Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 3-inch LCD and

This past holiday week-end I made the decision not to take my Nikon DSLR with me on a 3 day road trip to Minneapolis. The majority of my time was spent wandering the Mall of America, and the E-P1 was an absolute delight the entire time.

This little camera makes me smile each time I use it!

If you don't care to word a long, winding review let me summarize it. The E-P1 doesn't have to make any apologies for being petite, its a full fledged camera on its own merit.

Positives

* Great photo quality!

* Built in image stabilization (works pretty well too)

* Customizable and responsive interface/buttons

* HD movie mode with autofocus

* Low profile, doesn't get you noticed

* Quiet. I'd say quieter than my old rangefinders and way more quiet than my DSLR's

Could be better

* Battery life

* Perhaps almost too customizable (pretty good learning curve). Keep the manual handy!

I'm not a people shooter and certainly not a "street" shooter but my week-end was spent at the Mall of America, which is enormous but all in doors. It was an interesting challenge. I found that although I fumbled with the interface and settings a bit, it became very engrossing and almost mesmerizing to shoot publicly with the E-P1. It never drew attention, not once, where as I saw people clearing out from the obvious DSLR guys like fish around a barracuda in the reef.

Lens: My only lens is the 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6, which doesn't sound too exciting. However in practice it has been a great general utility lens that has rendered quite nicely, showing nice resolution and sharpness. I can only anticipate what the E-P1 will do with a quality, wide aperture prime. I'm up in the air about my next move, but the 50mm f/2 sure looks tempting. But then again it would be great to try OM mount too! Arg....

Auto-Focus: I've read some questions about the auto-focus performance of this camera, but in normal operation haven't see an issue yet. Granted I haven't tried to shoot a basketball game or dance recital yet so take this with a grain of salt. For my people shooting in the mall the AF performance has been wonderful and spot on. When I've gone to outdoor settings or even just trying to snap something quick from my car, I've found that the autofocus is quite a ways behind my D90. I think it is real world quick, but it is probably a step slower to focus than any DSLR on the market. Not saying that's a bad thing, some worth knowing.

Sensor: The sharpness I see from this camera is well beyond what I expected, so there may be something to the talk that Olympus removed the strong anti-alias filtering most DSLR's are plagued with. The jpg results thus far haven't required any post process sharpening and the Olympus color engine is a breath of fresh air in my opinion.

Handling: Coming form a DSLR will make you take a little time to get used to the difference. Getting used to shooting with a LiveView display will also take some getting used to. There isn't a front/rear two wheel control system as I'm used to with the D90, but there are two primary controls for manual shooting and they can both be worked while shooting one handed. Very nice design! The buttons and functions are all fully customizable but expect to be nestled up with the manual a wee bit to do it. All in all composing from the LiveView LCD became very natural and fluid after a day. High marks to Olympus in designing such a usable system. The only thing I still have to figure out is a button to disable auto-focus so I can go fully manual.

Results: The bottom line to any camera is what it can produce. The E-P1 is not a D700, A900 or 5DII. Those are different kinds of cameras that excel at higher ISO and extreme resolutions. What the E-P1 is to me is a system capable of going toe-to-toe with any DX sensor system on the market in terms of deliverable results. No it doesn't shoot 8 frames per second. Again not that kind of camera.

This is a practical camera whose size and form factor make it usable in places that larger cameras wouldn't work as well or possibly not at all. I'm seeing very detailed and sharp results up to ISO 1,250. After years of shooting 35mm, DSLR and even large format I'd have to say this is the most fun I've had with any camera I've owned. Its a camera guy's camera that the beginner can use as well.

First a little background. I have a couple of other SLRs and was mainly looking for something to give me close to SLR quality files but in a considerably smaller physical package. A couple of downsides you should already be aware of from the product description.:

1. There is no pop-up flash. Not a problem for me, I don't ever use them anyway (your mileage may vary).

2. There is no viewfinder. Again not a problem for me, got used to that very quickly.

Now some observations from having used the camera:

The sensor image quality is excellent. Dynamic range is at SLR quality. Noise levels up to and including ISO 800 is very clean. ISO 1600 has a bit more noise than the Rebel XSI (also 12mp)with the noise increasing relative to competitors from there.

