Canon PowerShot SD3500IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.5-Inch Touch Panel LCD and 5x Ultra Wide Ang

Alright, so the basic features of this camera (minus the tilt shift and fish eye, and the resolution) are pretty much the same as a previous model i owned.

I knew what to expect from this camera but with only a few slight improvements. It was the exact same cost as the model I had before (which thoroughly impressed me), so I had no problem switching it out for this one.

The full touch screen made two-handed menu navigation much easier to get through versus having to use buttons with the right and thumb on the left. basically you can safely hold the camera and use both thumbs (or even fingers depending on how you hold it) to use the screen. I dig the fluff features like tapping the side to navigate the photos and clicking (think iphone/ipod touch).

One piece that I will touch on here is the quality of the presets. While there are certain scene settings you would use for certain situations (snow fireworks, etc) they do not do a thorough or specific enough job explaining when you'd want to use this versus the "P" (program). The low light scene setting is the most disappointing. You can't simply flip it on and expect fantastic pictures as if you had a good natural light source. The flash is a default with this, so if you're trying to get something close-up in a darker setting, beware. Otherwise, the setting is OK with a flash, so long as you are not right up on the subject or trying to capture something reflective. I simply have personal presets that I picked out to avoid using the flash at all. Generally for low light settings, I opted to program my own so I can choose the ISO that fits it the best. Just know that the higher you set the ISO, the grainer you pictures will become. This is something that is a universal thing, not just specific to this camera. The same goes with digital zoom. This is a point/shoot camera so it DOES have limitations; I'm well aware of that, so if I need something i know it can't do, I just use my highzoom Fuji or DSLR NikonD3000.

You can't have a single camera that is going to be able to do everything perfectly. But I will say that unlike some other reviewers I found the quality that comes from this model in generalized scene settings or even auto is actually quite good compared to other cameras i've used over the years.

As for the HD video. I have to agree on that point. There was more that could have been done with it. But you know what? People forget this is a still-shot camera FIRST, and a VIDEO camera SECOND. Video recording is an feature, not a function. You will have less options and control with it. same goes for video cameras that take still shots. Often the MPs are lower, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired. The only exceptions are some of the DSLRs with video features, but smooth zooming is often a problem for most people with those. Solution? If you want great HD video recording, get a video camera. There's nothing easier than that.

Battery life is acceptable and about average compared to other model cameras, but if you plan on taking out for an entire day, I suggest picking up a second battery as a back-up. Being forced to use the LCD screen for everything drains the battery fast, but it does have an auto shut-off to conserve energy. While some people don't use it, i will would have liked to have had a view finder, however the lack of one in now way kept me from buying this camera.

Be weary of putting a screen protector on the back. Unless you get one from Canon meant for this model camera, or from an authorized Canon dealer, you can damage the screen. Having a screen protector can interfere with the touch-screen interface.

This isn't the Magic Hat of cameras. Everyone is going to have their own personal view on it and find things they love or hate. My suggestion is if you can find a retail store with a working display, go look at it in person first. That's the best way to judge if its going to suit your needs or not. Or if you know someone who happens to have one, even better. I've already gotten some beautiful 16x20 prints, and 18x24 is pretty good too (however at this size, you need to make sure your picture quality is top notch).

If you're using a high ISO setting, or a longer shutter speed, use a tripodthe slightest shake in your shake WILL blur/ghost the image; again, that is something that happens to all cameras. They sell a variety of smaller tripod (the grypton ones are fun and versatile).

Perhaps in the future these limitations will be eliminated, but that remains to be seen.

All in all, I knew what I was getting from this camera. The price is exceptionally reasonable considering all you get.

I'm not disappointed by any means, because I figured out very quickly how to manipulate the settings to get better picture than the scene settings could produce. It definitely suits my needs for this category of camera; I really just needed this guy to take around the town and on nights out, because who really wants to tote a DSLR with telephoto lenses or a clunky highzoom to a bar ;)

This camera is great! The new DIGIC 4 processor for the camera provides many features not found on older generations of Canon Cameras. Before buying this camera my two choices were the Canon SD3500 IS and the Nikon s8000. Both looked intriguing in different ways. The SD3500is had the 3.5 inch touch screen while the Nikon had the 10x zoom. I settled on the Canon because of past experience with their previous cameras and with their great customer service. I may be biased, but I feel Canon makes a better camera and Nikon makes a better binocular, but I digress. The simplicity and intuitive controls are a major plus. I was a bit worried about the screen but it is made of reinforced glass and has quite a solid feel throughout. You can even use the camera with gloves on which is a major plus if you are outside and it is cold (my first real test of the camera was in Barrow, AK at -20F). The only real downside I have for the camera is the battery/sd card door is a bit flimsy feeling when not closed, but it hasn't given me any issues to date. The only other downside, which isn't really a downside, is that many of the features of the camera may seem novelty to some such as the ability to change all the bright lights in a room into heart or star shapes. I certainly don't have much of a reason to use it unless I want to get cheesy with my girlfriend. I bought a Sandisk Ultra II 16 gig class 4 card for the camera and everything works real smooth with it. I am able to hold over 4,000 photos at 14.1 mp or 1.5 hours of HD video. The class 6 cards may be a little overboard for this camera and a class 2 may or may not be enough for the HD video to run smoothly, but I haven't been able to test those ideas. If you really want a nice camera with all kinds of fun and useful features and new age touch screen coolness then I highly recommend this camera.

-Update 5/4/2011

So far this camera has been phenomenal for all my picture taking. It even went through some hard times and came out shining. It was left on top of my car and slid down my front window onto my hood as I was driving down the highway. Needless to say it has a dent in it, but the camera works just as well as before and the glass is not scratched at all (I don't use those protective glass covers either) I had intended on using it for low activity days but I have quickly found out that it was actually very rugged. I take it out hiking, snowshoeing or whatever. It slides easily down into my pocket and even when it is raining I don't worry about it. Also, on the picture quality. It is very good. It all depends on how you use the camera. The Foliage setting on the camera really brings out great colors for plants and the point and touch focus is HUGE for focusing in on what you want. There might be better cameras (haven't really researched since purchasing the SD3500is) out there now but if the price is right on this camera I would buy it again.

-Update 8/12/2012

Camera has been working wonderfully since I purchased it two years ago. I take it outside for hikes mostly and it never fails. I did manage to crack the screen on it 6 months ago, but I was able to replace the touch screen. Works just like new. The battery on the camera is awesome. Honestly I almost never have to think about charting the battery. I can think of only 3 times that I have ever seen the low battery warning.

Buy Canon PowerShot SD3500IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.5-Inch Touch Panel LCD and 5x Ultra Wide Ang Now

I purchased this new at Amazon.

I wanted a pocketable p/s camera to carry for photos of opportunity not requiring a carrying case.

I am comparing this camera to the following p/s I tried before settling on this one.

Sony W200 12 megapixel not wide angle and automatic white balance is way off...always a problem with artificial lighting.

Nikon S570 12 megapixel too automated and too many out of focus pictures.

Sony TX1 10 megapixel -good pictures but not wide angle and I fear the lens cover lid will be flopping around in a few months.

Sony WX1 -10 megapixel-good pictures, nice wide angle, almost a keeper.

Canon SD 980 IS -12 megapixel-good pictures, older model but same price as the newer SD3500 14 megapixel.

Canon A650 12 megapixel, very good pictures, larger sensor, folding screen, but uses AA batteries and is like carrying around half a brick. Not for the shirt pocket.

First if you shoot with a p/s camera invest in Photoshop Elements and Noise Ninja if you want to make 8x10 inch prints or possibly squeeze out an 11x14 inch print. The sensor is tiny and noise is a factor which must be dealt with during editing. You will not get image quality equal to a half frame sensor. If you only want 4x6 inch prints it will not be so noticeable.

Comparing the Canon SD3500 IS to the above I get acceptable prints considering the sensor size, AWB is pretty good but still needs tweaking. Nice wide angle, 24mm equivalent, fits in shirt pocket, touch screen which takes a bit of time to get used to. One factor to consider is the video mode which makes MOV files. Windows 7 will automatically convert these to WMV for watching on your computer but if you want to email WMV files you will have to find a conversion software and quality will suffer immediately.

As to image quality I can only give a 4 as no 1 / 2.3" sensor will give you a 5 quality for the forseeable future. Construction appears to be good as you can get for this price range and things to watch out for is the delicate battery/memory compartment lid.

Read Best Reviews of Canon PowerShot SD3500IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.5-Inch Touch Panel LCD and 5x Ultra Wide Ang Here

My last camera was pretty ancient a Canon SD630. I bought it some years ago, and it was top of the line. It still takes really good pics for a camera its size. But, I felt it was time to upgrade. When I took my first SD3500 picture, the first thing I noticed was that it did a great job with the colors, even with the flash at close quarters. My second impression was that the photo looked a tad soft compared to my SD630, so I fired up an image editor to look at the quality.

The SD3500 *seems* to favor color quality and accuracy over sharpness. My SD630 seems to prefer sharpness at the expense of color quality. I did a fair test by setting both cameras' flashes off and doing a timed tripod shot of the same subject. The SD3500 produced noticeably sharper images, so my fears that the optics weren't there were allayed. I think if there is softness, it comes from image processing and not from the actual optics.

Auto mode is really, really good. I truly feel confident in leaving it in that mode as it seems to find its footing every time. And when the flash goes off, though I expect to see a whitewashed foreground and a darkened background, I get a very color-rich and white-balanced image. Again, auto mode really works.

Video quality was good, not great. I can get pretty clear 720p video, but it's nothing that will astound anyone. Zoom during shooting is definitely digital, so pre-optical zoom before shooting.

All of my testing tonight has been in low light, so that could also explain some lack of sharpness. Can't wait to try this in the sun.

The touch screen is responsive enough, though I find the photo swiping and pan scrolling gestures to be a bit slow and laggy. Other gestures and button presses work pretty well. Not iPhone quality UI, but not bad at all. Photos and videos look really great as the screen res is very high and colors are very saturated.

Build quality well, Canon always does a great job. The SD3500 feels to me just a hair lighter than it looks, which is a good thing I think. I like the less gawdy design than some of Canon's other designs.

