Canon EOS T3 (1100d) DSLR Camera with 3 Canon Lens Pro Pack:

Customer Ratings:

Ok, where do I start?

1. Cannon EOS T3 is an entry level DSLR that delivers great picture. It is a perfect instrument for first time users like my self. There are plenty of options on the camera that will assist you with taking great pictures, but the best way to use it is to experiment with the manual settings. This camera comes with standard Efs 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens.

2. EFS 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS lens This lens is standard lens that comes with the camera. It is great for wide angle pictures but also for medium range distances. I have been using this lens for most of my shoots. I really like it.

3. EFS 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS lens This is a great lens for long range pictures. I haven't experimented with this lens yet. I am sure that it will become useful once I start figuring out what style of photography I really like.

4. EF 50mm f1.8 II Autofocus lens I LOVE THIS LENS!! This lens is great for close up pictures and portraits. The few pictures that I have taken with this lens made me look like a pro. It blurs the background and focuses on the object that you are taking the picture of. This lens is a must for every photographer that is in the beginning stages of their photography career.

5. Zeikos 58mm AF 0.45X Wide Angle and Macro Lens This lens attaches to the 58mm lenses to give you a wider view. I like the idea behind it, but most of the time the pictures aren't really clear. I have used the Macro Lens and it worked well.

6. Zeikos 58mm Af 2X Telephoto Lens This lens also attaches to the 58mm lenses to bring objects closer to you. I haven't use it much. I don't see any practical use for it at this time.

Understand that all of these lenses are designed for the entry level photography. Keeping that in mind, these lenses are not the best lenses to have. However, for the price that I paid, i am super happy with them. I have done some research regarding the lenses and I found that these lenses are the cheapest on the market. For now, I am happy with them, and I believe once I improve my photography "skills" that I will advance to a better camera and more expensive lenses.

Additional Items that came in this package:

Two extra batteries

Universal charger

A small tripod

3 piece Pro Filter Kit

Carrying Bag

16GB SDHC card

SDHC card reader

Cleaning kit

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Rokinon 650-1300mm f/8-16 Telephoto Zoom Lens with 2x

Customer Ratings:

A good starter lens. Relatively easy to use. Requires a fair amount of time to learn how to use. At full zoom with the teleconverter attached it requires long arms to focus. Also, you may have to take into account the tripod you use. With my tripod, I have to account for the drop of the camera body. I still like the lens.

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SanDisk 8GB/30MB Ultra CF Card ( SDCFH-008G-A11, US

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $49.99
Sale Price: $24.99
Today's Bonus: 50% Off

I am very fond of my Sandisk cards.

I also have a Sandisk 4.0 GB Extreme card, and did an interesting comparison. I held a recording time race between Ultra and Extreme, here in my livingroom. Recording a big buffer full of photos in multiple trials, the recording times were identical. The more expensive Extreme was no faster than this card. In my case, the recording rate has to be limited by my camera, a Nikon 8800.

Having a reliable card as large as 8.0 GB is very helpful.

My cards have traveled to Alaska, Mexico, and Ecuador, and have had to function in all sorts of conditions. They have recorded 100,000+ photos, each of which I desperately did not want to loose. I back them up as often as I can, but I still worry, and I have lost photos when other cards failed.

I am pleased to say I have never lost a photo from a Sandisk card in spite of the abuse I put them through.

Last week I filled up my Sandisk Ultra II 8.0 GB with important photos carefully staged photos of butterfly specimens at the California Academy of Sciences. I worked 12 hours a day for 8 days on this project. The card behaved as it always has, and every single one of the 2400 photos I took, made it home safely.

Do back your cards up often, but from experience I can say that I have a very, very favorable impression of this card.

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SquareTrade 3-Year Camera Accident Protection Plan ($1500-$2000)

Customer Ratings:

I purchased the squaretrade 2 year warranty for my camera purchased on E bay. The camera mal functioned after one year and square trade fixed the camera with out a problem. Afer many, many and I mean many photos taken the camera it mal functioned again, I called squaretrade to have it repaired again under the warranty, but they refused stating the cost of the repair exceeded the cost of the camera, 1st repair was $ 135.00 cost to square trade, and they would not repair or replace it again. They only thing they could do is send me a check for the difference of the original cost of the camera less the 1 st repair cost which was about $ 22.00. So read the fine print, this is not an unlimited warranty! I was a little disappointed. The rep on the phone stated that the comera should have not been repaired the 1st time because of the high cost of repair compared to the cost of the camera.

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Q-See QC804-1 Digital 4-Channel Network Video Recorder with POE

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $599.99
Sale Price: $533.97
Today's Bonus: 11% Off

I have purchased tons of stuff from amazon over the years, and this is the first time I have felt inclined to write a review, so bear with me. So, right up front, I tried hard to really like this thing. I have been wanting to get it for some time now, as I have two 1080 HD Dahua security cameras (for those that don't know, Q-See cameras and NVRs are just re-branded Dahua), which are great cameras for the most part, but that's a review for another product.

Let me first explain where I was before I got this NVR:

I have been using the FTP functionality on the cameras for about a year now, saving off the video footage to my PC. The problem was that it was REALLY bogging down my system with the constant writing to the secondary hard drive in my machine (the cameras don't have the best motion-sensing capabilities, so I had motion detection set so high that it was almost full-time record) at about 6000Kbps constant bit rate.

