Just learning to use it. I love it outside. I am not as pleased with it inside I usually use the 50D inside. My friend has one and she feels the same way.
Showing posts with label camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camera. Show all posts
Zmodo PKD-DK4216-500GB H.264 Internet & 3G Phone Accessible
List Price: $249.00
Sale Price: $189.41
Today's Bonus: 24% Off
If youre looking for hi tech crystal clear images and detailed images, move on. If you just want a basic, easy to install CCTV system this is great. Its as easy as mount the cameras with 3 screws, plug the cameras into the cables, run the wires to the unit and plug them in. Its easier than the average surround sound system.
the night vision is OK, works well in darkness up to about 10 feet; the images are black & white though. The overall image quality is OK, if someone is within about 15 feet the image is clear enough to recognize a stranger by the photo. Past 30 feet you'd have a hard time distingushing between Jessica Simpson and Hillary Clinton. When you attempt to 'zoom' the image it gets very grainy, so forget that idea. The field of view is fairly narrow, so if you are using it in a small space (10x10 room) the view is limited.
Overall, its a breeze to put in and use, just dont expect the best image quality. if youre a small business or a homeowner, its fine though.
UPDATE 2/13: here we are less then 18 months later and the system is not working properly. First, one camera developed issues with the image and rolling lines. Then a second camera did the same thing. Now the images freeze on the screen every few minutes for 30-45 seconds and it stops recording while this happens. I tried to contact Zmoto with no luck. For being less then 18 months old and only used inside a climate controlled store, I am disappointed. Pass and pick another better quality setup.
Logitech Wireless Presenter R400
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $34.99
Today's Bonus: 30% Off
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Anyone looking for a solid, easy to use wireless presenter will be more than pleased with the R400.
From an ergonomics perspective I think it is, as Goldilocks would say. "just right". Some of the smaller presenters often require a lot of fidgeting. At the same time, you do not want to be holding a brick in your hand when standing in front of an audience. This unit is large enough to be easy to use, small enough to be discrete. The rubberized surface helps ensure it will not go flying due to an over-zealous hand gesture.
Set up is very easy, plug the dongle into a laptop and you are ready to go. I have used this on a variety of laptops and it has always worked flawlessly.
If you are a facilitator or do a lot of presentations, you should consider the upgrade to the R800. Once you adopt the practice of using a vibrating timer, you will never want to be without this feature. Likewise, the more powerful laser on the R800 makes a big difference in large or bright rooms. The R400 is a good choice for 75% of presenters, but at least look at the 800 before making your final choice. You can not go wrong with either.
Sony NEX-3NL 16.1MP Compact Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera
List Price: $519.00
Sale Price: $419.00
Today's Bonus: 19% Off
I love this camera. It is the perfect "lazy" camera if you want more then a standard point-&-shoot but aren't ready to invest in a big DSLR. This camera does support other DSLR lens, but the one is comes with works beautifully. The bundle is alright, Haven't found the need yet to use the cleaners. The bag is not specifically for the camera, but still works. The SD card in the bundle is the right speed. Only thing I don't like is the extra battery it came with. It will charge to 100% in 2 hours, then when you use it the next day says it is at 30%.
The sensor size on this camera is the same as the higher end Nikons and the Macro function is particularly good if you need close up shots/product shots.
HP 17-1181NR 17-Inch Envy Notebook PC
Now that I've had this computer for a few months, I'd like to modify my review. This computer has randomly shut down about 10 times now, a dozen blue screens of death related to USB 3. I'm sure these are either hardware or driver related and rescind my recommendation for this machine.
____________________________
This is a very fast laptop. I'm a computer programmer that needs a very fast machine for pretty much everything I do, and this laptop is awesome.
This machine as it is listed has great upgraded options, like the best resolution screen, blu-ray, extra battery, and extra RAM, however, the hard drive it comes with is very slow. This laptop does have a 2nd hard drive bay and I bought the 225$ 128GB Kingston SSD, made it my primary drive, then made the original drive my secondary drive. To do this was no small task, but here's the steps to take:
Warning: I have no idea if this does or does not void your warranty, I can't find a clear answer to that.
1. Order this laptop
2. Order an SSD ($225-$250 for 128GB, or $360-$400 for 160GB)
3. Order a hard drive caddy and cable kit. HP sells it for 91$ after taxes and shipping, but you can get it for 41$ from newmodeus.com.
And by the way HP, I think that it's awful that the laptop didn't come with this in the first place. $41 for just a 3" cable is robbery and the $91 that you charge is two robberies and a beating.
4. If you get a SATA hard drive enclosure, things will be easier because you can connect the drives to the eSata port. Otherwise you will need to install the ssd to the 2nd hard drive bay, do the clone, then switch them so the SSD is in the first bay. Note: HP does NOT give you the windows 7 installation DVD, so the first thing you should do is make recovery DVDs through their utility. But also know that you can't use these DVDs to set up a new drive because they won't create the special boot partition HP uses. (I learned this the hard way)
5. Resize the original drive's partitions so they are altogether small enough to fit on the new drive. (And be sure to move them so the unpartitioned space is at the end) Easeus partition manager is by far the easiest way to do this, and you will need its boot cd it makes later, so I'd suggest buying the pro version and save yourself a headache or two.
6. Use either clonezilla (free) or Easeus partition manager pro ($40) to create a boot disk and clone the old drive to the new one. I used clonezilla, but Easeus is a lot easier.
7. After confirming the new drive works and is in bay 1, you'll notice the old drive is "Offline", meaning Windows can't use it. You will need to delete all of its partitions, create a primary partition and format it with NTFS in order to make it work. Use the Easeus professional boot disk to do this. Then when you boot Windows, go to disk management, right click the drive and select "Online" to make it Online, whatever that means.
Also note that the back panel to change the hard drives on this laptop was (at least for me) incredibly difficult to remove. I felt like I was surely going to break it with the force it took to pry it off. I've had several laptops in the past, and this one is the first one that I've had any difficulty replacing the hard drive. It's also the first one I've had with two hard drive bays.
So it's definitely a lot of work to get a faster hard drive in there and may be more trouble than it's worth, but in my opinion, buying a high-end laptop at this time without a solid state drive is foolish. So either find a different laptop that has an SSD, order this laptop customized from hp.com (considerably more expensive) to include an SSD, or stepping down to a more economy line laptop would all be better options than not having one.
Gaming
Did I mention that this laptop is good for gaming? The 1GB ATI Mobility 5850 is one of the fastest mobile graphics cards at the time of this review. If you want a faster gaming machine, you either have to spend over $3000 for a better gaming laptop, or get a desktop. This graphics card puts this machine on par for gaming with modern mid-range desktops, which is saying a lot for a laptop. It also allows you to have up to 3 external monitors. (Display port, VGA, and HDMI). However, I do have a problem with League of Legends crashing when using a 1920x1280 monitor through the display port. That is likely just the game, but who knows. It works fine with the VGA port.
Beats Audio
The Beats audio does not live up to the hype. I find the built in speakers to be rather crummy in my opinion. Previous reviews say "Good, for a laptop". I would add, "very slightly above average laptop speakers". The sound card is good, it sounds great with external bose speakers or headphones, but the laptop speakers suck. In fact, it took a lot of configuring to get them to not sound completely broken.
Screen
The display is better than any other laptop I've seen. It's at least equal to high-end macbook pros. It looks perfect from any angle, has great resolution, and is attached by sturdy metal hinges.
Keyboard and mouse
The keyboard is awesome, but I hate the touchpad. I love how it's the back-lit, island style keyboard. The numpad is great to have, the keys are all in the right spot and size. I'm always amazed at how few laptops or even external keyboards get it right.
The touchpad, on the other hand, is awful. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I can't even drag things with it. I don't know if I'm just "doing it wrong", but it is literally impossible to use. I don't like touchpads in general, I prefer Lenovo button mice, but this one is particularly terrible. I can overlook this huge flaw in a laptop by always using an external mouse.
Connections
Awesome, Mini display port, hdmi, vga, eSata, usb 3, blu-tooth, wireless n, gigabit ethernet. All awesome. One thing though, instead of a microphone jack, it's a "headset" jack? I can't seem to use it as a microphone port either. This confuses me..
Power Supply
It's huge. But what do you expect? Big computer, big power supply.
HD Camera and microphone
Works fine, good for my uses, but not as good as I hoped it would be. The built in microphone sounds great.
Software
HP didn't go overboard with pre-installed software like it did with the last HP I bought, and Windows 7 is great. The partitioning of the drives is weird and the HP recovery software isn't very good. It doesn't come with windows disks, so again, be sure to immediately create the recovery disks.