Is this camera better than the SD980? I honestly don't know as my upgrade isn't from that camera. I do know that I really like this camera.

Pros:

Seems to focus on color quality over sharpness

Auto mode always produces good to great results

Touch interface works great, overall, and the side tapping is useful

Touch to focus, smile detector, blink detection, and all that stuff actually does work well.

Image Stabilizer is not overdone, and still gives you responsiveness.

The various shooting modes are fun to play with

Great build quality

Cons:

Some aspects of the touch interface could be more responsive

No optical zoom during video shooting

No high frame rate video modes

HDMI and USB doors are a little hard to get open

Mini HDMI cable is not included. Cmon Canon, it's like $2 from Amazon.

Well, er, seems to focus on color quality over sharpness.

Want Canon PowerShot SD3500IS 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.5-Inch Touch Panel LCD and 5x Ultra Wide Ang Discount?

This is the third Canon PowerShot digital camera, which I have owned. Each has worked perfectly and the only reason I keep buying new models is that new features are introduced, which compel me to purchase the next generation.... good marketing, Canon!

What I love about this model: the tap-screen back, which enables one to quickly identify what part of the scene is to be tightly focused. And the 24 mm wide-angle lens (speaking in terms reserved for 35 mm cameras) is SENSATIONAL. It enables me to get much richer, more interesting shots than my previous PowerShot SD950 IS digital camera.

While the digital sensor in this point-and-shoot camera is no where near as large as the sensor in my CanonDigital Rebel T1i SLR, and cannot match the impeccable imaging of the larger camera, the PowerShot provides a stunning back-up camera -I am never without it. In Washington DC, last month, I was walking by the US Capital at 10 pm and had only my PowerShot SD3500 IS with me. I caught the gorgeous, lit dome and its mirror image in the reflecting pool in a shot that deserves to grace postcards or calendars. Love my PowerShot!

Nikon MSV-01 Coolwalker 30GB Digital Storage Photo Viewer

If you just want to copy your images from your CF cards and later to you computer it is good. Battery life is short, you can't copy 25gb on one charge...

Nikon does not support your copying files from your PC to it.

Does not even what to hear about copying files from your Mac to it.

They do not support files retouched from ANY application, ever Nikon Editor.

Only wants you to:

Copy images from your CF Card to it and off to your computer.

Reformatting your CF Cards.

Reviewing images taken off your cards.

It is not ment to be used as a image storage device or to use for a portable digital portfolio. I use my Photo iPod for that... Try giving the consumer what they want Nikon.

I bought a Nikon D50 after comparing the quality to the D70. The D50 though uses a SD card instead of the Compact Flash card mostly for making the D50 smaller and lighter than the D70. Anyhow, I still wanted a Coolwalker... as I'm going to be using the Nikon Raw Format most of the time... for you newbies that's an uncompressed file (the D70 compresses RAWweird) that's about 4 times larger than a 3008x2000 Jpeg. The Coolwalker has 30 Gig of space... so I treat it like a junk drive with a view screen. THe kicker was that the D50 DOESN'T use the Compact Flash Card and that's the only thing the Coolwalker uses. So I found the "Archos" brand (google it) 4-1 CF adapter. Another writer in this column didn't specify which name brand he bought... but the Archos is what you want. It works GREAT in my coolwalker. I use it EXACTLY as specified in the Coolwalker directions... inserting the card WITH the SD card already in the CFA into the Coolwalker BEFORE powering the Coolwalker up. It works GREAT. I might say that I "DO" follow the Coolwalker instructions and ONLY USE an approved SD Card. That might be the problem the other writer mentions when talking about a CFA. With it's big colorful screen and 30 GIG drive it's ALOT cheaper than buying 30 GIG worth of SD or CF cards! It's a no brainer.

Buy Nikon MSV-01 Coolwalker 30GB Digital Storage Photo Viewer Now

I got mine today very nice. Reads a 4 GB Microdive quickly. Great display, far better than the FlashTrax. Transferred all my photos to it, have room to spare. Direct printing is a plus!

Glad I bought it./

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First of all, I love this when used with my Nikon Coolpix 880, which uses a CF card. However, God help us, my wife has a Kodak EasyShare camera which uses an SD card.

Reading the description, I see that "It's also compatible with CompactFlash and Microdrive and can be combined with a CF adapter to enable use of SD cards too.".

So, no problemo, eh??

Not so fast!! First of all, I couldn't find a CF Adapter anywhere on Amazon. The way they throw out the above sentence, almost as an afterthought, had me thinking these cards would be easy to find.

After an hour Googling "CF adapter" I found a "4-in-1 adapter" that supposedly lets you plug in an SD card into this thing. Well, physically this does work, but crashes the Coolwalker if it is powered up with the card in place. IF you insert the card into the powered-up CoolWalker (something I'm not all that comfortable with doing on a regular basis!) it will transfer the photos on the SD to the CoolWalker.

These files will NOT PLAY on the Coolwalker, but I've found that they will transfer to my computer, apparently none the worse for wear, and will display there.

I guess this doesn't make me feel all that comfortable with this whole system as my wife and I get ready to take an anniversary cruise this fall, with her EasyShare in tow.

It does work with the Nikon CF card, but I'd be leery of compatiblity with other systems.

Jim

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I purchased this item with a hi-res camera, and it was a lifesaver on long shoots. The ability to back up my images immediately gave me real peace of mind, and the thing really worked as advertised. Although it would freeze every now and then, I never lost any images--the only drawback was that you had to remove the battery to restart it, as it stopped responding to all button inputs.

This morining, as I was preparing for a 5-day shoot, I turned it on to delete any old images and recharge it, and the screen was completely dead. Plugged into my PC via USB, it all still shows up, but I was totally depending on it for this upcoming weekend, and I have been totally let down. I have no choice but to try to navigate it in the dark, unless they want to overnight one to my hotel.

3 pack Foscam FI8910W White Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 9dbi Antennas

I'm an IT professional, and these were a little confusing to get working at first. You'll need to create an account at a site like dyndns.org to be able to access these from away from home (assuming you don't have static IPs). You create a hostname like amazonuser.homeip.net and tell each camera to point to that and to a specific port number. Each cam can point to the same hostname but must use a different port. Four cams would use, for example, port 80, 81, 82, and 83. I look at the cams with a free android app called tinyCam Monitor. With that, I can see all 4 cam views simultaneously on my cell phone screen. You double-click on a view to see that one full screen, and you can control the cam movement with touch or physical controls on your phone. I've been using 3G, and the video feed/controls sometimes crap out a little bit (black screen or unresponsive controls), but 4G works a lot better from what I've seen. These things have great night vision too. I'd buy more if I had a bigger house.

Ok, so me and my wife have been pondering for a while on buying an IP camera after having a bad experience with som DVR like Lorex. We tried some Dlink Cameras and they worked, but the image was never clear and it was a hassle to get them working with a mac, iphone or ipad, so had to keep around an old Windows based system for those to work.

After reading tons of reviews, and researching what products support our systems, we settled on trying a Foscam pan a tilt camera. We continued to buy the set of 3 cameras with high gain antenas because we have a big house. Well our experience could have not been better, i mean these cameras are GREAT!. They have an excelent video quality to them, the pan and tilt works great and they support 802.11n plus our prefered systems of choice. The only problem at their setup was finding the correct IP since the supplied software for settup is not made by FOSCAM, rather its a shareware (at least for OSX), and i had to log into my router to find the IP, no biggie but not everyone has the knowledge on how to do this task.

I was also able to settup these CAMS to work with my current NAS, a QNAP 219+ wich has a DVR and surveillance station built in tif paired with the correct cameras, well supper happy FOSCAM are 100% upported so now i have an awesome DVR to boot!

Pros: GREAT VIDEO QUALITY , support for Iphone, OSX (MAC), IPAD, any type of browser, and QNAP NAS is a HUGE PLUS!

High gain antenna is also great but to be honest the supplied normal antenna is great as well!

Easy configuration software

Cons: Supplied software, i have seen a few reset themselves but in 2 minutes they are up and running.

Not much on how to setup the cams

IOS software is not made by FOSCAM there are some freeware, but a $5 purchase in App store works awesome!

Not sure on audio..

FInal Word: Awesome cam, great deal on amazon, would buy them again, in fact thinking on buying another set soon.

Buy 3 pack Foscam FI8910W White Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 9dbi Antennas Now

I originally gave this a 4 star review but have to downgrade to 1 star. After only a few months 2 of the 6 cameras stopped working. On one the infrared no longer works, on the other the camera won't power on. Nobody returned our phone calls, but we did get one email response (after sending about 5 emails) telling us that we need to flash a light in front of one camera and replace the power cord on the other. Did flashing a light work? No. Did they send us a replacement power cord? No. Did they respond to repeated emails from me telling them that these solutions were not helpful? No.

Read Best Reviews of 3 pack Foscam FI8910W White Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 9dbi Antennas Here

I had a problem following the direction and called the service number. I had spoken to Harry Foster who was very helpful and very patient and was able to set up all 3 cameras pretty fast and to my outmost satisfaction. I was extremply happy with the service I got from Harry. Highly recommand him. He deserve a raise!!!!!! Please clone him!

Want 3 pack Foscam FI8910W White Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 9dbi Antennas Discount?

I can't say enough good things about these cameras. It was easy to set them up for my wireless network using the built in web server. I had all three cameras setup in under and hour. Installation with their brackets to the ceiling took only about another 45 minutes. Installation time all around was very reasonable.

The picture quality is acceptable, but it is only a .3 MP camera, so it's not spectacular. Fortunately, It's enough for my to check on my home and my pets. The IR night vision is also very useful and works great. I'm using the cameras with TinyCam Monitor Pro (for Android), which has made monitoring extremely easy and flexible on my phone. There are a number of apps out there, but TinyCam seems to be one of the better options for now. I'm able to use port forwarding too, so I can monitor the cameras on the local wifi network or when I'm away from home.

The 9 db antennae seem to be working well, although I don't know if I needed them or not. It doesn't cost much more for the 9 db antennae, so it's worth the extra cost.

My only complaint is that the base of the camera rotates too easily when attached to the mount. Lock washers from your local hardware store fix this problem (should be

RND High Speed CERTIFIED HDMI Cable (5 feet/Gold-Plated)

Great price and cable is working just as described. The signal on the tv is great and compared to cables in the store, this one was a steal.