This is when I decided to save up for this thing and I was really excited when I got it. My friend (we are both engineers, by the way) had just ordered the 16-channel NVR and seemed to have mixed emotions after about a week's worth of using it. He has 5 Dahua cameras and we both did the FTP thing for the last year or so. I got the 8-channel, because I didn't think I would ever have more than 6 cameras or so.

Now that you know where I am coming from, let me summarize a few points on this thing:

The good:

1. Like any NVR, this thing is completely stand-alone and does a great job recording the video to the disk. It has TONS of options and you can tweak you camera settings from the NVR itself. As far as the recording goes, I couldn't be happier.

2. You can use the "Q-See QC View" iPhone and iPad apps to view the cameras, playback recorded video from the NVR, etc. (more on this later).

3. The model I purchased comes with a built-in 4-port PoE (Power over ethernet) switch, which is VERY handy if you don't already have a PoE switch for your cameras. This necessitates two power supplies (12V for the NVR itself, and 48V for the built-in PoE switch), which are both included, of course.

4. HDMI and RGB output. I have it hooked up to both my TV through HDMI (I am actually using a BriteView wireless HDMI transmitter in there, too and it still works great) and to a secondary computer monitor next to the NVR at the same time and that seems to work great as well, though I have not tried having them both on at the same time, but I don't think that it would make much of a difference.

5. The NVR finds the cameras really easily. If you have the cameras plugged directly into the NVR (using one of the four the PoE ports), it only takes as much time to find them as it takes the camera to boot up. Really easy.

The neutral:

1. A little fan noise. Not something to be TOO concerned with, but the NVR does have a built-in fan that can be a little annoying if you are sitting in the same room as the thing. It's not really loud, but just a little annoying unless you have the NVR tucked away in a server room of sorts, which is what I did.

2. The user interface was obviously designed by engineers (and, like I said, I AM one). It's not SUPER ugly (though they probably could have prettied it up some), it's just hard to navigate through. Like I mentioned above, there are TONS of options for this thing, and they decided to make all of these options available to you, which is good, but can be a little overwhelming.

3. This NVR may change settings on your cameras without warning you. Make sure you have your network settings set up EXACTLY how you want it before you plug your cameras into the PoE switch on the back of the NVR. I was using an external PoE switch at first and found the cameras easily with the NVR on the network. I had them configured with static IPs (192.168.x.x) for easy access. All of that changed when I moved them from my external PoE switch to the built-in switch on the NVR (which has a default gateway of 10.1.1.1). The switch on the NVR is completely separate from the rest of your network. In other words, I had my NVR's IP set to 192.168.0.200, for example. The switch is still in the 10.1.x.x space. So, when I moved my cameras, they were re-assigned a 10.1.x.x IP....and it was static. I couldn't access the cameras directly from my network anymore because they were now on a different network. Sure, I could probably change my subnet masks to be able to access them again, but it was just really annoying. Even after moving them back to my external PoE switch, they were still inaccessible. Just be aware of this.

The bad:

1. Try accessing this NVR from anything but IE and you're out of luck. IE? Really? C'mon, guys! I am even able to access most of the functionality on my Dahua cameras directly with the iPad, but not the NVR? C'mon. Also, you have to have the RIGHT VERSION of IE to be able to have it work smoothly, according to the different forums my buddy read. I am still running IE9, and am worried that if I upgrade to 10 that I might lose all functionality, just like with other browsers.

2. Invisible files? What the...? So, when I was saving off my video to my PC directly via FTP, it saves off the data into files that you can play back with some Dahua software, which was really nice, but has it's own drawbacks, of course. Anyway, Q-See claims that the NVR can save off these data files to your computer, and, when looking through the user interface (with IE, of course), sure enough, you can.....sort of. I, apparently, was not using the correct VERSION of IE to download these files from the NVR to my computer, because as soon as they were downloaded, for the life of me, I could not find them with Windows Explorer. I went back and tried to download the file again, but the Save As dialog showed that it was already there!! What the...? Back to Windows Explorer. Nothing. Do a windows search for the file. Nothing. Back to the Save As dialog? Still there?! That makes no sense! Hidden files? Nope. Permission issues? Nope. I could ONLY access the files locally by right-clicking on them in the stupid Save-As dialog. Perhaps someone can shed some light on this one?

3. Ok, at least I am able to watch the playback from my bed on the iPad....wait, did the app just freeze? Huh. Must have been a glitch. Close the playback window, open it again. Looks like it's playing fine aga---what?! Again?! Over and over and over again, the iPad app freezes during playback (this is not even mentioning the frequent 'out of memory' messages you get from the app on a regular basis, but that also happens in Dahua's IDMSS iPad app -which makes sense -they are essentially the same). And I am not saying it freezes after 5 minutes -try every 10 seconds of playback. Extremely frustrating if you are trying to look for footage from earlier.

The wrap-up:

Overall, this NVR is just not quite ready for prime time. It shows a LOT of potential, and I love that it will record 1080 video from multiple cameras, but accessing the video after it is recorded is just too much. I had hoped there would be firmware updates or something to address these issues, but I am seeing these issues mentioned in posts from a year ago and I still see no new firmware to fix it -after nearly a year of them knowing about the bugs. I am regretfully returning mine to Amazon due to these major flaws. I may just end up buying a NAS and enabling an FTP server on it to store my data. Sad day, indeed. I really wanted to like this NVR.

