Chromakey Green Muslin Screen 9'x15'

In regards to most professional green muslin screens, this was a little on the dark side, but still able to key out pretty well.

Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase.

UPDATE: Muslin Screen is not TRUE chroma key green, its too dark and has faded fairly quickly.

Wow, at first I was a little disappointed because Amazon had listed the ship date at about two weeks, but I was amazed when item arrived in 2 days. Very fast shipping, and products are in good condition. Not your typical muslin, closer to a really large bed sheet. Overall, I am happy with the product for the price that I had paid. Test images came out fine. Will do business with again.

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I just want to start off by saying how quickly this package got to mecowboystudio shipped it in a day and it got here about 4 days later! The quality is excellent, and it is not just a bed spread. It is obviously not a sheet because it is thicker, heavier, non-reflective, and all in all more durable. 9 X 15' is massive. It doesn't seem like that much when you order it, but when you unfold it in your house, its huge. I used diaper pins to make it 9 X 7.5', and it still takes up the better part of my basement wall. Also, no need to invest in one of those $60 stands. I mean, if you really want to have something to support about 3-4 backdrops or heavier things, be my guest, but I constructed a perfect PVC piping backdrop stand out of 1.25'' PVC pipe, and it works perfectly! Unfortunately, the screen comes in a box folded, so it can have some nasty creases. It would have been a little bit better had it been rolled, but that would be more expensive. You can easily get rid of the creases by spritzing them with a bit of warmish water and putting the screen under tension. Let it air dry and repeat this several times and it should become a flawless, pro-looking green screen! The green is also a perfect shade of green when lit up well. I used the CowBoy Studio 3 Piece Lighting Softbox Set to light it, and it keys out perfectly on iMovie, etc. To wrap it up, I highly encourage this green screen; with the correct frame, a bit of piping, some clamps, good lighting, and a little bit of manipulating, you can have a pro-looking green screen! Enjoy!

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Im using this for green screen work with a DSLR. The color is excellent, great contrast, keep in mind green screen is not perfect, it will always reflect some green onto your subject so make sure you have good photo editing software light photoshop.

Good size, solid uniform color. Thinner than i expected but i honsetly have never bought a backdrop before, so i assume this is about the standard.

buy with confidance.

Ill put a quick photo of the green screen in action.

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Pro's: The size. This is prefect for my home studio in the basement. I can hang it up via the pre-sewn loop and get it about 8 feet in the air and there is plenty left over for me to stand on so I can "chroma-key" to a nothing background.

Con's: Thin. I have this hung about 6 feet from a wall. If I dont light the front I can see throught it. Would probaly work better if up against a wall or had another one of these directly behind it.

After a couple of hours and several "shoots" I finally tried keying out this back drop. In both Sony Vegas 10 and HitFilm Ultimate this screen left a residual blue film in the frame. I had to really work at it to get the whole thing to dissapear. My guess is the problem is the that it is so thin. Not sure if I will keep this or not.

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Bell & Howell Splash WP7 Waterproof 12.0 MP Digital Camera (Black) with 8GB Card/Reader + Batte

good price for this item it works ok for the price... it worked for what i needed it for but the item does max out at 10 feet deep anything beyond that the buttons will stick..

I made the mistake of buying this waterproof camera based upon one favorable review the only review available. Although this product takes good photos it is bascially useless as an underwater (or above water in broad daylight) camera as it is impossible to see what you are looking at from the available view screen. In many instances I took underwater pictures thinking the camera was turned on when in fact it wasn't it's impossible to tell in the daylight. Once turned on it only stays active for 60 seconds before shutting off and it eats batteries. Because of the glare on the view screen it's almost impossible to see your target let alone get it properly framed. It's too bad really becuase the camera package comes with many extras. Skip this product.

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Epson Powerlite Home Cinema 400

• PROJECTOR, POWERLITE HOME CINEMA 400

This review is probably more a complementary one to my already published HD Universe list-mainia piece. OK lets walk down the path again of what i wanted to do:

1. i made my decision on the DVD Wars format

2. I bought a high end Pioneer 24fps Bluray player

3. I am not planning on a big surround system except for a yamaha single closure system (which i wil connect directly to pioneer optical output)

4. The final piece was the actual eye candy!

I was doing allot of digging around with LCD vs Plasma vs SXRD vs LCOS from JVC and honestly when my brother in law pointed me in this direction, it was like a big slap on the face!!! when i saw this Powerlite in action i was instantly blown away.

I was made aware that in fact for me the cinematic true experience was in the size of the screen in addition to the actual Pixels being projected! i very much dumped the idea of a traditional windscreen box to watch my movies and opted for this gorgeous projector.

It was especially sweet because the store that carried this had no idea of what HD means! it was in a stock pile marked down in price too. i had no choice but to run home and grab my apple tv (loaded with some HD material) and test this puppy with HDMI hookup.

