Moultrie Gamespy 4 Megapixel Digital Infrared Mtm Game Camera, 8.25x5.75x11

The battery life on this is extremly short. I have delay set to 1 minute and yet the batteries (D) are dead within 5 days.

The mounting strap on this product is cheap. It broke within 1 day.

Pictures in low light situations are not clear, early morning, night and dusk. I bought it for the Game-Spy system that I never used because of the poor quality of this camera.

I do not like this product very because of the slow trigger speed shuts off during the night and day even though it is on the on position batteries get too hot pictures are not clear at night

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bought this camera to replace another !!i wasn,t very happy with it slow trgger speed ,blury night pictures , short battery life.....I wouldn,t recomend this camera to a friend

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Have had 2 of these cameras and cannot say much good about them. Both lasted just out of the warranty period and died. As stated by others, the battery life was extremely short so I was using external batteries which helped but its really not a quality product. Honestly, I've had 7 Moultrie products and none of them , cameras or feeders have lasted over 2 years without something going wrong.Digital timers went out of feeders and cameras have all died in short order (100, 200's, I-40 and I-45's )and now they're all in the trash. Found the Bushnell's to be much better and I could purchase an extended warranty which took it to 3 years since they come with a two year warranty a much better deal !

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Good service & quality.. On time and as advertised.

Will continue to buy online due in part to the quality products & service.

Kata KT VA-801-14 CRC-14 DV/HDV Rain Cover

During the previous 4-5 years, I've been using 1st a Canon GL1, then a GL2, to perform outside video gigs. So I've always had a rain cover one way or another on the camera during those questionable weather days. Thank goodness! And the one brand of rain cover that never failed me with the Kata. I tried others, even the "cheap" ones. But the Kata cover was great.

Well, I finally upgraded to the Canon XH A1 so I could start building up my ambience library of HDV footage. Of course, this meant I would be outside a lot, between the Eastern Shore of MD, the Appalachian mountains, VA Beach, yada yada yada and other outdoorsy settings. So, what did I definitely need in my accessory bag? Another rain cover. I found many inexpensive "rain sleeves", but I nixed that idea since I didn't want my expensive and quality camera to be covered with a thin plastic sleeve. I wanted a quality cover! And since I had previous experiences with Kata, I looked there.

The Kata RC-14 rain cover, covering my Canon XH A1 camera, is a perfect collection of both fit and function. Having the snug-fit closures around the lens, viewfinder, and microphone makes it easy to adjust and snug well...and stays that way. The opening along the bottom made it easy for me to hold the camera, or place it on my Bogen tripod. And the clear plastic sides allow me to adjust the myriad selection of controls on the camera without removing the cover.

Last weekend, here in Maryland we had an incredible storm front come through, with lots of rain, wind, thunder & lightning. So, here was a great opportunity to gather more HD footage during the storm. However, since I didn't want my camera to get wasted in the outside elements, the Kata rain cover was used. Was I disappointed? Heck no!

Other than the haze filter on my lens, NOTHING on my camera got wet. I had adjusted the snug-fit openings well enough that even with the rain blowing almost totally sideways, none of it got in. Even my arm holding the camera was totally drenched, but not the camera inside the drenched rain cover. And I was still able to view the storm through either the viewfinder (used most of the time) or via the side LCD, without removing the cover.

Will I be buying another Kata? Definitely...

BTW, I checked all over the net for the best price and ended up buying it here on Amazon. No, I don't work for these guys, just a quick mention.

Fits the Canon XH A1 well. I've only tested the rain cover under a slight drizzle but it worked well enough.

My only complaint is that the viewfinder is hard to see because of the the glare that shows up on the material that the clear side is made of.

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This is a great rain cover, I use it for the DVX-100. I would prefer if t had a filter adapter in front to attach a filter, but besides that it's a great cover, pretty flexible and you can control everything with your hand inside, or on a tripod.

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I just purchased a Kata DV/HDV Rain Cover a couple weeks ago and it's so amazing.I try it in our backyard with rain and it's so windy. My HDV-FX7 camcorder is very safe and the side cover is so clear to use the LCD. Wow I like it...thanks

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Kata RC-14 (CRC-14) Compact Rain Cover es una excelente opcion para mi cámara, cómoda, fácil de usar, se ajsta perfectamente y me deja trabajar libremente.

Audio Technica Mid-Size Open Back Dynamic Stereo Headphones

• Specifically designed for digital program materials
• High-performance drivers and low-mass diaphragms
• Maximized power handling capability
• Clean, linear low end response
• 11.5' cable with 3.5 mm stereo mini-plug
• 1/8" Stereo Jack attached to cable with 1/4" adapter included
• 11.5' Cable
• 20-20,000 Hz Frequency Response
• Open Back Design

I recieved these headphones as a gift back 3 years ago for my 18th birthday. They've lasted all this time and still sound great, they have superb quality when used with my dell dj, cd player, everything. One of the ear pieces comes loose but that is due to my rought treatment not defective merchandise. I highly recommend these as they are an exceptional piece of equipment for the price.

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I got these headphones because my friend recommended me them. For 16.99, they are probably the best pair of headphones you can get. The sound quality is just excellent and it is very mobile and comfortable.

PROS:

Excellent sound quality for under $20

* Good bass, a good amount, though not too much

* Crisp, clear sound

Comfortable fit even for a big head like mine

Long Cord, if youre at home, it's a benefit

Lightweight

Flexible

CONS:

Need to position correctly in order to exprience full quality

Long Cord, if you're outside it's a disadvantage (but just rubber band part of the cord to shorter it)

Cheap PlasticNot made of the best material

Clearly the pros outweigh the cons (some of which are negligible)

So get it!

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I bought this headphones 1 year ago and still they are like new. there are several things I want to mention:

1. Size: if you like headphones that have form factor like this, you will be very happy. size is very good, it's not heavy, it sits fine on the head & covers years firmly

2. Build Quality: quality is fantastic! It's very solid, it's made from quality plastic, parts are assembled well. Overall it's very solid & strong headphones

3. Sound Quality: for this price, it's much more better than other headphones in same price range. Low, Mid & High frequencies sound very clear & over time sound quality stays the same.

Also I'm very happy with its very wire, which you can get anywhere.

Overall you will be very happy with this headphone, in this price range.

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I have some JVC headphones that were about $20, which has excellent sound, but was curious if I could get a better sound from another equally priced headphones. I think that these produce sound as if they cost $50, and durable. The super long cord is somewhat perplexing, but I guess it has it's uses.

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With between 20-20,000 hz frequency response, I expected these headphones to be on par with others in the same price-range. I was expecting acceptable sound quality and durability. What I received, much to my surprise and pleasure, were a pair featuring reasonable durability for the price and a surprisingly high sound quality. They've literally transformed some of my favorite albums into all new listening experiences. All the levels of rhythm and harmony are audible (within reason), crisp and clear. I highly recommend these headphones for anyone looking for a decent, reasonably priced pair of headphones that will deliver exceptional quality of sound for their listening pleasure.

Q-See QSW25C 2.5-Inch TFT Baby Monitoring System w/Wireless Camera

If you are considering a video monitor for your kids rather than a simple-audio monitor, you should absolutely go video (whether you buy this model or something else).

Prior to buying this model, I owned a Mobi and would not recommend it. I did a fair amount of online research before buying this item and despite some flaws, I'm still a satisfied user.

Pro:

It works. One room away, the picture is very very good. Gets worse farther away (no surprise)

Great features & flexibility. Have always been able to find ways to hang or position the cameras so they can view the kids not always impossible with other models

Supports multiple cameras (great for covering several kids and/or multiple rooms)

Con:

Audio has a lot of static, even when the picture is clear

The power cord for the monitor plugs into the unit inside the battery compartment, so you can't leave batteries loaded. Dumb design

One of the three channels (#2) knocks out the wifi in our house, so we can only use two cameras. Fortunately the unit operates on two other channels, so we can still use those cameras without interfering with the Wifi

Cost of the base package plus extra cameras is too high

Good luck!

