JVC Everio GZ-MG50 1.33 MP 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom

Please note that since there have already been many user reviews written, this may not seem like much of a "review", but I thought I would touch on a few things I was wondering about myself before buying the camera in case it might help someone else.

This hard drive-based camcorder is wonderful. Well done JVC! I was going to buy the next model up, the MG70, but since I don't use it for photos, I don't believe I would benefit from the increased megapixel CCD. Besides, the MG70 only had 10x optical zoom, and was missing the video light and F1.2 bright lens. I'm happy with the MG50.

In case you haven't noticed, this camcorder has no viewfinder so you must use the flip-out LCD screen.

Video quality: The hard drive feature is brilliant! The only quality level you should avoid is Econo (37 hr mode), since it reduces the resolution by half and also records only about 15 frames per second. Ultra-fine (7.25 hrs) is the best, but I couldn't notice much of a difference when I lowered the quality level to Fine (10 hrs) or Normal (14 hrs). On the highest 3 modes (ultra fine, fine, and normal), the camera records full 720x480 resolution. As far as I can tell, it really is sampling that many lines of resolution. Other digital camcorders I've used (mini-DV) have had very noticable "stair-step jaggies" in parts of the picture, especially along the borders between high-contrast elements of the picture. On this hard drive camera, however, the resolution is significantly higher and these jagged lines (aliasing) are rarely noticeable at all, if ever.

As for how the camera records files onto the hard drive: It creates a new .MOD file (it's an MPEG-2 video file with Dolby Digital audio) every time you start/stop the recording. So, all your clips are conveniently seperated, but of course you can combine them with your video editing software later if you prefer. The camera will record for 12 hrs continuously if needed, but will create a new .MOD file for every 4GB of footage.

You may have read in other reviews about the following trick: rename the .MOD files that the camera records to .MPG for increased compatibility. Well, I tried it and it works like a charm, regardless of whether your video footage is in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratio. This makes it easy to use your favorite DVD-burning or video editing software with this camera, as well as ensuring future compatibility. I haven't found even one program that couldn't play the files perfectly after I renamed them. Even Windows Media Player 9 had no problem. If you leave them as .MOD, then you won't find many programs that support it (at least not yet). The only ones I found that did were the one that came with the camera (Cyberlink), and Adobe Premiere Elements 2.

One thing I should mention about the files that the camera saves. It numbers them in hexadecimal (1-9 then A-F (eg. MOV009, then MOV00A...)), so some people may find this a bit annoying. Also, my Windows XP computer alphabetizes the files A-Z, then 0-9, so they end up being displayed in the wrong order. I'm not sure why my computer is doing this and don't know if all windows XP computers will do it (it worked fine on my Windows 2000 computer), but you can always list them in chronological order if you need to correct this. I believe most video editing software will, however, list the files in the correct alphanumeric order (1-9 then A-Z). Mine all do.

The camera has a handy feature called "File# Reset". Every time you activate this, it creates a new folder on the hard drive and begins saving all future clips into it. This is a handy way to seperate your recorded "events", in case you tend to fill up the hard drive before copying it to your computer, and you may have months worth of footage on the camera. So you can have your daughter's birthday party in one folder, your trip to the zoo in another, etc...

Playback: Playback of sequential clips on the camera (either on the LCD or onto a TV) is seamless. There is no pause between scenes it plays back just like a tape would with clean cuts between recordings. Also, you can locate specific clips by viewing thumbnail images (9 per screen) or by listing by recording date. Then, of course, after playing back clips, there is no need to fast forward the tape back the next available blank part for recording. When you go to record again, the camera will not overwrite previous material.

The camera allows for limited editing (deleting or rearranging of clips). Also, in case you delete a lot of clips and then continue recording, the hard drive may eventually become fragmented. The camera has a handy utility built in that will defragment the hard drive. I haven't used it myself because I haven't needed it, but it's nice to know it's there.

Low light performance on this camera isn't the best I've seen, but it is still pretty good for such a small camera. My previous camera was a JVC as well (mini DV only about 3 years old). It was slightly brighter in low light, however, I find that this hard drive JVC camera has much better autofocus performance for low light or fast movements. All recent JVC cameras (including this MG50) have "Night Alive" mode which reduces the shutter speed to about 1/2 second. This is useless unless your camera is on a tripod and your subject is not moving at all. You might as well take a picture then... However, the MG50 has adjustable shutter speeds in between as well. I find it useful in low light situations to change the shutter speed to 1/15 sec. This brightens the image considerably. It does reduce the motion a blur if things are moving too fast, but I still consider it a reasonable trade-off for the amount of extra brightness in the scene.

The built-in light is useful under some situations. Be aware the effective range of the light is only about 3-5 feet, so unless your subject is within that range, the light won't make any difference. It does have it's useful moments though (like filming a pet on the floor in a dimly lit room) Also, using the light consumes less than 10% more power because it's an LED, but of course that's also the reason why it's not very bright.

Photos: Image quality for still photos, in my opinion, is terrible. Not only is the resolution inadequate for most uses, it's extremely difficult to depress the shutter button without shaking the camera and blurring the image. The start/stop button (doubles as a shutter release button in photo mode) is quite stiff.

Startup time: This camera has poor startup time, but I guess that's to be expected being that it's a hard drive camera. From the completely off position, it takes 10 full seconds (based on my own tests) before you can actually begin recording. Even this is only about double the typical startup time for a mini-DV camera, it might mean you'll miss that special moment you're trying to record. Even if the camera is in record-standby mode, it still takes 3 seconds from the time you press the start/stop button until the camera is actually recording.

Camera noise: The camera does produce a faint hum while the hard drive is spinning, but I found that this is less noticeable on the recording than the sound of the tape machanism on the 3 mini-DV camcorders I've used. Of course, some mechanical noise is expected on compact cameras like this one. Without an external mic, it is unavoidable. Unfortunately on this camera, you cannot connect an external mic. The zooming motor is also slightly noticeable, but no more than other similar-sized camcorders. Besides, unkless you're in a completely quiet situation these sounds won't even be an issue at all for you.

Lens cap: The lens cap stays in place nicely. Since it only covers the lens itself and doesn't extend any further than it needs to, it tends to stay in place (unlike other cameras I've had where the lens cap pops off while inserting/removing it from a bag or pocket).

Drop detection: you may have read that this camera has a feature that senses a freefall or other motion that could potentially damage the hard drive, and automatically shuts the camera off. Well, just so you know, there is an option on the camera to turn this feature off, in case you want to make a video on your favorite rollercoaster. I'm not saying I recommend this, but I just thought I'd mention it. I myself have not personally witnessed this feature work yet, but then again I haven't tried dropping it!

Overall, I highly recommend this camcorder to the casual videographer (great for vacations!). It seems to really stand up to competing cameras in it's class on most points. However, if you're a more serious videographer you might want to consider a larger, 3-CCD camera with a bright light and external mic. Otherwise, have fun!

I gave this review only 4 stars because of these few issues: lack of viewfinder, slow startup time, and poor image quality for still photos.

I've been waiting for this technology for years. So when I found out JVC was planning on coming out with their 4 GB microdrive version, I had to have one. The $1500 price tag was too much though. Then I found out the GZ-MG50 was coming out, and would be about a $1000. I thought it was still a little pricey, but I couldn't wait any longer.

So far, the camera has performed great. It's been easy to use and easy to transfer the files to my computer then to DVD. However, the video editing software that came with it seems a bit cheap, but it gets the job done. Maybe the next gen version will be an improvement.

The movie quality is very good. I won't give it a "Great" because I occasionally see pixel blurring when watching my burned DVDs.

Don't bother taking pictures with this, unless you only plan on emailing them. The quality is far too low to use to capture those precious moments.

I recommend getting an additional battery (the three hour model). The one hour battery just doesn't cut it, especially if you want to review your scenes while you're out shooting.

If JVC gave the camcorder a larger CCD and included better software, I would have given this a 5 star rating, otherwise I think they are on the right track, and in a few years, the MiniDV may be as forgotten as the eight-track.

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Finally! I have been waiting for a video camera that takes good quality video (not mpeg4) and does not use tapes. Everyone that I know has a minidv/digital8 camera, and when they shoot something, the last we all ever see of it is when they hook up the camera to the tv at the end of the day. After that, no copies, no sharing, most of the time no one ever sees the video again. The whole point of recording memories is that you can watch them easily whenever you want and be able to share them with friends and family whenever you want.