The contents were amazing and since apple TV shoots maximum at 720p, it was a match made in heaven. I didn't really cared for 1080p vs 720p anymore. All that mattered now was 103' diagonal view of actual 1 megapixel movie being projected on my white wall! Best part is all that eye candy from a Bluray 24fps player with digital optical for audio.

guys all i can say this piece is the ultimate in any HD mega setup.

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The projector was represented as a Epson Home Cinema 400. What arrived was a Epson EMP TW 550 which was a slightly inferior model. The projector is still a really good projector with a great picture but I am disappointed that is was misrepresented.

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Great Product. It's hi-def picture is incredible. It's a little bulky, but its projected picture is wll worth it. It's so bright, no screen is needed. Just a painted wall works fine. And it was delivered a week AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

Toshiba PDR-2300 2MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optcial Zoom

I just bought this camera from Circuit City for a 150 bucks during the friday after thanksgiving sale.. It is a great value.. It has 3x optical zoom (something you will find only in expensive cameras) as well as 2x digital zoom. As far as the picture quality it is great, with crisp colour images especially in the highest resolution..

Pros:

1. Great picture quality

2. Very cheap (Relatively good brand) I tried a camera called Argus before The difference is huge!!

3. The LCD is very good.. I recommend a screen protector (you can buy one from those sold for PDAs and cut it to fit the LCD).

4. It uses SD cards (better than CF cards)

5. Nice case!

6. Super Easy installation , Windows XP detected it without even using the installation CD.

I gave it 4 stars because of the following drawbacks:

1. The lens cover is not automatic (You have to put it and take it off manually everytime you want to use the camera and it looks bad when it hangs of the camera (like the 50s style).

2. It uses non-rechargable batteries, 4 batteries are included though.

3. A little bit bulky (not like the more expensive sony and cannon).

4. 8MB is OK however 16 MB would be better.. I have a 128MB SD card so that solved my problems...

In short:

This camera is good if you care about the functionality and don't care about the appearence. (It is not worth spending a [X] to get a better looking sony or cannon). If you have rechargable batteries and an SD card, I think you won't have a problem with this cam.

I purchased this camera about 3 months ago from Circuit City on a store special for [money]. It was my first digital camera (though I have used friends digicams before and I own a camcorder) and I am very happy with it. I initially did not purchase the memory card and just shot pics with it and uploaded them to the computer before the batteries died (held about 30 800x600 high res pics) but I bought a 64MB memory stick after about a month and it was well worth the [money]. I use the 800x600 mode (high res, the camera supports both 1600x1200 and 800x600 in three resolutions; high, medium and low) and now get about 300 photos per memory card, far more than I need. The 3x optical zoom is an excellent feature as is the manual override for lighting, flash and white level. I have not used the video mode since I already own a camcorder, but for still images, this camera is great. It presents the internal photos to the computer as a removable disk drive (under Windows) which is also awesome ! I strongly recommend this camera for first timers or those who want a cheap digicam they can tote around to the beach, etc. Battery life is usually about 100 pictures (if you turn off the LCD) which is quite good. You can also view internal photos on the LCD and zoom then 2x and 4x which is quite handy. Picture quality is very good.

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I bought this camera for an online course in computer graphics and this camera was the perfect tool. It has many functions and modes as well as a 15 sec video capture. The picture quality is nice and this camera is really easy to use. The only withdraw is that it guzzles batteries. But you can solve this problem by buying rechargable batteries.

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I got this camera for Christmas and so far I am pleased. As soon as I opened the box I began taking pictures. I found this camera very easy to use. The 1.6 in. tft lcd is great and I was surprized by the quality of the images. If you want a good 2.0 starter digital camera this one is definitely worth considering.

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I bought this camera 2 years ago and have not been disappointed. I haven't had any problems and I'm very pleased with the quality of pics this camera gives. I have had no problems with grainy pics, or taking pics indoors or out. It also has a great red eye reduction feature and I never have to do touch up to get the red out of eyes.

I did purchase rechargable batteries because it does go through regular batteries quite fast. But since I've started using the rechargable batteries, I've had no complaints!

I really believe it's how you use it and what you're using it for on how you'll feel about this digital. I'm very glad I purchased it.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC20S 2.1MP Digital Camera w/ Leica Lens and 3x Optical Zoom, Silver

I bought this, my first digital camera a month ago and it has exceeded my expectations! I did a tremendous amount of research to figure out what features I most wanted in a digital camera. I was basically looking for a small DC I could take around and take lots of pictures with.

Despite Panasonic being pretty new to DC's, I noticed a lot of the features that I was looking for on the LC-20 and decided to take a chance. What first caught my eye about this Panasonic was the Leica Lens. Being somewhat familiar with photography, I have always known Leica to make excellent (and expensive!) lenses. I don't have a digital photo printer so I can't comment on how well these pictures print out.