The user interface is intuitive. I used mostly Aperture Priority and Manual and found it easy to use. Stuff in the menus were also easily found. Changing the settings were at times challenging (like ISO) because of the smaller buttons, but given the camera's small size its something I could forgive

Its heavy, almost as heavy as a basic, entry level DSLR. Now the lens is light as a feather, however I feel a lot of heaviness comes because of the build quality of the camera, which is superb

The RAW processing software that comes with the camera is useless. The interface is horrible and the stability even worse. Wait for your favorite RAW processing software to add support and use that.

The deal breakers:

The kit lens is slow. Really slow. So slow in fact that I found the system to not be very useful when the light levels got low or you were indoors. Now this could easily be fixed by having a series of fast pancake lenses, which I believe are coming, but sadly they aren't here yet.

The auto focus is slow and unreliable, especially indoors. I found the AF to be very slow and borderline frustrating. Again, this was mostly indoors and in low light levels, so a faster lens may alleviate the issue.

Overall, this is a fantastic start for Olympus and once the system is fleshed out a bit more (with lots of those fast pancake primes at various focal lengths) I may consider it again. However with the limited lens selection available today, its not for me. You need to figure out if you can live with the kit lens (or the 17mm f/2.8 prime) while waiting for more lenses to come out for yourself.

Buy Olympus PEN E-P1 12.3 MP Micro Four Thirds Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera with 3-inch LCD and Now

I had been considering replacing my Leica d-lux 3 with the d-lux 4 when the EP-1 news came out. I immediately sold the d-lux 3 and ordered my EP-1. It is a little larger than I was hoping, but out of the box, the first results were incredible, RAW format on a par with my nikon d-90 RAW, requiring very little post-production. Feels good in the hand, responsive and fast auto-focus and much more satisfying to use than the leica which I loved. Initial results in RAW much better than the leica, which was always just a little noisy.

This is a top notch camera, that I hope will continue to deliver results. The only current drawback for me is that photoshop CS4 doesn't recognizethe Olympus Raw Format (ORF). I have to go through Olympus software to convert, which severely disrupts my work flow, and the software is slow and clunky. Shooting JPGs alongside Raw in case I need the results faster.

If they get the plugin updated soon, I'll be over the moon.

Very happy with this purchase.

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I needed something decent to have in my laptop bag when i wasn't lugging around all my SLRs and Lenses. This camera seems to be the perfect blend SLR and Point and shoot. The f/2.8 lens allow me to take great, non-flash photos in low-light situations without an obscene amount of noise. It has a great, solid build and with a decent amount of weight, it doesn't feel like it will fall apart at any minute like your point-and-shoot. I would say if you are in the market for something more advanced than a point and shoot, but nice and small, pick it up.

Also, I believe this is the smallest device to be able to take 720p video at f/2.8 (m4/3) with stereo audio. Great video device if you ask me.

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This camera has been a very pleasant surprise for me. The low light capability is extraordinary and as for framing pictures in bright sunlight I am very glad I got the optional optical viewfinder that fits in the hotshoe. But the picture sharpness and color quality are breathtaking. There is a learning curve on the menus but once you get used to it there are many in-camera scene types to fool with, such as old-fashioned grainy black and white. Most importantly, it is ultra-portable and unobtrusive in a good-looking way. I am thrilled with it!

Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom

Are you looking for the absolute best quality video & sound available including astonishing low light performance? Then look elsewhere. Are you looking for a camera that you'll actually carry which is also fast & simple to use while capturing very good HD video and acceptable stills? Then stop looking, you've found it. For my money, a camera that gets used is way better than a studio quality hulk that sits in the closet. This thing will fit in pants or jacket pockets. It's a camera my wife will use!

