Pentax Optio W80 Waterproof 12.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Triple Shake Reduction Optical

The best digital camera my husband and I ever owned was a Pentax W10 it lasted for years and took great photos.. very resilient. We figured that if a W10 is this great that a W80 would be even better but we were sadly mistaken after receiving our W80 and taking a few photos. At first, when all the photos we took turned out grainy I figured it was the settings that needed to be changed.

As a military photojournalist, I shoot daily with a Nikon D3, I know how to change settings and reduce the ISO to make the photo less grainy and even after I exhausted all changes to the settings, the photos were still unimpressive. We went outside thinking that more lighting would mean better focus and better photos but even they were a little soft and not that great.

I might recommend this for the outdoorsy type but for someone like my husband and I who are looking for a point-and-shoot camera that takes impressive photos (without fumbling through settings all the time) it was not for us. We are in the process of returning it.

I pre-ordered this camera to replacing an aging Canon. My main criteria was to have a camera that can be brought on ski trips; on the boat; canoe trips; and hiking. Used at the Grand Canyon and was very pleased with the quality of the pictures. (I am a casual user not a photographer). If you purchase this camera be sure to buy an additional battery! Would recommend spending about 15-20 minutes getting used to the camera before using in activities. Based on the reviews, the Canon is a better unit, but this one is slim and fits into ski jackets and life preservers.

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I would have given it 5 stars, but I have to agree that there is some noise in average, everyday shots on this camera when taken with the automatic default settings.

The camera feels small and tough, and I haven't had the short battery life that others have commented on (seems like I get about 15 hours or so of off and on use per charge). It can take AMAZING shots if you take a little time to learn the settings. Manual macro shots of up-close items look terrific, and the panorama feature on this camera stitches separate pictures together better than my old Kodak 1063 did.

The underwater shots look pretty good, especially if taken on days with sufficient sunlight, and I'm not seeing any signs of the camera leaking.

Overall I'm really pleased with this little camera. It has a lot of neat features if you just take the time to learn about them. Originally I was deciding between this camera and an Olympus 1050sw, but my friend with the Olympus can't take shots that look nearly as good as what I've been able to take with my camera, so I'm very happy overall.

Read Best Reviews of Pentax Optio W80 Waterproof 12.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Wide Angle Triple Shake Reduction Optical Here

Just bought this camera given anticipated buzz.

Admittedly, I have not tried it underwater, or tested its ruggedness. But I am sending it back because it won't even take normal pictures accurately without graininess, blurriness and movement. Also, the delay is far too long, and image stabilization does not work accurately. Additionally, if subjects are moving, it's quite difficult to get a reasonable picture in low-ish light. To be fair, I tried a variety of mode settings including auto and a variety of manual settings, and frankly my iPhone took better pictures (without a flash!). In fact, the best pictures I took were in "green mode", and these were not really comparable to a generic 3-5 year old digital camera.

Maybe this camera has a niche use for underwater/etc only, but I had planned on taking "normal" pictures of reasonable quality with it as well, and I just couldn't find a way for this to work, so this is a non-starter for me.

I should have waited for the reviews to come out before taking the plunge:

see for comparisons to D10 and TS1. Of note, even the W60 performed better in this review!!!

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I preordered this directly from Pentax, and I've had it for less than a week. I know someone with a W30 who is very happy with his, so I figured this would be much better. So far, I'm very disappointed. I'm comparing it to my Canon SD850 by shooting macro, interior and exterior scenes. I have left the settings in auto mode and set it to record highest quality. The W80 produces very noisy images. Flash results seem to be a bit erratic. Very poor image quality in low-light. Side-by-side photo comparisons on-screen show better images with my Canon.

I also figured that since there is no moving lens, the W80 would have excellent battery life. Canon battery is 1120-mAh and W80 is only 680-mAh. The actual battery life is commensurately poor. I can get by on a weekend trip with lots of photos with only a single battery in my Canon, but I'm sure I would need to take two or three with the Pentax.

I really wanted this camera to work out, but I'm about to send it back. Anybody else have some feedback on this camera??

Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm AF-S DX f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF Nikkor Zoom Lens

No matter how you slice it, this is a great camera.

