List Price: $989.99
Sale Price: $769.95
Today's Bonus: 22% Off
Awesome cam! dope lense with great zoom
Cheap little tripod and small bag but everything else was well worth the purchase.
Fast and responsible shipping
Showing posts with label best deals on digital camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best deals on digital camera. Show all posts
Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF-S
List Price: $989.99
Sale Price: $769.95
Today's Bonus: 22% Off
Awesome cam! dope lense with great zoom
Cheap little tripod and small bag but everything else was well worth the purchase.
Fast and responsible shipping
General Electric Power Pro X500-WH 16 MP with 16GB Camera Bundle
What a wonderful camera and bundle for the price. We are very satisfied. Used it to photograph our wedding and honeymoon, and have hundreds of wonderful pics to share!
ZMODO 8CH DVR CCTV Surveillance System with 4 Sony CCD Bullet
List Price: $539.99
Sale Price: $400.00
Today's Bonus: 26% Off
I am very happy with my purchase: not only I got a good deal (comparing prices of single items), but this is very good combo. I had 4ch DVR before with 4 bullet cameras, and needless to say: when you are cheap, you pay twice! This is finally it: 8ch/cameras cover single family house territory completely! All cameras are very good quality, deliver crisp image, true colors. Dome cameras have wider angle, very good for the back yard. Bullet shows little closer image, good for entrance doors, gates. DVR is a bit complicated to set up, specially if you do it with the remote. Took me couple calls to customer service to set up network and mobile surveillance and couple additional calls to set up my PTZ :) Otherwise, all good.
Lowepro Pro Roller Lite 250 AW Digital SLR Camera Case
I do a lot of traveling and my old backpack style camera case wasn't convenient. My husband found the Lowepro ad in one of his sail magazines. Just used it for travel to FL. I LOVE it, so nice to finally be able to take EVERYTHING along.
Tamron SP Autofocus 17-35mm f/2.8-4 Di LD Aspherical (IF) Lens
List Price: $817.95
Sale Price: $499.00
Today's Bonus: 39% Off
I've read in many articles about how amateurs blow thier budget for lenses on two or more instead of blowing on a solid lens. I took the advice to buy the best that I can afford for one, an I'm truly delighted. This lens is a step up from the kit lens you would get with the K100/110/10d's, and performs much better.
Pros:
- Max aperture of 2.8 is nice to get more focused on your subject, and for lower light situations. Most kit lenses have a max of 3.5 or more.
- Good for moderate wide angle shots.
Cons:
- It's a bit heavier then the kit lenses.
Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR DX AF-S ED Zoom-Nikkor Lens
I am really happy with this lense. After review an all other lense I purchased this lense. This is newely introduced by Nikon. night photography aslo work very fine. This is Truely VR lense.Its take Crystal and sharp and right digital color immage at 300mm as well.
Only issue that, its little bit heavy due to its base build by metal which is good.
Only issue that, its little bit heavy due to its base build by metal which is good.
Olympus Evolt E500 8MP Digital SLR with Zuiko 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6
There has already been a lot said on this camera so far so I'll only add a few things. I have never owned an SLR type camera so this was a new experience for me in fact, after owning the camera now for a month, I am finally just figuring out how to use it to its full potential and its potential is very high.
First, let me say that this camera is an excellent value 8 megapixels and packed with features, including the wonderful super sonic wave filter (which removes dust from the digital sensor). The Olympus line of Digital Zuiko lenses are fantastic, including one of the kit lenses (40-150).
A word to those folks like me (new to the SLR world) to clear up some confusion: a few of the reviewers have mentioned "bad low light performance." This is not a camera issue, it is more a function of the lens that is attached (or, the speed of the "film" (AKA sensor) that you have the camera set too). Without getting into too much detail, kit lenses included with all of these entry-level DSLR's are not exactly the best in low light situations they are referred to in the photographic world as "slow" lenses meaning that the aperture values they have at the low end are really only good in sunny conditions at least without setting the camera to a much faster ISO (or film speed setting). So, in other words, the guy that said he is returning his Olympus to go get the canon kit is going to be just as unhappy with the performance of that camera in these situations as he was with the Olympus (from what I've read on the professional reviews of the canon, the kit lens is possibly the worst of all the major manufacturers). Blurry pictures are NOT the camera's fault they are the user set the ISO higher to get a higher shutter speed or buy a lens with a "faster" aperture. This is the same with all cameras.