Talk about simplicity, the TG5V has exactly 4 mechanical controls if you include the switch that turns the camera on when you open the LCD. The other three are all located on the back and controlled by your thumb. Zoom ring, video start stop button, still photo button. That's it! Almost all funtions can be set once on the touchscreen menu and then forgotten. But, you can set up a custom menu with your six favorites on a menu that is accessible with one touch of the screen. Very slick and a good thing because the menu is extensive with 14 sub-sections. I set the whole thing up and configured the custom menu without ever opening the manual so I'd rate the new Sony menu design a success.

Video is excellent in HD and still OK in SD. Low light is not the camera's forte but a well lit room is no problem. Batteries last only about 90 min so you'll want a spare. I also bought the wide angle lens and I think most people are going to want that for indoor shots. This camera has a narrower than usual field of vision.

I bought the spare battery & charger kit to free me from carrying the stand and ac/dc converter block. Lastly, I bought the Sony brown leather case with magnetic closure. It's very nice and protects the camera well but I think most of the time I'll carry the TG5V in my pocket in the drawstring bag that came with my Nikon flash. It's perfectly sized and adds almost zero bulk. The wide angle lens has it's own zip leather case. The case velcros onto the camera handstrap and the lens has a separate leash that also clips onto the camera strap. Excellent overall system design.

Edit: Forgot to mention the GPS function. It seems sort of goofy to me but it lets you search for files by location by pointing at the touchscreen. I may grow to like it but for me anyway, it is far from the main reason I wanted this video camera. And it just occurred to me that you may be able to extend battery life by shutting off the GPS reciever.

So why didn't I save $350 bucks and buy the older TG1? The TG5V is about 7% lighter and 10% smaller in volume, has 16GB memory built in, Sony made the touch screen menu system much more usable, and they improved the looks. And then of course there's the GPS thingy?????

Edit 11/07/2009 : Someone left a comment pointing out that when Sony added a bunch of improvements to the TG5V they also took something away. True and a bit strange for a consumer electronics company to remove features. Sony offered 5.1 audio recording on the original TG1V. The new TG5V on the other hand makes do with 2 channel stereo recording. I can think of several reasons why it should have been stereo to begin with but I can't figure out why, once they had 5.1 audio implemented they'd remove it.

So why go with stereo? A lot of customers don't own home theaters with 5.1 surround sound systems. Those who do will likely play back their video on a computer where multi-channel audio doesn't add much "wow". Or they'll burn their memories to a DVD and send it to grandma and aunt Susie who again, don't have a home theater. Or they'll post it on YouTube for others to watch .....you guessed it, on a computer. Also let's face it, this camera is tiny without an input for an external microphone. How good can a tiny 1/8th inch built in mike do separating 5 channels of audio with directional cues?

Do I miss the 5.1 channel audio? Not at all. I view it as an acceptable tradeoff for the worlds smallest high quality video camera that is actually going to get used because of its portability.

Why did Sony jettison a feature they had already designed into the product? No idea. Cost? I doubt it, this camera is marketed to well heeled consumers and the cost difference was probably a few bucks. Maybe they also decided it was a useless feature for the target buyer. Or, maybe their AVCHD codec was having problems with 5.1 audio. It remains a mystery.

This is a fantastic camera. The video and camera controls are easy to use and the zoom is easy to control. It fits very nicely in my pants pocket. The only deficiency is that the documentation for Macintosh OS use is very poor, and actually misleads you to think that the camera is not Macintosh compatible (I was angry when I read the single page on the Sony website, which implied that only photos taken on the memory stick could be used on a Macintosh). Fortunately, I thought I would try to hook it up via the USB to my MacBook Pro anyways. iPhoto automatically launches when the HDR-TG5V is USB connected, and I was able to download the photos the same as with any other camera. The GPS tags worked perfectly. After quitting iPhoto, I ran iMovie 09 and to my delight, it automatically recognized the movies for download. For GPS users, make sure to turn on the camera when you reach a new location and make sure it has had time to triangulate a location (when the three dots becomes a set of bars). If you don't wait for this, the photos are not linked to that location. The other downside is that it lacks night vision, but it does allow for manual focusing and even automatic optimization of focus on faces. Overall, a very handy and convenient camera with excellent movie resolution and good photo resolution.