When I connect my laptop to my tv and set it to 1080p resolution the screen flickers. If i bring the resolution down to 1600x900 it plays fine. I haven't been able to try it out with another hdmi cable yet but my laptop has never had any problems with monitors or other tv's so i'm guessing it's the cable.

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This cable was exactly what I needed to hook up my DVD player to my new HD television. It was delivered within just a few days. The hookup took me less than a minute to complete and I am a grandma!!

Read Best Reviews of RND High Speed CERTIFIED HDMI Cable (5 feet/Gold-Plated) Here

Not really asking for a whole lot when you order an HDMI cable. I have no complaints on this item and love watching TV now in HD! Have had an HD tv for who knows how long and never got to fully experience it until now. The BEST! :)

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I purchased this HDMI Cable for my new HDTV and the performance is outstanding. I would recommend this product for the price!

Save 63% Off

Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

I am a photography teacher in NYC and online. (See my Amazon profile for my website.) I teach beginner and intermediate photography students every week. I've also been a professional photographer for the last five years with images published in The New York Times, GQ, New York Magazine, Women's Wear Daily, The New York Observer, The Village Voice and Time Out New York.

(This review is for beginner photographers.)

If you're a beginner, you're most likely asking yourself: Nikon or Canon? Really, I feel confident in saying that you can't go wrong with either. I've used both brand's cameras extensively and find that they both offer amazing image quality with well-built, solid cameras that, if taken care of, will last decades. There are two differences between the cameras, though, that can be taken into consideration.

The user-interface: If cameras were computers, Nikons would be PCs and Canons would be MACs. PCs are built for people not afraid of technology whereas Macs are built for people who want things super-easy. Nikons excel at customization options which means you'll see so many more options with the Advanced features of a Nikon than you will with a Canon. Canons, on the other hand, excel at ease-of-use for beginners. Canons offer less advanced options and can be easier to learn on. This can be frustrating down the line, though, once you've learned a lot about photography. At that point you may want all of the options that Nikon offers and be frustrated with your Canon. If you're someone who really likes to delve deep into your hobbies or if you're intent on becoming a professional photographer, I'd say a Nikon would be your best bet. If you're someone who wants to learn the basics of photography and only imagine yourself being a hobbyist, Canon would be a better option for you.

Where Nikon excels: Flash photography. I often find myself in situations where I'm shooting event photography (weddings, movie premiers, benefits and galas) where I need to use a lot of flash. For this kind of photography, I'll always prefer to be shooting with a Nikon. Nikon's flash metering (how the camera magically decides how much light to fire out of the flash) is much more consistent than Canon's. You can take a Canon and shoot the same scene three times in a row with flash and all three images will be at different brightness levels. You can do the same thing with a Nikon and all three images will be wonderfully the same. If you're somebody who plans on shooting a lot with flash (indoor photography, event photography, etc.) you'll want to consider going with Nikon.

Where Canon excels: Richness of colors. I've been in numerous situations where I've been on the red carpet taking the exact same picture as the photographer next to me. I'll have a Canon and the person next to me will have a Nikon. This has provided quite a few opportunities to compare the images side-by-side. What I've found is that the colors on the Canon's images look richer and make the image pop more. If I'm doing fine art photography (anything I'd like to someday hang in a gallery), I'll always want to be shooting with a Canon for this reason.

If you're set on Nikon, there are three cameras you should be considering and it all comes down to what your budget is:

D7000 $1,400 without lens

D5100 $750 without lens

D3100 $600 only available with lens

(current prices as of 2/19/11)

Here's what you get for spending extra money (each camera compared to the one below it):

D3100 vs. D5100:

The D3100 is an EXCELLENT camera so if you only have $550 to spend total on camera and lens then go out and buy this camera. You won't regret it. If you're considering spending more money, here's what you'll get from the D5100 in comparison:

-Better performance in low light situations.

-A higher resolution screen on the back of the camera so you can see your images more clearly and make out if they actually turned out well.

-An external mic jack. (If you're planning on shooting video with an external mic, you'll want the D5100 over the D3100.)

-A flip out screen (handy if you want to put your camera anywhere but at your eye level and be able to see what your camera is about to capture before you shoot it)

-Faster continuous shooting. If you're often shooting sports or any fast moving subject, continuous shooting allows you to capture multiple images in a single second. The D3100 shoots at three frames per second whereas the D5100 shoots at four frames per second.

-Higher ISO options. The D5100 offers one more stop of ISO than the D3100 does. If you don't know what ISO means (or what a stop is) just know that this allows you to more easily shoot images in low-light situations.

-Longer battery life. The D5100's battery will last 20% longer than the D3100

The two advantages of the D3100 over the D5100 are: less expensive and less weight. Whenever a camera is less expensive, it means you'll have more in your budget for the lens. The D3100 weighs 10% lighter and is 10% smaller than the D5100.

D5100 vs. D7000:

The D5100 is Nikon's latest and greatest and is even newer than the D7000. Phenomenal camera! If you're stuck, though, between the D5100 and the D7000, here's what you'll get by spending more money on the D7000:

-More focus points. When using auto-focus, the D7000 will have an easier time focusing on what you want it to focus on.

-60% longer lasting batteries.

-Faster continuous shooting. If you're often shooting sports or any fast moving subject, continuous shooting allows you to capture multiple images in a single second. The D5100 shoots at four frames per second whereas the D7000 shoots at six frames per second.

-Weather sealed. This means you can shoot with the D7000 in the rain.

-Two memory card slots. This is really a cool feature. The D7000 has two memory card slots which means you'll be less likely to find yourself standing in front of a gorgeous scene with no more memory left.

-Faster shutter speed. The fastest shutter speed on the D5100 is 1/4000th of a second; on the D7000: 1/8000th of a second. To be honest, I can't think of any practical reason why this would benefit you unless you're planning on shooting some really bright scenes like directly into the sun.

Advantages of the D5100 over the D7000:

-A flip out screen (handy if you want to put your camera anywhere but at your eye level and be able to see what your camera is about to capture before you shoot it)

-Smaller and lighter: The D5100 is 10% smaller and 30% lighter than the D7000. This is something to consider if you plan on carrying your camera around with you a lot.

-Less expensive so you can spend more on your lens!

If I can clarify any of this, please email me!

-JP Pullos, photography teacher, NYC and online (see my Amazon profile for my website)

As a long-time owner of the Nikon D5000, and former owner of the Nikon D60, I was eager to purchase the D5100 after seeing the announcements and pre-reviews. Being one of the lucky ones to buy the D5100 with 18-55VR kit earlier this week, I've had a few days to play with this camera and can honestly say it's a solid upgrade to the D5000 I'm replacing, and should be on the short list of consideration for any "prosumer" looking to purchase a D-SLR with outstanding image quality, performance, and low-light capability in a lightweight, compact (for an SLR) body. And, unlike the D5000, this D-SLR finally has a usable Live View and HD video capabilities both with continuous autofocus.

First of all, it's important to understand where the D5100 fits in Nikon's capabilities. It is considered a "high-end enthusiast" D-SLR which means that it shares the same image sensor as the high-end D7000 without some of the higher-end features. If you're like me, very few of the D7000's features justify its extra cost and weight. The D5100 offers nearly the same image quality as its bigger brother in a less-expensive, smaller package, while adding a few tricks the D7000 doesn't have including an articulating display that helps you frame hard-to-reach spots.

Compared to its lesser-priced but still excellent brother the D3100, the D5100 offers improved image quality, speed, and resolution, along with a higher-resolution articulating display. For me, this is the sweet spot in Nikon's consumer D-SLR offerings.

The 18-55VR (3x) f3.5-f5.6 kit lens provides surprisingly good performance and image quality, although you'll likely outgrow it quickly. I have uploaded a few sample images taken with the D5100 and 18-55VR to show its performance and surprisingly good bokeh (pattern of blurred background) in large-aperture and macro shots.

For lens upgrades that include an AF-S autofocus motor, if you don't mind changing lenses, the Nikon 55-200VR is an outstanding value with excellent image quality, or consider the Nikon 18-105VR (5.8x) lens included with the D7000. If you don't mind some distortion and image softness, the 18-200 VRII (18x) lens may be your perfect "walkabout" lens. For me, I bought the pricey but outstanding Nikon 16-85mm VRII. Don't forget the Nikon AF-S 35mm f1.8 (if you can find it).

Low-light performance is outstanding with this camera, and the level of detail captured by the D5100 is excellent, even at higher ISOs. You're best capturing in RAW or RAW+JPEG mode (three different JPEG compression levels are offered) if you need to go back and fine-tune exposure or other settings after the shot. Nikon also offers "Active D-Lighting" which is a highly effective method for improving dynamic range of a photo to equalize the difference between high and low-light areas of a photo.

Interestingly, the improvement in image quality compared to my D5000 isn't dramatic. Given the incredible improvement I saw when upgrading from my Nikon D60 to the D5000 perhaps I had unrealistic expectations for this new sensor. But in most image settings, even low light, the improvement is noticeable but subtle. That speaks more for the outstanding quality and low-light sensitivity of the D5000 sensor (which is shared with the D90) than it speaks against the D5100. With the D5100 you get higher resolution for improved cropping, and the 14-bit RAW images offer greater dynamic range for more flexibility after the shot is taken.

Speaking of RAW format, as with any new camera, there is a bit of a wait until updates are available for your favorite camera software. As of May 18th, Adobe, Apple, and Nikon have added support for the D5100 RAW files, so you can use Aperture, iPhoto, Nikon View NX2 (v2.1.1 and later), Nikon Capture NX2 (v2.2.7 and later), Lightroom 3 or Photoshop CS5 (via Adobe Camera RAW 6.4 or later). If you use other photo software or another platform, you may want to verify RAW support for the D5100.