So where does this leave one who is interested in purchasing this camera, well there are two options (at least in my opinion):
1. Buy the 14-45 and 40-150 kit. This really is an excellent value, and while the 14-45 lens isn't bad (it's very good outdoors), the 40-150 lens is fantastic. Search any major review especially those folks that are enthusiasts about olympus and they'll tell you the same this lens is remarkable for the price. However, if you do buy this kit (like I did), and you're planning on taking a lot of pics indoors or in low light situations, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 Digital zuiko lens. This is the kit lens for the professional Olympus DSLR the E-1. I purchased this recently and the difference is night and day compared to the kit 14-45 f3.5-5.6. The camera has no issues in low light situations, and the "speed" of the lens is fantastic. (BTW, I bought this off of ebay for $400 I think amazon has it for about $430 with free shipping so it's probably a toss up. (this price BTW is much cheaper than upgrading to comparable lenses of competitors like canon and Nikon remember, you're going to have to do it no matter which camera you buy if you want good indoor/low light performance).
2. If I had to do it over again, I may have just bought the body. Save yourself $200 and just buy the e-500 body. Then take that $200 and apply it to the price of the 14-54 f2.8-3.5 lens this would put the total purchase around $1000 and you'll have a fantastic lens to really learn how the camera works in all situations. So how do you get the great 40-150 lens? I noticed that there are probably 10 on sale on ebay at any given time (from people that are upgrading to the absolutely wonderful 50-200 digial zuiko zoom) for around $100-125.
Whichever option you choose, you really can't go wrong this is a wonderful camera for a beginner or serious amateur in SLR photography.
Good luck and welcome to the olympus family!
First, let me say that this camera is an excellent value 8 megapixels and packed with features, including the wonderful super sonic wave filter (which removes dust from the digital sensor). The Olympus line of Digital Zuiko lenses are fantastic, including one of the kit lenses (40-150).
A word to those folks like me (new to the SLR world) to clear up some confusion: a few of the reviewers have mentioned "bad low light performance." This is not a camera issue, it is more a function of the lens that is attached (or, the speed of the "film" (AKA sensor) that you have the camera set too). Without getting into too much detail, kit lenses included with all of these entry-level DSLR's are not exactly the best in low light situations they are referred to in the photographic world as "slow" lenses meaning that the aperture values they have at the low end are really only good in sunny conditions at least without setting the camera to a much faster ISO (or film speed setting). So, in other words, the guy that said he is returning his Olympus to go get the canon kit is going to be just as unhappy with the performance of that camera in these situations as he was with the Olympus (from what I've read on the professional reviews of the canon, the kit lens is possibly the worst of all the major manufacturers). Blurry pictures are NOT the camera's fault they are the user set the ISO higher to get a higher shutter speed or buy a lens with a "faster" aperture. This is the same with all cameras.
So where does this leave one who is interested in purchasing this camera, well there are two options (at least in my opinion):
1. Buy the 14-45 and 40-150 kit. This really is an excellent value, and while the 14-45 lens isn't bad (it's very good outdoors), the 40-150 lens is fantastic. Search any major review especially those folks that are enthusiasts about olympus and they'll tell you the same this lens is remarkable for the price. However, if you do buy this kit (like I did), and you're planning on taking a lot of pics indoors or in low light situations, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the 14-54 f/2.8-3.5 Digital zuiko lens. This is the kit lens for the professional Olympus DSLR the E-1. I purchased this recently and the difference is night and day compared to the kit 14-45 f3.5-5.6. The camera has no issues in low light situations, and the "speed" of the lens is fantastic. (BTW, I bought this off of ebay for $400 I think amazon has it for about $430 with free shipping so it's probably a toss up. (this price BTW is much cheaper than upgrading to comparable lenses of competitors like canon and Nikon remember, you're going to have to do it no matter which camera you buy if you want good indoor/low light performance).
2. If I had to do it over again, I may have just bought the body. Save yourself $200 and just buy the e-500 body. Then take that $200 and apply it to the price of the 14-54 f2.8-3.5 lens this would put the total purchase around $1000 and you'll have a fantastic lens to really learn how the camera works in all situations. So how do you get the great 40-150 lens? I noticed that there are probably 10 on sale on ebay at any given time (from people that are upgrading to the absolutely wonderful 50-200 digial zuiko zoom) for around $100-125.