First I have to say this is my first camcorder ever (yes, I have been waiting 30 years for this camera). I have used plenty of other camcorders that people have let me borrow, but this is the first camcorder I ever buy for myself.

I went to Cancun two weeks ago and I made the decision that I had to buy a camera for the trip. This camera was a great choice and I love it! I didn't have to lug along my digital still camera, because the everio takes 1152x864 pictures as well which is more than enough for me (for those out there that think they need 6 megapixel pictures, wake up and smell the marketing).

When I got back from my trip, I decided to sit down and get everyone a copy of the video. I was a little apprehensive because I work in advertising and I know how cumbersome and slow it can be to work with large video files if you don't have a computer specifically made for that task...I decided to use my home computer because I didn't want to wait (2.6ghz celeron with 512mb of ram). I didn't really like the DVD authoring software that came with it (seemed to complicated and unintuitive), so I used the Nero VisionExpress that came with my Nero Ultimate Edition software. It was soooo easy to get this done. Within one hour I had already completed a dvd with all the footage from trip, with thumbnail menus, and chapters automatically set for each time the camera stopped. I shot some footage of tropical fish in the water at Cozumel and I used that as the video background underneathe all of the menus. On a separate DVD I also created a compilation of photo slideshows (with music) from all the photo cameras everyone took (including pictures taken with my Everio).

I had the software "burn to hard disk" so I could make as many copies as I wanted of both dvds. I made 5 copies and was totally done with the project in 2 hours. This would not have been possible without this camera, capturing from any other minidv camera or other video source would require hours upon hours of video conversion to dvd compliant mpeg2. But since this camera shoots in mpeg2, that is not a factor.

I love this camera and highly recommend it for most people. If you are one of those videophiles that worries about the number of lines of resolution of your video, or how many ccd chips your camera has, then this camera is probably not for you. If you want great looking video and the convenience of being able to share it EASILY, CHEAPLY AND QUICKLY then definitely check out this camera.

On another note, I have used the software that came with the camera to convert video clips to quicktime, windows media video and realvideo. This is very useful for emailing clips, posting them on websites, or putting them inside your windows media center (or other home theater pc) for easy access.

Also, when getting this camera, be aware that there are two models/versions out there that only do 640x480 pictures...I almost made that mistake.

Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio GZ-MG50 1.33 MP 30 GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom Here

Love my new JVC Everio. The original model just used compact flash cards, but the new Everio GZ uses an ipod like hard drive that lets you store a year's worth of video on it! Tape is definitely dead, and DVD camcorder's 30 mintues a disc doesn't hold a candle to the Everio.

The only issue I had was that the software that come with it was pretty basic, but all the other video editing software programs didn't recognize the Everio video files (.mod files which contain MPEG2 Video and Dolby Stereo Audio).

I did finally find Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0 which supports this new file type natively. It has made editing a breeze.

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[Below is my recent review of the JVC Everio GZ-MG40, which has a 20GB hard drive rather than 30GB. Becase GZ-MG50 seems to be identical to GZ-MG40 save the hard drive capacity, I thought this review would be useful to those considering to buy GZ-MG50.]

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I have been using this camcorder for almost two weeks now. And here are my impressions:

PROS:

A) This is a tiny camcorder and I can easily carry it in my pocket everyday.

B) It records directly on a [30GB] harddrive. This is probably the most amazing feature of this camera. It has the following amazing benefits:

(1) A huge recording space

(2) Random access to recorded videos when browsing

(through a thumblist of videos)

(3) Super fast transfer onto your computer through USB 2.0.

(4) No tapes, no CDs, no DVDs to worry about while recording video.

(5) Facilitates easy archiving/organizing . For example, all the recorded files on the camera's harddrive have "creation date"s as a part of their file information. When the camera is connected to your computer, you can sort all files by date and easily separate all recordings by date to different folders by simply selecting and dragging. (This is extra, but if you want to index and be able to search your video files, say with google desktop, simply enter a list of keywords in the file name about the contents of the file.)

(6) The harddrive on your camera can double as additional portable storage mediathis is unlikely but If you wanted you could even install linux on it and carry with you an operating system on your camera.

C) Video quality is good for a consumer level video camera. The sound quality recorded through the internal microphone is good: i can hear the lectures I record very clearly and there is no annoying noise generated by the camera.

D) The charger that comes with this camera is very small. So you can carry that around as well and worry less about running out of battery.

CONS:

A) No mic jacks.

B) manual focus and light adjustments are done through menus.

C) The editing software that comes with it is limited.

D) The battery life is a mere hour(but you can buy a 3 hour battery for 70-80 dollars).

As with all camcorders, the still images shot with this camera are not at the level of quality you can get from a good still camera. It produces reasonable snapshots in well lit situations.

The video files recorded by this camera have a ".MOD" extension in their name. I replace ".MOD" with ".MPG" and most of my standard video viewing software automatically recognize the files.

Canon XH-A1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder with 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III

I love this camera. If you don't have a lot of experience with prosumer cameras (as in my case), the first look may be a bit intimidating (a friend said, "It looks like you're filming tv news"). Especially as I added a Rode shotgun mike (not sure it does anything other than make the sound louder, but...still checking it out).

You can't rest the camera on your shoulder, but the image stabilizer helps and the grip and buttons are all well designed and easy to reach. I struggled through the manual, but fortunately bought Dan Curran's dvd about the xh-a1 which appears to be almost identical. This was a -hugehelp. I can't recommend it enough if you are at all unsure of what you're looking at. He goes through the simplest things (putting the shoulder strap on) to some very technical settings that you can do. The dvd saved me -so muchlearning time and also prevented some careless mistakes (like letting sunlight through the viewfinder).

This camera feels like a terrific tool that can do whatever you need and the picture quality--even on Auto--is beautiful. Having the two XLR terminals will make a big difference, too. The versatility and design really meets such a variety of needs--way too much machine/expense for "home video" (it's not the kind of camera people forget is pointing at them), but great if you want to shoot training films, web videos, independent films.

Technology has changed so much in the 20 years since I was in film school--and it's still hard for me to believe that such a great camera, capable of such a quality product, is available for under $4000.

Very impressed. Highly recommended.

Canon XH-A1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder with 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III

What can I say except this camera is the only one that offers everything you need in this price range. What really sets it apart is the two xlr inputs on the side allowing two microphones to capture sound, and it switchable between external and internal mics, or use both simultaneously. No other camera offers this. Get a lens filter kit and the wide angle and telephoto adapters and you're ready to create anything you can imagine.

I recently filmed a music festival using this camera for long shots, close-ups, cutaways, and static shots, everything looks amazing. A tip for the novice to high-def recordingkeeping the lens clean and checking it frequently is a must. The tiniest speck of dust looks huge on playback.

I've used it mostly on automatic setting so far as the the music festival was happening only days after receiving this camera but the little bit I've played around on manual setting promises unparalleled versatility, i'm very excited.

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This camera is not for the novice by any means because once you step out of the auto everything mode it can be quite complicated.

Now that being said if it wasn't for all the manual settings and adjustments I would not want it anyway.

I have a Canon XLH1 and this camera makes the perfect workmate for it.

The picture quality is virtually the same so for a two camera shoot it's great.

Although it's about half of the weight of it's big brother the XLH1 it's still a little hard to hold steady since you can't rest it on your shoulder but the image stabilization is very helpful.

Also the auto focus is very fast and really comes in handy when you have to run and gun so to speak.

All in all this is a great camera with a awesome picture and I simply love it.

Read Best Reviews of Canon XH-A1S 3CCD HDV High Definition Professional Camcorder with 20x HD Video Zoom Lens III Here

I run and own one of Florida's most reputable paranormal teams "Team Phenomenon | Paranormal Bad Boys TV" and we need to high quality footage for our films. I looked at many other cameras but the XHA1s was by far the clearest in resolution. This camera is a snap to work with and the overall quality makes it worth the money. This is one of our main cameras we use for production of our films, videos and documentaries and if I could I would buy a second in a heart beat as backup. The camera battery life is exceptionally good and the features give your video that clear HD eye candy you want. This is the independent film makers top choice of cameras and I can get why, I simply call it an Orgasm in a box. because that is how you feel when you first get it in the mail.

My only two cons is that the front microphone head is kinda wobbly and it doesn't shoot to hard drive, Digitizing tapes can put extra stress on the heads. An hour long HDV tape equals to 12GB of hard drive storage so make sure you have an extra 1.5TB of external HD backup for your projects and never overwrite the original tapes. I buy my HDV tapes from Walmart which are 6 for $20 and work beautifully.