This baby had just about every important feature I was looking for: 2.1 mp, 3x optical 2x digital (but everyone knows digital zoom's useless), compact, light, plugs directly to my computer via USB (don't need to buy a separate reader), burst mode rocks; and it uses 2 AA batteries (included with charger!) which have averaged a good 70+ shots with the LCD screen on.

Movie mode with sound is a great addition too with a 20s film clip eating 3.25megs each. One feature that I thought was awesome and I'm still learning to use is Burst mode. This was another feature I highly desired, seeing that one of the major complaints my friends had with their DC was the 1-2 second lag in between picture-taking. Burst mode allows you to take 3-5 pics per second, with one drawback being you can only take as many pictures as fast as the flash will allow. This basically translates to being able to use burst mode most effectively outside during the day.

I talked to friends before I bought this camera, most of whom own one of the Canon Elphs (great line of cameras too), others have Olympus Camedias (huge and bulky) and Sony's (not bad, but pretty pricy for what you're getting). I tried theirs out before I made my purchase and I can safely say I'm much happier with my camera for the following reasons:

-The Panasonic powers up FAST! Power-up to a picture taken is about 3 seconds.

-The delay between hitting the shutter button and the camera actually taking the picture is very short, less than or about a second.

-Burst mode! Although it really only functionally works during the day when you don't need a flash, one of the most frequent complaints I heard from friends is it's impossible to time action shots. Burst mode helps remedy that.

-AA batteries are cheaper than proprietaries and can be bought anywhere if you find yourself on vacation or just out and unable to recharge quickly

-The camera fits well in my hand

-The macro feature is a definite bonus

-I recently took this camera skiing and can happily report that I could turn the camera on/off, and take pictures pretty easily even with my gloves on.

Some drawbacks that I've come across:

Don't even bother with the packaged software. Even using plain old Windows Explorer beats it.

Doesn't include a DC adapter, but this is easily remedied by buying a set of 4 rechargables for a total of 6, that'll take care of 200+ pics at a time)

Of course 8MB isn't enough, but you need to buy a new memory card with every DC on the market anyway; my 128MB card can hold 159 1600x1200 pics without compression. That jumps to over 1000 pictures if you lower the resolution to 640x480 and use compression.

Uses SD (SecureDigital) memory cards, which are slightly more expensive than Compact Flash and Sony Memory Sticks (and hardly anyone else uses them so you're stuck if you want to switch brands later). These memory cards are SMALL, though, about the size and thickness of a dime.

Some people may say 2.1 mp is a drawback, but these pictures come out crisp and clear at 1600x1200 and are already pushing 700kb. If you want 3-4mp, you'll probably need to invest in huge memory sticks not to mention a bigger hard drive. Digital pictures add up! I've already taken over a thousand in the past month!

The key to buying a DC will be to ask yourself what you will be using the camera for most. Is it something you want to bring with you EVERYWHERE? If so, you'll probably want something ultra-small, smaller than this camera (and thus probably twice the price of this camera). I just wanted something to replace my Point-and-Shoot, something that allows me to take a lot of pictures without worrying about the cost of film, development, etc. IMHO, this is a great starter DC. It's relatively cheap, has a lot of great features, and it's compact enough to carry in a jacket pocket. Overall, it has exceeded my expectations and continues to please.

Plusses: sharp, properly exposed pictures; easy to use; small; light; photos easy to transfer to a computer.

Minuses: neck strap inappropriate; poor battery access; maximum time exposure a bit short; no manual shutter speed control.

The camera came with a neck strap; 2-1600 mA-hour AA rechargable NiMH batteries; a 2 battery recharger, an 8 MB SD memory chip; a video cable to play back movies on a TV (haven't tried it yet); a proprietary USB cable (one end is for this and some other cameras only not cheap to replace, so keep track of it) for connecting to a computer to get the photos off the memory chip; a CD with USB drivers and Photo software (haven't tried the photo software yet), and instructions.

You can let the camera decide what settings to use, but you also have quite a bit of control. You can photograph at 640×480, 1024×768 or 1600×1200 resolution, except movies are 320×240 only (but with sound). Manual ASA settings are 100, 200 & 400. You can force exposure changes of ±2EV in ¼EV increments. You can turn the flash off or force it to flash. The flash isn't for beyond about 8' (2.4m), or for movies. Zoom is 3× optical and 2× digital (digital can be turned off). You can make the camera focus and adjust for light on a particular object, and then hold the setting while you compose the picture and shoot. Macro shooting is done in a separate macro mode at distances starting at about 8" (20cm). Time-delay self trigger is easy to use, and can be set for a 2 or 10 sec delay.