Whichever option you choose, you really can't go wrong this is a wonderful camera for a beginner or serious amateur in SLR photography.
Good luck and welcome to the olympus family!
Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Lens
List Price: $1,296.95
Sale Price: $996.95
Today's Bonus: 23% Off
super fast shipping with amazon prime and a great price on this 2 lens kit. Only down side is i have to find a new camera pack back to fit the 300mm lens and everything else.
Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR DX ED AF-S Nikkor-Zoom Lens with 3
This ones a great deal. A steal for the price. It comes with a number of accessories that adds to the sophistication of the lens itself. This was a gift to my brother-in-law. He loved it.
Olympus Stylus Tough-8000 12 MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Wide
Let's be honest I bought this camera specifically for the waterproof/dustproof/crushproof/freezeproof features. I anticipated that image quality and ease of operation might be sacrificed and this is exactly what Olympus delivered. Additional questionable bonus is the "tap" feature, which allows to activate some of the functions by tapping the camera from the sides. This is a nice concept, but would be much more useful if it was reconfigurable and allowed the user to assign which functions are activated by tapping. The most important (at least for me) feature of this camera is that it's waterproof, and I can honestly admit that it works. I used this camera for a couple of hours while playing around in the swimming pool, and it worked beautifully. No leaks, no bubbles, and color correction for underwater photography is quite decent. The crushproof feature was also tested, since I dropped the camera couple of times, and it kept working. This camera is tough :) Unfortunately the image quality is far from perfect, in fact is merely average for a point-and-shooter.
The good:
waterproof and crushproof (tested!)
good color representation
good automatic white balance (AWB)
built-in panorama mode (only 3 frames)
The bad:
images lack sharpness, appear very "soft"
poor low light operation (focusing)
occasional focusing issues (focuses in center even in "face detect" mode)
some operation modes ("scenes") are inconsistent, e.g. "portrait" mode switches focusing to "point" instead of "face detect"
flash is too strong and there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust it
the image stabilization doesn't seem to help consider it non-existent
heavy (but this is kind of expected)
tap control not reconfigurable
The ugly:
weird "ghosting" and flaring effects appearing in photos on some occasions when the flash was used (poor or no antireflective coatings on lenses)
very poor sound quality in movies
Bottom line if not for the "tough" part, this would have been a pretty average, all-around, point-and-shooter. If you need a true waterproof (not just "splash proof") camera or something that you can carry in your pocket or a backpack in all weather conditions or any situation that could otherwise damage your camera this is the one to get. If you don't need the "tough" part get another camera with better image quality.
The good:
waterproof and crushproof (tested!)
good color representation
good automatic white balance (AWB)
built-in panorama mode (only 3 frames)
The bad:
images lack sharpness, appear very "soft"
poor low light operation (focusing)
occasional focusing issues (focuses in center even in "face detect" mode)
some operation modes ("scenes") are inconsistent, e.g. "portrait" mode switches focusing to "point" instead of "face detect"
flash is too strong and there doesn't seem to be a way to adjust it
the image stabilization doesn't seem to help consider it non-existent
heavy (but this is kind of expected)
tap control not reconfigurable
The ugly:
weird "ghosting" and flaring effects appearing in photos on some occasions when the flash was used (poor or no antireflective coatings on lenses)
very poor sound quality in movies
Bottom line if not for the "tough" part, this would have been a pretty average, all-around, point-and-shooter. If you need a true waterproof (not just "splash proof") camera or something that you can carry in your pocket or a backpack in all weather conditions or any situation that could otherwise damage your camera this is the one to get. If you don't need the "tough" part get another camera with better image quality.