Compared to my D5000, Nikon has gone back and addressed most of my concerns on ergonomics and performance:

camera body is roughly 10% smaller and 10% lighter

16.2 megapixel CMOS DX-format image sensor (shared with D7000) captures 14-bit RAW images and offers +1fs greater low-light sensitivity

ISO 100-6400 range with expansion to 25,600 ISO (D5000 minimum is 200 and expansion to 12,300)

high resolution (920k pixel) display for greater detail in image previews (although I had to bump up the default brightness one notch for accuracy)

side-mounted articulating display no longer interferes with tripod (the D5000 display is inconveniently hinged at the bottom)

dramatically improved (now usable!) LiveView mode with continuous autofocus even in HD video mode (more on that later)

full HD 1080p movie capture without the "jelly effect" (unless you move VERY quickly from side-to-side), in more standard H.264 mode up to 22 min (D5000 is AVI format 720p up to 5min)

slightly better control position (LiveView is now a rocker switch on the mode dial, Video Record is just behind and to the left of the shutter release)

significantly quieter shutter release (plus, a "Quiet Mode" is available although hardly necessary)

faster performance (4 frames per second)

SDXC compliant supports higher capacity cards

remote control sensor on rear now in addition to front-mounted sensor

improved battery life, and an improved battery release

battery charger now has built-in collapsable plug instead of requiring separate power cord

MUCH better eyecap design no longer comes off in my small Nikon camera bag; also an improved diopter (eyeglass) control

additional in-camera editing capabilities, including ability to trim video

new "gimmick" special effects: in-camera HDR, selective color, night vision, etc

Let's start with the display moving the hinge to the side not only makes the articulating display usable with a tripod, it makes the camera body shorter, so that it matches the height of most popular Nikon DX-format lenses and no longer leans forward when set down on a table as the D5000 did. It makes a surprising improvement in shooting comfort also. Nikon has improved the rubberized grip of the body and the thumb rest in the rear, although some have said that the grip is a bit shallow for larger hands. For my average-sized hands it is very comfortable.

The improved control placement is mostly welcome as well. LiveView is now a spring-release rocker on the side of the Mode Dial (VERY handy) and the video record button is also now on the top of the body, in front of the mode dial and behind the shutter release. What I didn't care for is the placement of the rear camera buttons, which now all shift above and to the right of the display to accommodate the left-mount hinge. What I don't like is that the "i" button (used to display and change shooting info) is too far away from the 4-way mode switch, so changing default shooting settings is a bit more of a stretch on my thumb. On playback, the delete button is just to the right of the Zoom buttons, instead of being far away like it should be. I didn't find myself accidentally deleting photos, but I'd rather have had a button closer by that I use more frequently (like the Menu button?) With these two buttons near each other, I always found myself accidentally hitting the "I" button instead of RECORD to capture video. So watch your screen and make sure you actually are recording when you think you are!

What has dramatically improved from the D5000 is LiveView performance and HD video capture. Neither are perfect, but compared to my D5000 both are quite usable in the D5100. In LiveView mode, the D5100 tracks faces and subjects quickly and accurately, although still nowhere near fast enough for sports events or that "quick shot" like you might be used to with a compact camera. On my D5100, LiveView autofocus typically took half a second in lower-light conditions, which is no match for the viewfinder, but a huge improvement from the D5000.

Video capture is another notable improvement in the D5100, capturing single videos up to 22 minutes of 1080p HD (if you have the SD card capacity), in H.264 format, with continuous autofocus. Nearly gone is the "jelly effect" of the D5000 when you panned horizontally and the video appeared to bend. Compared to video captured on the D5000 which almost always exhibited this "jelly effect", I have seen none of these artifacts except in the most extreme fast horizontal pans. In theory, the continuous autofocus sounds like a great improvement for video capture, but in practice I found it slow to react (especially in low-light situations). Too often I found the camera "searching" for the correct focus, even with the (optional) Nikon 35mm F1.8 AF-S lens. It was so distracting that I ended up disabling autofocus and learning how to manually adjust focus as I moved from subject to subject. Also disappointing is that like the D5000, the built-in microphone is monoral. For stereo sound, I highly recommend the Nikon ME-1 external microphone (which doesn't require batteries and mounts in the hot shoe). Overall, the video capabilities are promising, especially at 1080p, but I am more satisfied with the native 720pHD stereo video captured from my Canon S95.

Rounding out the list of improvements and new features of the D5100 are the new "special effects", including the first in-camera HDR mode for any Nikon D-SLR. In practice, while there may be edge cases for these effects, I am not particularly impressed with any of them, including HDR. First of all, you cannot capture RAW with any of the effects. For HDR, there are further limitations (can only be used in P-S-A-M modes, not auto, no flash, etc). When you can get HDR mode to work, it can only be enabled one shot at a time, and then you have to go back to the menus to turn it on. Luckily, you can assign HDR mode to the Fn menu button. HDR mode takes two quick shots for each shutter press and then combines them in-camera to create a single JPEG. You can specify the exposure difference (Auto, 1EV, 2EV, 3EV) and level of "smoothing" (Low, Normal, High) between the captured images. I took a number of high-contrast shots with HDR enabled and honestly couldn't see a difference, although I'm still going to try. If there is any good news, it's that Nikon has chosen a fairly conservative / realistic HDR algorithm as opposed to an "eye-popping" but over-processed result.

In summary, I'm quite happy with the D5100. It provides the optimal balance of top image quality (even in low light), lightweight and compact (for a D-SLR) body, articulating display (the only D-SLR from Nikon to have this), and HD video (not perfect) that can leverage the outstanding collection of Nikon lenses (understanding that only AF-S lenses will autofocus).

Notable comparison with the higher-end D7000:

same 16.2megapixel image sensor with 14-bit RAW image capture for outstanding dynamic range, low-light performance, and detail

ruggedized plastic body lacks weather seal (it's also smaller and lighter weight)

no builtin focus motor for older lenses (you'll need to buy an AF-S lens if you want autofocus)

fewer autofocus zones (11 vs 39) and lower-resolution matrix meter

pentamirror viewfinder (smaller, not as bright, 95% coverage) vs pentaprism viewfinder (100% coverage)

no flash commander mode (unless you buy an external flash with TTL triggering)

slower continuous performance (4 vs 6fps)

1 SD card slot instead of 2

no top-mounted LCD display

fewer dedicated controls for advanced settings (you must use the menu system more frequently)

Notable comparison with the lower-end D3100:

higher resolution 16.2megapixel sensor with 14-bit depth

high resolution (920k pixel vs 230k) display, articulating for hardto-view shots

higher low-light sensitivity

faster performance (4fps vs 3fps)

better battery performance (660 vs 550 images on the same EN-EL14 battery

slightly larger and heavier body

Buy Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens Now

This is a fantastic new offering from Nikon. You get most of the best parts of the D7000 for 1/3 cheaper. If you are looking for a starter camera or a back up body to the D7000 this is it.

Here are the major differences between the D5100 and D7000.

D5100

Exact same sensor and processing abilities as the D7000. Some of the best Image Quality available in any DSLR. ISO 3200 is very usable with low noise.

Swivel screen while the D7000 is fixed -Since the contrast autofocus (ie Live View) is not very good on either of these cameras this is not really a player unless you are using a tripod. Then the swivel screen is very useful.

4 fps vs 6 fps for D7000 No big deal 4 fps is plenty fast to fill your card with similar looking pictures. Also, in RAW D7000 buffers out pretty fast and then slows down anyway.

11 focus points vs 39 for D7000 Most of the time not really a big deal. Sometimes all those extra points get in the way and slow you down.

No internal auto focus motor while the D7000 has one -If you don't have any D series or older lenses this is not an issue. If you do, they will not autofocus on this camera.

Only one SD slot vs 2 for the D7000 -A big difference when getting paid to shoot. Otherwise, always format your cards in your camera and not on the computer. Doing that I have never had a failure. (Jinxed myself now)

Not weather sealed vs D7000 partially weather sealed Don't drop either one in the water and keep both out of dust.

Has less external switches than the D7000 This means you need to go to the menus more often which slows things down. This can be severely annoying or not depending on your shooting style. The D7000 handles better but this is not a deal breaker on the D5100.

Built in flash is not a commander for Nikon Creative Light System while D7000 is -If you don't use off camera flash or you use radio triggers this is not a big deal.

1.2 lbs vs 1.7 lbs for D7000.

Overall the D5100 is a great camera. The D7000 have some extra features that make it worth the extra money but if you don't need them you get all the fantastic D7000 IQ for 2/3rd the price.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens Here

The Nikon D5100 brings the high quality 16.2 megapixel sensor, great low-light performance, and full HD video capability with all the frame rate options from the popular pro-sumer D7000 to the enthusiast level model and then includes a fully adjustable side-mounted rotating screen to boot. The D5100 should prove to be an excellent option for new dSLR users plus those experienced enthusiasts wishing to upgrade their D50, D60, or even their D3000 to gain additional megapixels, shooting and processing speed, video, and an improved rear LCD screen. The variety of features and functions offered on the various Nikon dSLR cameras might make it difficult to choose between them, but there are some important differences.

The new Nikon D5100 sits just above the D3100, a bit below the aging D90, and several steps below the fully-featured and highly customizable Nikon D7000. The D5100 boasts a 16 megapixel image sensor (just like the D7000), shoots 4 frames per second in continuous mode, has HD video capability at 24, 25, and 30 fps, and includes the fully rotating rear LCD screen improved in flexibility from the screen of the D5000.

Generally as the cameras increase in price and capability from the entry level model to the enthusiast pro-sumer model they gain more sophisticated autofocus and exposure metering systems, shoot faster (more frames per second) in continuous shooting mode, have more controls and buttons for changing settings on the camera body, and offer more menu and custom function options.

Sensor and Image Quality: The sensors of the D5100 and D7000 are greatly improved over the older D90 in a couple of ways. The D5100 and D7000 have 16.2 megapixel sensors, where the D90 has 12.3 megapixels. The relatively new D3100 has a 14.2 MP sensor. This increase in resolution allows for more intrusive editing of the files in Photoshop, the ability to crop a picture and still obtain an image with high enough resolution for printing or display, and allows for larger prints. In addition, the improved sensor results in better performance at high ISO settings and in low light, better dynamic range, tonal range, and color sensitivity. Have a look at the dxomark website to compare the sensors.