The color display can be shut off to save battery power, but the optical viewfinder isn't quite as accurate. You can review the picture you've just taken and magnify it to see how sharp it is, or you can change modes to review all the pictures stored on the chip. While reviewing a picture, you can delete it to make room on the chip. Photos are saved as .jpg files; movies are saved as Quicktime .mov files. The internal menu system is clear and easy to use.

You can't manually set shutter speed; and time exposures appear to be limited to about 8 seconds. Movie length is limited to 19 seconds. On the camera, you can't review movies you've taken, and (the instructions say) watching them on a TV with the video cable will be without sound.

Pictures are sharp and properly exposed (if I don't mess up). The camera is light and will fit in a shirt pocket, but then the neck strap interferes. I'll probably make a wrist strap for it. Depending on what you're doing, the batteries can get empty quickly. Get 4 extra 1800 (more is better, not 1600) mA-hour NiMH batteries. That way you can have 1 pair in the camera, one pair being recharged, and still have a backup. I haven't bought (or made) an AC power supply for the camera yet (Panasonic does offer one), but with 3 pairs of batteries, I haven't been stuck without power yet. As soon as a pair is empty, I start recharging them. Recharge time is 5 hours.

If you're running Windows NT, you won't be able to use the USB connection (unless you can find a memory card reader that comes with USB drivers for NT Panasonic doesn't have them for the camera). You'll also need more memory chips, 8MB is 8-12 photos at maximum resolution. 128MB total (one big chip or several smaller chips it pays to shop around, too) should be more than enough if you can pull the photos over to your computer from time to time.

The neck strap is too much for such a small, light camera. It also gets in the way when using a tripod. A strap that can be configured as either neck or wrist strap might have been a good idea. The triangular metal eyes used to connect the strap to the camera tend to catch in positions you don't want them in.

The display on the back of the camera is a bit unprotected, so be careful. If you use the neck strap, make sure you adjust it so that when you walk, the screen isn't banging against a metal zipper, snap, belt buckle or button, etc. Get (or make) a soft carrying case with room for charger, extra batteries and extra memory chips. When visiting friends or relatives, you might want to bring cable(s) and software, too. The camera came with a Panasonic "rebate" offer of 2 extra 16MB memory chips, which arrived in a small plastic bag inside a padded mailer; nothing protective for transporting them in normal use. A SanDisk chip I bought came with its own protective case. I haven't solved this problem yet...pillbox? matchbox?

The camera is tricky to use in low light and close quarters, particularly if focusing is required (you won't be able to see anything on the display, and a camera has to "see" to focus). A tripod has helped, but not for moving objects. You may not be able to get the chip (or batteries) out of the camera while it's screwed to a tripod base.

You must remove the memory chip to change batteries, and the battery and chip slot cover is a 2 piece articulated cover that is tricky to open and close for battery access. This makes changing batteries harder than changing memory chips; but you'll be changing batteries more often. The arrangement looks a bit flimsy to me, so if you're rough on equipment or all thumbs, this camera may not be right for you. Otherwise, I definitely like and would recommend the camera.

I got the camera for making photos to view on screen, for which it has proven excellent. I can't say if 2 megapixels is enough for printing. Having never used other similar cameras, I can't give a comparative recommendation.

Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC20S 2.1MP Digital Camera w/ Leica Lens and 3x Optical Zoom, Silver Now

After having used this digital camera for two months the conclusion is simple: This camera is great!

The quality of the pictures is really good (at normal/small prints). I am very pleased with the many opportunities digital photos give me, I can just print the pictures from home, send them to my family, edit colors etc.

The ability to see the pictures right at the spot comes in very handy (and I can just delete them if I don't like them). Once you have the camera and a printer it is completely free develop the pictures!

The only drawback this camera has is it's ability to take indoors photos in low light conditions. But using the software that comes with the camera I can easily change that. It takes a little time to learn to use the Arc photo sotware, but once you get used to it is easy (even though I only really use Arc PhotoBase).

The camera has plenty of settings for my use and they are easy to use. I have found that some pictures look better when I turn the photo compression off and set ISO to 200. The pictures will take up a little more space, but the memory is not all that expensive compared to the camera.

One function I am using a lot is the video (with sound). It is very neat to capture small video clips and transfer them to PC (very easy using USB) so you can send them via email. I can also review the pictures on TV using the cable that comes with the camera.

After having this camera two months I have taken over 300 photos, even though I didn't use to take photos at all. I have pretty much takne the camera with me every where! Most of the photos came out in a great quality due to the cameras automatic settings. This really makes it easy to take good photos!