Nikon Coolpix P100 10 MP Digital Camera with 26x Optical
List Price: $399.95
Sale Price: $298.99
Today's Bonus: 25% Off
This is a very versatile camera and responsive to most needs. It has a good macro range to go along with a super zoom range. It compares well to a Panasonic DMC-GH1 which has a much larger sensor and more expensive optics (the lens alone is twice the price of this Nikon). The Panasonic also produced higher saturation and contrast shots in default mode and this gives the appearance of higher resolution. The Nikon gave a truer auto outdoor color balance and more natural contrast. Even at ISO 800 it was very sharp. You can enlarge a few test shots at the DPReview forums by searching for "Nikon P100 test shots". or if this works:
The two highlights that amazed me were the Nikon's focusing indicator system. It is so cool that when you shoot a bouquet of flowers the display shows you each blossom chosen by the matrix focusing system. You click the shutter with the knowledge that it is choosing what you want. Wonderful. The second highlight is the range of the optics from good macro, nice wide angle, and amazing telephoto. Please see the photos I uploaded showing how well this camera compares. What the Nikon lacks mostly comes down to smooth tones and fine detail at high ISOs; and this is only because it is being compared to a large sensor camera. The images would easily pass a fairly critical viewer on an 8x10 print and seem to be better than previous cameras with this size sensor.
Pros (so far):
Great focus indicator system, Display shows small green squares over selected objects for focus = ready to shoot, red square = not ready
Light, easy to hold good fit to my medium sized hands.
Articulated screen seems more natural than the swing out to the side screens (aligned with lens)
Quick access to shoot videos, focus tracking option, slow motion (lower res 240 fps),
Hugh zoom range and quite fast action, 1½ ++ second end to end
Outdoor sunlight colors quite natural
Very good resolution lens for this price range and favorably compares to much more expensive lenses (see above photos, several are pieces of 16 x 20 prints)
Very good macro versatility (see blowup of portion of terry towel above)
Adequate viewfinder but very contrasty, necessary info in viewfinder.
Cons (so far):
When shooting a video the focus is not able to keep up with the zoom (I reduced my rating because of this).
No RAW image option (less important with tools like Corel Image Adjustment Lab that gives me color temperature correction on jpg)
Lens cap rather than auto protect system, must remember to take it off before turning on camera (your notified when you forget)
Must use the menu system for several settings (ISO, color balance), slower but OK (hats off to the Canon G11, Panasonic)
Fast zoom over big range means it is tricky to accurately crop a shot (same with others though) Would love to see a 'nudge' feature for small changes.
Color balance with my photo fluorescent lights was tricky to dial in
Quick shutter in most situations but not all
No hot shoe for accessories and external flash
Only an adequate viewfinder
Minimum aperture of f8 (standard for cameras in this class, but would love to see it improved)
Screen does not 'self protect'
Must manually switch viewfinder verses LCD, simple one push button though
Nikon D7100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-105mm VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens
This is a step up for me, I owned a Nikon D60 which I purchased in 2008. So far the camera has exceeded my expectations. It is easy to get started taking great pictures. I downloaded the user manual to my iPhone so if I need to find out about a feature I have it with me all the time and I don't have to carry around the manual. I will put it to the test on a 15 day Caravan from Orange County, California up to Oregon and then over to South Dakota before returning home.
Coby Kyros 9.7-Inch Android 4.0 8 GB 4:3 Capacitive
List Price: $279.99
Sale Price: $144.95
Today's Bonus: 48% Off
Just received the Coby Kyros MID 9742. For the money this is one fine tablet. I had Xoom Motorola tablet which was unfortunately lost on my travels. Using the Xoom as the standard, for the money the Kyros is a close and impressive second. A lot of the complaints that I have read are from people who are not exploring the tablet. Indeed it does not have Google play but the Amazon app store and other secondary app stores are easily accessible. The problem about havng to go through a computer to move apps from internal storage to the sd card is very solvable. There is a free app on Amazon app store called "App2SD" I downloaded it; you can move apps seamlessly from the internal to external memory in the blink of an eye. I reccommend the Coby Kyros to anyone on a budget or more improtantly to those who want something that works well without the newest bells and whistles that will be antiquated in less than three months. The truth is as technology progresses 80% of most products--computers, tablets, tv's, and so forth will converge upon a very acceptable and fairly reliable mean. To go much beyond the mean will cost too much for too little benefit except to say "I spent money on the latest and greatest" and of course to pay too little will get you a piece of junk. The Kyros difenitely is at the top of that 80%.