Had a good view but bad reception throughout the house. Worked best when only one room apart, the camera and receptor.

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We've tried all the different baby video monitors and this one works ok. None of them are wonderful, but the monitor portion works well. We have a lot of interference in our house, so we cannot use the audio portion of the monitor, but we have not found it necessary: a picture is worth a thousand words. The sensor portion is great, so the monitor will turn on when the baby movesthe closer the camera, the better it works. The others I tried didn't have this option. But I would recommend a video monitor over a audio monitor any day.

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We have been using this unit for 11 months now and it works very well (all over our somewhat small house). We have had no range problems, but it does get interference with wifi and our cordless phone. The interference impacts the audio more than the video, so we use it with the sound turned down and use a different, more portable audio monitor to carry with us.

After 11 months of tough use the screen protector is cracked, and AC plug is broken in some way (only works with batteries). But alot of others out there seem to have bad ratings and so we are going to buy another set, and this way have 2 cameras.

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I recieved the camera very promptly but the reciever wasn't working and Amazon quickly shipped a replacement without any hassle!

The camera works well and the picture is good in total darkness. I put a piece of electrical tape over the motion detector indicator light because it flashes when it detects movement. It would be nice if the indicator light could be turned off.

The reciever's battery life isn't very good at all. I would say the 4 AAA batteries have a life around 6-8 hours total. The way it's designed, the AC adapter plug is located inside the battery housing so you have to remove the batteries while it's plugged into the wall.

I've never used any other video camera systems, but I would recommend this one if the price was about $50 lower and the design was improved a little.

Sony DCRPC110 Digital HandyCam Camcorder with Builtin Digital Still Mode

I recently decided to get this camera and sell off my TRV900 because I really found I needed something smaller to carry around. It was a tough choice, as the image quality and stills from the TRV900 were decidedly better. But I just couldn't pass up the size. This one is so small for the features you get. It has many, many well thought out features. For instance, it has a little swing-down handle to make filming easier (always an issue with these little digicams). You can hook the camera directly to your computer through USB, no need to get a card reader. Pop-up flash is nice for doing indoor shots. Easy to use menus. Fairly high resolution stills for a digital camcorder. I love the Sony batteries that tell you how much time you have left...same for the tapes and memory cards. Plenty of features that a camera at this level should have.

Now, for the negatives. No progressive scan. Let me say that again. NO PROGRESSIVE SCAN!! Heaven knows why Sony continues to leave this feature off. It was so noticeable between this camera and the TRV900 which does have progressive scan, when you capture stills off of video. The ones from this camera are nowhere near as good. Not even close. If the subject is moving at all (which is usually the whole point of trying to capture a still from video), without progressive scan it is just not as clear, sharp, colorful, etc. Why Sony does not put progressive scan on their cameras is beyond me. Most of the other gripes I have with this camera are fairly minimal. Some of the buttons are fairly hard to locate, the zoom is hard to use and rather touchy, the photo button is right next to it so I often hit the wrong one, etc. Fairly typical problems for a camera of this size. Were it not for progressive scan being missing though, this would definitely be a 5-star camcorder. Without it, sorry Sony. You blew it again.

If you are considering buying the Sony DC-PC110 Camcorder, you should ask yourself, "What am I looking for in a camcorder?". I spent a long time debating between buying this camera, the Sony PC9, and the Canon Elura 2 (all great camcorders). My final conclusion is that the PC110 is the best all around... but if you don't need to extras, you needn't spend all the extra money. The PC110 functions perfectly as a camcorder for movies AND as a quality digital camera, something that other camcorders can't boast. It also includes in-camera editing and special effects controls, image-stabilization (hands naturally shake, and this makes movies more smooth), night-shot (for recording in total darkness), and intuitive ergonomics (contrary to what other reviewers have said, the pinky doesn't belong on the controls, the index finger does...), and the camera is very easy to operate (once you get the hang of it). The 120X Zoom is very good (even at extreme closeness, the quality of the image does not suffer). Hooking it up to your computer for editing is easy (cables & free software are included).

As a digital camera, it's perfect. You can take pictures ("stills") while recording by pressing the "photo" button while in recording ("camera") mode, or you can take a series of pictures & delete the ones you don't want in digital memory ("memory") mode. You can play back your movies on your camorder (or hooked up to your TV) while in "VCR" mode. The camera charges quickly while off & plugged into an AC adapter, but the battery that it comes with only lasts around an hour, so you'd probably want to buy a bigger one for vacations.

The bottom line is, if you don't want to use your camera as an all-purpose two-in-one, you needn't spend the extra money (if you buy the camera as-is, you will need to buy an extra battery, a filter, a bag, digital tapes to record movies, and a 64MB memory stick for digital photos, which adds up to quite a lot of money). However, I recommend this camera as a long-term investment for all your camera needs... it is sturdy, takes quality movies, is easy to use, easily hooks up to PCs & Macs to edit (or to TVs to view), and doubles as a great digital camera. It also helps that it's very small and light (and looks very sleek...) If you don't want to use it as a digital camera, I'd recommend the Sony PC9 instead, which is basically the same as the PC110, but a bit smaller & takes lower quality digital pictures. Overall, I highly recommend the PC-110 -it's the best personal camcorder on the market.

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The PC110 appears to be a slight re-working of the PC100 with the aim of making it a better still camera and integrating it more closely with Sony's other video imaging products. It takes true megapixel stills, and also will store very short MPEG videos on its memory stick card. Viewing these requires a PC.

Unfortunately, the way this is implemented makes this device more like two cameras than one. You are either in "Memory" mode or "Camera" mode when recording, "Memory" mode or "VCR" mode when playing back. Stills and MPEG are transferred through the USB port, DV video through the FireWire. It all makes sense, when you realize that this camera does not consider MPEG to be a tape format. But it does take some time to get used to. And after you get used to it, you can move on to tricky little things like transferring small portions of your DV video onto the memory stick as MPEG etc. I think you can even transfer stills from memory stick to tape if you'd ever want to do that.

The message here is: this is the camera for people who want to do something with their images other than just watch them as is. It has a lot of features for in-camera editing and effects, though as has been pointed out in the editorial review, you can do this more easily on a PC than in the camera.

Finally, ignore the comments about the ergonomics. The author was holding the camera the wrong way. Your pinky should be nowhere near the focus or still photo controls. A closer reading of the manual and some experimentation would have put him straight.

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I bought this digital video camera just two weeks before the birth of my first child in Korea. It has been great for recording video to send via E-mail to my parents and friends in Canada. It is really slick and easy to use. (Also note that my manual is in Korean (as I bought the DVC in Korea) and I just played around with it to figure it out...of course I know I am still missing some uses of the camera, but I think those are for the more professional videographer anyways.) I have used the photos to also make a homepage of my child's pictures for easing viewing by people that are thousands of miles away. I would like to include the URL, but am not allowed in this review. You really need to see the results! Some of my friends are also now considering buying this camera. I am so happy I bought this...I know it is a little pricey, but except that I think it is really worth it. I would recommend buying a larger memory stick though...the 4k one it comes with isn't enough for a lot of use. I found myself frequently downloading the files to my computer (which is so easy to do by the way). I am looking at getting at least a 64k memory stick. The only downside to this camera was the high price, but I feel I will get enough use out of it to be worth it.