Buy Sony HDR-TG5V High Definition Handycam Camcorder with Built-in GPS Receiver and 10x Optical Zoom Now

I have an older hdr-fx1, but wanted a small pocket video camera.

This camera video is not as good as the full size, but is very nice in 1080i. It is not a 1080p camera, so saying it is "full HD" to me is really not true. The GPS tagging works, as well as using a standard DVD burner to make disks that have to be read on a BD reader. Curiously, if you use a Sony BD burner, which I also have, the video is fine, but none of the menus are burned into the standard DVD disk. I have a fast XP computer, and you will need that to burn the AVCHD disks.

The sound got hollow and very strange when the background was a waterfall, and also at other times with background sound.

This camera eats batteries, so have 2 or a charger with you.

Video is good, but for this price, is a 720p Vado, Flip or Kodak a better deal? Except for the GPS, the older model has 5.1 surround and is cheaper.

Overall, it is small and a good camera, but pricey.

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I am crazy about Sony gadgets, saw this cute little HD camcoder, though it is priced little high I bought it.

Ease of use There are no too many buttons to operate. It is simple and handy.

Battery Life Though the specs say the battery can last for 2 hours of video, you loose battery when you replay videos or review pictures. Overall I felt it is better to carry a 2nd spare battery when you are going out

Video in good light Simply superb

Video in low light gets grainy, you might start thinking if it is really a HD cam or not.

Audio crystal clear. Though 5.1 dolby has been removed, 2.1 sounds great

GPS I had been to India for vacation and there were no maps for major cities

Overall:

I rate this as a great handy HD camcoder + still camera in good light but not so good in bad light. I hope Sony rectifies these things in their future releases.

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PROS

I bought mine for $1500 so the price now is a huge plus!!

pocket size

good enough battery

STABLE picture

BEAUTIFUL 1080p in good light

GPS

Audio is surprisingly good. Compared to the flip cameras, that is.

works GREAT in Sony Vegas Pro

well made strong metal (titanium apparently)

media files created play well on my three media players popcorn, wdtv and asus

CONS

poor low light (but it's tiny so why complain!)

gps takes a while to get running (again, no biggie)

no external mic (not a biggie unless you are recording interviews, lectures)

I use it for family recordings and sometimes hour-long lectures. I have two Kodak Zi8 and Zi10 (Playtouch). The image stabilization is worth the extra bulkiness. Shakey flip-style recordings are NOT good memory keepers.

if you are editing, thank GOODNESS Vegas 11 handles it out of the box. No point complaining about "oh no it doesn't play on my PC" it's AVCHD, so the responsibility is on you to have a decent machine.

The price now is amazing. Just wish it had external mic capability!

******* UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2012

Ok so now it's been nearly a year. The machine is a little battered (i did drop it on a rock on the beach) but still great BUT -the display screen no longer stands perpendicular meaning when I am filming I need to prop it up with one finger (i think a spring is broken inside) NO BIGGIE! Picture and performance still great. I compare to other small cameras which are more modern and this is still a great machine. I would say it is aging gracefully :-) as it is not completely plastic I think it has a lot of life left in it. Unusually, this camera gets a LOT of regular, weeekly use (most get used during vacations only) so I really cannot complain.

TO MY KNOWLEDGE THERE IS NO TRUE POCKET CAMERA WHICH GIVES THIS QUALITY !!!

If know of one please let me know!

Gold Plated micro HDMI / HDMI Cable (Type D to Type A) (3.5 feet)

Excellent. TO OT OT OT OT OTO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TO TOE why OK

...didn't want to spend too much money on a basic cable. Needed something not too long and was glad to find this works great and now can watch or play music off my ASUS TF700 tablet onto friends TVs or sound system when visiting.