Other
This laptop has no docking station options. This alone was almost reason enough to go with Dell or Lenovo, but neither of those were as good for gaming at the same price, nor did they match up in many other areas.
Bottom line, this is a power hungry, fast, big laptop. A great desktop replacement, but doesn't have the mobility or battery life as some people might like.
I hope this helps people, and doesn't utterly confuse everyone.
Targus XL Backpack Designed for 17 Inch Notebooks TXL617 (Black with Blue Accents)
Kingston SSDNow V100 128GB SATA II 3GB/s 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive SV100S2/128GZ
____________________________
This is a very fast laptop. I'm a computer programmer that needs a very fast machine for pretty much everything I do, and this laptop is awesome.
This machine as it is listed has great upgraded options, like the best resolution screen, blu-ray, extra battery, and extra RAM, however, the hard drive it comes with is very slow. This laptop does have a 2nd hard drive bay and I bought the 225$ 128GB Kingston SSD, made it my primary drive, then made the original drive my secondary drive. To do this was no small task, but here's the steps to take:
Warning: I have no idea if this does or does not void your warranty, I can't find a clear answer to that.
1. Order this laptop
2. Order an SSD ($225-$250 for 128GB, or $360-$400 for 160GB)
3. Order a hard drive caddy and cable kit. HP sells it for 91$ after taxes and shipping, but you can get it for 41$ from newmodeus.com.
And by the way HP, I think that it's awful that the laptop didn't come with this in the first place. $41 for just a 3" cable is robbery and the $91 that you charge is two robberies and a beating.
4. If you get a SATA hard drive enclosure, things will be easier because you can connect the drives to the eSata port. Otherwise you will need to install the ssd to the 2nd hard drive bay, do the clone, then switch them so the SSD is in the first bay. Note: HP does NOT give you the windows 7 installation DVD, so the first thing you should do is make recovery DVDs through their utility. But also know that you can't use these DVDs to set up a new drive because they won't create the special boot partition HP uses. (I learned this the hard way)
5. Resize the original drive's partitions so they are altogether small enough to fit on the new drive. (And be sure to move them so the unpartitioned space is at the end) Easeus partition manager is by far the easiest way to do this, and you will need its boot cd it makes later, so I'd suggest buying the pro version and save yourself a headache or two.
6. Use either clonezilla (free) or Easeus partition manager pro ($40) to create a boot disk and clone the old drive to the new one. I used clonezilla, but Easeus is a lot easier.
7. After confirming the new drive works and is in bay 1, you'll notice the old drive is "Offline", meaning Windows can't use it. You will need to delete all of its partitions, create a primary partition and format it with NTFS in order to make it work. Use the Easeus professional boot disk to do this. Then when you boot Windows, go to disk management, right click the drive and select "Online" to make it Online, whatever that means.
Also note that the back panel to change the hard drives on this laptop was (at least for me) incredibly difficult to remove. I felt like I was surely going to break it with the force it took to pry it off. I've had several laptops in the past, and this one is the first one that I've had any difficulty replacing the hard drive. It's also the first one I've had with two hard drive bays.
So it's definitely a lot of work to get a faster hard drive in there and may be more trouble than it's worth, but in my opinion, buying a high-end laptop at this time without a solid state drive is foolish. So either find a different laptop that has an SSD, order this laptop customized from hp.com (considerably more expensive) to include an SSD, or stepping down to a more economy line laptop would all be better options than not having one.
Gaming
Did I mention that this laptop is good for gaming? The 1GB ATI Mobility 5850 is one of the fastest mobile graphics cards at the time of this review. If you want a faster gaming machine, you either have to spend over $3000 for a better gaming laptop, or get a desktop. This graphics card puts this machine on par for gaming with modern mid-range desktops, which is saying a lot for a laptop. It also allows you to have up to 3 external monitors. (Display port, VGA, and HDMI). However, I do have a problem with League of Legends crashing when using a 1920x1280 monitor through the display port. That is likely just the game, but who knows. It works fine with the VGA port.
Beats Audio
The Beats audio does not live up to the hype. I find the built in speakers to be rather crummy in my opinion. Previous reviews say "Good, for a laptop". I would add, "very slightly above average laptop speakers". The sound card is good, it sounds great with external bose speakers or headphones, but the laptop speakers suck. In fact, it took a lot of configuring to get them to not sound completely broken.
Screen
The display is better than any other laptop I've seen. It's at least equal to high-end macbook pros. It looks perfect from any angle, has great resolution, and is attached by sturdy metal hinges.
Keyboard and mouse
The keyboard is awesome, but I hate the touchpad. I love how it's the back-lit, island style keyboard. The numpad is great to have, the keys are all in the right spot and size. I'm always amazed at how few laptops or even external keyboards get it right.
The touchpad, on the other hand, is awful. I don't think I'll ever get used to it. I can't even drag things with it. I don't know if I'm just "doing it wrong", but it is literally impossible to use. I don't like touchpads in general, I prefer Lenovo button mice, but this one is particularly terrible. I can overlook this huge flaw in a laptop by always using an external mouse.
Connections
Awesome, Mini display port, hdmi, vga, eSata, usb 3, blu-tooth, wireless n, gigabit ethernet. All awesome. One thing though, instead of a microphone jack, it's a "headset" jack? I can't seem to use it as a microphone port either. This confuses me..
Power Supply
It's huge. But what do you expect? Big computer, big power supply.
HD Camera and microphone
Works fine, good for my uses, but not as good as I hoped it would be. The built in microphone sounds great.
Software
HP didn't go overboard with pre-installed software like it did with the last HP I bought, and Windows 7 is great. The partitioning of the drives is weird and the HP recovery software isn't very good. It doesn't come with windows disks, so again, be sure to immediately create the recovery disks.
Other
This laptop has no docking station options. This alone was almost reason enough to go with Dell or Lenovo, but neither of those were as good for gaming at the same price, nor did they match up in many other areas.
Bottom line, this is a power hungry, fast, big laptop. A great desktop replacement, but doesn't have the mobility or battery life as some people might like.
I hope this helps people, and doesn't utterly confuse everyone.
Targus XL Backpack Designed for 17 Inch Notebooks TXL617 (Black with Blue Accents)
Kingston SSDNow V100 128GB SATA II 3GB/s 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive SV100S2/128GZ
Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
This lens is highly coveted by anyone that has ever shot with it. The 9-bladed aperture creates beautiful bokeh (the out of focus areas) and the sharpness, color and contrast are amazing. Primarily designed as a portrait lens, it really shines at f/2 to f/5.6 with an amazing 3-D like quality that has to be seen to be believed. The fit and finish are first class, with a nice feel and balance to it. It uses 77mm filters like most other Nikon pro glass and flares quite easily so be sure to use the included metal lens hood.
SanDisk® microSDHCTM 8GB Memory Card
List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $7.59
Today's Bonus: 92% Off
I tested the possibility of using my BlackBerry 8310 Curve as my primary mp3 player with an inexpensive Kingston 2GB microSD card. I ran into several issues in the process, but learned how to overcome them.
The Curve limits the file size transfers when they are sent to the phone's storage. This protects the phone from running out of memory. The trick is ensuring you are transferring files to the card instead. If you map drives on your computer, the first available drive is automatically used for the Curve's memory card. At home this is my F drive while at work it is K. If any other device is mapped to that drive, the Curve's memory card will not be recognized.
Additionally, there are settings that may need to be changed to allow music file transfers. Go to "Settings", then "Options" to click on "Media Card." Set "Mass Storage Mode Support" to ON. Also set the "Auto Enable Mass Storage Mode When Connected" to YES or PROMPT.
Initially to save music, I needed to remove the card from my Curve and transfer files directly from my computer. This is where the adapter, which converts the microSD card to full-sized SD card, comes in handy. After removing the Curve's battery, I simply popped the microSD card into the adapter and used my computer's SD drive. Do not format the card in the Curve, as it will only recognize half the storage space. If you must format, do so on your computer instead. Now that I have everything set up properly, this card does the job without worries.
PROS:
Good price
Reliable card
CONS:
None
Samsung Galaxy Note 3, White (Verizon Wireless)
All right here is an honest review about the note 3. It's something that I will approach from the perspective of someone in the Medical field, who needs to get things done quickly, and efficiently.
First of all, I received my phone on October 10th, and I had pre-ordered it but DID NOT pay 299. Well initially I did, but there is a promo code of VERIZON30 that drops the note 3 down to 209.99. I bought the Note 3 for myself and the LG G2 for my wife. Needless to say, at the price of 139.99 for the G2 and 209.99 for the Note 3, we returned the G2 for the note 3 despite the G2's incredible low light camera performance. Here is why.