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When I first started looking at camcorders, one that kept repeatedly showing up was the Sony DCR-PC110. I started to research it more, and found out all the great features that they crammed in it. Then I saw the pricetag. As a 16 year old, I had no idea how I would pay for this, but I did find a way. Yes, it's a very expensive gaget, but it's been worth every penny I spent. I use it almost daily, if not taking pictures with it, then I'll film something and plug it into my computer and edit it. I would not recommend this camcorder to anyone who doesn't want to edit their video with a computer, beause I think it defeats the purpose of all the nifty options it has. When you first pick it up, if might feel funny if your hand because first of all it's so small, and second of all, theres a certain way to hold it that's different than most camcorders. This camera comes with everything you could possibly need. The only thing extra I would buy is a larger memory stick. Even if you're not planning to use this to take pictures, you will end up taking tons of digital stills. This is such I wonderful camcorder, I could go on forever. Both Newsweek and Consumer Reports magazine featured this camera as one of the best. If you want a great quality camcorder and willing to pay a high price, this is the camera for you!

Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White)

After shooting with this camera for about a month now, I'm still glad I bought it, but I am a bit disappointed with the video.

I heard some bad reviews about the XZ1 video, but you seem to get some bad reviews with any camera. Here's what I found with mine:

1) Auto-focus on video is pretty much unusable. You get random focus jumps during the video even when you and your subject are barely moving. I tried all sorts of settings changes to deal with this, but I found none that work reliably (except manual focus).

This is not as bad as I thought it would be. I find that most of the videos I take are short and don't require focus adjust. But it does require you to switch between auto for stills and manual for video. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a dedicated video button. I find I some times mess up when switching and wind up taking stills in manual focus, or getting a random bad video. Seems to me that Olympus must know the auto focus is hosed. Why not make video manual-only? Or at least give a menu option to set that up?

2) You get some vertical lines on the video and while in 'preview' if you have a bright light source in the frame. They do not show up in the still pics though. It's not outrageously bad, and other cameras have the same issue, but I figured I'd point it out.

So short answer is if you must have great video look elsewhere (try maybe the Panasonic LX5?). The XZ1 video is good enough for me to use when I HAVE to have a video, but that's about it.

But the stills on the XZ1 camera are fantastic. It really shines when taking pictures of kids indoors with so-so lighting and no flash. And if you like taking close ups of flowers, prepare to be amazed. I got some amazingly crisp shots just pointing and clicking in full auto mode.

For me the kicker that got me to buy the XZ1 over the LX5 was the cheap underwater case available for it:

Olympus PT-050 Under Water Housing for Xz-1 Digital Camera

I'm dying to take it underwater. Maybe I'll post some pics when I do.

Some odds and ends:

The XZ1 doesn't come with an external battery charger, so you need to charge the battery in the camera. That is unless you buy one of these for like 5 bux. It works just fine and so cheap. And generic replacement batteries are available on Amazon for cheap. Haven't needed one yet, but I may get one before I go on vacation.

Premium Battery Charger with Car Charger Adapter for Olympus LI-50B Digital Camera & Camcorder

High Capacity LI-50B Replacement Lithium-Ion Battery for Olympus Stylus Tough 8000, 6000, 1030 SW, 9000, 1010, 1020 Digital Camera

The lens cap is a bit annoying if you are not used to the removable type caps. I was considering buying one of those auto-retract ones, but I don't want to add bulk to the camera. Instead I just attach the cap to the camera with the included lanyard. It pops off when the lens comes out.

Edit 5/27/2012 Here's some thoughts after using for a few months:

I'm really liking the full-auto mode more than I ever thought possible. Unless I'm doing something very unusual, I'll use this mode for all my stills. Even for macro shots it works really good. It's great to go hiking and be able to stop for 10-15 sec and still get a decent shot of that pretty flower. With my last camera it would be a 1-2 minute stop with me fiddling with the controls and my friends whining. I posted one of these quickie full-auto flowers to Amazon.

I've noticed that indoor low light shots have pretty poor automatic white-balancing. You can use "capture white balance" to correct it, but not in "full auto" or "low light" mode which are my 2 favorite modes for taking stills. Also this takes time to do, so mostly I don't bother. Right now my solution is to either live with the bad white balance or if I have a real "keeper" shot, I'll use post processing to clean it up a bit. The included olympus software is not half bad for stuff like this.

For video I've learned a few more tricks to deal with it, but it's still not ideal. I notice that the auto focus problems are much less severe if you are outside on a bright day, so if this is the case, I feel comfortable taking videos in full auto. Also if I plan to do a video where I'm deliberately moving the camera a lot, I will use auto since you don't notice the focus hunting as much with lots of camera movement. For indoors or where the camera will be still, I have my "P mode" on the dial set to manual focus permanently for video use. So the steps to go from still to video are:

1) switch dial to P

2) Hit 'info' and adjust focus if needed

3) start video

Quick, but not that quick.

Edit 9/03/2012 Finally got to try out my underwater case in Hawaii. Unfortunately I got sand in the camera lens on day 2 of my trip, so I only got in one day of snorkeling with it. I'm looking to get it repaired by Olympus so I'll update later on how that goes. I added some samples to the page. 2 full frame (5mp) shots and 2 100% crops.

Overall I was very pleased with the underwater pics. Even when it was overcast and I was diving down it seemed like the shutter speed "auto selected" by the camera was almost always faster than 1/100, so I got very few blurry fish (unlike every other camera I've ever used). The colors seemed to be improved with using the underwater mode vs normal auto, but I'm sure they could be better with manual white balance (which I did not try).

Was pretty torn between this and the Panasonic Lumix LX5, but ended up with this one because I already owned an Olympus camera that used the same battery and also had an external charger, so I'd essentially have an extra battery already. Also, a big selling point on this camera was the lens, even though I'd have preferred the 24mm wide angle on the LX5, the depth of field you can get with the lower aperture range on the XZ-1's 28mm lens seemed better, plus the aperture was more favorable throughout the entire zoom range of the XZ-1. After using the camera for a little while, I was very impressed at the image quality it produced. Overall, it was a great camera, but I ended up returning it because the price dropped over 60 dollars from the time I bought it before the return window closed, and I found an LX5 for only 306 dollars from amazon warehouse deals. It seemed to me that the difference in price was well worth whatever differences there were between the cameras, and I knew I'd prefer that 24mm lens. However, after having the LX5 for a few days now, I cant quite reproduce the excellent image quality and depth of field I got from the XZ-1. But, with the difference in price, I may just end up living with the LX5, it's by no means any slouch, and I think the menu system and flexibility of the options is better than the XZ-1. And as much as people seem to love that control ring around the lens, I didnt find that I missed it at all with the adequately intuitive controls on the LX5.

One last thing, be aware that the white version of the XZ-1 appears to be made with more plastic, as from what I understand, the body of the black version is metal. So to me, the build quality of the white version wasnt as good, and as cool as I thought it looked initially, in practice, I felt like a bit of tool when using it in public and would definitely go with the black version if I were to ever purchase again.

Buy Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Now

***

update: I really enjoy this camera. It is fun to use and very adaptable to any shooting situation. I find myself shooting a lot more in Manual than I expected. The exposure indicator on the front makes that possible to have the right shutter speed and aperture combo based on your ISO selection. iAUTO mode does a great job for those who feel more comfortable with no adjustments. I took about 300 shots (600 writes to a 16 GB 30MB/sec SanDisk Ultra SD card, 1 RAW and 1 High Res Jpeg at the same time) before the battery gave in. The 3" OLED screen is good enough to "talk back" to the Texas bright sun, which was one potential concern since it does not come with a viewfinder and I did not want to spend the additional money for the available optional unit. I also recommend to buy a second battery Olympus LI-50B Rechargeable Li-Ion Battery for Select Olympus Digital Cameras Retail Packaging(http://www.amazon.com/review/RP3Y4CKKCDRCB/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm) and the following leather case COSMOS Black Leather Case Cover Bag For Olympus XZ1 XZ-1 Camera + Cosmos cable tie(http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZTHOZ11ALJ2M/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B005IJTNI8&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=). If closer than ~2 ft to subjects, set the AF to Macro. You will still have zoom. In super Macro zoom is not possible, but you can take pics of bugs as close as ~ half an inch. The camera has settings for bracketing in exposure settings and white balance. You can also set custom settings for one mode dial position. What a versatile, complete, fun, high quality compact camera! Beginner or pro, this camera is great for making good shots when the DSLR has to stay at home.