G.Mercado

Team Phenomenon Inc | Paranormal Bad Boys TV

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This Canon cam has been a great investment to my company. It was easy to learn, fast to set up, and a pleasure to use; even when all the settings are on manual. All of the important controls are programmable hard buttons. Focus, Aperture, and zoom are all on the lens barrel for easy access. The picture is clear and the computer interface to the camera is a breeze. This is a real winner.

Sony Cybershot DSCW1 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

I have been very happy with this camera since I purchased it over a month ago. My requirements for a digital camera were resolution of at least 5 MP, compact size for travel, and some scene or manual modes. Two features sold me on this camera:

1. Compatibility with AA batteries. Most cameras this size use proprietary batteries, which means if you forget your battery recharger on a trip, you could be in trouble. With this camera, you can take out the included AA rechargeables once they run down and use regular AA batteries. While lithium batteries such as Energizer's E2 series are best, even alkalines will work in a pinch.

2. Larger LCD area. The extra inch makes a huge difference. You can tell immediately whether people blinked, and the screen is large enough that family and friends will enjoy flipping through the photos you've taken without having to squint. The larger area also makes it fun to zoom, rotate, and crop photos right in the camera.

In addition to indoor settings, I have tested the camera in the Colorado mountains, suburban Chicago, and downtown DC. The scene modes did an especially beautiful job with the mountains and lakes. I had been worried after some reviews suggested that Sony cameras make colors look washed-out and faded, but I did not experience this. My images have also been very sharp, and I can see details far in the background, such as signs in shots of city streets. I also like that you can set the camera to record images in a 3:2 ratio, so that if you are planning to make 4x6 prints, the camera saves exactly the image that will be printed. My only complaint is that the red-eye mode doesn't completely eliminate red eye in indoor shots, but I understand that this is typical for compact cameras.

Since this camera and its LCD screen could easily be damaged in a purse or backpack, I would recommend a semi-rigid carrying case such as Sony's LCMWA model.

This camera will not be right for everyone. If you're looking for a simple point-and-shoot and don't want to worry about settings, consider Canon's PowerShot S500 Elph. If your photos mostly will be indoors and redeye is your major concern, consider Nikon's Coolpix 5200. If you'll be doing a lot of telephoto zooming, consider the Pentax Optio 555 with its 5X optical zoom. But if you're looking for a versatile compact 5 MP camera in the advanced consumer/prosumer segment, then look no further than Sony's DSC-W1.

After reading every online review I could find, I decided to purchase the DSC-W1 and after taking about 300 images, I am quite pleased with it.

The camera is light and small. It has plenty of "scene modes" that make it easy for anyone to take a picture. You can also take 640x480 movies with sound for as long as your memory stick pro will hold them. (If you are using a regular memory stick, the time is limited.) The camera is lightning fast, both in startup time and time to store an image after shooting. There is a "burst mode" too that can allow multiple shots to be taken in succession, but it is too buried in the menus to be useful unless you know that good action is coming.

Night photography seems to be working out quite well with this camera. One thing I liked over similar cameras in this category is the 30 second exposure time, which is fairly high. (Many didn't allow anything more than 10 seconds.)

I ditched the included Sony batteries after reading a review somewhere and bought some Powerex 2300 batteries from MahaEnergy. I haven't been able to go through two sets of batteries (the camera takes two AA's.) in a day's time. In fact, one set seems to do just fine almost all of the time.

The Sony supports up to 400 iso, though there is a fair amount of noise at this level. I've been using Neat Image to clean it up though and I have no qualms about shooting at this speed as long as I'm using software to clean it up.

I'm just beginning to learn how to photograph things somewhat well, and I do have a few gripes. Most are very minor, and most would have been solved if I would have saved up the money to buy a digital SLR instead of trying to force this point and shoot to try to be a digital SLR.

First, macro mode doesn't seem to let you get very close. With my friend's Olympus Camedia, I seem to be able to all but rest my lens on the subject. With the DSC-W1, I can't seem to get much closer than 6 inches with it getting too blurry to take a picture. You can get some close shots, but if you are really looking at getting into macro photography, you might want to look at the Olympus, or at other cameras.

Night photographers will find it irritating that there is no sort of remote cable release or remote IR release. You can get around this problem with the self timer if necessary, but some shots you just aren't going to get. There isn't any sort of built-in stabilization either, though I wouldn't expect any on a $400 point and shoot. A tripod is required gear if you are going to take shots in dim light without a flash.

Also, it is worth noting that the camera doesn't have a hot-shoe. You are going to be using the built in flash. The built-in flash seems to be okay, and I'm imagining that the average point-and-shoot photographer won't care.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this camera. If you want to be really get into the technical side of digital cameras, save up and buy a Canon Digital Rebel or some other spiffy SLR. If you want a camera that you'll be happy to put in your pocket and take with you, the Sony is an excellent choice.

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I bought this in Jan 2005 and I love this one. I have done quite some research before I bought this one. Some research sites recomended are

PC World

Steves Digital.

ImagingResource( This site has a comparometer by which you can comapare images from 2 cameras side by Side. Although thi site is little biased towards cannon as they did not use the correct settings for sony camera.

But one thing was clear from my researchCannon Camera are the best in Image quality(I'll give 5 to Cannon on image quality and 4.8 to sony. 4.2 to Kodak, 4 to Nikon. But One ditinct advantage that made my choice to sony was the Spped of the shot. Basically sony cameras take shot between .2 -.3 seconds after the button is pressed and cannon takes 1.1 1.3 seconds to take the shot. With my kids it is imposiible to get a posed Picture I want with cannon.

Here are some of the feature comparison between Sony and Cannon(I ignored all others because of image quality)

1. Image quality Sony 4.8 Cannon 5.0. although at uptill 8x 10 the quality is same.

2. Image clarity and details Sony 4.7 cannon 5.0. Cannon has the lot more details. A picture of grass shows sharp edges of grass in cannon but sony is little blurry. But at 8x10 u don't need that kind of sharpness.

3. Color Sony w1 4.9. cannon 5.0. again cannon is better but not by far. Sony P93 and P73 are worst in color but W1 does a good job and V1 and T1 are closest to true colors

4. Night shots Sony 4.9 Cannon 4.5. Here is the difference. Sony's shots in dark lights are the best.

5. Shot TIme. As I said earlier Sony is the best by 2-3 times better performance than any other camera. Besides startup time on Sony camera is about .3 seconds where as cannon is about 1.7 seconds. This is due to faster processor of Sony.

6. Batery Life I could take 170+ pictures with sony using LCD and using the review mode Extensively. For cannon I don't have the numbers but I heard it is around 100 pictures(official number is 250 for both). Besides the charger is included in Sony but not in cannon using AA bateris. This saves another 30-40 bucks

7. Price Both are same with cannons Flashs card being cheaper than sony' memory stick. But amazon.com gives 128 MB stick free which gives you 60 images at 5 MP resolution. Cannon' Battery charger for A85,95 series is going to add 40$ to your price range.

8. Noise reduction Sony is the best. no comparison in digital processing with any other brand.

9. LCD SizeI've had couple of camcorders and trust me u need a bigger screen like W1 or else u miss details while reviewing, and while on a trip you try to take the best pictures only and delete the others.

10. Appearance and weight. All are same weight (couple of ounces here and there) but Cannon uses 4 AA bateries which makes is little more heaview and the battery torage space required in camera makes it even more bulkier(Bigger size) to carry.

11. Lens extensions. Cannon has better acceries available but I'm not professional either:)

Overall I'll say Sony is the best overall camera. Image quality compared to cannon is not the best but it is not off by far either. But If you don't care about the time taken to get the picture after button is pressed and are very hung on perfect image qualitygo for cannon. But within 200-325 Price range , Sony is the best and W1 is the best in that range. It is also voted the best Point and Shoot camera by PC world(PCworld ratings are known to be best in electronics).

Summary

Sony W1 is good at.

1. Faster snap time

2. Best Night shots.

3. Very true colors(4.9 sony W1 and 5.0 to Cannon)

4. Excelent Scene Modes.

5. Decent Manual controls(You don't need them with scenic modes)

6. Very good image quality.

7. Lighter and better Look camera over all.

Cannon is good at.

1. Image quality.

2. Very true colors almost perfect.

Hope this helps

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cybershot DSCW1 5MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Here

After two years of lackluster pictures from a 2MP Canon PowerShot S-100 (constant underexposure, short battery life). I began looking for a digital camera replacement. While I want to take high quality pictures, the bulk of what I take are family and travel snapshots.

