I purchased this lens to take on vacation so I did a trial run on the weekend. I was pleased with my results. I did find it a little hard to switch between the telephoto and the macro settings. When using macro I found I needed to pull away from my subject to have the camera readjust so I could switch back to standard telephoto. A little time consuming but nothing that I can't live with. It is surprisingly light weight but does need to be supported to minimize camera shake. The price was great as it included the UV, Florescent, and polarizing filters in a nice pleather case, as well as a cleaning kit
Showing posts with label cannon digital camera reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cannon digital camera reviews. Show all posts
HTC One, Black (AT&T)
EDIT (11/28): Another four months later, I'm still very happy with my purchase. I haven't had a single problem with the phone, and it's just as fast as ever. Seems fitting to post on Thanksgiving because I'm definitely thankful for such a great phone.
EDIT (7/17): Two months later, I'm still in love with my HTC One. The build quality is amazing and haven't got a scratch on it yet (no case but I'm very OCD when it comes to electronics). BoomSound (could have perhaps picked a better name) still gives you the best sound quality out of any phone currently available. My phone still has the same zip from day one. Swiping screens, opening and closing apps, etc. still butter smooth. The lag and jitters the Galaxy S4 sometimes experiences was a big turn off to me, which is why in terms of everyday use, the HTC One is much faster and more responsive. If anyone has any questions, leave a comment and I'll definitely reply back.
Original Review:
It came down to the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One, and I'm definitely glad I went with the HTC One. HTC truly outdid themselves with this phone, both in design and quality. I'm coming from an iPhone 3GS, but even if you're coming from an iPhone 5 or a Galaxy S4, this phone is impressive. I'm mainly comparing the HTC One against the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, because I've had hands-on experience with both and also because I don't think any other phones even come close.
Design:
The HTC One not only looks amazing but has one of the best builds I've ever seen on a phone. Its build quality is only rivaled by the iPhone 5 (I'd still say HTC wins). It's not featherlight, but the slight heft you feel when you hold it only makes it that much better. It's the perfect mix of premium quality, great design, and the intelligence to actually put it all together without screwing it up. The Galaxy S4 in terms of build quality can't even compete. Don't get me wrong, the Galaxy S4 feels solid in your hands, but the HTC One brings that experience to a whole new level.
Screen:
Simply stunning. The HTC One currently has the highest pixel density of any phone with 468 ppi, followed by the Galaxy S4 with 441 ppi, and finally the iPhone 5 with 326 ppi. I love the fact HTC went with an SLCD 3 display versus SAMOLED. While SAMOLED displays offer truer blacks and usually better color saturation, this comes at the price of often times over saturating colors and not being as crisp and clear as an SLCD display. Both the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One offer full HD 1080p displays, but I'd still go with the HTC One despite the slightly smaller screen. Colors are simply more accurate and text is crisper, clearer, and easier to read whether indoors or outdoors.
Hardware:
The Galaxy S4 has a slight advantage on paper when it comes to processing power, but you'd never guess it by using the two phones. The HTC One is actually a lot faster in everyday use. I was amazed the Galaxy S4 still experienced lag and stutters when it came to simple things like switching screens or opening/closing apps. While almost every benchmark you see gives the edge to Samsung, it really only proves that Samsung is better at... you guessed it: benchmarks. In terms of raw processing power, the Galaxy S4 clearly wins, but in the real world benchmarks mean next to nothing, and HTC shows this pretty convincingly. I'm not saying the Galaxy S4 doesn't have any edge because it does, but processing power alone is misleading. In the words of another reviewer, "In terms of performance, this phone is pure butter out of the box," and I couldn't put it any better myself.
Camera:
HTC shows you don't need a high megapixel count to experience amazing pictures. I've never seen a camera take pictures as well in low light as the HTC One. The detail and quality you get are ridiculous. The Galaxy S4 is great in bright light, but if you're like me, most of your pictures are not in perfect lighting, which means the low light capabilities of the HTC One are much more valuable. The Galaxy S4 also tends to over saturate colors, so while pictures may seem brighter, they're not true to color. The colors and contrast on the HTC One are more accurate. The HTC One is also quicker at taking pictures than the Galaxy S4. If you're someone who spends a lot of time outdoors (in the sun) and wants a high level of the detail when zoomed in, the Galaxy S4 would work best. If you're someone who spends most of their time inside or out at night, the HTC One would be a better fit. I'd probably put the iPhone 5 somewhere between the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.
Sound:
Beautiful. The dual front speakers with built-in amps sound better than any phone I've ever heard. There's really not much else to say. The sound is crisp and clean even with the volume up. Since the speakers are on the front rather than the back, the sound isn't muffled when it's lying down. It also doesn't sound tinny like most phones. Both the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5 have a single speaker and simply can't compete with the HTC One in terms of sound quality.
Software:
There's been some fuss over the HTC One being released with Android 4.1.2 instead of the latest version (4.2.2). I couldn't care less for a few reasons. First, there's not many differences between the two versions to begin with. Second, HTC is probably holding out for the KLP update and simply skipping 4.2.2 altogether. If you're someone who always needs the most up-to-date version, the Galaxy S4 is probably a better choice (ships with 4.2.2). I have to give credit where credit is due, and Apple wins hands-down when it comes to update releases (not necessarily talking about quality). All iPhones regardless of carrier receive updates at the same time. Some argue Android has become too fragmented due to all the different versions currently running on phones and tablets, which in the end tends to hurt Android.
HTC offers their UI called Sense while Samsung has their own called TouchWiz. Here's where personal preference is going to come into play. HTC's Sense 5 UI has been stripped down and takes a simple approach and design concept. Samsung on the other hand has a lot more bells and whistles. I'd say once again Apple is somewhere in the middle. If you're someone who loves using a lot of apps and features, Samsung certainly has a lot more to offer in this area than HTC and Apple combined. When it comes to what I'd call useful features, however, I think that comparison is much closer. I like HTC's "stripped down, no nonsense approach" versus Samsung's "throw everything at a wall and see what sticks." If you're someone who likes to mess with things, the Galaxy S4 is more geared toward you. If you're someone who enjoys simplicity, the HTC One is probably more your style.
Battery/Memory:
The Galaxy S4 has a larger battery than the HTC One but in real world testing performed about equal, so the extra 300 mAh doesn't give too much of an advantage (you could argue because of the Galaxy S4's larger screen but it's hard to say). The main difference is the HTC One doesn't have a removable battery (much like iPhones) while the Galaxy S4 does (I've never been one to use multiple batteries, so it doesn't bother me). There's another slight difference that usually goes unnoticed. HTC chose to go with a Li-polymer battery versus the normal Li-ion (Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5). Li-ion batteries suffer from "aging" or losing capacity even when not in use. Li-polymer batteries, however, can hold a much better charge over time.
The fact there's no microSD card slot on the HTC One might be a deal breaker for some, but I don't think it should be. First, the HTC One starts out at 32 GB, which is double the Galaxy S4. Second, the OS takes up less memory on the HTC One than on the Galaxy S4. Roughly half of the 16 GB on the Galaxy S4 is reserved, which means you're already down to close to 8 GB before you download a single app. It seems as if Samsung is literally forcing customers to buy a memory card, and worse yet, apps can't even be stored on them (only internal memory). Out of the box, you either start with a little over 8 GB with the Galaxy S4 or close to 26 GB with the HTC One. The HTC One is also currently about $40 less than the Galaxy S4 (AmazonWireless). Apple wins again though when it comes to OS size with iOS taking less than 2 GB.
The HTC One to me is the perfect blend of design, practicality, and power. While it might not be perfect for everyone, I honestly think it's currently the best phone out there. Perhaps the Galaxy Note 3 or the iPhone 6 will change this, but for now the HTC One is king (or rather the one :P).
EDIT (7/17): Two months later, I'm still in love with my HTC One. The build quality is amazing and haven't got a scratch on it yet (no case but I'm very OCD when it comes to electronics). BoomSound (could have perhaps picked a better name) still gives you the best sound quality out of any phone currently available. My phone still has the same zip from day one. Swiping screens, opening and closing apps, etc. still butter smooth. The lag and jitters the Galaxy S4 sometimes experiences was a big turn off to me, which is why in terms of everyday use, the HTC One is much faster and more responsive. If anyone has any questions, leave a comment and I'll definitely reply back.
Original Review:
It came down to the Galaxy S4 or the HTC One, and I'm definitely glad I went with the HTC One. HTC truly outdid themselves with this phone, both in design and quality. I'm coming from an iPhone 3GS, but even if you're coming from an iPhone 5 or a Galaxy S4, this phone is impressive. I'm mainly comparing the HTC One against the iPhone 5 and the Galaxy S4, because I've had hands-on experience with both and also because I don't think any other phones even come close.
Design:
The HTC One not only looks amazing but has one of the best builds I've ever seen on a phone. Its build quality is only rivaled by the iPhone 5 (I'd still say HTC wins). It's not featherlight, but the slight heft you feel when you hold it only makes it that much better. It's the perfect mix of premium quality, great design, and the intelligence to actually put it all together without screwing it up. The Galaxy S4 in terms of build quality can't even compete. Don't get me wrong, the Galaxy S4 feels solid in your hands, but the HTC One brings that experience to a whole new level.
Screen:
Simply stunning. The HTC One currently has the highest pixel density of any phone with 468 ppi, followed by the Galaxy S4 with 441 ppi, and finally the iPhone 5 with 326 ppi. I love the fact HTC went with an SLCD 3 display versus SAMOLED. While SAMOLED displays offer truer blacks and usually better color saturation, this comes at the price of often times over saturating colors and not being as crisp and clear as an SLCD display. Both the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One offer full HD 1080p displays, but I'd still go with the HTC One despite the slightly smaller screen. Colors are simply more accurate and text is crisper, clearer, and easier to read whether indoors or outdoors.