If you're considering this camera you likely to be in one of two camps: A Nikon person trying to determine whether or not to buy the N50, N70 or the D200; or you already know you want something more on the pro end of the pro-amateur spectrum and are trying to choose between a Nikon and a Canon. If you're in the latter camp then you can't go wrong with either the D200 or any of Canon's offerings. They both make excellent cameras. If you're already a Nikon person, get the Nikon; if you're already a Canon person, get the Canon.

That said, I'm a Nikon person, and after 5 years of having fun with my film-based N80 I wanted to make the leap into real digital photography. I say real, because I've had a Canon Sureshot for 4 years and it's great for snapshots, but when it comes to landscapes or dealing with any kind of lighting issues, it just doesn't measure up. Since I'm a Nikon person (all my lenses work with the new digital SLRs) I looked at the N50, N70 and D200. There are plenty of sites out there that compare these three cameras (against each other and the competition) to death, so I won't bother with all the details.

We buy cameras to take a variety of different pictures and my choice was driven by my needs, so my review is going to be colored by the kinds of pictures I tend to take. My favorite pastime is landscape photography. For this, any of the three cameras will take great pictures. The 6 mega pixels on the N50 and N70 are more than enough to take great pictures I've got a 20x30 poster of Yosemite's Half Dome taken with a friend's N70 that is as crisp as anything I've seen. Having 10mps gives me more room to play with when it comes time for cropping, though, and that's always nice, but hardly a reason to shell out an extra grand.

My next favorite photography subject is my yellow lab, Happy. If he's standing or sitting still, then all three of these cameras take excellent portrait shots. But when he's moving, such as launching himself off the end of a pier to fetch a toy in the lake, the D200 really shines. Its 5fps burst mode takes perfect pictures. It focuses each shot and with its rich 25 picture buffer built into the camera, I've yet to fill it up. What this means is that it doesn't matter what speed your memory card is. The camera takes its pictures and puts them into its buffer. Then a separate set of processors moves the picture from the buffer to your memory card. I would have to hold the button down for over 8 seconds before the burst mode would slow down (it would simply slow down to the speed of your memory card here it wouldn't stop taking pictures). This clarity of the pictures in burst mode is what made me choose the D200, and with the 18-70mm DX kit lens you'll get some brilliant photos.

While all three cameras let you take great picture, the D200 makes it very easy to change the most often used settings. Picture quality (e.g. resolution and depth), White Balance and ISO can be changed by holding down a single button with your left hand and rotating the command dials with your right. This means you don't have to take your eyes off of what you're looking at through the viewfinder in order to change these settings, and I find myself changing at least one of these on almost every picture I take. To be sure, you can change them on the N50 and N70 as well, but just not as quickly or easily.

Other things I liked about the D200 are:

o Build. It's made of metal and has a very nice heft to it. The D50 and D70, much like my N80, are made of a very good plastic, and I've never had any problems with the N80, but the D200 just feels good

o LCD. The 2.5 inch LCD makes it easy to determine whether or not you're happy with a picture in the field.

o Color. The auto white balance for the D200 is awesome and the colors are brilliant.

o 4 settings banks. You can preprogram four settings (ISO, WB, Picture Quality, etc) so you can get to it quickly.

One last point the D200 is very difficult to get a hold of these days, but it's slightly easier to get in kit form (which comes with a lens). The 18-55mm lens is nice, but I prefer the 18-70mm (remember, with digitals you have to multiply the focal length by 1.5 to compare it with their film counterparts, so the 18-70 for digital is more like a 28-105 for film). The 18-70mm kit will run you about $300 more than the body itself, and it's worth it.

If you don't already have a big zoom lens then the new 18-200mm Nikon VR lens is awesome (equivalent to 28-300 for film). It takes stunning pictures and has all the zoom you're likely to need. It runs between $700 and $800 and is even harder to get than the D200 (which is why I don't have one yet :-).

In summary, you can't go wrong with any of these Nikons. The D200, however, is definitely the king of the hill. Happy picture takine!

