Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 5MP Digital Camera with 6x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom (Silver)

I've known what I wanted in a digital camera for several years:

1. Fast shutter release (my Canon S-200 takes 3+ sec., 5+ flash).

2. Small and light (for backpacking, travel).

3. Point and shoot zoom(5X plus with image stabilization).

4. 4+ megapixel, under $250.

5. No proprietary batteries, 2 AA preferred.

Up until now, nothing has come close. Then I read in Business Week that the LZ1 and LZ2 had become the best selling cameras in Japan within several months of their introduction. No independant reviews were available (even CNET) so I bought the LZ1 on the strength of it's technical spec's and my previous experiences with Panasonic products.

I took the LZ1 to the rodeo several days ago to test it under demanding conditions. I used the "sports" setting and burst mode(four exposures in about 1 1/2 seconds under those circumstances), all freehand. The results were stunning! No noticeable shutter lag, no blurry or out of focus pictures, all action frozen. Simply put: point, shoot, you got it!

Notes: Actual weight with 2 batteries is 8.2 ozs. The user interface is the best I've seenfull functioned and simple. Flash shots have shutter lag of approx. 1/2 second. I use Panasonic 2300 mah nmh rechargeable batteries purchased at Costco. Panasonic specs claim 370 pictures with those batteries, 30 seconds between shots, flash every shot, full zoom in and out each shot. This camera has no optical view finder. I use a 512mb Sandisc Ultra II SD memory carda little more expensive, but after having a Viking card quit and swallow 200 pics on another camera, I don't pinch pennies on memory.

This is one great camera! I also have a Canon Powershot A75, so I have another great camera to compare it to. I thought the Powershot took excellent pictures until I got the Panasonic DMC-LZ2. The LZ2's pictures are even better. The 6x optical zoom is one of the reasons I wanted the LZ2, and it works great! I took some pictures of my kids racing (swimming) in the pool using Auto, and they came out beautifully. They were not blurry at all, and you can even see the splashes of water in the air. I thought they might be blurry since I didn't use the "Sports" mode, but they were not. I also took several pictures of them from about 100 feet away and zoomed in the whole way with the optical zoom. The pictures are very close, clear, and look terrific. I am no where near a professional photographer. I am just a Mom who wants to take great-looking pictures of her family in all situations. I am very impressed with this camera, and I highly recommend it.

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Even though I have no basis for comparison as this is my first and only Digital Camera, I must say "WHY DID I NOT BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA BEFORE!!!!" These things are GREAT!.

Anyway, I decided to buy the DMC LZ2 after all of my research. The cameras I was considering and why I didn't buy them were:

Canon SD400-Pretty pricey, reports of a fragile LCD and proprietary batteries. Also test pix on various review sites from the panasonic seemed to be better.

Canon A520-Only 4mp's and when I went into best buy to play with it I couldn't figure out how to turn off the flash. If you have to fiddle with a camera for the first time and 15 minutes later you figure out how to shut off the flash, I shudder to think how hard the other features might be to figure out. Granted, I didn't look at the manual, but some features should just be easy to do. Plus I think it was too much camera. More options then I need as a simple point and shoot photographer.

Kodak C360-Good price point and nice features but has a proprietary USB cable and batteries. Also some complaints about low light photography. Also, little leary about buying first year models.

As for the Panasonic itself I'm happy with my purchase. I bought a 512 mb SD Ultra II card as well. When it arrived, I put the batteries in, and started taking pix. It was a sense of euphoria, I just was snapping away, and when I came to a picture I didn't like, delete it and "poof" it was gone. The camera is performing flawlessly. It does have it's downfalls, and they are stated by other reviewers these are my negatives:

Movie Mode: The movies at 30fps are good enough for me, but I have a digital video camera, and to be honest, the movies are not a must in a digital camera.

LCD: The resolution to my untrained eye is not notieceable. The pix look good when I review them. However, in bright direct sunlight I do have to cup my hand over it too see it. Took me a while to figure out that if I just rotated my body to form a shadow on the camera that worked great!

No optical viewfinder: Ok, I admit it, for the first 50 shots or so, I kept bringing the camera up to my face, bumping my nose in a futile search for a viewfinder. Took me a couple of days to stop doing this learned response after years with a 35mm Camera. No viewfiner is not that bad, but in direct sunlight, it is a little difficult to see the shot and then take it, but overall, not that bad.

Indoor/Low Light Photography: Works great with the flash as long as objects are within the flash range, which, if you are indoors that should be fine. Now I haven't taken it too a large indoor arena or anything, but most of those type of events are lit pretty well aren't they? In dimlight and the object is a distance away, you do have to kinda guess when framing up the photo but it doesn't take long to figure it out and I haven't had that much problem.

Overall: A good camera, the burst mode is great!!!! and the 6x zoom with the Image Stabilization, awesome. It can't be understated how HUGE that feature is. I'm glad I chose this camera over the others in hindsight. I now send my photo's to costco via the internet to develop what I want, which is awesome. If you're a first timer to Digital Photography, this is a great camera for you.

Take Care, Sean

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I've been an avid 35mm user, and wanted to take the plunge into digital, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. What got me interested in the LZ2 were the reviews on other Web sites with example photos, and comparisons with other cameras. I have to tell you, I'm not disappointed! The controls are very easy to find & use, and I don't miss the viewfinder like I thought I would; the LCD is big and bright enough, even outdoors here in Phoenix. Plus, even though I use reading glasses, I can get by without them to use this camera, as the controls & menu are well-organized and easy to read.

The LZ2 has no manual capabilities, which is typical for this price range. However, you can make up for it to some degree by using things like "Sports" mode when you want a faster relative shutter release, etc. It also allows for changing color mode, which gets rid of the yellow effect of incandescent lights and things of that nature.

Close-up shots are flawless, and long-distance shots with the 6x optical zoom are crystal clear, even when enlarged 200%. Digital zoom has a lot of noise, and is best reserved for when using a tripod. For all pictures, the LZ2 has image stabilizer to help reduce blurring from camera shake. It's better than nothing, but the best way to hold a camera steady is to lean it against something, or use a tripod. That's the problem with LCD-only cameras -it's difficult to hold anything steady when when you have to hold it out away from your body.

Image quality is sharp with well-saturated colors, normal for digital cameras. Also typical is a very narrow exposure gradient -When shooting in bright sunlight, shadows come out very dark; the LZ2 is better than most of the digital images I've seen, but still not on par with film images. In any case, for the price range, the images it takes are are excellent.

Battery life is excellent, provided you throw away the "Oxyride" batteries it comes with and put in some Alkaline or rechargeable NiMH instead. The Oxyride are worthless; they gave out after 20 shots, but the generic Alkaline I replaced them with have 70 or more and haven't given me the 1/2-full notice yet.

It comes with software for image editing, but if you're using Windows XP all you have to do is hook it up via the USB cable and Windows reads immediately it like any other removable drive. For editing, I use Photoshop, and haven't had a chance to try the bundled software yet. With all the image-editing software available, don't let the bundled software of this or any other camera sway you; there's a LOT to choose from out there.

Pros:

* 6x Optical zoom, with 4x digital

* Compact & light weight -you can drop it in a pocket or purse and take it anywhere.

* Big & bright LCD screen.

* Uses 2 AA batteries, which can be found anywhere, cheap.

* Long battery life, even using zoom & flash.

* Can hook it up to a PC or a TV for viewing images.

* Very convenient (for me) location of controls and ease of use.

* Lots of menu options.

* Very sharp images, even with enlarging.

* Good skin tones for portraits, with or without flash.

* Power-save mode: Can be set to go on standby if no activity for 1-2 minutes.

Cons:

* No manual controls.

* Limited autofocus accuracy in low light. This is exacerbated by the fact that there is no manual control capability.

* On-board memory is only 14MB. However, most people opt for the extra cards anyway. In my case, a 512MB SD chip will store over 200 high-res images, depending on the light.

* Flash doesn't diminish enough when using Macro settings; it's plenty bright for everything else.

* Digital zoom is very grainy, but the 6x Optical makes up for it.

Overall, this is the best little "fun" camera I've seen, and with its light weight and ease of use, I can take it anywhere. Well worth the price!

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I purchased this camera during my deployment in Iraq. It's very compact with excellent zoom capability. The rotary menu selection is easy to use with multiple options and settings. I especially love the sharp 2" LCD screen, great on view my shots and videos. It has faced both hot & cold climate (yes it does get cold on December in Iraq), sandstorms, and of course my abuse. In all cases my camera performed above and beyond it's call of duty. One note: If you're living in a very sunny area, I suggest to buy an LCD shade/cover.

