Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP CMOS 10x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera with Optical Steady Shot I

I'm usually a digital SLR user, but I've been waiting for a camera like this to come out so I have something to put in my pocket. The features that really made me decide to buy this camera were:

1. AVCHD 1080i FULL QUALITY video. Check the bitrate -it's the same as the camcorders. Better than the flip or handheld 'HD' bitrates

2. Wide Picture Stitching. I am astounded by the quality of these pictures. Dumbfounded. Check out the ones I've posted.

3. GPS Tagging. Yepbeen waiting for this since iPhoto introduced the feature into its software.

4. Low-light performance. For a point-and-shoot, you're not going to beat this. Sure, it's no DSLR, but it's pretty great for the price.

5. Pricea zillion features and a totally reasonable price!!!

Mac Compatibility:

I tried out the camera with iMovie, and it worked seamlessly!!! I imported 2 minutes of low-light video footage AVCHD in about 30 seconds from an SDHC Class-6 card. Also used the camera with iPhoto and Aperture, and everything worked great.

Update: I've had time to play around with the different settings -you can see some of my results in the customer uploaded images. The panoramas today came out great! I am still awed by this feature (amazon's tiny photos don't do it justice). Shooting inside in the MOMA was excellent. Outside, I tried the HDR mode, with limited success (still need to experiment, but see what I got). The handheld twilight mode does what it is supposed to, impressively.

*****Pros: Clear, Crisp pictures & movies. Sound is accurate. HD is excellent. Auto mode allows an average user to take excellent pictures in all but very difficult conditions. Software converts AVCHD to data, standard and WMV formats.

*****Cons: Have to remove battery from camera to recharge it. Camera has no AC adapter.

**Summary: Highlights:

* Sonys smallest and thinnest AVCHD capable digital camera (1080i)

* 10x (25mm equivalent) professional-quality optical zoom G-Lens (same lens as professional DSLR)

* 10.2 megapixel back-illuminated ?Exmor R? CMOS image sensor combined with BIONZ image processor

* ISO: Auto/125/200/400/800/1600/3200, Panorama, Anti-Motion & moviesHD (1920 x 1080 pixels),

* High Speed Shooting ? 10 frames per second at 10 megapixel full resolution

* 3-inch (230K pixels) Clear Photo LCD display with a special anti-reflective coating

* Backlight Correction HDR and GPS + Compass and Optical Steady Shot with Active Mode technologies

*****Comparison Prior to purchase:

Review Data: I reviewed over 50 web sites, spoke to camera stores and had the specifications reviewed by photographic professionals.

*WEB Site Reviews: The web sites I reviewed gave mixed reviews but in general this camera came out one of the best point and shoot cameras. In fact many of the complaints I read were by people comparing the camera with high end SLR?s or DSLR?s clearly not an unbiased or practical test, in my opinion a device should be compared with products in the same class to be fair.

*Store and Professional Reviews:I spoke to most of the major and many other camera stores that carried various brands that were familiar with this camera all of them stated they did not have a point and shoot better than this camera. Some stated the camera was as good as some SLR?s and some pointed out the lens and the CMOS image sensor was the same as that found on high end DSLRs.

My Test Results:

*****Indoor Camera mode: Camera tested in the Auto mode, photographed people and pets ? Tested under natural light, incandescent and fluorescent lights all shots were clear and sharp. Camera Tested in a darkened room in Auto mode flash worked picture quality was excellent. Extreme test Camera tested in an almost completely dark room with light seeping through a window blind, picture blurry -camera had trouble adjusting due to streaks of light coming through blind. Repeated test without sunlight comming through blind in the dark camera worked excellent but I had to use "Easy" mode instead of Auto. It pays to try the cameras different modes.

*****Outdoor Camera Mode Camera tested in Auto mode; photographed people and pets pictures were clear and sharp. The camera compensated for my movements, people moving and animal movement even when using zoom at its maximum without a tripod. Photographed a man made waterfall you could actually see the water streaming down the rock. Photographed several high trees all came out straight, even a palm tree. Tested camera at sunset and at night to get the best results you need to learn the cameras mode.

*****Movie Mode: (Inside and Outside)

Photographed people and animals playing inside and outside, a man made waterfall, a television program. Camera adjusted to my movements and gave clear and crisp movies. Sounds were accurate and clear.

*****Viewing:

The camera has a 3 inch LCD display; I had no problem seeing what I photographed even in sunlight.

*****Software:

The camera includes software that allows you to save your pictures as data, WMV, HD and standard mode. All modes worked well.

Conclusion: As far as I am concerned this camera is better than any point and shoot on the market. I agree with a lot of the professionals that stated it was almost as good as a SLR or DSLR when used by the average user. Even in the Auto mode it excelled in many difficult situations both as a fixed camera and movie camera. Due to the camera size you have to be careful not to block the microphone on the top of the camera. If you are a professional photographer this camera is probably not for you though I did talk to one professional photographer that stated they used this camera as a backup at a wedding and the pictures came out as good as their high end cameras in many situations.

*****Cost: I managed to find the camera on sale at for $293.99 when buying 2 accessories @ 15% off.

*****Below are some of the camera specifications to see them all you can go to .

* Optical Zoom : 10x

* Total Zoom : Approximately 20x with Precision Digital Zoom Macro Mode : iAuto(W:Approx.5cm(0.16')

* Drive Mode : Normal / Hi-Speed Burst (High/Mid/Low) / Bracketing

* Shutter Speeds : iAuto(2" 1/1,600) / Program Auto(1" 1/1,600) /Manual(30"-1/1600)

* Aperture : iAuto(F3.5/F8.0(W)) / Program Auto(F3.5/F8.0(W)) / Manual(F3.5/F8.0(W)) (2 Steps with ND Filter)

* ISO : Auto / 125 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200

* Focal Length (35mm equivalent) : 4.25-42.5mm

* AF Modes : 9 points AF / Center Weighted AF / Spot AF

* Burst Mode : Approx 10 fps at 10.2MP (Maximum 10 shots)

* HD Output : HDMI / Component (1080i)

* Flash Modes : Auto / On / Slow Syncro / Off

* White Balance Mode: Auto / Daylight / Cloudy / Fluorescent / Incandescent / Flash.

* Image Stabilization : Optical

* Imaging Sensor : 1/2.4" (7.59mm) "Exmor R" CMOS Sensor

* Processor : BIONZ?

* LCD Type : 3.0"1 Clear Photo LCD (230K pixels)

* Lens Type : Sony G-Lens (same as DSLR's)

* Scene Mode(s) : High Sensitivity / Twilight / Twilight Portrait / Soft Snap / Landscape / Beach / Snow / Fireworks / Advanced Sports / Gourmet / Pet

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP CMOS 10x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera with Optical Steady Shot I Now

I'm comparing this camera to my most recent camera: Canon SD1000 and Sony TX1. I'm just a casual photographer. The most surprising thing about this camera is the weight. If you've owned some high end Sony or Canon PowerShot cameras then holding this camera doesn't "feel" normal, it's way too light for it's size...but that's a good thing....sort of. They achieve this weight reduction by using plastic for many of the body parts (the SD1000 and TX1 are mostly, if not all metal). The back is definitely plastic, I'm not quite sure about the front. The mode dial (although very welcome) feels cheap.