***

INITIAL REVIEW:

I just received this today, purchased it after playing with one my friend just received, really was impressed, and for $199 on Amazon it is a steal deal and a complete no-brainer! And since I was looking for a serious compact camera that also gives me DSLR capabilities like choosing shutter speed, aperture, ISO or all...or absolutely nothing ... this is the perfect camera. And with the fast lens from f1.8 to 2.5 over the complete zoom range, the lens is worth the $199 alone as any DSLR owner can attest to. I am using this as my back up camera for the Nikon D7000 DSLR that I am privileged to own and used exclusively over the past 15 month ... and my cell phone (which doesn't cut it ... better than nothing, a 8MP camera cell phone). This camera is also for those times when I simply cannot justify taking the D7000 with, which happens seldomly, but when it does, this camera fills that void beautifully.

So for those who have no clue about cameras: You cannot go wrong with this camera. You cannot find a more simple and feature rich camera with PLENTY of quality mega pixels than this one (10 MegaPixels is enough) at such a low price. $199 is a lot of money for many, but the quality of this camera makes the price laughable. You will be happy you purchased it. Buy it. You will invite me to your family picture for this recommendation...(you don't have to) (Note: The current suggested retail price from Olympus for this camera is $499 as of November 2012, and rightfully so).

For those who know everything about cameras: You will agree from the lens specs alone, from knowing what Olympus produces, knowing that the image sensor is large for this compact camera (Large, High-Sensitivity 1/1.63" CCD Sensor). It is build of the highest quality materials targeted for a much higher price bracket. You also will agree that the XZ-2 isn't worth $400 more. Buy it. You will want to send me a post card for this recommendation.

This camera is very heavy due to the high quality build. The front half shell is a type high end powder coated steel or aluminum shell while the back half shell feels like a powdercaoted surface, but it's made of a high quality plastic.

All control elements are of high quality. Easy to see. Easy to use. Intuitive. You get a quick feeling for it. The rear OLED 3" screen is nice and the user interface is appropriate to the principal mode dial on the top right of the camera. If you want to see all the adjustments you could adjust, then put the mode dial to 'M' (manual control) and you can dial with the rear dial/selection control through the menus (always enter the adjustments by clicking the right side of the dial where the flash symbol is; then you you can select adjustments on a symbol strip to your right and select the options on the bottom symbol strip of the display ... you'll see, it is quite intuitive). The objective ring also lets you dial through options of the menu. The ring's function changes also depending on the mode dial...for example mode dial on 'M' (Manual Shooting) the objective dial controls the aperture from f1.8 to f8.0...mode dial on 'S' (Shutter Priority), the objective ring control the exposure/shutter from 1/2000 sec to 60 seconds...mode dial on 'Aperture Priority', the objective ring controls the aperture from f1.8 to 8.0 (as 'M')...mode dial on 'P' (Program auto sets aperture and exposure), the objective ring controls the ISO from ISO Auto, 100,125,160,...to 6400. In the scene mode on the mode dial you can use the ring to select all the different scene modes. Very easy to use.

I think after a while it becomes natural to select your settings quickly and accurately, because it is very intuitive. The user interface is really ingenious.

The flash release is very fast and might scare you the first time. You will seldom need it because of the low light capabilities of the lens. Also to note is that the mode dial has a dedicated automated lowlight mode, where the camera is already optimized for night shots or in little light conditions. The flash can also be metered full, 1/4, 1/16, 1/64 besides forced off, red eye reduction, normal flash.

The lens cap that comes with the camera takes getting used to it. It's magnetically held and pops off if one simply turns on the camera if you forget to take it off. Both ways work. There is an Olympus cap that opens up mechanically upon turning on the camera and the objective driving out to photo modeOlympus LC-63A Lens Cap for XZ-1 Digital Camera. There are third party ones too. I don't own it, won't need it myself.

There are accessories available, like a TCON-17 teleconverter lens expanding the tele to 190mm (in 35mm comparable terms)Olympus Tcon-17 1.7x Telephoto Converter Lens. for ~$200. A viewfinder can plug into the hot shoe for about $250 Olympus VF-2 Electronic ViewFinder (Black).

For me the accessories like the teleconverter lens and the viewfinder make no sense. The camera costs $200. If I NEED the eye viewfinder (which is very nice to have), I have to just use my DSLR. It doesn't make sense to me to have this camera with a million accessories. It takes away what I purchased it for. It's got to be in the 'box'. Not to mention, for $600 you can buy a DSLR these days. My old Olympus SP-350 had one build in (that camera is for sale now, but you are better off to buy this XZ-1).

The camera did not come with a SD card, so make sure you buy one. I bought a SanDisk Ultra 16GB which has a transfer rate of 30MB/sec which is plenty. Don't stick a crappy low end SD card into the camera. It will take away from the speed of this camera (or any camera when writing to the chip). Use 15MB/sec min, 30MB max. 45 MB/sec (San Disk Extreme) is overkill. It's inexpensive 'film'. With 16 GB you can shoot over 1300 RAW pictures (uncompressed pictures) or more than 2770 10MP fine JPEGs (1/4 compression rate). In other words, plenty of pics. Or you can record RAW and JPEG at the same time (~890 shots). NICE!

The first pictures I took are incredible. Look at flickr.com/groups/xz1/ for pics XZ-1 owners took. Low light pictures are amazing without flash. At ISO6400 the camera behaves just like film would. It's incredible one can take pictures with this camera at that sensitivity.

This camera is amazing. It's fun. It's real quality. It is unique from the design. The user interface is well thought through, the controls are first class. It's ideal for the beginner with the potential to grow and become a better photographer the easy way. It's a serious camera for professionals when one cannot take that DSLR or doesn't want to.

It takes HD video too, but if you want video, buy a video camera. Don't expect this to be a video camera. It's not. But it is, kind of.

Video recording format: AVI Motion JPEG

Recording time: HD: 7min, SD: 14min

Video file sizes: Maximum 2GB

Video with sound: Yes

Built in microphone type: WAVE

External microphone option: Yes

Don't judge a picture camera for video. If it has video great. If the video is great that's even greater. But this is a camera for pictures.

I had my Olympus SP-350 for over six years now. This XZ-1 will be my new companion for a long time to give me the best non-DSLR option.

And yes, the XZ-2 is not worth $450 more. For that advice you can give me half of the difference and I invite you to a beer.

Here are the complete specs for your convenience from Olympus for those who know what they are looking for. For all others, you cannot go wrong!

It truly is a Xtra Zip #1 pic machine haha!