LOFTEK® Smart equipped with P2P camera Plug and Play technology Wireless network Video with Nig

It is an ok camera, solves the purpose of monitoring the doorway. I have it outside under the roof.

It Works when it is pointed outside towards a sunny area, so I can monitor who came to my house.

The night vision is just good, and gets the face clearly

The iphone app helps a lot, which allows me to monitor from somewhere else also. Also works with the Google Nexus of my wife.

It is very easy to configure.

There is audio, bit noisy, since it does not filter off the background noises, but better than nothing. I can hear cars whiz by, but very little wind noise.

That's all, since I have not played it much. I might be back if I find something new.

As usual I read the other reviews and some were disturbing. However, since this camera was precisely what I was looking for and a really good price and I was forwarded. I decided to give it a try. I't been up and running for two days now. It really was easy to set up and once I learned what command did what have had 100% satisfaction. I tried the Icloud with warning emails and text messages. It has worked flawlessly. At 3 AM, I heard my Iphone chime indicating both an email and text message. I was able to instantly view the intruder(my 6 pound cat)save the video(or still image if you prefer) of her eating food and email the video to my work email. I did the same thing at work. Mid morning the cat entered the room, I received a TM and email. I viewed the "event" saved the video and emailed it to my home email. All without a hitch. I live in a rural setting and leave my house empty often for business trips. Altohugh I have an alarm system and outside cameras, I always felt vulnerable. NOw, I really feel a lot better about my empty house being more secure.

NOTE, so far the 3G system my Iphone has isn'tvery reliable with this system. So, for the results I mentioned, 4G or WIFI is the way to go. Don't expect too much with 3G.

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I bought this camer so i can monitor my almost 3yr old son and infant daughter since they share a room.Getting it to work was difficult at first because i just couldn't get it to connect to the wireless but then somehow it did it on its own( i know lucky me , i was ready to return it)

Then the next problem was getting nightvision to work, the instructions doesn't tell you that you have to create and account and log in online and select that setting on the website.so that's how i got it to work.My next dilemma is i remember it saying in the description that it has 2way audio, well i do get to hear my son but i can't figure out how to make him hear me!other than that it does the job and you can't beat the price.

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great easy to setup & use directly from your Android or i phone simply download the app, plug in camera & connect, low cost without lowering the quality.

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Simple set up and simple to get on. Love it. Using it as a monitor for our front porch. My wife feels more secure.

Lorex LW2110 Wireless Digital Security Camera

My husband installed this security camera on our front porch and the receiver on our Samsung TV. The installation was reasonably simple once the RCA adapter was found inside the box. The biggest concern with installation was finding a power source for the camera on the outside of my house. For many people the need for a power source near the camera will be a deciding factor as to whether or not to buy a wireless or wired system. (Wireless systems require a power source near the camera to run the wireless transmitter.) The receiver is located in the center of my house with the signal traveling through several walls and a brick facade. Despite this, the picture is still clear on my TV. The video only refreshes a few times per second giving a choppy display as you would expect from a security camera and not a webcam. There is no audio included with this system; however, if you're looking for a wireless digital security camera with good range and picture quality and connects to most devices, this camera may be a good choice for you.

I purchased 2 Lorex LW2110 Wireless Digital Security Cameras and one was damaged. I called Lorex to get a new camera and was told to wait . After waiting and waiting I finally received a camera that was refurbished. I was told no matter how much money I spend they will never send a new product, it has to be a refurbish. The camera I received came with giant scratches on it and one of the places to secure the bolt was completely stripped out. This is a terrible company never do business with them.

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The lorex LW2110 Wireless Digital Security Camera is a user friendly security camera. Setup is relatively easy with the only problem is being able to power the camera in a remote location. There are 2 settings for viewing, a 640 x 480, 12fps mode and a more smooth, 320x240, 30 fps mode which is controlled via a button on the receiver. The night viewing capability is excellent in low light conditions and is easily capable of viewing up to 60ft as stated on the box.

Pros:

+ Easy setup

+ Low light capabilities

+ Wireless

+ Weather proof housing

Cons:

Limited spatial resolution

Slow frame rates at higher resolution

Not network capable

The LW2110 field of view is more suitable for a store shop surveilance than any kind of "long" range (i.e 60ft) surveillance. The spatial resolution of the camera makes it very hard to determine what a person is doing 60ft away let alone identify a person. The slower frame rate for higher resolution mode is also very degrading to the imagery. Things can easily be missed by dropped frames along with this low frame rate. I understand the lower frame rate is most likely to preserve bandwidth but with all the wireless technologies available I would expect better performance than 12fps at 640x480.

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The concept of this wireless security camera is great and easy to setup, yet it heavily interfered with your wireless internet network.

I brought the DVR with 4 wireless camera to install around the house. However, whenever the wireless receiver power up, my wireless internet network basically dead on the spot. My family rely heavily on wifi access from VoIP, smart phone, tablet, laptop, computer, smart TV, etc. After some digging and test and trail, I finally realized that the Lorex LW2110 Wireless Digital Security Camera is running on 2.4GHz band, which is same band as most of the router out there. Whenever the receiver is on, it will jammed the 2.4 GHz band and virtually make all the other wifi receiver slow down (in my case, from 20MB to 1.5MB according to speedtest website). Unless you have the newer 5.8 GHz wireless router in your home network, this unit will jam your normal 2.4GHz Band wifi router.

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We required this system for outdoor use. We contacted Lorex directly and discussed it's viability and were satisfied by their response. However, the wireless cameras are so weak that they could not get through one wall from 60 feet away. Forget about the 400 feet advertised...not a chance!

The internet feature is not wireless, so has to be connected by cable. This it ridiculous in today's world! The timeline graphics are also so outdated that they look like DOS! Service from lorex after the fact was non existent. Stay away!

No, I would not recommend this to a friend

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Aqua - Vu AV740 7 inch LCD Underwater Camera System

What a awesome camera. I saw so much on it the first time i took it out. Not to mention how much i learned about the lake. Loving everything about it. Amazon is the best.

One day, I dropped down the fishy looking camera down the edge of a dropoff, and BAM! a musky took it. I should have installed a hook on it and maybe some fireline.

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I'm definitely happy with my new camera. Upgraded from the Aqua Vu scout 2. The picture is clear, function keys are in a good spot. Allows you to adjust the picture with easy visibility of the terrain below. The plug in's are in an area that causes concern due to the distance they stick out. I will be very careful with them. Top notch quality!

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Sony DCRTRV230 Digital8 Camcorder

The 230 is this year's lowest price "complete" digital 8 camcorder. (the 130 does not play analog 8mm tapes). The camera is a pleasure to use. The picture quality is a startling step up from 8mm and the ability to display complete single frames one at a time is fun. I've compared to mini dv and can't see any quality difference (Digital 8 is 500 lines vs 525 for dv). The tapes are easy to find and less expensive that mini-dv... Sony has added a helpful "intermidiate limit" on digital zoom. This feature allows the digital zoom to be limited by the user to a range that is usefull. (about 3x over the tightest optical zoom.) The Color LCD screen is perfect for off eye shooting and great fun with children.

Any downside? -Some don't like the B&W eye viewer. I prefer it since the detail seems better in it. -The backlight button is easy to confuse with the adjacent control. -Sony dropped the "force to infinity" focus button this year. (This was often helpfull). -I'm not fond of the bottom opening deck, but it makes sense since you can keep the camera strapped on your hand while you change tape. -The standard video out plugs have been changed to a mini-video plug. This helps make the camera smaller but may make replacing a lost cable harder.

The features I'd most like to see next year: Move the menu button to the outside of the camera and add an option for a brief date and time display at the start of each scene in play mode.

What about the memory stick option in the 330. I suppose that this is a matter of personal preference, but I bought this to have very good video camera, if I want a good digital still camera, I'll go buy one.

I have found exactly the same problem grainy and unnatural colors for indoor shots. In fact I compared the video quality with my 6 year old Sharp camcorder and found the older camera had clearer images than Sony DCR-TRV230 in almost EVERY case.

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I read all the negative reviews and whining in the reviews of the Sony TRV-230 Digital 8 camcorder, and bought it anyway for use of live-action reference for my animated projects. I didn't need stellar image quality, anyway, so the complaints didn't apply to me. I was suprised when I got this thing.

