Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm Lens + 32GB

This was a great package deal for the price. Shipping was quick and everything arrived in perfect condition... I would do it again in a heart beat :)

I researched many cameras and package deals for over a year. This had everything I wanted and more at an great price.

Buy Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera Body & EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens with 75-300mm Lens + 32GB Now

First of all, this is my first DSLR. I've been an amateur enthusiast for years with many point-and-shoot cameras. I've played with this T3I camera for a few weeks now with differing lighting conditions both indoors and out. I've also tested near and far photo shots, with hand held and tripod mounts. I've included filters and telephotos as well. I have not played with the wide angle lens yet.

PACKAGE CONTENTS:

Despite Amazon saying "By Canon" not all lenses and filters are made by Canon, only the 18-55mm and the 75-300mm are Canon. The 70-300mm lens does not have image stabilization. Only one of the batteries is Canon. Other items are not Canon either.

ACCESSORY PERFORMANCE:

-Tripod is good for still pictures but not for video panning, too "bumpy." Also, when using full zoom in video for occasionally moving on-stage performances, unless constantly held while panning, tripod will "partially-self-rotate" to the previous "relaxed" position. This means the subject may be partially "rotated" out of the view of the camera. I have tried many high end tripods and low end tripods throughout the years, and the best tripod for smooth video panning is the Sunpak Ultra 7500TM sold at BestBuy.

-Other accessories work fine, screen protector is generic and needs to be custom cut, but there is plenty of material for multiple attempts.

PHOTO QUALITY:

-Camera takes nice photos, but while holding camera by hand, there are some hits and misses of blurred images when subjects move. I have tried different settings including the sports setting. I assume this is due to my not getting used to the camera settings yet? When images don't blur, pictures are awesome. The telephoto lens makes you lose some quality in graininess, but for me it's fine and unnoticeable in the photo (only slightly noticeable while looking through the view finder) since I don't do any fancy blow-ups with my photos.

-Another of my cameras, point-and-shoot Canon SX260, takes better pictures than the T3I. I set both cameras on the same tripod and take photos of the same objects in daylight, then with multiple other objects at different locations. Different zoom ranges used for each camera. SX260 takes better photos when viewed at same size using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Possibly me not knowing settings on T3I again? Please note SX260 is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras out there.

PHOTOGRAPHER'S VIEWPOINT WHILE TAKING PHOTOS:

-With many of my point-and-shoot cameras including the Canon SX130IS, when I manually change the exposure (such as trying to lighten a person's face to show in a really bright background) the screen shows the face darker or lighter, and the photos come out lighter or darker accordingly. If I can see the person's face on the screen, I can see the person's face in the photo. With the T3i, the screen doesn't reflect this. I may be able to see the person's face on the screen, but the photo actually comes out too dark or too light depending on how I manually "guessed" at the exposure. It amazes me how a DSLR is inferior to multiple cheapy point-and-shoot cameras. Sure, I can take multiple photos to see which is best (but only in a perfect world will all things stand still for me).

VIDEO QUALITY:

My only camera ever with absolutely worthless videos. All my point-and-shoots work fine in video. When subjects move closer or farther from the camera, everything is out of focus except for when the subject coincidentally is in that specific focal point. I have played around with the settings. The best I can do is use the shutter button to reset to a new focal point when the subject moves. Even then, the camera takes a while to lock in to the new focal point, by which time the subject has then moved once more. Perhaps videos might work properly if all subjects stay at infinity focal point eventhough they move? The manual confirms camera is not capable of keeping subject in focus if subject moves.

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I am not an professional photographer :-) and needed a good one for capturing the memorable moments of my life. This fulfills my requirements. Its easy to use and photos captured have a good quality.

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JVC GRDVM90U MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

For the past 10 years I've always had to lug both my nikon slr and the camcorder on vacations and to events. It was such a pain. I've been waiting for a camera with enough quality to cover both my motion and still photo needs. The JVC 90 did the trick and it's smaller than both my slr and previous camcorder! The quality of the stills when set to XGA fine is good enough to make an excellent 5x7 and pretty decent 8x10. The 8meg mem card will allow you to take ~24 pictures at this level. Even better, you can video and then take snapshots off the video. This allowed me to get some awesome hockey shots during games this winter. The camera has tons of features I'm still trying to figure out, and leaves plenty of room to grow your skills. I'd recommend an extended warrantee though as the internals of this thing are microscopic mechanical parts that would prabably set you back and arm and leg to repair. I bought a pelican box for mine to protect it. My battery lasts about 10 minutes before dying I usually run with the foldout off to save power.