Camera Type: Compact

Effective Megapixels: 10 MP

Image sensor type: CCD High Sensitivity

Image sensor size: 1/1.63"

Image processing engine: TruePic V

ISO range: Auto: 100 800

Manual: 100 6400

Movie: 200 1600

Low Light: 100 3200

Lens focal length: 6.0 24.00mm

Film lens equivalent (35mm): 28 112mm

Widest aperture: Wide(W) F1.8; Tele(T) F2.5

Optical zoom range: 4x

Digital zoom: 4x (16x maximum combined zoom)

Nearest focusing distance: Normal 0.6m

Macro: 0.1m (W); 0.3m (T)

Super Macro: 0.01m

Viewing screen type: OLED

Viewing screen size: 3"

Screen resolution: 610,000

Secondary viewfinder: with optional VF-2

Image stabilisation: Sensor Shift

Autofocus system type: Contrast detection AF system

Focus modes: Manual focus, Single AF, AF Tracking, Face Detection AF, Macro mode, Super Macro mode

Low-light AF assistance: AF Illuminator built-in

Metering modes: ESP light metering, Spot metering, Centre weighted metering

Scene modes: Portrait, e-Portrait, Landscape, Night Scene, Night+Portrait, Indoor, Self Portrait, Sport, Sunset, Fireworks, Multi-Exposure, Cuisine, Document, Beach & Snow, Under Water Wide, Under Water Macro, Pet

Panorama recording: Yes

3D recording: No

Creative filter system: Art Filters (Photo & Movie)

Photo Magic Filter types: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Dramatic Tone

Video Magic Filter types: Pop Art, Soft Focus, Grainy Film, Pin Hole, Diorama, Dramatic Tone

Shutter speed range: 2 1/2000s

Self timer: 12/2 seconds

Remote: with optional RM-UC1 Remote Cable

Flash type and power: Built-in

Flash hotshoe for external flash: Yes

Compatible external flash units: with optional FL-36R, FL-20, FL-14, FL-50R

Wireless flash capability: Yes

Wi-Fi Compatibility: No

GPS: No

Electronic Compass: No

Date imprint: No

Memory card type: SD/SDHC/SDXC

Internal memory: 54.6MB

Photo recording format(s): JPEG, RAW+JPEG

Video recording format: AVI Motion JPEG

Recording time: HD: 7min, SD: 14min

Video file sizes: Maximum 2GB

Video with sound: Yes

Built in microphone type: WAVE

External microphone option: Yes

Computer interface (Cable type): USB 2.0 High Speed

AV interface (Cable type): HDMI (CB-HD1 Type D); AV cable (CB-AVC3)

Battery type (model): LI-50B

Battery charging: In-camera via USB

Battery charger: with optional LI-50C External Charger

Battery life (CIPA standard): Approx. 320 shots (with 50% flash on)

Manometer: No

Dimensions WxHxD: 110.6 x 64.8 x 42.3

Weight: 275g

Box content: XZ-1 Digital Camera, USB Cable & Charger, Instruction Manual, [ib] Software CD, Audio/Video Cable, Wrist Strap, Lithium-Ion Battery (LI-50B), Warranty Card.

RRP AUD: $499.00

Underwater housing option: Yes

Read Best Reviews of Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Here

Amazing camera. F1.8 makes photos like if they were taken with a DSLR. If you attach a RICOH lens protector will interfere with the flash, but you wont need to use it anyways, night times pictures are stunning. I have the lumix LX3 and the olympus take much better photos, though it has a narrower lens (LX-3 24mm, really wide photos)

Like other reviewers said the video quality is no match for current lumix cameras with AVCHDLite, or even the iphone 4, but that's not the point of having a camera.

Want Olympus XZ-1 10 MP Digital Camera with f1.8 Lens and 3-inch OLED Monitor (White) Discount?

This is my first Oly camera I've been a Canon fan entirely. I'm replacing a $130 point and shoot with this XZ-1 because I unfairly compare these things to my wife's Canon 5D and an old Canon SureShot I had in the $400-range that performed admirably.

My primary desire in this camera was the low-light sensitivity of the lens. At 1.8, it allows me to use flash less, and stick to lower ISOs to eliminate days. Most of the pictures I take are not in the full sun as I'm sure many of you can relate with. The camera performs pretty well at 1.8, though it is a far cry from the 1.8 85mm portrait lens on the Canon 5D (DSLR). However, it can take some comparable images with less flexibility as is expected in this format. The key to making the best use of this capability is to use more manual settings. Full auto will result in the camera leveraging higher ISOs first so as to maintain the fastest shutter speed possible. Most people should be able to take a steady picture at 1/60 with a subject that isn't moving a great deal. The auto settings in the camera think you need 1/125 and so adjust the ISO gain accordingly.

The other beaut of a feature is the built-in ND filter. You have to enable it through a menu, unfortunately, but it can be a real boon in sunnier settings where you happen to also want a larger shutter (lower fstop).

The only aspect of the camera that I really don't like is the auto focus in video mode. For some reason, the video will periodically blur and refocus every 15 or 20 seconds.

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FakeTV FTV-10 Burglar Deterrent

I went to the website and knew immediately I wanted this. I bought one for myself and one for a family member. When I received it, I put it in an upstairs bedroom and partially opened the blinds. I plugged it in and set the timer to dusk + 7 hours. Other settings are dusk all nite, dusk + 4 hours, dusk +7, or always on. That evening, I was outside and was amazed. It looked like there was a tv on in the bedroom. It changed light intensity and colors like a real tv. My wife was appreciative because it gives her an added sense of deterrent which means a lot to me. What is impressive is that the lighting of the faketv can be extremely bright like any tv would be. However, the fake tv utilizes intensely bright LEDs that hardly uses any electricity but is a lot less than a regular tv or the high energy consumption that high definition tv uses. During the day, about 3 blue leds are always on to let you know that it is operating and will turn on at dusk. I am going to order another one for my mother because I know she would appreciate it. I would suggest for the best location would be in a window that is not near a street light.

I bought a Fake TV last year when we went to Florida for the winter. I also bought/installed 2 Barking Rex motion sensor alarms and installed 4 electronic light timers. The Fake TV I set up on an electronic timer.

We live on a private road with several summer cottages. While in Florida the neighor across the road (full time resident) and the one next door (summer cottage) got broke into. Our house was not bothered! When our neighbor came to check on our house he said the Barking Rex scared the crap out of him. I credit my passive security measures as keeping us from becoming a victim too.

The Fake TV and 1 Barking Rex was passed on to my son. So this year I bought 2 Fake TVs and 2 more Barking Rex alarms while we take an extended vacation. The new Fake TV now has a timer installed, new and improved. It can be on full time, come on at dark and stay on for either 4 hours or 7 hours. There is no need to hook it into a timer. Nice touch.

As a retired police officer I strongly recommend this to anyone that wants to imrove the impression someone is home. Set it up as instructions indicate to get the best benefit. Add Barking Rex and some light timers and only your neighbors will know you are not home. We are trying to keep the stranger from breaking in, we trust our neighbors. The stranger will see the lights coming on and going off, see the Fake TV lights in the window, and if they approach the doors hear a dog barking at them. Enough to make them move on to a different house.

Buy FakeTV FTV-10 Burglar Deterrent Now

When you unpack it, it is deceptively small. Aim it at a window and it does the trick! I have stood for quite a long time watching this thing in my window and my neighbor watching a real tv. The flashing behavior looks completely real. It screams "someone's home!!"

Read Best Reviews of FakeTV FTV-10 Burglar Deterrent Here

I read about this product a number of months ago, thinking this is a great idea in night time home security. If it truly worked, as claimed, it would be a great devise to deter someone looking to break in while you are away from home overnight. I just couldn't see how such a small devise could pull off the illusion quality of a television at night convincingly enough to be accepted as real.

Taking the plunge, I purchasing one locally and set it up at home. My son and wife were also present when we did the first round of testing. Baseline was our 27" color TV (what the company claims FakeTV is designed to replicate) on in two different rooms. We went outside and watched for about 5 minutes to see the patterns and brightness of the television coming through the window shades.

Next up was FakeTV. To our amazement, we couldn't tell the difference! The brightness and patterns looked just like a television being on at night. The best part -almost NO power usage, since FakeTV uses hi-intensity LED's for light power. The timer mechanism of selecting its use are:

1) Off totally

2) On at dusk (photo-eye operated) for 4 hours

3) On at dusk for 7 hours

4) On continuously (24/7).

I have mine aimed away from the windows, bouncing off a white wall, so there is no way to see the actual unit in operation. Stealth is the name of the game with this unit.

I highly recommend this unit to anyone. It works so well, I'm going to buy a second unit for a different room in the house.

