ZyXEL 2-Bay High-Performance Digital Media Server and Network

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $249.99
Sale Price: $147.14
Today's Bonus: 41% Off

Reviewed: Zyxel NSA325. It supports 2 x 3.5" SATA drives, has 2 USB2 ports (back) and a single USB3 (front) & has Gigabit Ethernet. 1.6GHz Marvell processor is faster than older NAS devices (faster than the 800MHz CPU in the D-LINK DNS-320 or the 1.2GHz CPU in the DNS-325) and 512MB memory allows multiple functions at same time.

DRIVE INSTALLATION:

Drive guide rails must be attached to each drive via screws. Note that the pointy end of the rails must face INWARD (i.e. on the same side as the SATA connector). The quick install sheet doesn't mention this and it's easy to overlook from the diagram. The reason for the specific orientation is that you use a tool (located behind the drive cover) to remove an installed drive from its bay and this tool clips onto the exposed end of the drive rails. Also when installing be sure to insert the drive so that the SATA connector will mate with the drive (it will not if you insert the drive the wrong way and you could cause damage). ZyXEL needs to have better instructions. The front door is a little flimsy though, be careful when removing/installing to avoid breaking the tabs that keep it in place.

Note that drives are NOT hot-swappable, do not remove/insert with the power on. Drives up to 3TB are supported with newest firmware (note if you have old firmware you will need to temporarily install a smaller drive, create a volume, then use the firmware check function in the web interface to update firmware before installing 3TB drives).

RAID:

RAID 0/1 are supported. RAID 0 uses the combined storage space of both drives but has no redundancy. RAID 1 mirrors contents on both drives so if one fails your data is still safe.

POWER MANAGEMENT/UPS:

+ You can connect a (APC brand) UPS to the NAS via one of the USB ports and it will auto-shutdown when UPS battery is low (you can adjust when the shutdown occurs based on the UPS reported capacity remaining). A nice touch and one that will help prevent data loss. I tried it with a Tripp-Lite UPS and it wasn't recognized so it looks like only an APC will work.

+ You can set the UPS to always power on after a power failure, useful if acting as networked storage.

+ You can spin down drives if no data transmission occurs in a specified time (adjustable in minutes)

+ Supports "wake-on-lan" so device can turn on and service incoming requests even if powered off.

+ NAS uses external 12V 5amp power adapter. This is better than an internal power supply as it is easily replaceable if it fails.

+ Interestingly the NAS has an internal clock (powered by a CR2032 battery) and can be set to power on/off via time schedule.

THE BAD:

There is no "network activity" LED at the front panel (the LED is on the Ethernet jack). I would have liked to see a front panel LED. This is important as use of one of the back USB ports will block the network LED on the jack.

I do not think there is a way to migrate to larger capacity drives without backing up/replacing drives/recreate RAID/restoring the array.

Download Manager feature (more on this below) cannot download files that require authentication from websites (i.e. files that require login). This is a shame as this would been much more useful.

This NAS takes LONG to boot. This may cause a problem if used as network storage as PCs may boot quicker than the NAS!

For some strange reason the CPU temp is reported incorrectly (12 deg Celsius) on the NSA status page after some time in operation. It still seems to work correctly so this may be a minor bug.

OTHER:

+ Front panel USB connector is USB3 for fast copy from/to external USB3 devices. This is just for copying data from/to an external drive, I don't think connection to a PC is supported.

+ NAS has CPU temp sensor.

+ The fan is a 3-wire fan (has RPM sensor so the NAS can determine fan speed). The fan label mentions that has a hypro bearing, which supposed to be a long-lasting bearing. The fan is very quiet, practically silent.

+ Web-based interface is nice and clean, with attractive icons. The admin setup webpage is logically organized. You can check the CPU temp/CPU load/free memory from the admin page.

+ ZPilot feature allows you to drop files/folders to an "always-on-top" icon to copy to the NAS. Optionally you can have the NAS sort files into specific folders based on the file type.

+ Add-on packages really expand functionality of the NAS. For example installing the SMART package allows you to see the status (temperature, SMART status, model & serial #) of the installed drives.

+ Firmware update is totally painless, one click will check for new firmware, another click downloads & installs it. You don't need to download it from a PC then upload it to the NAS. However note that you must have drive(s) installed and a volume created to use the auto-update feature as it needs to download firmware to the volume. If no drive(s) are installed it will not work.

+ Has "Download Manager" built-in file download function & bittorrent client. By logging into the NAS and either entering the URL of a file to download OR uploading a .torrent file from your PC you can have the NAS download files unattended without having your PC on and running. A nice feature, especially for downloading large files such as Linux ISO images.

OVERALL it's a good media server for the price and I recommend it. But also check out the ZyXEL NSA320 2-bay Network Attached Storage and Media Server as it is similar but about half the price. The NSA320 uses a slightly slower 1.2GHz CPU (but has the same 512MB memory), but doesn't have dropbox features or USB3 port. You probably DON'T want the older NSA2xx series because these use a much slower CPU/less memory and transfer performance is not as good.

UPDATE: I now have multiple NSA325s and the only thing I have found problematic is the web interface. There have been times when the NSA325 is still on and working but I cannot login to its IP address (to get the web interface to display). Other times the web interface will be extremely slow to respond or even stop responding entirely. Also, the "firmware upgrade notification" message keeps appearing even though I'm on the latest firmware (which is annoying, even though I click "do not remind me"). Power resetting fixes the web interface problems but I should not have to do this. These problems have persisted even through firmware updates and I am disappointed that such basic bugs have not been dealt with.

A more expensive and larger capacity NAS alternative is the Synology DiskStation 4-Bay (Diskless) Network Attached Storage DS413j. (See my DS413j review for more).