That's about it for the bad news. The good news is the GPS locks FAST out of the box and the picture quality is very good, on par with 10-12 mega-pixel cameras. The Sony "extra" features such as panorama and 1080 HD video work as advertised and add value to the Sony versus the only current competitor (with GPS and a mega-zoom) the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 which has not been released yet. You can compare images between the two cameras on the Imaging Resource site as well as some others.

I'm was going to purchase both this camera and the Panasonic to see which one I liked better, however I'm going to be keeping the Sony. I'm very happy with the ease of use, picture quality and the Sony extra features (such as panorama).

For a case, I'm using the Case Logic TBC302. It fits the camera perfectly with barely enough room in the front pocket to hold a spare battery. The Case Logic TBC303 is much larger but not too useful, for example you can't put the battery charger with the camera. It could hold some credit cards or papers, though.

Update: Software

I usually never install the included software because it's so bloated or just not very good to use. However, the Sony PMB (which is on a CDROM or on the internal camera memory when plugged into your computer) is VERY good. Good in that it's not bloated and it just works. You can do everything you expect such as organize and edit your photos or even update/assign GPS data. Also you can download updated GPS data (which helps the camera lock to GPS faster). I would dare say the software is nicer than Picasa or iPhoto due to the speed and built in GPS features. Some other things you can do but I have not tried yet: you can burn a video DVD (either a normal DVD or a AVCHD DVD with 1080i quality, but you need a PS3 or compatible player to watch those).

Update: GPS

I'm happy to report the GPS function works very well. I took a drive while snapping pictures as a test and then examined the recorded locations. The location was being actively updated because it was able to differentiate my position between shots taken seconds apart going about 40 MPH. Very pleased.

Update: Picture Quality

On closer inspection, the picture quality is a bit soft..I wish I could have the camera automatically adjust the sharpening inside the camera (make it more sharp) but this is not a big deal as the PMB software has easy edit controls. You can also manually unsharp after you take the photograph. The low light performance is remarkable, especially the low-light modes that actively combine multiple images (hand-held twilight and back-light HDR modes do this). As long as you're steady and you're not shooting a moving subject you can get some pretty remarkable, low-noise images at night.

Other final comment: when you turn the camera off, there is a slight delay (fraction of a second) before the lens retracts. Not really an issue but just something I'm not used to with my previous cameras and something I just noticed as I'm usually taking quick impromptu photos, on..photo...off. The interface, although totally functional, is not as "refined" as on my Sony TX1 (with touch screen), the LCD resolution is noticeably lower but, again, totally functional.

The mode dial is still bugging me, I feel it's the first thing on this camera that will go...But only time will tell.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP CMOS 10x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera with Optical Steady Shot I Here

I have been looking for a new P&S for a while and compared the Sony hx5v v. Canon sx210is v. Panasonic zs3 (as a prelude to the zs7). The most important consideration was image quality followed closely by convenience, a well defined menu system, lens quality, fit and finish and pocketability. The Sony and Panny both had a gps function which was not important to me.

The panny zs3 had poor low light performance and no manual controls. Several bona fide review sites stated that the IQ for the zs7 was inferior to the zs3 so I quickly made a decision that the zs7 was not in contention.

For a comparison between the Sony and Canon I spent lunchtime on a couple of days walking around town taking only photos with the Sony on the trip out...and with the Canon on the walk back to my office. With the same drill in the evening to compare low light performance. I accumulated several hundred photos. When taking the photos I would use whatever mode or camera setting was appropriate at the time. Specifically, I did not set the cameras on Auto and just shoot in that mode. I also took a fair amount of video. A couple of days later I loaded all photos and video onto my computer and began viewing and this is where the Sony fell down. The images were very soft. At a small size they looked fine in fact they looked very good. However, with any magnification, the in-camera noise removal processing was evident and very heavy handed. Other review sites stated this, but I had to see it for myself, and even at ISO 125 (the lowest Sony allows) the images were soft. At pixel peeping levels it was very bad. Details were lost and it all looked like plastic. And if the details aren't there, no amount of work in PS or LR will bring them back to life. The evidence of noise at magnification was low, but I'd rather have native noise and remove it with Neat Image than be stuck with an over processed image. Also, there is no manual mode at all...all auto function. There is no iris for f-stop control, so to limit light Sony has chosen to use a neutral density filter and you get only 2 f-stops. Therefore, you get one depth of field for all images. That is almost anti-camera to me.

Sony claims their CMOS sensor is superior to a CCD sensor. That is apparent in the ability to shoot full resolution images for 10 fps bursts, as well as the hand held twilight and anti blur modes. But, to my eye, I don't see any low light benefit of the CMOS over the CCD and image quality did not compare well, though I don't think that had much to do with the sensor as much as Sony's noise algorithm.

The white balance is inconsistent indoors. You can get a custom WB by shooting a white object, but the native AWB will leave you disappointed. Outdoors the colors are warm no problem there. And it is easy to use anti blur mode to get a quick snapshot anytime and have a good result.

I did not give the video an adequate review since the stills were so disappointing. However, the microphones are situated in the exact wrong location. It is difficult to keep from covering one or both of them as you are filming. It is a very poor design. The flash is weak and poorly located it is easy to block with your fingers. The light from the flash falls visibly off-centered in the image.

The Sony has some great technology. The 10 fps burst is great, the hand held twilight and anti blur are clever and practical. The menu system is well designed and intuitive. It is a good point and shoot camera for someone that wants only that without the need for printing beyond 4x6 or only for casual viewing on the computer.

The Sony was returned and the Canon sx210is won out. Far better image quality, it has a manual mode with up to 15 second exposure, very good HD video at 720p and good sound, superior low light performance, better flash power as well as being able to adjust the eV +/for flash photography, better color gamut, the 14x optical on the Canon is nice some vignetting at 14x, but that is fixable in post process. I do wish the Canon had a faster burst mode.

Want Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V 10.2 MP CMOS 10x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera with Optical Steady Shot I Discount?

I've had the HX5V since I replaced my Canon SD800IS in March, '10 and have been very pleased with what it has to offer. It captures great images but with a caveat. It is not, strictly, a point and shoot. It has features such as the hand-held twilight, anti motion blur and iPanorama that take some knowledge and practice to make the most of. Most of the complaints I have read here relate to a misunderstanding of the camera features and not a failure in design. I'll address some of the the issues and how I have avoided or dealt with them.

Colors: Most compact digital cameras come with auto-ISO and auto white-balance as the defaults. I always over-ride the auto-ISO with the lowest ISO setting and adjust manually from there if needed. Auto WB is left on, but virtually no current camera will decipher the odd mix of light that compact fluorescent lighting puts out. That's why there is a custom WB setting. When custom white-balance is used properly, colors are rendered nicely. In daylight, I have had no problems and under incandescent outdoor lighting it seems to render colors quite well.