Oh, and in case you think it might be just my NVR? My friend had the exact same issues with his. It's just not quite ready for prime time. If you have solutions for any of these above issues (and please don't tell me to format the hard drive in the NVR -I've already read about all of that), I would love to hear them! Perhaps I would then keep it after all.

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JVC GYHM100U Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom and 2.8-Inch LCD

Customer Ratings:

This is the camera I've been waiting for for 7 years. It has everything I've wanted: Incredible HD quality, direct MOV/Final Cut Pro-ready file creation, SDHC card usage, a decent built-in mic... It has taken the quality of the video work I'm doing to a whole new level. I could not be happier with this camera except if I had a 2nd one to do simultaneous 2nd camera angles in the studio...

I am trying to make my filming worthy of the quality this camera produces!

This is pricey but worth it.. so if you have the $$, don't hesitate to buy this thing, you won't be sorry.

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Logitech Webcam C210

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $29.99
Sale Price: $17.50
Today's Bonus: 42% Off

Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program

This was an incredibly easy to use webcam, which is awesome since I don't have a lot of experience with them. I've seen my friends & family use them but I've never actually set one up myself before now. It was overall a good experience.

I have to admit that I'm not the most tech savvy person that's posted a review, so my review will be very much from the average non-computer savvy viewpoint. The lighting on this is very good & I liked that I was able to situate the webcam onto my laptop, as my regular desktop is currently on the fritz. Once set onto your computer, you can position the camera head however you like. I also liked that it had good lightI was very much afraid that this would show up dark like some of the digital cameras I've owned (or my cell phone camera), so that was a plus.

For me the greatest thing about this was how easy it was to upload, use & such. The software actually comes with a movie maker, which could be very good for those who want to do a little something extra with their camera. For the price this is currently selling for, this seems like it is a very good deal. The only people I think would probably want to go elsewhere are the ones who want something a little more sophisticatedI do know that there are webcams out there that are fancier than this, although for the average consumer this should be all you need.

EDIT:

Just wanted to note that for the purposes of this review I received two Logitech C210s, one to record the video with & one to show off on camera.

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TASCAM TMSTPRO Condenser Microphone - Cardioid

Customer Ratings:

I have used this microphone for small group and piano recording, and it's an excellent less expensive alternative to the more expensive Audio-Technica equivalents (which I have also owned and enjoyed).

The two big pluses are being able to use built-in batteries for long periods of use, without the inconvenience of phantom power, and the inherent viability of single-point stereo miking, which, as has been demonstrated for decades now, can result in a very pleasing stereo image.

The only "negative", which one would expect in this price range, is that, no, it's not fully up to the kind of quality you can get from large diaphragm, tubed, condensor microphones (such as the Neumann and its brethren). One would expect that. But this is a great 'starter' mic, a big step up from the super-cheapies, and a convenient mic for location recording, so long as you're not expecting 100% professional quality.

Very highly recommended, and I've had no problems or issues using this microphone at all.

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Nikon MB-D12 Multi Battery Power Pack

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $616.00
Sale Price: $349.99
Today's Bonus: 43% Off

Nikon deserves to sell very few of these and indeed a lot of us will skip it or wait for aftermarket. This is a fine grip, just like previous models. It offers absolutely nothing new yet costs FAR more (twice the price!) of the D700 grip. 3rd party companies will have a BIG business building a better grip for less money. This accessory is a real shame in light of the very fairly price D800.

Like the MB10 the grip feels sturdy and all controls work well. The battery compartment comes with a tray for AA batteries and another for Nikon's battery. This will also get you the 6 FPS in DX mode. But the price is insulting. There's just no other way to look at it.

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3K 16.05 MP Digital Single Lens Mirrorless

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $1,299.99
Sale Price: $898.00
Today's Bonus: 31% Off

Professional image quality testing has been done, and the verdict is in. This camera beats the Olympus OM-D EM-5... just barely. Image quality off both camera sensors is fantastic and nearly identical, but the GH3 edges out the EM-5 by just a little bit of dynamic range. The EM-5 is a little cheaper, though. Right now, the GH3 is fairly expensive, but what you pay for is the best camera in this format money can buy, and I'm not just talking about image quality.

Other reviews cover a lot of things about image quality and technical specifications, far more in depth than I'll go here. What I want to talk about is handling, video, and the general advantages of the Micro Four Thirds format.

Chances are, if you are considering the GH3 at all, you fall under one of three categories. You are either a serious enthusiast, a professional photographer, or you want to make movies. This is probably not going to be your very first system camera, and it's definitely not a point-and-shoot camera for amateurs. That's not to say the GH3 is overly complicated or unapproachable if you're new to photography, but I should think a cheaper camera would fit your needs fine.