I hope this is helpful!

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Samsung NX1000 Black ~ 20.3MP Digital Camera with 20-50mm Lens

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $699.99
Sale Price: $354.99
Today's Bonus: 49% Off

Samsung NX1000 Review (From my review of the White model which is identical except for color):

The main things that drew my interest with this camera were the Wifi features (I have a Samsung WB150F and the Wifi features have worked well. I find them useful and convenient, especially the PC-Autobackup which transfers movies and images to your PC), the large APS-C sensor (more image detail), the compact, mirror-less design, and the recent price drops.

The NX1100 will debut with a MSP of $599 (vs. $699 for the NX1000) and comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 and some new Wifi features namely Autoshare. But guess what? Autoshare is available for the NX1000 in the 1.13 firmware update! I already own Adobe Photoshop LR 4, and even with the lower NX1100 price, the NX1000 (basically the same camera) at current prices (340-360) is a great value. Compared to models like the 200/210 it offers the exact same APS-C sensor and is almost identical in image quality and handling. what you are giving up is the AMOLED display, metal body and a few other minor things. (The LCD display on the 1000/1100 is fine, if not quite as good as far as contrast, deep blacks, it is still very usable.)

So...how does the pudding taste? Well, I will admit my overwhelming first impression was "plastic!" though the build quality seems very good, there is an overall "plasticky" feel to the NX1000. (Thankfully, the tripod thread is metal!) The shutter and other bits are metal as well, including the lens mounts.

I use Panasonic and Olympus cameras, mostly, and even those in this price range have a bit nicer "feel" in that sense But, it's a very high quality plastic and I soon got over it except for the fact that I find the grip a bit slick and could see myself dropping this camera, so I immediately attached the strap. Not a big fan of the strap. It's OK, but I do not like the ring attachments used versus the more usual cloth through metal guides on my other cameras. I find the strap interfering with my grip due to where the attachment rings are located and this is quite annoying. I will probably remove this strap for that reason once I find a case I like. You can work around it, but I just don't like it. (Update: I'm adjusting to this and not as irritating as before.)

While we're quibbling, I'm also not a big fan of the way the Zoom lens "locks" when not in use. It does give a lower profile, but it takes some getting used to, as I've never experienced this design before. Again, a minor thing. Overall appearance is good, it looks like a serious camera. I got the white model and like the "Elvis vibe" it gives off. Also the markings are easy to read, it's comfortable to hold (with the 20-50mm lens) and the recessed mode dial is a nice touch. (It's even better with the awesome 16mm wide angle pancake lens! Much slimmer profile and very easy to hold and shoot with.)

In general, as far as controls, the design is well thought out and Samsung offers some unique and original twists such as the "Fn" and "iFn" control buttons which allow easy access to the main things you'd want to "tweak" when shooting. The controls work well and the "ring/wheel" control works very well. I was a bit skeptical, but in use I really liked it. For example, when flipping through your shots in playback mode it works very well and you can scroll through the images very quickly.

Nice to have the hotshoe, though I have not tried the flash unit supplied yet will report back on that. Videographers might note that there is an external mike that works with the hotshoe and uses no cables at all, nice!

In general, I find the NX1000 easy to use, the manual focus works well, the Smart mode seems to do fairly well, there are a great many scene modes and other (somewhat gimmicky) features (Magic filters/frames, etc.). I enjoyed playing with those on the WB150F, but they seem out of place here. There are a superb number of image adjustments, exposure tweaks, and controls of a more serious nature as well. When you want to get serious, this camera is ready. Also, some of the fun things, like the Panorama mode, do work well if you understand their limitations and keep your expectations reasonable.

As expected, the APS-C sensor renders a lot of good image detail. This is the big plus for this camera. I was very pleased with the results under good lighting conditions. I shoot a lot of landscape and street stuff, and this camera seems well suited for that. The noise reduction seems to work well up to about 1600 or so (maybe 800 for purists). Colors are accurate and not over-saturated like on many consumer cameras. If you like the "boost" many cameras give by default, there is a "Vivid" mode which will do this for you. Personally, I prefer the more realistic colors (one of the things I like about Olympus and (most) Panasonics as well). Sharpness is good in JPEGs (I have not shot RAW yet) and tones are nice and smooth (think large expanses of blue sky and clouds). I'm sure with experience my results will improve over these initial test shots, so that bodes well. If you like to print big, 16x20, even 20x30 possibly, you will be able to do so, which is very nice.

The 20-50mm kit lens is nice enough, but has a very limited range compared to what I am used to. (I am considering getting the 30mm lens which I think would make a nice compact package for everyday use.) However, the images look good, sharp, detailed, so I am happy with it. Video worked well and the zoom worked fine in video mode and was silent. In casual use, there is no need to switch the dial to video mode, you can just press the Video button on the back and after a slight pause you're in action. This is nice. Of course, dialing to full video mode gives you more options.

Wifi features worked fine, I was able to easily connect and save pics using the autobackup mode. Skydrive and others worked fine. Have not tried the mobile link and remote view finder apps yet. (Update: I tried these apps out and they worked OK for the most part. A bit flaky at times. There is a new "Smart Camera app" to replace these, but it only works with the new firmware. Since I have not yet upgraded the firmware, have not tried it.) The PC_Autobackup mode works very well for transferring pics and movies to your PC. It remembers what has been transferred and only transfers new items. Best to transfer frequently, since slower than reading from a card, but all automatic and very convenient. [You can also transfer photos to your mobile devices (phone/tablet) using the other apps (Mobile Link/Smart Camera).]