After endless procrastination on my part, my wife surprised me with the new Sony DSC-T1 5MP ultracompact camera. It was very cool to play with and takes very good looking pictures with the default settings. The T-1 is a neat camera.

While I liked the DSC-T1 a lot, I had some core concerns with it that are fully addressed by it's sibling camera, the DSC-W1. Not only does the W1 have about a half dozen more features than the T1 it's also $100 less than the T1!

I want to emphasize that both cameras take very good pictures, especially for a person that wants to take high quality snapshots that is, pull it out and snap off a few, quickly review the shots and perhaps make some manual adjustments to optimize the pictures.

What's also appealing to me about both cameras is their movie mode support. Both cameras take credible mpeg movies, albeit without zoom support (I'm not aware of any digicam that allows you to adjust the zoom mode once the movie recording has started). In the "best" movie mode (30 frames/sec), you'll consume about 1 Mb per second of recording. However, I find that I only shoot 30 to 60 seconds of "useful and viewable" footage at a family gathering anyway, as well as 20 to 30 photos. In this regard, a 256 Mb Memory Stick Pro card gets me by just fine for a day.

Note that most digicams in this price range shoot 30 fps movies for only a set, limited time of 15 to 30 sec per clip, or they'll shoot longer clips at 15fps, which is pretty poor quality to me. The T1 and W1 allow you to shoot high quality 30 fps video up to the capacity of the Memory Stick Pro card you elect to use. This is very useful to someone like me who never has viewed the old family videos I recorded on my video camera. Now I load photos and videos on the PC and actually view the video clips!

I am also very impressed with the on-camera editing modes of both cameras. I can shoot images at a 5 Megapixel size and easily downsize them to 3 MP, 1 MP or VGA size, as well as crop them on the camera. With the long battery life of the W1, I do most of my editing on the camera and upload satisfactory images to the PC, lessening the need to open photo editing software. This is really fantastic!

The last general note is that some people criticize the quality of the photo software that comes with the Sonys. I wouldn't know. I never installed it. I learned a long time ago that you are generally better off getting a memory card reader for $20 and uploading the images via a USB connection, then using a third party application to edit the images.

The DSC-W1 has the following features that are important to me that the DSC-T1 lacks.

Cost $100 less for the W1.

Flash only a 5 foot distance for the T1, but 12 feet for the W1. Most of my family indoor shots are from 5 to 10 feet away. Isn't that true for most of us?

Tripod mount I need it a few times a year for family gatherings if I'm going to be in the picture. Also useful for obtaining the best steady shot composition for family portraits. The T1 lacks a tripod mount.

"AA" battery support I can't overstate how important it is on ANY digicam to utilize common "AA" batteries. No matter how well prepared I try to be, there have been occasions where I forgot to charge the proprietary batteries on my Cannon, much to my condemnation at that family gathering. In a pinch, you can stop at a convenience store and pick up a pack of "AA"s to get you through the day with the W1. Also, "AA" rechargable batteries and rechargers are so inexpensive right now. The propriety battery on the T-1 lists at $60. While the price will come down, I doubt you'll find them readily available at the convenience store.

While the T1's battery life was acceptable, my perception of the W1's battery usage is that it is VERY good. I do a tremendous amount of shooting photos and movies on the W1 in the course of a day, as well as subsequent replay and editing on the camera itself. I still can't believe I have battery life left on the same set I started with after my typical photo and movie session with the W1...

Viewfinder Both cameras have the excellent 2.5" LCD display. Both cameras are well suited for taking pictures through the LCD viewfinder. However, there are times in bright light, in crowds, in busy/moving situations where the optical viewfinder is useful and warranted. The W1 has the optical viewfinder and the T1 does not.

Manual exposure The T1 and W1 both take very good snapshot pictures in a variety of lighting conditions. However, it's nice to have the flexibility of controlling the manual exposure if you need it.

Other features While I don't need them, the W1 allows for the addition of wide and telephoto lenses and special filters with an optional lens adapter.

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I've just read all these complaints about blurry pictures, and felt compelled to write as it is obvious that some people just don't understand how photography works. The W1 starts by reading the available light, just like any other camera. When it has done that it decides on an appropriate aperture and shutter speed. In actual fact, it tends to choose rather larger apertures and therefore faster shutter speeds than other similar cameras. It can't do anything else if it set much faster shutter speeds the pictures would only be underexposed. Compare the exposure settings to those on any other camera in the same situation and you will find they are the same. The big difference with the W1 is that, because of the large screen, you tend to hold the camera well away from your face when you shoot, inevitably causing camera shake.

One solution if you want to hand-hold indoors is to increase the ISO setting to 200. Incidentally, you are hard-pressed to take hand-held pictures OUTDOORS on any camera at ISO100 in the UK at any time of the year except in mid-summer. Increasing the ISO to 200 doesn't seem to cause too much noise. You can also try using the viewfinder and propping your elbows on something.

I've only had this camera a few days, but it seems very sharp to me. You just can't expect it to defy the laws of physics.

Canon DC310 DVD Camcorder with 37x Optical Zoom

The overview states that this includes 'USB 2.0 hi-speed terminal for quick video transfer'. Read the detail section and there is no mention of a USB port, because there is none! You need to buy the DC330 to get that feature. That would not be so bad if the RRW would work in any of our PC's or DVD players. Granted the DVD players are older modules but the PC's are less than 1 year old. Maybe if your PC writes to Ror you stick with none rewritable DVD's you would be happy with this camcorder (didn't waste any more money trying this). This module is being returned and replaced with the DC330.

I bought this camera for our family summer vacation. My old digital camera did not zoom close enough to anything. I was looking for a camcorder that was small in size that could get close up & that is exactly what I got. I have found it to be easy to use in every way and it is small enough to fit in just about any normal size bag.

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Canon DC310 DVD Camcorder with 41x Optical Zoom

We purchased this camcorder after looking at reviews in various places, in particular, one well known consumer product magazine. Since we wanted something basic, but a camcorder that would give us very good quality images, we counted on the Canon. It is easy to learn to use if you are a novice like we are, and is adequate for home videos. Taking into account the savings extras from Amazon, we purchased it at the lowest price that we researched on the internet, and at local electronics retailers. We highly suggest purchasing an extra battery, and the battery charger (stick with the Canon brand or you can be burned with the cheaper "replacement" claiming to be as good). Amazon shipped it in two days at no extra charge....a "special" at the time. We purchase from Amazon often because of their excellent customer service.

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Pros:-

1) Price is cheap for a DVD camcorder

2) Outdoor video quality

3) optical zoom

Cons:-

1) The menu is very confusing.

2) You cannot finalize unless you connect the camera to power adapter. You will not know it unless you read the manual carefully

3) You cannot charge the camera if the power button is turned on. So assume that you are using the camera and it goes off because of no charge. You connect it to the power adapter, it will not charge...it is because the power button is still turned on. I had this issue and had a hard time finding the cause. I even sent my camera to canon repair and it got returned back saying I need to keep the power button off while charging and otherwise it will not charge.

4) Finally, there is a lot of problem with finalizing the disc. The finalize menu item will not show up while in record mode. That is fine. But I recorded my disc in VR mode and now I see Finalize menu item but it is not selectable..not sure why. I am not able to finalize my disc and can't play it in dvd player. When I see the content of the DVD, it has files in VRO format. To convert it to DVD format, I need a software now which will cost me. And that's when I decided to write this review.

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I reviewed the Consumer's Report 2009 regarding dvd camcorders and this model rated one of the highest. I am thrilled to concur with the Report. I wanted something simple to use which provided a good image at a good value. This seems to meet all three. The vendor I used shipped it within 4-5 days (Sixth Avenue Electronics -6ave). Overall great experience. NOTE: Read the manual if you don't finalize the discs properly you may loose all of the recordings.

Sony Cybershot DSCT33 5.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Includes Docking Station)

I own the DSC-F828 (8 megapixel) Sony...and do a lot of varied work, usually taking it everywhere. But it's a bit slow out of the bag sometimes, for a simple snapshot. Therefore I purchased this camera (the T-3 Euro version) as an adjunct to the big brother.

Frankly, 5 Megapixel appears a bit less sharp now that I'm used to 8 Megapixel ....and the lens CAN be a tiny bit soft focus in low light. Yes, there's relativly few manual adjustments, too.