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For my first digital camera, was looking for a reasonable priced 2 mp model and looked at Canon A40, Casio and Fuji equivalents. Running the specs side by side and removing the "nice to haves" left the Panasonic the clear winner for me -good value for money, lots of usefull features, compactness and a Lieca lens stood out in the comparisons. Panasonic and Leica is a good combination and works well in this camera.

The LC20 has good looks and feels the part It is attractive and is ergnomically very good. Video is a bonus, but not a replacement for a video camera.

Haven't seen any barrel distortion, colour bleed or other faults. The pictures are very sharp, clearly defined and relatively undistorted. The colours are natural and not "over saturated". Some people have reported a little under exposure rarely see this, but it is easy to compensate for with the software. Have seen some complaints with the software, but have found it okay to use.

Start up time is quick, refresh time between flash shots is up to 5 seconds. Battery use depends on lcd screen use etc. but is not too bad. I bought 4 more 1800ma/hr batteries, so won't run out of power.

Comparing the results with photos taken by friends / family digital cameras this camera more than holds its own.

A little knowledge of photography was helpful as good results in full auto mode in all situations are not always achieveable. Outdoors, just set in auto and shoot for consistently good results. Indoors in lower light situations as with most digital cameras, the flash is not particularly strong, the lcd screen is a little hard to see in low light and the auto focus sometimes takes a little time to work.

If you take the time to read the manual, and learn how to adjust the sensitivity and make exposure compensation adjustments and you will get much better results. Found that changing the sensitivity to ISO200 in low light produced good results, ISO400 can produce noisy pictures.

Positives:

Great value ... came with additional 16mb card, battery charger, case and strap; Compact; Great leans; Good macro; Bright lcd screen and very good menu functionality (intuitive); Quick start up time; Leica lens; Good quality pictures;

Negatives:

No real negatives, but use the battery door carefully. It appears a bit "plasticky" but if you take care no problems.

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Having always been a Panasonic believer, I bought this camera two years ago for a purchase price of $550, after playing with the camera for a year and four months the camera overheated and died on me (at a draft horse show that I had been waiting for for a long time). I sent the camera into Panasonic and was quoted an incredible $350 to fix the camera (market value for that same camera at the time was less than $250). I wrote the CEO of Panasonic only to be directed to someone else. They offered to take the cost of the part and have me pay for labour ($90) and shipping ($20), I asked them if they could instead send me a coupon towards the cost of a new one (as I would have rather spent the $110 on the purchase of a new one with warranty) and they said they couldn't. (more like they wouldn't) Needless to say that I was not impressed and would not recommend this product to anyone. It was a horrible experience dealing with the customer service sector of Panasonic, unfortunately for them they have lost a fond customer and repeat buyer.

Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 4MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom

I've had my Z2 for about a week and I am very impressed with it. This is my fifth digital still camera (the last was a Sony DSC-S75). Other reviewers have complained of poor image quality and noisy zooming during videos. It almost seems as if they are talking about a different camera. My Z2 has produced very sharp and colorful images (flesh tones are a bit oversaturated even at the "natural" color setting) and the zoom is COMPLETELY silent in the videos I've taken. One reviewer said the videos cannot be edited, but that is not true. The camera comes with Arcsoft software to do some crude editing on the Quicktime (*.mov) files, but it also allows you to save the video in other formats such as MPEG, AVI, and WMV. In those other formats the Windows XP Windows Movie Maker will do additional editing. I recommend you use the AVI version since it seems to introduce the fewest compression artifacts. But you have to download the camera's firmware update (version 1.02, posted 04/23/04) at in order to get the sound to transfer along with the video. When you are at the site you have to navigate to the Z2 page and then select "software." Another virtue I've discovered -the camera is efficient in its use of energy.

The deficiencies I've found have to do mainly with downloading images and dealing with them once they are in my computer. The Windows XP download wizard cannot rotate images that were taken in vertical format (as it was able to do with my Sony) unless I first rotate the image in the camera's playback display. Images come in as JPEGS, with perhaps a bit more compression than I would like in the "fine" mode the file sizes for these 4-megapixel photos are about the same as they were with my 3-megapixel Sony. When I edit an image and then try to save it again as a jpeg, my Ulead PhotoImpact 6.0 software cannot compress the image as much as I may need. And my Printmaster 7.0 cannot see the image, though other JPEGS come in just fine. The workaround that I use is to save the Minolta's image as a Bitmap, close the bitmap file, then reopen it, and then save it as a JPEG at the desired level of compression -and then Printmaster can see it. Perhaps Minolta has done something with the EXIF data that these software applications cannot deal with.

With a camera that generates such widely differing reviews it might be a good idea to buy it where you can return it easily. I got mine at WalMart (Circuit City was out of them) for something like $50 more than the Amazon price, just so I could bring it back quickly. But I'm keeping mine.