Example: You get back from shooting, you activate the PC-Autobackup on the camera (your laptop/PC and network must be on, of course), and the camera will connect and begin transferring your content. When done the camera will turn-off (unless you press a control button within 30 seconds) and you can set the PC to shutdown as well if you like. Or you can select the "open folder" choice on the PC/notenook popup dialog and view your pics and movies. All very easy and convenient.

There is a "Smart Range" feature to extend dynamic range and preserve highlights. It seems to work well, but you lose shadow detail. Might want to turn off by default, I think. (You can also shoot RAW and tweak things yourself, of course.)

JPEGS look very good to me with a lot of detail and sharpness. So good that I think shooting JEPG only is feasible with the NX1000. (You can always switch to RAW or RAW+Jpeg when needed, of course.) I think many will find the Jpegs entirely adequate for most purposes. (If you shoot a lot at high ISO's you would definitely want to shoot RAW.) You have a range of aspect ratios including 1:1, 3:2, and 16:9. This is nice and gives you flexibility in camera versus cropping later.

The 8fps burst mode worked very well, though as has been noted everywhere, there is a lag as the camera processes the shots before you can shoot again. I am a fairly deliberate photographer and don't shoot much action/sports, so the NX1000 is fine for me. The occasional lags when switching modes and after bursts or RAW shots are not an issue for me, but could be for some. It's all covered in many of the excellent online reviews, so I won't dwell on it here. Overall, I found the camera responsive and adequate for my needs.

The LCD screen is bright, colorful and has good resolution. I was pleased with it. I generally favor optical view finders (sorry, I admit to being old school here, you can't beat a good optical VF IMHO) and even EVF in a pinch, but I am getting used to the non-VF style of shooting and the NX1000 LCD is very good in this respect.

In general, I am very pleased with the image quality and the feature set and think this camera is an excellent value at current prices. Many of the features are unique, the Wifi modes are the best I've seen to date, and the APS-C sensor seems to be a good one. It's fairly compact with the 20-50mm kit lens (and would be even more so with the 30mm pancake lens), easy to carry (not heavy), and has all the controls you could ever want. The images are very good and that's the main thing.

I think it's an easy 4 stars for overall quality and especially value for the price paid.

----------------

Update: I recently purchased the Samsung f2.4 16mm wide angle "pancake" lens (Samsung 16mm f/2.4 NX Ultra Wide Pancake Lens (Black)) and it's a great addition to this camera. Wonderful for landscapes and walk-about/street photography. It's the lens I keep on the camera by default now. Quicker auto-focus, faster optics(f2.4 vs f3.5), and a more compact profile. When I have the 16mm lens on the body, I feel this is a 5 star combo. (I am leaving the rating at 4 stars with the kit lens, which is an excellent lens. I just find the 16mm to be the "magic" lens with this body. Very subjective, of course.)

Update: I did not cover video very well above, suffice to say the quality of the video is excellent for a camera in this price range and superior to many, I would guess. It is full HD 30/60 fps. You can Zoom during video shooting and it supports external microphones and stereo sound. All the basics are here and a few pluses as well. You can even use many of the special effects in video mode should you wish to do so. There is a dedicated video button for instant access, and a dial selection for more options. Videos take longer to transfer over wifi due to their size, but do transfer fine. Sound quality id pretty good for a camera of this type, in my opinion. So, if you are traveling, you have both stills and video covered. (I still feel a dedicated video camera and full fledged DSLR are optimal. But I must say, the combo capabilities here are quite fine.)

Video Format: MP4 (H.264), Compression: Movie H.264, Sound AAC

Frame Rate: 60fps (1280 x 720 Only), 30fps (1920 x 1080), 24fps (1920 x 810)

Image Sizes: 1920 x 1080, 1920 x 810, 1280 x 720 , 640 x 480, 320x240 for Sharing (Default: 1920 x 1080)

Movie Editing: Still Image Capture, Time Trimming

Update: I did not mention that the kit lens (20-50mm) does not have image stabilization, nor does the body. Has not been a problem for me (I shoot old school, bracing, etc.), but it was a consideration in buying the low cost and excellent 16mm wide angle for this body (very compact and little worries about image stabilization, larger sensor works in favor here) and dedicating this to camera to the wide end, while using my Panasonic G1 for the mid/telephoto range (as I already have excellent lenses for my G1 in this range). I still have the 20-50mm (an excellent lens) in the bag and can switch when needed. The lenses I have already for my G1 are superb, so this works out well for me.

You can buy image stabilized Samsung lenses (like the 18-55mm) if that is a concern. Shooting with the 20-50mm kit lens, I never once had any issues. However, in low light situations, it might come into play. Again, in my case, my G1 and f1.7 20mm would be my preferred choice, but I could get by with the NX1000. It has good image quality at high ISO and even ISO 3200 is usable many times. ISO 1600 is very good and ISO 800 is very clean.

For quick "grab and go" shooting, I continue to enjoy this camera very much.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Elmo MO-1 Visual Presenter

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $399.99
Sale Price: $369.99
Today's Bonus: 8% Off

We were looking for a replacement for the old overhead transparency projector. We wanted a device that was portable and easy to use. This product could not get any better. We teach management skills to adults, and have participants do written exercises in class. We need to project their handwritten forms through the lcd projector. This product attaches to the PC and captures a full 8.5 by 11 inch sheet, with high resolution display. It also allows you to capture anything it sees as a .jpg file, or to even video your audience or other subjects. We are not very technical, and were really pleasantly surprised when the projector driver installed and worked first time. The zoom in and zoom out feature and adjustable camera position would allow you to project larger items as well. It folds up to about 3 inches by 8 inches, 1 inch thick and weighs almost nothing. If you're using it through the USB connection to the computer, you don't need the separate power cord.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

AmazonBasics Alkaline Batteries (Pack of 20)

Customer Ratings:

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Never in a million years would I have thought these batteries would outperform Duracell Alkaline batteries. I read recently that a consumer magazine recommended buying batteries based on price and not brand name. My limited testing agrees with that advice.