Highly recommended to add connectivity for your portable gadgets.

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Came just when I needed it .

Finally I can use my table, I just love it is just what I'd expected.

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Use it for tablet to monitor connection. No problem. I like it. Recommend anyone use for the same purpose. Good length.

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for the price I could not be happier. It's a cable that I use to run Netflix through my phone to a large TV. Shipping was fast.

Aviator A1 Travel Jib Mag Aloy Aluminum Kit - 24" Long - Extends to 6'

I have used this jib on several shoots and overall really like it. It is easy to travel with. Easy to set up. And allows for an increased production value to your project. It is not a full on 'production jib' like you'd see at a concert or large scale production. If you are looking for a jib to easily travel with, this may be exactly what you're looking for.

Check out my review with many examples of the shots I got with this jib at:Good Luck.

The jib works well from what I can tell. Easy to install on my tripod. Took a few minutes to figure out how things unscrewed and adjusted. I was expecting a hard shell case but it came in a nylon bag. The bag feels pretty solid and it's probably lighter in weight and smaller anyways.

Panning up, down, left, and right all worked smoothly and professionally. When I move, I do not see any shaking on the video which is good and when I come to a stop, it's not jarring. The joints all seem like a very high quality and work smoothly with the exception of one area.

My biggest problem comes from the pivot area where the jib moves up and down. The metal is not smooth, resulting in a sandpaper-like sound unless I loosen up the screw completely (maybe I'm supposed to do that?). I was hoping to be able to keep the screw slightly tightened in order to control the shot better, maybe someone can chime in here and tell me if it's supposed to be totally loosened or not.

I plan to smooth this down with either sandpaper or my Dremel. It's not a big deal. I can still use the jib today if I had to and I think I could still accomplish my goal of enhancing my videos. I'm not a pro or even semi. I'm just a regular person who is a hobbyist who likes to spend. I will use this with my iPod Touch to make iMovie trailers, family home movies, and action and nature shots.

One of the bubble levels is all whited out. I cannot see it unless I look really close. The other bubble level is fine, easy to read. I wasn't in a position to verify if the levels were actually level or not. Not a biggie cause I wasn't planning to use it (the defective one) anyways. It's kind of in a hard to see location.

I like the way it's pretty easy to set up the jib and I think the portability will come in handy when I go hiking up here in the Seattle area. I can't wait to get some nice panning shots on top of Mount Si. I know this is the maker's first try, so he gets kudos for making a good product. I know he's still working the kinks out, it's never perfect on your first try.

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Alientech Torpedo Video Projector

I purchased this exact item from another site and I ordered a 5' x 9' piece of projector fabric to create a large, opaque white screen. I ordered this for my 6 year old's "Saturday Movie Matinee" Birthday party, because I wanted to do something different besides the pizza place, hamburger place, jumpy bouncey place, etc. party. We're going to set a room up like a movie theatre and play one of the new animated releases for the kids, with pop corn and movie snacks.

I have read many reviews and complaints about this projector, but for what it is and for the money it works great. We have been testing this item the past 2 nights and so far, so good. We are able to get a pretty large screen, maybe 3' x 4' and the quality is "good." I would compare the viewing quality to that of a drive-in movie. It's not going to be super crisp like your TV and the colors could be sharper, but my kids think it is awesome! We haven't even tried this with the video games yet.

Also this projector does not require total darkness, which I've seen in many other reviews. We are able to view the movie on the wall just fine at one end of our bedroom, with a lamp on at the other end. However, the darker the room, the sharper the image appears. I would also add that movies with a brighter, lighter background are easier to view, than movies with a darker background. The movie sound is really good and I don't find the projector fan sound distracting at all. In fact, I think it kind of adds to the "movie" experience. Of note, you must have a live feed for this projector to work. You have to START the DVD for the projector to project the image onto the wall. Otherwise, you will see absolutely nothing or just a teentsy, tiny, little menu on the wall and you will be scratching your head and changing out the cables, trying to figure what's wrong. Trust me....we know!! :)

I bought this projector to replace a tv for a game room. Most projectors are around 100 to 200 dollars so I gave this one a try. When I received the package it was put to the test.