Hardware:
The Galaxy S4 has a slight advantage on paper when it comes to processing power, but you'd never guess it by using the two phones. The HTC One is actually a lot faster in everyday use. I was amazed the Galaxy S4 still experienced lag and stutters when it came to simple things like switching screens or opening/closing apps. While almost every benchmark you see gives the edge to Samsung, it really only proves that Samsung is better at... you guessed it: benchmarks. In terms of raw processing power, the Galaxy S4 clearly wins, but in the real world benchmarks mean next to nothing, and HTC shows this pretty convincingly. I'm not saying the Galaxy S4 doesn't have any edge because it does, but processing power alone is misleading. In the words of another reviewer, "In terms of performance, this phone is pure butter out of the box," and I couldn't put it any better myself.
Camera:
HTC shows you don't need a high megapixel count to experience amazing pictures. I've never seen a camera take pictures as well in low light as the HTC One. The detail and quality you get are ridiculous. The Galaxy S4 is great in bright light, but if you're like me, most of your pictures are not in perfect lighting, which means the low light capabilities of the HTC One are much more valuable. The Galaxy S4 also tends to over saturate colors, so while pictures may seem brighter, they're not true to color. The colors and contrast on the HTC One are more accurate. The HTC One is also quicker at taking pictures than the Galaxy S4. If you're someone who spends a lot of time outdoors (in the sun) and wants a high level of the detail when zoomed in, the Galaxy S4 would work best. If you're someone who spends most of their time inside or out at night, the HTC One would be a better fit. I'd probably put the iPhone 5 somewhere between the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One.
Sound:
Beautiful. The dual front speakers with built-in amps sound better than any phone I've ever heard. There's really not much else to say. The sound is crisp and clean even with the volume up. Since the speakers are on the front rather than the back, the sound isn't muffled when it's lying down. It also doesn't sound tinny like most phones. Both the Galaxy S4 and the iPhone 5 have a single speaker and simply can't compete with the HTC One in terms of sound quality.
Software:
There's been some fuss over the HTC One being released with Android 4.1.2 instead of the latest version (4.2.2). I couldn't care less for a few reasons. First, there's not many differences between the two versions to begin with. Second, HTC is probably holding out for the KLP update and simply skipping 4.2.2 altogether. If you're someone who always needs the most up-to-date version, the Galaxy S4 is probably a better choice (ships with 4.2.2). I have to give credit where credit is due, and Apple wins hands-down when it comes to update releases (not necessarily talking about quality). All iPhones regardless of carrier receive updates at the same time. Some argue Android has become too fragmented due to all the different versions currently running on phones and tablets, which in the end tends to hurt Android.
HTC offers their UI called Sense while Samsung has their own called TouchWiz. Here's where personal preference is going to come into play. HTC's Sense 5 UI has been stripped down and takes a simple approach and design concept. Samsung on the other hand has a lot more bells and whistles. I'd say once again Apple is somewhere in the middle. If you're someone who loves using a lot of apps and features, Samsung certainly has a lot more to offer in this area than HTC and Apple combined. When it comes to what I'd call useful features, however, I think that comparison is much closer. I like HTC's "stripped down, no nonsense approach" versus Samsung's "throw everything at a wall and see what sticks." If you're someone who likes to mess with things, the Galaxy S4 is more geared toward you. If you're someone who enjoys simplicity, the HTC One is probably more your style.
Battery/Memory:
The Galaxy S4 has a larger battery than the HTC One but in real world testing performed about equal, so the extra 300 mAh doesn't give too much of an advantage (you could argue because of the Galaxy S4's larger screen but it's hard to say). The main difference is the HTC One doesn't have a removable battery (much like iPhones) while the Galaxy S4 does (I've never been one to use multiple batteries, so it doesn't bother me). There's another slight difference that usually goes unnoticed. HTC chose to go with a Li-polymer battery versus the normal Li-ion (Galaxy S4 and iPhone 5). Li-ion batteries suffer from "aging" or losing capacity even when not in use. Li-polymer batteries, however, can hold a much better charge over time.
The fact there's no microSD card slot on the HTC One might be a deal breaker for some, but I don't think it should be. First, the HTC One starts out at 32 GB, which is double the Galaxy S4. Second, the OS takes up less memory on the HTC One than on the Galaxy S4. Roughly half of the 16 GB on the Galaxy S4 is reserved, which means you're already down to close to 8 GB before you download a single app. It seems as if Samsung is literally forcing customers to buy a memory card, and worse yet, apps can't even be stored on them (only internal memory). Out of the box, you either start with a little over 8 GB with the Galaxy S4 or close to 26 GB with the HTC One. The HTC One is also currently about $40 less than the Galaxy S4 (AmazonWireless). Apple wins again though when it comes to OS size with iOS taking less than 2 GB.
The HTC One to me is the perfect blend of design, practicality, and power. While it might not be perfect for everyone, I honestly think it's currently the best phone out there. Perhaps the Galaxy Note 3 or the iPhone 6 will change this, but for now the HTC One is king (or rather the one :P).
Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-A02US 11.6-Inch Slate (128GB, Win 7
I'm a work at home programmer, and a dad. It's been my eternal quest to seek the most portable (yet powerful) device to do my job while on the go with my family. One morning, I was talking to my wife about how awesome it would be if I could take my MacBook Air, remove the keyboard/trackpad and embed the display there -essentially an iPad that ran a real OS. Then have a docking port, so you could pop it in to get an external display/keyboard/mouse for a real "workstation" feel. I quipped that no one would make such a niche market device, as I did a Google search -and lo and behold, I saw this tablet and was amazed.
On the surface, this tablet is a marvelous assembly of technology practically something that I would dream of as a kid.
Specs nearly identical to the 2011 MacBook Air 11" 128GB of SSD space, 4GB of RAM, and a 135.09 PPI display.
Dockable to be a full workstation, and almost as light as an iPad. Lighter than any other laptop I've owned.
A real pressure-sensitive Wacom tablet. Not as accurate as my wife's Cintiq 21UX even after 3 calibration attempts, but still very decent.
Let's start with the conclusion: I returned mine. Why?
1) Use the right tool for the job
As unfortunate as it is, this is the wrong tool for a programmer. I try adhering to the academic mantra: Programming is 90% thought, and 10% typing (I realize this is only applicable for certain situations, but humor me). Physical input shouldn't be a big deal as long as you think things out first, right?
Indeed, editing code wasn't terribly difficult with the on-screen keyboard. It just took a lot longer for typing symbols; however, losing half the screen is a major detraction. Imagine you have your keyboard on the bottom of the screen -the bottom of your document is going to be covered by the keyboard. You either have to move your keyboard to the top of the screen, or dock it and permanently lose half your screen.
A large portion of a developer's working day is collaboration. I didn't realize how slow conversations would get from the lack of a physical keyboard. Enabling Pen-flicks for copy/paste/undo did help to a degree. Handwriting was amazingly accurate, but how many WPM can you actually write? Maybe someone in or fresh out of college would fare better, but for not having written much with a pen in the past decade, I noticed that I did far more WPM with a virtual keyboard. I don't get along with Swype (it doesn't mesh with programming very well), so I can't comment on if this would change your use of the device or not. In the end, a Bluetooth keyboard outperformed all other input methods by far.
This begs the question: How do you use a Bluetooth keyboard at the park bench, while balancing/tilting a tablet on your knees? It looks ridiculous!
Bottom line: If your primary use of the device requires heavy typing, and you're not part of the younger generation that can do 50+WPM on mobile devices, you will most likely regret it.
Advice: Go to your neighborhood tech store and demo any 10"+ tablet with an on-screen keyboard. Google for, and take a WPM (typing) test. Your frustration levels will be inversely proportional to your score. YMMV.
2) Do you really need it?
Let's be honest here. With a 3rd generation iPad having fairly decent specs, what's the point of paying 2.5x to get this tablet? If you need the CPU power/real OS but need a keyboard/mouse to be effective, do you really need to pay 1.5-2x of an equivalent specced laptop/ultrabook for the select few situations that you're away from a desk?
Think about what you would do with this device *without* a keyboard/mouse, as opposed to an iPad/Android tab:
Word processing/Presentations: iPad does just as decently, especially with the 4-finger swipes for multitasking.
Internet browsing: iPad does an almost better job, with the exception of lack of Flash and some JS incompatibilities. Windows 7 touch browsing has quirks with scrolling, and zoom is nowhere near as usable as iOS/Android, which means a lot of missed clicks.
Email/Chat: iPad has push notifications even when in sleep. You put the Slate to sleep, and it's out until you turn it back on -just like a normal PC. Personal preference favors the simple iOS mail client above Outlook/Thunderbird for most usage scenarios.
Games: Most Windows games are not designed for touch. StarCraft II with touch was "fun" to try. But inaccurate right clicks (cascading double-taps are the only way to pinpoint, and even that is often unreliable) pretty much kills your APM. Playing WoW on Low settings was pretty neat, although nigh-impossible to navigate without a mouse. In contrast, iOS/Android games are designed for tablets and touch and "just work" for the most part.
Artists with a need for pressure sensitive digitizer: Perhaps the best usage scenario for this device. Photoshop/Painter runs decently fast, and I can see how this would be an awesome portable sketchpad.
Note-taking: OneNote on this tablet takes the cake here, because of its superior text recognition.
Truth be told, the majority of users I know of would benefit more from a cheaper laptop/tablet instead. In my opinion, until they can come up with a better input method, I just don't know of many user demographics that would prefer this tablet over other form-factors. If you are seriously considering this product, please carefully think about your usage criteria so you don't make the same mistake as I did.
3) Hardware problems
You may or may not get a model with the commonly reported "screen lift" bug, where the adhesive holding the display glass to the chassis becomes loose, letting debris inside. Mine accumulated 5 pieces of small dust between the glass and the LCD panel in 3 days of desk-only use (not putting in bags or anything). They weren't that big, but they also don't come out. Against white backgrounds, they stand out quite a bit. Quite the eyesore, and who knows how many more would sneak in there in the coming years had I kept it?
I was relieved to see that my Samsung logo on the back of the tablet wasn't "a sticker" like another reviewer was claiming. I thought maybe I had a new hardware revision. Then one day, my wife was asking me about the unique logo on the back, with the "A" floating above the rest of the letters. Upon closer inspection, I realized I misunderstood the other reviewer the individual letters themselves are stickers. The adhesive gets loosened from the CPU heat, and the letters start turning and moving. Great design, Samsung! Couldn't you just have engraved the logo or something?