AmazonBasics AAA alkaline batteries performed better than two types of Duracell Alkaline batteries, and was on par with Kirkland Alkaline brand. The bigger surprise is how well Enloop batteries performed in my testing. The Kirkland and AmazonBasics alkaline batteries were roughly 20% longer lasting than the Duracell alkaline batteries. Freshly fully charged Enloops (NiMH) performed 20% better than AmazonBasics and Kirkland Alkalines.

What can you say about these batteries? Yes they are AAA, they fit in devices that require this size battery, and they last a good long time. I wanted to do some accellerated testing, put the batteries through some heavy drain use in a controlled manner. Since I don't have a testing rig like the one NLee the Engineer uses to test batteries, I came up with a standard device a small electronic flash that uses two AAA batteries.

The test setup: load two batteries into the flash, when the ready light glowed, fire the flash. I counted how many flashes each battery type could make in five minutes. I repeated the test with fresh batteries twice for each brand / model of battery. At the end of the test the batteries were pretty warm and none of them were exhausted. A battery tester showed all the batteries were about 30% spent, so there was still a good bit of life left in them.

Qualitatively, the Kirkland and AmazonBasics Alkaline batteries recycled the flash very fast during the first minute of the test. Recycle times tapered off to a constant level after that. The Enloops (NiMH) seemed to deliver a rapid recycle time throughout the test.

Kirkland and AmazonBasics Alkaline batteries fired 97 times

Duracell Alkaline and Duracell Ultra Alkaline fired 77 times

Enloops (NiMH) fired 117 times

The consumer advice seems to be accurate, purchase AAA batteries based on the lowest per cell price you can find. Enloops are the best alternative, they are rechargeable and deliver great service (Sanyo Eneloop Ni-MH Charger and 8 Rechargeable AA and 4 Rechargeable AAA Batteries). If you do search out rechargeable batteries, the best advice in the world can be found in NLee The Engineer's reviews.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Samyang Cine SYCV14M-C 14mm T3.1 Cine Wide Angle Lens for Canon

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $499.99
Sale Price: $419.00
Today's Bonus: 16% Off

Was skeptical about the performance of this lens, but overall, great look and handling.

Love the de clicked aperture. The only complaint is a minor one--used to a harder focus on the lens ring; however, no big deal. It does the job I need it to at a fraction of the cost.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Motorola Additional Camera for Motorola MBP36 Baby Monitor

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $94.95
Today's Bonus: 5% Off

First thing I want to say is that this camera also works with the MBP33 baby monitor as well. We bought the MBP33 baby monitor for our 3 month old and we bought an additional camera to keep in our toddler's room. We are pretty happy with it so far. I love the two way communication function and the room temperature feature. My only complaint is that we keep the camera across the room on his dresser, and the night vision light is not very strong so we can not see clearly all the way to his bed. It is about 7 ft from the dresser to the bed. If we adjust the light contrast on the parent unit we can see, but it is pretty dark and grainy. We previously has a Summer Infant video monitor and did not have this problem at all, but then again, the night vision feature broke after 2 years on that monitor. We keep the other camera above the crib in our baby's room and haven't had any problems at all. Overall, we are happy with the monitor and the additional camera.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

VIVITAR Vivtar 7mm f/3.5 Series 1 Manual Focus Fisheye Lens

Customer Ratings:

I bought this fisheye to use with an Nikon D300 .

I've being using this lens for just a week now and the pictures show good quality so far. I didn't try it in a great variety of light situations but I'll update this review when I try it harder.

The only cons is an apparently non working focus ring, what should be a very serious defect if it wouldn't make any difference in the image focus/quality.

I can imagine that occurs due to the extreme depth of field the lens has, everything is allways focused,

but I'm really wondering wheter this is a malfunction or not.

So please I'd like to hear from anybody who has ever experienced a similar situation with a fisheye lenses.

Tks

Esther

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Nikon D5200 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens

Customer Ratings:

Bought this bundle with the black camera body 2 week ago from Cameta. I am satisfied, everything as pictured arrived on time (which is note worthy as my shipping address is in California and Cameta is based in NY) and are brand new. I saved as buying the individual items clearly costs alot more.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Samsung UN55D6000 55-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (Black) (2011

Customer Ratings:

Whoah, I really did my research on this one (I always do when I make huge investments into things that I plan on owning for a long time) and I am not disappointed!!! For those that don't know, LED TVs are arguably considered the best class of HDTVs (including LCD and plasma along with all of their variants) and this particular model I feel is really the best in its class (considering all things: quality of picture, pricing, features, and, in my humble opinion, size I really didn't need anything larger than about 40-something inches for my purposes).

I'm going to go on a small side note: Some will argue that plasma has the best picture. However, LEDs have better picture at identical resolutions. I checked this model out on the floor at Best Buy along with two other (42") TVs that I was comparing, an LG LCD and a Panasonic plasma. The sales associate swore by plasma and couldn't even tell the obvious difference in contrast between the 42" and this model (the LED one was obviously better). I'm not going to patronize you on the pros and cons of each class of TV (although I could) but, all things considered, LED really is the best overall. Do your homework if you haven't.

Anyways, I noticed that some people whined about: 1) the sound, 2) the remote, 3) screen glare, 4) light leakage, or 5) whatever dud/lemon of a TV they got. I'm going to address these points with rebuttals in the following bullet points:

-1) In truth the sound is very decent (you're buying a stand-alone HDTV, what did you expect?) and most people may want to purchase a sound bar/system down the road. Plus there are multiple sound options that enhance and isolate individual parts of the sound that matter to you ("Clear Voice" is a good one sometimes).