Backstory: prior to buying the note 3 I have had the Droid Razr Maxx, which for its time was a great device. Now that apps are becoming more memory intensive, something needed to change. I needed a phone that wouldn't lag on me, and I really don't care about gimmicks such as scrolling while looking up or down, or pausing a video if I look away. Who really cares about that stuff? If I want to pause, I tap on the screen, which is less time consuming that looking away and ensuring my phone has paused playing a video. In addition, I really don't want that front facing camera on unless I am using it. Also, I was always reluctant to buy a Samsung phone because of the plastic build, but you know I always keep my phone in a safe case. I will talk about this a little later.
Now, right before I let go of my razr maxx, I briefly upgraded to the note 2 for 2 days. I chose the note 2 because I was in best buy and was comparing the HTC ONE which best buy had on sale for $50 and all of a sudden I decided to listen to the note 2's speaker. I was blown away in comparison to the razr maxx, but blown away which how much more I got in comparison to the HTC one. We are all going to large screens now, and frankly who the heck wants to hold the phone closer to their face? I certainly don't so I upgraded to the note 2. I really did not fall in love with it until the day I was sitting in my senior human cadaver anatomy course, and realized I had forgotten my Anatomy atlas and my notebook. I frantically searched the note 2 and found an app called S Note. I opened S note and began using it. I was blow away, there are blood vessels that are large and really thing, and I used to be able to only differentiate that on paper. Not this time, with the note 2 I was able to use the thin and thick lines as differentiators thanks to the S-pen. I then made my decision that I would return the note 2 and wait for the note 3 because of the larger screen, and faster processor. In addition, I had a memory intensive Anatomy app running on the note 2 that smoothly ran it, when my HP touchpad running android decided to begin hiccupping.
Now with all that said, this is why I feel the note 3 is the best choice on the market. First of all, if your going to purchase a phone that you are spending your hard earned money on it, it should be in the most secure and safest cases. It's an investment, that when 2 years later you sell back, you can almost pay for your new device. Second of all, we will ALL drop our phones at SOME POINT, and its important to protect them. I purchased the Spigen Bounce case despite it being slightly ugly; I got the gray one because Incipio NGP tpu cases are NOT yet available for this phone. That case kept my razr maxx in like new condition.
Now, I really protect my phone because I have my entire life on it, my class schedule, my hospital schedule, my family schedule, my kids doctors appointments, my appointments, my tests etc. EVERYTHING. So I needed a phone that was behind me 100% and never let me down. It has been the case with the note 3. I have customized it and it still hasn't hiccupped yet.
Now the actual review:
Screen & Productivity: The large display is fantastic. It is large enough to hold a full month calendar on one home screen and 3 days on another. I absolutely love the vivid screen because my anatomy apps, as well as using it to take notes is an absolute breeze. My only recommendation is to add many pages before you begin in lecture or whatever you want to take notes in.
There are many times where I find inspirational quotes on Facebook (FB) and wish I could save them and tag them to share not via FB but text messages etc. Scrap book has allowed me to do just that, I can share inspirational quotes and pictures with anyone and it's a breeze to look them up by placing my OWN PERSONAL tags for each photo. I hold the menu button, type inspiration and BAM; I have all my things that are tagged inspirational.
Sometimes I also need a list of diagnostic medical conditions, and it's easy to quickly create a scrapbook memo or create a flow chart in S-note. Etc. In fact the other day, I was talking to Verizon and needed to write down the conformational code etc. for my second note 3, and you know what I did? I was on the dialer page, pulled out the S-pen and circled the page, then I notated it with all the information, it contains the date, the time, and all the information I need to have in case something went awry.
I absolutely love this feature and it is very important.
Another feature I love is that when I am on YouTube, I can load HD very quickly, the LG g2 did a good job in this too, but the razr maxx despite being an LTE phone did not handle this very well. Another thing I really love on this phone straight out of the gate is that it tells me how many text messages I have (like an unread count). Its something I like, it also has many accounts built right in, such as amazon, Facebook etc. I was able to disable most of the bloat ware by going to manage applications and clicking disable in some of the pre-loaded Verizon apps.
The IR blaster is great, I've already started using it on all my TV's however, it wont turn the volume up on my LG TV but do every else. In addition, I am able to have in memory which room has which TV and so when I switch rooms, I also switch rooms on my phone, which allows me to use it as a remote. Great when you have to hide the remote from your little ones.
Battery Life: Used it for an entire day hardcore, and its still at 31% at the end of the day after about 6 am to 1 am usage.
UPDATE 10.23.13see the attached screen shot of battery usage. I was pretty impressed. I do know for a fact though that Shealth eats battery life like crazy.
Also I LOVE the speaker placement on the bottom of the phone, because it's just smart. When I hold my phone, it cups around the speaker channeling the sound directly to me, and not the entire audience behind my phone. Smart.
People have complained about the flip board app, but keep in mind, this is android and not IOS. We have choices here. Download an app called home 2 shortcut and it allowed me to configure double tapping the home button to start Google now rather than anything else. Its fantastic and a great use of android capabilities.
(I will update more here)
The S-pen I received was faulty with my phone, and so Verizon sent me a brand new one for free. Not taking off stars for that, during the pre-order stage stuff like that happens every once in a while. The Spen was completely usable I just had to add a little extra pressure. But no worries, it's taken care of and all is well.
The power button has a slight lag when you just tap it to turn on the screen; if you give it a robust tap it comes on quicker. It is quickest to turn on the screen using the home button when it's sleeping. It kind of irritates me that it is that way.
NOTE 10.23.13 It maybe quicker to use the HOME button to do the same thing.
I wish Samsung allowed customization of the LED colors for the types of notifications.
Note 10.23.13 Re: reception issuesI know people have complained about reception issues, but truly I haven't had many. Just a couple here and there. I think the reality is that the Note 3 is SLOW at switching networks etc. So rather than wait, I have just downloaded a refresh network app, which does what I need in less than 15 seconds and gives me a fresh connection. I don't see it as much of an inconvenience especially because the many positives of this device outweigh this one negative. I haven't had no reception anywhere.
Tethering by the has been pretty amazingly fast with this phone, and it DOES NOT GET HOT!!!! I love that! My razr maxx used to be a meteorite when it was tethering.
More to come.
First of all, I received my phone on October 10th, and I had pre-ordered it but DID NOT pay 299. Well initially I did, but there is a promo code of VERIZON30 that drops the note 3 down to 209.99. I bought the Note 3 for myself and the LG G2 for my wife. Needless to say, at the price of 139.99 for the G2 and 209.99 for the Note 3, we returned the G2 for the note 3 despite the G2's incredible low light camera performance. Here is why.
Backstory: prior to buying the note 3 I have had the Droid Razr Maxx, which for its time was a great device. Now that apps are becoming more memory intensive, something needed to change. I needed a phone that wouldn't lag on me, and I really don't care about gimmicks such as scrolling while looking up or down, or pausing a video if I look away. Who really cares about that stuff? If I want to pause, I tap on the screen, which is less time consuming that looking away and ensuring my phone has paused playing a video. In addition, I really don't want that front facing camera on unless I am using it. Also, I was always reluctant to buy a Samsung phone because of the plastic build, but you know I always keep my phone in a safe case. I will talk about this a little later.
Now, right before I let go of my razr maxx, I briefly upgraded to the note 2 for 2 days. I chose the note 2 because I was in best buy and was comparing the HTC ONE which best buy had on sale for $50 and all of a sudden I decided to listen to the note 2's speaker. I was blown away in comparison to the razr maxx, but blown away which how much more I got in comparison to the HTC one. We are all going to large screens now, and frankly who the heck wants to hold the phone closer to their face? I certainly don't so I upgraded to the note 2. I really did not fall in love with it until the day I was sitting in my senior human cadaver anatomy course, and realized I had forgotten my Anatomy atlas and my notebook. I frantically searched the note 2 and found an app called S Note. I opened S note and began using it. I was blow away, there are blood vessels that are large and really thing, and I used to be able to only differentiate that on paper. Not this time, with the note 2 I was able to use the thin and thick lines as differentiators thanks to the S-pen. I then made my decision that I would return the note 2 and wait for the note 3 because of the larger screen, and faster processor. In addition, I had a memory intensive Anatomy app running on the note 2 that smoothly ran it, when my HP touchpad running android decided to begin hiccupping.
Now with all that said, this is why I feel the note 3 is the best choice on the market. First of all, if your going to purchase a phone that you are spending your hard earned money on it, it should be in the most secure and safest cases. It's an investment, that when 2 years later you sell back, you can almost pay for your new device. Second of all, we will ALL drop our phones at SOME POINT, and its important to protect them. I purchased the Spigen Bounce case despite it being slightly ugly; I got the gray one because Incipio NGP tpu cases are NOT yet available for this phone. That case kept my razr maxx in like new condition.