Exposure Metering: The D5100, while sharing a similar sensor to the D7000, does not have the same advanced metering system. It shares the less sophisticated 420 pixel RGB metering sensor of the D3100 and offers matrix metering, non-adjustable center-weighted, and spot metering modes. This system may be more than sufficient for many users, especially those not intending to adjust their exposure settings and dig into their menus in reaction to complex lighting situations. But if your shooting demands require more precise exposure metering and control over the size of the areas being metered, you need to consider the D7000 or D90. The 2016 pixel RGB metering sensor of the D7000 is also improved compared to the D90, and will result in more accurate metering performance of straightforward and complex lighting scenes and situations. Both these cameras offer matrix metering, center-weighted, and spot metering modes. With center-weighted metering on the D90, you can select the size of the center-weighted area to be a 6, 8, or 10mm center circle, and the D7000 adds a 13mm circle option.

Autofocus: The autofocus systems of the D3100, D5100, and D90 all have 11 autofocus (AF) points with the center one being a more accurate cross-type. These AF systems may be more than sufficient for most users, and they can successfully track moving objects in the frame such as athletes, performers, or animals. However, if you specialize in sports, action, wildlife, or bird photography, you are going to want to consider the much more sophisticated, accurate, and customizable AF system of the D7000. The D7000 boasts a significantly improved AF system of 39 AF points with 9 of them being cross type. The AF system of the D7000 allows for you to use these points in various ways including automatic AF point selection, single point AF, and dynamic area AF using your choice of 9 points, 21 points, all points, or all points with 3D-tracking. It is important to note that the D5100 and D3100 do not have an autofocusing motor built into the body so you have to be sure to purchase lenses with built-in AF motors. For example, the Nikon "Nifty 50" 50mm f/1.8 will not autofocus with these cameras. The D7000 and D90 have the built-in motor.

Body, Construction and Size/ Weight: The D5100 is just slightly larger and a tiny bit heavier than the D3100, both weighing just over one pound. Both have plastic bodies and more limited buttons and controls that the higher end models. Many users should find its size and weight great for using and carrying around, though some prefer the ergonomics of a larger body. The D90 and D7000 appear very similar at first glance, but the plastic body of the D90 has been upgraded to the partially magnesium alloy body (top and rear) of the D7000. This adds slightly to the weight: 1.5 lbs for the D90 vs. 1.7 lbs for the D7000. The D7000 also has weather sealing at the memory card and battery doors, which the D5100 and D3100 do not. The higher end D7000 and D90 include not only the 3" rear LCD screen but also a top LCD panel for viewing and changing your settings. This is essential for photographers who are constantly changing their settings to deal with various shooting situations. For most users, including even those using the camera daily or in travel situations, the non-magnesium construction of the D5100 should be far more than good enough, strong enough, and durable enough.

ISO: As mentioned in the Sensor and Image Quality section above, the high ISO performance of the D7000 is greatly improved over the D90. The tests at dxomark.com tell this story, along with the fact that the native ISO range of the D7000 is 100-6400 expandable up to 25,600. The D5100 shares these specifications, and should offer similar results. The D3100 has a native ISO range of 100-3200 expandable to 12800, and the range of the D90 is 200-3200. This means that with the D7000 and D5100 you can use higher ISO settings when required, such as in low light situations, and not have as much difficulty with digital noise, particularly in the shadow areas of images.

Controls: As with construction, the buttons and controls vary with these cameras. The D3100 and D5100 offer more limited, basic controls on the exterior of the camera. However you can use the rear LCD screen to quickly change many settings, or else go into the menus. The D7000 offers an extensive array of controls on the camera body, allowing one to quickly change an large number of settings as they work, including focus mode and focus area settings, shooting mode, and exposure mode. The controls of the D7000 are similar to the D90 with some changes including the addition of the shooting mode ring under the mode dial (to change from single shot to high speed continuous to self timer, etc.), and the live-view switch with movie record button inside it. The D7000 also offers 2 customizable user settings (U1, U2) on the mode dial, and you can assign functions of your choice to buttons such as the Fn Button.

Menus and Custom Settings: These allow for greater control over customizing how the camera functions. The D5100 has less Menu and Custom Settings options than the D90 and the highly customizable D7000, and more than the D3100 (which offers no custom settings). These settings enable you to customize the operation, function, and controls to work how you want them to, including things like exposure increments, Live View options, tweaking how the autofocus system operates, setting more precise white balance settings, and customizing which button does what. There are ebooks such as my Nikon D7000 Experience The Photographer's Guide to Operation and Image Creation with the Nikon D7000 and Nikon D5100 Experience The Still Photographer's Guide to Operation and Image Creation with the Nikon D5100 which walk you through all of the Menu settings and Custom Settings so that you can set up your camera to work best for how you photograph, and also begin to learn to master all the advanced features, settings, and controls of these powerful dSLR camera.

Wireless Flash: The D7000 includes the feature of advanced wireless lighting and remote flash control using the built in flash as a commander for off-camera Nikon Speedlights. However, the D5100 and D3100 do not have this capability. You can trigger certain flashes with the built-in flash of these cameras, but not control the remote flashes and their settings. With the D7000, you can set up one or more Speedlights in remote mode, then control and trigger them wirelessly with the built in flash of the camera.

Viewfinder: The D5100 has a pentamirror viewfinder with approximately 95% coverage of the actual resulting image, the same as the D3100. The higher quality pentaprism viewfinder of the D90 gives 96% coverage of the actual resulting image, while the D7000 has an even larger, brighter pentaprism viewfinder with 100% coverage. Author's note: this review was written and posted on Amazon by dojoklo please do not steal it, post it elsewhere, and claim it as your own writing. Thank you. While in-and-of-itself, a 95% viewfinder works just fine, when you compare it side-by-side with the large, clear view of the D7000, you can see and understand the advantages of a clearer view of your entire scene with a 100% view, pentaprism viewfinder.

Processor: The Nikon D5100 and D3100 use the fast Expeed 2 image processor just like the D7000. This allows for more video options including full 1080p HD at 24, 25, and 30 fps, overall faster processing of stills and video files, and the ability to maintain fast continuous speed shooting for numerous frames. The D90 has the older Nikon Expeed processor, which is also generally fast enough to handle its processing needs.

Continuous Shooting Speed: As you work your way up the Nikon dSLR line-up the cameras' continuous shooting speed and maximum shots at that rate increases. The D3100 shoots 3 frames per second (fps) in continuous shooting mode, the D5100 shoots 4 fps, and the D7000 shoots 6 fps for up to 100 shots. The D90 can shoot 4.5 fps up to 100 images. If you often capture action and really need the higher frame rate, such as for sports, action, or wildlife shooting, you are going to have to seriously consider the D7000 over the other cameras. Paired with its advanced autofocus system, this fast frame rate can sharply capture moving objects is all types of situations. A nice feature of the D7000 is that you can adjust the low speed continuous mode to shoot anywhere from 1 to 5 fps, using the custom settings.

Memory Card: The D5100, D3100, and D90 all use a single SD memory card. The D7000 accepts 2 SD cards, where the second card can be used in a variety of ways: overflow when the first card fills up, JPEG on one / RAW on the other, or mirrored backup of the first card. The second card can come in handy as well if one is shooting video files, and one card can be designated for stills and the other video.

Battery and Battery Grip: The D5100 and D3100 both use the EN-EL14 battery, and the D7000 uses the new, higher capacity EN-EL15 battery. The D7000 accepts the optional MB-D11 battery pack/ vertical grip which is constructed of magnesium alloy. The D90 uses the EN-EL3e battery and its optional battery pack/ vertical grip is the MB-D80. The D5100 and D3100 don't accept a battery grip. The battery grip is handy for providing the ability to use a second battery and thus prolonging shooting time, and also creates a larger camera body which some users find more comfortable, especially when shooting in portrait orientation.

Full HD video: The D5100 shoots 1080p and 720p video at 24, 25, and 30 fps. The D3100 shoots 1080p at 24 fps and 720p at 24, 25, and 30 fps. The D7000 also shoots 1080p at 24 fps only and 720p at 24, 25, and 30 fps, up to 20 minutes with full-time continuous autofocus. The D90 offers 720p video at 24 fps, with a 5 minute shooting time.

Ease of Operation: While beginners may find all the buttons, controls, and menus of any dSLR difficult and confusing at first, the menus and controls of the D5100 and D3100 are pretty basic and simple to learn for a dedicated user. The additional controls and menus of the D7000 and D90 are all quite intelligently designed and will become intuitive and straightforward for the more advanced user once they are learned and understood. Again, have a look at helpful guides such as my Nikon D7000 Experience The Photographer's Guide to Operation and Image Creation with the Nikon D7000 and Nikon D5100 Experience The Still Photographer's Guide to Operation and Image Creation with the Nikon D5100 to begin to learn to master all the advanced features, settings, and controls of these powerful dSLR cameras.

Hands on Experience: The camera body of the D5100 fits nicely in the hand, and is a little bit taller than the D3100, so the pinky doesn't fall off the grip quite as easily. The rubber gripping surface and rubber thumb spot work nicely, and help retain the grip on the body, even when holding it at your side or carrying it around without a strap, and the light weight of the camera also adds to this ease of portability. Those who prefer the ergonomics of a larger, more solid feeling camera body will have to look at the D90 or D7000. The Live View switch, placed on the top of the camera at the mode dial, feels and sounds a little plasticy, but works find, and the record button for movies is conveniently placed on the top of the camera, near the shutter button. The FN button, on the front near the lens mount, can be customized to adjust one of a number of settings quickly, like image quality, white balance, HDR, or +RAW (to take a RAW file in addition to a JPEG if set on just JPEG). I prefer to make it an ISO button. The side mounted rear LCD screen is a definite improvement over the bottom mounted, limited screen of the D5000, and rugged and durable. The view through the viewfinder is a bit tiny and cramped, as is typically the case in this level of dSLR. Changing settings is quick and easy with the "i" button and rear LCD screen. Overall, the body, feel, controls, and LCD screen of the D5100 make for a great image taking experience.

Want Nikon D5100 16.2MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens Discount?

I have been a retired SLR photographer for several years so the D5100 is my re-entry into DSLR. Previously, I had an N90s and one of the first digital Nikons; the D20. I have been shooting a Canon G10 for several years even doing some HDR with it. I've had the D5100 about a week and have shot a 100 photos on a variety of subjects family, landscape, sunset, and macro all with the 18-55 kit lens.