The GH3 is a very special camera, with lots to love for those who love cameras. If you're a serious enthusiast, you should consider the EM-5 as well as the GH3. There are pros and cons for both cameras. I'll let you go read up on the EM-5 on your own, but for the GH3, it has a lot in its favor. Top of the list is handling. The GH3 is the largest camera in the format, this is true, but what you gain in bulk and weight, you also gain in ergonomics. There are lots and lots of physical buttons, five of them customizable, and nearly all of them usable one-handed without any awkwardness. The software is fantastic, too, giving you additional programable buttons on the touch screen, as well as Panasonic's fully configurable Quick Menu. There are tons and tons of options to set to get your camera working just the way you want it to. Everything is very well laid out and fairly intuitive. The dials and control wheels feel solid and work great. Even the largest of lenses balance very well on the GH3, thanks to its weight and best-in-format grip. Don't let its size fool you though, it's only a little heavier than the EM-5. Along with that size comes a very large battery. Technical specs I think are conservative on the lifespan of a charge, too. This is the best camera battery I've ever encountered, letting me shoot far longer than I am used to. All-in-all, the GH3 fits wonderfully in the hand, is very easy to shoot with, and gives you a huge amount of control. If you're an enthusiast photographer or serious prosumer, the GH3 will not disappoint. As an enthusiast, though, you've got plenty of options in the format and you should look carefully at many other models that may be cheaper but still quite satisfying.

If you are a professional, I think you'll appreciate much of the same things enthusiasts do, like what I mentioned above. But there's more in this camera that seems intended just for you. The Wi-Fi "Lumix Link" will let you upload images directly from the camera as you shoot, letting your customers see immediately what you're doing. You can also use it to trigger the shutter remotely or change settings. If wireless isn't your thing, there's an HDMI port and AV port. I have to believe the fully articulated touch screen will let you make difficult shots easy, such as doing macro on a product at a weird angle. The DSLR-type body will be very familiar to you, as well, though this is a mirrorless camera which means it's a much lighter camera than you're probably used to (more on this later). If you work with video at all for hybrid products, the live electronic viewfinder during movie recording will be a welcome change from optical viewfinders. As I mentioned before, the battery is quite large, but if you need more juice and don't want to switch batteries, there's a (sold-seperately) battery grip that will improve handling with portrait shots and give you even more endurance on a shoot. You will probably get some use out of the flash synchro socket and/or hot shoe. The buffer seems to be quite huge, and with a fast card shooting RAW in burst mode, it's very difficult to slow the camera down. There aren't more than a handful of weatherproof lenses for Micro Four Thirds so far, but if you have any the GH3 is weatherproof and will give you a seal to protect your system while you're shooting in wet environments. The camera is built with high quality, solid materials. All-in-all, the GH3 is perhaps the first Micro Four Thirds camera aimed squarely at the professional market, whether or not you've been tempted by the format before. It gives you enormous control, but gets out of your way when you're working. If you are a professional photographer, you are sure to appreciate the design considerations Panasonic made to make this a camera you can get serious work done with.

If you are a videographer, why are you even reading this review? There is simply no better camera for the movie-maker in this price range, and the video quality you'll get off of this camera will surpass hybrid or video-only cameras that cost considerably more. That said, video was one of my primary reasons for getting this camera, so I'll give you the most important details. Of all the codecs you're most likely to use, the six big ones are 1080p 24fps 50Mbps, 1080p 30fps 50Mbps, 1080p 60fps 50Mbps, 1080p 24fps 72Mbps (ALL-INTRA), 1080p 30fps 72Mbps (ALL-INTRA), or 720p 60fps 72Mbps (ALL-INTRA). You have a full-sized 3.5mm (1/8") microphone port, no need for an adapter like with the GH2, and a 3.5mm (1/8") headphone port for sound out while shooting. Of course, the GH3 has a stereo mic build-in. You can set mic levels right on the camera. There's all kinds of options for time code. As a videographer, you may still want to consider the GH2. Video quality is better on the GH3 in testing, even compared to the hacked GH2, but the GH2 is considerably cheaper and the difference in quality may not be enough. If you're a small budget indie filmmaker, choose carefully. All-in-all, if you can afford one, the GH3 out of the box is truly a fantastic video camera and competes at a much higher level for the price. It really puts other cameras to shame, even dedicated video cameras. If you are a videographer, or even a professional filmmaker, this camera has pretty much everything you want.

Which brings me to an important point. This is a hybrid camera, not merely an excellent still camera. For the price of one professional-quality camera, you're really getting two. If you happen to like taking still pictures AND video, the GH3 offers tremendous value. If you're creating hybrid products as a professional, there's really no other single camera that can do as well as this. If you're a hobbyist with interest in both pictures and video, this can save you a lot of money. The GH2 was good, this is better. Micro Four Thirds has finally arrived at the next level, not for stills-only, but for stills and video. If the EM-5 made Micro Four Thirds a serious format for still photography, the GH3 ups the ante and makes the format a viable platform for a whole new market.

Micro Four Thirds is the only truly mature mirrorless camera system. There are other mirrorless systems, to be sure, but Micro Four Thirds has a huge selection of first-party and third-party lenses, low end and high end, covering a huge range of focal lengths and apertures. The diversity of bodies from Panasonic and Olympus means there's probably a good camera for you no matter who you are. When you buy a system camera, it's reassuring to know that you're making a good investment. Micro Four Thirds is not going away any time soon. There's lots of great lenses available, and many more coming out. There's also adapters for many other lens formats, so there is almost limitless legacy glass available for any need, provided you don't mind manual focus. Mirrorless means thinner and lighter camera bodies, and Micro Four Thirds lenses need only half the focal length to achieve the same field of view as full frame cameras which means smaller and cheaper lenses for the same zoom factor. With two companies competing in the same format, there is a lot of innovation and a lot of options for users.