Now, I really protect my phone because I have my entire life on it, my class schedule, my hospital schedule, my family schedule, my kids doctors appointments, my appointments, my tests etc. EVERYTHING. So I needed a phone that was behind me 100% and never let me down. It has been the case with the note 3. I have customized it and it still hasn't hiccupped yet.
Now the actual review:
Screen & Productivity: The large display is fantastic. It is large enough to hold a full month calendar on one home screen and 3 days on another. I absolutely love the vivid screen because my anatomy apps, as well as using it to take notes is an absolute breeze. My only recommendation is to add many pages before you begin in lecture or whatever you want to take notes in.
There are many times where I find inspirational quotes on Facebook (FB) and wish I could save them and tag them to share not via FB but text messages etc. Scrap book has allowed me to do just that, I can share inspirational quotes and pictures with anyone and it's a breeze to look them up by placing my OWN PERSONAL tags for each photo. I hold the menu button, type inspiration and BAM; I have all my things that are tagged inspirational.
Sometimes I also need a list of diagnostic medical conditions, and it's easy to quickly create a scrapbook memo or create a flow chart in S-note. Etc. In fact the other day, I was talking to Verizon and needed to write down the conformational code etc. for my second note 3, and you know what I did? I was on the dialer page, pulled out the S-pen and circled the page, then I notated it with all the information, it contains the date, the time, and all the information I need to have in case something went awry.
I absolutely love this feature and it is very important.
Another feature I love is that when I am on YouTube, I can load HD very quickly, the LG g2 did a good job in this too, but the razr maxx despite being an LTE phone did not handle this very well. Another thing I really love on this phone straight out of the gate is that it tells me how many text messages I have (like an unread count). Its something I like, it also has many accounts built right in, such as amazon, Facebook etc. I was able to disable most of the bloat ware by going to manage applications and clicking disable in some of the pre-loaded Verizon apps.
The IR blaster is great, I've already started using it on all my TV's however, it wont turn the volume up on my LG TV but do every else. In addition, I am able to have in memory which room has which TV and so when I switch rooms, I also switch rooms on my phone, which allows me to use it as a remote. Great when you have to hide the remote from your little ones.
Battery Life: Used it for an entire day hardcore, and its still at 31% at the end of the day after about 6 am to 1 am usage.
UPDATE 10.23.13see the attached screen shot of battery usage. I was pretty impressed. I do know for a fact though that Shealth eats battery life like crazy.
Also I LOVE the speaker placement on the bottom of the phone, because it's just smart. When I hold my phone, it cups around the speaker channeling the sound directly to me, and not the entire audience behind my phone. Smart.
People have complained about the flip board app, but keep in mind, this is android and not IOS. We have choices here. Download an app called home 2 shortcut and it allowed me to configure double tapping the home button to start Google now rather than anything else. Its fantastic and a great use of android capabilities.
(I will update more here)
The S-pen I received was faulty with my phone, and so Verizon sent me a brand new one for free. Not taking off stars for that, during the pre-order stage stuff like that happens every once in a while. The Spen was completely usable I just had to add a little extra pressure. But no worries, it's taken care of and all is well.
The power button has a slight lag when you just tap it to turn on the screen; if you give it a robust tap it comes on quicker. It is quickest to turn on the screen using the home button when it's sleeping. It kind of irritates me that it is that way.
NOTE 10.23.13 It maybe quicker to use the HOME button to do the same thing.
I wish Samsung allowed customization of the LED colors for the types of notifications.
Note 10.23.13 Re: reception issuesI know people have complained about reception issues, but truly I haven't had many. Just a couple here and there. I think the reality is that the Note 3 is SLOW at switching networks etc. So rather than wait, I have just downloaded a refresh network app, which does what I need in less than 15 seconds and gives me a fresh connection. I don't see it as much of an inconvenience especially because the many positives of this device outweigh this one negative. I haven't had no reception anywhere.
Tethering by the has been pretty amazingly fast with this phone, and it DOES NOT GET HOT!!!! I love that! My razr maxx used to be a meteorite when it was tethering.
More to come.
Canon EOS Rebel SL1 18.0 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm EF-S
I was really unsure of what to buy when buying a new DSLR camera, but this package was well-thought out and had lots of things that I didn't even realize I would need! It shipped earlier than suggested when I ordered, which made me very happy, and everything was as described, with all new Canon equipment in original packaging. I haven't had much of a chance to get to know the camera and all the pieces that came with it, but so far, it is great. The camera is light, small and easy to use and the first few preliminary photos are great so I think I'm going to love it!
Leica D-LUX 3 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical
The brand new Leica D-Lux 3 is a stylish update of the popular Leica D-Lux 2 which was available in limited release late last year. It carries on the now grand tradition of Leica digital point and shoot cameras with improved optical image stabilizing and enhanced Leica-designed firmware for ultimate image quality. I had the chance to use this camera briefly twice recently, and was extremely impressed with both its easy handling and superior image quality. Like its predecessor it offers three different types of image formats. But, best of all, you don't need to rely on the camera manual to pick it up and use it immediately (EDITORIAL NOTE: I had the opportunity to use the camera from 11/20/06-11/30/06 primarily to photograph some of the most impressive Christmas store displays here in New York, NY, and to photograph fellow Brunonian and former classmate author Rick Moody at a private reception held in his honor prior to a public event featuring him at the venerable 92nd Street Y. I'm greatly impressed with both the image quality and the realistic color saturation of the images I took using the least amount of .jpeg compression at a maximum pixel size of 8.5 Mb. I am grateful to Leica Camera USA for allowing me to borrow a current production version of this camera.). Although the Leica D-Lux 3 is available in a superb black finish, I am more than a bit partial to chrome, since the chrome version reminds me more of such classic Leica M-mount 35mm rangefinder cameras like the M3 and M4.
The Leica D-Lux 3 has approximately the same dimensions and features as its illustrious predecessor (Dimensions (WxHxD) 4.2 x 2.3 x 1 inches (105.7 x 58.3 x 25.6mm) Weight 6.5oz / 7.8oz (185g/220g) (without/with battery, memory card and lens cap)). But it is replete with an extensive list of features that weren't available in the D-Lux 2. For example, I believe there is more opportunity for creative manual control via its manual control features. There is also ample flexibility in available apertures for different kinds of photography from wide angle to telephoto (Aperture F2.8-F8.0 (wide angle) F4.9-F8.0 (telephoto)). There is also a flexible array of flash options ranging from red eye reduction to second curtain synchronization modes. And then there is a flexible in image format modes. There is a video recording mode in which you can choose between 16:9 and 4:3 formats: In 16 9 format a choice between 1280 x 720 pixels 15 fps or 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps/ 10 fps; in 4 3 format a choice between 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps/10 fps or 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps/10 fps. Your only limitation is the storage capacity of the SD card you use. Images can be stored in the following file formats: Still RAW, JPEG (Fine/Standard), Movie QuickTime Motion JPEG. Last, but not least, you can dictate the type of digital photography being done and let the camera handle the rest via these scene programs: Portraits, sport, night scenes, night portraits, fireworks, parties, snow, self-portraits, food, high-sensitivity mode, Baby 1, Baby 2, soft skin, candlelight, starry skies, landscapes, print . Quite simply this camera offers so much at a relatively reasonable price for a digital Leica or indeed any other digital camera in this class.
The Leica D-Lux 3 has approximately the same dimensions and features as its illustrious predecessor (Dimensions (WxHxD) 4.2 x 2.3 x 1 inches (105.7 x 58.3 x 25.6mm) Weight 6.5oz / 7.8oz (185g/220g) (without/with battery, memory card and lens cap)). But it is replete with an extensive list of features that weren't available in the D-Lux 2. For example, I believe there is more opportunity for creative manual control via its manual control features. There is also ample flexibility in available apertures for different kinds of photography from wide angle to telephoto (Aperture F2.8-F8.0 (wide angle) F4.9-F8.0 (telephoto)). There is also a flexible array of flash options ranging from red eye reduction to second curtain synchronization modes. And then there is a flexible in image format modes. There is a video recording mode in which you can choose between 16:9 and 4:3 formats: In 16 9 format a choice between 1280 x 720 pixels 15 fps or 848 x 480 pixels 30 fps/ 10 fps; in 4 3 format a choice between 640 x 480 pixels 30 fps/10 fps or 320 x 240 pixels 30 fps/10 fps. Your only limitation is the storage capacity of the SD card you use. Images can be stored in the following file formats: Still RAW, JPEG (Fine/Standard), Movie QuickTime Motion JPEG. Last, but not least, you can dictate the type of digital photography being done and let the camera handle the rest via these scene programs: Portraits, sport, night scenes, night portraits, fireworks, parties, snow, self-portraits, food, high-sensitivity mode, Baby 1, Baby 2, soft skin, candlelight, starry skies, landscapes, print . Quite simply this camera offers so much at a relatively reasonable price for a digital Leica or indeed any other digital camera in this class.