Flash is not bad, works well as a fill in sunlight, a bit harsh indoors. But then I shot a lot of no-flash, as slow as an 1/8, handheld. It works well. Nice colors, too,

However, this little devil powers up FAST as I draw it from the Sony leather belt holster. Red Eye reduction, 3x zoom, *HUGE* view screen (really impressive for showing off to your friends what you just shot...), neat carry strap.

This thing is really HANDY....not as your ONLY camera but as the all-day, EVERY-DAY camera. It fits on your belt in as little space as a cell phone with the abilty to shoot all day long....

I bought a travel charger & spare battery (these can charge while I shoot), extra memory (came with a 32mb I bought a 128, then a 256. You buy a 512.), and the nice Sony leather belt case. Look for a USB memory stick reader, like the wonderful SanDisk MobileMate MS (the size, literally, of a USB flash drive, i.e. keyring-able), and you're ready.

You can afford this. Think about it. Super small, excellent quality, out of the way...but ALWAYS there. Get it. Or, let me put it another way, "Can you afford less?".

PS What I REALLY like about this camera is that my big 828 scares the pants off my subjects because it's seen (to them) as "professional", yet no one runs away when I pull this little guy out. You can see the differences in their attitude right away.

I get more intimate pictures, with minimal quality loss, using this camera far more frequently, now, than the 828.

I bought this camera about a month ago and have been truly impressed. I know a bit about digital cameras having owned a few over the years and this camera presses all the right buttons for me. The camera is small, about the size and weight of a pack of playing cards, smaller even. The styling is great and the build quality is top notch. The camera has many features normally found on larger format cameras. The video quality is superb and nearly does away with the need for a camcorder for those holiday videos, works best out doors and in daylight. There is no set limit to video length except for the capacity of the memory card. A 1 Gig card holds about 13min of highest quality video, long enough for any take I can think of. The general picture quality is very good for a compact and the prints I've made to A4 paper are spot on. It is fast to start up and "reload". The LCD screen quality is the best I've seen on a compact. The macro/magnifying mode is a revelation, allowing for some "microscope" type close-ups. The interface is intuitive and user friendly. In conclusion this camera is perfect for the average user who needs a highly portable quality digital camera. Recommended upgrade would be a 512mb or 1Gig memory card for that high quality video.

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We purchased this camera as a replacement for our bulky Sony DSC-P52, which stopped working after year or so due to a problem with the lens mechanism. Naturally, only time will tell if this is any different, but in the meantime, here's what you need to know about this baby:

The Good:

1) Size and weight Fits almost comfortably in any pocket. Much thinner and lighter than any previous digital camera I've owned, thus encourages one to carry it most anywhere. The size is also pretty comfortable for one-hand shooting.

2) Big LCD screen You didn't need me to tell you this, right? Makes previewing images and taking shots much more satisfying, though sometimes it does not appear very clear, especially if the subject is not static. However, it is bright and rich in color.

3) InfoLithium This is Sony's name for a battery that tells you how much time it has left only approximately, of course. If use is consistent, will provide you with a good idea. If you use one function then another then another, it tends to vary much more and is not as useful.

4) Integrated charger/USB station A flimsy plastic cradle takes care of charging the on-board battery as well as providing a USB hookup for downloading images and video into the computer. Minimizes wires and removes the need for a separate charger, though the bright white color is far from a match.

The Bad:

1) Focusing problems The camera cannot focus on objects that are relatively close to it. I am not speaking about macros, but simply the function or lack thereof to focus on small, near objects, such as coins, stamps, or text. Quick focus on objects farther away, though.

2) Integrated Battery I listed the InfoLithium as a positive, but the fact that you cannot just pop-in a couple of AA batteries means you will always need the station or the plug to charge up if you need some juice. I don't know if the battery is universal, but even if it is, it will cost substantially more to purchase a replacement.

3) Incompatible Memory Sticks I will not complain about Sony's desire to make consumers pay more for its cards than adopting a standard, but this camera uses the MemoryStick Duo, which is about 1/4 or so smaller than the "regular" MemoryStick. This means that the hundreds you may have invested in memory cards for previous Sony digital cameras are pretty useless, as they do not fit into this or any other device using the smaller cards.

4) Ineffective Flash The flash is tiny, thus does not provide adequate illumination in the dark. Within a few feet is okay, but farther subjects are not touched.

5) 3x Optical Zoom C'mon, this is 2005! 3x optical zoom is pretty pathetic for such an expensive camera.

6) Slow Write Speed There is a decent pause between pictures, meaning you not be able to shoot at a rapid rate. You can certainly take pictures in bursts, but it takes even longer to write to the memory stick. Previewing the images is also slow. This is also disappointing, as it's not faster than my older P52.

7) No Tripod Hookup If you wish to use a tripod, you have to mount the camera on the plastic station, then connect the tripod to the plastic dock. This is far from ideal.

Well, there you have it. The negatives I listed may be insignificant for you, in which case this could be a great value for you. I am certainly happy with it, but I only wish Sony would stop treating its customers like cash cows with changing standards, compatibilities, and dubious long-term quality.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cybershot DSCT33 5.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Includes Docking Station) Here

This is a great camera for travel and everyday events because of its small and convenient size. We bought it to replace our bulkier Sony DSC-F707. The large screen is wonderful! The video feature is a lot of fun but due to the small size it is hard to take a steady video. The battery meter is very useful as it tells you how much time you have left. The main downside with this camera is the flash. It doesn't work well in very dark conditions for distant or even slightly distant shots. If it weren't for the flash, I would have given this a rating of 5 stars. This is overall a good camera.

For more serious digital photography, we prefer to use the Sony DSC-F707 as it has a better flash and zoom. However, it is too bulky to carry around.

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We were early digital camera adopters so this model is now our 5th or 6th camera. A requirement for us when we buy a digital camera is the availabilty of an underwater housing since we use these camera during scuba trips. We have a larger Sony DSC-F707 with an Amphibico housing which does a great job for us but requires a crate when we take it diving. This camera was purchased with the Sony brand underwater housing which is tiny and neatly organized so the entire package and is very compact to travel with. Sony has made some significant improvements in their underwater housings since the first generation including double o-rings and ability to support the deepest recreational dives. Camera and housing fit in a tiny backpack and easily goes under an airplane seat. For serious underwater photography you will require heaps of external light and I'm not a fan of Sony's underwater lighting solution but other choices exist.

My favorite things about the camera are the large 2.5" screen which allows me to easily see which shots I want to keep. The small, thin and light size also makes it easy to use. The big selling feature for me was a 640x480 30 fps mpeg movie capability so we can email clips that people can actually see. The docking station makes sure it is always charged and ready. I've been very pleased with the battery life. As far as "cons" go there are few. I would like to see a better flash (which seems to be the case with most digital cameras) and more than the 3x optical zoom. Again, a larger zoom seems improbable in a camera this size. On land, the unit is a bit inconvenient to use with a tripod since it must be in the docking station to mount. I consider all of these to be minor since my primary goal was to have a small underwater-capable camera that would do 640x480 mpegs and bright 5.1mp shots. For me, Sony met those goals in a small form factor and at an attractive price.

Opteka X-GRIP Professional Camera / Camcorder Action Stabilizing Handle- Black

I bought this based on reviews and I must say I was horrified when mine was delivered. I would not trust my video camera to this flimsy piece of plastic. I cannot say anything good about this product I guess you get what you pay for.

I have added a video to demonstrate some of its shortcomings.

I bought the X-Grip for camcorder use. It was shipped fast and arrived in perfect condition. I appreciate the simple, uncluttered, straightforward design which was executed with quality materials. Attaching it to the camcorder is swift and easy, and the X-Grip can even be attached to a tripod or other mount when operating the camcorder. The heavy-duty accessory shoe can be detached. The grip of the unit is heavily padded and comfortable to use. Small built-in 'loops' at the top and bottom of the mount can be used to attach additional accessories via zip-ties or other field expedients. The X-Grip is constructed from very heavy duty plastic and is robust enough to withstand many years of service. I heartily recommend this unit to all active videographers who want bang for their bucks.

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I love this thing. It's much more than just a handle for low-angle skater shots. I use mine with a Canon Vixia HF-10, and I like that I can mount the camera forward, as you see in most of the product shots, or 90 degrees left so that the curved handle serves as more of a left-hand support for regular shooting... like a flash bracket that still photographers use. That's going to be my default setup. Since the camera mounting screw is in a little track that extends the length of the flat rubber area, the camera can be slid forward or backwards within the X-Grip before tightening. In my case, I slide it all the way forward, rotate it 90 degrees counter-clockwise, and the camera's video monitor has plenty of room to swing all the way out to the left without hitting the handle curve. The accessory bracket on top also rotates 360 degrees so the light/microphone can match the camera direction.