Distortion: Most P&S cameras don't start out at 24mm equivalent on the wide end (one of the reasons that I bought the camera). If you are not used to composing using a wider-angle lens, your shots can produce some perspective distortion. Buildings and interiors need to be shot carefully at wide angles to minimize the "leaning walls" effect caused by the exaggerated perspective of wide angle lenses that is often mistaken for lens distortion. The lens itself is remarkably free of distortion at both the wide and long end of the zoom range. BTW, people shot up close with a wide-angle lens will NOT like how they look!

Lack of detail: The HX5V is not a DSLR. Its 10MP files will never support the detail that you can get with a large APS-C sensor. If you are obsessed with detail and like to view your pictures in minute detail at 100% zoom with your nose 12 inches away from your monitor, this is not the camera for you. That said, it will fit in your pocket and produce sharp, detailed images suitable for 8x10 prints or even larger...if used properly. Auto-ISO will automatically boost ISO in low-light conditions. As stated before, this camera is a compact, not a DSLR. Though it does better at ISO 800 than most, it still has a tiny sensor that is susceptible to noise and the accompanying loss of detail from noise reduction processing at higher ISO. In low light, I have used the hand-held twilight function with excellent results. This mode isn't magic and if the camera moves too much during the multiple exposures, it won't do the job. If you choose your subject well and keep the camera steady, the images in this mode can be very impressive. Digital zoom can cause problems at the long end. Since this feature simply takes a smaller center section of the image and blows it up, resolution suffers. I'm happy with the 10x optical zoom and turning off the "digital zoom" option prevents its use and accidental image degradation.

iPanorama doesn't work: Nonsense. It is actually one of the best in-camera panorama solutions out there. Like everything else, there is no free lunch. You have to practice moving the camera steadily and smoothly across the scene and keep in mind that since it is using the video mode to capture the 100 or so image slices, you are limited to a 1080 pixel tall image (unless you trick it and use the vertical mode sideways to get a 1920 tall panorama).

In general, the HX5V will function as a point and shoot camera but to get the most out of its remarkable feature set, you need to take the time to learn the functions and how to best take advantage of what they have to offer. It is not a camera for everyone but it can be a great 24x7, take-anywhere tool with some class-leading features if use it well.

I have posted some images on my share site with examples of low-light, indoor, outdoor, panorama and extremes of the zoom range.

You can find them at: Well I guess you'll have to take my word for it. Whenever I post the link, Amazon moderators strip it out. Since there are no ads at the site I can't imagine they are fearing revenue loss to my humble competition. Look up the images gallery at Digital Photography Review for examples(a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon). I'd post the link...but it might be removed by a moderator that doesn't know that they own DPReview

You can run a full-screen slide show of the images there as well.

If you want a great compact camera with a load of useful features and are willing to do some of the homework necessary to get the most out of it, the HX5V is an excellent choice. Get one and enjoy it!

Happy shooting!

Dave

GTMax 6ft Micro HDMI to HDMI Male Cable

There is a huge difference between watching something on a phone or tablet and seeing it on a big screen TV. This cord allows me to see that difference and its great! Whether I'm watching a movie through Netflix or scrolling through pictures, I love being able to hook up to the TV for viewing

It worked. That was all I needed. It doesn't appear to be cheaply made. Thankful for that. But, it's just a cable.

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Works great with my ASUS Tablet. I use it in the Hotels when I travel are to conduct a briefing on a bigger screen.

Read Best Reviews of GTMax 6ft Micro HDMI to HDMI Male Cable Here

The cable was the right one and worked perfectly. I bought it for a vizio tablet and it fit.

I haven't got a app yet to make the picture fit the tv screen but I am sure there is one out there. The picture appears on the TV as expected.

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Hello everyone! I was looking for decision how to enlarge picture during watching movies and playing games on my Transformer TF300 Tablet. With the help of Micro HDMI Cable I found the solution. Now I can play games and watch movies with HD quality! Recommended for buying!

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OKEBA 3 in 1 Mini DisplayPort |ThunderBolt to HDMI /DVI/ DisplayPort Cable Adapter for Apple MacBoo

The only reason I keep this one is...because the HDMI works; the rest...nope. My mcb air doesn't recognize the other outputs.

Very timely with delivery and the item is exactly what I expected. I have a small work area where I use a 13" Mac book pro and a second monitor. I run Mac apps on the main screen and a VirtualBox session running Windows 7 on the second screen. I have used the DVI port and the HDMI ports to connect to my 22" display and and both work as advertised. One issue I did have had nothing to do with the adapter, but my Mac didn't detect the proper screen size of my display so I used SwitchResX to manually set the resolution -no problems since then.

Great product!

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I got exactly what I paid for and hoped for. This does not feel cheap and works perfectly fine. Exactly what I expected paying a little extra for.

Read Best Reviews of OKEBA 3 in 1 Mini DisplayPort |ThunderBolt to HDMI /DVI/ DisplayPort Cable Adapter for Apple MacBoo Here

VGA output is unstable, sometimes got black screen for a glance, so I use HDMI which works fine, haven't try DVI display.

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Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc

For the cost of this camera, I don't think you can get anything better. The low light performance is off the charts. As a wedding photographer I regularly shoot with Nikon's high end professional equipment and I was amazed how close this camera is to a pro camera. Now let me get specific. In order to compare I took a look at 100% files out of each camera I own.

Which camera excels Nikon D3100($Cheap) VS. D300($1600) VS. D700 ($2,700):

* Lens = The D3100 is the only camera that comes with a lens at it's normal price

* ISO Performance = Tie between D3100 and D700! (It could be Nikon's new processing but the JPEG looks fantastic I was shooting D3100 on 6400iso with very little noise at all)

* Low Light Focusing = D700

* Focus Speed = D700

* External Buttons & Controls for Pros = D700

* Menu Navigation = D3100

* Ease of Use = D3100

* Megapixel = D3100 (14.2)

* Sensor size = D700 (Much more important than megapixels but I won't get into this)

* Can use older lenses with functionality = D700 & D300

* Video = D3100 of course! 1080P video looks amazing.

* Frame Rate = D300 at 6 photos a second

* Weight = D3100 (light as a feather)

* Ergonomics = D700 (big enough for all my finger)

Lens:

The lens is a kit lens, it will work outside but not so great in low light. The Vibration Reduction will help indoors but Vibration Reduction can't stop a child or pet in motion indoors. Consider buying a 35mm 1.8dx AFS for around $200 and you will be super happy with this camera.

Video:

I purchased the 3100 specifically to shoot video, so I put on Nikon's brand new 85mm 1.4g Nano lens and shot video with it. The lens costs more than double the camera but I wanted to see how the 1080P video looked. It has the look of a cinematic movie. After the 85mm, I put on Nikon's 50 1.2 manual focus lens and was able to take very cinematic video in manual mode. In order to make it brighter or darker you either need to use a really old lens like the 50mm 1.2 and hit the AE-L (auto exposure lock) and twist the aperture to change exposure. Or you can hit the AE-L button when you get the exposure you like. Its not a perfect system but it works well for me. Inside the menu options you can change the AE-L button to hold the setting until you reset which is helpful.

Jello Cam (What's not so great):

This camera still suffers from the "Jello Cam" look in video if it is not on a tripod and you are shaky. The video can look like jello if moved too quickly. Use a monopod or tripod when shooting to avoid this. I'm not sure if a faster video frame rate 60fps would help but at 24 and 30 it can suffer badly.