We'll see what happens over the next year from Panasonic and Olympus. New models are due out from both companies, as is the endless march of progress. For the time being, at least, the GH3 is a fantastic camera, and depending on your needs, it may be the best camera in this format for you until the GH4 comes out. Certainly for the moment, it has the best image quality available, and is a great camera to actually use. If you don't need the best that Micro Four Thirds has to offer, there are a lot of other great cameras to choose from in the format.

Happy shooting!

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Sony BDPS790 3D Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $248.00
Sale Price: $199.99
Today's Bonus: 19% Off

I received my player a short time ago, and so far I'm very pleased with the device. Setup wasn't totally painless, however.

I currently own four optical-disk-playing devices (not counting computer drives). I have a five-disk Sony DVD carousel, a Samsung BD player(with wireless but with minimal features, mainly Pandora, Netflix, Blockbuster, and some news headlines), a slightly older Sony BD player(BDP-570) which has, up until now, been the main unit in my entertainment center, and now this.

I'm reasonably pleased that the user interface is essentially unaltered from my earlier Sony BD device. The interface is still very easy to use, and very intuitive. It DOES, however, have the annoyance of lacking some configurability (I'd sure like to be able to remove the "Michael Jackson channel" from my list of video channels, for example, as I'll never... EVER... watch that.)

It does have a few new features accessed from that media-resources screen... the Opera web browser, a pretty decent Skype client, and a few other items. But if you've owned a Sony BD device before, the UI will be totally familiar to you, as will most of the main configuration options.

The remote control is also very similar to the older Sony remote, except that some of the special functions are now in a secondary, concentric ring around the nav-select pad... which is actually a BAD thing as far as I'm concerned, as I have found myself frequently accidentally hitting the outside ring when I'm trying to hit the inside ring, or vice-versa. Fortunately for me, I seldom use the provided remote, instead using my Logitech Harmony programmable remote... so this is not really an issue. But if you plan to use this remote as your primary control, I suspect you'll experience the same thing from time to time. Sony could have done better in this regard.

Picture quality is gorgeous, of course, as played on my 240hz Samsung 3D LEDTV. I wasn't sure that there would be any visible difference, but the image quality is notable improved, especially on upscaled DVD images. It seems that the two fast processor cores in the machine are getting a pretty robust workout... they're not being wasted! 3D is impressive, too... though I suspect this is more related to the TV than the player. (Samsung's 3D TVs are the best on the market IMHO, right now, though Sony's BD players are the best, I think!) That said, the machine never so much as "hesitates a frame" in even the most action-packed 3D scenes... which is something you'll occasionally note on lower-end 3D units, as the data streaming through them can briefly get backed up in fast, moving scenes, being rendered twice-over for each frame (once per eye, in other words).

I do not have access to a 4K display, so I have no idea if that's good or not. I suspect that 4K will tax the resources of this machine... then again, so few people have 4K displays right now, it's not worth quibbling about.

Now... if you buy one of the first units (ie, the current batch, I think!), you'll likely have a few issues when you first obtain it. The machine is designed to be network-connected, and wants to be connected. But, at least in my case, and in the case of many others, the network functionality seems somewhat hobbled under the "release firmware." You need to update the machine's firmware... after which, my machine has worked perfectly. But the device, by default, will try to "web update" itself anytime connected. Which means that you need to manually update the device, using either downloaded media (from the vendor's website), media obtained from the vendor (for a fee), or at the very least, a hard-wired network connection, in order to do your first update.

Prior to the first update, I had significant difficulties maintaining a connection... which could lead to an improper update, and a "bricked" device. Lots of other folks had the same problem. Post-update, my device works perfectly. Also pre-update, I couldn't manually enter my wireless networking info (the UI was there, but it didn't allow me to finish my setup). Post-update, that's no longer an issue.

The receiver in this device isn't tremendously powerful, and a better antenna/receiver set would be a major boon. It's basically on-par with devices built into laptops and so forth, and (post-update) works about the same as any of those. But it would be well-served by having some improved reception, since it's going to be tasked with streaming a lot of data. The reception is better than you'll get with a Roku or the like, but not as good as it ought to be for the price, and if you're not near your router, you may have some connectivity issues from time to time. It does seem to be on-par with my prior Sony device, or the built-in wireless in any of my TVs.

That's about all I can say about it right now. It's a terrific device, plays back flawlessly for any media I have access to, and just generally is the best device of its type out there right now, as far as I'm concerned. Just be careful about updating the device when you first receive it. I recommend downloading the update files and installing them without the network at all (see Sony's support site). After doing this, my network has worked flawlessly so far, and the device is separated from my router by a floor and four walls, and about fifty feet... and we have power lines nearby.

I'm very satisfied with the device so far. If that ever changes, I'll be sure to update this review, though.

*************

Edit: Well, I've had this for a while now and have fully put it through its paces. There's one thing I thought I ought to mention.

This has the best DLNA interface I've yet to see on a consumer device. It's easy to use, functions well... but there's a problem. It only recognizes a tiny subset of my media, including very, very few of my video files... very few. And while it will recognize any MP3 file, most of my media is in WMA format, which the player won't recognize, either. So, the DLNA functionality is pretty hobbled, as far as I'm concerned. I'd love to hear the experiences of others in this regard.