It shoots great! Detail is way better than I expected for a "consumer" model. Actually, I chose the D5100 because the quality of the pics was my foremost goal. It comes with the same 16mp chip as the D7000 for $400 less. I wanted to spend that money on glass. I've had almost no trouble figuring out how to set the manual controls and have had good luck with the SCENES modes for most shooting. (I haven't tried the EFFECTS and I'm not sure that I will more of a Photoshop processing kind of guy). My biggest challenge has been getting correct focus as the camera tries to do way more than I'm used to and, if I have it in the wrong SCENE mode, there's no telling what might happen. The dancing yellow squares on the face recognition function is a little disconcerting. I have also had to learn patience as the VR function is nice but a little slow when handheld. I have learned to leave it off until I really need it.

I think that most of the professional reviewers overstate the weaknesses of many of the products out there and the D5100 is no exception, maybe because it's hard to difference a crowded competitive product line. At any rate, here is my take on some of the deficiencies. First, the location of the LiveView button work great for me. Because it is a lever rather than a button it is easy to locate and use without moving my hand on the grip. Another complaint has been the lack of an ISO button. I do prefer buttons over menus but there are too many functions which I would like to have on a button that there wouldn't be room for all of them. I programmed the fn button (which is done easily in the menus) to allow me to control the ISO. It works well both when I'm working through the viewer or the display screen. I will agree with complaints that the fn button is too close to the flash button. I've inadvertently mixed them up and it cost me a pic or two. However, I only need to make that kind of mistake a couple of times before learn to avoid the problem.

The rear screen is great...very high resolution. The zooming function works well and I have been able to check image focus easily. The side tilt is very elegant and I like that if flips to protect the screen when not in use.

I'm not much of a videographer but I did shoot some video and the image quality if fantastic. I put it on my TV and the quality was great. The focus works pretty well although you can see it occasionally get behind for a few seconds for quick moving subjects like cars and kids. The microphone isn't worth much so it may be worth investing in the add-on microphone for more serious video projects.

All in all, the quality and fit of the camera is very good in spite of being made from plastic. i wouldn't want to drop it or the lens for that matter they are not made like my old N90s or my 70-200 f2.8 but, on the other hand, I won't won't miss the extra 5 lbs. of weight because this camera is LIGHT! It is small but fits the hand well and is joy to carry around.

To summarize: As you would expect from a Nikon, great photos; as good as the D7000 (according to dpreview) and $400 less. Easy to use, light, good manual control, and good assisted control through scenes. The D5100 is a good choice if you are looking for high quality images without all the bells and whistles of the D7000.

No "cons" except don't drop it...probably won't survive! Battery life isn't great either (I tend to use the display and LiveView a lot) so I've already invested in a backup battery.

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Panasonic HDmi Input Module for 8 Series Disp Compatible 9 Series Plasma

I ordered this to install in my TH-50PHD7UY Plasma in order

to use the HDMI output from my upscaling DVD recorder as well

as the Component input. Installation was easy and it works

like a charm, even though it is not advertised to work in

the series 7 sets.

I have to remember these modules were designed for the Panasonic Professional/industrial model. These adapters are heavy duty in every way, its easy to see why they're so expensive but if you want HDMI for your new Panny you don't have a whole lot of choice.

Easy and simple installation. Just remove 4 screws, insert module which glides exactly and blind mates perfectly inside the TV housing. Screw into place, plug in your new HDMI cable and you are in business. No pesky set-up routines to deal with, its plug and play.

A side note...on the old Panasonic plasmas, several models were designed to work with ONLY Panasonic, Sony, or Monster HDMI cables. I don't know if this is still the case or not, but if you plug in a generic cable to your Panasonic and it doesn't work you'll know what the problem is. The price of Panasonic cables has come down dramatically in the last few months, and I was able to find a 10 foot cable for less than $35.

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If you can work a screwdriver, you can install this product. I bought this HDMI input for my Panasonic TH-50PH9UK, and I had it installed within 5 minutes. It appears to be a secure connection, too. The way my HDTV is configured, the HDMI input faces downward, so I was worried that the cord might fall out occassionally. After two months, I have had no problems. I am almost certain to buy a second card for my HDTV so that I can connect my upconverting DVD player to it (the first one is connected to my cable box).

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This product works as expected and was easy to install. It took me about 3 minutes to put it in.

I purchased this item because I wanted to maximize the benefit of an HDMI

connection to my Panasonic Professional Monitor coming from a new AV Receiver.

With the addition of a Satellite TV subscription,

(including HD and dual tuner DVR). I am now able to enjoy new Monitor in High Definition. It looks great.

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So you bought a Panny "industrial" plasma to save some money and you want to have an HDMI connection. Well, friend, this blade is for you.

Others have already reviewed the virtues of the easy install, which I agree with wholeheartedly. If you are installing this yourself, be sure to pad the ground with several blankets before laying down your precious plasma. Face down is NOT a recommended way to move, store or even lay your plasma. I had to do this for the install, and I can report the TV was fine.

Does it work with HDMI 1.3? Yes. I have a PS3 and an Onkyo 805 receiver and everything passes through flawlessly. Granted, the Panny plasmas aren't "Deep Color" compatable and they don't have the Lip Synch abilities, but there was no "handshake" issues with using a purely HDMI setup.

Don't bemoan the lack of inputs on these professional plasmas. Let your receiver do the switching and buy this blade!

Save 4% Off

Lorex LNE1001 Easy Connect Network IP Remote Surveillance Camera (White)

This was my first camera for home surveillance. This product is very east to setup. Viewing while connected to the local network provides fairly smooth motion and sound quality. The web based application for remote viewing is more jumpy but still serves the purpose.

I decided to try out the Lorex camera so that I could see how my kids are doing when I'm away from home. I work nights, so I miss out on a lot of their bedtime routines ... I like being able to peek in at them watching "Thomas the Train" in their jammies or just running around being silly while I'm at the office!

I did have a little trouble setting the camera up at first, and it was a little bit of a pain to connect it to the router, but luckily my husband is an IT guy, so he helped me take care of most of that. The remote viewing is a little jumpy, as another reviewer noted, and I always seemed to have issues viewing the footage on my iPhone. If you're just using this for fun, the Lorex LNE1001 is probably a fine choice; however, if you're looking for something with solid security features or the like, I'd probably choose something with a few more features.

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I consider myself to be relatively computer savvy which is to say that I can install software and hardware, as long as there are no complicated steps required. I must say, though that I had some trouble hooking this gadget up. A second problem is that it must be connected to my router with an Ethernet cable, which severely limited where I could place the camera, plus the cable running along my floor would probably alert an intruder that there is some device squirreled away somewhere that he might want to check out.

But, once the camera was hooked up, it worked pretty darn well. I used it recently while on vacation, and it worked just fine. It's definitely not the surveillance camera of my dreams, but it is good.

(Review of Lorex LNE1001 Easy Connect Network IP Remote Surveillance Camera)

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The Lorex LNE1001 is a terrific little camera that does exactly what the ads say it will. On a PC with Windows XP it was up and running in the short time required to install the software and plug in the USB port. Its easy to use, and the quality of the images is very good. As a home protection device, you can't ask for much more. Things were more problematic when using my Mac Mini though for one thing, the device supports viewing only for Mac, so you can't record your security footage. So its good for live monitoring, but not for evidentiary uses. Also, it was not easy to set up to use with a Mac. I followed the instructions on the indicated website, which entailed logging into my router and locating the IP address of the camera, but it took several times and a bit of guesswork to really get it operational. Although the camera's IP address turned up when I logged into the router, I had to improvise to get my computer to recognize it. Once I did however I was able to access the camera using my Safari browser and it worked quite well. Be prepared to run a very long ethernet cable if you intend to use the camera outside the immediate vicinity of your computer there are instructions on how to run the cable on the Lorex website, but you may want to get an electrician in if you've never done it yourself, or get a repeating router so that you can avoid the long cable run.

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Very difficult to set-up with Mac which is very frustrating because they say it's incredibly simple. Well...not so much. Will likely take back.

Canon EOS 60D Digital SLR Camera Body -Brand New- USA Warranty

I bought this for my boyfriend who is aspiring in photography, he was amazed at the features and durability of the item compared to others,and his other CANON lens fit on it.

Buy the most Canon camera you can afford, this was the most I could afford, but one day, I'll buy more, then more, then more Canon. Amazon A+++++

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Mediabridge High Speed HDMI Cable with Ethernet (1 Foot) - Flex Series

I purchased one of these to enable 3D functionality (HDMI 1.4 required). Since they were inexpensive and advertised as "Ultra Thin", I added two more to the order for my other connections so that I wouldn't have to worry which were 1.3 and which were 1.4. Note that this isn't the first Mediabridge product I've used. All my other cables have been the Mediabridge sleeved versions (8.5mm thick). Since I was very pleased with those, I had high hopes for these.

The cables did not disappoint. They were as thin and flexible as I expected. They have performed flawlessly for me with no apparent noise or drop-outs apparent under direct connect 480i, 1080i, and 1080p 3D sources. I don't have a receiver to use as a source switcher and since the cables are advertised support the Audio Return Channel (ARC), I'll probably use the plasma for source switching and feed the ARC out to an amp instead.

The cables came in the standard Mediabridge packaging a small thin heavy duty cardboard box with the item name/size on the outside. I appreciate the packaging so that I can keep the spares stacked away and not have to wade through a box of tangled cables to get what I need (ESPECIALLY length). The cables were coiled inside and loosely held that shape. Running my hand down the lenght (to make it warm) got rid of most of the coil as expected. Cable connectors and molding were ideal.

I was concerned about functionality based upon the original negative 1-star review, but for the price and my prior experience with Mediabridge products I figured it was worth the risk. I'm glad I did as the cables have worked out great for me and an exception value at the price compared to other name brands.

My only complaint is that it's currently only available in 6-foot lengths. I'll be on the lookout for thier 3-foot and hopefully 10-foot versions (if they end up manufacturing them).

Now, I have seven HDMI cables:

1.] The first one was a Belkin High Speed (speed wasn't mentioned) 6 ft. HDMI cable. Purchased in Bangalore.

2.] Second one was Profigold PROV1002, 48 bit color, 2m HDMI cable. Purchased in Bangalore.