The image quality is wonderful! It has natural looking colours, excellent sound reproduction for a built in microphone and is razor sharp. While it is true that indoors you may have a bit of grain, it isn't a detriment like the people here would make it out like. I lit my subjects evenly and brightly, and the grain disappeared. Scratch one problem. If you have good lighting, there's no grain. Very simple. But, if you do not have even, bright lighting, it can become very grainy indeed.

The camera has a mind-boggling array of effects, all of which can have a nice effect if used in moderation. The effect I particularly like is the "flash" effect. If you crank it down to one bar, you get a nice cinematic look that is very similar in look to 35mm film at 26fps. The lens is very good, but in very bright situations some glare can appear on subjects. However, all cameras do that in some respect so if you're doing a lot of outdoor shooting, Sony has some lens filters that you can screw on. Scratch another complaint.

I especially liked how virtually everything is near your thumb. Record mode, play mode, zoom. The zoom is amazing, but you can forget a 700x zoom. It gets blurry around 400 or 500x, but as someone else at Amazon put it, who needs that much zoom anyways? If you really want to shoot something, then get off your [behind] and shoot it.

The remote is also handy, as well, especially if you are doing stop-motion/steadycam work. It may seem like a toy, but when it's on a tripod, you don't want to jolt the camera when you're doing stop-mo. It has most of the functions of the camera itself.

One complaint that I have is the tape loading mechanism. Most 8mm camcorders have a simple door, shove in the tape and slam the door shut --just like a cassette deck. Not this one. It has a fancy little motor that wheels out the cassette like some kind of science fiction movie. It definitely looks cool but if it breaks down, how are you supposed to get the tape in? demerit point for Sony there. I did like the bottom tape loading mechanism, though, because most 8mms have the door where your palm is, so you have to slip your hand out. Not so here. Tripod could be a problem, but a display tells you how much tape you're used and how much tape is left, so it doesn't reall matter because you have more than enough notice to change the tape anyhow.

It is a simple point and shoot camcorder which does a good job. It also suits me well in professional ways, as it runs circles around all the other broadcast cameras at Cogeco. This camera exceeds quality than any of the other cameras at the Cogeco studio, before or since. It takes some photography know how and a true artistic eye to get professional quality out of this camera, but it can certainly be accomplished.

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This is not a bad camera but I am having trouble with it not wanting to record or playback tapes. I have tried different tapes thinking maybe it was the tape but no matter what I do, it won't work. Took it to the place I got it, they had to send it away, which took forever, and all they done was use a headcleaner on it. They said they could not find out any problem with it. I brought it home and it started doing the same thing again and I bought a Maxell head cleaner and used it several times on it and it worked okay for awhile. Now it is back to doing the same thing again on not recording or playing back a tape. Do not know what the problem is. It just could be that I got a "lemon." I have contacted Sony but have never heard anything back.

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Several of the previous reviewers complained about the poor picture quality especially indoors. I thought the same until I

turned off the elctronic stabilization. Aside from the tape ejecting on the bottom I find this camcorder to be a good value.

Panasonic PV-GS90 MiniDV Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I purchased this camcorder to document the vacation of my lifeime. And I have been extremely pleased with its performance. Panasonic has addressed several design flaws in previous models to make this one sweet little unit. They've also added a few new improvements.

The bottom line is that it takes good video overall. Quality is very good in outdoor lighting. Indoor performance is good; low light performance is minimal, but much better than expected. Considering what you pay, video quality is on par with units costing hundreds more.

Pros:

1. Great video for a single CCD camera. Great for outdoor shooting.

2. Amazing 42x optical zoom. Picture stays crisp & clear.

3. Advanced Optical Image Stabilization (OIS). Panasonic has a reputation of having the best. This allows you to zoom in and move the camera with minimal screen jitter. Better than other brands costing $100's more.

4. Uses inexpensive miniDV cassettes. These can be purchased just about anywhere if you need one in a pinch.

5. Lots of software available to do video editing. You'll also need a firewire cable and card to transfer the video to computer.

5. Built in lens cover; it slides open and close by moving a sliding button. Say goodbye to dangling or lost lens covers.

6. Firewire port has been moved to side of camera under the foldout LCD. You no longer need to remove the battery to get to it. The AV output is on the front right side.

7. A usable built in LED light. It won't light up a room but just enough helpful illumination for a subject 3 to 5 feet away in dim areas.

8. Lots of manual control. User can switch from Auto to Manual modes at the touch of a button. Controls include focus, white balance, iris, f-stop, and others.

9. Shoots and displays video in widescreen 16x9 and standard 4x3 formats.

Cons:

1. Poor battery life. Battery included barely lasts 1 hour. Using the viewfinder instead of the LCD helps a lot. You'll definitely need to buy an extra battery.

2. Expensive replacement batteries. I found that the batteries for previous Panasonic camcorder models work just fine, and are a fraction of the cost.

3. Poor low light performance.

4. No slot for memory card. Takes video stills. Plan on using your digital camera for regular pictures.

5. No way to use accessories such as lighting kits or extra lenses.

Basically what you get is a minimalist digital camcorder that takes good video. The limitations of this camcorder are hardly "cons" considering how little you pay for it. MiniDV is on its way out, but is currently still a viable media. If you need a camcorder that takes HD quality or good low light video, this is not the camera for you.

But if you are looking for a great first time camcorder, or an inexpensive little unit to document that once a year vacation or occasional event, you'll be pleased with this one.

I bought this camera first at Best Buy first in order to record a very important event. However, after the event, I noticed, while reviewing the video, that there was a distracting dead pixel (greeen spot always on) right in the middle of the image. After verifying that it was on the CCD and not on either of the two viewfinders, I returned the camera for a full refund. I would have exchanged it but every store was out of stock. The techs verified the defect and waived the "resocking fee." :-)

Next, I purchased the same camera, used, from Amazon.com. This time the unit appears defect-free and I am very happy with it.

The picture is great, the interface is intuitive, and the optical image stabilization is wonderful when you take advantage of the 42x zoom. I haven't played too much with the digital zoom because it degrades picture quality, but it seems to work as well as digital zoom can be expected to.

The only reason I can't give this product 5 stars is because the package is incomplete. It comes with no transfer cable, so if you want to load the video into your computer, you will have to run out and buy an expensive firewire cable (about $30). It also comes without any software. However, you won't need additional software if you are happy with the free movie editing software that is included with Macs and Windows.

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Panasonic PV-GS90 MiniDV Camcorder with 42x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

I have purchased the Panasonic PV-GS90 from Big Value Inc. through amazon.com and the product is pretty good for the price. I have had Panasonic Camcorder (the PV type) before. If you are a MiniDV tape fan, this product is a good choice. Like other reviews, I expects this product to perform minimum picture quality when taping inside my house. I was right! The in-house picture was grainy, because there was not enough lighting inside the house. I was not upset because I expected this problem to happen. You can try to have more lighting inside your house when recording. Maybe that would fix the grainy pictures problem. For a little over $180.00, this product is supper. Out-door taping is excellent for the price, once again. I love miniDV tape because the movement of objects I am taping is recorded clearly, not jerky like other memory-card camcorder or DVD camcorder producing. I have never seen the quality of hard-drive camcorder; I imagine it would not product jerky movement of object when recording, but the price of hard-drive camcorder is too high for my checkbook. Overall, Big Value Inc. delivered what it promised and I am happy with my purchase.

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My Sony is getting old and I didn't want to lose the ability to play my mini DV tapes. Got this camcorder and like it lots. Image quality is fine for my needs. Great zoom range and the anti shake works well. Have not tried (and don't really care) about super low light or HD.

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I still use the first two from 2002 and 2007. I love the mini DV tape models. I actually bought this one because not only am I still using them on vacations, I use them to create DVDs I can play on my TV. After editing in Final Cut Pro, I pass through the camcorder to a DVD recorder to burn the DVD. I did not want to get orphaned, so I really bought this unit as a back up. It does have a higher zoom but a weaker low light record.

Fujifilm FinePix XP20 14 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)

I bought this to take on a white-water rafting trip. I got some great pictures on the trip. A few had a small spot slightly smudged from a water spot on the lens, but that's not the camera's fault. There was splashing throughout the ride down the rapids. Most of the pictures were very good. Some were great. Previously I had used disposable cameras for water sports, but these pictures were infinitely better than those obtained with disposables.