I just purchased this camera and love all but one of the features that I was most interested in. JVC advertises that you can capture a short video clips to email friends and relatives. Well, this is true, but what they do not tell you is that the format is in JMM format, which is some kind of JVC proprietary format! I have yet to find anyone who supports or has a converter for this format. JVC has partnered with a web service that allows you to store these images for people to come view. This is a free service until you what more space. I just think this is another gimmick to make money at the expense of the consumer.

You will also find out when you play back these clips with the supplied viewer that the quality is very poor!

Another issue I had was that the menus and buttons associated with the memory card were not very intuitive or easy to follow.

Overall, I would recommend this camera with the exception of ... the Email Clip feature.

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Bought this unit to use the DV features with my Macintosh. JVC is not real supportive of Macs, but they do give you an extension to add to your system which will let other video editing software see the camera on your firewire port and bring in/out the video.

However, to discuss the camera, it is amazing that so much can be packed into such a small package. Due to all the editing features, shooting options for video, and options for single photo shots with it you will be overwhelmed by it all and maybe bit frustrated. Hang on cus it gets easier. Spent a LOT of time just learning how and went to use the features. When it is all said and done, the quality of the video is great. Good control of brightness during shots in low light rooms or bright light. Zoom is fast, but can be made to go slow so not everyone is on a rollercoaster.

JVC support stinks. Call and hard to get someone to answer questions. Leave messages and they dont call back... ever. Recommend going to local camera shop for assistance, if needed.

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I purchased this camera because of its size and advertised good features. Well, let me tell you. First, unless you are in a very well lit place, the image is extremely dark and poor. Even in a room in the afternoon with natural light, the image will be too dark.

Second, the camera started giving me problems and stopped functioning after only 2 months of light use (I was only able to record 4 tapes with this gadget)...that means I ended up paying about 300 for each tape ...Geez...I am MADDDD!!!!

I tried to contact JVC but they would give me no answers, I sent it by the mail to Florida where, after about a month they sent me back the camera and charged me $70 (Don't know why because thee warranty was still valid), but anyway, I coughed up the money beause I didn't want to miss any day of my newborn's baby without filming it. Well, after about a week, the camera would not open and eject the tape. Could I be more frustrated? NO!!! I will buy a Sony instead and NEVER!! EVER buy a JVC prodcut again. If you buy this thing beacuse it hs been reduced (...), think again. ($$$) bucks is still a bad dealfor such a crappy gadget with no tchnical suppost whatsoever.

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I discovered pretty soon after I bought it that this was not the camcorder for me. The only time the image quality (both still and video) is acceptable is outdoors in bright daylight. I have had much problems downloading still images to computer. I was working on a windows NT station and on a win95. I got it to work once but was never able to repeat it. I am a computer professional. It could be I have a defective cable but frankly I do not have so much time to deal with tech support and repairs and replacement. When I buy a product like this I just want it to work out of the box. Other issues are that it comes with no lens cap and that the battery that it comes with has a very short life (less than a hour). In retrospect the SOny P110 (which is almost double the price) is worth it.

JVC GRDVL120U MiniDV Digital CyberCam Video Camera with 2.5" LCD & B/W Viewfinder

After researching the least expensive MiniDV camcorder models on the market, I finally decided the JVC GR-DVL120 packed the most punch for the price. My review does focus on some of the negatives, but in general, I am satisfied with my camcorder.

The Amazon.com editor's review mentions that the camera has a 16x optical zoom. Unless their are sub-models of the DVL120, this claim is false. The optical zoom is 10x. Regardless, the 10x optical zoom seems suitable.

JVC lets you know that the camera can perform a 700x digital, but this is essentially zoom overkill. There is a setting to stop the digital zoom at 40x, which is plenty zoomed-in. Of course, the farther you zoom in the more shaky the picture. The camera has a digital stabilizer, but the effects are not noticeable. I have no other experience with digital image stabilizers, so I do not know what to expect. Overall, the camera picture is relatively stable for a handheld camcorder. So far, the Night Alive feature has proved very ineffective. It appears that this feature mimics the strobe feature of the camera. I was hoping for more of a "green" view when the low-light feature was turned on, but that may exist only in more expensive camcorders. If you're looking for low-light or fantastically stable images, then this camera may not be for you.