No support for windows media audio and video? No support for MKV containers? These are things that really should be present in ANY contemporary media-streaming solution. Hopefully Sony can implement something (it's not a hardware issue so it MUST be a legal-rights issue!) to manage file types better in the future.

Right now, the only device I have which can make full use of my media server, with the exception of actual PCs, is my little Archos portable media player. I sure wish my Sony BD player had support for as many file times as my Archos does...

*************

Another edit:

I've now had two more firmware updates since posting the above. And yesterday, I decided to play around with the network DLNA mode again. I don't know which firmware fixed this, but as of yesterday, I can now play WMA audio files with no problems.

I still can't see any of my WMV, DIVX, MOV, or other video files. The only things I CAN see, really, are the transport stream files taken directly from DVD rips, and I only have a handful of those, created off of disks I own, so that I could put those files onto my portable player (Archos 5IT, 500GB).

So... it does seem that Sony is "fixing" the DLNA issues, but a step at a time. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of my stuff... video files, etc... someday soon.

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General Electric Power Pro X500-WH 16 MP with 16GB Camera Bundle

Customer Ratings:

What a wonderful camera and bundle for the price. We are very satisfied. Used it to photograph our wedding and honeymoon, and have hundreds of wonderful pics to share!

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Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Customer Ratings:

A exceptional portrait lens for both digital and film, the Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D is usably sharp wide open and tack sharp by the time you stop down even just a bit. Relatively small and very light, it feels just right in my hand. Steve McCurry is one of my favorite photographers and I was happy to discover that many of his great shots were taken with this lens.

Also, if you shoot on a manual focus body like the F3, you'll like the solid but smooth feel of the focus ring.

The 85mm comes with a metal, screw-on hood. My preference is the plastic bayonet mounts, but I find that I don't need the hood that often since this lens doesn't tend to flare.

Two minor complaints about this lens: first, the bokeh is not exceptional. That's OK; I'm not a bokeh hound. But when I see the creamy out of focus specular highlights that the 85mm f/1.4 produces, sometimes I dream about spending the extra money.

Second, I wish it were AF-S. But even without AF-S, it focuses faster than you'd expect.

Finally, the construction is solid. I've used it heavily for two years in deserts, jungles, and glaciers (ok, and in less glamorous places like around the apartment) and it still looks brand new.

In short, my favorite lens. Absolutely worth every penny.

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Samsung TL210 DualView 12.4 MP Digital Camera with 5X Optical

Customer Ratings:

If you're considering this camera, you've most likely heard of Samsung's dual LCD feature which is probably the single best reason to purchase this particular camera model. I brought this camera along on a recent trip to Disneyland and having the LCD on the front of the camera took all the guesswork out of framing portrait shots of me and my girlfriend.

To start off, I'll address the dual LCD feature a little more in detail. Samsung made this camera very user-friendly by putting a "Front LCD" button next to the power button push the Front LCD button and you're ready to take self-portrait shots of yourself or with one other person (I found it difficult to frame 3 people in the same shot using the Front LCD). This model (as well as the Samsung Dual View 12.2MP Digital Camera Silver (TL205) can shoot video while the Front LCD is activated, which is a nice touch.

I found the camera's rear LCD bright and clear enough to rival Canon cameras within the same price range. Thankfully Samsung removed the touchscreen feature touchscreen is really more a gimmick than anything else. There is a standard "wheel" where you can scroll through the various camera modes (video, night shots, auto mode, etc). When you scroll through each mode, the camera will display a short blurb about what each mode is designed for. There is an interesting "Beauty Shot" mode that claims to remove blemishes automatically however the pictures taken in this mode were not extraordinarily different than those taken in Auto mode. There is also a dual image stabilization mode which apparently uses both digital and optical image stabilization I found these pictures to be a bit grainy and softer than pictures taken in Auto mode.

The weakest part of this camera is the picture quality. Yes, this camera produces 12.4 megapixels however a side-by-side comparison of pictures taken by the much older Canon PowerShot SD700 IS 6MP Digital Elph Camera with 4x Image Stabilized Zoom yields much better picture quality by the Canon camera (and the Canon is only 6 megapixels!). Pictures taken by this Samsung camera are not horrible but you will find that unless you take pictures in broad daylight with plenty of lighting, your pictures will come out grainy and soft (seems like too much automatic noise reduction by the Samsung). In low lighting situations (such as taking a picture with NO flash during the queue line for Space Mountain, this camera will produce pictures no better than the iPhone 3GS 2-megapixel camera).

Video quality is high-def 720p and is excellent. My only gripe is that whenever you zoom in or out, the audio will disappear until you stop zooming in/out. If you like to take wildlife videos and plan on doing a slow zoom, you'll end up with a silent movie :)

I had no problems with battery life the Samsung lasted 4 days on a single charge for me with some power still left. I think I took about 200 photos and about 15 video clips in total. Note that you will need a Micro-SD card instead of the regular-sized SD card.

The outer housing of the camera is cheap glossy plastic and as one other reviewer mentioned, the camera IS NOT red but has a red stripe on one side. The glossy housing is a great way to see your own fingerprints. Although I appreciate how Samsung made this camera as light as a feather, it also feels like a camera that costs $50.