I also had my daughter take pictures with this on the rest of our vacation, while I used my Nikon D90. She got plenty of good pictures, both in good light and at dusk as well. As a point-and-shoot, pocketable, waterproof camera, this works great, and I wouldn't hesitate to use it when I don't want to carry a large dslr.

I bought this for my wife and she loves it. Great pics and durable. Highly recommend this if you are looking for a durable camera. Be aware it DOESN'T come with a memory card.

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I bought this camera for my daughter and my husband. My niece had one also. All 3 have quit working. They did not meet the expectation. They were not used very much. I am very disappointed.

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I ordered this camera to replace another that bit the dust (literally) while in Afghanistan. I assumed that the ruggedized case would be a better fit for the dust, occasional stream crossing, vibrations, and general havoc of deployments. I was right on those counts. 10 months later, the outside camera still looks fairly new. However, there are some issues with it.

Poor performance: this camera does well outside, focusing and taking a picture in usually around half a second. Inside, however, is a totally different story. With a flash or without, the camera had a hard time getting clear pictures. It would spend an excessive time trying to focus (usually on what was not the subject) and then take a muddied picture at such a slow shutter speed that the picture was generally unusable. If using a flash, there would be a lag of 2-3 seconds between pressing the shutter release and the camera firing. Sometimes it would just refuse to take a picture. There are many times I would have to have somebody else take a picture because the Fuji XP refused to.

Weak points in case: I had the camera in my pocket one day and took it out to find that several of the buttons had been smashed in and were no longer usable. So while the case can stand falls, water, etc., the buttons can't take the pressure from my thighs pushing it against the inside of my pocket.

This camera is essentially trash after 10 months. I'm not fooling with repairs or warranty service on a camera that performs so poorly anyway. It's loaded full of virtually useless features but can't get the basics down: take good pictures (fast) and don't break.

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*EDIT: Raised to five stars I have taken this camera on numerous trips now, fully submerged it repeatedly (never more than a foot) I have beaten the crap out of this camera and it keeps comming back for more. When closing the battery compartment make sure (as the manual says) that there is absolutely no yellow showing on the latch and you should be golden. At this point I cannot confirm the durability issues reported which nearly lead to me not purchasing this camera and have to attribute the complaints to opperator error.

Figured I'd take a chance on this camera, I do a good bit of kayaking and was hoping I might get a decent waterproof with abit of optical zoom. First of all the image quality is good, I like the layout of the camera, and definitely like the one touch video. Good out of the way I have taken this out once, I don't do underwater photography but it's definitely going to get hit with water along the way. Then, according to the manual I rinsed/soaked it in clean water when I got home. Then hung it on a peg and went to get dinner quick, two hours later when reviewing the days shots water leaked out of the camera any time a button was pressed and low and behold the area around the battery also had a few drops. The way the seals or designed that isn't a problem the antechamber can get wet without the battery/smart card getting wet but for the price of the camera I am not pleased with that. Audio playback from the camera is horrible but once the video is uploaded it's fine. It also boggles my mind you have to hold the power button a few seconds to turn it on but one bump will shut it off instantly.

My final thoughts on this camera are that it's not bad but I don't have a ton of faith in it. I have used the Kodak C123 sport and find it takes far better pictures when moving and it has dual locking doors providing a higher level of confidence in it's waterproof(ness) and it's cheaper.

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Q-See QCN7002D 720p High Definition Indoor IP Dome Camera (White)

Thank you Amazon Vine program for allowing me to review this camera.

Physical description. This is a very small dome camera. Measures about 3.5 inches in diameter. The housing is plastic and the camera itself is mounted in a plastic dome. Although plastic, the camera seems durable. I accidentally dropped it off my table at a height of 3 ft onto hardwood floor. Still works fine. Nothing broken. Closer inspection showed that the camera does not appear to have any weather seals. I don't think you'd want to use this in an unprotected area. The camera is meant to be used with power over ethernet. There is a splitter, and it does come with a 12v power supply. I tested it with POE and the separate power supply, works both ways. Included with this package is a 100ft length of white Cat 5e cable. I have 2 of these cameras, neither one came with any instructions or software. Not knowing where to start, I did contact Qsee. I was able to talk to a live tech support person. Although polite, he was not helpful. It seemed to me that they don't cater much to the home user, but more towards the professional installer.

Their website is good. All the necessary software is available to download, though it did take some searching. To ease the pain for potential users, I'd recommend downloading the user's manual first and read it for a good overview. Then download 2 programs: ConfigTool and Professional Surveillance System (PSS). The ConfigTool program detects all the Qsee cams on your network, provides with network address, and allow you to change the IP address, as well as other functions. Just a qualifier, I'm not an IT expert, so perhaps it took me much longer to figure some of this out. The camera can operate with DHCP (your router gives it a temporary IP address) or with static IP. Both my cameras came with static IP addresses. Ones that didn't match my network. It took me a while to figure out that the default on the camera was 192.168.1.xxx. My network was 192.168.0.xxx. Once I changed the IP address to match my network, I was able to access the camera via the web browser. The default username/password is admin/admin. I followed he directions word for word, and was able to get into the web interface of the camera to make some changes. I really like that you can put images to overlay your video. But to this day I'm not able to view live video within any of my browsers. This is not important to me since I use Blue iris to manage all my cameras. This camera does work with Blue iris software btw. The PSS software is excellent. Very easy to use. Flexible, and stable. You can view up to 64 devices simultaneously. Functionally it's very similar to Blue iris. The interface is more graphical, and nicer looking. I actually like it better than Blue iris. And it's free. But, it only works with Qsee cameras. I tried to pull up my foscam and Logitech cameras, and no luck.

Functionally, this camera has very good image quality. Better than the Foscam 8910, and almost the same as the Logitech alert. It does seem to do very well in low light. Better than the previously mentioned cameras. In fact, much better. However, there is no infrared illumination. This means that in dim light, this camera is great. In pitch black, it can't pick up anything. Additionally, this camera seems to lack some other important functions. There is no tilt, pan, or zoom. There is no audio.

I've not tested the mobile app for this camera.

Overall, this camera probably resembles the Logitech alert outdoor camera, but perhaps serves a different market. Both cameras are priced about the same, have similar image quality. The Logitech has audio. Neither have zoom, tilt, or pan. The Logitech is weather sealed, can record locally onto an microSD card. But the software stinks and you're limited to 6 cameras. As a home user, I find the Logitech more attractive. The Qsee has much better software, and is much more flexible in terms of expansion. But probably best suited to provide video security in a warehouse setting or some sort of business setting where flexibility and image quality takes precedence over features.

The camera is stationary, so if you need one that can move, this is not for you.

That being said, I liked most everything else about it. The picture quality was good.

, I found installation easy after reading the manual, and for home use, this fit the bill.

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I bought this camera to monitor a vacation home and I am grad I did. Now, I have piece of mind and can always check to make sure no one is breaking in.

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I should have read more closely. I've been using so many other wifi connected products like Belkin WeMo Home Automation Switch + Motion Sensor bundle for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch that I just assumed this nifty looking camera was wireless (to the internet) as well. It isn't. I'm just too lazy to string it though the walls. Better for someone building their house or handier than I am. Foscam FI8910W Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with Two-Way Audio and Night Vision (Black) looks like a better deal for me, although not as aesthetically pleasing.

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JVC GR-DVL915U Digital Camcorder

The JVC GR-DVL915U is a three-way delight. First, it is a top of the line MiniDV format camcorder with nearly every feature you could want or need. I'll mention just two of the many features that stand out. Electronic stablization works as well as those on pro-model cameras. Also, what JVC calls "Night Alive" is a surprise: full color video in next-to-no-light settings. Most other camcorders can't match this ability. Second, the GR-DVL915U works as a digital still camera, storing images on either state-of-the art secure digital (SD) or MMC cards. The resolution isn't what you'll get from a dedicated digital camera, but the 640x480 resolution is sufficient for posting on a website or for digital archives. The final treat: the camera has an analog input, so you can take all of your aging VHS analog videos of important family moments and transfer them to digital and preserve them.

I haven't found another MiniDV camera with all of these assets for this price. The only weakness in this unit is the dated photo transfer and editing software that is included. Thankfully, you don't have to use it. The camera comes with all of the cables and connectors you need. Also included is a multi-brand remote control and JVC even throws in a 16MB MMC card for still photos.