Dimage Z2 feels good in your hands. The grip handle has well spaced and placed buttons. The neat LCD screen/viewfinder switcher option is very handy. The LCD screen does not fold out for odd-angle viewing. This camera will not fit into a pocket, but is surprisingly light.

The controls are pretty intuitive, but also extensive. They're a lot easier to understand than most VCR's. Of course, this might be faint praise...

Pictures look fine on my 17 inch laptop screen. Since I do not print out my pictures much, 4MP is more than enough. At half the price of the digital Rebel (and the like), I can live with half the megapixels of digital SLR's. The 16meg SD card that it comes with is completely inadequate. My 512 SD card might seem like overkill, unless you want to film movies. Then, the 512 seems just adequate.

The movie-mode is the best I've seen on a camera. If you pick your spots carefully, you can film a wedding in both still and movie modes, and be pleased by both results. However, the motor on the lense is very loud when employed during filming, and will be noticably picked up. In other words, DON'T zoom while filming. The 10X optical lense will make you forget the digital zoom. If you must go for the digital gusto, unless you've got nerves of steel and hands of granite, use a monopod. Z2's focus lock option allows you to properly compose your picture with your subject off center. The focus is fast (if not quiet) and pretty responsive. The flash is powerful (red-eye reduction), and there is a hot-shoe for a larger flash unit.

The 2 AA battery (with AC power option) allows a lot of flexibility. An optional battery unit is available that pretty much provides enough juice to run a small Irish village (excluding the pub).

If you can accept that it is what it is (a consumer camera with lots of neat features in a well-thought-out package), then Z2 deserves its 5 stars.

Buy Konica Minolta Dimage Z2 4MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom Now

I've had this camera for a little over a month and so far, I love it. It's got the full-auto (point-and-shoot) mode for the casual photographer/beginner, but it also has a variety of manual modes and advanced features like aperture priority, shutter priority, program mode, and full manual, as well as manual white balance for those interested in learning the art of (digital) photography.

The two built in macro modes (close and *really* close) allow for excellent close-up shots. Despite having almost no experience in photography beyond point-and-shoot cameras, I was taking pretty good macro shots my first day with it (at least that's what mom said ;). The 10x zoom is great for the long shots. The 16MB SD card is useless (pick up at least 256MB). I still carry the 16 for a spare, but at the highest image resolution, I doubt I could fit 10 pictures on it.

Do yourself a favor and buy the lens adapter ring and a UV filter for the camera. The UV filter can be had pretty cheap, won't affect picture quality, and will keep your built-in lens safe from scratches, dirt, and UV rays (evidently pretty damaging to camera equipment). And having the adapter, you'll be able to attach other filters as your need/skill grow. Oh, and get a couple of sets of rechargeable NIMH batteries too. They'll save you a lot of money. I briefly looked into the Konika-Minolta LI battery pack that's made for the camera, but being more than half the price of the camera, decided it was more expensive than I needed. At least for now.

So far, my only complaints are: the battery cover door seems pretty flimsy. I'd like to see something more substantial. And, I'm not sure the idea of the mechanical mirror used to select the view through the eyepiece or on the display screen is wise. It just seems like more mechanical parts to fail in the future. Also, the use of the eyepiece won't prolong battery life as it would in most digital cameras.

So, it's few faults aside, I give the KM Z2 a solid 5 star rating.

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I've been holding off buying a digital camera as I love my Olympus SLR camera but, whilst looking around my local camera store in February, I was introduced to the Z1 and was told that I should probably wait as new cameras were coming out soon. Well, the Z2 came out and I pre-ordered on the strength of what I'd seen from the Z1.

The Z2 has surpassed my expectations I have some very good quality print outs of my first few images. I even managed to get an excellent close up shot first time that I'd previously wasted at least 2 films trying to get on my regular SLR. Focus is fast and accurate and the camera is light and very comfortable to hold. Definitely recommended.

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This is the third digital camera I've gotten, to replace an aging 1 Megapixel Sony Mavica with a 16X optical zoom. I am VERY pleased with the results, having taken 1800+ pictures in the past three months with only a few minor glitches.

The pros:

This is the first digital camera I've used that can take a sunset picture equal to any film camera I've ever used.

Very speedy

Awesome zoom.

Good battery lifespan (Using Duracell Rechargable ACCU batteries w/ 1 hour recharger)

Fairly light

The Cons:

The camera has difficulties focusing if you use the zoom out on the water (if you go on a whale watch, don't use the zoom, or ignore the focus warnings whales move much faster than you think!)

A tendency to focus in on the 'wrong' things like a background when you're trying to capture a small thing (such as a bird) in the foreground.

-The battery door is awkward to use especially if you're rushing to change out batteries. Once the batteries are in place and the door is put back, it is solid. The best solution of course is to start out with fresh batteries.