Pros: The Dual LCD feature is great (other manufacturers need to get on this), video quality (at highest setting) is excellent, camera is lightweight, rechargeable battery lasts a decent amount of time.

Cons: Grainy and soft images, especially at night (definitely not what you would expect from a 12.4 megapixel camera). Camera has a short but noticeable lag when taking pictures especially after using the flash. The plastic housing feels cheap and will probably break after one drop. Fingerprint magnet.

For a starter camera, this is definitely a good choice. I'd say $129 is a more appropriate price for this camera given the image quality. I uploaded 3 photos taken in Disneyland into the Amazon product photo gallery at the top of the page in case anyone is interested to see the camera in action.

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ZMODO 8 CH CCTV Surveillance DVR Outdoor Camera System 500GB

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $385.00
Sale Price: $188.99
Today's Bonus: 51% Off

I've never owned or hooked up a video system before but was willing to try. We wanted to protect the system from wire cutters or unplugging too so we went a step further in running steel conduit to the mounted cameras outside.

With regards to the system its self, it is pretty cool for the price tag. It has many features and capabilities. Once hooked up I would say I was not as impressed with the video as I expected to be but it serves it's purpose well enough and we can make out peoples faces from a distance. The night vision feature is the same. It works but I don't think it will go the 50 feet claimed. Maybe 30 feet and it's a fairly narrow beam that is well lite not the whole field of the camera lens. The mounts are workable but not without a little help. The screws were useless so we got different self-tapping ones of better grade and won't strip. On some mounts we used a piece of foil inside the universal joint to give it more bite and hold power. Really no problem at all. You will also have to buy a monitor if you don't have one but I went to Goodwill and picked one up used with cables for $15 more. We had more than enough cable to do out job and put the extra in the attic. One con is everything is designed to be plugged into an outlet. We wanted out system hiden out of the way so we put it in the closet and are going to have a special outlet installed in there for it but unless you want to do that for a more professional looking job you'll need to put the system next to an outlet and internet conection. For that we are using a wireless adapter and router instead of the hard cable. We also ran all the wires up throught the ceiling into the attic and out to the eves of the house were the conduit tool over outside to the camera.

So even tho we took it a step further we are happy with the quality of the video and the system overall. It also has many easy intefaces to access system settings and to save via USB memory stick or to PC via network. Playback and search also was easy to use. I found the system to be as easy to use as my laptop really. and there seems to be lots of different preset controls for the basic camera in my opinion. However, the system leaves me wanting to buy 4 more better PTZ cameras with 2-way audio which the system can handle.

The one thing I have not done yet is use the smart phone app for Android to monitor and change the settings yet. I wish I could comment now but maybe later. However, based on my experience so far I do not expect it to be a problem to setup or use even though the apps referenced don't appear to be their brand but third party.

Overall I think for the money I paid I got a great little system that does pretty much what it says and what I need. With a little inginuity we made the system look more like a professional installation and for about $40 more and a little extra work we fortified the systems integrity pretty good too. I figure a new outlet iin the closet will cost about $150 with an electrician and then the only thing anyone will see besides my cameras is when they open the closet to make a manual change or want to view the monitor. We do plan to buy and use some upgraded cameras with audio.

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Apple Cinema 20-inch Flat-Panel Display

Customer Ratings:

There was a time that I never considered buying an Apple display. I figured a Mac costs enough money, without spending $1000, or more, on a display. In late January 2005, I purchased the newest Powerbook G4 12 inch 1.5 GHZ G4, with superdrive. The notebook had nearly all the performance I was looking for, and the small form factor allows me to easily haul it around the house, or the world should I ever get to travel properly. However, I wanted more from my Powerbook, when at my desk.

Yes, I was already using my Powerbook with an external display. It was an analog Sony LCD. However, it was only 15 inches, with a resolution of 1024x768, so I actually had as little screen real estate on my external display, as I had on the 12 inch built-in display. I wanted more.

After deciding a 17 inch LCD would not be enough, I ordered the Apple's 20" Cinema Display, and I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, the box arrived beat-up, and there was even dirt inside. However, everything inside seemed to work ok, thankfully. Un-wrapping the cinema display was a joy, and I was eager to put it on my desk. The design of this display is stunning. The aluminium enclosure will please the eyes of anyone, and the back of the display is as beautiful, if not more beautiful than the front. There is a single cable that comes from the back of the display, which neatly goes through an opening on the aluminium stand. This single cable splits in the end into Firewire, USB, DVI, and a power connector that you plug into the power brick. I connected the firewire, USB, and DVI to my Powerbook, and then I connected the power to the display. Wow. It was perfect out of the box. I could never get the color profile right on my old external display, but the cinema display was out of the box the most beautiful display I had ever used. The brightness was exceptional, and it took a few days for me to get used to the brightness. Yes, you can lower the brightness with grace of your finger over the sophisticated tough-sensitive buttons on the right side of the display, but I loved the look at full-brightness.

My computing experience has been at another level, since the cinema display arrived. Whether I'm browsing the web, working in Photoshop and iPhoto, or making a movie in iMovie, the 20" cinema display and its 1680x1050 resolution is a joy to use. The display also gives me two USB and two Firewire ports directly behind the panel, which is incredibly convenient. If you're a gamer, which I'm not, you will appreciate the 16ms response this display offers.