I just had the opportunity to use 2 nikon D200 cameras on a trip to Antarctica. All I can say is "wow"! I have been hesitant to make the move to digital due to the relatively low resolutions of the early amateur digital SLRs. The specs for the D200 caught my eye. Of particular interest were the 10.2 MP resolution, the magnesium body and the enhanced environmental sealing. In fairly adverse conditions the cameras performed flawlessly. Particularly notable were their ability to work in cold conditions, something I was concerned about at the beginning of the trip. While other people's cameras were having battery issues in the cold, the D200 kept shoothing. The camera handles very well and is easy to shoot with. There is a bit of a learning curve to understand all the custom settings and menus. The good news is that most of the controls build off of familiar Nikon concepts so they are not hard to pick up. The output of the camera is amazing and while I have not had the chance to review my shots on anything but a laptop, the early returns are very positive. The new autofocus system is quite good, though one of my few complaints is that it sometimes seemed balky with certain subjects. I am willing to write this off as perhaps my not have a full understanding of the various focusing modes, but time will tell. The monitor on the camera is really good and viewable in bright light. Being able to shoot at 5 fps was nice when trying to shoot diving humpback whales. In this case the DX size sensor comes in handy, extending effective focal length by 1.5 the 35mm equivalent. With wide angle the DX is a little more frustating and I see a new lens in my future. I am very happy with the D200. I think Nikon is feeling some heat from Canon and had to come up with an offering that upped the ante on the price performance curve. The D200 looks like they got a lot of it right.

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The Nikon D200 is a professional camera which is also aimed at the serious amateur digital photographer. It is essentially the upgrade unit from the D100/D70s, and it incorporates solid improvements over those excellent cameras.

The most obvious upgrade feature of the D200 is the 10.2 megapixel images that it creates. The advantage of more megapixels is twofold. Firstly, many digital photographers "crop" their images in post-processing. For example, if you take a photograph of a flying bird such that the bird occupies only a quarter of the image, you may want to crop the image such that you eliminate half of the image, leaving the bird dominant. More megapixels means more detail will survive the cropping, which is essentially a form of magnification. Secondly, if you wish to print images larger than about 8 x 10, more megapixels again equates to more detail.

In my opinion the most impressive improvement in the D200 over the D100/D70s is the autofocus system. The D200 gives the user numerous different autofocus modes over and above those offered by the D100/D70s. These are designed to make it easier and more effective for the user to photograph moving and erratic subjects, such as fast-flying birds, or athletes on the playing field for you sports photographers. This, combined with another big improvement of the D200--the fabulously bright and wide viewfinder--makes it much easier to photograph difficult fast-moving subjects. The D200 viewfinder is wonderfully bright, making acquisition of difficult subjects much easier. Combined with the improved autofocus, I am bringing home more "keeper" photographs of erratically flying birds in which these photos are in perfect focus.

The D200 also offers up to 5 frames-per-second continuous shooting, and has a big buffer so that the camera will not slow down to write to the CF card. This is really useful when shooting fast-moving subjects. When combined with the excellent autofocus system, the user can shoot fast shots with confidence that most or all of them will be in focus. This is another improvement over the 3 FPS of the D70s.

Another obvious improvement of the D200 is its body construction. The quality and durability of the D200, which is housed in an all-metal body which is weathersealed at all critical points, has to be experienced to be appreciated. The unit is built very solidly, but happily does not sacrifice weight for durability like some Nikons (remember the F5?) have done in the past. Despite being all-metal, the D200 is light enough that you will probably not mind carrying it all day on vacation (like I like to do) or during outdoor photo shoots. Although this camera body is of pro-quality, it nevertheless retains enough lightness and is sufficiently compact that amateurs will not feel overwhelmed by its size or weight when carrying it around on vacation or whatnot.

Other reviewers have noted that the D200 is much more similar to Nikon's other professional cameras, and I am inclined to agree with this. I am only an enthusiastic amateur, and I am convinced that the D200 is about as much camera as virtually any amateur can effectively appreciate.