Sony BDP-S470 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (2010 Model)
I was excited to get this player. I had been waiting a long time for one that had a good set of features and a reasonable price. Overall, in the 2 weeks I've had it, I've really loved it. I'll go over the good and the bad of this Blu-ray player.
First the bad:
The remote, like all Sony remotes, are very basic. It handles the Blu-ray player functions fine. It also has built in TV remote functions as well. I have a Sony Bravia TV that is about 2 years old. However the remote doesn't work for about half of the functions, making this remote useless for controlling the TV. The remote can be set to a handful of TV brands. You would think that it could at least handle a Sony TV properly.
NOTE: When registering the device on the Sony site, this model is not listed (as of this review). I selected the model S570 instead and that worked for me.
When playing a Netflix movie, one time the movie locked up the player. It didn't respond to the remote, then completely restarted itself. Of course it didn't remember where it had stopped in the movie and I had to search to find where I was to finish the movie. Hopefully this doesn't happen often.
At the time of this review DLNA has not been included with the player and will be available later, so I could not test this out. Being that it isn't relly a new thing, you would think that they'd have this already included.
AVI file playback is only avalable to Canada players.
The buttons on this box are tiny and the labelling is just as small and hard to read. Pale white print on black is always hard to read. In a dark area it is nearly impossible, even with the little light that it shines on the lower button panel, so using the remote is the way to go. Don't forget it when you go to load a disc. You'll probably end up memorizing button locations if you like to use the buttons on the player itself.
If you are playing a disc and decide to stop play for any reason, it exits disc mode entirely, connects you to Gracenote, and returns to the Xross menu. Forget about returning to where you stopped. You have to go back to the very beginning of the disc loading process.
You have to point the remote directly at the player to get it to do anything. It's very picky about this.
The good:
This is a very nice machine. It oozes high-tech. It is small and lightweight and no bigger than the slim Sony upconverting DVD player it had replaced. They could have used the exact same case for it.
Load times are excellent. There is a setting that can have it load even faster if you don't mind keeping it powered in standby mode.
The Sony Xross menu system makes sense and is easy to navigate. The menu is in 1080p, so it looks smooth and not cheap like other older players have done.
Setup was a breeze. Plug in your connections and power it on. You're ready to go. You just have to register the device with Sony and Netflix and Amazon if you use those services. Simple and quick. Sony already had a software update for the player, so I had it do the update and it was done after a few minutes.
There are a number of on-line sites you can visit for music, music videos, a handful of movies and other misc. on-line video content. Assuming that the original on-line content is in good quality, the video picture quality is very nice.
You can use your DVDs to play your own content. You aren't restricted to using the USB connection. If you have a supported video or audio format stored on a disc, you can play it on this player. Really awesome.
I look forward to the DLNA support coming later. I'll be able to connect to my PC where I have my own video and photos stored there.
Standard DVD playback is excellent. This is not just upconverted playback. It also puts it in 24p and it also appears to have cleaned up the DVD picture quality, so it's seriously close to Blu-ray quality. For your regular movie you'll start to ask yourself if you really need those Blu-ray discs after all.
Blu-ray disc playback is, of course, excellent. If you haven't had one before, you'll see colors and depth that you've not seen before on a TV screen. Details are sharp and it's performed without the slightest hesitation in this area.
3D support is coming later for this player. I probably won't use this, but it's good to know that it's going to be there if I do decide to go that route.
Overall, this is something that I've thoroughly enjoyed and I expect I'll be using for years to come. Some of the issues can be overlooked and some can be fixed with software updates if Sony decides to do so. A universal remote is in my near future. I'm very happy with this purchase.
Update: April 12, 2010
Sony has sent out a firmware update for this player. It mainly gives you some enhancements to Gracenote and for the photo slideshow feature. Still no DLNA.
I have a SanDisk Cruzer 8GB USB device where I have some video. I tried using this in the front USB input in order to play my video. However I got a message that the USB device is not compatible. Apparently you can't use just any USB storage with this player. The manual says nothing about limitations in this area. My old 2GB drive works fine.
Update: June 11, 2010
Sony has now added an update to play 3D discs! You may turn the 3D it on or off or keep it in auto mode.
First the bad:
The remote, like all Sony remotes, are very basic. It handles the Blu-ray player functions fine. It also has built in TV remote functions as well. I have a Sony Bravia TV that is about 2 years old. However the remote doesn't work for about half of the functions, making this remote useless for controlling the TV. The remote can be set to a handful of TV brands. You would think that it could at least handle a Sony TV properly.
NOTE: When registering the device on the Sony site, this model is not listed (as of this review). I selected the model S570 instead and that worked for me.
When playing a Netflix movie, one time the movie locked up the player. It didn't respond to the remote, then completely restarted itself. Of course it didn't remember where it had stopped in the movie and I had to search to find where I was to finish the movie. Hopefully this doesn't happen often.
At the time of this review DLNA has not been included with the player and will be available later, so I could not test this out. Being that it isn't relly a new thing, you would think that they'd have this already included.
AVI file playback is only avalable to Canada players.
The buttons on this box are tiny and the labelling is just as small and hard to read. Pale white print on black is always hard to read. In a dark area it is nearly impossible, even with the little light that it shines on the lower button panel, so using the remote is the way to go. Don't forget it when you go to load a disc. You'll probably end up memorizing button locations if you like to use the buttons on the player itself.
If you are playing a disc and decide to stop play for any reason, it exits disc mode entirely, connects you to Gracenote, and returns to the Xross menu. Forget about returning to where you stopped. You have to go back to the very beginning of the disc loading process.
You have to point the remote directly at the player to get it to do anything. It's very picky about this.
The good:
This is a very nice machine. It oozes high-tech. It is small and lightweight and no bigger than the slim Sony upconverting DVD player it had replaced. They could have used the exact same case for it.
Load times are excellent. There is a setting that can have it load even faster if you don't mind keeping it powered in standby mode.
The Sony Xross menu system makes sense and is easy to navigate. The menu is in 1080p, so it looks smooth and not cheap like other older players have done.
Setup was a breeze. Plug in your connections and power it on. You're ready to go. You just have to register the device with Sony and Netflix and Amazon if you use those services. Simple and quick. Sony already had a software update for the player, so I had it do the update and it was done after a few minutes.
There are a number of on-line sites you can visit for music, music videos, a handful of movies and other misc. on-line video content. Assuming that the original on-line content is in good quality, the video picture quality is very nice.
You can use your DVDs to play your own content. You aren't restricted to using the USB connection. If you have a supported video or audio format stored on a disc, you can play it on this player. Really awesome.
I look forward to the DLNA support coming later. I'll be able to connect to my PC where I have my own video and photos stored there.
Standard DVD playback is excellent. This is not just upconverted playback. It also puts it in 24p and it also appears to have cleaned up the DVD picture quality, so it's seriously close to Blu-ray quality. For your regular movie you'll start to ask yourself if you really need those Blu-ray discs after all.
Blu-ray disc playback is, of course, excellent. If you haven't had one before, you'll see colors and depth that you've not seen before on a TV screen. Details are sharp and it's performed without the slightest hesitation in this area.
3D support is coming later for this player. I probably won't use this, but it's good to know that it's going to be there if I do decide to go that route.
Overall, this is something that I've thoroughly enjoyed and I expect I'll be using for years to come. Some of the issues can be overlooked and some can be fixed with software updates if Sony decides to do so. A universal remote is in my near future. I'm very happy with this purchase.
Update: April 12, 2010
Sony has sent out a firmware update for this player. It mainly gives you some enhancements to Gracenote and for the photo slideshow feature. Still no DLNA.
I have a SanDisk Cruzer 8GB USB device where I have some video. I tried using this in the front USB input in order to play my video. However I got a message that the USB device is not compatible. Apparently you can't use just any USB storage with this player. The manual says nothing about limitations in this area. My old 2GB drive works fine.
Update: June 11, 2010
Sony has now added an update to play 3D discs! You may turn the 3D it on or off or keep it in auto mode.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera w/ 18-55mm IS
List Price: $1,199.99
Sale Price: $879.99
Today's Bonus: 27% Off
This bundle is a good deal. The camera works perfectly and the lens are great. I like this bundle because both lens have image stabilization. I haven't used the macro and 2x lens and I considered them fillers. The 32gb card allows 3000 4000 pictures. The bag is cheap but I expected that. I bought a larger bag and use the one in the bundle to hold the camera on day trips. That is about all it is useful for to me. I SD card holder is neat but I don't have need for multiple cards. Most laptops have card readers, so the one in the bundle is not needed for me.