HTC One, Silver (AT&T)
I got the HTC One yesterday from ATT, and it has blown me away. As background, I have been an Android fan and my wife is an iPhone fan. I currently have the S3 and my wife has an iPhone 5. I was waiting for the S4, but upon researching HTC One (CNet has a good review and comparison), I did not want to wait for the S4, and I am very happy with the decision. Ironically, I came upon the HTC name because I was researching the S4, and saw that Samsung pled guilty to hiring students in Taiwan to write negative reviews about HTC One. Strange but true.
Anyway, I am a tech junkie and wanted to provide some background to my thinking. In my opinion, an iPhone tries to combine high end components and squeezes out the best user experience possible from a limited, boring (and now aging) system-in short I think an iPhone is a very efficient design despite its limitations. Samsungs are the oppositepowerful, almost garish (TouchWiz and the plastic body, cheesy software) and full of software without regard to how it would actually workuser experience is pretty bad as I can attest to using S Voice. S4 sounds cool but in my experience Samsung flings all they can at a wall and hope that something sticks (and it has worked for them). It's the opposite of an iPhone. In my opinion, HTC falls in the middle and combines the best attributes from the two. Power and flexibility of Android, gorgeous beautiful design (the best I have EVER seen on a phone), and software features that are useful and sensibly implemented. I love HTC Sense on this phoneit is light and responsive, and I really like Blinkfeed(seems to be a Flipboard/Windows 8 copy but it works). Camera software has been updated, and Zoe (short 3 second "films") is geniusI never thought how cool it was till I tried it.
In terms of performance, the phone was very snappy and blazing fast with no lag whatsoever. Sound quality for calls was good and I particularly liked the speakerphones. Additionally, the sound from the stereo speakers was surprisingly loud, so much so that I could crank the phone up in a room and play music without needing external speakers. The highlight of the phone to me was the camera which excels in low light. HTC has halved the number of pixels (hopefully this will end the pixel arms race as it was getting ridiculous) but doubled the size of the sensor. So images in low light are outstanding and beats my S3 and iPhone 5 hands down.
I'll update the review as I spend more time with the phone (I'll also be posting this on CNet). This may be my "honeymoon" period with a new phone and maybe I am over-hyping this, but honestly I feel this is by far the best phone I've ever used, and it is an order of magnitude better than anything in the market today. Frankly, I think this is better than anything that has been announcedincluding the S4. I'm a very happy user.
UPDATE: It's only been a day so I did not put battery numbers but since someone asked me, I'll put my answer here as well. I went through a "normal" day today with regular calling, continuous push email from my work outlook email and personal yahoo email, some camera Zoe use and general "playing around" and had 50% left by the end of the day. I know that CNet's review had the continuous battery life at 9+ hours, equal to the vaunted iPhone battery life. Frankly, that is one of the reasons that I bought the phone as battery life is important to me. Given CNet review, and my limited experience today. I feel very comfortable about it. I'll update this in case my experience turns out to be different over the next couple weeks.
UPDATE 2: OK. The battery life rocks.It goes back to my statement of this phone being a very efficient systemlike the iPhone. I'm NOT a gamer, but I use the GPS/navigation a lot (in the excellent car mode for the phone that makes the display tailored for drivinglarge icons and less complicated and busy), emails all day for work, browsing/YouTube, making calls and camera. I also use the fantastic Google Now feature (not an HTC feature but an Android one)that figured out I was at the airport and automatically displayed my boarding pass on the screen-genius. Anyway, I digress :). During my normal use, the phone has about 50% of juice left after the day. It's very comforting. I don't understand why people complain about the non-removable batteryif they at least use it first before complaining they'd realize this thing can go on for a long time. The other thing I discovered was setting up my phone as an IR blaster remote to control my AV equipment. In this case, it was the HTC software that made what could be a passing novelty into a really useful function. Kudos to HTC. This is an amazing phone. Just wonderful.