LCD panel is not the best. Definitely not IPS, and subpixel RGB rainbowing on anti-aliased text is obvious when you rotate the device to Portrait mode. Black levels are sub-par, and often looks purple from any slight angle.
Cameras are both terrible. Included utility only lets you take 320x240ish* resolution videos. If you have an iPhone or any recent Android phone, it'd easily outperform the rear-facing camera. Low-light pictures are unusably noisy. Front-facing camera is at a perpendicular angle to the tablet, so you have to lift up the tablet (held at a fair distance away), and look unnaturally "up" into the camera for the other side to have a decent/comfortable view. Otherwise, to them, it looks like you're looking down on them, which you quite literally are. Who holds tablets up to face-level like that? I guess they probably designed it for use while docked or set down with their folio case.
With only Windows 7 HP installed, and given how portable it is, it would be silly to carry around work/financial information unencrypted. TrueCrypt's System Encryption works great, but you have no Bluetooth stack at the pre-boot stage meaning you can't enter the password without a USB keyboard (Park + No USB Keyboard + Windows Update = locked out tablet). Yes, it's painful -but it's just the cost of security. One disaster I had was when I installed some Samsung driver updates, and it somehow disabled USB during the BIOS/pre-boot stage -meaning I couldn't use any keyboard until the OS booted (which is locked with the password). I had to look through the Samsung site until I found that you could go enter/navigate the BIOS with the side buttons, and re-enabled Legacy USB support, which brought back the USB keyboard. Wish there was an easy way of making Full-Disk Encryption happen with virtual/Bluetooth keyboard like in OS X, or a USB token, but that's not necessarily this product or Samsung's fault.
A hint to all owners that are complaining about slow/missed keys: The on-screen keyboard is resizeable (drag bottom right corner). When your keyboard size is small, Windows 7 will get confused where your finger landed, and quite often pretend it didn't notice the tap. Make the keyboard bigger, and not only will your accuracy increase from physical ease of use, the software will have less sensor ambiguity to deal with, leading to less headaches.
To wrap things up, this is a great tablet, no doubt. Hardware has come so far in the past decade, that it's nothing short of amazing. However, when you compare this tablet to other offerings in its price range, it's unfortunately nothing special that also may not benefit you. I used this tablet with the dock with dual (extended) displays, a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and it was indeed a very "cool" setup if I was not a programmer. But then again, if I wasn't a programmer, an iPad would have probably sufficed.
I'm pretty disappointed that my quest ended with a dismal conclusion like this, but it was certainly a good learning exercise about portability and usability. I guess I'll wait, once again, for the next generation of MacBook Air to come out. Thank you for taking the time to read my rant-filled review.
On the surface, this tablet is a marvelous assembly of technology practically something that I would dream of as a kid.
Specs nearly identical to the 2011 MacBook Air 11" 128GB of SSD space, 4GB of RAM, and a 135.09 PPI display.
Dockable to be a full workstation, and almost as light as an iPad. Lighter than any other laptop I've owned.
A real pressure-sensitive Wacom tablet. Not as accurate as my wife's Cintiq 21UX even after 3 calibration attempts, but still very decent.
Let's start with the conclusion: I returned mine. Why?
1) Use the right tool for the job
As unfortunate as it is, this is the wrong tool for a programmer. I try adhering to the academic mantra: Programming is 90% thought, and 10% typing (I realize this is only applicable for certain situations, but humor me). Physical input shouldn't be a big deal as long as you think things out first, right?
Indeed, editing code wasn't terribly difficult with the on-screen keyboard. It just took a lot longer for typing symbols; however, losing half the screen is a major detraction. Imagine you have your keyboard on the bottom of the screen -the bottom of your document is going to be covered by the keyboard. You either have to move your keyboard to the top of the screen, or dock it and permanently lose half your screen.
A large portion of a developer's working day is collaboration. I didn't realize how slow conversations would get from the lack of a physical keyboard. Enabling Pen-flicks for copy/paste/undo did help to a degree. Handwriting was amazingly accurate, but how many WPM can you actually write? Maybe someone in or fresh out of college would fare better, but for not having written much with a pen in the past decade, I noticed that I did far more WPM with a virtual keyboard. I don't get along with Swype (it doesn't mesh with programming very well), so I can't comment on if this would change your use of the device or not. In the end, a Bluetooth keyboard outperformed all other input methods by far.
This begs the question: How do you use a Bluetooth keyboard at the park bench, while balancing/tilting a tablet on your knees? It looks ridiculous!
Bottom line: If your primary use of the device requires heavy typing, and you're not part of the younger generation that can do 50+WPM on mobile devices, you will most likely regret it.
Advice: Go to your neighborhood tech store and demo any 10"+ tablet with an on-screen keyboard. Google for, and take a WPM (typing) test. Your frustration levels will be inversely proportional to your score. YMMV.
2) Do you really need it?
Let's be honest here. With a 3rd generation iPad having fairly decent specs, what's the point of paying 2.5x to get this tablet? If you need the CPU power/real OS but need a keyboard/mouse to be effective, do you really need to pay 1.5-2x of an equivalent specced laptop/ultrabook for the select few situations that you're away from a desk?
Think about what you would do with this device *without* a keyboard/mouse, as opposed to an iPad/Android tab:
Word processing/Presentations: iPad does just as decently, especially with the 4-finger swipes for multitasking.
Internet browsing: iPad does an almost better job, with the exception of lack of Flash and some JS incompatibilities. Windows 7 touch browsing has quirks with scrolling, and zoom is nowhere near as usable as iOS/Android, which means a lot of missed clicks.
Email/Chat: iPad has push notifications even when in sleep. You put the Slate to sleep, and it's out until you turn it back on -just like a normal PC. Personal preference favors the simple iOS mail client above Outlook/Thunderbird for most usage scenarios.
Games: Most Windows games are not designed for touch. StarCraft II with touch was "fun" to try. But inaccurate right clicks (cascading double-taps are the only way to pinpoint, and even that is often unreliable) pretty much kills your APM. Playing WoW on Low settings was pretty neat, although nigh-impossible to navigate without a mouse. In contrast, iOS/Android games are designed for tablets and touch and "just work" for the most part.
Artists with a need for pressure sensitive digitizer: Perhaps the best usage scenario for this device. Photoshop/Painter runs decently fast, and I can see how this would be an awesome portable sketchpad.
Note-taking: OneNote on this tablet takes the cake here, because of its superior text recognition.
Truth be told, the majority of users I know of would benefit more from a cheaper laptop/tablet instead. In my opinion, until they can come up with a better input method, I just don't know of many user demographics that would prefer this tablet over other form-factors. If you are seriously considering this product, please carefully think about your usage criteria so you don't make the same mistake as I did.
3) Hardware problems
You may or may not get a model with the commonly reported "screen lift" bug, where the adhesive holding the display glass to the chassis becomes loose, letting debris inside. Mine accumulated 5 pieces of small dust between the glass and the LCD panel in 3 days of desk-only use (not putting in bags or anything). They weren't that big, but they also don't come out. Against white backgrounds, they stand out quite a bit. Quite the eyesore, and who knows how many more would sneak in there in the coming years had I kept it?
I was relieved to see that my Samsung logo on the back of the tablet wasn't "a sticker" like another reviewer was claiming. I thought maybe I had a new hardware revision. Then one day, my wife was asking me about the unique logo on the back, with the "A" floating above the rest of the letters. Upon closer inspection, I realized I misunderstood the other reviewer the individual letters themselves are stickers. The adhesive gets loosened from the CPU heat, and the letters start turning and moving. Great design, Samsung! Couldn't you just have engraved the logo or something?
LCD panel is not the best. Definitely not IPS, and subpixel RGB rainbowing on anti-aliased text is obvious when you rotate the device to Portrait mode. Black levels are sub-par, and often looks purple from any slight angle.
Cameras are both terrible. Included utility only lets you take 320x240ish* resolution videos. If you have an iPhone or any recent Android phone, it'd easily outperform the rear-facing camera. Low-light pictures are unusably noisy. Front-facing camera is at a perpendicular angle to the tablet, so you have to lift up the tablet (held at a fair distance away), and look unnaturally "up" into the camera for the other side to have a decent/comfortable view. Otherwise, to them, it looks like you're looking down on them, which you quite literally are. Who holds tablets up to face-level like that? I guess they probably designed it for use while docked or set down with their folio case.
With only Windows 7 HP installed, and given how portable it is, it would be silly to carry around work/financial information unencrypted. TrueCrypt's System Encryption works great, but you have no Bluetooth stack at the pre-boot stage meaning you can't enter the password without a USB keyboard (Park + No USB Keyboard + Windows Update = locked out tablet). Yes, it's painful -but it's just the cost of security. One disaster I had was when I installed some Samsung driver updates, and it somehow disabled USB during the BIOS/pre-boot stage -meaning I couldn't use any keyboard until the OS booted (which is locked with the password). I had to look through the Samsung site until I found that you could go enter/navigate the BIOS with the side buttons, and re-enabled Legacy USB support, which brought back the USB keyboard. Wish there was an easy way of making Full-Disk Encryption happen with virtual/Bluetooth keyboard like in OS X, or a USB token, but that's not necessarily this product or Samsung's fault.
A hint to all owners that are complaining about slow/missed keys: The on-screen keyboard is resizeable (drag bottom right corner). When your keyboard size is small, Windows 7 will get confused where your finger landed, and quite often pretend it didn't notice the tap. Make the keyboard bigger, and not only will your accuracy increase from physical ease of use, the software will have less sensor ambiguity to deal with, leading to less headaches.
To wrap things up, this is a great tablet, no doubt. Hardware has come so far in the past decade, that it's nothing short of amazing. However, when you compare this tablet to other offerings in its price range, it's unfortunately nothing special that also may not benefit you. I used this tablet with the dock with dual (extended) displays, a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and it was indeed a very "cool" setup if I was not a programmer. But then again, if I wasn't a programmer, an iPad would have probably sufficed.