3.] AudioQuest Forest HDMI 2m. Purchased in Bangalore.

4.] The cable that came with my Satellite box. I am based in Bangalore.

5.] Belkin 10.2 Gbps high speed, 48 bit deep color, 3D support, 6ft cable. Purchased around 10 months after my first Belkin HDMI and the labels changed. After buying this, I found that the product number written in the cable was the same. Felt little cheated at that point. Purchased in Bangalore.

6.] Mediabridge FLEX Series 10.2 Gbps, 48 bit deep color. This is the one I am writing this review for Mediabridge FLEX Series High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet (6 Feet) Category 2 Certified [Supports ETHERNET, 3D & Audio Return Channel]. I purchased this from Amazon.

7.] Monster Ultimate High Speed HDMI 8ft, 17.5 Gbps+ Monster Cable Ultimate High Speed Hdmi 1000 HDX 8ft THX Certified. I purchased this from Amazon.

Few comments before the comparison starts:

Other than Profigold, each of the cables mentioned are made in China. The Monster, the AudioQuest, the Mediabridge and of course, the Belkin, are all made in China. The Profigold is made in The Netherlands. However, I am not sure about the country of manufacture of the cable that came with my Satellite Box.

I am NOT sure how being an "ELECTRICAL ENGINEER" and "From MIT" would help put more importance on giving opinion about quality of a product when one actually did not perform a verification of signal processing at Gbps rate, did not analyze the involved network protocols, transmission loss, etc. Simply saying "0" and "1" is very naive way of understanding.

I am surprised that there are such BIG wars going on over HDMI cables and no agency or organisation did a comprehensive study or testing involving cinema quality streaming data transmission through various HDMI cables with the transmitted data captured in a memory device and comparing them. Everything is left to the viewers and buyer's eyes, ears and confusion. Even the HDMI standard agency is MUM on that!!!

Many (huge number of) reviews or comments made in amazon, shows that the reviewer did not purchase that item (either from amazon or anywhere else) but they are so sure about how signal processing is done at Gbps speed and hence attempt to comment that any HDMI cable would perform same.

So, every thing I say here is my perception and my own perception might change in a fourth testing. But I did my own testing three times, each time spending at least one plus hours.

Now the comparison part:

The breaking news There are differences in picture quality and sound quality in each of the cables involved!!!

I have made four sets. In set I, the members are the Monster and Mediabridge cable. In set II, the members are Belkin and the one came with the Satellite Box. In set III, the members are AudioQuest. Set IV comprises of Profigold PROV1002. Given a true high definition movie, I will be able to tell which set the HDMI cable belongs to!!!

The worst is cables from Set II, i.e. the Belkin High Speed ones and the one came with the Satellite Box. There are wither color loss or unnatural coloring in the images.

Set III Pictures coming out of AudioQuest are excellent but cables belonging to Set IV (Profigold) and Set I (Monster, Mediabridge), are better than AudioQuest.

Set IV and Set I has a tough competition, i.e. Mediabridge, Monster Ultimate High Speed and Profigold PROV1002 are all capable of producing superb, ultimate quality pictures.

Between Mediabridge and Monster, I think the Monster would be marginally better in picture quality and better in sound quality. But this is a perception that I would not bank on next time, if I know that I can buy this Mediabridge cable for around $10.

Finally, according to me, the Profigold PROV1002 is better than any HDMI cable that I have. And hence, I have connected this cable to my 50 inch Panasonic TH-P50VT20D Telivision from my Yamaha AV receiver RX-A800 Yamaha RX-A800 7.1-Channel Audio/Video Receiver (Black), purchased this November 2011, during Black Friday. And for my main Blu-Ray player, which I plan to use for most audio visual experiences, I have connected it through the Monster Ultimate High Speed HDMI cable into the Yamaha RX-A800.

I am using this Mediabridge FLEX series High Speed HDMI cable to connect my Satellite Box to AV Receiver (RX-A800).

For a third media player, I will use AudioQuest. By the way, I checked that Profigold does not have a distributor in the North America and hence, probably all HDMI cables in US or Canada might be "Made in China", as this Mediabridge HDMI cable is also. But while thinking what could have differentiated the better ones even if they were "Made in China", I feel that testing is a very important part of the manufacturing. I purchased this Mediabridge product mostly by seeing the testing certificate that Mediabridge has obtained or earned from certain agency in Sunnyvale (did not check if that agency is fake or real, but cable's performance is real and there for me to see all through out). Equally, Monster also has two major industry agencies, testing and certifying their product and no doubt produce very high quality HDMI cables. However, for Profigold, I did not see any testing or certification, though works best for me.

At the end, I would like to emphasize the extremely high value for money for this Mediabridge HDMI cable.

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I was looking for HDMI cables for my brand new TV, and ordered 3 different brand cables from Amazon. The 'Ultra-flex' was one of them and i was pleasantly surprised by how THIN & flexible these cables were.

The TV is connected to my PS3 using this cable, and it was cool to see the TV turn on to the proper HDMI channel and switch to 3D mode when the PS3 turned on (and automatically switch into 3D mode since the HD Fury game was in 3D).

I am sure the other 2 types of cables i ordered were also fine in terms of picture quality, BUT their connectors were thick and the cables were unwieldy. So I returned those (paid the restocking fee) and got 2 more of these Ultra-Flex cables.

It would be great if mediabridge made 3-ft and 12-ft lengths also in the ultra-flex series and perhaps different color connectors/cables so that one could differentiate the cables at the back of the TV. That would be a real winner.

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I wanted to buy a 10 feet HDMI cable to interface my samsung LED TV using its HDMI port with my laptop.I was surprised to see the cable in a small pack when i received it.

The pros are:

1. Ultra Flexible: This is an excellent feature which will enable you in routing the HDMI cable especially when the TV is mounted to the wall closely.

2. Loss less Picture Quality: I explicitly tested this cable by first loading the Bluray songs(1080p) on a USB stick and played in my TV and then i played the same song through the 10Feet Mediabridge cable connected to my laptop.In both the casees i could not find any loss in the picture quality.I do tested with a cheap HDMI cable(6 feet) which i already had and that showed the real difference in picture quality.Thus the picture quality is undistributed even with a length of 10feet.

3.The connectors are gold plated and appear sturdy.

I would strongly recommend this cable

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Mediabridge FLEX Series High Speed HDMI Cable With Ethernet (3 Feet) Category 2 Certified [Supports ETHERNET, 3D & Audio Return Channel]

I have never written a review before but after the mess I had with HDMI cables I wanted to speak up.

I just purchased a new flat screen and home entertainment system I wanted to make sure I got some good HDMI cables. I started looking on Amazon and there are a so many that it got real confusing. I ended up buying several different brands but when they arrived the Mediabridge FLEX really stood out above the rest. This cable will handle more speed that is being produced right now and it is the best quality I have seen. It's also very small and flexible which made a world of difference do to one of HDMI outlets having a strange angle and a tight fit. One brand was so stiff and heavy that I was worried about it bending the HDMI outlet in my flat screen and none of them made the tight fit in my entertainment system except for the Mediabridge.

I know I do not have to stress anymore because I have found the best high speed HDMI cable out there , so thank you Medaibridge !

Pan/Tilt Security IP Wifi Camera Alarm 2Audio Night Vision Motion Detection- NCB-541W

Quality of the physical camera itself seems pretty good. Picture quality also seems pretty good both in daylight and night vision. It is easy to set up and easy to link to smart phone viewer application. It is great addition to home (or small business) security at a very reasonable price.

Canon PowerShot G3 4MP Digital Camera w/ 4x Optical Zoom

When shopping for digital cameras I looked at the Nikon CP5700, Olympus C5050, Nikon CP5000, and the Canon G3. Yes, all cameras except G3 were 5mp but I was looking for a lot more than just Megapixel power.

Not only was I was shopping for a camera that would suit MY casual and artistic photographic needs, I had to keep in mind that my fiance wanted to use this camera as well. Her main focus was having a camera that is easy to understand and use.

The Nikon's are great cameras. + They have great optics (CP5700 has great optical zoom)and features, not to mention take great pictures. The drawbacks were that they were not user friendly for the casual photographer, the LCD screen is a little too small, CP5000 does not take photos in RAW format.

Olympus C5050 is a very solid camera with a metal body. + Takes sharp 5mp photo's, has great features and relatively easy to use. I didn't care much for the tilting LCD screen, it seemed very limited and not very usefull. Photos had some artifacts and noise. My fiance just didn't like the way it felt in her hands.

We also looked at the Fuji FPs602. Nice Camera but doesn't take as sharp as pictures I thought they would, and again... fiance didn't like the feel.

The Canon G3... 4mp, 4X optical zoom, takes absolutely beautiful photos with detail that challenges all of the above 5mp cameras, easy to understand and use (has a great swivel LCD screen), a LOT of features and add-on options, comes with great software (not to be overlooked), and last but by far not least, received my fiance's stamp of approval (two thumbs up!)

A LOT of research went into digital camera's before I made this purchase, and hands down, the G3 had everything I needed plus more. The other cameras were great and I'm sure many people will beg to differ from my observations, but to each his/her own. I have no buyers remorse with this baby, and I never will.

Always remember, cameras don't take great pictures, people do!

The Canon G3 improves in almost all ways on the G1 and G2 before it, and in fact beats the Nikon Coolpix 5000 in performance (picture quality and battery life) -which is amazing because the 5000 is a 5 megapixel camera and the Canon is a 4 megapixel camera. Canon's optics are better and I believe their processing algorithms are also better. Simply, the Canon G3 is the best digital camera out there today at this price point.

The Canon allows you to change lenses, and it accepts the IBM Microdrive (Type II Compact Flash), so you can have up to 1 Gigabyte of storage. For me on the Fine resolution setting (not maximum but very close) this adds up to over 1000 images with the 1 Gig card. The battery life of this camera is twice that of the Nikon 5000 and is better than anything else I've seen.

The only minor nits I have with the camera are it is fairly boxy looking, it needs a wrist strap instead of a neck strap, and it is a bit slow between shots. Even with these shortcomings, I still think it is the best digital camera available under $1200.