My only complaint is related to the mounting knob below. I'm thrilled that it also has a female thread for mounting to a tripod or other standard-thread item. But the X-Grip's feet, the little skid things that it sits on, get in the way of my tripod head a little. I use a Manfrotto 501 pro tripod head with the large quick-release plate. If that plate is mounted directly underneath the X-Grip, then I can't slide the plate/X-Grip combo onto the tripod head without some serious force too much to be practical. Fortunately, the solution was to disassemble the whole thing and add a single metal washer between the camera mount knob and the underside of the X-Grip, which caused the knob to hang just a fraction of an inch lower when the camera was fully tightened in place. This lowered the female tripod threads in relation to the skids just a bit, so that the "skids" were raised off of my tripod head just enough to be able to slide the release plate in place without much effort. Your mileage may vary with other tripods. If you try this, be careful not to use too thick a washer, since you're sacrificing the amount of threads that actually screw into your camera. This rig does not have the "two knob" type of camera mounting screw where you can set the screw depth with one knob and then tighten down with the other. On this, the depth you see is all you get. It's just right for my camera, but if your camera has an exceptionally shallow tripod-mounting hole, you may need to do the washer trick. Or if your rig is so heavy that you need more than 3/16"-1/4" or so of mounting thread to feel safe and secure, then the X-Grip may not be for you.

The rubber platform that the camera sits on is great. It's actually about 1/4" thick, and good rubber not just the cheesy little thin layer of neoprene left over from the mousepad factory. So if you need to crank down on the camera mounting knob, the camera settles into the rubber pretty securely.

About the strength of the handle: more than enough. It's not totally rigid plastic. It's got a slight flex, so a heavy accessory on top might bounce up and down ever so slightly. I have a Rode NTG-2 mic up there on a shock mount, and I have no concerns about the flex. In fact, I prefer it. The plastic seems strong enough to support a pretty hefty camera rig, and I'll gladly take the "flexy" plastic over the harder, more brittle plastic that is more likely to shatter if dropped.

That's it so far!

Read Best Reviews of Opteka X-GRIP Professional Camera / Camcorder Action Stabilizing Handle- Black Here

Wow, after reading some of the negative reviews on here I was hesitant to order this for my new Vixia camera. I especially liked the video review from someone who obviously has no idea what to do with this item (or had some serious camera issues) Bottom line first I am extremely satisfied with my purchase and love the X-Grip!

First off, after unboxing my new camera and all of the gear that came with it, I just had to see if my camera would swivel loosely around on the X-Grip like the guy in the video review. Guess what? An eighth of a turn past snug on the mounting bolt and nothing short of a forceful twist of the camera would shake this thing loose. I flipped it,shook it, twisted it, and swung it around like a madman and my camera remained precisely where I had positioned it.

As for those who are complaining that the X-Grip cannot be attached to a tripod double check the backside of the camera mounting thumbscrew. If yours is like mine, it took a few minutes to notice but it is double threaded, meaning that your tripod shoe will attach here easily.

With a little ingenuity I set my X-Grip up to carry not only the camera, but 3-4 other accessories that have shoe mounts as well. Cameras are easy, everything is standard 1/4X20 thread! Most of my accessories (lights, microphone, etc) came with mounting bars and thumbscrews designed to attach to the camera's single, threaded hole in the bottom. Well, since this hole was occupied by the X-Grip, I simply mounted one of the bars to the top portion of the X-Grip with a 1/4X20 bolt and added 3 of the thumbscrew/shoe mounts to that plus the one included on the X-Grip. Now my X-Grip, if needed, can be a handheld or tripod mounted "all in one" studio.

The uses of the X-Grip are limited only by your imagination and ability to think outside of the box. This thing is crazy versatile and, despite being made of that evil "plastic" stuff, seems remarkably durable. Of course you could just mount your camera on it and use it like it was intended, but where's the fun in that? If you are a little more adventurous with your video camera than just holding it up by your face and shooting from one angle than get this thing you'll be glad you did. I sure was!

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I think this item is a cool little film making tool. I am an independent film maker and I am sure I will make good use of it at certain times. It is easy enough to mount the camera and remove it again quickly. The only thing I dislike is the fact that the microphone that fits into my hotshoe does not fit on the camera while mounted on the rig. Also, the build feels a little cheap. Other than that this is a great tool for the money.

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BlueRigger High Speed HDMI to DVI Adapter Cable (6.6 Feet/ 2 Meters)

I upgraded my system and decided that I should upgrade my cables in the process. Besides, I also wanted to use the HDMI connector and avoid a possible signal degradation issue when using an adapter.

This cable has a very well-built feel to it, nice feeling materials. It connects well with the extended screw grips in the DVI side, and the HDMI side plugs in firmly and stays where it's put. I like the matching blue ends to help identify these connectors among the dozens I have due to the several systems behind my desk.

I use this cable to switch between multiple connections on my monitor and it's working great for that purpuse. I can switch to the VGA port to use my KVM and support several systems there, or back to my DVI port and this system. It allows me great flexibility in chosing which device uses the monitor at the time. The length is about right for placing a system on the floor behind a desk and them reaching up to a monitor that's mounted on a arm system like I have. It's long enough that I can swing the arms around and nothing binds. See my other reviews if you are considering a monitor mount as there's a nice one for a good price on Amazon too.

This BlueRigger cable is pretty thick, has a sturdy build quality with gold plated solid connectors. It supports Full HD (1080p) content and the output picture quality is seriously awesome. A Great Buy, 100% recommended.

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Adapters seem to be the only thing available in stores when you need HDMI to DVI. They jack you on the standard cable and bend you over again for an overpriced adapter. This cable is superior to most adapters because it's Dual Link (which stores don't offer) and provides greater bandwidth which produces a better picture. Where as with a Single Link cable or adapter you will likely get distorted squares or blocks that look horrible. My bet is the stores would rather uneducated consumer buy a new video card instead of a proper cable. To understand more about Single vs Dual link search Wikipedia for "dvi port".

BlueRigger support is also responsive if you should ever need them.

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I'm using this adapter cable to go from a dvi connector on my computer graphics card to a plasma tv HDMI input. The picture is amazing campared with the s-video I was using before. Sound is not output with this so you have to add cables for the sound.

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I purchased the HDMI to DVI adapter cable to connect my laptop to a second monitor. I was just looking for the cheapest cable that would do the job and found this one. This cable uses quality parts, looks great, and is very well made. At a previous job, I was an engineer designing cables (not for BlueRigger) and I can attest to the quality of this cable. I will definitely purchase other BlueRigger cables in the future.

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Brother ADS2000 High Speed Document Scanner, Black

Preface: I own a business that operates in several locations and I use document scanners on a daily basis. Over the years I have owned quite a variety of these types of machines and have had some good ones and bad ones. Out of all of them, my Fujitsu Scansnap s1500 has always been my favorite. This has just changed!

I LOVE this scanner:

Installation:

Popped in the disk, installed the software, plugged in unit, hit scan button = 5 minutes from unboxing to results. Fast and easy.

Software:

When you run the software "ControlCenter4" for the first time, you get a choice to default to "Home Mode" or "Advanced Mode". Typically with software this is just a way programmers use to hide extra buttons that might confuse some users. In this case, however, they are two COMPLETELY different interfaces they don't even look like the same software.

*Before going further with the interfaces, let me stop by saying many people, myself included, will rarely use the ControlCenter4 software. When I use document scanners I want one function: press the button and have it dump a PDF into my predetermined destination. It does this perfectly out of the box. The ControlCenter is when you have an occasional job where you want a different outcome (i.e. scan a stack of 4x6 photos into JPG's)

Home Mode:

Choices are: photo, text and graphics, monochrome text, custom. Custom mode allows you to change resolution, color, simplex/duplex scanning (1 or 2 sided)

Advanced Mode:

Buttons are: image, OCR, E-mail, File. When you right-click on one of the buttons, you can change all the settings and program them to that button. Settings available are: file type, target application, destination file path, resolution, scan type (color bit depth), document size, and simplex/duplex. Once you set them, the settings are sticky so they will remain the same the next time you use them.

I guess I must fall into the "Advanced User" category, because I really prefer this setup to the "Home Mode"

Scan quality:

The quality of the scans are great. This is true of most scanners, so I expected this.