I'm pretty disappointed that my quest ended with a dismal conclusion like this, but it was certainly a good learning exercise about portability and usability. I guess I'll wait, once again, for the next generation of MacBook Air to come out. Thank you for taking the time to read my rant-filled review.
MobiCam Audio Video Baby Monitoring System
List Price: $149.95
Sale Price: $89.99
Today's Bonus: 40% Off
11/27/09 Update: I have posted my original monitor review below. Before, my only complaint was that it was "staticky" and I had to move the receiver around to positions where it wouldn't interfere with other devices. After about six months of use however, it made a loud permanent buzzing sound whenever I turned the volume on regardless of where it was placed. It was so annoying it was unusable. The only way it was tolerable if I turned on the video portion only but kept the sound off which didn't work for me since I'm not always looking at the monitor, especially at night when I'm sleeping!
I called Mobicam to see if I could get a replacement but the length of their policy is something pathetic like a month.
I ended up buying Summer Infant Deluxe Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor with 2.5" Screen Blue (Infant Deluxe Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor with 2.5" Screen) as a replacement which I'm MUCH happier with even though it as it's own drawbacks. I will also write a review for that.
5/9/09: Love/hate relationship with this monitor (Original Review)
We had our heart set on a video monitor (not just an audio one) and it was between this and Summer. We decided on this one because of the Internet option so we could see our little guy from work.
When the monitor works, it works FANTASTICALLY. We can see our baby both during the day and at night due to the infrared. I like being able to see his eyes -if they are closed, I leave him be even if he's whimpering/crying because it means he'll be able to go back to sleep on his own. If they are open, I go to to see what's bothering him.
That was the love part. The hate part is that there is static galore. The monitor flickers and buzzes even if you place anything near it -it doesn't even have to be anything electrical in nature, the screen fizzes out even if you put your hand by the monitor. If you have a wireless phone, it will crackle louder than the TV in Poltergeist. It is super annoying and I spent a lot of time finding the perfect spot to place the monitor where it wouldn't be affected by anything and where I could still see it.
We have our unit on continuous video monitoring so we always plug it into an A/C outlet, otherwise, we would go through way too many batteries.
I wish we could purchase another video monitor so we can leave one in our room and put one downstairs.
As of now, we haven't really used the Internet option. If that feature isn't important to you, I would try the Summer unit instead since that's the one our friends recommend and it seems to have pretty good reviews on Amazon.
Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM Lens + UV Filter + ET-67B Hood
A great lens that really preforms. It really takes great shots and preforms flawlessly in Micro settings. Everybody should have this lens in their bag.
HP Slatebook 10-h010nr x2 10.1-Inch Convertible 2-in-1
List Price: $627.00
Sale Price: $449.00
Today's Bonus: 28% Off
I did not buy this product through Amazon. I purchased it directly from HP the day it came up online.
The tablet portion of the slatebook is almost perfect. There were a few minor bugs (no in app purchasing, notification bar would freeze) but all of these were fixed through an update that was waiting for me when I opened up the packaging. The screen is excellent (though the colors do not pop as they do on a Samsung tablet) and performance is very smooth. the cameras are both sub par, but will be fine in good lighting. The look and feel of the tablet suits me perfectly (though i seem to be in the minority that prefers plastic to metal). Though be warned the plastic is not textured the way the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is. It feels VERY plastic. It does feel rather robust though. No flex whatsoever. Android is perfectly suited for tablets. I can work my way though menus options games and apps very easily. I got 9 hours of use before the battery ran out (moderate to heavy usage with app downloads)
The laptop tablet combination aspect of this product leaves a lot to be desired. The keyboard is cramped (though very workable as I am writing this review on it rights now) and the docking mechanism seems cheap. The touch pad works smoothly and the gestures work in much the same way the do in Windows and OSX. That being said it does not offer the superb accuracy you get with Windows and OSX. It is a usable but sloppy experience in comparison. Be warned that the touchpad is very wide but also very short. Its usable and much better than touch pads 4 years ago, but won't compare to touch pads on current laptops. Also sometimes apps do not like it when the tablet is unlatched from the keyboard. It is best to do that when Android is on the homescreen. Overall the keyboard is a great accessory, but falls short of providing a laptop like experience. I got 17 hours of use before both batteries ran out (moderate to heavy usage with app downloads).
Overall this is a great tablet and the included keyboard accessory does its job nicely, just don't expect a laptop like experience. It is much more like using a keyboard with a tablet. As a tablet this product gets a solid 5/5 and as a laptop it gets a weak 3/5
Overall 4/5
Nikon Coolpix L110 12.1MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical
(#1 REVIEWER)UPDATE: 1/11/2011 Because there are so many comments asking the same question I decided I should add this to the beginning to save you agony. This camera is poor in low-light and not the greatest for taking shots of kids running around or in situations where you need to quickly take multiple shots. Having said that, this camera has an absolutely amazing zoom, optics are top notch, macro mode is incredible and great video recording is possible as well. I've taken thousands of beautiful photos with this camera. You need to work with this camera and it will reward you handsomely. But read through as many comments as you can because there is a lot of discussion that may interest you. And now on to my original review...
I have two types of cameras that I generally use, small point & shoots, like the Canon Canon PowerShot SD600 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom for "take anywhere" convenience and DSLR's which for me currently is the Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
If you have any questions about the camera, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer you. Please note that I have updated my review with some additional observations on 3/29/2010 based on my continued experiences with the camera.
I wanted to get a camera that was SDHC compatible (the SD600 is not SDHC compatible, while the D300 uses CF cards) so that I could use the Eye-Fi wireless card Eye-Fi 4GB Share Video SDHC Wireless Flash Memory Card EYE-FI-4SV with it. I've had excellent results with small Canon point & shoot cameras over the years but the Nikon L110 caught my eye and I decided to buy it. It is substantially larger than the svelte Canon SD600, yet much smaller and lighter than my D300. It's called a "bridge" camera by some people since it has some qualities reminiscent of a DSLR at the expense of being as small and pocketable as a typical "point & shoot" camera. Consequently, depending on where you are on the scale of novice to professional photographer and how pocketable you need your camera to be, this camera may either thrill you or leave you wanting something else. I'm somewhere in the middle.
There is a lot to like about this camera. It has a very nice feel in the hand and the rubberized grip makes you feel secure holding the camera. The large 3" LCD display is gorgeous... it is bright, sharp and has excellent dpi not normally found in a camera of this price range. It also works quite well outdoors due to the fact that it has an anti-reflective coating on it. However the camera lacks an optical viewfinder which I do miss as I am more accustomed to using a viewfinder than not. The lack of a viewfinder is not a deal-breaker for me though. 12.1 megapixels gives you ample file size to make huge enlargements or lots of room for cropping. And the awesome zoom, from the 35mm equivalent of 28mm-420mm gives you an amazing range. It's not normally even possible to hand-hold a camera and expect a very sharp image if you are zoomed to 420mm, or even 300mm, but with the great VR and Motion Detection incorporated into the camera, you can actually hand-hold at that extreme and get usable images. I was impressed with that. If you use a tripod at those extremes, then be sure to turn off the VR or you will get poor pictures. This is always the case with electronic VR... you never want to use it when also using a tripod since it is intended to compensate for your hand shake and when you're on a tripod, there is no hand shake to correct so it is not necessary or desirable to have VR on.
The L110 has a minimal number of buttons and control pads which makes it a very approachable camera to use. Of course, the downside to that is you need to delve into the menu to get to some other features or controls that you may want to fiddle with. Again, coming from the D300, I found this a bit frustrating but someone more used to a point & shoot might not mind or even think about that as much.
What I like specifically about the camera is that I can take stunning photographs with little thought. Using the default "easy auto mode" lets you get started taking photos with little to worry about. Just frame your subject and press the shutter button. But you may not want to keep the camera in that mode all the time because it does come with some limitations that you need to be aware of. Easy Auto Mode automatically determines what you are trying to accomplish then sets the "scene" to what the camera thinks is the appropriate setting... it may not always be correct. And I noticed that auto-focus may not always work correctly especially when trying to shoot closeup images in easy auto mode. So in those cases you can switch to "auto mode" or manually select the "scene" to the mode you specifically want, such as "close-up, portrait, landscape, backlight, etc"
The macro mode on this camera is excellent. You can get as close as .4 inches from your subject and this is fantastic if you are into macro photography. I will post some sample photos in the customers images area for you to see.
I like that the camera can be turned on directly in playback mode simply by pressing the playback button instead of the on/off button. The advantage to doing this is that if you just want to view photos/videos on the camera, the lens remains retracted. Otherwise if you turn the camera on using the on/off button, then press the playback button, the lens first extends then goes into playback mode.
The flash does not automatically flip up when needed like some cameras of this style. That's not a bad thing, just something you need to know. If the camera determines that flash is necessary, it does display a message on the LCD screen informing you to "Raise The Flash."
The buttons on the back of the camera only require a very light touch. At first this annoyed me a little bit as they felt overly "touchy". But I quickly grew accustomed to the lighter touch and now must say I like it.
Video quality is very very good, especially in outdoors and well-lit situations. Low light results in more grain than I would like to see, but since this is not a dedicated video camera, nor expensive, it is acceptable. The audio recorded in video mode (stereo by the way) is very good too.
UPDATE: I've been using the movie mode more extensively since my original review and have changed my opinion of the audio and video quality. The low light performance of video recording is not very good at all and results in -verynoisy (grainy) video. I've also noticed a significant muffled quality to the sound that is especially noticeable when just a persons voice is recorded. Recording where the ambient noise levels are high, such as when outside, masks this somewhat. But when recording video in more quiet surroundings, a single sound source such as voice will present the distortion, hiss or whatever you want to call it, at much more noticeable levels and is not what I would call good quality at all. On a scale of 1-10 I'd have to rate the audio quality about a 4. There is no capability to attach an external mic, nor would I expect that for a camera in this price range. The audio quality is quite disappointing to me now though, especially when compared to my Canon SD600 that has extremely clear, distortion free (mono) audio. Finally, I also heard some zoom induced mechanism noise while zooming and recording video.