UPDATE 3: I'm not sure if it is proper to do this or not but I'm feeling pretty good I did not wait for the S4. Here is a good review from Bloomberg that echoes the feelings I had about S3 I shared above. Looks like the S4 is no different. Link:
Anyway, I am a tech junkie and wanted to provide some background to my thinking. In my opinion, an iPhone tries to combine high end components and squeezes out the best user experience possible from a limited, boring (and now aging) system-in short I think an iPhone is a very efficient design despite its limitations. Samsungs are the oppositepowerful, almost garish (TouchWiz and the plastic body, cheesy software) and full of software without regard to how it would actually workuser experience is pretty bad as I can attest to using S Voice. S4 sounds cool but in my experience Samsung flings all they can at a wall and hope that something sticks (and it has worked for them). It's the opposite of an iPhone. In my opinion, HTC falls in the middle and combines the best attributes from the two. Power and flexibility of Android, gorgeous beautiful design (the best I have EVER seen on a phone), and software features that are useful and sensibly implemented. I love HTC Sense on this phoneit is light and responsive, and I really like Blinkfeed(seems to be a Flipboard/Windows 8 copy but it works). Camera software has been updated, and Zoe (short 3 second "films") is geniusI never thought how cool it was till I tried it.
In terms of performance, the phone was very snappy and blazing fast with no lag whatsoever. Sound quality for calls was good and I particularly liked the speakerphones. Additionally, the sound from the stereo speakers was surprisingly loud, so much so that I could crank the phone up in a room and play music without needing external speakers. The highlight of the phone to me was the camera which excels in low light. HTC has halved the number of pixels (hopefully this will end the pixel arms race as it was getting ridiculous) but doubled the size of the sensor. So images in low light are outstanding and beats my S3 and iPhone 5 hands down.
I'll update the review as I spend more time with the phone (I'll also be posting this on CNet). This may be my "honeymoon" period with a new phone and maybe I am over-hyping this, but honestly I feel this is by far the best phone I've ever used, and it is an order of magnitude better than anything in the market today. Frankly, I think this is better than anything that has been announcedincluding the S4. I'm a very happy user.
UPDATE: It's only been a day so I did not put battery numbers but since someone asked me, I'll put my answer here as well. I went through a "normal" day today with regular calling, continuous push email from my work outlook email and personal yahoo email, some camera Zoe use and general "playing around" and had 50% left by the end of the day. I know that CNet's review had the continuous battery life at 9+ hours, equal to the vaunted iPhone battery life. Frankly, that is one of the reasons that I bought the phone as battery life is important to me. Given CNet review, and my limited experience today. I feel very comfortable about it. I'll update this in case my experience turns out to be different over the next couple weeks.
UPDATE 2: OK. The battery life rocks.It goes back to my statement of this phone being a very efficient systemlike the iPhone. I'm NOT a gamer, but I use the GPS/navigation a lot (in the excellent car mode for the phone that makes the display tailored for drivinglarge icons and less complicated and busy), emails all day for work, browsing/YouTube, making calls and camera. I also use the fantastic Google Now feature (not an HTC feature but an Android one)that figured out I was at the airport and automatically displayed my boarding pass on the screen-genius. Anyway, I digress :). During my normal use, the phone has about 50% of juice left after the day. It's very comforting. I don't understand why people complain about the non-removable batteryif they at least use it first before complaining they'd realize this thing can go on for a long time. The other thing I discovered was setting up my phone as an IR blaster remote to control my AV equipment. In this case, it was the HTC software that made what could be a passing novelty into a really useful function. Kudos to HTC. This is an amazing phone. Just wonderful.
UPDATE 3: I'm not sure if it is proper to do this or not but I'm feeling pretty good I did not wait for the S4. Here is a good review from Bloomberg that echoes the feelings I had about S3 I shared above. Looks like the S4 is no different. Link:
Nokia 5530 XpressMusic Unlocked Phone with Touchscreen--U.S
List Price: $290.00
Sale Price: $129.60
Today's Bonus: 55% Off
I am a late adapter when it comes to cell phones. So refrained from Iphones and vu/touch phones as one was mostly tied to a provider data plan or had to pay a premium for the phone itself.
If you dont care about 3g (read data plan 29.99 a month) or GPS there cannot be a better phone at this price range. Solidly built, some reviews complained about back cover. I do see an issue there as it get on the phone with little notches on all sides. But how may times you open that. Specially when SIM/SDHC is accessible from outside. The only time you need to open the back cover is when you install a battery.
What I love about this phone in order of preference.
Form Factor (It looks like a phone and not a PDA)
Not tied to a provider or unlocked so you dont have to be geeky searching for unlocking/jail breaking articles.
Wifi 54G (email is good on the run)
Quad Band GSM World Phone
Media/Music playback is excellent.
