in the first place? why not connect directly to the camera in FULL view of the prospect? :think:

lavenderlilz said:
so did the chap buy the WA converter in the end after u tried it?

heng, before i could verbalize anything to him, he said he didn't want it. PHEW. but it's the practice....
 

if i were u there i'd have put on continuous mode and take shots of the whole damn place... then sell the pics to newspaper. :devil:
 

Clown said:
if i were u there i'd have put on continuous mode and take shots of the whole damn place... then sell the pics to newspaper. :devil:

but dunno if he can still walk off safely if you make it until so obvious.....
 

Wai said:
but dunno if he can still walk off safely if you make it until so obvious.....

time to get a leica? :D

or...

"i'm streetshooting, i'm trying to find out what's at your feet..."

:bsmilie:

jokes aside, i will report this case.
 

sehsuan said:
time to get a leica? :D

or...

"i'm streetshooting, i'm trying to find out what's at your feet..."

:bsmilie:

jokes aside, i will report this case.

try a camera phone?

so where are u going to report abt this?
 

sehsuan said:
time to get a leica? :D

or...

"i'm streetshooting, i'm trying to find out what's at your feet..."

:bsmilie:

jokes aside, i will report this case.

eh u sure or not? its not as if u did see him activate that thing when he was doing the demo leh. Thread carefully.
 

lavenderlilz said:
eh u sure or not? its not as if u did see him activate that thing when he was doing the demo leh. Thread carefully.

i'm sure stb can get some undercover nerds to check it out. why did the video wiring HAVE to go through that box, AND there has to be a switch to the box? legally speaking, i have not named the shop, and though my "evidence" is not strong enough, and is mainly deducive work, what do you think about "coincidences"? :dunno:

besides, why wasn't the box placed on the table, but instead the wiring droops down to the floor, and comes back up to the counter level. somemore the switch wasn't hanging mid-air, why was it on the ground? legally, i don't know much except not to name them because my case is not conclusive, i know your concern for me, lilz :)
 

sehsuan said:
i'm sure stb can get some undercover nerds to check it out. why did the video wiring HAVE to go through that box, AND there has to be a switch to the box? legally speaking, i have not named the shop, and though my "evidence" is not strong enough, and is mainly deducive work, what do you think about "coincidences"? :dunno:

besides, why wasn't the box placed on the table, but instead the wiring droops down to the floor, and comes back up to the counter level. somemore the switch wasn't hanging mid-air, why was it on the ground? legally, i don't know much except not to name them because my case is not conclusive, i know your concern for me, lilz :)

As they say, coincidences (however many) can be explained away. Here you are going on a balance of probablities, its not beyond reasonable doubt. :)
 

sehsuan said:
for those of you wondering how this thing can work logically speaking, when the shopkeeper put the WA on, he actuates the switch to show a brighter image on the TV screen. in other words, there's probably some simple resistors in the device to lower the voltage of the initial video output. the switchbox is the type you can spot in some hdb common areas/schools. or in other words, the default position for the device is to lower the voltage of the video output, and when the WA is placed infront of the video camera, the device is switched to "bypass" the resistors and hence the image becomes brighter

after two years studying in a EEE course, i didnt know that such a "device" that you describe can work in the situation u just describe... dont assume what's inside the box... it could be electronics instead of "simple resistors"

signals are amplified by amplifiers... not reducing voltage by "bypassing" resistors....

please get ur facts right and stop acting smart!
 

lavenderlilz said:
As they say, coincidences (however many) can be explained away. Here you are going on a balance of probablities, its not beyond reasonable doubt.

Yupz. Act carefully, if you are really intent on pursuing this matter.
 

But its obviously trying to pull a sfast one. Who's he kidding? A WA lens can give you brightness..... man. Anyway, I hope the owner or workers don visit CS or they would have time to remove it...
:(


Ugly Singaporean again. Damn! Its a wonder how we continue to attract tourist.
 

sehsuan said:
i'm sure stb can get some undercover nerds to check it out. why did the video wiring HAVE to go through that box, AND there has to be a switch to the box?

what if the box is just some device that u for certain may not know that it is there for a purpose.... please dont make assumptions.

undercover nerds??? give those guys some respect, can???

i'm sure that the American is not stupid.
 

got another story: one of my fren's fren went to buy this vcam lens from some SLS shop.
for night shots.
amplify light? it's just a WA glass block to me. and he got a fully mouldy lens. luckily he checked and asked me, then went to exchg it.
but he had already just bought it before I met them, so LL, it's not carrefour.
 

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