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I am a long-time user of highly responsive film SLRs and professional quality external flash equipment, just so you know my bias. I have been watching the development of digicams for years, waiting to make my first move. What I really want is a $1,500 digital SLR with a full frame sensor that will take my Nikon lenses. I figure that is at least three years off, and I am getting impatient. Hence I decided to spring for a "point-and-shoot" digicam that that would have features that would let me get around their inherent limitations. I chose the G3 because of its reputation for very high quality, clean images.

The two limitations I knew I would have to deal with are the very long lag time before it focus-locks (even in bright light), and the unsatisfactory light quality of the built-in flash. As of this writing, technology has not solved the focus-lock lag time problem for point-and-shoot digicams and anyone who is satisfied with it simply has never used a modern film SLR. At least once you've got focus lock, the shutter release lag time for the G3 is about 1/10 of a second, which from what I've read, is better than just about anything else available. What makes the focus-lock lag time something I can live with is the extreme depth of field obtainable with these point and shoot digicams at f8. Once I get focus lock, I can then wait until my restless subject (a pet or a child) strikes an amusing pose and then fire the shutter with some reasonable probability of getting my subject still in focus.

Now what about the flash problem? Relative to what I can easily achieve with external flash on my Nikon SLR, the internal flash on the G3 produces harsh, flat images with ugly hot spots. Fortunately, the G3 has a hot shoe that can take an external flash, and fortunately for me, I already owned a one of the highest quality external flashes that money can buy: the Metz 60 CT-4. I can't use my Nikon external flash on a Canon camera, but I CAN use my Metz, with the proper Metz module and extension cord connected between the G3 and the 60 CT-4. For those who have this Metz flash (or the 45CL-3) and would like to get the absolute ultimate quality out of this G3, the Metz module you need is the SCA 3102 and the connector cord is the SCA 3000C.

In order for this to work, you have to set the camera to manual mode and set the shutter speed and f-stop yourself. Contrary to what I've read elsewhere, the G3 DOES sync at 1/250 of a second with third-party flashes, just as it does with the dedicated flashes from Canon. You also have to set the G3 to second shutter sync, which is what you'd want to do most of the time anyhow. Then just forget about all the controls you have on the Metz flash head itself and the SCA 3102 control panel, because they are all IGNORED. The G3 completely takes over controlling the duration of the Metz flash, and most of the time, the exposure is spot on and when it isn't, it's because you've exceeded the range of the Metz flash itself. This might happen if you get too close to the subject and you are not bounce-flashing, or if you ARE bounce flashing and the walls are simply too far away. Unfortunately, the neutral density filters for the Metz flash are no longer available, so the first problem can't easily be solved. The second problem is solved by more direct lighting from the Metz (with the attendant shadows unfortunately). But once you've got your exposure within an acceptable range, the G3 is shown to produce utterly stunning images that I can hardly get with my Nikon F100 film camera. The 60 CT-4 flash head can actually be reversed 180 degrees and then tilted, enabling you to bounce the flash off the walls behind you. The results are shadow-free images that look as if they've been exposed with the gentlest natural light you could imagine.

Now there is one more complaint I have about the G3 and that is the software that comes with it for processing raw images (I only shoot in raw image mode and the first thing I did was replace the 32 MByte CF with a 512 MByte CF, which gives me 130 raw images, as opposed to 7!). The Canon software for raw images does not present you with a raw image AT ALL, but the raw image after it has been processed by all the image-affecting settings in the camera. I believe this is enabled by a second file that comes out of the camera that stores all this information. Maybe if you delete those files before you looked at them with the software, you'd see the true, raw image that the camera actually produces. I didn't wait to experiment. Instead, I bought the Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw plug-in. What this plug-in reveals is the truly stunning quality of the raw G3 hardware. Without any tweaking at all, if the exposure is accurate, the colors are as realistic as I've ever seen produced by film, and this is a raw image! The Adobe Camera Raw plug-in shows once again that hardware is miles ahead of software. What the G3 raw image software gives you is a fantasy world designed to please the uncritical. What the Photoshop plug-in gives you is REALITY, and then if you want fantasy, you can use Photoshop to create it. But at least you're starting with the most photorealistic images I've ever seen from a camera. I am stunned and amazed at the quality of the raw images I am getting from this G3 (in conjunction with my professional flash system), and can easily put up with the camera's limitations, because I've never seen anything better within its resolution limits.

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I've been using a PowerShot S330 for nearly a year, and wanted to upgrade to a 4 or 5 megapixel camera with a longer zoom, more adjustability, a hot shoe for an external flash, and a remote control. I looked at both the Nikon Coolpix 5700 and the Canon G3, and decided on the G3 due both to ergonomics (much more comfortable to hold and use) and the price ...

I've had the camera for about two weeks and shot hundreds of pictures so far. And so far, I've been very pleased. There's a noticeable difference in the quality of a 4 megapixel image versus the 2 megapixels of the S330, especially if you want to crop and enlarge the pictures. The larger lens of the G3 gives better picture quality in low light, and the 4-times optical zooms gets you just that much closer.

The moveable LCD screen is great. You can take pictures with the camera held above your head, way down, or beside you with no problem, allowing you to position the camera for the best shot without contorting yourself. The tiny (postage-stamp sized) remote unit is wonderful: not only does it trigger the shutter, it can also be used to zoom and review pictures. I also purchased a good sturdy tripod: the combination of the new camera, tripod and remote control enabled me to take some remarkable indoor, natural-light portraits I never would have attempted before.

The hot shoe flash attachment allowed me to buy and use a sophisticated flash unit: I chose the Canon Speedlite 420. This has made the greatest difference in the quality of my photographs: the built-in flash on any of these cameras gives you flat photos, red-eye, and annoying shadows; a good add-on flash unit can be bounced off the ceiling or wall for pleasing, almost-natural lighting.

I needed three batteries to keep myself going with the S330, but the battery in the G3 is a real powerhouse: I shot over 300 photos at my goddaughter's birthday party without switching out to my backup battery. The G3 has a different type of battery charging system from the smaller Canon cameras: the battery needs to be charged while in the camera, but the charging system also enables you to use the camera while plugged in without running down the battery.

I have yet to try using all of the adjustment options: shutter priority, aperature priority, light metering adjustments, etc., but all controls are well thought out and and the manual is relatively clear. You can use this camera right out of the box on the automatic setting, or slowly get comfortable with the manual settings and what they can do.

Negatives? I've been bothered by blown-out highlights on the S330, and the G3 seems to do only slightly better. (I'm starting to think that this may just be one of the weaknesses of all digital photography at this level.) The on-off button feels somewhat flimsy, and has an awkward, tiny little lock-out button that needs to be depressed to turn on the camera. And the body/construction in general has quite a bit of plastic, a disappointment after the stainless steel heft of the S330.

I bought a 512 MB card, which seems to hold about 400 photos at the highest resolution. I was worried that 4 megapixel photos would download more slowly, but there's no difference in working with the files. I have a 120 GB remote drive I use to store my digital images: I can imagine that they'd fill up my iBook's internal memory pretty quickly.

At the same time I purchased this camera I also bought Adobe's Photoshop Elments 2.0 software, and can't praise it highly enough. If you're investing in a camera at this level, buy this software! And as I said in my review of the S330, all of these digital cameras are easier to use with Apple computers.

The bottom line: if you're serious about your digital photography, or been bitten with the bug after using a digital point-and-shoot, this may be just the camera for you. But make sure to buy a tripod and separate flash unit at the same time: you'll see the difference in your photos immediately.

Added 2-24. I've now had the camera for two months and I'm even more pleased with it. I wound up buying a gray card and use it all the time with the custom white-balance setting. It helps avoid the problem of a color cast on the pictures, especially in mixed-light settings. If you don't have a gray card, you can use a plain white piece of paper. I also discovered the exposure-bracket setting, which enables you to take three exposures with one press of the shutter: the first at the camera-determined exposure, then one lighter and one darker. Especially useful with portraits and difficult-to-meter situations. I did buy the telephoto lens (and the required extension). Very easy to use. I'll probably also get the wide-angle now, too. Very comfortable camera, easy to use, and the best digital photos you're going to get at this price.

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Being a great fan of the G2 I set out with G3 with a somewhat negative expectation, difficult as it is to improve drastically on something already as 'perfect' as the Powershot G2. But Canon never fails to amaze. Some of the great gains over G2 -

1. The ability to selectively switch to RAW format during record review gives you incredible more post-processing flexibility.

2. Battery life is over 4.5 hours, compared to about 2.5 hours for the G2 or the 2 hours for most Nikons.

3. The Remote Capture and FileViewer software bundled for photo capture is mind-blowing. Looks sort of like Picasa Software (google it if you dont know) in the interface and is as easy to install and operate as G2's, but more intuitive.

4. The shape of this device is a little squarer, without losing the weight which means better balance and less shaking while clicking. A big plus in my book.

5. The 1/200 sec, F5.6 + ND filter for highly exposed (or very brightly lit) environments. The light auto-correction is awesome. You could take a picture of a stone glinting in the sun and still avoid the shining glaze and get the contours right.

6. The G2's "Color Effect" exposure mode has now been removed, the replacement is a selectable "Effect FUNC" menu option available in all exposure modes. There are six default settings (Off, Vivid, Sepia, Neutral, Low Sharpening, B&W) as well as a 'Custom Effect' that allows you to control sharpening, contrast and saturation.

7. A new PhotoStich software for stiching your pics into a panoramic view. I can of course buy such a tool off the shelves separately but helps if it comes with my camera. (Looks quite neat too suggesting that Canon may have, er, Canonized it a bit).

8. Perhaps inspired by the Canon's factory white-correction settings (which were found lacking and had to be altered by a user before the white edges from buildings etc could be cleaned out), the G3 has much sharper white offsets. In English, this means that even straight out of the box, you'll be amazed at the pics you end up taking.

9. In dim lit environs the G2 could easily outperform any other camera, and thankfully G3 maintains this rep. Personally I believe it even outperforms the G2 in terms of less haze and astonishingly real colors.

Overall, the G3 delivers what must be considered the best image quality of any current >4 megapixel digicams, from a detail, tonal balance and color response point of view. There's really very little about G3 images to criticize. Short of the EOS range from Canon or the D100s from Nikon (both SLRs) this is quite simply the best you can ask for.