Can go upto 16GB Micro SDHC (plenty of music or videos) comes with 4Gig.
Speaker phone and in general call quality for me increasd 3-5 times. (I used Razr before).
Clear brilliant screen
Touch pad responsive enough
Picture quality @3.2MP is good in daylight and flash comes in handy for pictures in lowlight (subject @2-4 ft).
What I will look for in future revisions.
USB Charging capability
A little thinner (Not that is fat right now) but it would make it sweeter.
Total Alloy body including back cover for a more solid feel.
Maybe a more rugged look/feel (non piano black or non shiny finish for e.g Zune kind of finish or finish with more friction), I always get a feeling I am going to drop it.
Sony VAIO Fit Series SVF15215CXP 15.5-Inch Core i5 Touch Laptop
List Price: $829.99
Sale Price: $799.99
Today's Bonus: 4% Off
After you uninstall the bloatware and stop a few startup programs in msconfig the laptop is perfect for everyday use. The screen is amazing and the touchscreen is very responsive.
Canon PowerShot SD3500IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.5-Inch
Alright, so the basic features of this camera (minus the tilt shift and fish eye, and the resolution) are pretty much the same as a previous model i owned.
I knew what to expect from this camera but with only a few slight improvements. It was the exact same cost as the model I had before (which thoroughly impressed me), so I had no problem switching it out for this one.
The full touch screen made two-handed menu navigation much easier to get through versus having to use buttons with the right and thumb on the left. basically you can safely hold the camera and use both thumbs (or even fingers depending on how you hold it) to use the screen. I dig the fluff features like tapping the side to navigate the photos and clicking (think iphone/ipod touch).
One piece that I will touch on here is the quality of the presets. While there are certain scene settings you would use for certain situations (snow fireworks, etc) they do not do a thorough or specific enough job explaining when you'd want to use this versus the "P" (program). The low light scene setting is the most disappointing. You can't simply flip it on and expect fantastic pictures as if you had a good natural light source. The flash is a default with this, so if you're trying to get something close-up in a darker setting, beware. Otherwise, the setting is OK with a flash, so long as you are not right up on the subject or trying to capture something reflective. I simply have personal presets that I picked out to avoid using the flash at all. Generally for low light settings, I opted to program my own so I can choose the ISO that fits it the best. Just know that the higher you set the ISO, the grainer you pictures will become. This is something that is a universal thing, not just specific to this camera. The same goes with digital zoom. This is a point/shoot camera so it DOES have limitations; I'm well aware of that, so if I need something i know it can't do, I just use my highzoom Fuji or DSLR NikonD3000.
You can't have a single camera that is going to be able to do everything perfectly. But I will say that unlike some other reviewers I found the quality that comes from this model in generalized scene settings or even auto is actually quite good compared to other cameras i've used over the years.
As for the HD video. I have to agree on that point. There was more that could have been done with it. But you know what? People forget this is a still-shot camera FIRST, and a VIDEO camera SECOND. Video recording is an feature, not a function. You will have less options and control with it. same goes for video cameras that take still shots. Often the MPs are lower, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired. The only exceptions are some of the DSLRs with video features, but smooth zooming is often a problem for most people with those. Solution? If you want great HD video recording, get a video camera. There's nothing easier than that.
Battery life is acceptable and about average compared to other model cameras, but if you plan on taking out for an entire day, I suggest picking up a second battery as a back-up. Being forced to use the LCD screen for everything drains the battery fast, but it does have an auto shut-off to conserve energy. While some people don't use it, i will would have liked to have had a view finder, however the lack of one in now way kept me from buying this camera.
Be weary of putting a screen protector on the back. Unless you get one from Canon meant for this model camera, or from an authorized Canon dealer, you can damage the screen. Having a screen protector can interfere with the touch-screen interface.
This isn't the Magic Hat of cameras. Everyone is going to have their own personal view on it and find things they love or hate. My suggestion is if you can find a retail store with a working display, go look at it in person first. That's the best way to judge if its going to suit your needs or not. Or if you know someone who happens to have one, even better. I've already gotten some beautiful 16x20 prints, and 18x24 is pretty good too (however at this size, you need to make sure your picture quality is top notch).