Pros: will project a 72 inch image on a wall or screen.(preferably a white wall)

replacement bulb very cheap around 5-10 dollars

small and easily set up

relatively high resolution 920-240

easy volume control

simple focus control (simply twist the lens to sharpen the image)

can be used for presentations with an adapter

Cons: only has one speaker built in

works best in dark rooms but poor picture with ambient light

only has RCA jack (red,yellow,white)

no cap for lens or carry case accessory

overall it is a great projector for its price but don't expect a high quality HD image or sound quality. Its good for games and movies as long as they aren't dark oriented.

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i got this projector last year at first i thought it was great(i dident have a flat screen) pixels will stand out when the image is 40" or higher

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El proyector tiene mala imagen, hace mucho ruido, se distorciona incluso estando a menos de 2 metros de la pared, me satisface tan poco que solo lo he usado 2 veces

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the price is good and cheap

the sound is very good

the display is poor

the size is gigant

Wolverine PASS -100 Portable Battery Powered Hand Held Document Scanner

This scanner doesn't take up hardly any space and weighs next to nothing. It sits in my briefcase, unnoticed, until I need to scan something. It takes a few seconds to slip it from its carry pouch, slide it across the sheet, book page, business card, photo, whatever, and I'm done. There's no need to connect it to a computer until I'm back in my office and need to download the stuff I've scanned.

One option is always to use my mobile phone and I've found that can take longer just to get the scan. Getting a document lying flat is occasionally a problem. Having the lighting sufficient and positioning the phone at the right distance so the image looks reasonably "square" and not having a shadow can be a real hassle (and sometimes impossible). I can make it a little better later with software and that adds even more to the time. With all that the results are never as good as with this scanner.

The scanner has a solid feel. I've been using it for about a year and it's still going strong. All I've had to do in that time is change the two AA batteries once.

BTW, I feel that honest, effective reviews can take the place of first-hand experiences that are lacking in online shopping. I've always appreciated the help I've received from other reviewers and work hard to return the favor as best as I can. I hope you found this review helpful and if there was anything you thought was missing or unclear leave a comment and I'll do what I can to fix it.

We are a private, non-profit social services agency. The most important part of our work is done in homes. There are also many requirements about current documentation, so we need something we can use in the field to collect the documents. This little scanner does a great job on everything from driver's licenses to full size sheets of paper. It is easy to calibrate and use; it is easy to keep with you; it makes great images; and it is completely self contained. You supply the memory card (up to 32g) and you're ready to scan. Then, when you return to your home or office, downloading is easy. We tried one, loved it and bought four more.

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I really like this scanner as it serves the purpose for which it was purchased. I wanted a scanner that would allow me to store copies of medical references (to avoid having to lug heavy reference books to printers & paying for copies, etc) as a medical student/intern. I am using a 32 GB level 4 SD card, which I formatted within the scanner itself before using (formatting instructions in the manual). Works beautifully! It is extremely legible as long as you do some practice scans. You can check your work the first few times you use this by either pulling out the SD card and inserting into your laptop, or by connecting the scanner directly to the laptop via supplied USB-2.0 cord. I have not tried this on photographs (other than the printed drawing on our church bulletin, the output for which was very good), but it can scan in either black/white or color mode in either 300 or 600 dpi, so I don't imagine it would be all that sharp for someone meticulous about scanned photographs... but for $50, one realistically should not expect too much these days.

Anyhow, I do emphasize that you practice the pace at which one should be gliding the scanner over a document, especially if the source is a magazine or book that cannot be flattened well enough. That way, you can avoid worrying about whether or not you captured the image as you like should your laptop not be available for a quick check in the future.