*******

4/6/2011 Update

I have owned these units for just over a year. Between my neighbors and myself being out of town for extended periods of time, we have clocked up well over 200 days of use. The longest was 4(+) months straight this past winter.

In a nutshell -they worked flawlessly. In fact, my neighbor drove to their house from their extended vacation when fake TV was on and commented to his wife "Did you leave the TV on the whole time we were gone?" He forgot all about setting it up in the front bedroom. They are still that bright, even after all this use.

BTW, my neighbor just bought 2 units for themselves.

If you are concerned about durability, our long term test has shown that they will last for the duration. My FakeTV's are just as bright today as the first time we used them.

Want FakeTV FTV-10 Burglar Deterrent Discount?

Bought this to keep the house 'occupied' while away on a trip and the unit seemed surprisingly well made. What I found though was that it didn't seem as bright as I thought it might be. Perhaps this was due to the fact that I tried to use it in my living room instead of a bedroom as pictured on the packaging and that we have fairly thick curtains as well. I think this would be highly effective in an apartment in conjuction with some audio.

PS It always makes my day to know that people find these reviews helpful. So, please vote (The "Was this review helpful to you: Yes or No" buttons) and leave a comment if you'd like, even if it's just to say, Hi!") When you leave a comment, I can go to your reviews and pay you the same courtesy.

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Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red)

I was looking for a camera to use on a recent SCUBA trip to the Caribbean and it came down to a debate between the Intova Sport Pro HD and Go Pro HD Hero2. I took a chance with the Intova Sport Pro HD because it had the following nice advantages over the Go Pro:

1. Flat casing around the lens means that it won't have problems focusing underwater like the stock case of the Go Pro HD Hero 2 (fwiw, Go Pro sells a dive housing for an extra $50).

2. Standard tripod mount makes it fairly versatile and means I don't need additional strange mounts.

3. Manual white balance

4. Available red filter for when I'm too lazy to white balance underwater

5. Integrated LCD screen

6. Cheaper

Initial tests were optimistic with the Intova Sport Pro HD. Video quality was good, but not spectacular. The red filter added in nice colors underwater. Audio was okay, but had the presence of a distinct whine in the background. Still pictures were rather mediocre as it needs to be very still underwater and I have not yet fully mastered the fine art of buoyancy control. In any case, it was inexpensive and took decent video to document interesting stuff underwater. The buttons were firm but I could still navigate the menus underwater with no difficulty. It was good but not great device.

Well, that is until the second day of the trip. Sometime during my fourth dive of the trip the battery got low and it powered off. This was understandable as it had been running for about three hours at that point. I charged the device and the next morning it wouldn't power on even when outside of water (I tried turning the camera on before jumping off the boat and it didn't work). Further attempts to charge it were fruitless. The design of the device makes it impossible to take the camera out of the casing and examine the battery. So, I was left without a camera for the last fifteen dives of my vacation.

I've sent two emails to Intova, tweeted to them, and called their customer service line over the past eight days and I have yet to receive any response or acknowledgement from Intova. At this point I'm writing the device off and have concluded I would've been better off spending the extra money to get the Go Pro HD Hero2.

I purchased the Invota Sport Pro HD video camera despite several very critical reviews. Enticed by the pricepoint, I was hoping I would have better luck . However, it failed within a few hours of use right and after the second battery charge. This product has many flaws and is not ready for market in my opinion.

1) The housing was extremely difficult to open for the first time. Almost as though there was a partial vacuum inside. With great care, I had to use a jeweler's screwdriver to pry open the door and even then it was resistant to opening. After the first opening the door operated normally which leads me to think it may have been manufactured at altitude. I am at 550'.

2) I didn't mind the buttons being hard to press as other reviewers commented but I found that the controls were often not activated by a press of the buttons, quite frustrating. Felt as though the inside surface of the housing buttons is just a little too short to make good contact the the camera's buttons.

3) The wrist strap broke immediately upon use as another reviewer commented.

4) The image quality was about what I expected at the price point.

5) The camera went completely dead after the first battery charge in the field. It was charged from an automotive USB cable. I returned the unit to Amazon for a full refund.

Buy Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Now

I have taken this camera on about 7 dive trips and also borrowed my brother's Go Pro Hero2 camera as well; so here's the differences:

PROS:

this camera is almost as small as the Hero2 but it has a built in screen which the Hero2 does not. So if you added the screen accessory to the Hero2, then this camera would be smaller.

the picture quality is great with less fish-eye distortion than the Hero2 camera

this camera floats, unlike the Hero2, which is good if it falls off somehow

the head-mount does have a quick release and the Hero2 does not

this camera costs hundreds less the the Hero2!

this camera has more buttons and is easier to navigate the menus than the Hero2

the owner's manual is on a mini CD and has about 15 pages and is easy to understand

the case is made of high quality material which resists scratches (I know because I bumped it twice against rocks)

the lens does not fog up in cold spring water (72 degrees)

NEUTRAL:

this takes a micro SD card unlike the Hero2 which takes a regular SD card

CONS:

the back opens up to access the mini USB port and SD card, but you will need a butter knife to gently pry it open because a vacuum seal forms when closed

this camera does not have an audible beep when it starts or stops recording, unlike the Hero2

the head mount sticks out far from your head, which makes it easy to wobble; the Hero2 headmount is very compact and doesn't have this problem

the buttons are stiff and hard to press, after some time the buttons might even stick down

the audio has a high pitch tone or ringing sound in the background! it also doesn't pick up sound very good above water; so the audio track in your videos is almost worthless

I frequently had memory card errors when recording 1080p video! I bought a new memory card and still had the same problems. Basically, I had to erase all data on the card and record 1 long video, because I would get an error trying to record any more videos.

the camera will turn itself off in 5 min if you're not recording video or taking pictures.

this camera slowly leaks water! I greased the O-ring but it still happened in less than 60ft.

**Overall, it would have been better if I spent more money to get the Go Pro Hero2. The Sport HD camera records better video, but it doesn't work like its supposed to.

UPDATE: I called Intova customer service at 877-837-0074 and found out that their 2nd batch of cameras were defective, so they will happily replace your camera if you send them the old one. Their new batch of cameras are supposed to work correctly.

Read Best Reviews of Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Here

Purchased this unit a couple of months ago as soon as I became a certified OW Diver. Got also the red slip-on filter and cleaning kit at the same time.

First time I laid my hands on the unit I felt that it has a decent build, albeit with buttons that are very hard to press (I assume that they will become soft in time). The lock seems to be sturdy and reliable in sealing the inside of the camera from water.

I was a bit surprised at the audio quality of the item as well. Even as it captures excellent video at HD resolution I found that it has a consistent high-frequency ringing and a low mechanical whirring noise (not sure where it comes from). Audio recording was pathetic at best. I guess the best way to explain it is that the sound is similar to what a person hears after a bomb explodes nearby. Distant voices and lots of high-freq noise. Not really good.

What Intova is good at, however, is recording nice underwater videos. Video captured is crisp, clear and absolutely a visual delight. Photos taken are the same as well -when you are talking about wide-angle shots. Once you decide to come a bit near to your subject, the images begin to distort similar to the effect you see on a fisheye lens.

Despite all the negatives, though, I thought it was a nifty piece of equipment that is value for money and designed specifically with divers in mind.

That is, until I actually brought it to a dive.

The unit is highly unreliable. First, the buttons are very hard to press, so your thumbs and fingers become callous in a very short period of time. You will look like an idiot trying to press what looks like a button but does nothing to the unit itself.

Second, the unit dies in unexpected moments. I brought it with me for a 40minute dive while recording a total of ten minutes of footage when the unit suddenly died without any warning. No battery low message is being prompted on the screen (in fact, the battery indicator showed that it still had a full charge right before it died). Pressing the power button also proved to be futile. It only turned on when I got home and plugged the unit to my computer.