Pentax K-r 12.4 MP Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD
I have been using the KR now for almost a week so these are my initial impressions. The best way to describe this camera is a KR with several new improvements, though more evolutionary than revolutionary.
My favorite new features are the improved LCD (higher resolution), visible AF point, faster live view focusing, faster shooting at 6 FPS and faster focusing in all environments, especially in low light though with the new AF assist lamp. I cannot emphasize the AF capability in low light. The KR focuses fast, even in almost total darkness.
Another new feature is the capability to use AA batteries as well as Lithium ion. It comes with a Lithium ion battery and charger to start.
The image stabilization is still in body as Pentax has been doing for years. This allows the use of many Pentax lens and still have stabilization.
The high ISO capability with the KR is great as it is with the KX. I had a T2i and find the high ISO capability better with the KR. Plus the white balance requires less adjustment with the Pentax. It seems like I was always modifying the white balance settings with the T2i. This came as a shock to me knowing some of the white balance issues I have seen with Pentax cameras in the past.
One of the coolest new features that I really like is the capability to convert the last JPG picture taken to RAW. So let's say you take a picture and you cannot take it again (one time opportunity!) and the JPG was not up to par...You can save it as RAW and then convert in camera or in software later. This is only possible for the last JPG taken however.
The video will work in a pinch but is not the strength of this camera. It is 720P and 25 FPS with no auto focus. The T2i is better in this arena but I honestly never used it much. Despite DSLR improvements in this area (especially with the T2i), I still prefer using a camcorder.
However, the KR is a photographic tool and has lots of options once you start wanting to experiment a little more. Get it with the 55-300 lens (great lens!) if you can swing it. It is a great deal with the 2 lens kit and truly a savings versus buying it later.
Pentax is often overlooked in the DSLR arena. The KX has been a great seller for Pentax. If you have one, I would not necessarily upgrade to the KR, though some of the new features are nice. If you are looking for your first DSLR or possibly switching from another brand, I highly recommend the KR.
My favorite new features are the improved LCD (higher resolution), visible AF point, faster live view focusing, faster shooting at 6 FPS and faster focusing in all environments, especially in low light though with the new AF assist lamp. I cannot emphasize the AF capability in low light. The KR focuses fast, even in almost total darkness.
Another new feature is the capability to use AA batteries as well as Lithium ion. It comes with a Lithium ion battery and charger to start.
The image stabilization is still in body as Pentax has been doing for years. This allows the use of many Pentax lens and still have stabilization.
The high ISO capability with the KR is great as it is with the KX. I had a T2i and find the high ISO capability better with the KR. Plus the white balance requires less adjustment with the Pentax. It seems like I was always modifying the white balance settings with the T2i. This came as a shock to me knowing some of the white balance issues I have seen with Pentax cameras in the past.
One of the coolest new features that I really like is the capability to convert the last JPG picture taken to RAW. So let's say you take a picture and you cannot take it again (one time opportunity!) and the JPG was not up to par...You can save it as RAW and then convert in camera or in software later. This is only possible for the last JPG taken however.
The video will work in a pinch but is not the strength of this camera. It is 720P and 25 FPS with no auto focus. The T2i is better in this arena but I honestly never used it much. Despite DSLR improvements in this area (especially with the T2i), I still prefer using a camcorder.
However, the KR is a photographic tool and has lots of options once you start wanting to experiment a little more. Get it with the 55-300 lens (great lens!) if you can swing it. It is a great deal with the 2 lens kit and truly a savings versus buying it later.
Pentax is often overlooked in the DSLR arena. The KX has been a great seller for Pentax. If you have one, I would not necessarily upgrade to the KR, though some of the new features are nice. If you are looking for your first DSLR or possibly switching from another brand, I highly recommend the KR.
Lorex LW2003 LIVE snap Video Baby Monitor (White)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program
Lorex LW2003 LIVE 'snap' Video Baby Monitor
Since the video review is not very detailed, I want to add a few more comments. First, I absolutely recommend this monitor. I've listed some specific strengths and weaknesses below.
What I liked:
1. Good range. In my two story house I got decent coverage throughout. The signal was a little weak when I stretched it to its furthest possible range, but I never lost the picture.
2. On the small screen the picture is crisp, with good color. You will never have to wonder what you're seeing. Look carefully at the image on the video I took of the outdoors and you'll see a crisp blue autumn sky with colorful foliage.
3. I think the portability is a key feature. The monitor can be removed from its base and slipped into a pocket as you move around your house. Very nice!
4. You can add cameras, all of which show up on the monitor. You can then select which camera you want to "zoom" to on the screen. Hopefully you won't be monitoring four babies at once, but the capability is there.
What I would like to see improved:
1. Customer service! I always try to test this during a review, since it tends to be the "Achilles Heel" of modern commerce. I first let the customer service rep (Asian, but very understandable) know I was writing a review and had a specific problem I needed solved (see below). It became clear immediately that the rep was not familiar with the product. After about 20 minutes he admitted he could not solve my problem, but he promised I would receive a return call or email within a couple of hours. After ten days I have heard nothing. Unacceptable!
2. The monitor is promoted as a camera which can take snapshots of your baby, and the advertisements feature beautifully lit photos of babies. This is bogus. The camera has a whopping .3 megapixels. This is perfectly fine for the small monitor screen, but trying to use it as a camera to photograph your baby will result in a blurry, pixelated photo if you try to even print it 4x6. It puzzles me that Lorex even included a microSD card and adapter for you to transfer your pictures to a computer. You wouldn't really try to photograph your beautiful baby with a .3 MP camera, would you? Which brings me to another point . . .
3. The reason I called customer service was the image from the camera when I took a snapshot was not only rotated (easily fixed) but reversed. For instance, any printing would look backwards. I'm not sure if this is peculiar to the sample I received, but it's annoying to be sure. Yes you can fix this in a photo editor, but you shouldn't have to. I have no idea what's going on, and neither did customer service. The image is fine on the monitor screen, and the problem only shows up when you transfer a picture, which you are unlikely to do anyway given the poor resolution.
So let's sum up: I really like the Lorex Baby Monitor and I would definitely buy it. I take off one star for the failure of customer service to respond to my problem and the misleading pictures which imply the monitor can be used to take good quality pictures. If you purchase it with the idea that you are only monitoring your baby (pets, etc) and not capturing lifetime memories, you'll be very happy.
Lorex LW2003 LIVE 'snap' Video Baby Monitor
Since the video review is not very detailed, I want to add a few more comments. First, I absolutely recommend this monitor. I've listed some specific strengths and weaknesses below.
What I liked:
1. Good range. In my two story house I got decent coverage throughout. The signal was a little weak when I stretched it to its furthest possible range, but I never lost the picture.
2. On the small screen the picture is crisp, with good color. You will never have to wonder what you're seeing. Look carefully at the image on the video I took of the outdoors and you'll see a crisp blue autumn sky with colorful foliage.
3. I think the portability is a key feature. The monitor can be removed from its base and slipped into a pocket as you move around your house. Very nice!
4. You can add cameras, all of which show up on the monitor. You can then select which camera you want to "zoom" to on the screen. Hopefully you won't be monitoring four babies at once, but the capability is there.
What I would like to see improved:
1. Customer service! I always try to test this during a review, since it tends to be the "Achilles Heel" of modern commerce. I first let the customer service rep (Asian, but very understandable) know I was writing a review and had a specific problem I needed solved (see below). It became clear immediately that the rep was not familiar with the product. After about 20 minutes he admitted he could not solve my problem, but he promised I would receive a return call or email within a couple of hours. After ten days I have heard nothing. Unacceptable!
2. The monitor is promoted as a camera which can take snapshots of your baby, and the advertisements feature beautifully lit photos of babies. This is bogus. The camera has a whopping .3 megapixels. This is perfectly fine for the small monitor screen, but trying to use it as a camera to photograph your baby will result in a blurry, pixelated photo if you try to even print it 4x6. It puzzles me that Lorex even included a microSD card and adapter for you to transfer your pictures to a computer. You wouldn't really try to photograph your beautiful baby with a .3 MP camera, would you? Which brings me to another point . . .
3. The reason I called customer service was the image from the camera when I took a snapshot was not only rotated (easily fixed) but reversed. For instance, any printing would look backwards. I'm not sure if this is peculiar to the sample I received, but it's annoying to be sure. Yes you can fix this in a photo editor, but you shouldn't have to. I have no idea what's going on, and neither did customer service. The image is fine on the monitor screen, and the problem only shows up when you transfer a picture, which you are unlikely to do anyway given the poor resolution.