The camera does include numerous other features such as b/w mode, old time movie mode, sepia, strobe, slow and a few others.

The camera does have an automatic mode and a manual mode. The automatic mode is a quick-start way of recording video -the only options that you really need to deal with in automatic mode are the zoom and record on/off buttons. In the manual mode, you have the ability to adjust the white balance (I have not tried this yet), shutter speed and manual focus. The manual focus is a nice option to have, but I found that it somewhat challenging to use and not as versatile in its manual range as I'd hoped. Not a big disappointment though because again, this is a value camcorder and the fact that it does have a manual focus at all is a plus. The camera has a still shot button, which I find more of a nuisance than an added bonus because it is near the zoom feature, so it is sometimes accidentally punched. There is no memory card for data, so the still photo is saved to the MiniDV tape. Do not buy this camcorder if you want both a camcorder and a digital camera combination!

Other features included are editing functions such as wipes and faders. I do not use these because I typically add effects on the back end with my computer. This brings me to one of the coolest features of MiniDV -the ability to connect your camcorder to your computer. The camera does not include the FireWire cable needed to connect to your computer, but they are relatively inexpensive and well worth it if your computer has a FireWire port. I use a program that came with my Dell to control my camcorder from my computer and record video through the FireWire to my computer. All video-to-computer transfers are made in real-time. The digital transfer keeps video quality as good as when you recorded it. The camcorder does include the necessary RCA cables needed to hook up to a television or VCR (with RCA inputs).

The AC adaptor plugs directly into the camera, so you do not need a separate bulky adaptor. The battery only lasts approximately one hour when using the color view-screen (1.25 hours with the small b/w viewfinder), which isn't that long, but is probably suitable for most consumers. Of course, extra batteries are available.

For someone looking to buy a low-priced MiniDV camcorder for general uses, the GR-DVL120 is a great value.

The picture quality is oustanding.

My father owns a ... Sony 3 CCD mini-DV camcorder and when he saw the playback on my ... JVC mini DV camcorder, he said the picture quality was very impressive.

This JVC's picture quality is as good as any min DV camcorder!

Basically the only reason for the price difference is for the EXTRAS--the more money, the more features you get and also the better build. One look at the ...sony camcorder and you know that it is a serious professional grade product. But, for just the picture quality, this ... JVC's picture quality is the same as the ...Sony! The JVC records up to 520 lines of resolution, the ... Sony records up to 530 lines. The more expensive JVC also records up to 530 lines.

But............... on the miniDV cassettes out there, it says that it records up to 500 lines of resolution!!!!!

So basically, all you get is up to 500 lines of resolution even if your camcorder can record up to 530 lines!

A dvd player can play up to 500 lines of resolution, but again since the pre-recorded DVDs out there have only about 480 lines of resolution, all you see is 480 lines even if you buy a [expensive] DVD player!

Bottom line, the JVC is an excellent camcorder for the price.

If you are deciding between mini-DV and Digital-8, it's a no brainer---------always go for mini-DV because it has more lines of resolution and all the professional camcorders out there are mini-DV.

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This is a great camera for the price. ...The camera is light, easy to use and has great picture quality. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a nice digial video camera. I have seen several reviews of the camera online and all say that this is a great camera for the money. There are better cameras out there but you are looking at spending several hundred more for one of those cameras.

This camera was a breeze to use with my Apple Powerbook to do video editing with Imovie. No configuration was needed to use the camera with the laptop. I just hooked up the firewire to the laptop and used Imovie to edit and export the film to Quicktime or back to the camera. One note, a firewire cable is not included with this camera so if you are planning on editing via computer you will need to pick one up.

Overall I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who wants a DV camera that is easy to use and not very expensive.

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I would recommend this product for beginning/amateur video enthusiasts for the ease of use. Although because it is limited by its price range, some features are cut out or needed, which is obviously placed in JVC's higher models. I use it to edit simple home movies using the IEEE Firewire output to my PC and it runs great on most software. I have only one problem with it though: I actually DO a lot of editing and I have to plug the AC adapter to the camera everytime, but the problem is, the plug in the camera is in the wrong place forcing the AC wire to be in this obtuse position bending the wires out of shape. It's not in a real bad condition yet, but i'm predicting in a couple of months or so after use, it will probably be damaged to a higher degree. JVC needs to place the AC outlet somewhere on the side in order to get rid of this problem. But other than that, its a good camera.