If I recall correctly, the image can be saved as either JPEG or PDF (JPEG for sure, the PDF part is the part I cannot recall).

It comes with a nice pouch for the scanner (no room for the cord, though). The interior of the pouch is that soft material that doesn't scratch the glass, and the top of which can be tightened with a draw-string. If you have a decent-sized laptop case (aka, NOT a minimalist-type case), this should be able to fit in there.

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I don't usually do reviews of what I purchase, but this scanner is wonderful. It works exactly as described and is extremely handy.

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Great little product. It has better resolution than Fujitsu's ScanSnap S510, even at low resolution.

You can scan from top to bottom or from side to side. The scanner has little marks indicating the optical lens extension. The only drawback is you have to scan accurately and fast, as it only gives you a window of about 20 seconds per scan. You say that's enough? Not really when you're trying to be precise, which is why it has four stars. You really have to have good pulse and precise timing for fast enough scanning of documents. I placed electrical tape on the documents for them not to move, as I scan swiftly and straight any document.

Problem is more noticeable with documents such as forms, as lines appear moved. It's not so much a technical flaw, except for the scanning window frame, as it is a human fault for the image to appear slanted in some parts.

Speco Technologies Weather-Proof Day/Night Color Bullet Camera

I recently purchased this camera and to my surprise I discovered SPECO will not honor the warranty for any piece of their equipment purchased on-line. They only extend the warranty to distributors and according to their customer service organization; distributors don't and aren't allowed to sell Speco products on-line.

I wish Amazon would have posted this fact before they offered this item for sale.

I PURCHASED THIS CAMERA FOR HOME SECURITY. I LIVE IN FLORIDA WHICH CAN PRODUCE HEAVY RAIN AT TIMES. THE CAMERA WAS PLACED UNDER THE EVE IN THE BACK CORNER OF MY HOME. THE RAIN DID NOT CAUSE ME ANY PROBLEMS. THE CAMERA HAD A ACCEPTABLE LEVEL OF COLOR FOR THE PRICE I PAID. THE COVERAGE IS VERY GOOD, ALMOST WIDE ANGLE COVERAGE. THE NIGHT COVERAGE IS ALSO ACCEPTABLE IF YOU HAVE MOTION DECTION DEVICES THAT WILL GO OFF AND PROVIDE SOME ILLUMINATION. THE CAMERA HAS APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET OF RANGE IN TOTAL DARKNESS WHICH YOU CAN BARLEY MAKE OUT AN OBJECT.

YOU CAN BUY ALL THE CONNECTORS AT RADIO SHACK TO HOOK UP THE CAMERA TO JUST ABOUT ANY DEVICE. OVERALL FOR THE MONEY THIS IS NOT A BAD COLOR CAMERA DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS.

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This is a very nice camera for the money. It sees very well in the dark...probably about 10 to 20 feet on a pitch black night, and much farther when the moonlight hits the snow. WAY better than one of those X10 toys. The color isn't real vibrant during the day (it's black and white at night), but it is definately color and it's a clear picture. It may just be that I need to adjust my video adapter to improve the color.

I needed it to connect to an RCA video jack, but the connector was the wrong type. It is an RCA type of signal though so I was able to fudge something together to make it work without too much hassle. Would have been nice if it came with an adapter though. If it had, I may have given it 5 stars. Since I got it going, I've been very pleased with it.

If you would like some great software to make good use of this camera, check out You can create macros to take snapshot automatically, view them remotely, control your lights, and much more. You'll need a video adapter of some sort to plug the camera into. I use the MSI VOX (it even has a TV tuner built in).