-2) Hey, it's a REMOTE! Come on, people! Seriously though, the remote is intuitive enough and has some cool features (the menus are very simple and a joy to navigate once you get the hang of everything), like button back-lighting that you can toggle on and off with one glow-in-the-dark button. Plus the buttons have a good feel and good travel to them.

-3) Unless you keep the windows open and they're facing the TV, this is not really a huge issue at all especially when the TV is actually ON!

-4) Here's where I think that I will acknowledge some peoples' pouting and concern; on the upper and lower right and left corner portions of the screen, and even upper-center (where the light is sourced from), I did notice some faint circular light leakage/blooming spots when watching a movie at night. It is minor but they are there. However, this is only noticed when the following conditions are met: you're watching in a super widescreen letterbox-format picture, it's night-time or the house lights are off, and the movie scene is a really dark one. I'm not certain if this is normal of LEDs or not. Either way, it is very minor, can easily be ignored, and is definitely not worth taking my TV back for. I'm already too happy with it as you might guess.

-5) Mine arrived in perfect condition. I recommend a free trial of Amazon Prime. You can get this TV with free standard shipping rates or $4 for overnight shipping in the continental US.

-One last initial worry of mine that I wanted to insert into this review is concerning the bezel/frame style. the outer edge is surrounded with an additional clear edge that contains an even smaller and extremely subtle clear red edge. Aesthetics are an important thing for me so looking at this model in the store was a MUST. However, the red edge along with the clear edge was virtually unnoticeable in the store. When you do look closely and see it you will notice how stylish it all really is. The frame is ultra thin, black gloss, and sits on a mostly-glass base. the shaft of the base mount is clear glass so the TV kind of seems like it's floating. I think that that was what the designers were going for.

Now on to some of the features that previous reviewers didn't touch on... This TV has really got you covered. There are a multitude of sound and video options in a very intuitive menu interface. I haven't utilized any of the Internet-accessing options yet. My main plan was to hook my laptop up to the HDMI port and do a lot with that. But here is where the TV really shines for me: the HDD USB port. If you have a USB flash drive/external hard drive then you can view photos, play music, and even watch movies straight off of it. Playing movies has no slow-down whatsoever. If you somehow acquire Blu-ray disc movie rips or whatever video file type/extension you have, chances are great that it will play them all with no problem. The TV has played almost every movie file type that I've thrown at it. I love the streamlined menu within the videos. You can't ask for anything better in this aspect. And HD videos all look glorious.

Lastly, some people complain about the "soap opera" effect that HDTVs can suffer from. I believe other brands sometimes call this feature "Trumotion", but for this line of TVs Samsung refers to it as "Auto Motion Plus". Thankfully, you have the option to turn this feature off if you'd like or change it to one of five other settings.

Well, I'm not sure what else to say.. I didn't need or want a 3D TV yet... But everyone that has come over to our place sees the screen resolution and picture quality and is always immediately impressed. I highly recommend this TV to anyone. At 40 inches, do yourself a favor and get it for the picture quality and unbeatable price for an LED class TV.

EDIT: The one other draw for LED HDTVs is the extremely small off-chance for "burn in" if you view the same picture constantly without a change in picture. The manual warns something along the lines of being sure not to view the exact same picture for more than 5% of your total viewing time in any given week. Otherwise, it's a small chance (but possible) that you could get burn in on your TV.

(Update as of 6/27/11): The picture quality has always been utterly exceptional and without comparison for this TV. However, I have a very keen eye and will still at times notice the light leaking issue during EXTRA widescreen videos where the light is on the top and bottom borders and is darkest. I think that I am going to continue hanging on to this TV, however, notwithstanding this one issue although I am currently weighing the matter as it compares to the price and timing for this investment for me now. If I do contact Samsung, I would only want this same model again. Videophiles may just want to keep this light leakage issue in mind for their purchase.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

ASUS Eee Slate B121-A1 12.1-Inch Tablet PC - White

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,499.00
Sale Price: $692.00
Today's Bonus: 54% Off

I've owned many tablets over the past 3-4 years (including an iPad 32GB wifi and an iPad 2 16GB wifi, a Lenovo X61, and a Lenovo X200, amongst others) and this Asus is by far my favorite.

A lot of reviewers will compare this device to an iPad, but it really shouldn't be. An iPad is a content consumption device it's for watching videos, browsing the web, casually reading and replying to basic emails, playing casual games, etc. The Asus B121 is a device that's designed to do everything that a full-blown laptop computer will do in a keyboardless, tablet form factor.

The tablet runs a "real" mobile CPU (Intel's Core i5), has a usable amount of RAM (4GB), and most important of all, it runs a real, fully-featured OS (Windows 7 Pro). This means people who like to create as well as consume content are ready to go. The Wacom digitizer is nice, though you must install the Wacom drivers from Asus' site to get pressure sensitivity in apps like Photoshop, but they're free and install is painless. I run Photoshop CS 5.5 on this device, as well as Office 2010 (including Visio and OneNote), and I have yet to feel hampered by the amount of CPU horsepower or RAM.

Another thing I liked is that Asus included an actual restore DVD in the box. They don't expect you to dig up a pile of DVD-Rs to create your own and fill up (read: waste) hard drive space holding a bunch of restore disk images out of the box. Granted, the device doesn't have a built-in DVD-ROM drive, but it does have two USB 2.0 ports so you can connect an external USB 2.0 DVD drive as needed. For anyone who complains that there's no DVD drive (as I've seen happen with a LOT of reviews on modern devices) it's your responsibility to read and understand the specs before purchasing a device. This device doesn't list a DVD drive as standard kit, so be prepared to purchase an external USB DVD drive if you think you'll need one.