Speed:

During my tests, I was quite surprised at how fast it seemed. Sure enough, its faster than my the Fujitsu: 24ppm vs 20ppm.

Build:

The scanner is larger than most, but not huge. It is a nice-looking machine and feels solid and well-built.

Features:

This scanner has a unique feature I have never seen before. On the scanner is a USB port. If you plug in a memory-stick, the scanner has a button that allows it to scan directly to it. This would be great in a scenario where you needed to bring the scanner with you on-site and needed to scan some documents for later.

My only gripe: Like the Scansnap, it has no power button, but instead of turning off when you close the lid, the scanner just "goes to sleep" after 15 minutes. In the configuration, you can change the amount of time to something smaller, but I still would have liked it to just turn off when the lid is closed.

Conclusion:

Overall, I think this is a FANTASTIC scanner. It does everything I want it to do and it does it well. The interface is the least-clunky interface of all the scanners I've used/owned and the results are great. It's fast, well-built, and looks good on my desk. And finally, at its current price, it is quite a bit cheaper than its main competitor, which should make this an easy choice.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

For some time now, I've been digitizing twenty-five years worth of office files. I first started using a Fujitsu ScanSnap S510. When I acquired an Epson GT-S50, it pretty much replaced the Fujitsu...I wrote a review comparing the two. Now I have the Brother, it seems natural to write another comparative review. They're sitting side-by-side on my desk and hooked up to the same computer. (Since someone asked: Windows 7, Intel i5-2400 processor, 16Gb memory, 128 Gb SSD primary disk and 4Tb of secondary disks. Both scanners are connected directly to separate USB ports without going through an external hub. I use PaperPort 14 to drive the scanners and organize the output files. This is my primary office computer, not a dedicated test system, so I have lots of miscellaneous crud loaded on it.)

Installation: Both units, as you would expect, are well packed by their manufacturers and arrived safely. UPS crunched the Brother's outer Amazon box, but the scanner's box was intact inside. Installation follows the normal process...hunt for and remove the packing tape, power it up, install the software and finally connect the scanner to the USB port. A 6' USB cable comes with the Brother. The instructions say not to go over 6', but it's working fine with a $5 10' cable...6' is too short to reach to my computer. Both units come with a neutered version of PaperPort 12. I recommend installing it and immediately upgrading to PP14. (The upgrade is almost always on sale from one store or another for roughly half list. Since I already had PP14 installed, I skipped the installation of PP12se.) Both scanners have TWAIN and WIA drivers, so they can be used by practically every scanner enabled software package.

Both scanners have wedged-shaped bodies. The Epson is about 1-1/2" taller and blockier; the Brother is more sloped and sleek looking. The Brother is also a bit deeper and the tray protrudes about an inch more...not enough to make a difference in any practical sense.

Performance: To test the two scanners, I set the scanner drivers to similar settings and ran different types of documents through them. To summarize the results, the Brother scanned documents significantly faster at 300 dpi. The scanners approached parity at 150dpi, while the difference in scanning speed was dramatic at 600dpi.

B&W documentfifty pages 300dpi

....Epson GT-50 4:07.1 sec

....Brother ADS-2000 1:56.4 sec

Multi-page form 8 pages double sided, flip vertical 300dpi

....Epson 45.8 seconds

....Brother 20.3 seconds

Multi-page form 8 pages double sided, flip vertical 150dpi

....Epson 22.0

....Brother 21.8

Multi-page form 8 pages double sided, flip vertical 600dpi

....Brother 42.2

....Epson 1:47.8 sec

Multi-page form 8 pages double sided, flip vertical 1200dpi

....Brother 40.6 sec

....Epson Not Available

(Note: the optical resolution of the Brother is 600dpi. 1200dpi is via software interpolation)

I ran two tests to check color scanning ability. One test consists of a light blue grid printed on ten different colored sheets of paper. Ideally, the surrounding color shouldn't affect the scanned image of the blue lines. In practice, both scanners showed some impact from the surrounding colors; however the Epson fared much worse, especially with the bright red and orange backgrounds...the blue lines turned to a muddy red and orange respectively. Scanned images from the Brother were a much closer match to the originals. Both scanners maintained a nice even spacing of the horizontal lines. Slight changes in paper feed rate (which you don't want) would have caused the line spacing to vary slightly.

For the other test, I scanned a printed color test card that's primarily used to test cameras and lenses. This test doesn't measure how fast the scanner can switch between colors, like the first test, but rather tests color fidelity. Compared to the Epson, the Brother produced somewhat more saturated colors and more closely matched the original. The difference, though, was slight and easily correctable in any image processing software. (I use Adobe Lightroom 4 and/or Photoshop, depending on what needs doing)

OCR: The Epson uses Abbyy FineReader 6.0 software for character recognition. I'm not sure what Brother uses. Both work decent if you feed them a block of text (typed document, newspaper article, etc.), but the Brother bombed rather spectacularly when I tried to OCR the 8 page form that I used to test scanning speed. With different type sizes, typefaces, boxes with labels inside of other boxes, numbers with commas, background screened colors and all kinds of other fun things, it was unable to reconstruct the form using anything other than the Scan to PDF setting...and even then it was pretty pathetic. The Epson, using the Abbyy software, did a much better job.

The Brother has the following output file formats: Scan to Word 2K (or W97) RTF, searchable PDF, Excel (2003 or 97) XLS, TXT, HTML 3.2 or 4.0, and WordPerfect 8, 9 or 10. Note that the "new" (Office 2010) Microsoft file formats (docx, xslsx, etc.) are unavailable. It works, but it's obviously dated software.

Both scanners can scan both sides of a page in one pass and can be set to skip the blank pages in the output file. Settings are also available to automatically rotate upside-down pages, crop the scan to fit the document, remove punch holes and other useful functions.

Both scanners can scan business cards and embossed credit cards. Either one would work in a medical office to scan ID cards.

Both scanners come with software to control what happens when you push the front buttons. I never use the buttons, preferring to drive the scanner from my computer...I'm usually scanning many documents at once and want to rename them as I go.

The Epson uses a separate power supply. The Brother uses a standard cord. I prefer the cord. It's one less thing kicking around under my desk.

Which would I recommend? It totally depends on your needs. A couple of years ago, when I compared the ScanSnap s510 to the Epson, the Epson came out on top. Now, after a month, with the Brother sitting next to my Epson GT-S50, I find myself almost always using the Brother. It's faster and I almost never need the OCR function. If OCR was a primary requirement, I'd probably still use the Brother along with a separately purchased copy of Abbyy FineReader 11. For scanning photographs, I recommend a flatbed unit that's designed primarily for that purpose. These will both work, but the automatic dust removal software included with photoscanners will save you many hours of touch-up work. If you just occasionally need to scan documents, both of these scanners are complete overkill and a good all-in-one should work fine...just make sure that it can do two-sided scanning.

The scanner hardware deserves five stars. I'm dunning it a point because of the old drivers and the poor OCR performance. When/If that gets updated, this is clearly a five (if not six) star device.

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The Brother ADS-2000 does a great job, though just doesn't quite live up to the price tag. I also have a portable Fujitsu SanSnap S1300, which has all the same features at a much lower cost, and also takes up much less desk space (in addition to being portable). The ScanSnap is a little slower and does have a smaller document capacity, so it's not a fit for everyone.

The ADS-2000 has an "auto" mode to detect color and page size. The auto detection for color works great, saving space by picking out the pages with color and scanning the rest in black and white, reducing the file size. The auto detection of page size didn't work as well, adding around 1/4" at the margins, and a line at the top of the scanned image.

The scanned file size was initially huge. You can adjust the settings to reduce the size. However, the file size is over twice as large compared with the ScanSnap using the same settings (file type, dpi, etc.). One great feature is that the Brother has maximum flexibility in terms of file types and settings. It is unlikely this machine will be unable to perform a scanning function you need.

The Brother ADS-2000 uses ControlCenter 4 software. I was familiar with ControlCenter 3 through an earlier Brother product. The software is middle-of-the-road in terms of ease; it's not complex, but I wouldn't call it easy to use. The ScanSnap software is a little more difficult to use.

Overall, the Brother ADS-2000 is a good scanner. I would just take a look at the ScanSnap 1300 (less expensive than the ADS-2000) and ScanSnap 1500 (more expensive than the ADS-2000), compare the features, and decide what's best for you.

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Brother ADS-2000 Review

Macintosh, OS Mountain Lion, 10.8.2. MacMini with 2.7GHz Intel Dual Core i7. 8 GB of RAM

Wanted a faster ADF scanner. Reviews for this product looked good. Price was attractive

Home use. No more than 10 pages per day, black and white, 8.5x11 text documents saved as PDF.