Harry Strand

StrandControl, LLChstrand@homedomination.com

Read Best Reviews of Speco Technologies Weather-Proof Day/Night Color Bullet Camera Here

I got this to cover some blind spots around the front and side of our house. Color is real good and grandularity during the day is more than fine. During darkness, the night vision will only reachout about 15-20 ft. in total darkness. Like another reviewer mentioned, a light further out will help cover any weakness this may present. It seems to work well with the PC-4 card. You'll need a BNC cable connector as both ends are female. Having the 60 ft. of extra length is really nice and what seperates it from the other similar cameras in this class. Those only have a few feet which is why they are cheaper. You'll pay about the same with the extension cable that you may need to purchase with it.

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I agree with the others here, the range at night is a bit limited if the area is in complete darkness but when one lives in the city that is usually not a problem. The wire from the camera terminates with a BNC connector but this cam will work with a standard TV. I suggest going to Radio Shack and get a BNC Female to Phono Plug Adapter

(Model: 278-250 | Catalog #: 278-250) along with a short cable with RCA male at one end and RCA female at the other end and you are good to go (Radio Shack also has this in a short length).

Ok, you have two of these great cam's and one TV, what are you going to do? I found a cheap way to automatically switch between up to 4 cams with the output of the switcher going to one TV. I found a Philips Automatic Video Selector and RF Modulator (MPN: PH61153) at WalMart (its not on their website you will have to go to the store) that, when set up correctly, will allow you to plug in up to four cam's and automatically cycle thru each input/cam every 5+ seconds (scan speed is adjustable). The PH61153 will skip any input that does not have something plugged into it so I can use it with just my two cams for now. The PH61153 was intended to automatically switch between video componets (DVD, VCR, DVR, etc) but for $24ish you can't go wrong. BTW: I have a second PH61153 and use it for its intended purpose of automatically switching between video componets.

You can't go wrong with this camera! I already have two and plan to get two more soon.

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Spectrasensor Pro Color

I've been very pleased with this colorimeter. I use this device with Spectraview II software to calibrate my NEC Spectraview monitors. I've tested several different colorimeters with the Spectraview software and this device seems to have the most linear response judging by the RGB curves produced by the Spectraview software. I purchased mine through Amazon for $115 which was a total bargain. FYI this device is actually made by xRite but who cares.

Sony Handycam DCR-SX44 AV Cable - TV Video Cord for Sony Handycam DCR-SX44

Somehow I lost the original cable that came with the Handycam. I tried to find a replacement at the retail outlet where I purchased the camcorder with no success. I believe one of the connectors for this cable type is proprietary or it is certainly not common, so being able to find this here at a great price was a life saver.

The wires work just fine and are compatible with the Sony digital handcams they are supposed to be compatible with. However, the wires are NOT 6 feet in length. These cables are the standard 5 feet. Should have known something was up, when every other seller of the same cables stated 5 feet. Other than false advertising on the length, they worked fine.

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Ugh, my brand new cam has been sitting on the shelf and collecting dust for awhile. Thank goodness I found a replacement cord so I can finally utilize it again. :)

Read Best Reviews of Sony Handycam DCR-SX44 AV Cable - TV Video Cord for Sony Handycam DCR-SX44 Here

We lost the cord to our video camera and found it on Amazon. Great price and just what we needed. Very quick turn around on receiving item.

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HDMI CL2 Rated (In-Wall Installation) FLAT Cable (24AWG) - 35ft (Gold Plated Connectors)

There are lots of HDMI cables available with a wide variety of prices. If you are planning on making a long run, you will want to make sure you do not buy a cheap cable. I chose this cable because it was rated for an in wall installation (CL2 Rated). Exactly what that gets you is beyond me. But doing a little research, I found that if you are installing an HDMI cable in a wall, you should be using CL2. The cable was installed in the wall this weekend. On each end, the cable was connected to HDMI wall plates. And then from one wall plate I have an HDMI cable going to my cable box and connected to the other wall plate is another HDMI cable going to my TV. So with my 35 foot in wall cable and a cable going to the cable box and a cable going to the TV, I am approaching 50 feet of total HDMI cables. Thankfully it all works. The picture quality is just as good as if it were direct connected to a 6 foot HDMI. I attribute my success to this CL2 cable.