To be honest, I had set my expectations a bit too high and was somewhat disappointed by the image quality. For instance, I had my eye on a digital camera (for stills) as well as a camcorder. So I thought I'd combine the two in a single purchase. Well, guess what! This little baby offers less than 1 megapixel (Mp), while the cheapest digital camera offers at least 1.3 Mp, with many models offering 3.3 and I've even seen ads offering 5 Mp.

Second (incorrect) expectation was video quality. I used to own a VHS-C and after all the hype I'd heard about about digital, I was expecting perfect video, the same quality you get on, say, the Discovery Channel. Wrong again. Although the quality is an order of magnitude better than my old VHS-C.

So, having said all that why did I rate this camera 4 stars? Because it is a great camera for the money. Yes you can get camcorders with 1.5 Mp stills, the Sony DCR-TRV30 for example, but they cost... more. Not worth that extra money...

As for the video quality? Like I said much, MUCH better than the older VHS-C quality I used to have. The colors are great, you can make infinite copies without loss of quality (that's digital for you) and I've been playing with video editing software on the PC and the resulting videos are awesome and fun.

Furthermore, JVC has done a great job on the user interface to set and control its enormous amount of features. They are menu-driven which leaves the camera refreshingly clean of "buttons". This can be a big issue if you have "fat fingers" or are someone who can get lost in too many buttons (check out some of the other camcorders and you'll know what I mean).

So in summary, if you set your expectations right, this is a great camera with solid image quality for its price, is very rich in features and comes at a good price. Four stars in my book.

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I bought this camera in 2001 when the fetures available in this model was fairly high-end among consumer models. The picture and sound quality was great and to my opinion better than comparably priced Sony models.

I used the camera very lightly, only in special events and maintained it nicely, taking good care. However, after 4 years it started malfunctioning.

When I power it on for recording, it gives out an error screen asking me to remove and re-attach battery and the unit is in safeguard mode! I have two new batteries (original JVC) and the same problem. When I remove the battery and try to use it with AC Adapter, the error is still displayed. Only the battery instruction is not displayed!

I tried head-cleaners etc with no result. After several trial of removing and re-attaching battery, taking the casette out and putting it back in, sometimes the camera starts working again and abrupty dies after some time of recording.

Additionally, the casette compartment often does not work automatically. Either the casette won't go in or it won't come out upon opening the compartment. Basically, the mechanisms are designed quite poorly as I see it.

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THis camcorder is by far the best one that I have ever used in my life. It gets a butt load of recomendation from me so you should go out and get one yourself.

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GTMax 10FT Red/Black Gold Plated Micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable with Ethernet for Asus VivoTab Smart ME40

Daniel Berenyi

The cable is thin but surprisingly strong. Once I moved my Samsung in my lap and the micro HDMI connector "unplugged" itself because of the rigid cable. Otherwise connection is super. I would recommend this cable.

With this I am able to sit on my couch with my tablet and plug it into my 60 inch hdtv to watch movies. All I need now is a remote for my tablet. The build of this cable is great and I love that it came with a Velcro wrap to keep the cable neat when not in use.

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I use this cable with my Asus TF700 Transormer Pad Infinity, with great results. Even though with HDMI the quality of the build is not as critical as with analog cables, this cable has a very premium feel to it (gold plated connectors and all). Bargain price, too.

Read Best Reviews of GTMax 10FT Red/Black Gold Plated Micro-HDMI to HDMI Cable with Ethernet for Asus VivoTab Smart ME40 Here

BL-VT164WP HD - H.264 Wireless Pan-tilt Network Camera, (White)

I have used Panasonic Network Cameras (C131A and C230A) for years with generally good results, and when my C131A unit failed, I purchased this one, as Amazon referenced this product as a newer version of the C230A. As any users of these Panasonic Network Camera's know, it is not a trivial process to get these cameras up and running with all the port forwarding, and wireless configuration settings, but after a few hours, I did get it functioning with my PC. Turns out though, that unlike the previous Panasonic Network Camera's, this one (BL-VT164W) requires viewer software to be installed on your PC, and to view the picture through this software. Contrary to the package that states "Remote Viewing from any computer or smartphone" no picture can be seen on a MAC, iPhone, or iPad. When you use any non-PC device, it asks to download viewing software, but of course there is no viewing software for any device other than a PC. Panasonic Technical Support verified that this product does not work on a MAC or mobile devices. Waste of time, as this product clearly is not as advertised. Will return.

I was skeptical when ordering this camera, as it has such a poor review rating on Amazon. All other panasonic cameras have excellent track record with consumer, but not these latest BL-VT batches. Why? Panasonic made a foolish decision of designing entire UI around some Windows IE plugin. So if you go to the cameras webpage on anything other than IE, it will not do or show ANYTHING. Even if you go to page with IE at first it shows nothing, you must install the plugin, then tweak IE security setting to allow it to run, and only then can you finally access the admin page. This is a major flow for me as I am mostly an OS X/Apple user. Thankfully there is Virtual Machine, so I was able to get Windows 8 running n OS X, then I spend an hour troubleshooting these tweaks above. And Finally Voila -Admin interface for camera pops up. The interface is powerful and allows many cool configuration tricks -resolution, motion detector, alarm trigger, and so forth.

Contrary to popular belief on these Amazon comments, you can view the camera image in ANY browser, using the . So these pains are onl related to configuring the camera and using some of the advance features. Furthermore, this camera is onvif compliant, so MANY iPhone, Android, OSX, Windows, Linux, and so forth, software supporting onvif will allow you to view the image, pan and tilt, zoom, change resolution, and so forth.

**The One big feature I could not get to work is, two way audio. The methods listed above for viewing video all work well and as far as I could tell miss only one feature, besides configuration tweaks. I could not figure out how to 'speak into the camera' from any iPhone App or non-IE browser. You can hear the sound, but you can not talk back, which is a shame, because using IE Plugin as a client you can speak with the person on the other end, without any additional hardware, which is rad!

So this bring me to this frustration point. I took a leap of faith ordering this camera, having never seen or used a panasonic Ip camera of its class. I was hoping it would look as good as it does on the photos. It looks way better! Its a very well designed piece of hardware. The features are amazing, it has 3 pairs of dry contacts, so you can make it work with ANY standard home automation system, door strike relay, alarm panel, and so forth. The image is good., It not only supports two way audio (with IE only -see above), but the microphone and speaker are built in. It has a well functioning motion and heat sensor. Its is cute to boot! And I think the value is hard to argue with. I could not find many alternatives for IP Cams that cost around $250...this is a VGA price range today. Add the extra features above and and you can hardly find any alternative. The closest maybe Axis M1054, which has no wifi, no pan and tilt, and costs $100 more!

So, yes all this considered, its frustrating that in todays age of so many options interbrowser/interplatform options, some fool at Panasonic decided that the way to go is make this camera fully usable and fully configurable ONLY with the use of an IE plugin and limit their market share to not just window users, but those willing to figure out the plugin install and security tweaks. Its a foolish move, and doubly disappointing when the hardware is so sweet and well thought out. Also it seems that previous version of panasonic cameras have a universal webadmin interface, so this was a conscious change for the worst.

I will keep my camera, because for the price, I am willing to deal with IE only admin panel, and no 2 way sound through iPhone, but I think most people would take the easier route and get an Axis or similar competition camera for more money. So I hope Panasonic reads these little reviews and makes so software changes quick, before this awesome product goes the way of Palm or Motorola. i.e.: companies with amazing hardware, but frustrating as hell UI experience.

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Bought this camera as a replacement for a BL-C131 that died. I have owned Panasonic cameras from the BL-C30, C131, C230 and now this VT164WP. This is not an improved BL-C230 camera it is an entirely new camera with very little in common. Some improvements, a few steps backward.

It connects to your network much like the older Panasonic cameras. You need to have a working knowledge of IP addresses, port forwarding, and MAC address filtering to set this camera up just like with the older Panasonics. I have my camera connected via a LAN cable to my router. The older cameras had two MACs, one for the hard wired connection, and a seoncd MAC for the wireless interface that was one digit higher than the wired interface MAC. I THINK this camera gets away with one MAC, but I haven't explored that thoroughly. At any rate, the wireless MAC address can be easily viewed under the "Wireless", "Status" menu.

Once you get it on the net, you will find an entirely new user interface when viewing through your web browser. No more PTZ "joystick" type controls in the left control pane. The PTZ controls are below the picture. The presets must be selected from a drop down menu (not the preselect position numbers 1 thru 8), and then you must click a "Go" button. Not nearly as handy as the old interface.