One thing that really surprised me is that bloatware out of the box was non-existent. As is the case with many Windows devices today, cheap devices are subsidized by a bunch of included bloatware/nagware that typically makes a device run at half speed out of the box. Got a good deal on a $300 laptop that should have cost $900? That's because advertisers paid the manufacturer a bunch of money to throw their malware/adware/bloatware on it so the manufacturer could offset the cost and give it to you cheap. That's not the case here. Typically when I buy a new Windows machine, before I even boot it up, I'll format the drive and install a fresh copy of Windows. I didn't need to do that with the B121. Aside from a paint app, a couple of Asus app (which were non-intrusive), and an Asus Cloud Drive app, the B121 comes with a fairly stock installation of Windows. I was really happy to see this and I'm still using the device on the OEM install without any issues.

The included leather folio case is awesome. Not only does this do an awesome job of protecting the tablet, it looks great and even has a place to store the stylus outside of the stylus holder in the tablet itself for quick access. The included re-branded Microsoft Bluetooth keyboard works well too, and despite being curved, it doesn't feel at all like an ergonomic gimmick like those split keyboards that were popular for a while. It's easy to use, easy to pair, and no-frills. As it should be.

My complaints with the tablet are few and far between. I would like to see a larger resolution on the LCD panel, especially for the price. A lot of companies are packing in 1280x800 panels now just so they can call them "HD" panels (sine 1280x800 is greater than the typical 720P resolution). 800 horizontal lines of resolution is a bit low, however. This product would be great if the panel was 1680x1050 (WSXGA+).

Another minor complaint is the width of the tablet. It is wider than I expected after watching videos and reading reviews online. After having removed the back panel from the device, which is made of plastic, it's apparent that they could have re-designed this panel to make the device noticeably thinner. No extra engineering would have had to happen it's just a piece of plastic with a bunch of extra space between itself and the "guts" of the device.

If I had to make a third complaint it would be with the onboard HDMI port. It's not a standard HDMI port, rather a mini HDMI port. This means that in order to output HDMI to a TV, you're either going to have to use a mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter (which is what I recommend) in conjunction with a standard HDMI cable, or a cable that is mini-HDMI to HDMI. This isn't a HUGE deal, since the mini-HDMI to HDMI adapters can be found online for only a few bucks. If you're shopping for one in a brick and mortar store, be prepared to get hammered. The mini-HDMI to HDMI option is the easiest just throw it in your bag with the device and keep it for those "just in case" moments. Asus also offers a first-party mini-HDMI to VGA adapter specifically for the B121 for about $45. I purchased this to attach an external monitor at work it work quite well, but is probably a bit more pricey than it should be.

Overall the tablet is great. I have yet to have any issues with it. The build quality is sturdy, power is adequate for what you would expect out of a device with a Core i5 CPU with 4GB of RAM running Windows 7, and when the time comes to upgrade, the hard drive is a standard mSATA solid state disk so the option to upgrade yourself does exist (unlike almost all other tablets in this form factor). So far I've been very satisfied with the device, and wouldn't hesitate to purchase from Asus again.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Casio Exilim EX-Z500 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Customer Ratings:

Definitely excellent camera, with this price and this features but during your night shots that is almost impossible to have a stable shot. Also its photo editor is terrible. So I might say between average and good.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Sony Alpha NEX-5 Digital Camera Body & E 16mm f/2.8 Lens

Customer Ratings:

I like taking nice photos as a hobby but am unwilling to lug around a full-size SLR everywhere I go. Hence enters NEX-5 from Sony. I really feel this camera has been made to my taste. It's impossibly tiny, lightweight and has sexy interchangable lens. The photos from this camera capture a lot of details and with 14.2 megapixels you have plenty cropping options. Image quality was at first too soft to my liking, but this can be easily fixed with some manual adjustment of the Sharpness/Contrast/etc setting. Just look up which setting works best in some online forums. I also have to confess that 95% of the time I rely on the camera's iAuto mode (intelligent Auto) the camera has been able to correctly focus and apply all the appropriate settings, very quickly. So I'm now merrily shooting away whatever I fancy. The Sony lens are really fun to use. Between the 16mm pancake and 18-55mm zoom, i prefer the former. As said, because this camera captures such amazing details, I can afford to absorb everything in a wide angle then crop later. The wide lens is slightly flawed with a bit of barrel distortion if you look hard enough, but honestly I'm least bothered because it's not so evident that it ruins my pictures. Nonetheless I plan to invest in some NEX adaptors for better (and more expensive) lens (cos i'm in love with the body!). The camera comes with a detachable flash and a shoulder strap, very thoughtful Sony. The flash piece is secured by a hand screw, so if you like having flash it can stay there on the camera with no worry of falling off. Because this camera takes great low-light pictures and I like the natural look of things, I never used the flash piece. Lastly, the body of the NEX-5 is so sturdy and sexy-looking. It has suffered bumps in my travelling bag and falling off a 3ft height once, and it's still working fine (thank God!). And oh I can't end without saying I'm just blown away by the Sweep Panaroma function.

A tip: I updated the firmware to version 03 and the battery seems to hold longer than before. It lasted me a full-day in snapping frenzy Vegas.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Swann 8 Channel HD NVR Security System with 2TB Hard Drive and 4

Customer Ratings:

Hands down, this is the best NVR for on the market right now for the money. You get 1080p IP cameras (rebadged HikVision, an outstanding OEM with a great reputation) and one of the sleekest, slimmest, cleanest looking NVR units out there, packing POE, HDMI (and VGA) output and gigabit LAN connectivity, plus tons of included storage space and one of the best software interfaces out there.