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Overall this camcorder is very good.

Pros-

1. Video Quality

2. Ease of use

3. Price

Cons-

1. No USB capability

2. Video takes up much memory on computer.

3. Quality in low light.

4. Battery Life.

If you plan on buying this camcorder, make sure you get a firewire card. Next, If you plan to to do a lot of shooting indoors or near a power supply the battery is fine. If you will be in the great outdoors, make sure you buy an extra or better batter. The battery that comes with the camera, lasts only for about an hour.

If you plan on doing editing, make sure you have a good program on your computer. The software that comes with the camera is very bad. Also, if you want to take digital pictures with your camcorder, you dont want this one.

Although there are many cons with this camcorder there are also many pros. I use windows movie maker 2 which I donwloaded for free from microsoft.com. It films great movies, but they take up a lot of memory. Also, the optical zoom is great. It is 16x, which is awesome. Overall I would recomend this camcorder to any amatuer filmaker or person who just want to record and edit home movies. If you are a very serious filmaker, you should buy a more expensive camcorder.

Promax Xtreme Video Stabilizing System, for Camcorders up to 8 Lbs.

The SteadyTracker Extreme is one of what seems like dozens of non-vest/arm steadicam units aimed at prosumer camcorders and videographers at a reasonable price. Put your camera on it, balance it, and get smooth tracking shots. But there is one key aspect to the Steadytracker that gives it an advantage, and a disadvantage at the same time: It does not have a traditional gimbal like other devices.

Because there is no gimbal, and the user's hand rests under a proprietary grip base, the camera is much easier and much faster to set-up to balance than others, it's easier to handle than others, and easier to get used to than others. The biggest key being it's faster. Much faster. Traditional steadicam units take a lot of tweaking to get right, even the high quality ones. The Steadytracker can be set-up and running quickly, with only minor adjustments after that.

The disadvantage is that because there is no gimbal, you won't get super smooth pans you will with other units that freely float on ball bearings, instead relying on your body and arm's rotation to give you as smooth of pan as you can. This makes the SteadyTracker prone to rotational jerkiness that takes a lot of practice to cut down, and is almost impossible to completely eliminate. That being, pans that make what appear to be abrupt stops or starts in the smoothness of the panning. I should however note that getting a traditional steadicam unit to not do this takes a light touch that comes with a lot of practice, but it can ultimately be accomplished, in superior way to the SteadyTracker.

None the less, that criticism aside, if you are just getting into steadicam work, and have little or no practice with one, starting with another unit can result in hours of frustration balancing it, and practicing it. And that's the real appeal of the SteadyTracker. There is a great feeling of satisfaction of only spending a few minutes balancing your camera before you can get pretty good shots with the thing.

There is one more negative, but this applies to ALL units in this range, holding the unit, plus the camera, can become a pretty good strain on your arms. If you're build like a body builder, or are very strong and work out a lot, you'll do a lot better than the normal person. To alleviate this all together, you need to move up to a full vest/arm unit, which will increase the cost greatly.

In conclusion, if you are just starting out and looking to buy a unit, this is a very good place to start. You'll likely be happy with the results. If you need something bigger and better, you're going to have to move up to something like a Steadicam Merlin, or Glidecam-4000. If you have less of a budget, you can always look into many of the do-it-yourself units that can be found on the web that don't have gimbals either. But they don't have the SteadyTracker's balanced grip pad, nor build quality, obviously.

I've used this with my Canon T2i/50mm 1.8 mkII. While it's better than handheld while moving about, there's some side to side wobble that I haven't been able to eliminate, even after balancing the camera a few times.

The unit is sturdy, but heavy. Prolonged use may be a problem.

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this is a useless product, as I hate to return the purchased goods, I did not return this. The height is less. in the image the height looks good. the base stand is uncomfortable. not easy to carry when the base stand is attached. The fittings are not good. Online purchasing is a big risk by looking at the picture. We do not know what kind of product it is, until we recieve it. My $254 has gone just waste, instead I should have bought the mono pod. The same way I bought Lexar compact flash card reader, it is not working and just bcoz I hate returning goods, it is lying with me unused from the day I bought it in the year 2010.

SteadyTracker Xtreme Video Stabilizing System, for Camcorders up to 8 Lbs.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JBFNMO/ref=cm_cr_rev_prod_title

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