The new sensor provides a clearer picture. The panning range is about the same as the 230 series cameras, but the tilt range is less. The sensitivity in low light situations is improved due to the ability to set sensor shutter speed and thus lengthen the exposure. You will trade off sensitivity for blurry motion, but it does work well and I found a balance between acceptable sharpness with good exposure in dark locations. I rate this feature as an improvement over the older cameras.

The motion detection and controls are all new too. WIth the older cameras you set motion sensitivity and threshold once, it it applied to all positions and the entire viewing screen. Simple, but could be a problem when you had shadows of trees setting off the motion detector needlessly. This new camera has a differeint approach. You set motion sensitivity and threshold separately for each preset position (Home, Far Upper Left, etc.) AND within each preset position you have up to 4 motion zones you can select (by drawing a rectangle on your screen) and set the sensitivity and threshold separate for each zone. What does all this mean? First, if you set the motion for say the Home preset position, then at a later time move the camera once or two clicks to the left or right (or up or down) off of the Home position, your camera will not catch motion it is not in its Home position. You need to set motion detection up for each and every preset postion you have set if you want it to trigger on motion for those positions. This can be a pain, but it does give you much more control over what is captured. Second, for each preset position, you can set up to 4 different zones of motion detection each with a different (or same) sensitivity and threshold. So say you're in your Home position, you could set a zone on the left side to catch all motion with a high sensitivity and low threshold, and on the right side where you have problems with tree shadows moving, you could set a 2nd zone with a lower sensitivity and higher threshold. Again, you can define up to 4 different zones for each position, but you don't have to. For most of my positions I just set one zone to capture the whole viewed area and set the sensitivity and threshold to balance desired captured motion vs false triggers. These new controls can be a bit daunting, and the instruction manual does a very poor job of explaining them in English (nothing new here), but once you experiment with them you'll get the hang of it and have a lot of control over motion detection. Most of the time you'll just set one zone for the entire viewed video area.

And there are additional features new to this camera. A Privacy Zone control where you can select up to two zones that you do not want the camera to display, and backlight compensation where you can set zones that provide very bright illumination and compensate for it. I have not tried these features yet.

Unlike previous Panasonic cameras this camera has no internal memory to capture motion detection and review later. You have to set up email or FTP forwarding to capture triggered motion. I consider this a big disadvantage for my purposes. I really depended on the internal memory to review captured motion. Now I have set the camera to forward all motion to my email address, and I have to perform a lot of email management.

Sidenote: I have no trouble viewing and hearing audio over my Android phone using the IP Cam Viewer app. And I can view the video on my new PC running Windows 7. But I have yet to get audio to come through on my Windows 7 PC. The camera defaults to G.726 audio, and Windows 7 does not natively support the G.726 codec. I downloaded the Sharp G.726 codec to my Win7 laptop and got it to receive the camera's audio, but I have yet to crack the code and get a codec that will work on my new Win7 PC. I'm sure it's me and just a matter of time until I get it working. The camera does allow you to change the audio coding to G.711, and when I do that I receive the audio thru my new PC just fine. But that causes other problems with my Android phones, so I'm gong to stay with the G.726 setting and work through the problems on my new PC. Just a "heads-up."

All in all, this is a new camera, with a new viewer interface and a new control and setup interface. It will take you time to get used to. There are some nice features they added, but they can bog you down at times. There are some mis-steps as well: No internal memory, smaller tilt range, a somewhat confusing interface that is not as nimble as the previous interface. I wish Panasonic had stayted with their previous interface and added the new functionality and setup menus as needed. They just had to go and change things. I doubt I'll be ordering any more of these VT164WP cameras unless Panasonc provides a software/firmware update to the camera that offers going back to their previous interface.

Update 11/8/2012: I finally figured out how to get the audio to come through my new Windows 7 PC. I needed to download and install a new version of Java. After that the G.726 audio comes through fine. I still am mnot happy with the new User Interface. This camera and its interface was obviously designed by "geeks" who play with drivers, ports, and security settings all day. An internet camera for the public should not have to be this difficult to set up and use.

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Excellent image quality, alarm functionality, and remote access. But, no internal storage of images associated with timers or alarm. Must externally record, FTP to server, or e-mail images in order to subsequently review images associated with alarms. These little cameras continue to work well inside and, if protected from rain, outside down to 15 below zero F.

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Almost all IP cameras are a pain to configure and setup and the Panasonic BL-VT164 WP is no different. If your lucky your efforts to setup port forwarding will be successful. Once setup though this camera has better than average image quality in well lighted areas.

I use this camera to remotely monitor and I don't record or require notifications so I can't comment on those features.

Despite other what other reviews say, I was able to view on my iPhone and iPad without the need of an app or other software.

Simply type your external ip address with the port forwarded to and add /cam.

Ex: 62.257.140.9:80/cam

Viewing on Internet with Internet Explorer will require a small download for audio and video control software.

Unfortunately IP cameras are not yet user friendly so expect to do some research and understanding of router setup and port forwarding.

User Manual

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Olympus SEMA-1 ME-51S External Microphone Set with Adapter & Case + Tripod + Accessory Kit for

I wanted the Olympus External Mic and adapter for my OM-D.

I wanted another tripod and a different style of tripod than my Vanguards.

As far as the other stuff I have a nice collection of that stuff now for my various needs.

So all and all I am very happy with my purchase in fact the tripod did impress me!

Panasonic VDR-D230 DVD Camcorder with 32x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

Product is very easy to use with a good manual included and movie pictures are very clear especilally when made in daylight. Zooming option is excellent but a bit difficult to control when maximized. Camera option to use light at night improves picture quality significantly. However, not all discs are compatible with this camera. Can't use Sony DVD-R and Sony DVD+RW dsics for handycams. Was successful so far with Maxwell DVD-R discs for camcorders.Info which discs to be used is lacking when purchasing this camera.

I purchased this item after reading favorable reviews. I've never owned a camcorder before, but decided I need to record some of the significant events in the lives of my two teenage sons for our long-distance relatives to enjoy. I like the simplicity of the dvd format; you can record on a dvd-r, finalize the disc, and watch it on your dvd player right away. I don't want to have to edit a lot of tape every time I record an event.However, you do have the flexibility of doing that with this camcorder, if you use the dvd-ram format.

The manual is easy to understand and I was able to use the camcorder as soon as the battery was charged. The day after I got it, I used it to record a JROTC drill competition and the resulting video was very good. I've also used the still photo function to record photos on an SD card. The still photo quality is adequate, but not nearly what you would get with a standard digital camera.

If you are a casual home-video maker, I think you will be very happy with this camcorder.

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Do not buy the Memorex mini DVD RW pack with this Panasonic camcorder. They're incompatible.

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I don't have too much complaints about DVD camcorder initially. I thought it's a good idea to directly get things done. But after playing it a while I got big concerns with DVD camcorders. For DVD-R/RW materials, this camcorder requires you to finalize the DVD which takes "MINUTES" to finish. After that you can view it on DVD player. I accidently move the DVD-R to play in a external player without finalization. The result is this disc got damaged(can not be finalized) and I can only view it in the camcorder. This is a very painful experience. What if this is your treasure? I think this is going to happen when you have several kids. They'll sure to mess up someday. I don't know what the hell can I do to get videos out from the disc to computer. Its software is not capable of getting things out of the disc either(why the camcorder can?). Since I only got it for a day, I'll return it to B&H.

It seems DVD format(a bad IEEE product) is very painful to deal with even with the DVD camcorder. I really miss the tape camcorders. I think HDD camcorder should be much easier than DVD camcorders. I really feel sad about those competation about different DVD formats, DVD-r/rw, dvd-ram, dvd+r/rw. Why manufactures can not get a agreement to make things easier?

I tried DVD-RAM which doesn't need finalization. It's a good alternative. I got Panasonic 3pack for $7.99 at Fry's today. You'll need to burn the content to another DVD-R/RW for viewing in a DVD player(sony player support DVD-RAM format). Though Hard Disk camcorders can serve in this way better.

Finally I returned this unit to B&H for the reason of Date&Time stamp not working on external DVD player and PC player. Called Pana tech support and knew that the Date & Time is not phsically recorded. In order to play it back you'll need to play it back in the camcorder currently. My DVD player and powerDVD software can't support it.