So let's sum up: I really like the Lorex Baby Monitor and I would definitely buy it. I take off one star for the failure of customer service to respond to my problem and the misleading pictures which imply the monitor can be used to take good quality pictures. If you purchase it with the idea that you are only monitoring your baby (pets, etc) and not capturing lifetime memories, you'll be very happy.
Panasonic DMC-LX3 10.1MP Digital Camera with 24mm Wide Angle
List Price: $499.95
Sale Price: $296.90
Today's Bonus: 41% Off
In the last 6 years I've used a couple of compacts which I've since got rid of after upgrading to DSLRs (Canon XT and then 40D). For a while I was waiting for a compact that I could carry with me anywhere I want, and particularly to parties and other social occasions where bringing a DSLR is really not an option.
When this camera was announced it really looked like a dream compact for me. Fast, wide and optically stabilized lens is ideal for low-light indoor shots. The design is stylish and beautiful, the camera is quite compact and it has all the controls an advanced amateur would need.
Further the sensor is essentially as big as they get in compact cameras and with almost reasonable 10mp (still about 5mp too many but not as bad as 12-15mp you would get in any other compact with a comparable sensor).
I've had the camera for a couple of weeks now (and shame on Amazon for not having it in stock a month after it appeared in some other big stores). I like it a lot and the camera delivers on most of Panny's promises. Here are some of the experiences.
1. The image quality is certainly and noticeably better than the ulracompact cameras (like Panny's own FX series). It is however still a compact camera ... meaning there is visible noise even at ISO 80 and lots of noise at ISO 400. However noise reduction algorithms seem to be doing quite a good job and ISO 80 pics look very nice ... sometimes almost like a DSLR. And even at ISO 400 most shots are good enough to keep. In general the output from this camera is comparable to my 40D at 8 times the ISO (that is 80 on LX3 is about 640 on 40D and 400 LX3 is a bit better than 3200 on 40D). Fortunately, with fast lens and image stabilization I almost never need to use ISO above 400.
2. The camera is very responsive and the autofocus is fast and seems accurate.
3. Changing ISO through the menus is a bit of a pain but a variety of useful ISO regimes are provided. In general controlling all the options is not very easy ... but I guess that's the compromise you get with such a small camera with a large LCD.
Update: it is possible to simplify ISO changing by reassigning a button for this purpose. The drawback of this is that now reviewing pictures becomes more cumbersome.
4. Aspect ratio switch on the lens is more useful than I thought ... saves quite a lot of cropping.
5. Shooting in RAW+jpeg is fast enough to be usable.
6. The camera is quite a bit bulkier than it might seem (and the given dimensions are misleading since they do not include the lens and other protrusions from the main part of the body). It is not shirt-pocketable both because of its size and weight ... but fits fine in a jacket pocket or purse.
7. The macro capability of the camera is really excellent.
8. Having user customizable preset regimes on the dial is very useful and quite a luxury not present even on Canon XSi DSLR (shame on Canon!)
Overall it's a great compact camera: in my opinion certainly the best on the market by a margin (I've studied the market very thoroughly). It is in the same league as Canon G-series (which I owned back when they were the best and liked a lot) but fits my current needs much more than a Canon Gx. I also think it's a real bargain at around $400.
But it is still a compact camera with a sensor 1/8 area of most DSLRs and 1/20 of full frame (mostly pro) DSLR. So those expecting miracles like close-to-DSLR quality or usable ISO 800+ might be disappointed.
==================================================================
A quick update in response to a comment:
1. At widest setting of the zoom there is quite significant distortion especially noticeable in 16:9 regime. There is also noticeable loss of sharpness in the corners. This might not look good in some shots (like if a straight like or someones face is close to the border) but nothing too bad for most of the shots.
2. HD video is very good for a compact. There is no zooming, no auto focus and sometimes exposure adjustments are not very smooth. So I'd not recommend to treat it as a camcorder. But overall it gives detailed and reasonably smooth video (well not quite 30fps smooth). I've just made a quick comparison with Canon HF10 dedicated compact camcorder (which is as good as they get these days). In bright light LX3 cannot quite match the 1080p detail of Canon. But in relatively dim light it is about as good. Also LX3 has a huge advantage in wide angle. All dedicated consumer camcorders have widest angle around 40mm which is much worse than 24mm of LX3.
Another impression which I have with LX3 and certainly did not have with other compacts is that it is a tool worth learning and investing some time and experimentation. My pics with this camera keep improving even the first ones were already decent.
For anyone interested in sharpness and noise level comparisons with some cameras you can check out=======================================================================
Update Dec 17: Finally Photoshop and Lightroom started to recognize LX3 raws. The quality of my pictures is now even higher: colors much more pleasing and noise reduction less "blotchy". Overall this camera gives results well beyond what I thought to be possible for a compact camera. So it still has my highest recommendation.
Update Jan 27, 2009.
The single most annoying thing about this camera is its lens cap. Having to remove it slows you down. Attaching via a string leaves it dangling ... which detracts from the aesthetics of the camera and can add a bit of extra shake. Without the string it's likely to get lost ... and I have not seen any replacements on sale. Anyway, fortunately, creative peoples found out that Ricoh LC-1 lens adapter can be easily modified to be used on this camera. I've did this and it works much better than the original cap. I've uploaded some pictures of the result to the product images. Use google to find the modification instructions.
Polaroid Z2300 10MP Digital Instant Print Camera (White)
List Price: $299.99
Sale Price: $179.99
Today's Bonus: 40% Off
If you like using your phone to take instagrams your going love this camera! Insert sd card and choose the prints you want to print. Sticky backed photos perfect for scrapping. You can also upload to Mac or windows and print off larger images. Best of all, the instant camera prints are only 50 cents a piece. Not bad for instant crafting.
Panasonic DMP-BD85K WiFi Enabled Blu-Ray Disc Player (Black)
There is a lot to like about Panasonic's latest high-end Blu-ray player, the DMP-BD85: excellent video and audio performance, a rich assortment of streaming media options (Netflix, Amazon VOD, YouTube, Pandora Internet Radio and now VUDU via a recent firmware upgrade), and a highly customizable assortment of tweakable parameters for audio and video hobbyists. Also, with built in Wi-Fi via the included USB adapter, it's easier than it used to be to reap the benefits of an internet-enabled player. However, the bland text-based menus and operational idiosyncrasies of the player make it feel a little bit behind the times.
DVD upconversion is very good to excellent, with some enhancements to Panasonic's Uniphier video processor that are only available in the BD85 and in the new Blu-ray 3D players, the DMP-BDT300 and DMP-BDT350. The entry-level BD45 and BD65 players include a slightly lesser quality version of the Uniphier processor, equivalent to Panasonic's 2009 players. Diagonal lines are clean and free from jaggies, 2:3 film cadence is easily detected by the player, preventing the tell-tale moire distortion that can occur on lesser players, and edge detail is smooth and fairly free of aliasing and any combing or tearing artifacts.
Turning to high def Blu-ray Disc playback, advances to the player's chroma (color) upconversion processor enable outstanding color reproduction and color detail from 1080p Blu-ray Disc, superior to Blu-ray playback on some other more expensive players. To be honest, these improvements are only really visible on larger screen sizes (e.g., large screen projection systems) but home theater hobbyists and videophiles will appreciate the exceptional Blu-ray playback quality of the BD85.
Audio quality is also excellent, with some innovative enhancements to the way digital audio is handled that can improve the sound quality, even over HDMI PCM and bitstream connections (specifically the "Jitter Purifier" and "High Clarity Audio" features). By providing more accurate data for the audio clock, the BD85 minimizes jitter that can detract from the sound quality, even when your receiver or preamp does the audio decoding. For those who have older non-HDMI receivers, the BD85's multi-channel analog outputs and on-board decoding for DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD can provide outstanding lossless audio from Blu-ray Disc (just be prepared to spend some time tweaking the player's speaker settings and your receiver to get the sound dialed in just right).
In our testing, the included 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi adapter worked well. Also with the WiFi adapter is a 3-foot USB extension cable which allows you to place the wireless antenna module outside the audio cabinet where it can get better WiFi reception. We were easily able to stream Netflix in HD using the WiFi adapter one floor away from our 802.11g Linksys wireless router. Access to Netflix, Amazon and YouTube was pretty reliable (though we tested YouTube and Netflix much more heavily than Amazon VOD), and BD-Live features worked well on the player (as long as you give it a couple of minutes to fully connect to the network). Also, for those with the firmware 1.23 applied, as of June, 2010, Pandora is now available in the VIERA Cast screen on this player, and firmware 1.51 (11/2010) brought VUDU to this and other 2010 model year Panasonic players.