Tips

-I have found that most of the 'jiggle' problems reported go away if you use the eyepiece of course the further the zoom goes out, the harder it is to keep stable. The digital zoom portion of it, like most digital cameras, is not very good, so try not to use it unless there is no other option.

I have gotten a 256 MB SD card for this it can hold 200 images, although if you're taking pictures along the seashore, you can get 300 images.

Keep in mind that this is good for outdoors indoors, a smaller camera with a wide-angle lens does better (I still tote my 2MP Canon Powershot A40 around when I'm our on a 'major' photo shoot to get the wider shots)

If you're looking for a camera with a great zoom I would have to say this is one of the best currently on the market at an affordable price.

Apexis APM-J012-WS Wireless/Wired IP/Network Camera with 10 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens (67°

I was really excited to find this camera as it provided all the features I was looking for with a very affordable price. I initially tested it out via a hard-wired ethernet connection and it worked flawlessly. Obtained an IP from my router easily and access to the camera server was quick/snappy. Picture quality was good in both low/no light as well as in full or medium light. Then I enabled the wireless and installed it in the room I wanted to monitor. Unfortunately this is when things broke down. While the wireless worked, it was definitely not speedy at all (I was utilizing WPA2 security). Accessing the initial camera menu was very slow, the picture was jittery/choppy, and the actual wireless connection would pretty much always drop after no more than 1 hours time. I double/triple checked the connection strength and confirmed there was a strong connection in its location.

After doing some additional research, I found other reviews online stating that this camera is known to be a bit buggy with its wireless connection. From what I can tell there is no known fix (yet) but suffice to say the wireless feature is pretty much not an option because of its lack of reliability.

I rated it a 3 because now that I have it connected via a wire, it is a great little device and the price is definitely right. If you have the ability to connect it via wire I'd recommend it. If wireless is a must have feature then I'd try another device as this one is just too buggy.

I bought this IP cam to keep an eye on my newborn on the upper floor. It's definitely working great, with a good resolution and image quality in the dark.

My only negative comment is that to get the sound, you need Internet Explorer as the whole interface is meant for Active X.

If you use Safari or Firefox, you'll only get the picture. So mac users, be careful, you'll only get part of the functions.

I tried to be a smart a... trying to run it through VLC at the http address but with no luck.

Except for the internet browser constraint, the camera does its job and at least has a cute design. I would definitely recommend it.

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Nikon D3100 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 16GB Card + .45x Wide Angl

I cannot put into words how pleased I am with this product. I did a lot of research before purchasing my camera. Many of the places I checked wanted $649 or more for just the camera. When I found this bundle I was extremely shocked and happy. I made the purchase and received everything much faster than I had expected. I could not be any happier!!!

This is the 3rd Nikon we purchase and it is an excellent choice, , and this one is particularly great with all the extras that it brings for the price. I am taking a course to learn to use it properly and to take advantage of all the functions and amenities.

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We knew the D3100 is great camera. But this is a fantastic value package. Highly recommend it if you don't immediately want to get multiple full lenses. The quality of the adapters is very impressive. The package includes a nice case and a decent tripod too.

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Overall I was happy with my camera kit, however, the addtl lens adaptors that come with it were not satisfactory. I actually ended up having to buy an actual zoom lens. After I received the kit I did check out some addtl reviews and all said they felt the lens adaptors were inadequate as well.

As for the shipper I have no problems the mdse arrived in a timely manner and intact. I would purchase from them again.

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The camera +18-55mm=awesome! The bag=awesome! Tripod=awesome! Everything else is un-needed and extremely cheap. Great starter pack, but I recommend buying just the camera and lens and buying the other items individually. It costs a little more, but you get what you pay for. If you buy it right the first time, you won't have to buy it again!

Olympus Evolt E330 7.5MP Digital SLR Camera with 14-45mm f3.5/5.6 Zuiko Digital Zoom Lens

I have had the E330 for about 1 month now and couldn't be happier. I looked very closely at the Canon 30D, the Nikon D50 and the Olympus E500. I am really happy I went with the E330. While there is no such thing as a perfect camera, I have found that this one in particular fits my needs and caters to my more creative side with the live view articulated view finder. The Live A and B modes really open a lot of doors that other cameras in its class do not allow. Although it does't look as traditional as the others, the style had grown on me. I opted to get the body only so that I could upgrade the lens to a 14-54mm Zukio which is a wonderful all around lens. I find that the camera feels very good in my hands, although the D50 also had a great feel to it. It is very responsive and handles most situations well. I like to do street photography and the live view articulating lens allows for the taking of pictures without being too obvious. The low light performance is pretty good compared to the other olympus digital SLR with its new sensor, but is still not as good as either the 30D or the D50. This may change however when Lecia releases its 4/3rds mount image stabilized lens which is supposed to be compatible with the Olympus lineup. While I am new to digital SLRs, I consider myself to be a photography enthusiast. I started out with a Sony S85 which was a wonderful camera in many ways, but I have to say I am having a wonderful time learning about a whole new realm of photography with the E330. I highly recommend a good look at this camera if you are looking to get into digital SLRs as it serves not only as a nice crossover camera, but as a midline intermediate SLR that will keep you wanting to get even more creative with your photographic hobby.