In summary: I returned it for the following reasons:

1. Date & Time stamp can't be played back on external DVD player and powerDVD software.

2. For DVD-R/RW, it requires a process "Finalization" to be able to play on DVD player.

3. The DC power in is under the battery pack. Which means you have to detach the battery pack to be able to use the DC. There are many cases that the camcorder refuse to work without external DC.

4. The resolution is good, but the color is really blank. Don't like it as well.

Hope my experience is helpful to someone. I'm going to try Canon ZR-700(cheap miniDV). Hope it can work out for me.

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I am a total novice to video cameras let alone DVD cams. This little camera works great! I love the 1000x zoom feature.

One thing that people in the other reviews had problems with was mini-dvd's not working. Well if they would have read the little book, they would have seen that the camera only works with DVD-R or DVD-RW discs. Not +R or +RW. Yes! There is a difference.

Still picture feature was a selling point for me. It takes great digital stills.

Great, easy to use, light weight, and user friendly!

FI8918W FOSCAM wifi wireless indoor IP Camera, 2-way audio, night version up to 8 meters, mobile vi

First-Quality:

I think the picture quality of this camera is awesome. We have been using it for about 3 months now. The picture is clear enough where we can see by looking at the monitor if our daughter is breathing while she's sleeping. We can also see if her eyes are open, or if she spit up. The night vision is incredible, just as clear as with daylight. Before my daughter was born we used this camera as a security camera and it was perfect for that as well. We plan on purchasing one or two more to use as security cameras.

The biggest con of this camera, at least with ours, has been audio. We have never gotten clear audio from either our PC or our iPhones. We have an AngelCare Movement & Sound Monitor and we use that for audio to monitor our daughter.

Second-Configuration:

I did not find this camera nearly as hard to configure as it seems some others have. I found the instructions to be satisfactory. I would say I've had some experience with computers, but never with network configuration or installing anything like this.

The DNS service the instructions tell you to use is no longer free. You can find free sources, but it's not built into their software the way DynDNS is. So, I just paid the $20 for a year of service from DynDNS and followed the instructions and it worked.

I then paid $4.99 for the Foscam Surveillance Pro app on the iPhone. The app rocks. I can take screenshots or video, pan/tilt the camera, and there's a talk button as well so I can use the 2-way talk from my iPhone.

In total it cost me about $110 and about 20 minutes to get this camera working. The average video baby monitor costs between $150 $300 these days and are not viewable from your computer at work or on your smart phone. The downside to this would be that it will only work as long as your internet is working. Comcast screwed up royally over and over again when we moved and it took about 10 days for us to have internet, and therefore, no monitor during that time.

Overall, if you're not computer illiterate, and you don't mind paying the $20 a year for DynDNS's services (or taking the time to figure out how to use a free service similar to it), I would recommend this camera for you.

If you only plan on using this camera locally via WiFi (no web access) then you don't even need to worry about DynDNS or similar service. My husband and I will be buying more of these low-priced, high-quality cameras!

UPDATE: It's now October 31st (happy halloween) and we've been using this camera for several months now. With our set-up I still have no complaints. In fact, the reason I'm back here is because we're ordering another one to put in another room in our house.

It may be complicated to set-up in the beginning, but once it's ready, you're rewarded with clear picture, amazing night vision and the convenience of using this on my smart phone.

I did bump it down from 5 stars to 4 stars because the audio feature is not really usable, although we've used it before if our other monitor is not within reach. There's a lag and lots of static. Still, I plan on ordering at least 2 more!

I had an old DLink IP cam from years ago. I gave that away so I was looking for a new one. Nothing really stood out on the Amazon site for wireless IP cameras well, there were, but they were out of my price range. For me, I just needed to test the waters as far as wireless IP cameras were and the price swayed me to get this one. The camera is pretty good in the dark, it works pretty well till about maybe 10 feet after that, it's like looking into a black hole. The color during daylight is off, but otherwise, images look good. Well worth it.

Buy FI8918W FOSCAM wifi wireless indoor IP Camera, 2-way audio, night version up to 8 meters, mobile vi Now

This camera is great as a baby camera or indoor security camera. It has a lot features including wifi/wired access via http, ftp, msn, etc. The night vision is very clear. The documentation was sometimes hard to decipher. Be sure to update the firmware!

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A pain to set up the wireless and port forwarding, but a pleasure to have and use it when all said and done.

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The reviews for this camera were great, overall, so I bought one to use as a baby monitor. I consider myself in the middle when it comes to technical savvy. This camera is not for the faint of heart of those that get confused by DHCP, IP, ActiveX downloads, death loops of error messages and so on.

I was thrilled to find that the instructions were all contained on a 4x4, 20 page booklet....not a whole lot to do. I like to have electronic copies of manuals so I hit their website and found that the actual installation and manual is 48 pages of dense text on letter sized paper...that was my first tip off that the install wasn't going to be easy.

I tried the install on two different Windows 7 machines; one of which was brand new and, therefore, as pristine as a machine could get. The software installed just fine in about 10 seconds each time. I rebooted as prompted. I launched the IP Camera app, saw my camera listed as Annymous with the IP address, double clicked it (horrificly amateur user interface on that app by the way) and was taken to what looked like a control panel of sorts.

There were virtual dials and knobs and controls to move the camera around. Where one would normally see the image from the camera, I had a nice large black box with a smaller white box in the upper left hand corner which contained a red X...basically I needed to download and install an Active X control. I was prompted to do this on both machines, I selected Install, gave the install app permission to install, and got some weird message saying that Windows had found a problem with the file. My only option was OK so I clicked it and I was once again asked if I wanted to install. Death loop. The only way to end it was to hit No several times.

This sounded like a Windows problem so I tried it on the other PC with the exact same results. At that point, I was convinced that it was an install program issue, was indicative of how the product would function, and put the whole thing back in the box.

Even the instructions are ambiguous. Here are a few samples:

"If you use Windows7 and could not find the icon on desktop after installing the IP camera tool, please check if the path of the camera software is correct. For example, if it was pointing to C:\Windows\System32\IPCamera.exe.

Then fix this by pointing the shortcut to the correct path C:\Windows\SysWOW64\IPCamera.exe. The shortcut should work without any problems." What? Why not update your install program?

"Please don't upgrade the firmware freely. Sometimes, your camera may be damaged if configured wrong during the upgrade. If your camera works well with the current firmware, we recommend not upgrading." What is the purpose of a firmware update then? Do they magically know to only include fixes that are causing every malfunction?

"If you could not view living video after running the activeX. Only a red cross in the center of the video or just a black screen. Please change another port number to try. Don't use port 80.Use port 85, 8005 or 8100 to try." What is living video? Who taught this person grammar and sentence structure? Who let them write end-user technical reference material?

I am sure this is a good camera...for the married-to-your-computer type of person who thinks it is great to spend hours tweaking and configuring things knowing that you'll get to repeat it all in case of failure or new routers or whatever. Not for me...I value my time far too much to waste another minute trying to tweak and fix my network, or decipher the first grade writing in the manual.

Link Depot Male HDMI to Male DVI-D 6 feet Cable

If you need any type of cabling, I don't care what it is, do not waste your money on monster cables. You can get cabling that works just as well for a fraction of the price. Gold connectors are the biggest scam on the planet. Solid gold cables might conduct better, but plated means nothing. So unless you intend to pay $800 for one, stick with cheap. I have this cable pushing a 1920X signal from my PC to my Toshiba. Works perfect. No over scan, 100% of the screen utilized. Movies look perfect. Games look great. Wallet is still full.

Why waste $40-$50 on Microsoft's analog VGA cord, when you can get a perfect digital picture for $3?! Works like a dream for hooking your xbox 360 up to a computer moniter with DVI input. Remember, DVI doesn't carry sound like HDMI does. You'll need a female RCA to female 3.5mm adapter if you want to use computer speakers (Also about $3). -Pattrick (Marie is my wife)

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This cord works as well as cords that cost well over a hundred dollars. If there is a difference in quality, I can't see it. I've had it six months with no complaints.

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My old tv has a dvi port instead of an hdmi port. I didn't know they made this cable but I'm glad to find out they do. It made a huge difference on my TV's picture. Also, Amazon has fast delivery and everything that I have ordered has been delivered in perfect condition.

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Hooked my HP laptop with HDMI to a Dell p1911 monitor with DVI-D dual and the picture is Awesome!

Works fine with just the windows software but the ATI/AMD vision software truly brings this monitor to life :)

With the VGA cable i was using i was getting screen flutter and it was not near as crisp and smooth as this is now.