One feature that really appeals to me is the "small picture" option. If you take a lot of photos that eventually end up on the web, you can have the camera make a smaller sized copy of any photo that you have taken... either 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120. I find this really helpful because if you take your original photo at a lower resolution, then that's what you're stuck with forever. But with this feature you can take your photos at the highest resolution then have the camera make a re-sized copy of the photo at the resolution you specify. I build websites so this is very helpful for me as I don't have to spend as much time in Photoshop resizing photos destined for the web.
There are a slew of other features, such as "blink warning", automatic red-eye fixing, smart-portrait mode, sport continuous mode (pretty cool feature that will take up to 20 continuous photos at 11.1 fps) and even more. Regarding the Sports Continuous Mode; this mode reduces the image quality/size to a maximum of 3Megapixels and is not going to give you razor sharp images that you would get in other modes. But consider it's purpose... to get a shot that would otherwise be nearly impossible using this level of camera. It takes a burst of photos to enable you to hopefully get a decent action shot out of a series of shots taken at a moment in time. The ISO is also increased to 640 in this mode which does inject more noise into the final image. This is common to small sensor cameras such as this. You really want to keep the ISO at as low a value as possible to reduce "noise" in the photo. Increasing the ISO increases the sensitivity of the sensor and this is what causes the increased noise... think of it as distortion when you turn the volume up to high.
I'd have to write a book to cover all the features in detail. But one more feature that I'll mention is Panorama Assist which is handy when composing a series of shots intended to be a panorama. It provides a ghost image of the previous shot to help you align the next shot you want to take in your series of photos destined to be a panorama.
Nikon includes several software titles including Panorama Maker Pro by ArcSoft. I was happy with the results that Panorama Maker Pro produced; it was easy to use and flexible in what you can do with it.
Battery life is quite good. The camera uses 4-AA batteries, either alkaline, Ni-MH, or lithium. That makes it convenient if you have dead batteries since AA batteries can be purchased anywhere. Proprietary batteries often provide longer life, but once they're dead, so are you if you don't have a charger or second charged battery with you.
A few issues for me with the camera is that I am frequently wanting to manually focus the camera and that is not possible. Another issue is that other than setting ISO and exposure compensation, there is little else you can manually do to control the camera. You cannot manually set the shutter speed or aperture. Concerning ISO, when it is set to 3200 or 6400 the image mode settings are limited to 3 megapixels 2048x1536, PC 1024,768 or VGA 640x480.
Overall I like the Nikon L110 quite a bit. The photos are excellent and HD video is a nice extra although you won't be too happy with lower light video quality and the audio capabilities are not the best. It strikes a nice balance between a simple point & shoot camera and a larger and substantially more expensive DSLR. It's a product that because of it's price point, will not meet everyone's expectations. If you desire excellent video from this camera, you'd be better off spending more and getting something that is video-centric. If you view this as predominantly a camera that also has the ability to take video, then you'll probably be OK with this. If you are expecting this under $300 camera to also excel at taking movies with awesome audio, you will not be happy. Concessions will have to made at this price point.
UPDATE: 4/4/2010Just a brief update regarding battery life using plain old Alkaline batteries. I took over 300 photos plus 20-30 movies of varying length and did quite a bit of viewing before the batteries died. That's not bad for regular Alkaline batteries. Consider also that I am also using the Eye-Fi wireless SDHC card in the camera that automatically uploads any photos or movies through my wireless network so that is also putting a drain on the batteries. Without the card, I would expect even better battery life than what I've reported. You'd get much longer life with Lithium and of course rechargeable NiMH batteries would probably be the best long-term bang for the buck.
UPDATE: 4/22/2010I've uploaded a few video snippets from the L110 on YouTube. Just search for "Nikon L110 Video Sample". They will not win any Academy Awards for cinematography but just a really quick indication of video quality. Sorry for the wind noise, but it was quite breezy outside.
I have two types of cameras that I generally use, small point & shoots, like the Canon Canon PowerShot SD600 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 3x Optical Zoom for "take anywhere" convenience and DSLR's which for me currently is the Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
If you have any questions about the camera, leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer you. Please note that I have updated my review with some additional observations on 3/29/2010 based on my continued experiences with the camera.
I wanted to get a camera that was SDHC compatible (the SD600 is not SDHC compatible, while the D300 uses CF cards) so that I could use the Eye-Fi wireless card Eye-Fi 4GB Share Video SDHC Wireless Flash Memory Card EYE-FI-4SV with it. I've had excellent results with small Canon point & shoot cameras over the years but the Nikon L110 caught my eye and I decided to buy it. It is substantially larger than the svelte Canon SD600, yet much smaller and lighter than my D300. It's called a "bridge" camera by some people since it has some qualities reminiscent of a DSLR at the expense of being as small and pocketable as a typical "point & shoot" camera. Consequently, depending on where you are on the scale of novice to professional photographer and how pocketable you need your camera to be, this camera may either thrill you or leave you wanting something else. I'm somewhere in the middle.
There is a lot to like about this camera. It has a very nice feel in the hand and the rubberized grip makes you feel secure holding the camera. The large 3" LCD display is gorgeous... it is bright, sharp and has excellent dpi not normally found in a camera of this price range. It also works quite well outdoors due to the fact that it has an anti-reflective coating on it. However the camera lacks an optical viewfinder which I do miss as I am more accustomed to using a viewfinder than not. The lack of a viewfinder is not a deal-breaker for me though. 12.1 megapixels gives you ample file size to make huge enlargements or lots of room for cropping. And the awesome zoom, from the 35mm equivalent of 28mm-420mm gives you an amazing range. It's not normally even possible to hand-hold a camera and expect a very sharp image if you are zoomed to 420mm, or even 300mm, but with the great VR and Motion Detection incorporated into the camera, you can actually hand-hold at that extreme and get usable images. I was impressed with that. If you use a tripod at those extremes, then be sure to turn off the VR or you will get poor pictures. This is always the case with electronic VR... you never want to use it when also using a tripod since it is intended to compensate for your hand shake and when you're on a tripod, there is no hand shake to correct so it is not necessary or desirable to have VR on.
The L110 has a minimal number of buttons and control pads which makes it a very approachable camera to use. Of course, the downside to that is you need to delve into the menu to get to some other features or controls that you may want to fiddle with. Again, coming from the D300, I found this a bit frustrating but someone more used to a point & shoot might not mind or even think about that as much.
What I like specifically about the camera is that I can take stunning photographs with little thought. Using the default "easy auto mode" lets you get started taking photos with little to worry about. Just frame your subject and press the shutter button. But you may not want to keep the camera in that mode all the time because it does come with some limitations that you need to be aware of. Easy Auto Mode automatically determines what you are trying to accomplish then sets the "scene" to what the camera thinks is the appropriate setting... it may not always be correct. And I noticed that auto-focus may not always work correctly especially when trying to shoot closeup images in easy auto mode. So in those cases you can switch to "auto mode" or manually select the "scene" to the mode you specifically want, such as "close-up, portrait, landscape, backlight, etc"
The macro mode on this camera is excellent. You can get as close as .4 inches from your subject and this is fantastic if you are into macro photography. I will post some sample photos in the customers images area for you to see.
I like that the camera can be turned on directly in playback mode simply by pressing the playback button instead of the on/off button. The advantage to doing this is that if you just want to view photos/videos on the camera, the lens remains retracted. Otherwise if you turn the camera on using the on/off button, then press the playback button, the lens first extends then goes into playback mode.
The flash does not automatically flip up when needed like some cameras of this style. That's not a bad thing, just something you need to know. If the camera determines that flash is necessary, it does display a message on the LCD screen informing you to "Raise The Flash."
The buttons on the back of the camera only require a very light touch. At first this annoyed me a little bit as they felt overly "touchy". But I quickly grew accustomed to the lighter touch and now must say I like it.
Video quality is very very good, especially in outdoors and well-lit situations. Low light results in more grain than I would like to see, but since this is not a dedicated video camera, nor expensive, it is acceptable. The audio recorded in video mode (stereo by the way) is very good too.
UPDATE: I've been using the movie mode more extensively since my original review and have changed my opinion of the audio and video quality. The low light performance of video recording is not very good at all and results in -verynoisy (grainy) video. I've also noticed a significant muffled quality to the sound that is especially noticeable when just a persons voice is recorded. Recording where the ambient noise levels are high, such as when outside, masks this somewhat. But when recording video in more quiet surroundings, a single sound source such as voice will present the distortion, hiss or whatever you want to call it, at much more noticeable levels and is not what I would call good quality at all. On a scale of 1-10 I'd have to rate the audio quality about a 4. There is no capability to attach an external mic, nor would I expect that for a camera in this price range. The audio quality is quite disappointing to me now though, especially when compared to my Canon SD600 that has extremely clear, distortion free (mono) audio. Finally, I also heard some zoom induced mechanism noise while zooming and recording video.
One feature that really appeals to me is the "small picture" option. If you take a lot of photos that eventually end up on the web, you can have the camera make a smaller sized copy of any photo that you have taken... either 640x480, 320x240 or 160x120. I find this really helpful because if you take your original photo at a lower resolution, then that's what you're stuck with forever. But with this feature you can take your photos at the highest resolution then have the camera make a re-sized copy of the photo at the resolution you specify. I build websites so this is very helpful for me as I don't have to spend as much time in Photoshop resizing photos destined for the web.
There are a slew of other features, such as "blink warning", automatic red-eye fixing, smart-portrait mode, sport continuous mode (pretty cool feature that will take up to 20 continuous photos at 11.1 fps) and even more. Regarding the Sports Continuous Mode; this mode reduces the image quality/size to a maximum of 3Megapixels and is not going to give you razor sharp images that you would get in other modes. But consider it's purpose... to get a shot that would otherwise be nearly impossible using this level of camera. It takes a burst of photos to enable you to hopefully get a decent action shot out of a series of shots taken at a moment in time. The ISO is also increased to 640 in this mode which does inject more noise into the final image. This is common to small sensor cameras such as this. You really want to keep the ISO at as low a value as possible to reduce "noise" in the photo. Increasing the ISO increases the sensitivity of the sensor and this is what causes the increased noise... think of it as distortion when you turn the volume up to high.