Yes, your computer does all the hard work, but it is your display you interact with. A great display like the Apple Cinema Display allows you to get more done, with less work and effort. For example, you do not have to figure out how to fit all your Photoshop palettes on the screen, for there is plenty of room.

DVDs are quite the experience on this display as well. I popped in Shrek 2, and I was amazed by the images, but DVDs are far from the only reason you should want a widescreen. The widescreen aspect of this display allows you to work in the way our minds are designed and used to working. We read from left to right, so a display that is wider than it is long makes a lot of sense.

Overall, if you would like to save some money, there are other displays out there. Dell actually offers a 20 inch widescreen display, which compares nicely with this one, even supporting additional inputs. However, it does lack something. It lacks the beauty in design that the Apple Cinema Display offers, and it probably lacks some of the quality control that Apple strives hard to achieve. For example, Apple might reject some of the panels they use inside of this display, if they suspect quality concerns, where other manufactures may use any panel they are supplied with, without spending the time and money to ensure a quality panel. If you believe you would like to spend some money on a fantastic display to use with your Powerbook, PowerMac, or DVI-output PC, then you should not pass-up this beauty. It is truly a piece of art from an aesthetics point of view, and the images it displays are spectacular. This display will not look like "yesterday's" display anytime soon. In fact, it is a pleasure to enjoy a display that does not look like it should be part of a busy, cluttered office. This display oozes beauty and grace, and the stock Apple pictures do not do it justice. The Apple Cinema Display gives you the full computing experience.

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Sony HDR-HC9 6MP MiniDV High Definition Handycam Camcorder 10x

Customer Ratings:

After looking at the specs to this new HDR-HC9, I noticed that Sony's HDR-HC7 (last year's model) was almost identical to Sony`s latest in MiniDV technology. I began digging in the specs department for awhile on both Sony's website and here on Amazon. I was able to determine the following differences between the two:

The Sony HDR-HD9 boasts on it's Amazon specs that it has upgraded to a 2.0 USB connector leaving the old 1.1 design behind, however the specs sheet on Sony's homepage seem to dispute this, claiming the HDR-HC9 is still plagued with the old technology. I rarely use any sort of camcorder for still pictures, I do have a 512MB Memory Stick installed in my unit for that "just-in-case" moment we've all been in. Even in the rare occasion I do snap a couple experimental stills while on vacation, I always use a card reader to transfer the pictures to my PC, not the USB interface.

The supplied software is obviously upgraded. The Sony HDR-HC9 comes with Picture Motion Browser version 2.0.17

If you really care about stills (and take a lot of them...I mean a lot of them) the Sony HDR-HC9 can now handle an 8GB Memory Stick compared to the HDR-HC7's 4GB.

The general color of the new HC9 is black (which I prefer over the cheap space-age looking silver of the HC7) but this is just a consumer's preference, no reason to upgrade.

It has been posted on other websites that the HDR-HC9's manual focus has been improved over the HC7's.

I've been trying my best to come up with something more but honestly, this is all I could find. This camcorder is basically the HDR-HC7 with a new paint job and a few minor modifications. Not to say this is a bad camera...far from it. I shoot exclusively with Sony camcorders and this one is by far the best I've ever owned.

If you happen to own the HDR-HC7 don't be swindled into upgrading. As the few minor spec differences above point out, you already own the new HDR-HC9 minus the 8GB Memory Stick storage capacity and the onyx color scheme. Compare the specs for yourself, if you find anything that differs between these two models feel free to list them in the comments section under this review. I searched for 30 minutes and this is the best I could do.

As far as the camera performance itself...what can I say? It's a Sony, top of the line. If you want to shoot quality HD movies but don't want to break your bank account, the Sony HDR-HC9 or HDR-HC7 is probably the right fit for most people's budgets.

I also prefer shooting with this camcorder because of the MiniDV tapes it uses as opposed to all the other media platforms such as DVDs, Hard Drives, Flash Memory...etc.. This format (MiniDV) is an industry standard and if you are planning on editing your videos with computer software (Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas Studio) this is the ONLY way to go.

DVDs and Hard Drive camcorders require a lot of MPEG-2 video compression and when the video itself is transferred to your PC and edited into files the quality of the video is compressed again. Finally, when burning your finished film to DVD the files are degraded once more, leaving the footage pixilated and grotesque...like someone ran it through a garbage disposal. Something to think about.

Product Highlights:

MiniDV (my format of choice)

HDMI hook-up (for a quick plug-n-view of your footage in beautiful high def)

Switchable HDV/DV formats (just in case you don't need to shoot in HD)

Professional quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens

Widescreen display

Compact size (for an HD camera this is VERY convenient )

Product Down-points:

I really wish Sony would have given us a 25x optical zoom...it would have put this little guy over the top as far as camcorders in this price range

The touch screen interface is a bit cumbersome (sometimes feels like a rat maze when just trying to find a single button) plus it leaves annoying fingerprints

The supplied battery is a joke, definitely need an upgrade

Recommended Accessories:

Sony NPFH100 H Battery (This thing goes through juice quick)

Sony VF37CPKS Filter Kit (Protect that lens)

Sony LCSVA31 Soft Carrying Case

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