If you want to hook your HDMI laptop to a bigger monitor with DVI-D? GET THIS CABLE!!!

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Belkin HDMI to HDMI Cable (6ft)

I was told by my cable company I should order a HDMI cable wire for better reception. I ordered one from Antoline, when I received the package I opened it and attached the wire to my cable box. The wire was not making a connection to the box so I called my service provider. They walked me through it and I was told the wire might be faulty.

I removed the wire and decided to return it. I went to Amazon's on line return dept and was connected to Antotine. After answering some questions I was sent an e mail saying my return was denied.

I called the company and spoke to a man who was totally rude and argumentative. He told me they wouldn't accept a package that had been opened because they can not resell it. He said I should have made sure it was the right wire before I ordered it. I explained this was the correct wire which my cable company suggested but it didn't work on my TV. He said he didn't care and asked if I would buy a wire from a package that had been opened.

I tried to explain there was no way I would know the wire didn't work if I didn't OPEN the package. He was adamant but finally said he would refer my complaint to another dept. I receieved an e mail a few days later saying they would allow me to return it via UPS within 10 days. It cost me over seven dollars to send it back which was the cost of the wire in the first place.

I will never do business with this company again. The return policy should be clear saying it can not be returned once the package is opened. I'm sure they wouldn't have many customers if they did.

This is an excellent HDMI cable. These are very good quality. These cables are even that expensive for the quality you get. The packaging was also nice simple and easy to open but also well protected. Great product, Thanks!!!

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After seeing the prices for HDMI cables at Apple and my local Radio Shack, I went online to Amazon and decided to purchase these to hook up my Apple TV. All I can say is that they work great! For a fraction of the price, I have excellent HDMI cables that were here in 2 days, thanks to my Prime membership. Never again will I pay inflated prices for cables!

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I purchased HDMI cable for my DVD Player.

I am getting good quality and have no problems for the last 2 years.

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Truely nothing wrong with Belkin wires. But the Amazon super saver deal takes 2 months for a wire to ship. I ordered this wire along with a $250. bluray player more than 2 weeks ago. Due to the super saver it's gonna be another 4-6 weeks before they ship it. Also it's not stated that it will take 1-2 months for shipping til you recieve the email stating your credit card has been charged. This is my first purchase from here and my last I'll be returning back to newegg and tigerdirect for my future purchases. I'd rather give more money away than save 20 dollars for this crappy of a service. If any amazon people read this good. I want it to be known that I will recomend any other shopping site to everyone I know including on my Tech Review sites and Tech help desk sites. I think this is a ripoff and if it hadn't already been charged I'd have canceled it by now. I will never come back for another item on amazon because of this.

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Net Media NM-MM70 Single Channel Video and Audio Modulator with Gain Adjustment

I've had this on my system for about a month now with no problems. I'm using it to assign a channel to my baby cameras so I can put them on my whole-house video distribution system. Now I can watch the baby cam from any TV in the house. This thing works just as the manufacturer claims. It's smaller than a deck of cards, lightweight, and it's easy to set the output channel. The video quality is great--completely clear. It might not be the cheapest, but I've been using another surveillance camera/modulator combo by Net Media for 2 years with zero problems so I trust the company.

We bought this modulator to get access from a video feed into a room with only RF access. Very easy to install; the RF signal looks great. We aren;'t using the audio path, but if it's as good as the video to RF conversion, ten the audio should sound fantastic also.

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Pentax K-30 Weather Sealed Digital SLR Camera with AL WR 18-55mm Lens (White) with 32GB Card + Case

Great camera!!! The tripod is nice but probably not sturdy enough for a big heavy lens. The reason I give it a 4 is because the extra attachment lens that it come with aren't worth even having and the case is just OK but I wish I had a better shoulder bag.

FakeTV FTV-10 Burglar Deterrent

I went to the website and knew immediately I wanted this. I bought one for myself and one for a family member. When I received it, I put it in an upstairs bedroom and partially opened the blinds. I plugged it in and set the timer to dusk + 7 hours. Other settings are dusk all nite, dusk + 4 hours, dusk +7, or always on. That evening, I was outside and was amazed. It looked like there was a tv on in the bedroom. It changed light intensity and colors like a real tv. My wife was appreciative because it gives her an added sense of deterrent which means a lot to me. What is impressive is that the lighting of the faketv can be extremely bright like any tv would be. However, the fake tv utilizes intensely bright LEDs that hardly uses any electricity but is a lot less than a regular tv or the high energy consumption that high definition tv uses. During the day, about 3 blue leds are always on to let you know that it is operating and will turn on at dusk. I am going to order another one for my mother because I know she would appreciate it. I would suggest for the best location would be in a window that is not near a street light.

I bought a Fake TV last year when we went to Florida for the winter. I also bought/installed 2 Barking Rex motion sensor alarms and installed 4 electronic light timers. The Fake TV I set up on an electronic timer.

We live on a private road with several summer cottages. While in Florida the neighor across the road (full time resident) and the one next door (summer cottage) got broke into. Our house was not bothered! When our neighbor came to check on our house he said the Barking Rex scared the crap out of him. I credit my passive security measures as keeping us from becoming a victim too.

The Fake TV and 1 Barking Rex was passed on to my son. So this year I bought 2 Fake TVs and 2 more Barking Rex alarms while we take an extended vacation. The new Fake TV now has a timer installed, new and improved. It can be on full time, come on at dark and stay on for either 4 hours or 7 hours. There is no need to hook it into a timer. Nice touch.

As a retired police officer I strongly recommend this to anyone that wants to imrove the impression someone is home. Set it up as instructions indicate to get the best benefit. Add Barking Rex and some light timers and only your neighbors will know you are not home. We are trying to keep the stranger from breaking in, we trust our neighbors. The stranger will see the lights coming on and going off, see the Fake TV lights in the window, and if they approach the doors hear a dog barking at them. Enough to make them move on to a different house.

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When you unpack it, it is deceptively small. Aim it at a window and it does the trick! I have stood for quite a long time watching this thing in my window and my neighbor watching a real tv. The flashing behavior looks completely real. It screams "someone's home!!"

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I read about this product a number of months ago, thinking this is a great idea in night time home security. If it truly worked, as claimed, it would be a great devise to deter someone looking to break in while you are away from home overnight. I just couldn't see how such a small devise could pull off the illusion quality of a television at night convincingly enough to be accepted as real.

Taking the plunge, I purchasing one locally and set it up at home. My son and wife were also present when we did the first round of testing. Baseline was our 27" color TV (what the company claims FakeTV is designed to replicate) on in two different rooms. We went outside and watched for about 5 minutes to see the patterns and brightness of the television coming through the window shades.

Next up was FakeTV. To our amazement, we couldn't tell the difference! The brightness and patterns looked just like a television being on at night. The best part -almost NO power usage, since FakeTV uses hi-intensity LED's for light power. The timer mechanism of selecting its use are:

1) Off totally

2) On at dusk (photo-eye operated) for 4 hours

3) On at dusk for 7 hours

4) On continuously (24/7).

I have mine aimed away from the windows, bouncing off a white wall, so there is no way to see the actual unit in operation. Stealth is the name of the game with this unit.

I highly recommend this unit to anyone. It works so well, I'm going to buy a second unit for a different room in the house.

*******

4/6/2011 Update

I have owned these units for just over a year. Between my neighbors and myself being out of town for extended periods of time, we have clocked up well over 200 days of use. The longest was 4(+) months straight this past winter.

In a nutshell -they worked flawlessly. In fact, my neighbor drove to their house from their extended vacation when fake TV was on and commented to his wife "Did you leave the TV on the whole time we were gone?" He forgot all about setting it up in the front bedroom. They are still that bright, even after all this use.

BTW, my neighbor just bought 2 units for themselves.

If you are concerned about durability, our long term test has shown that they will last for the duration. My FakeTV's are just as bright today as the first time we used them.

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Bought this to keep the house 'occupied' while away on a trip and the unit seemed surprisingly well made. What I found though was that it didn't seem as bright as I thought it might be. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I tried to use it in my living room instead of a bedroom as pictured on the packaging and that we have fairly thick curtains as well. I think this would be highly effective in an apartment in conjuction with some audio.

PS It always makes my day to know that people find these reviews helpful. So, please vote (The "Was this review helpful to you: Yes or No" buttons) and leave a comment if you'd like, even if it's just to say, Hi!") When you leave a comment, I can go to your reviews and pay you the same courtesy.

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