If you're using a high ISO setting, or a longer shutter speed, use a tripodthe slightest shake in your shake WILL blur/ghost the image; again, that is something that happens to all cameras. They sell a variety of smaller tripod (the grypton ones are fun and versatile).
Perhaps in the future these limitations will be eliminated, but that remains to be seen.
All in all, I knew what I was getting from this camera. The price is exceptionally reasonable considering all you get.
I'm not disappointed by any means, because I figured out very quickly how to manipulate the settings to get better picture than the scene settings could produce. It definitely suits my needs for this category of camera; I really just needed this guy to take around the town and on nights out, because who really wants to tote a DSLR with telephoto lenses or a clunky highzoom to a bar ;)
I knew what to expect from this camera but with only a few slight improvements. It was the exact same cost as the model I had before (which thoroughly impressed me), so I had no problem switching it out for this one.
The full touch screen made two-handed menu navigation much easier to get through versus having to use buttons with the right and thumb on the left. basically you can safely hold the camera and use both thumbs (or even fingers depending on how you hold it) to use the screen. I dig the fluff features like tapping the side to navigate the photos and clicking (think iphone/ipod touch).
One piece that I will touch on here is the quality of the presets. While there are certain scene settings you would use for certain situations (snow fireworks, etc) they do not do a thorough or specific enough job explaining when you'd want to use this versus the "P" (program). The low light scene setting is the most disappointing. You can't simply flip it on and expect fantastic pictures as if you had a good natural light source. The flash is a default with this, so if you're trying to get something close-up in a darker setting, beware. Otherwise, the setting is OK with a flash, so long as you are not right up on the subject or trying to capture something reflective. I simply have personal presets that I picked out to avoid using the flash at all. Generally for low light settings, I opted to program my own so I can choose the ISO that fits it the best. Just know that the higher you set the ISO, the grainer you pictures will become. This is something that is a universal thing, not just specific to this camera. The same goes with digital zoom. This is a point/shoot camera so it DOES have limitations; I'm well aware of that, so if I need something i know it can't do, I just use my highzoom Fuji or DSLR NikonD3000.
You can't have a single camera that is going to be able to do everything perfectly. But I will say that unlike some other reviewers I found the quality that comes from this model in generalized scene settings or even auto is actually quite good compared to other cameras i've used over the years.
As for the HD video. I have to agree on that point. There was more that could have been done with it. But you know what? People forget this is a still-shot camera FIRST, and a VIDEO camera SECOND. Video recording is an feature, not a function. You will have less options and control with it. same goes for video cameras that take still shots. Often the MPs are lower, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired. The only exceptions are some of the DSLRs with video features, but smooth zooming is often a problem for most people with those. Solution? If you want great HD video recording, get a video camera. There's nothing easier than that.
Battery life is acceptable and about average compared to other model cameras, but if you plan on taking out for an entire day, I suggest picking up a second battery as a back-up. Being forced to use the LCD screen for everything drains the battery fast, but it does have an auto shut-off to conserve energy. While some people don't use it, i will would have liked to have had a view finder, however the lack of one in now way kept me from buying this camera.
Be weary of putting a screen protector on the back. Unless you get one from Canon meant for this model camera, or from an authorized Canon dealer, you can damage the screen. Having a screen protector can interfere with the touch-screen interface.
This isn't the Magic Hat of cameras. Everyone is going to have their own personal view on it and find things they love or hate. My suggestion is if you can find a retail store with a working display, go look at it in person first. That's the best way to judge if its going to suit your needs or not. Or if you know someone who happens to have one, even better. I've already gotten some beautiful 16x20 prints, and 18x24 is pretty good too (however at this size, you need to make sure your picture quality is top notch).
If you're using a high ISO setting, or a longer shutter speed, use a tripodthe slightest shake in your shake WILL blur/ghost the image; again, that is something that happens to all cameras. They sell a variety of smaller tripod (the grypton ones are fun and versatile).
Perhaps in the future these limitations will be eliminated, but that remains to be seen.
All in all, I knew what I was getting from this camera. The price is exceptionally reasonable considering all you get.
I'm not disappointed by any means, because I figured out very quickly how to manipulate the settings to get better picture than the scene settings could produce. It definitely suits my needs for this category of camera; I really just needed this guy to take around the town and on nights out, because who really wants to tote a DSLR with telephoto lenses or a clunky highzoom to a bar ;)