Setup was super simple, even though I eschewed the uPnP and manually forwarded the necessary ports. Everything else was simple and intuitive and everything has worked flawlessly right out of the box. Instructions were clean, clear, concise and written by a native English speaker (shocking, right?), which is rare in the consumer electronics market. If you can set up a router for your home network, you should have no problem with this unit, it is very much user friendly. Swann offers free DDNS service, so you can remotely access your NVR from anywhere on the web without having to cough up extra money to your ISP for a static IP address, which is awesome.

The cameras themselves are top of the line, as you can find out by researching the HikVision OEM. Picture quality is stunningly good and if you've played with security cameras before, you will immediately see the difference. These are not toys, they are seriously expensive, high grade cameras and account for the vast majority of the purchase price for this package (as in well over a grand between the four included cameras and 240 feet of cable they come with). I've been super impressed with the image quality, including the nightvision / IR and will be keeping an eye out for price drops so I can pick up a few more. I'm currently running 6 cameras with this unit and it performs like an absolute champ. The POE functionality is 10x better than having to deal with separate coax and DC power connections, not to mention the fact that Cat5e cables are so much easier to work with than coax.

There's definitely a premium attached with this unit, but it is tailor made to work with the rebranded HikVision cameras and to take advantage of their high performance. Besides looking good and having a sleek form factor, under the hood the software is well designed and feature rich. Remote access to the NVR is simple, responsive and intuitive. It's also pretty easy to set up storage to NAS units, which is something I'll be implementing down the road if the included 2TB ever becomes too limiting (perhaps once I get up to 8 cameras).

On the whole, I don't regret this purchase one bit. It was worth every penny and you truly get what you pay for. As is often said, cry once, buy the best and have no regrets. There is no better system on the market right now, and the cost difference is, in my mind, completely worth it. I would buy again and I will be purchasing more cameras to flesh out my install. Beautiful unit, outstanding image quality and great software.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Samsung UN55ES8000 55-Inch 1080p 240Hz 3D Slim LED HDTV (Silver)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $3,419.99
Sale Price: $1,875.99
Today's Bonus: 45% Off

I just received my TV, set it up and tested it out. First of all, installation was a breeze, camera and mic work beautifully as do the motion controls.

More importantly, the image is perfect. I don't know what these other reviewers are going on about but screen uniformity is phenomenal and on par with any of the other LED LCD tvs I've seen. Blacks are deep and inky and with the backlighting on the factory default, I saw no evidence of flashlighting or light creep.

3D works like a charm. Set the PS3 to recognize the new screen and the new 3D glasses pair with the TV quickly and easily and don't mind at all if I look away from the screen. Tested out Transformers 3D (don't laugh, I have 6 year old son and he loves them) and the image was crisp, detailed with very little artifacting or crosstalk. I fired up wipeout HD 3D and that performed beautifully as well.

For me, it was between this TV and the new Panasonic line up. While I agree that the plasmas handle blacks better than LCD screens, I prefered the image crispness of an LED LCD panel. I am not disappointed and more than happy with the es8000.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Panasonic 14-50mm f/2.8-3.5 OIS Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,199.95
Sale Price: $949.99
Today's Bonus: 21% Off

Probably the best thing about this lens is that it is almost up to par with Olympus. At best, it is sharp, with beautiful bokeh, etc, etc. Typical quality we expect from Leica-like optics (this isn't really a leica lens, but as close as you can get from Panaasonic's factories.) The bad thing is that it is not nearly as well built as Olympus. No moisture protection, so with an E-3 not a great fit. Also, it suffered from the all-too-typical "Zoom Lock" problem. A screw gets loose and it won't zoom past 25mm or so. It was a fairly easy fix, but not for everyone. A little irritating for a lens costing this much. If you suffer from this problem, please search out on the internet for the repair instructions. The fix is available for the brave ones out there. That having been said, I do like this lens. Just not as much as my spectacular 12-60mm or 11-22, which are almost bullet-proof.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Fujifilm X20 12 MP Digital Camera with 2.8-Inch LCD (Silver)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $599.95
Sale Price: $524.99
Today's Bonus: 12% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I am a professional photographer and a previous owner of the Fuji X100. The reason I got the original Fuji, and then this x20 was that I wanted to have a nice looking camera I could take with me on trips, etc. that would take great pictures without weighing a ton and being a huge cumbersome burden (like my 5dmk3).

Other than the great looks, I wasn't a big fan of the X100. It had so many glaring flaws that I returned it after a week of use. I am happy to say that this x20 model has addressed most of the issues that made the x100 such a pain. Rather than go into them specifically, I'll just give you my thoughts on this new model.

First, and foremost, the camera takes amazing pictures. This is not an overstatement. I have used all levels of point&shoot cameras over the years and this one is the first to really produce SLR-like quality in a small form factor. The pictures are sharp, the focus is accurate, and the colors are rich. Another way of putting it is this: there are always tell-tale signs that pictures are shot with a P&S camera: too sharp, too much contrast, too vibrant, etc. This camera produces these qualities (sharpness, contrast, vibrance) through great optics, NOT through in-camera processing. It's the real-deal, and you can see the difference.

The build quality of the camera is fantastic. It is sturdy, made primarily of metal, and feels great in my hands. Most important controls are easily accessed with dedicated buttons. I especially like the +2 to -2 exposure control dial on the top. This is something that I use all the time on my SLR and something I think a lot of non-pros could benefit from. When the sensor is tricked by backlight, just dial it up, when things are too bright and getting blown out, just dial it down. It's easy and fast and it's second nature to use for me.

The only control that I think is left out is a thumb controller for the focus point. As it currently is, you must press the AF button (on a wheel with macro, flash, and timer) and then scroll around to change the focus point. It's not a deal-breaker, but it would have been nice to have an 8way dedicated thumb controller for the focus point. I change my focus points constantly, and I just can't do it as fast as I'd like on this model. On top of this, when you look through the eyepiece, which you should be most of the time, you can't change it. You need to take your head back and look at the back of the camera.