Imagine your dissapointment when the only camera you have brought for a dive trip dies on you, making you lose out on opportunities to preserve memories which is why you have purchased the camera on the first place.

Third, after just having been with me for a total of barely 2 months, 2 pool dives and 4 water dives, my camera is now dead. The unit turns on when you plug it to a power source but dies after removing the plug and refuses to turn on. I suspect that it has a problem with the power button as it is not responding to varying levels of presses being applied on it. It dissapointed me again and therefore I find it hard to trust it again.

I have written a letter to intova about this and I hope they will respond to it asap. But I've decided that since it is highly unreliable I would just get a go pro regardless whether they will replace my unit or not. Its unreliable build makes me not trust it on dive trips, making me feel that the Go Pro, while a bit pricey, might have been the better choice all along.

Want Intova Sport Pro HD Video Camera (Clear/Red) Discount?

So far, so good. This camera is a lot of fun. I like the super wide angle, the ease of operation, the durability, and the features.

This is a portable, rugged sports video camera. It is not very suitable for home movies or vlogging, nor is it a great still camera though it can perform those functions in a pinch.

I'm using a Class 4 32GB card which looks to hold about 8 hours of 720p video. I'm settling on this resolution for most of my work. The 1080 looks quite good too, though some of my PCs don't play it back well. This is a consumer camera, not a pro, so the optical quality is not like my Nikon. For what it is, it's quite good though. The wide angle hides a lot of sins. (And at 140 degrees coverage, expect a lot of distortion of nearby objects at the edges not fisheye, but getting there.) I saw some digital artifacts akin to posterization in dim areas of a scene with a wide range of lighting par for low light situations I think. Auto exposure seems to work well and adjust well I'm playing mostly with the Center mode (there is also Average and Spot, or something like that.)

The viewscreen is small but crisp. Audio playback is muffled by casing. Moreover, audio reception is muffled, and my audio contains a faint pulsing sound that almost sounds mechanical not something I can remove adequately with software (and I'm very good at audio restoration.) Will play with other resolutions and see if this persists. You should not expect to get hi-fi audio from a consumer U/W camera, and for my purposes, the audio is adequate. When people are talking, it picks it up okay, but drops off quickly with distance. You won't get much if people are across a room, say. So this isn't for home movies it's for outdoor dynamic shots and underwater videography. UW audio is good, since sound conducts better there you can hear the bubbles, for example.

I like a couple of the extra features such as burst mode photography, and time lapse. I like the TV out port. Cable included is flimsy but works 3 connections, 2 for audio, 1 for video. The charge port is a standard, and cable provided has USB at the other end. I would have liked a wall charger too, but have some of those around anyway.

The electronic manual is adequate, perhaps better than average for this type of thing. It would be better if it included explanations of the various modes however. It only tells how to set them, but little or nothing about why you might choose them. Menu navigation is easy; I grew accustomed to the buttons quickly.

The lens and back window came with a clear protector sheet on them which I removed. Later put a better one on the back since it was starting to get scratched. I recommend this I can only imagine how scuffed it will get when used in the surf and such, which would eventually make it hard to see the image on the viewscreen. In bright sun the screen can be hard to see, especially due to the reflectivity of the casing. And don't forget to lubricate the seal mine came prelubricated, but it doesn't come with silicon. Buy some at a dive store and keep it with the camera!

I boosted the saturation by using the Vivid mode. It's a bit oversaturated, but I will play with that during editing. I found that without it, the saturation felt a little soft. Most sample videos you see for sports cameras are oversaturated that seems to be the style of extreme excitement!

In the pool the camera performed flawlessly. No leakage, no fogging in 70 degree water. Buttons work fine. Most water streams off when emerging, so video looks good bobbing up and down. Exposure compensation is reasonably quick in this application. I haven't tried an extreme close up yet, but will do that the camera focuses very close but does not do macro.

So far, battery life looks good. I haven't actually drained it yet. My guess is that the advertised life is about right under average conditions.

Adressing a couple comments from others. Someone complained that opening the casing will take off your fingernails. No, if you look carefully at the manual and packaging insert, there is a little curved lever to the latch that pops the back open no problem. It's quite clever actually. About the buttons being very stiff. Mine seem to have loosened a bit, and I don't generally have a problem. Sometimes I use both thumbs with nails together, which makes it easier. The button sleeve has a groove from top to bottom so that your nails will easily depress the buttons. (Long nails would be a problem here.)

PROS

Overall use meets my needs

Value

Portability

Underwater capability far preferable to the "deeply" flawed GoPro Hero2

Features

Usability

Standard 1/4" tripod mount easy to use with your own contraptions

CONS

Audio quality

Lack of optical zoom everything is W I D E. (Haven't tried digital zoom much yet)

Apparent inability to mute the digital "click" sound when snapping a photo

Apparent inability to douse the internal red "camera on" light

No macro mode

Lanyard durability; mine came apart when I tried to slide it up onto my bicep. Replace with better one.

Bottom line: Very good at what it's designed for.

Watch my WyrdNet channel on YouTube some sample videos there.

Epson PowerLite 1915 Business Projector (XGA Resolution 1024x768) (V11H313020)

Purchased this little beauty in the spring and have used it for presentations for the most part. I was amazed at the colour reproduction and brightness it kicks out. Aside from having to figure out a couple of networking challenges (my fault, not the projectors) this baby performs great. The remote could have slightly larger buttons but since I use my own Logitech remote its not a problem for me. Two thumbs up so far.

Garmin 405 fabric watchband

I purchased the Garmin Wrist strap to replace the existing straps on my Forerunner 405. While the only reason I needed to replace the original strap was because I have a dog who decided to turn my GPS watch into a chew toy, I'm actually pretty glad he did chew it or I wouldn't have discovered this product! The original straps were hard and resulted in blisters on my wrist from rubbing during my long runs. The velcro strap is a dream in comparison. Soooo comfortable and easy to make the switch. The only issue I could foresee would be the fabric straps starting to smell from the sweat but I haven't had to deal with that yet.

I only gave it four stars because I had purchased the green forerunner and, with black being the only option, the black strap and green watch face does look a little funny. However, I'm more concerned about function over form.

Oh, almost forgot... I thought I could get a deal and originally bought the Garmin wrist strap that is selling for $19.99. That one is for earlier models, it doesn't contain the required adapters needed to convert the 405. Don't make the same mistake I did!

When my wrist band broke for m. Garmin I was very disappointed. This was a perfect fit and changing the band was pretty easy. Its just difficult to clean and absorbs all of my sweat so it starts to stink. Other than that I have no issues!

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I have a small wrist and often watch bands are too big. This velcro strap fits my wrist and so far has been a great answer to my wrist band dilemma.

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Ok, so I am not a fan of the design of the Garmin Forerunner 405. The way they have the molded top part just does not work for people with bigger wrists. These straps help take away the pain and make the watch more usable, but the watch still sits about 1/8" over my wrist because of the design. Also, the straps are easy to put on... once you actually get the old ones off. That was a pain for me for some reason, but others haven't had that much of a problem. Overall, they do what they are meant to do, and seem sturdy. Would recommend.

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I purchased this strap because the hard plastic strap that came on the Garmin Forerunner 405 Water Resistant Running GPS With USB ANT Stick (Black) cracked. Not only does this strap feel more comfortable on my wrist, and fit better on my Garmin Forerunner Bicycle Mount Kit, but it also seems like it will be more sturdy and durable than the strap that came with the watch. Couldn't be happier with my purchase, just wish that this strap had come with the watch in the first place!