As the manual warns==will not work on a USB hub despite it being powered by a external source.

PRO:

Fast. An 8x11single side text page every second or two at a resolution 300dpi for BnW, duplex.

Compact as running or closed

The Apple drivers in Image is VERY fast. A continuous flow of 8x11 paper pours through the scanner when in single-side mode

Brother web site for this scanner is well thought out and helpful. So is support. See below

CON:

Unsophisticated software and driver system. This software is an unsatisfactory port from another Operating System. If this port at all represents how this scanner functions are presented on the "Other Operating System", it is poorly thought out and confusing in implementation. See below

Software-Adjusting brightness/contrast sliders. Must move or click. Cannot enter a number in the value box. Sliding the adjust bar DOES NOT show value until it is released.

Software-File naming does not permit changing the date format.

ScannerEach page in BnW scans show a several pixel horizontal black line at the top every page @ 300dpi. EVERY ONE! Regardless of the software used.

SoftwareDeskew is marginal. Oft times, there remains measurable off-angles in portrait scans.

Received an "Error code CC1103". States a system restart is required and quits the driver.

Information sent to Brother Support. This problem is related to the manner the software is configured during setup. Make sure that you go over every part of the configuration AND the default scanner button. Once finished, the software is not at all picky and will accept modifications without upset.

Over all, usable but disappointing. A definite step down from my Fujitsu scanner and software (1300)

Ugh!

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I was trying to organize my stack of mail and paperwork in my house. In the process of setting all my network storage to sync with cloud storage, I thought I needed a high quality, fast scanner that can scan stacks of papers in seconds instead of 1 sheet at a time on my flatbed scanner. I was searching online and found several other products (some which are advertised on TV) and are almost as pricey as this scanner. I firmly believe you get what you pay for. After having good luck with Brother Products in the past, I decided to take the jump. I purchased this item and do not regret my choice for one second. I only use MAC in my house and that was a huge part it included mac and PC software. It's not FANTASTIC, but it does what it's advertised to do. The scan quality is really good for being so fast. The other product I was researching was a "Neat" product, but I felt going with a brand I knew was better. I can say I've had problems with pages sticking together (generally ones that were folded really tight in envelopes) but that just takes time to fan the pages out so they don't stick. My overall experience has been very positive, and I will be recommending this to several businesses I do consulting work for!

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HMC-1015G HDMI A/V Cable - 15 ft

Not much to say, plug it into TV, plug it into Xoom, sound and video plays on your TV and the Xoom acts like a corded remote control. Works well! The 15 foot length gives many options for placement of your Xoom.

Although the screen on my smartphone is rather larger than many, the HDMI cable allowed me to share my videos on a much bigger LCD TV screen for others to see. Make sure to mention difference between micro HDMI and mini USB.

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Does it live up to the name "Premium GOLD"? I'm not sure about that. But, it was a great price, it came quickly in good shape, it worked well. Over all the shopping experience was very good and I am very satisfied with the HDMI cable.

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The price is great, its appears to be of good quality. On my phone the conection at the phone loses contact if moved once it is conected. It could be the phone and it could be the cable. The 6ft cord wouldn't cut it. you need 15ft so thats a plus.

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I use this to connect my Motorola XOOM HD dock to my LCD TV. It works very well. I had no problems connecting to the dock or the TV. It is long enough that the dock can be beside my recliner so I can easily use the XOOM and watch the TV. YouTube videos are much nicer this way.

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HP PhotoSmart 375B Compact Photo Printer with Battery

This great little printer brings the magic of Polaroid pictures to the world of digital photography. I got it shortly before Christmas and then when we had the great day with the kids and grandchildren we found that we could easily print pictures from each of three different cameras and share them on the spot. Needless to say, the grandchildren were the most 'shot'. Everyone went home to their faraway places with current pictures in hand not in the camera! My daughter-in-law, who is heavy into scrapbooking, decided she had to have one.

I bought this printer on the basis of a comparison study in The Wall Street Journal and have been more than satisfied. The editing is easy and thorough, the color rendition is excellent and the printing easy to set up for a series of pictures and more than acceptably fast. One word of caution the color rendition is honest and will show you if your camera is lacking my old camera was. With a new Nikon D70, the color comes out accurate and truly vivid. I cannot wait to take this little machine to our next family gathering or to the next wedding we are invited to attend. Imagine, being able to send the couple away on their honeymoon with a nice set of wedding pictures in hand!

Buy this printer and you will never regret it.

This little printer is an absolute jewel! I had done extensive research on personal printers and decided on this one. It was the best decision I made all year! I am a long time amatuer photographer and very picky about getting good pictures in print. This printer spits out 4x6 prints in under a minute and the color reproduction and clarity is nothing short of amazing! Skin tones are PERFECT, whites are white, reds are red not orange, blacks are very black and the subtle tones that every picture has are just wonderful. I cannot say enough good about this printer. If you buy any other brand of personal printer, don't blame me! I told you to buy this one! :) At first when comparing prices, you will notice that you can get a regular printer for the same price, and even less. But, this is a COMPACT printer and if you go the extra $50.00 and get the 375B (battery) you can run it off a battery which I have been doing and not even hook it to an outlet. The battery charges fast and it accepts every form of memory media. The larger LCD on the (B) model is worth every penny. It is so lightweight that is can easily be carried anywhere. The quality surpasses any drugstore I have ever had prints made at, and even rivals WOLF CAMERA photo lab. If you want fast pictures, professional quality, and have the fun of doing them yourself, you better run to buy this printer! I only hope HP comes out with a personal printer that will print 5x7's and 8x10's. I will be first in line! Way to go HP!! :)

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Imagine printing photos where ever you are with this Photo Printer. It comes with a power cord to use it in a powered setup and that allows you to charge the re-chargeable battery. Unplugged and with the battery installed, prepare to get over 70 photos from a single charge... about the same number of photos from the tri-color ink cartridge that comes in the box. It's compact design makes it easy to carry along with you to get the instant results from taking photos.

After looking at some of the other brands of 4 x 6 printers, I decided that this was the most flexible, easy-to-use and versatile printer among Epson's Picturemate (too bulky, very difficult to decipher screen instructions, no way to see your photos before printing, and leaky ink cartridge), Lexmark's 4 x 6 printer --(also bulky, confusing menus on the screen and misleading "count-down" clock when it begins to print a photo)and Canon's you-need-a-television-to-see-your-photos dye-sub printer or "battery-wasting" pict-bridge connection

Not only can you see the photo you're going to print on the HP PhotoSmart 375, you can edit (without a computer)it in ways that are impossible on the others mentioned above. Zoom all over the photo image from 1.0x to 5.0x ... the printer actually warns you if the image may not have enough file behind it to produce a quality photo. It allows you to print either with borders at 4 x 6 or borderless -a single 4 x 6 or two 4 x 3 photos or four 2 x 3 photos on a single sheet of photo paper... The results are great and allow you to print your own postcards to send to the folks back home when you take this little gem on your next vacation.

I brought this HP PhotoSmart printer along with me to a friend's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The festivities were captured on my digital camera and then printed on the spot. Everyone left with fond memories of Thanksgiving 2004... no waiting for developing or sending files via email.

Need a passport photo? The PhotoSmart 375 also will print various sizes of two on a page photos.

Want your color photos in black & white or sepia? just toggle a setting and hit the print key.

It also has 6 pre-installed "borders" / frames that you can select from 16 colors.

Buy TWO... one for you and give one to your best friend! And make sure you get the one with the rechargeable battery, 'cause you'll be taking this wherever you bring your camera.

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I am an IT professional (BSIT) and I bought this product because it is rated #1 by Consumer Reports and I own several HP printers that I really enjoy. However, I had the same experience as several other reviewers of this product. This printer simply does not work out of the box. After trying for 1 day I gave up and called HP customer service and they diagnosed the problem as a defective chip in the printer. They wanted to replace the printer with a refurbished one; I refused and threatened to return it back to Amazon. I was placed on hold and then told that I would receive a firmware upgrade via FedEx overnight. If this upgrade does not work I will be forced to return the printer to Amazon.

Deeply disappointed,

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I had the same experience as another reviewer of the product. this printer does not work out of the box. After trying for 2 days I gave up and called HP customer service and they diagnosed the problem as a defective chip in the printer. They wanted to replace the printer with a refurbised one; I refused and returned it back to Amazon.