I also love the variety of modes the camera has. There are so many that I haven't been able to master the benefits of each setting yet. Here's a brief synopsis:

P, S, AE, and M are the usual suspect that all cameras have.

SR is an advance auto mode that determines the best settings based on the scene. It even shows its predictions, so you can see if it is accurately assessing the situation. From my experience, it's startlingly accurate. It chooses from: landscape, night, tripod, beach, sunset, snow, sky, greenery, and sky & greenery. Having these settings on a camera is old news, but having the camera predict the scene itself and do so with great accuracy is a pretty exciting advancement.

Adv. Advanced lets you make some stylish choices and make your pictures look a little Instagram-ish. I'm not a huge fan of this kind of thing, but I suspect many people will be. The choices are: toy camera (lomo), miniature (tilt-shift), pop-color, high-ley, low-key, dynamic tone, soft focus, and a handful of partial-color masks (everthing BW except reds, etc.).

In this mode, I LOVE the tilt-shift (miniature) setting. I used to own a $1600 tilt-shift lens that I'd pull out once a wedding and use, but sold it because I wasn't using it enough. Now I've been using this and getting the greatest results.

Motion Panorama: an onscreen guide steps you through making a panorama.

Pro-Focus: the camera takes 3 pics and then softens the background to make a portrait-like shot. This actually works better than you'd expect, but I don't use this feature to take portraits.

Pro-Low light: This combines 4 pictures of poorly-lit subjects and combines them. The problem with this and Pro-Focus is that if your subject moves (and they always are, even if just by breathing), it doesn't work well.

Multiple Exposure: You can use this to combine several pictures into one. For example, you can take a picture of the moon, then recompose your shot, and place that same moon in the sky over a cityscape. I've used this to create ghost-pictures to scare my kids.

SP (Scene-Position): This is your standard setting where the user gets to choose what their shooting. The choices are portrait, portrait enhancer, landscape, sport, night, night (tripod), fireworks, sunset, snow, beach, underwater, party, flower, and text.

And finally, there is the macro mode, which is excellent. It is so good, in fact, that I am selling my macro-lens that I use for ring shots because I can actually get results just as good (possibly better) using this camera. And, because the looks of the camera are non-point&shoot looking, I can pull it out on the job and nobody blinks an eye.

---

In summary, I think this is a terrific alternative for a bulky SLR. If you're a pro, I think you'd be happy to let this little camera take the place of your SLR on trips to the park, the beach, or on vacations with your family. If you are a hobbyist or family-shooter, I think you should definitely consider this over (or in addition to) a SLR because the best camera is always the one you have with you. If your SLR is too heavy, you'll leave it at home and then all you'll have is iPhone pictures.

I hope you found this review helpful. If so, let me know! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. :)

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>

Sharp LC-70LE847U 70" Class Quattron LED Smart 3D TV (Old

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $3,699.99
Sale Price: $2,249.99
Today's Bonus: 39% Off

I originally bought the Samsung 60 inch model 7050 from Costco and I was very impressed with the picture and overall quality; I did have issues with the Samsung; like I could not get the Audio Return Channel to work. Since I bought the Samsung we remodeled our theater room and the new arrangement allowed for a bigger display. I have been eyeing the 70 inch sharp I was hesitant to get the larger Sharp because I did not feel I would keep the beautiful picture the Samsung offered right out of the box. When I exercised the incredible Costco return policy I came home with the Sharp Aquos LC-70C8470U and wall mounted this beast on to a brilliant articulating wall mount. To say the least, the entire family was impressed with the size of this thing. It was not that hard to see that the picture was not the quality of the Samsung. The picture looked a bit soft and the color uniformity seemed less than inspiring. Knowing that I had 90 days to test out this new monster I did not waste any time calibrating the set with my copy of the Digital Video Essentials (DVE) HD Basic Blu-Ray disc. I spent a night and the next morning trying to dial this TV in to give it a fair chance of surviving in my home. The following are the values I came up with after calibrating with the DVE Blu-ray disc. I use a PS3 Slim for my Blu-ray player and the video signal goes through my Onkyo 709 receiver. I am not sure if all Sharp displays come from the factory with the same video quality, but if they do, people who buy this TV should try the settings I found to work pretty good. In the end, the picture quality improved. The softness and color was brought back closer to what the Samsung was. I still think the Samsung offered an overall better picture but for now I am close with the Sharp 70 inch and the Audio Return Channel works as it should. The internet apps all work really near perfect. I have stopped using the PS3 and Xbox to access any of the things the Sharp offers. 3D content of the Samsung was superior and the Sharp is not bad either. For those looking for size the sharp will work well after adjusting the picture quality. If 60 inches is big enough than go with the Samsung.

Sharp Aquos LC-70C8470U

Calibration settings:

OPC: off

Backlight: +10

Contrast: +30

Brightness: +3

Color: -2

Tint: +8

Sharpness: 0

C.M.S. -Hue:

R+6

Y-1

G0

C+16

B-14

M-7

C.M.S. -Saturation

R-3

Y0

G-4

C+14

B-4

M-6

C.M.S. -Value

R0

Y+5

G+5

C+7

B0

M-2

Color Temp: Med-High

R Gain (hi): -30

G Gain (hi): -3

B Gain (hi): +3

Motion Enhancement: AquoMotion240

Quad Pixel Plus 2 (advanced)

Active contrast (off)

Gamma Adjustment: 0

Film mode (advanced)

Digital Noise Reduction (Middle)

Monochrome (off)

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

Read More >>