Conclusion:

This is an amazing deal! Unless you make most of your income from photography or have a stockpile of old lenses (this camera can only autofocus with AFS lenses) then this camera is the must have camera of the year. If you have good composition skills and an eye for light you can take photos worthy of a magazine with this. Seriously, you won't regret buying this camera. When you do, do yourself a favor and buy an additional Nikon AFS lens that has a maximum aperture of 2.8, 1.8 or 1.4. These lenses will take better portraits and deal better in low light than the kit lens.

I recently updated my DSLR collection to the Nikon D3100 from the Nikon D70. There are good reviews out there that you should check out. However, I would like to share some of my first impressions.

Pro:

-Better image quality and lower noise at high ISO with the D3100

-MUCH MUCH lighter, which will be nice when traveling

-Larger LCD screen

-11 focus points, including 3D focus which tracks the motion of the subject or camera.

-1080p Video

-14 megapixels

-2nd Generation DSLR

-Quiet, quiet, quiet

Cons:

-No bracketing option. Not a huge deal since I only bracket once a year

-Cannot use my old 50mm 1.8 lens. I knew this before purchasing the camera.

-As of 10/1/2010, Camera RAW for the D3100 is not supported in Photoshop or Lightroom. Need to shoot .jpg + RAW or use Nikon Capture NX2 for RAW files. That should be updated soon, so not a big deal.

-Can hear the lens focusing when recording video.

-No depth of field preview.

-Can't use wireless remote

I'm an amateur photographer and this camera meets my needs. I love the fact that it's small and light, with great quality images. If I were a serious photographer and had more money to spare, I would wait and check out the D7000, which appears to have phenomenal specs. I'm happy with my purchase and I highly recommend this camera.

Buy Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc Now

This Nikon D3100 is a phenomenal deal for non professionals, the rest of us people that want to take family and travel shots. I've owned DSLRs since 2004, starting with a Nikon D70 and then moving to D40, D200 and Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) and Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only). Those are all excellent cameras, but this Nikon D3100 is better than all of those in one crucial area, the area that matters: it takes excellent pictures without having to fiddle with the settings between shots. Yes, the other cameras are better in other respects: They have more buttons to change settings without delving into menus, they are bigger (is that a plus?), heavier (another plus?), and have better specs (1/500 flash sync speed for D70 and D40), but in the end I would have to fiddle with the settings to get the best results: change the white balance, fiddle with the ISO (my Canons would default to ISO 400 for flash shots, why? Who knows. That meant disabling auto ISO and choosing ISO settings manually), the exposure (+0.7 indoor, 0 outdoor), and so on. D200 was noisy at higher ISO, D70's pictures tended to be cool (i.e. not warm), 40D had cool custom buttons (C1, C2, C3, very cool), but I found its ergonomics worse than XSi or any Nikon; why place the on/off switch at the bottom of the body? Who knows. Fortunately, new Canons have fixed this).

This D3100 also makes the D3000 and D5000 obsolete. The D3000 is slow and noisy at high ISO. The D5000 only shoots 720p (not 1080p), no autofocus in movie mode, less resolution. Old technology.

What sets the D3100 apart from all the other cameras above is this: set the camera in P (program) mode, auto white balance, -0.3 exposure compensation, slow flash sync mode (for people shots), auto distortion correction on (great!), auto chromatic aberrations correction on (great!), and you are set; now you can concentrate on the only aspect of photography that matters: composition, i.e. framing your shot in the best possible way. There must be a photography mantra that says, "thou shalt buy the D3100, and the D3100 will set you free." Now this is if you shot jpeg. If you shoot raw, you can then use a program like DXO, Aperture 3, or Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 to further play with the pictures. My workflow with the XSi was to shoot raw, then use DXO to batch process all the pics according to two settings: people (low contrast, no saturation added) and landscape (contrast, saturation, etc.). DXO would then batch-remove lens distortion, chromatic aberrations, vignetting, apply custom curves, change white balance when necessary, and apply its (almost magical) auto lighting settings to make the shots pop. For now DXO does not have a custom module for the D3100 (still too new of a camera), so I'm shooting jpeg for now. Once DXO adds the module for the D3100, I'll takes shots in both raw and jpeg fine and compare the jpegs straight out of the camera with the raw images processed with DXO. I'm curious to see the comparison.

This is great, not only for you, but also for your non-photographer spouse; my XSi took phenomenal shots, but I had to know how to set it. Can you imagine me going to my non-photographer wife and say, "okay, when you take indoor shots of our kids, set the camera on A mode (Canons expose for ambient light in A mode and adjust flash for fill, that's great), +0.7 exposure compensation, ISO 400 or 800, white balance on cloudy, and shoot." My wife was lost at "okay." Sure the custom modes on the 40D would have helped, but the 40D is old technology; can it take 1080p video? I didn't think so. Plus, what lens are you going to use with the 40D? The 17-55 IS? Great lens, but who wants to spend $1,000 for a non-weather sealed 17-55 dust collector (google Canon 17-55 and dust)? Will 17-55 be enough for your telephoto shots? Your kids' baseball games? Didn't think so. What about the Canon 18-200? Sub-par quality, noisy, overpriced.

Back to the D3100. Auto white balance (the second most important thing after composition) works great, even indoor (no cloudy setting necessary), the only changes are extreme situations (outdoor shade, or indoor fluorescent or tungsten lights at night, but that is true with every camera. Why that is is beyond me; can't they make smarter cameras that account for these situations as well?); movie mode is excellent; yes, the mic is mono, but that's okay for family use (and that's why you buy this camera; if you are pro, you landed on the wrong page); if you really want to push it, you can use this camera for video, your iphone/ipod touch for audio with an app like FourTrack, and then sync video and audio in post with the excellent Singular Software Dual Eyes program. Your choice. Matter is: DSLR video can look awesome if used the right way, but keep in mind its limitations: jerky camera horizontal panning will give you the infamous jello effect (courtesy of the CMOS sensor), so pan slowly. You'll also have to play with autofocus vs manual focus settings sometimes; I've used the camera in autofocus; it has worked great so far.