I'd have to write a book to cover all the features in detail. But one more feature that I'll mention is Panorama Assist which is handy when composing a series of shots intended to be a panorama. It provides a ghost image of the previous shot to help you align the next shot you want to take in your series of photos destined to be a panorama.
Nikon includes several software titles including Panorama Maker Pro by ArcSoft. I was happy with the results that Panorama Maker Pro produced; it was easy to use and flexible in what you can do with it.
Battery life is quite good. The camera uses 4-AA batteries, either alkaline, Ni-MH, or lithium. That makes it convenient if you have dead batteries since AA batteries can be purchased anywhere. Proprietary batteries often provide longer life, but once they're dead, so are you if you don't have a charger or second charged battery with you.
A few issues for me with the camera is that I am frequently wanting to manually focus the camera and that is not possible. Another issue is that other than setting ISO and exposure compensation, there is little else you can manually do to control the camera. You cannot manually set the shutter speed or aperture. Concerning ISO, when it is set to 3200 or 6400 the image mode settings are limited to 3 megapixels 2048x1536, PC 1024,768 or VGA 640x480.
Overall I like the Nikon L110 quite a bit. The photos are excellent and HD video is a nice extra although you won't be too happy with lower light video quality and the audio capabilities are not the best. It strikes a nice balance between a simple point & shoot camera and a larger and substantially more expensive DSLR. It's a product that because of it's price point, will not meet everyone's expectations. If you desire excellent video from this camera, you'd be better off spending more and getting something that is video-centric. If you view this as predominantly a camera that also has the ability to take video, then you'll probably be OK with this. If you are expecting this under $300 camera to also excel at taking movies with awesome audio, you will not be happy. Concessions will have to made at this price point.
UPDATE: 4/4/2010Just a brief update regarding battery life using plain old Alkaline batteries. I took over 300 photos plus 20-30 movies of varying length and did quite a bit of viewing before the batteries died. That's not bad for regular Alkaline batteries. Consider also that I am also using the Eye-Fi wireless SDHC card in the camera that automatically uploads any photos or movies through my wireless network so that is also putting a drain on the batteries. Without the card, I would expect even better battery life than what I've reported. You'd get much longer life with Lithium and of course rechargeable NiMH batteries would probably be the best long-term bang for the buck.
UPDATE: 4/22/2010I've uploaded a few video snippets from the L110 on YouTube. Just search for "Nikon L110 Video Sample". They will not win any Academy Awards for cinematography but just a really quick indication of video quality. Sorry for the wind noise, but it was quite breezy outside.
CIB K808AV500G8753-4 8CH Network Security Surveillance KIT w
This company is eager to please. Questions I had and sent via e-mail were answered same day. A few days later I received a phone call to make sure that my questions were answered to my satisfaction. Over all I'm pleased with this unit. Set up was very easy. Networking with my home network was simple. Their client software for the computer works great although it doesn't do everything that can be done from the unit itself, it does enough. I didn't setup the internet access because I figured that I didn't need hackers trying to access my system. I did set up the e-mail function but I turned it off. The system sends out an e-mail every time motion is detected even when the systems schedule is set to "NOT RECORD". The same goes for the buzzer alarm -it goes off every time the system detects motion even when the systems schedule is set to "NO RECORD". The cameras detect motion , not a heat signature so if you have a weed blowing in the wind or a shadow of a tree blowing in the wind the system will detect it and start the recording. The CIB web site is sparse. There is no way to get software updates or copies of manuals as some of the competitors web sites have. The system does handle D1 resolution but can't handle it on all cameras at 30 FPS. With four cameras set up the highest I can set the D1 resolution is 18 FPS. As cameras are added that 18 FPS will drop down even more. The biggest aggravation about this system is the camera sensitivity. There are four levels of sensitivity 1-4. At level 3 during the day time it will pick up motion out 60+ feet. At night time that distance turns into about 30+ feet. On level 4 it will pick up motion out to 60+ feet at night. The trouble with the level 4 setting is that it picks up every bug flying around at night. On a typical night on level 4 sensitivity the unit will record approximately . 200+15 minute files because of bugs flying around during the 8 hours I have the system schedule set to record motion. On level 3 it only picks up 11 files for the 8 hour period. The next camera I buy I'll try a higher resolution camera and see how that works as far as the sensitivity level goes.
Lenovo S400 14.0-Inch Laptop
Originally, I had wanted the ultrabook from Lenovo but it was way out of my price range. This laptop was my alternative choice. I love that it's super lightweight and easy to carry around school. It reboots quickly, has a decent battery life of 3~hrs, never overheats, and is pretty quiet. Sound is ok (more details down below). I use this laptop to do normal, everyday student activites: write papers, browse the web, listen to music, watch movies and the i3 processor is good enough and fast enough for me.
Some things took me a while to get used to (i.e. very sensitive trackpad as mentioned in another review, typing on a new keyboard, Win8). I had to mess with the sensitivity settings for the trackpad for a while until it was to my liking. I don't really like the size of the BACKSPACE key. For some reason, they made it smaller than a normal size and placed PG UP/PG DOWN keys next to it and I hit it by accident all the time. It's a pain and I'm still getting used to it after a few weeks. Windows 8 was a bit overwhelming at first but I found a really helpful guide to explain what had changed and new features:An issue I had was that the speakers are located on the underside of the laptop...never really knew of any laptop that did that but it's a problem if you're in bed and listening to music. Blankets obviously muffle the sound so I usually hook it up to an external speaker. Just wish the speakers weren't impeded by anything but when it's on top of a desk, sound is clear and good. Final thing is that the webcam and microphone are pretty awful. I had issues when using it to Skype. Webcam quality just sucks and for some reason, the microphone never picks up my voice so I just end up using my old laptop that I was supposed to replace with this one (Sony Vaio 4 yrs old).
Overall, I like this laptop for it's ease of travel and battery life. It performs well while being extremely affordable. Just a few things you should be warned about beforehand and where some things could be improved.
Some things took me a while to get used to (i.e. very sensitive trackpad as mentioned in another review, typing on a new keyboard, Win8). I had to mess with the sensitivity settings for the trackpad for a while until it was to my liking. I don't really like the size of the BACKSPACE key. For some reason, they made it smaller than a normal size and placed PG UP/PG DOWN keys next to it and I hit it by accident all the time. It's a pain and I'm still getting used to it after a few weeks. Windows 8 was a bit overwhelming at first but I found a really helpful guide to explain what had changed and new features:An issue I had was that the speakers are located on the underside of the laptop...never really knew of any laptop that did that but it's a problem if you're in bed and listening to music. Blankets obviously muffle the sound so I usually hook it up to an external speaker. Just wish the speakers weren't impeded by anything but when it's on top of a desk, sound is clear and good. Final thing is that the webcam and microphone are pretty awful. I had issues when using it to Skype. Webcam quality just sucks and for some reason, the microphone never picks up my voice so I just end up using my old laptop that I was supposed to replace with this one (Sony Vaio 4 yrs old).
Overall, I like this laptop for it's ease of travel and battery life. It performs well while being extremely affordable. Just a few things you should be warned about beforehand and where some things could be improved.
TCL LE46FHDE5300 46-Inch 1080p Slim LED HDTV with 2-Year Limited
List Price: $649.00
Sale Price: $486.99
Today's Bonus: 25% Off
My 6 1/2-year old Toshiba 63" HD DLP which had been sick on and off for the better part of a year and finally "gave up the ghost" this past Tuesday evening so Wednesday morning I began searching for the best value for a new TV.
Since I knew the Toshiba, which was a great TV for the better part of 5 ½ years, was going South, I had been looking for the best value in a new TV for the better part of 7 or 8 months. I was willing to scale down the size of the new TV to as small as a 46" if the price was right and finally make a decision to buy an LCD TV no smaller than 50" and at least 46" LED if the price was right.
About 2 months ago I found the TCL LE46FHDE5300 listed at Best Buy for $549.00 which I thought was a great buy for a 46" LED TV however, there were no customer reviews and, at the time, they showed a six week delivery time. I had never heard of TCL so, after a quick search, I found that Amazon also carried the brand with the same price as Best Buy but Amazon showed that they would ship it in 1 business day. I then did a search on the company and learned TCL was a muli-billion dollar firm that had a large presence in Europe and Asia and made private label TVs for several brand names in the U.S. so I felt comfortable with the company and the product.
I kept track on the 46" TCL product on both Amazon and Best Buy for the last two months as well as several other 50" and 55" LCD TVs on several other sites hoping that my old TV would hold out crashing until Black Friday. About a month ago I noticed that both Best Buy and Amazon had reduced the price of the 46" TCL LED to $499...an even better buy than earlier. Additionally, while the Best Buy site still had no customer reviews for the product, customer reviews on the Amazon website had increased from 4 or 5 to over 20 with an average rating of over 4 out of 5, including 14 five star ratings.
Well my Black Wednesday came 4 days ago so I was forced to make an immediate decision. Best Buy showed a delivery window of 2 to 7 days while Amazon showed same day shipping and 2-day delivery at no charge. The cost for the TV was exactly the same at both locations but I would not have to pay the $35 sales tax if I bought it from Amazon and I would receive it quicker...it did not take a rocket scientist to make the decision to buy it from Amazon.
I ordered the TV at 3:30 on Thursday afternoon and Amazon stated that I would receive it on Saturday however, I was more than surprised and pleased when it showed up Friday afternoon at 1:30pm...fantastic 23hr service for no additional charge!
I did not set the TCL unit up until Saturday morning since I needed a friend to help me move the old 63" (heavy) TV out of the living room. The only problem I encountered during the setup process was a little different cabling between the new TCL TV and my AV receiver but after 45 minutes we were able to figure it out. Lastly, the setup for my Harmony 650 universal remote which I thought may end up being a problem took less than 5 minutes.
When we finally got everything set up correctly I was more than pleased with the picture and must say it is as good a picture as I have seen on other LED TVs at twice the price. The TV is very light and extremely thin and, being an LED TV, it will use at least 75% less power over the annual cost of my old DLP TV. So, so far so good, and, if all goes well the next couple of months, I may even buy another 46" TCL TV to replace my 1-year old 42" Sharp LCD I bought on Black Friday last year.