With about 30 years of picture taking experience and many pro shoots behind me I went shopping for a new DSLR. I wanted one to serve as an all-around pal and be loaded with pro features that I am accustomed to using. When this camera hit the market I knew I had to try one on for size...especially since no other DSLR has live LCD compositing of frames.

All I can say is this camera has put all of my other 6 cameras in the closet (three of them were film.) Sharp images, easy composition in a giant, bright 2 1/2 LCD screen and ease of use won me over. If you want a simple interface with outstanding pictures you can have it here. If you want the touch of manual adjustment and light handling, ditto.

It is the best camera, all around, that I have ever used or owned. And now the prices are coming down! So what's stopping you?

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This is my first digital reflex. I had also looked at the canon 350xt, nikon d50/70, sony R1, but made the choice based on the unique Live View feature and image quality. No other dslr lets you frame using the lcd screen, which I find really useful in lots of shooting situations. The image quality is superb, easily outresolving my previous sony 828, with much faster autofocus and low noise. The colors just pop out of the screen. I can send my pics directly to print without doing any post processing.

I had almost decided on the Sony R1, but it wasn?t as flexible (lacked an optical viewfinder and ability to change lenses)To me is the best of both worlds, digicams (rotating lcd, live framing) and dsrls (optical viewfinder, AF speed, low noise, lenses)

Highly recommended!

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This is my first Digital camera and I am really crazy about it's LIVE view feature plus the ability to use it also as a DSLR. I like the way it looks with it's flat top design. It feels solid in my hands and does not have that plastic feel to it at all. A steel body covered in a high-impact polycarbonate plastic. A really good looking camera that handles like a dream. With it's articulating LCD screen combined with Live View street photography is easy since you can use the screen as a waist level finder or at 45 degrees or at straight on viewing. It also takes interchangeable lenses . I bought the camera with the two lens kit comprised of the 14-45 and the 40-150 olympus lenses.So far, I love the 40-150 lens for its excellent sharpness and contrast at the apertures of f11,f16 and f22 when using a tripod with self timer and am still testing the 14-45 lens to find its optimum sharpness at a particular f stop. The self timer is easy to set.As a matter of fact all controls are within easy reach and not that difficult to understand with constant practice on how to move the items within the menu up and down and side to side with an o.k. button to lock in and set what function you want. Sharpness and Contrast levels can be set by the camera but for now I have'nt tried those settings yet. The camera can also be set for Vivid,Sepia, Black and white with different Black and White filter simulations. For now I am delighted with the performance of this camera system and the 40-150. Right now I'm still testing the camera, and the sharpness of it's lenses without filters but it looks like the 40-150 definitely is the real beauty of the two. I want to try it with a Polarizer and also try it out with an enhancing filter. So far I Love what it can do.But then again I've only made 6.5 x 9.5 prints and rarely make them above that size and am more than pleased with the performance of the 40-150 so far. Will update this review as I get to know the camera and the other 14-45 lens better. The camera is a real joy to use. Highly recommended and the more I use it, the more I realize I made the right choice.Just tested the 14-45 kit lens and found out it performs beautifully at f14 and f16. Did some Landscape photography with it using a tripod and using the self timer and am very pleased with its sharpness at the f14 and f16 apertures.I recently photographed Atlantic City Boardwalk scenes with the 14-45 lens and came home with some wonderful pictures shooting at f9 and f10 with my ISO set to 200 and a Polorizing filter. The camera just handles so beautifully. The controls are just where they belong and feels so very solid and comfortable in my hands. On numerous occasions I photographed using the Live View feature at the waist level position. The 7x9.5 inch prints I made were stunning without any sharpening at all.And I just used JPEG.

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I am extremely pleased with this camera. It is my third Olympus camera and I have not been dissapotnted yet. I carried a Nikon for years. The live dispyay is outstanting with its flip out screen to allow for belt level candid shooting or holding the camera above heads in crowds. The 4/3s intigrated system (lens, camera and an external dedicated flash) makes beautiful photographs easy. I also purchased a Zuiko 14-54 mm zoom for this camera in order to have a sharper and faster lens when needed, but I find myself more often than not, mounting the 18-180 super zoom. It produces a beautiful picture and I am spoiled by its versitile range.

I would certainly reccomend this camera to anyone who is serious about beautiful photographs. Olympus has been ahead of the pack in affordable digital cameras and the E-330 is no exception.