What lens(es) should you use with the D3100. You should sell the (excellent) 18-55 that ships with the camera. Quality is good, but not enough reach. You can sell it for $140 or so. Take the money and use it toward a more useful lens. What lens? The target market for this camera is moms and dads that want to take shots of their kids; even advanced amateurs like me don't want to travel with a camera bag full of primes and heavy zoom lenses that you have to swap every 10 minutes; this is 2010 (almost 2011), for crying out loud; choose a single zoom and enjoy life and photography; I would use the excellent but underrated Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras, the excellent (but expensive) Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras, or my choice, the jack-of-all trades, the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras. Yes, yes, if you check sites like Photozone, they will tell you that the optical quality of the 18-200 is not as good (or consistent) as the 18-105 or the 16-85, but it's good enough for moms and dads bitten by the photography bug. A great shot of your kid at 200mm is better than no shot with either of the other two lenses. The optical superiority of the 16-85 disappears at 135mm or 200mm, simply because it can't do it. The 16-85 and the 18-200 are about the same price. The 18-200 will set you free. It won't help you if your kids play baseball at night (too slow), but you'll have to live with it, unless you are willing to drop $2,000 on a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens For Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. Sure, we'd all like a 16-300 VR VIII lens with a 20-stop VR reduction, constant 1.4 aperture, with optical perfection, weighing only 500 gr. and below $1,000, but alas our engineers are not as good as the random mutation and natural selection that gave us our eyes ;-0

My settings:

Display mode: detailed photo info > check RGB histogram and data > Done (why? You want to check if you are clipping the red, green, or blue channels)

Transition effects: OFF

Set picture control: portrait (for people shots)

Landscape: for, well, landscape shots: increase sharpness to 4 (D3100 shots are unsharpened by default)

Image quality: raw + jpeg fine (or jpeg fine, if you don't want to mess with raw)

White balance: auto (I played with the settings to A1, A2, A3, but images were to yellowish for my taste, as if my kids had jaundice). Auto works fine

Auto ISO: on

Min shutter speed: 1/30 (1/15 if you have steady hands)

Max ISO: I set 800, you can push to 1600 or even 3200 (your choice)

Standard ISO: 100

Active D-Lighting: on (it works well)

Auto distortion control: on (Great)

Movie settings: 1080 24p. You can also do 720 at 30p for less jerky movements

Info display format: i prefer classic black (your choice)

Auto info display: off

Image comment: your choice. I have my name, copyright (haha), and phone number

Beep: off (please)

AEL-AFL button: I only lock exposure, not focus.

My accessories:

67-to-77 ring adapter (if you have the 18-105 lens)

72-to-77 ring adapter (if you have the 18-200 lens)

77mm haze filter. I use the best, The B+W 77mm UVA (Ultra Violet) Haze MRC Filter #010 one. You don't want to use a cheap fIlter on top of a $350 or $650 lens.

77mm circular polarizer fliter; again I use the best, the B + W 77mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer Coated Glass Filter. This filter is for your travel shots. It will make blue skies bluer and will remove reflections from that gorgeous Maui ocean. This is an expensive filter at $180 or so; you don't have to get it right away, unless you are going to Maui soon.

Why 77mm filters? Because you don't want to go nuts buying filters of different sizes for your lenses. If buy the 67mm filter for your 18-105 lens and later decide to upgrade your lens to the 72mm 18-200, you are screwed. It's cheaper to buy a $5 lens ring adapter to 77mm and use 77mm filters. It'll keep you sane too.

Remember why you purchase this camera: you want to enjoy photography; enjoy it then.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc Here

Hurray! The long wait is over! Nikon had us wait for such a long time for its newer models (D3100 and D7000) and it was just when we started thinking if Nikon will ever have an answer, anytime soon, to Canon's T2i, 7D and 60D) they released these two wonderful cameras D3100 and D7000. Let's focus on D3100, shall we?

So I finally had a chance to get hold of this D-SLR at Best Buy today. I am not a pro by any means but I have used many different D-SLRs including Canon (40D, T2i, XSi) and Nikon (D90, D5000). When I picked-up the camera for the first time, my initial reaction was, "whoa this is so small and light weight"! It wasn't that I wasn't aware of the specs I knew them beforehand but I was still blown away by how small and light it felt when I held it in my hands. Then, I thought, the grip would not be very comfortable but I was wrong as holding and operating the camera is just fine thanks to Nikon's well-thought-out design and grip. For the size and feel, it's very similar to D3000 but has more goodies from the higher versions. So from an initial wow factor, I quickly moved on to focusing on features and capabilities.

I have just started using this camera so more update will follow but in the meantime my initial assessment of this camera is I am impressed! It is one heck of a camera which can certainly compete against the best in its class (Canon T1i, T2i, Nikon D5000). Check out detailed reviews at dpreview (.com) and cameralabs (.com) they should be added soon if not already there.

I love this camera because it:

+ has enough mega pixels for my needs (14.2).

+ captures crystal clear images (thanks to EXPEED2 processor & the CMOS sensor, the sensor is slightly smaller than the one used in D7000).

+ offers 1080p (HD) recording, AF subject tracking is awesome (10 min max is fine with me; it records outstanding videos even in low light and to me that's big).

+ offers ISO from 100-3200 (D90 starts at 200), it can go higher but I really don't think why I would need anything above that.

+ is small & light weight yet has good grip, easy to carry around in hands or neck.

+ supports SDXC cards on top of SD and SDHC now that's nice.

+ (25-Sep-2010): has buttons that are well organized especially the video recording mode with a lever so you cannot mistakenly activate recording. That video recording lever once unlocked, gets locked in 30 seconds if you do not record and the countdown begins as soon as you unlock the lever. Also you can record video while you're in any dial (imaging) mode (Auto, P, A, S, M, and so on) where as in Canon T2i, etc. you have to move the camera dial to movie mode. So this is a great convenience you can jump between taking pictures and recording videos with a simple unlocking of the lever. Additionally, you can be in a preferred dial (imaging) mode (Auto, P, A, S, M, and so on) and change the release mode to Single, Continuous, Self-timer or Quiet mode (this is located right underneath the main dial) another great convenient feature.

+ (04-Oct-2010): In-body photo and movie retouch menu. This is great as we don't need any special software to apply certain touches. I love it.

Could have been even better if:

it had the bracketing option (not too much to expect at this price point level but oh well I don't use that much but for some people this could be a big plus).

grid lines were available (I miss them in both in live view and in the view finder).

Active D Lighting was not limited to just ON or OFF (either you have it or not at all, instead of low, medium, high, etc.). Don't get me wrong the ON just worked fine (better than Canon T2i) but I can't compare with all other modes.

Recommendations (optional accessories):

* In my personal order of importance your preference may differ. *

1. Nikon UC-E4 USB Cable not included. (~$6)

2. UV filter a must for protecting your lens against accidental damage. (~10$)

3. Carrying case is a must to protect your investment. There are many cases to choose from and it's up to you to decide but I suggest getting something like Lowepro SlingShot 102 AW (all weather proof carrying case) so if it rains, you can pull out the weather guard and cover it up. ($90)

4. Additional rechargeable Lithium Ion EN-EL14 battery so you never run out the juice when you're traveling and do not want to miss capturing a moment for good. (~$35)

5. SB-600 Speedlight. Those who have used speed lights would know what difference it can make to an image with adjustments you can make to light for an image. (~$225)

6. 18-55 VR lens has its limitations so if you have extra $$$s, buy body only (if that even is an option) and get yourself a 18-105 VR lens. But at that point, you may want to consider D90 which still is a good camera and offers many more controls. (~$325 to $350)

Overall:

I give this camera 5 Stars because it takes excellent pictures in almost all conditions (bright or low-light) and that is exactly what I wanted this camera to do for me. Period.

I must commend Nikon for not getting into the mega pixel race (read marketing). They instead kept the photographer in mind and focused on delivering greater picture quality. Kudos to Nikon for having that courage.

Want Nikon D3100 14.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm VR, 55-200mm VR DX Zoom Lenses and 3-Inch LCD Sc Discount?