Pros:

-comfortable

-fits wrist better than the stock strap

-fits bike mount better than the stock strap

-durable and sturdy, will last

Cons:

-none

Defender SN502-4CH-001 4-Channel H.264 DVR with 4 Indoor/Outdoor Night Vision Cameras - Black

First of all... I actually really liked a lot of the features about this product but still ended up returning it. I am really torn between giving it 2 and 3 stars... I would give it a 5 on a scale of 5 to 10, but unfortunately cannot give it a 2.5 here.

I will go with the good things first:

* Easy to set up the cameras and run a single cable (that carries both power and video)from the DVR to the camera. You can have this recording within minutes of receiving it.

* The DVR was fairly intuitive and it pretty much has to be as the manual is awful and the included CD-ROM would not run on my computer.

* I ran this DVR using all 4 cameras on the highest video quality setting for over 4 weeks and didn't fill the hard disk space... still had 17GB remaining after almost a month of continous use. (Had several instances of video loss for several days that might have kept memory usage down.)

* This packaged system contains everything you need, and the 60' cables are plenty long so there is rarely a need to buy extension cables for an average 3 bedroom home.

* Setting up the internet access was fairly easy if you can follow simple directions that are thoroughly explained. Accessing the cameras over the internet from work, or viewing the cameras from my phone (with no monthly cost or subscription) was nice.

* DVR was attractive and a mouse was included for ease of use.

* DVR gave off average heat and was silent (no internal fan).

Now the not so good:

* Camera color was way off and could not be corrected using the color adjustment features in the menu. Green trees and grass appeared pinkish, and some blacks appear purple while some blacks are almost black. If something were to happen or a crime were to occur, it would be impossible to say with certainty what color a car was or what color clothing a criminal was wearing. This was true whether the camera was placed indoors or out.

* Two of the cameras would experience random video loss resulting in a black screen and no recording. To restore video, I had to unplug the power cable and plug it back in. It may be a concidence, but both of these cameras were installed outdoors (not exposed to rain, placed in a sheltered location high out of reach). There is absolutely nothing you can do to restore video if you are away from home. This video loss happened weekly, and always while I was away... and no one tampered with the camera, they just turned themselves off.

* Night vision in larger areas is almost useless. You may be able to see a faint outline or pixelated form, but no way could you identify anything from more than a few feet away.

* Video quality in general is fairly low. I had trouble identifying my neighbors from 20' or so. I would never be able to identify a stranger from the video. It seems impossible to read a license plate or a logo on a shirt or sticker even if it is close to the camera. I doubt the FBI has any software that could help either... lol

* The camera mount (swivel base thing) is unstable. Needs a better design.

Motion detection detects EVERYTHING even at its lowest sensitivity setting and with the detection field set to a minimum. It detects lights, shadows, lint/dust/insects at night (they glow in the night vision)... It would set a motion event every 30 seconds when the sun cast a shadow through a tree that waved. The gentle motion of a shadow on the sidewalk set it off all day long.... or a beam of sunlight from the skylights passing through the blades of a ceiling fan set on a low speed. It would set hundreds of alarm events and they were just too much to go through. Forget about setting it up to send you an email of each event!!

* Field of view for the cameras is extremely narrow. For the useable distance in which you can actually identify someone or something, you capture very little area. My driveway (one boat, one truck) cannot be adequately monitored with only one camera. You might consider an 8 camera system if you need wide views.

* The software options are fairly full featured, but the software seems rough around the edges. This is probably because it is not a huge brand name company.

* Cannot rewind or play recorded video or events remotely.

Summary:

For a cheap system, it actually works ok. I know my review seems negative and for me, the negative outweighed the rest... but it really is a nice little package system that sets right up and records all it sees. Was really neat to see what goes on when I am not home. Never realized how many birds and squirrels I have around either. I would have tried to deal with the company on my camera issues and possibly keep the system, but I read in a few other reviews that Defender is not easy to deal with and would likely tell me "there is nothing wrong with the cameras" as they seemed to tell everyone else who included similar problems in their review. I read reviews from more than one person who had defective items returned to them without repair or replacement. I felt it would be better to return this system before my return period with Amazon expired. I am hoping to pay an extra $200 or so for a system with better quality cameras.

Update: Bought a Samsung SDE-3000N 4 camera system. Shares many of the same features as the Defender system right down to the crappy camera mounts... software and everything are similar but of a higher quality. Cameras and images are a much higher quality, and the sensitivity of the motion sensors actually can be adjusted to a usuable level. Samsung software is also far superior and you can rewind/play recorded video and events online. Colors are accurate in the day, and the night vision works too.

This is the second Defender home surveillance system that I've bought. I just received this SN502-4CH-001 this week and I have it up and running. I hooked it all up in my living room to make sure everything was working OK before I ran the wires in the attic. It comes with 4 60 ft cables, and if you need some of the cables longer than 60 ft, you will need to buy the 60 ft extensions. It is very user friendly to hook up, as you just plug the cables into the camera and the DVR. This model has a VGA connection to use a computer monitor, and it also has 2 RCA video out connections that you can hook it up to a TV. I am using a computer monitor, and the pictures are nice and clear. I like the fact that you can playback the recorded video in 2x, 4x, 8x, or 16x. You can control the DVR with a usb connected mouse, or also a remote control. Both of them are included with the system. It also included a RCA video Cord, and a VGA cord. Everything is included that you need except the monitor. I would definitely recommend this system if 4 channels are enough for your setup. If you need more cameras, then you'll need the 8 channel or the 16 channel system.

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Got this unit for my small business, here are the pros and cons:

PROS: it's extremely to install, the cameras have good resolution and perform well in the dark, motion detection works as advertised, the 60ft cable are enough for most spaces, you can plug a lcd monitor or to a normal tv, and it has quite robust remote monitoring tools (haven't use the email alerts yet).

CONS: Android support is tricky (iPhone works well), I'm using ASee by QSee

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Bought this product mainly to monitor my business remotely as I travel a lot. Cameras are easy to hook up and 65' of cable for each camera was more than enough for my application. The picture quality after adjusting is very good in daylight and decent with night vision.

Having said all this, I can't recommend this product for remote viewing. I attempted to contact customer service by phone on 3 different occasions. They have their hold system set to 30 minutes and then they just kick you to voice-mail. Voice mail would be pointless since I'm rarely sitting by the system. They also offer an online chat service that will be answered promptly by someone that seems to think everyone is an idiot.

It's obvious that they are chatting with many people at the same time as responses are minutes apart.

Me: I'm having trouble viewing my DVR from a computer plugged into the same router.

Matt: You need to plug the DVR into the router. (Really Matt?)

Me: It's already plugged in.

Matt: Watch this video.

Me: I can't ping the DVR from my computer.

Matt: Your router is broken. (Hey Matt! I'm chatting with you from the same router!)

Me: Is there another number I can call for support besides the one that is never answered?

Matt: No that's the only number.

Looks like I'll be up in the ceiling next week tearing this thing back out.

To sum up:

If you just want a system to record I highly recommend.

If you need to set up remote viewing you're on your own.

UPDATE:

I finally was able to reach customer support over the phone. The trick is to call in the morning I guess. Anyway, customer service rep was able to quickly take over my computer and set everything up. I can now give four stars. The online viewing quality is low but it is usable which is all I need. I am now hooked up on home computer and smartphone.

If you try to view the cameras on IE and you just get the Defender Logo on the top without a picture, you need to click the compatibility icon on the right side of the address bar. It looks like a torn piece of paper.

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Impressed that I hooked-up the cables and turned it on and got the images without reading an hour of instructions....unusual for any computer-based system. Be sure you have the places chosen that you can drill a 3/4 hole for the cable end, and have some caulk ready to fill it back... ( Older stucco house has 1 inch thick stucco ).

Try to put the camera under an overhung eve to protect the lense and theres no problems. The telescoping mounts are tricky, but, a small gob of construction glue steadies them easily.

Next we will ask a friend to get the internet stuff hooked up.

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