Update 10/11/12
I have now had this TV for just over a month and now can say it's the best TV I have ever purchased which have been more than just a few including 6 HD TVs. I have now decided to go ahead and buy another TCL within the next couple of months but this time I will spring for the 55" model. The only complaint I have is I wish it had more than 2 HDMI inputs. I needed a 3rd HDMI for my Roku device for streaming Netflix but I just switched the DVD player over to the composite video input and then plugged the Roku device into the 2nd HDMI. The TV's sound is a little weak but I use an AV receiver so that does not affect the my audio quality. Any person looking to purchase or upgrade to a LED TV would be nuts not to seriously consider buying this TV!
In closing I would like to relate another story related to my 46" TCL HD LED TV. As I stated previously, I have decided to buy another 55" TCL TV in the next couple of months and replace a year old 42" Sharp LCD TV in the bedroom with this TV and put the planned 55" TCL in the living room. That will leave me with a spare 42" Sharp LCD TV which I plan to sell at the local flea market. At the time I bought the 42" Sharp I did purchase a 4-year warranty from Best Buy and called their customer service department to see if I could transfer the warranty to the new owner (fyi, the answer was yes). During the conversation she asked me why I was planning to sell the Sharp and if anything was wrong. I told her no and then told her about the 46" TCL TV I had purchased and how happy I was with it. The bottom line is she needed a new TV and actually ended up buying a 46" TCL for herself and called me back yesterday to thank me and let me know how much she is enjoying her new TV.
ASUS VivoBook X202E-DH31T 11.6-Inch Touch Laptop
List Price: $569.99
Sale Price: $457.99
Today's Bonus: 20% Off
For roughly 550.00 this can hardly be beat for a small laptop that has windows 8 and a touchscreen. At first I was a little aggravated with the touch pad but, I installed the drivers from Samsung's website that are supposed to be for a series 5 laptop. This laptop along with several others have the same Elan touch pad in them. Once you install this driver it is a night and day difference in the touchpad.
The link for the drivers is in the first comment. Amazon won't let you link to an external website in the main review.
So go to the comment and get to the link then follow what is below.
You then need to click on the Manuals and Downloads link, then click Driver.
After that scroll down and click on the ZIP link for the Touch Pad driver 11.7.2.1
If you have the sorry Asus Smart Gesture installed, uninstall that first and reboot, then install this software. I have had various Macbooks for the better part of the last 7 years and this is my first PC laptop in a while. I was almost ready to return this laptop until I found these drivers. I would say the touch pad is 95% of a Macbook touch pad now and whether you like Apple or not, you have to admit they know what they are doing when it comes to track pads. Aside from all of that I'm extremely happy with the operation of this laptop now.
I am coming from a laptop that had an SSD drive in it so it does seem a little slow in some areas but, others it is working just fine. I have an extra SSD drive that I plan on putting in this machine as well as removing the half height mini PCI atheros wireless/bluetooth combo. I purchased an Intel Centrino 6235anhmw Mini Pci Express Bluetooth 4.0 to replace it with and based on my research I should be able to enable Intel Wireless Display on this laptop after that install. The card only cost me 30.00 bucks and I figured it was worth the gamble to see if it would work. I'll update this review once I get the card in a couple of days to state if it worked or not.
The sound coming from this laptop is actually quite good and I would say better than a lot of the previous laptops I am use to.
The touchscreen is extremely responsive and I haven't had any missed touches or erratic behavior out of it. I have played several touch based games and it worked flawlessly.
Last but, not least this thing is solid, the build quality on it is exceptional for something this cheap.
Okay, now for the bad which again considering this is a cheap laptop with a touchscreen really isn't that bad.
The fan runs constantly and while it is not overly annoying it does seem to run even when not doing much on the system. That is really my main complaint about the machine at this point. The second complaint is that the viewing angles on this machine are pretty poor but, again don't expect any machine at this price point with a touchscreen to have great viewing angles. Although viewing angles are bad, brightness is very good. I think with the brightness turned all the way up you could possibly do permanent damage to your eyes(a joke of course).
The keyboard is a little cramped but, really not all that bad. I would say I have slightly above average hand size but, again it isn't to bad and I'm able to kick out a reasonable speed without to many more mistakes than I usually make. Expect some adjustment if you are coming from a full size keyboard with large hands.
Again, the stock hard drive is a 5400rpm drive and it does seem a little slow for me but, if you are coming from another mechanical drive then you may not really notice it as a problem. I've been using SSD drives for some time so it does bother me a bit.
These might be major problems for others but, for me they are minor annoyances that I can live with on a cheap machine like this. This is basically an 11.6" Macbook Air that is missing the SSD(entry level is 64GB SSD), backlit keyboard, viewing angles aren't as good for the ASUS and fan runs more often than Macbook Air. However the Macbook Air doesn't have these features: touch screen, 500GB HDD that can be upgraded to a small or large SSD if you like and the Air cost about 450.00 more for the entry level. Granted the Macbook Air is considerably lighter but, it also makes your wallet lighter.
Sorry for all of the Macbook comparisons but, I have come from many years of having Macbooks and decided with Windows 8 to give PCs a try again. I'm glad I did.
Update 11/8/2012:
I installed the Intel wireless card I mentioned above, then installed the latest drivers for the card from the Intel website as well as the latest video drivers from the ASUS website. Then I installed the Widi display software and was able to connect to my Belkin Screencast. It took several tries and then it finally updated the software on the Belkin. After that it has been connecting perfectly with no problems. So I paid 40 bucks on Amazon for a refurbished Belkin Screencast and 32.00 for the intel card. Now for 72.00 bucks I'm able to use my 55" HDTV at 1080p as a second screen.
Update 11/14/2012
I finally got around to installing an SSD drive and replacing the mechanical drive. The drive that came in it was a Hitachi HTS5450A7E380 which is a 7mm thick drive. Unfortunately the SSD I had was a typical 9.5mm and was too thick to work at first. Luckily I was able to remove part of the casing on the SSD drive I used and that made for a perfect fit. So if you plan on swapping out for an SSD make sure it is no thicker than 7mm or it won't fit. I had some trouble where the laptop kept booting into the BIOS. when I went in and disabled fast boot as well as turned of drive security or something like that. I can't remember exactly now but, when the option is enabled you can go further into the BIOS and see PKI keys and DDB keys and a lot of other keys. I just disabled that portion and then it started recognizing the hard drive. This may not be a problem if you clone the hard drive to the SSD before you swap but, I did a fresh install. Laptop is blazing fast now as it boots into windows in about 10 seconds.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II
The camera and the 18-55mm lens are great, but the 75-300 lens isn't. The Backpack fell apart after a couple of months of LIGHT use. There's a lot of junk, meaning low quality things in this bundle. Good price isn't good when the quality is low.
Fellowes 3229901 PowerShred 99Ci 17 Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder
List Price: $588.48
Sale Price: $219.99
Today's Bonus: 63% Off
We have owned two previous small business class shredders. This is our third. Without any doubt, it is the best shredder I have ever used/owned.
I bought this to replace our reliable Fellowes DM15C Shredder. That unit still works great, but my toddler son now has the dexterity and strength that would theoretically allow him to open up the sliding plastic CD/Credit Card sheild that served as the main barrier between his little hands and the powerful shredding mechanism. Also, after watching one of our cats activate the shredder twice in the past week while using it as an intermediate step to the office window, it seemed like a problem waiting to happen.
SAFE-SENSE (Every Shredder Should Have This)
The main thing I liked about the SB-99Ci is the Safe-Sense technology that shuts off the shredding blades when a hand (or any other body part) gets too close to the blades. In addtion to the no-brainer step of powering the thing off when I am not around, this technology looked like a very good backup protection to ensure that my young son retains all of his fingers until adulthood.
The Safe-Sense technology is extremely effective. I did not realize that it works by detecting fingers etc. when they come into contact with the metal trim that surrounds the shredder mouth (I thought the trim was just decorative...but it is functional). This is an extremely reliable detection method (i.e. vs/ tryng to detect motion or heat) and IMMEDIATELY shuts down the shredder if it is operating, or prevents it from operating at all if it has not started up yet. There is even a nice little LED indicator that lights up when the Safe-Sense shutoff is triggered, so it is very easy to test it out from time to time. Of course, there is a well hidden switch (that requires positive effort to adjust) that allows you to disable Safe-Sense if you don;t want/need it, but I can't think of any good reason that anyone would want to do that.
OTHER NICE STUFF
While Safe-Sense was the primary motiviation for this purchase, I also really liked the clean and simple styling of the unit, and was very pleased to see that it has a good build-quality when I received it in-person.
Another pleasant surprise is how QUIET this thing is when it is operating. The motor is so quiet that the main thing you hear while it is doing its job, is the actual sound of the blades pulverizing whatever you are feeding into it. The motor is a low-level (and low frequency) drone in the background. I thought our previous Fellowes shredder was quiet, but the SB-99Ci puts it to shame.
The designers of this unit also added some enhancements that, although not totally neccessary, are very nice to have. For example, the strip of unique LED indicators on top of the shredder is great to have. Our previous unit had a single indicator for "bin-open" and "bin-full" which forced you to do limited investigation to figure out why it was lighting up. The SB-99Ci lets you know EXACTLY what is going on with an intuitive sybmol that lights up. Finally, the little progressive "efficiency graph" is neat to watch, although I doubt I would ever use it to optimize my shredding throughput, which is purportedly what it is designed for.
If you are looking for an attractively designed, well built, easy-to-use, and most importanly SAFE shredder for your home or small business, the Fellowes SB-99Ci is an excellent choice.
Samsung Galaxy Camera with Android Jelly Bean v4.2 OS, 16.3MP
List Price: $549.99
Sale Price: $549.00
Today's Bonus: $0.99 Off
Picture quality is great when the pictures are not blurred. I feel like you always have to have this camera on a tripod. This is no longer my go to camera. The battery drains quickly as well. Features are great.