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)

Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM) Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit

I've been shopping for a new home security camera system for some time, and was lucky enough to get my hands on one of these sets. Overall I like the product, although I do have some reservations. This product is extremely targeted. So you have to know your needs very well in order to know if this is right for you.

This unit includes the Wilife management software, one indoor camera, suction cup mount, bar mount, table stand and power and USB connectors.

Installation

Physically installing the device is straightforward. The receiver and the camera must be attached through power outlet via receiver plugs and connected to your computer's USB port.

The software installation is not equally easy for all users. Any system running Windows Vista, Antivirus software and a software firewall running will need them to be temporarily disabled to get the Wilife software to install. In addition, Windows Vista's extra protection means you will have to click yes several times and go through a few reboots.

This setup made the installation take a little over an hour and required an extra reboot due to some initial hanging. Still, well worth it to have this system installed on a secure OS.

Installing on XP may be slightly easier, but you will still have to deal with disabling your Antivirus or desktop firewall if you are running those. If you're buying a home security system, you will probably want the computer that's storing those files to be secure. With that in mind, taking the extra time to have AV and a firewall installed is probably worth the extra effort.

The design of the indoor cameras is very unique. I can only guess that they are designed to cram a lot of electronics into a very small body. The outdoor cameras are more traditionally shaped. In any event, they all seem to work well once set up.

Adjustment and Expansion

Once you've got the software running, the amount of options for managing this unit are impressive. While most novices need not change settings. You may want to adjust the setting for motion sensitivity after running this for a while. I found that turning down the sensitivity ideal for my use. This will vary based upon which areas this device is being used to monitor.

You can do some cool things with this system, including setting up phone or email notifications of recordings that exceed limits you can set.

This wasn't my first security system, but it was my first introduction to Wilife. I can say without reservation that experienced users will love the adjustable features, except for a few functions disabled unless you upgrade to the premium package.

There are three starter sets: this one with an indoor camera, another with an outdoor camera Wilife DVS800E LukWerks Outdoor Starter Kit, and one with a "hidden" camera Wilife DVS800C LukWerks Spy Camera Starter-Kit. If you want multiple cameras or a combination of them, you will have to buy those additional units as add-ons. It would have been nice if they would have simply produced a starter set with one of each or some other configurations. Once again, 90% of users will be happy with these starter sets, I personally just know I will have to either buy more add-ons or upgrade to the Pro set.

There is a bridge you can buy for about $80 to integrate this with the pro set Wilife Homeplug Bridge. Those that want to avoid using power-line communications will most likely have to consider a more expensive pro version Wilife Pro 4CAM Master Syst Pro Ip Video Security Syst 4CAMS or a different system all together.

The available add-ons and accessories include:

1. Night-Vision 50 Illuminator kit illuminates up to 30 ft and includes an 80° IR lens

2. 54 degree camera lens allows the camera to better view distant objects

3. Standard 80 degree camera lens to replace damaged indoor lenses

4. 120 degree Wide Angle camera lens covers twice the area for better close-ups

5. Set of 5 Adhesive-Backed Mini-Clips to attach your camera cables

6. Set of 2 Small Suction Cups to route camera cables around windows

7. Wall mount bracket for ceiling or wall mounting your camera

8. Deluxe mount with extensions for mounting cameras from a drop ceiling or solid surface

9. Desktop Stand to place your camera on any flat surface

10. Mounting Suction Cup to attach the camera to a window

11. Replacement cables in Standard (10 ft), Extended (20 ft) and Long (30) lengths

12. CAT 5, RJ-45 cable extender for up to 80 feet of CAT 5e cable

Considerations

1. Your camera must be close enough to an outlet to connect it via the included 10 foot cable. You will need an extender if your power outlets are further away.

2. You have to manually adjust the camera focus, so adjust it before mounting.

3. You will need to have a computer that meets the minimum requirements

4. Your computer needs to be on all the time for the recording of video.

5. You will need a broadband connection to access this video remotely.

6. This power-line connection will work better with newer wiring.

7. You will want enough hard drive space to allocate at least 2 GB or more for storage.

8. It will take a little time running the system to set your optimal motion sensitivity

9. The computer receiving the video signal and recording does need to be a PC. If you have a Mac running Parallels or other virtual PC running Windows XP or Vista, you could theoretically install the monitoring software on that. Few users will want to or be able to set that up.

10. For panning or remote adjusting, you need to purchase an "upgrade" for $79 per year to activate the advanced features. So most of us will live without those features.

11. If you have Windows Vista, antivirus software and / or an internet firewall application, installation requires several extra steps.

Pros

+ Nice power over Ethernet design no batteries needed!

+ Nice price for a fully functioning starter system

+ Very easy to add cameras to the system up to 6 cameras supported

+ Nice group of available accessories to customize your installation

+ Great management software with many customizable settings for those experienced with security systems

+ Default settings will meet the needs of novice users and not require changes or adjustment

+ System is motion activated, saving storage space

+ Video recordings are stored in a directory and easily backed, copied, or erased

+ You can easily access your camera via live feed over the internet

Cons

Not particularly fond of them including the "digital pan and zoom" feature as part of the premium ($79 per year) package, but I will live without those features

Also need the premium package to access recorded videos over the internet.

More demanding users will need a system that includes audio

Manual focus adjustment for camera; why not offer a higher priced one with auto-focus?

Some latency on website video access

Conclusion

This set is definitely worth looking into. For most basic needs, this set fits the bill at a very good price.

Enjoy!

After having our home vandalized by local teenagers (but no proof of the culprits' identities), we decided to invest in a home security system. We found ourselves faced with two unattractive options: either a wired system (which would require significant expense to install) or a wireless system, with its inherent intermittent failures. Neither was appealing. While bemoaning our dilemma, a friend of ours (who happens to be a NASA astronaut) recommended this system. We could not be happier! This system uses the existing electrical lines to transmit the data. So just plug the cameras into a wall outlet, and plug a device into your computer (which is also plugged into a wall outlet). Within minutes, we had a fully functioning system. It is awesome!! I love being able to log into the Internet from work, and seeing a live feed from my home. It truly provides peace of mind! I have not experienced any of the technical issues that other reviewers have described. Yes, your computer does need to stay "on" 100% of the time, but that isn't a problem for me. We now have three cameras installed, and I'm about to add a fourth. Truly a versatile and easy-to-use system. And oh by the way the local teenagers have figured out that we have this system. We have video of them staring at the cameras one day .... and they have not bothered us since. Priceless.

Buy Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit Now

I'm lowering my rating to 2 out of 5 stars. Initial review submitted on October 27, 2007. Update July/08. Nice concept. Fairly good camera operation, but lately I've had major hardware failures.

I own two outdoor cameras and two indoor cameras. Since the cameras use the existing power wires to run the video signal, there seems to be some instances where the signal is interrupted. The camera will flicker off for a few seconds and then flicker back on. I've noticed with the new software updates (I'm running 2.5), the outages have been less. Occasionally, however, I have to "find" my cameras via the software. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. When it fails, you need to reboot the camera.

My indoor cameras had some failures within six months of purchase. BOTH power supply units to the indoor cameras failed. None of the lights illuminated. They were totally dead. Although customer service was friendly, waiting on hold appears commonplace and it took over a week for the replacement to arrive.