But Panasonic made some ergonomic choices here that are a bit questionable. They shortened the remote vs. last year's models by about an inch. And while this does make the basic functions like transport and menu navigation a little easier to operate (at least to my thumbs), the smaller size meant removing the "Set-up" button entirely, and making the frequently used "Display" button much smaller and easy to miss. And although there is a VIERA Cast button the remote, which allows access to all the IPTV streaming goodies, the player lacks an integrated splash screen (as seen on recent LG and Samsung players) which would give you the option to select between disc-based, USB-based on web-based content in an integrated and logical way.
Also, within the "Functions" menu, there is an option called "Network" which actually launches the VIERA Cast screen (why not call it "VIERA Cast" to be consistent?). Perhaps most frustrating to those who watch a lot of foreign films (or non-native English speakers), there is no subtitle button on the remote. Instead subtitle controls are buried deep within the "Display" menu, where you'll also find the nifty 24p mode switch for DVD playback. This is nothing new in the BD85, but it is a questionable choice for a fairly commonly used function.
In the area of loading speed, the BD85 carries on the tradition of earlier Panasonic players being a fairly sluggish disc loader. Sure, there is a "fast boot" option (Quick Start), which can take you from powered off to the basic splash screen and "no disc" message in under 2 seconds. But after that initial boot, you'll still be waiting a while to view your discs we clocked the disc loading times at about 20 seconds to load a standard DVD, 36 seconds to load a Blu-ray and 39 seconds to load a BD-Java Blu-ray (the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie). A BD-Live heavy title ("Inglourious Basterds") can take over two minutes to get to a visible screen, though we did find that using an SDHC card instead of a standard SD card, did speed up this load time significantly, exposing more of the BD-Live content that we did not see when we used the standard 1GB SD card. And that's one more knock why does Panasonic still require customers to buy and insert an SD card in order to use BD-Live? Why not load the unit with at least 1 GB of on-board memory so that customers are not disappointed to find they need an additional purchase just to use BD-Live?
In terms of disc compatibility and reliable operations, we were only able to find a single disc that was problematic on the player the first disc in the "Alien Quadrilogy" boxed DVD set. The default Dolby Digital track plays fine but the DTS track on the extended cut of the film emits nothing but silence. Apparently this is an improvement over earlier Panasonic players, some of which were not able to play this disc at all. We also saw the machine shut itself down a couple of times when playing Xvid-encoded AVI files from a connected USB drive. But thanks to some follow-up testing from Panasonic, confirmed by us, this turned out to be media-specific: in other words, if you use a decent quality name brand USB flash drive (instead of the cheap promo USB drive we initially used), the player plays these AVI files fine.
All told, the operational idiosyncrasies of the player are easy enough to get used to, and will be more annoying to hobbyists who like to get into the set-up menus to test various options and settings and perhaps less annoying to the average consumer. It's the performance that matters, and at the moment, this is one of the top performers available for under $300. So if you don't mind a few less-than-sexy menus and operational quirks, then the BD85 will make an excellent choice for a high performance, affordable Blu-ray Disc player.
Our detailed review is available on Big Picture Big Sound (dot com).
DVD upconversion is very good to excellent, with some enhancements to Panasonic's Uniphier video processor that are only available in the BD85 and in the new Blu-ray 3D players, the DMP-BDT300 and DMP-BDT350. The entry-level BD45 and BD65 players include a slightly lesser quality version of the Uniphier processor, equivalent to Panasonic's 2009 players. Diagonal lines are clean and free from jaggies, 2:3 film cadence is easily detected by the player, preventing the tell-tale moire distortion that can occur on lesser players, and edge detail is smooth and fairly free of aliasing and any combing or tearing artifacts.
Turning to high def Blu-ray Disc playback, advances to the player's chroma (color) upconversion processor enable outstanding color reproduction and color detail from 1080p Blu-ray Disc, superior to Blu-ray playback on some other more expensive players. To be honest, these improvements are only really visible on larger screen sizes (e.g., large screen projection systems) but home theater hobbyists and videophiles will appreciate the exceptional Blu-ray playback quality of the BD85.
Audio quality is also excellent, with some innovative enhancements to the way digital audio is handled that can improve the sound quality, even over HDMI PCM and bitstream connections (specifically the "Jitter Purifier" and "High Clarity Audio" features). By providing more accurate data for the audio clock, the BD85 minimizes jitter that can detract from the sound quality, even when your receiver or preamp does the audio decoding. For those who have older non-HDMI receivers, the BD85's multi-channel analog outputs and on-board decoding for DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD can provide outstanding lossless audio from Blu-ray Disc (just be prepared to spend some time tweaking the player's speaker settings and your receiver to get the sound dialed in just right).
In our testing, the included 802.11a/b/g/n WiFi adapter worked well. Also with the WiFi adapter is a 3-foot USB extension cable which allows you to place the wireless antenna module outside the audio cabinet where it can get better WiFi reception. We were easily able to stream Netflix in HD using the WiFi adapter one floor away from our 802.11g Linksys wireless router. Access to Netflix, Amazon and YouTube was pretty reliable (though we tested YouTube and Netflix much more heavily than Amazon VOD), and BD-Live features worked well on the player (as long as you give it a couple of minutes to fully connect to the network). Also, for those with the firmware 1.23 applied, as of June, 2010, Pandora is now available in the VIERA Cast screen on this player, and firmware 1.51 (11/2010) brought VUDU to this and other 2010 model year Panasonic players.
But Panasonic made some ergonomic choices here that are a bit questionable. They shortened the remote vs. last year's models by about an inch. And while this does make the basic functions like transport and menu navigation a little easier to operate (at least to my thumbs), the smaller size meant removing the "Set-up" button entirely, and making the frequently used "Display" button much smaller and easy to miss. And although there is a VIERA Cast button the remote, which allows access to all the IPTV streaming goodies, the player lacks an integrated splash screen (as seen on recent LG and Samsung players) which would give you the option to select between disc-based, USB-based on web-based content in an integrated and logical way.
Also, within the "Functions" menu, there is an option called "Network" which actually launches the VIERA Cast screen (why not call it "VIERA Cast" to be consistent?). Perhaps most frustrating to those who watch a lot of foreign films (or non-native English speakers), there is no subtitle button on the remote. Instead subtitle controls are buried deep within the "Display" menu, where you'll also find the nifty 24p mode switch for DVD playback. This is nothing new in the BD85, but it is a questionable choice for a fairly commonly used function.
In the area of loading speed, the BD85 carries on the tradition of earlier Panasonic players being a fairly sluggish disc loader. Sure, there is a "fast boot" option (Quick Start), which can take you from powered off to the basic splash screen and "no disc" message in under 2 seconds. But after that initial boot, you'll still be waiting a while to view your discs we clocked the disc loading times at about 20 seconds to load a standard DVD, 36 seconds to load a Blu-ray and 39 seconds to load a BD-Java Blu-ray (the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie). A BD-Live heavy title ("Inglourious Basterds") can take over two minutes to get to a visible screen, though we did find that using an SDHC card instead of a standard SD card, did speed up this load time significantly, exposing more of the BD-Live content that we did not see when we used the standard 1GB SD card. And that's one more knock why does Panasonic still require customers to buy and insert an SD card in order to use BD-Live? Why not load the unit with at least 1 GB of on-board memory so that customers are not disappointed to find they need an additional purchase just to use BD-Live?
In terms of disc compatibility and reliable operations, we were only able to find a single disc that was problematic on the player the first disc in the "Alien Quadrilogy" boxed DVD set. The default Dolby Digital track plays fine but the DTS track on the extended cut of the film emits nothing but silence. Apparently this is an improvement over earlier Panasonic players, some of which were not able to play this disc at all. We also saw the machine shut itself down a couple of times when playing Xvid-encoded AVI files from a connected USB drive. But thanks to some follow-up testing from Panasonic, confirmed by us, this turned out to be media-specific: in other words, if you use a decent quality name brand USB flash drive (instead of the cheap promo USB drive we initially used), the player plays these AVI files fine.
All told, the operational idiosyncrasies of the player are easy enough to get used to, and will be more annoying to hobbyists who like to get into the set-up menus to test various options and settings and perhaps less annoying to the average consumer. It's the performance that matters, and at the moment, this is one of the top performers available for under $300. So if you don't mind a few less-than-sexy menus and operational quirks, then the BD85 will make an excellent choice for a high performance, affordable Blu-ray Disc player.
Our detailed review is available on Big Picture Big Sound (dot com).