Canon EOS Rebel T5i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera w/EF-S 18-55mm
Whoever put this package together knew what they were doing. I am a beginner user so I didn't know what I might need. There are extra lenses, cleaning supplies, extra batteries, a tripod, and much more. The camera is fantastic. It has the auto features I need to fall back on when I get in a situation I can't manage the manual controls. I recommend going through each page of the manual to see all the functions and the combinations. There are even some photoshop options built in before the pic hits your computer for editing. There are also some great in between modes that allow you to have some control over shutter speed and aperture while locking in others.
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens For Nikon
List Price: $2,399.95
Sale Price: $2,396.95
Today's Bonus: $3.00 Off
I am writing this review from the perspective of someone who also owns the earlier version of the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. This new lens will be referred to as "VR2" in this review while the earlier version of this lens will be referred to as the "VR1".
Here are my initial impressions after using this lens and comparing it with the earlier version of this lens, the VR1.
This professional-grade telephoto zoom lens is very well-made. Its focus is lightning fast and it produces very sharp photos with very good contrast and dynamic colors even when shot wide-open at f/2.8. The increased sharpness at the corner is easily noticeable even at f/2.8 and now makes this lens suitable for landscape shots. I find this increased sharpness at the corner beneficial even for portrait shots when I shoot off-center rule-of-thirds portrait shots. The improved color and contrast is easily noticeable in certain shots in back-to-back comparison against the VR1.
The VR mechanism is very effective and helpful in keeping the photos sharp even when shooting at low shutter speeds in low-light conditions. The 1-stop improvement over the earlier version, the VR1, makes a very big difference, specially when shooting this lens from extended to maximum focal length with no monopod or tripod support. Being able to shoot handheld at 1/10th at 200mm is no easy task but it is possible with this new version.
The tripod leg support is nothing less than excellent ... slim yet very sturdy, with provision for two-screws mounting support. The tripod support can easily be rotated for shooting in vertical portrait position or downside up for easy hand carry. The tripod leg can easily be detached if needed for a less-obtrusive hold when shooting handheld.
Though this lens is heavier than the VR1, the added weight is not immediately noticeable. The shorter length and larger diameter makes for a more balanced hold when shooting handheld.
How does this lens compare with the earlier version, the VR1? Here is a quick and easy to read summary:
First, a definition of terms. The term "FX" refers to full frame Nikon camera bodies (D3x, D3s, D3 and D700). The term "DX" refers to cropped/APS-C Nikon camera bodies (D300s, D300, D200, D100, D2, D1, D90, D80, D70, D60, D40, D5000, D3000).
THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS LENS OVER THE VR1
1. Sharp corners on FX and DX, even when shooting wide-open at f/2.8
2. Less vignetting on FX and DX when shooting wide-open at f/2.8 (vignetting on DX at f/2.8 now irrelevant)
3. 1-stop improvement in VR (1-stop improvement really makes a big difference when shooting at 135-200mm).
4. Improvement in the bokeh compared to the VR1
5. Improvement in color and contrast, specially when shooting backlit subjects against the sun
6. More resistant to lens flaring (due to nano-coating)
7. Shorter more compact length makes it easier to pack, carry and use in crowded spaces
(the lens and the hood of the VR2 are both shorter than the lens and hood of the VR1)
THE DISADVANTAGES OF THIS LENS OVER THE VR1
1. More expensive than VR1
2. Slightly heavier than VR1
3. Not as good as the VR1 when used with teleconverters in DX bodies for long reach
4. Shorter reach or magnification than the VR1 when shooting at close range
(e.g., shooting at 200mm focal length is equivalent to 164mm when shooting from 10 feet away)
For FX users who still do not have a 70-200mm f/2.8G zoom lens, go ahead and acquire this lens. The corner sharpness of this newer version is remarkable, specially when stepped down for landscape shots. Even for portrait shots, the increased sharpness at the corner is beneficial when shooting rule of thirds portrait shots.
For FX users who already have the VR1, you will need to gauge whether the advantages will be worth the cost of getting this lens. If you need to shoot at this lens maximum focal length of 200mm, the lower magnification or the shorter "effective focal length in terms of field of view" when shooting at near range may be a major concern for you. This is specially a concern for events or wedding photographers. Note however that some photographers have adapted to this and actually found it helpful that the magnification remain near constant which minimizes the need to zoom out as the photographer approaches a subject or when the subject gets closer to the photographer. For some photographers, the reduced magnification when shooting at closer range is thus something that one can adapt to and take advantage of. It would still be best however to try the lens first and see how this impacts on your shooting style.
For DX only users who already have a VR1, I currently see no advantages to upgrading to this new version unless you need the one-stop advantage of the VR2, and/or if you want even less vignetting (easily corrected in post-processing), and/or if you want a lens that is more resistant to flare ... and/or more importantly, planning to upgrade or to add an FX body.
For DX users who still do not own the VR1, I recommend that you seriously consider getting this lens. Not only do you get the benefits of the newer version as listed above, getting this lens means that you will be well-positioned when you upgrade or add an FX body. Once you acquire or add an FX body, it will not surprise me that you will be doing a lot more shooting with the FX than with the DX. Since this lens is optimized for the FX, then getting this lens over the VR1 may prove to be a good decision. With regard to the issue of a shorter effective reach when shooting at near ranges, this should not be an issue with DX due to the 1.5X field of view of the APS-C sensor. If anything, it may even be an advantage when shooting up close.
Ultimately, both versions of the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G have their strengths and their weaknesses and it is up to the user to decide which version best fits his/her requirements.
As an FX and DX user, I have bought this new version knowing full well its strengths and its one limitation. The VR2 improved on what is already an impressive performance of the VR1, and then some. Except on the issue of lower magnification or focus breathing which hardly matters for me, the VR2 is an impressive step-up from the VR1.
I did retain my VR1 but this is primarily as a substitute to using a Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 VR. Matched with my 3 kinds of Nikkor teleconverters, the The VR1 is my lighter (and less expensive) version of the Nikkor 200-400mm and I use this with my DX D-300. The excellent center resolution of the VR1 is an asset when used in this manner. The other time when I use the VR1 on my D300 is when my VR2 is already on my D700. For all other usages however, I use the VR2 whether on FX or DX.
EDIT: For those who need to shoot up-close at 200mm focal length for maximum reach, this bit of info will be helpful.
Distance of subject / Effective focal length in field of view of the Nikon VR2 at 200mm
(Nikon 70-200mm VR2 at 200mm compared against a Nikon 200mm prime/fixed focal length lens)
1.27m ............... 128mm
1.40m ............... 132mm
2.00m ............... 147mm
3.00m ............... 164mm
5.00m ............... 176mm
10.0m ............... 186mm
Credits: Marianne Oelund
Edit: Sept. 13, 2010: I sold my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR and retained only the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR2.
Apple iPod nano 8 GB 5th Generation(Blue) (Discontinued
List Price: $229.00
Sale Price: $169.00
Today's Bonus: 26% Off
When Steve Jobs announced the newest generation iPod nano, he suggested that with its new video capability the nano would easily compete with the Flip Video camcorder. While someday down the line this may be a serious contender in the pocket video camera market, it's not there yet. I took some comparison footage with the iPod nano and the standard definition Flip Mino to show why. My point in all this is not to suggest that you go buy a Flip instead of an iPod nano, but that you ask yourself what it is you really want. If you want to make videos you can upload to Youtube and you want them to look pretty decent, and you don't care much about music or you already have an mp3 player, I wouldn't buy this iPod just because now it has video. On the other hand, having some video capability might be enough to give this the edge over most other music players; if games are more important to you than video, though, you'd be better off with an iPod touch.
One thing you'll notice in the footage, where I shot the same things back to back with both camcorders, is that where the Flip really shines is in low light. I shot the hamster moments at night, in a room illuminated only by a lamp. Not only did the iPod nano take grainy video, it also didn't do any kind of white balancing and the indoor lightbulb added an orange tint to the clip; I'm not sure exactly how the Flip is designed to address this (whether it automatically adjusts white balance or just has a better average setting), but the footage shows that it captured light correctly both outdoors and indoors. If you compare the hamster shots with the Flip and with the nano, I think it's clear that for indoor and lowlight there's no comparison and the Flip has the nano beat hands down. The outdoor images are closer, but I think even this small video shows greater detail in the Flip video. When you blow the images up bigger there's no comparison -the Flip looks decent even on a big screen TV, the iPod nano footage looks like it was shot with, well, a toy camera. In all fairness, that's all it is at this point. (Note, by the way, that, like the Flip, the nano will only take video and doesn't take photos. You can manually add photos to the nano from your computer, but you can't use the onboard camera to capture stills.)
Another thing that bugs me a bit about the new iPod nano is the bizarre placement of the camera lens. It's nestled down in the corner of the backside below the screen -exactly where it is most natural to hold this thing if you are shooting with it. Even if you just grasp the thing at the corners, there's a tendency for some part of a finger to accidentally edge into the camera frame. In fact, I found that even after I was aware of this fact I kept doing it anyways -the way this thing fits in my hands just makes it likely I'll catch an edge of a finger in my shots unless I'm conscientious about avoiding it, and that detracts from the spontaneity this is designed to take advantage of. (I even noticed I'd done it on most of the iPod nano footage for this video comparison -and I thought about doing it over, but then decided to leave it in just to show how easily it can happen.)
So, to sum up: what you really get with the iPod nano is a toy camera, fun to have in the pocket and very cool to have just in case there's something you want to shoot, but not quite the quality we've come to expect from the handy pocket camcorders like the Flip Mino and the Creative Vado and the Kodak Zi8, that keep getting better and better. Video is a nice new feature on the Nano, but not really a radical innovation and not a game changer.
What makes the iPod Nano worth it is that in addition to video on the fly, you get to listen to music, you get an FM radio that works quite well and even tells you what song you are listening to, you get a voice recorder (a VERY nice feature, excellent for students who can listen to music on their way to class and then record a lecture), a decent quality mini speaker, a somewhat useful pedometer, decent game options for killing time. You don't get any of that with the Flip! Sure, the new iPod nano is a toy ... but it's a very cool toy.