In June, 2008, one of my outdoor cameras failed. I went through all of the steps to problem solve, but it was dead. I called customer service and experienced a first -rudeness. I know they were bought out by Logitech and it must've affected personnel. Anyway, I went through the steps of getting a replacement. One of the annoying things is that you must wait several days for an "email" from the tech department with the RMA. Then you must SEND your dead camera. When they receive it, they will either fix it or send out a new unit. But in the meantime, you're out a camera for several weeks.

In early July, 2008, my second outdoor camera failed. It was the exact same type of failure as the other outdoor camera. I'm speculating that it's caused by heat (both failures were during hot summer months) or caused by power fluctuations which is burning out some fragile components within the camera.

The second camera was purchased thirteen months earlier which is longer than the specified 1 year warranty. However, Logitech DID replace the camera without charge after I sent in the defective unit. So, I was pleased they replaced it even though they technically didn't have to. So, as of this writing, all four of my cameras are working properly. I think I have run my limit on replacements, however, and I don't know what will happen if one of the replaced cameras fails.

When the cameras work, the image is fairly good. There is no audio which can be a drawback for some people. Night vision is poor unless you have the night vision kit. I have also noticed that the automatic exposure adjustments on the cameras are VERY slow. One of my indoor cameras is window mounted by the front porch. I have motion lights outside. At night the camera shows total blackness. When a visitor ( or intruder) comes toward the front door and activates the motion light, the camera image shows only white (over-exposed). Over the next 10-15 seconds or so, it will VERY slowly adjust the exposure until it is correct. However, by that time, the intruder or visitor will be inside or have left and the camera would not have been able to record the identification. I found this very disappointing. Daytime is fine, but nighttime is almost useless.

One of the positives is the remote ability. It is nice to access your cameras from work or another location via the web for "live" viewing. There is now also a paid service whereby you can view "recorded" video from remote locations.

Overall, I have mixed feelings. The design flaws in the power supplies and the outdoor cameras, the unreliability of using the power wires to send the video, the poor exposure reaction and night vision, counter some of the conveniences and positives. The four-camera system cost me about $1000. With all of the hardware failures and software glitches, I probably could have purchased a more durable system for close to that price. Overall, I'd lower my rating to 2 out of 5 stars.

Read Best Reviews of Wilife DVS800I LukWerks Indoor Starter Kit Here

**See update on an actual experience in the comments section**

I was very surprised to be able to get this video surveillance system up and running in under 15 minutes! For the most part, setup was easy. I installed the software onto my computer. I then plugged in the receiver to an outlet and plugged the other end into my computer. Next I put the camera in the front window above the door and plugged the transmitter into that and into the wall.

I went to my computer and "wa la", an instant live video feed of the view outside my front door.

At first this system was recording just about everything since we have a couple of trees out front I found I was having almost continuous recording which is not good if you just want to watch a quick overview of the events in front of your house. So, I went in and set up the motion zones so it would only capture front porch, street, and sidewalk activities. Now, trees and cars across the street don't get needlessly recorded. It's also easy to toggle between full screen video and a smaller screen. So, this little video you're watching can actually be shown full screen for better resolution.

The wilife system saves every motion activated video clip to a folder on your hard drive for easy access and playback. At the end of the day you can start the video at any point and it will play them back continuously. If you have it fine tuned like I do, it will only take minutes to see every movement in front of your house.

This system includes one camera, but supports up to 6 if you would like to add more. You can add spy, indoor, or outdoor cameras, they mix and match. For your live view feed, you can watch one, four, or six feeds at a time. It also comes with various mounts including ceiling/wall, suction cup, and stand. 3 stickers were included if you would like to inform would be thieves that your home is protected with video surveillance.

The camera has a focus adjustment as well to ensure a clear picture. For free, they will also let you remotely view live footage (not playback footage) so you can check on your home or business while you are away. This works on PC's, windows mobile enables wireless pda's, and cell phones.

If you subscribe to their platinum program for $79 per year, you can also remotely view playback, store your surveillance online, zoom, tilt, and pan your camera. I imagine this would be excellent for business owners.

Overall I am extremely pleased with this system. My only complaint is that I feel that the zoom/tilt/pan should be included for free, and the online storage/remote playback should cost just a bit less than it does. I think $39-49 is more reasonable. Also, wilife should give some deep thought to offering a $6.95 a month platinum plan. They still end up making the same money but I think many more people will bite $6.95/month versus spending the whole $79 at once.

My other suggestion, make a small floating mini screen that will show live feed while we are using our computer. Wouldn't you think this feature would be free? Well, you have to have the $79 a year plan for the platinum plan which includes desktop notifications which is just a little box that pops up on your screen showing current activity. This could and should be a standard feature of this system.

I highly recommend this system if you want to keep your home and business safe. I really had no idea how EASY this was to install and setup, and if you encounter problems, Logitech has 24 hour online and phone support.

UPDATE: I was sitting in my family room when I noticed a bit of movement in the front of the house. I was looking for the FedEx driver so I could give him a package, but when I got to the door and looked out I didn't see anyone nor did I see a package. So, I went to my computer and pulled up the wilife video and noticed a boy delivering flyers had walked over to the far side of my front porch and left with something small in his hand.

I looked outside and noticed a bottle or two of makeup was missing from the donation box for the women's shelter so I called the number on the flyer and told them I had the young man on video stealing the makeup. You could clearly see him leave with something small in his hand that he didn't have before, and the only thing missing from the box was a couple of bottles of makeup.

Then while I was on the phone he actually came back and took about 4 more bottles, based upon the fact that the box was fairly full before and now had a large empty spot.

Oh, I was mad. What does a 12 year old boy need with makeup? I went driving around the neighborhood and found two of his co-workers also delivering flyers and asked them where I could find the boy and they went and got the Domino's manager (as I found out later) who was driving them around to deliver the flyers. She found him and at first he was not admitting it, then he said he found some makeup in the gutter and threw it back down. Then when I told him I have him on video camera both times he owned up to it and since he no longer had the makeup the manager paid me for the missing makeup and I agreed not to call the police.

All along I just wanted him to admit his mistake, the money wasn't even an issue. I remember the last time this flyer delivery boy was at the house I think he took something then as well because I opened the door and he ran off looking guilty. I honestly thought he was a poor migrant child since it was during school hours and we live near orange groves. I was heading out to pick up my kids from school that time. Now I realize he took something that time as well based upon his behavior, but to remember the date and go back and watch the video feed is not worth it. Now he was caught and I hope he doesn't do it again.

Anyway, I'm glad I had the opportunity to review the video camera, it's actually proved quite useful.

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Highlights

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Pros:

1. Combines the advantages of wireless cameras (no messy, expensive wires) and hard-wired cameras (dependable picture transmission, free of interference).

2. Price is much lower than traditional surveillance systems. No need to buy a video recorder. Your PC is the recorder.

3. Recording can be either motion-activated or continuous.

4. Retrieval of video is easy if you know exactly what time you want to replay.

5. Camera lens swivels for easily changing the viewing angle, even after mounting the camera.

6. Mounting hardware includes a desktop stand, a wall/ceiling mount, and a window-pane mount.

7. Any video frame, live or playback, can be saved to a JPEG file.

8. Free internet account provides remote access to the cameras (live only, no playback).

Cons:

1. Retrieval of video is cumbersome and slow if you want to review a long period of time to see if anything of interest happened.

2. In the viewing windows, motion (both live and playback) is jerky.

3. My computer sometimes (about once a week, on average) loses contact with one or all cameras, requiring unplugging and replugging either the camera or the USB connection.

4. The new "Homeplug" technology that this system uses has some quirks that haven't been ironed out yet. Some wiring systems seem to have more problems with it than others.

Detailed Review

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There is much to like about this product. I love the convenience of looking out windows through my computer monitor. And setting up an internet account to get the same views while traveling was as easy as checking a checkbox and deciding on a password.

At first, it was difficult to keep the cameras working. The worst problem was that the power supplies tended to overheat, where their lights are, and cut out. After unplugging and cooling off, they would usually return to duty, but eventually they died completely. This happened twice; each time, WiLife promptly replaced the dead power supply. Then I hit on the idea of setting up little fans to blow on the right side (again, where the lights are) of each power supply. I have submitted a customer image that shows the setup. (See the customer images link near the product photo.) Ever since I started that practice, the WiLife system has performed much better.

When working, the cameras perform reasonably well. Picture clarity is slightly better than that of my older surveillance cameras, and the field of view is wider. I can watch a car go further down the street, but I still cannot read the license plate. One little complaint: The video, both playback and real-time, is jerky, even though I have set the frame and bit rates to the maximums.

Regarding the motion detection, I like how WiLife designed the setup. You can draw motion-detection boxes in the viewing area. Outside these boxes, motion will not initiate recording. You can also adjust the sensitivity, i.e., how BIG a moving object will start a recording. You can make it so sensitive that it will record a cat walking through the picture, or so insensitive that it won't even react to a truck. It is true, as one reviewer complained, that there is no middle ground between too sensitive and too insensitive. If you make it sensitive enough to be useful, then a bird flying by, the sun going behind a cloud, a branch moving in the wind, etc., will start a recording. It is still better than not having motion detection. Take advantage of LükWerks motion zones to avoid objects that frequently move in the wind.

LükWerks shows a bar graph of when it detected motions and therefore recorded video clips. You can click on a mark to replay the video clip for that time. Or you can step through the clips. I have a complaint about this interface. It is slow. There are no thumbnails. You're just looking at a bunch of marks, and you have to replay each clip to see what happened. To be fair, as you step through the marks, you are shown the first picture of each clip, one at a time, and this could be thought of as a crude thumbnail interface. But these pictures are not very helpful because the recordings start three or four seconds before motion was detected. This has the small advantage that the video clip shows the context of the motion -nothing happening, then motion, then nothing happening -and the large disadvantage that the thumbnail is useless because it is a snapshot of the first, nothing-happening part. In another system that I use, an array of thumbnails shows WHAT WAS MOVING. If the thumbnail shows nothing of interest, it's because something innocuous, like a tree branch, was moving. Looking at a screen full of thumbnails, I can immediately spot the clip(s) with interesting objects. I have to scroll through several screens of thumbnails, but each screen takes only a few seconds, and I can review a day in five minutes. I would love to see LükWerks provide this type of interface to the video clips.

11/28/06 update: I just realized that a true thumbnail interface is available by using Windows Explorer to look at the LükWerks video folders. However, as I mention above, most of the thumbnails miss the moving thing that was the whole point of recording the video clip. LükWerks should provide an option to NOT retrieve the pre-motion video. Even better, LükWerks should provide thumbnails that look forward half a second or a second into the motion, thus allowing the moving object to get all the way into the thumbnail. This would miss the occasional bird flying across a corner of the picture, but that is a small loss compared to capturing the vast majority of moving objects in the thumbnails.

Epson PowerLite 1770W Multimedia Projector, WXGA 3000 Lumens (V11H362020)

I should say that I love Epson projectors. I bought this for my office because I own a 8100 at home that I adore.

Pros:

-Cheap for office portable widescreen HD projector

-Light and portable

-USB video works well (although only in "Mirror" mode on a Mac).

-Pretty bright in non-eco mode.

-Widescreen

-Auto-keystone correction

Cons:

-Non-eco mode is VERY loud. Unusable for a conference room.

-Eco mode isn't that bright....

-Auto-keystone correction isn't perfect it often over compensates making the top narrower than the bottom.

-Image appears somewhat bowed when used at wide end of zoom.

The size and weight make this very practical. People are amazed when they see it. I did have a problem with it overheating and shutting down the first couple of times I tried it, and customer support felt there must be something wrong with it. But the problem went away after a few uses. One other point is that Epson touts the USB method of connecting to your computer because it has a lot of advantages over the old VGA connection approach, but the USB connection does not work if you have a Mac with Lion as your operating system. As of yesterday customer support had no information on how long it might be before Epson would have this software upgrade ready. The USB approach works fine on my PC it's just the new Mac OS that it can't handle.

So, nice performance, very portable, but a couple of little glitches make me rate it a 4 instead of a 5.

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The unit is very nice. Has a rather loud fan, compaired to other units I have had. It quickly and automaticly adjusted the video signal to match the computer output, which is great!!! Having owned several units (NEC, Infocus, etc.)this unit has the most for the money. The only issue I had was the unit was sent by Computer Brain, and it appears this unit was either a display unit or had been used in the store. The repacking of the unit was very obvious, and there was stuff on the lens and on the unit case. This was not listed in the discription of the unit. However, Computer Brain sent it very fast at a good shipping rate, and sold it at a good price. The unit works fine, I just needed to clean it.

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Runs quiet, bright images, simple to use. Light, slim and readily portable. Plug it in, connect to the computer and it's ready to go.

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This is an excellent projector overall, but it has a disappointingly poor audio speaker that is weak and has poor frequency response outside the mid (vocal) range. Except for this, it is an exceptional piece of gear. Just route your audio to some external speakers.

It is small, light, has all the basic hookups, multiple USB modes (computer, flash rive, device, camera, etc.), VGA, HDMI, RCA Video/Audio. Short throw, limited zoom, superb color out of the box, excellent sharpness, a great overall image, perfect for presentations and very good for movies/video in ECO/Theater mode.

Sigma BP-21 Li-Ion Battery for Sigma SD-14 Digital SLR Camera

1300mAh is relative good, but not enough. Since the slowly starting of DP1, I choose not closing camera to avoid missing some moments. However, in this case, the battery can't last long. Fortunately, it's relatively cheap, so I bought 3 for my DP1.

Battery worked great and was pretty much the same as the OEM battery. Holds a great charge, too. Battery would last at least 120 pictures.

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could afford about 100 fotos. but still week on durability. this is sigma with X3, what else should i expect.

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First, the battery works for all DP series cameras. The battery works as intended and you will need to buy this as a second or backup battery for your Sigma DP camera for whole day shooting. Whole day shooting would mean more than 100 pictures.

I found the battery to be lightweight.

One has to take care of the battery as the terminals get corroded or dirty at times causing no power given to the camera or less battery life. Occasional wiping with tissue paper or thin cloth of the terminals will do.

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