The D200 menu system is very good, and it is an improvement over the already very good menus contained in the D100/D70s. The camera allows the user to set up four "banks" of settings that are completely independent of one another. Thus, you can have one bank with settings optimized for portraits, one for fast-moving subjects (e.g. birds), one for landscapes, and one for point-and-shoot "party" shots. (This is how I have mine set up, credit to "Nikonians"). While this sounds complicated, the way Nikon set up their menus actually made this quite easy to grasp, and after about thirty minutes of playing with the camera I was quite proficient with the menus. Good job Nikon.

By the way, the exposure system on the D200 is also an upgrade from the D100/D70s. Nikon really spared no effort to make the D200 a quantum leap over its already excellent line of amateur DSLRs. This is the first amateur digital camera that I have used that seems to get exposures as good as my old F5 film camera (one of the great Nikons during the film era) although the D100 and D70s came pretty close.

With the D200 Nikon continues its tradition of offering a nice on-board flash. This flash is fine for snapshots and fill-flash of close subjects. Serious shooters will want either the SB-600 or SB-800 external flash units. Again, here Nikon has given the camera pro features--the D200 built in flash can act as a "command" unit for other flashes. Serious amateurs and pros will appreciate this feature.

As if to prove that it re-engineered the D70s/D100 from the ground up, Nikon also improved the battery situation with the D200. The D200 battery has built in voltage testing, which means that the battery indicator on the D200 is actually accurate, a first in my experience with any DSLR camera. This means that when it says that the battery is half-discharged, that is actually the case. (On other, earlier units, when the battery indicator moved from "full" this usually meant full discharge was imminent.) This is important because the D200 does go through a battery significantly faster than did the D100/D70s. This is partly because of (yes, another upgrade) the larger LCD viewer on the back of the camera, and partly just to the more complex electronics in the unit. Serious users will want to buy one or more extra batteries to stash in one's pocket or vest.

The 18-70 DX kit lens is a very nice little lens. It features some ED glass for better contrast in the images. Since it is a DX lens, it is small and light, while sacrificing nothing in image quality. This is a great first lens or walkaround vacation lens for portraits, snapshots, and landscape shots.

One very minor quibble with the D200. The default sharpening settings are somewhat soft. Some users have been unhappy that when they take the D200 out of the box and start shooting, that their images are not tack-sharp, as to be expected from a high-end camera. Not to worry, simply set sharpening to +1 or higher in the camera and it will produce sharp images. Better yet, experiment in post-processing with sharpness settings. Bottom line is that the unit will and does produce tack-sharp images, but not with the default menu settings.

Overall, the D200 is a pro camera at amateur pricing. It is used by pros and serious amateurs, and with its feature set and impeccable quality and ergonomics, it is an impressive offering by Nikon. This is one of those cameras that is really fun to use, and it produces fine, sharp, and bright images limited only by the skill of the photographer. Highly recommended.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D200 10.2MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-135mm AF-S DX f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF Nikkor Zoom Lens Here

When the D200 was announced with its feature set and price, I was shocked at the low price. I was on the wait list at several places, but luckily picked up one at BHphotovideo. I've had one or two minor glitches such as the mirror/shutter locked up. A quick call to NikonUSA and tech support told me to reset the menus. I did that and I was back in action in 10 minutes. The images it produces are incredible. I upgraded from my Nikon D70 which is also an excellent camera, but I wanted several features that the D200 has. My AI/AIS manual focus Nikkor lenses can be used on the d200 and exposure metering & Aperture Priority mode are features I really wanted. This makes macro photography a snap with my AIS lenses. Other added features included Mirror Lock Up, 5fps drive, faster read/write on the CF cards, vertical grip, improved focus speed and the list of other improvements is long.

Image Quality This is was photography is all about. The colors jump out at you as they are vibrant. The 10mp images allow for cropping when necessary and you can still print large. The b&w mode is great. This camera beats the medium format film cameras and I have a Hasselblad and a Rollieflex as well. So when I want higher quality than my d200, I have to grab my 4x5 camera...

Shooting raw NEF the files are about 16mb. But shoot compressed raw and the files are only 8-10mb and no one has been able to tell the difference in quality.

Cons: Still very hard to find as demand is so high. Need big CF cards, get 2gb or 4gb CF cards as you will not want to stop shooting this gem.

Bottom line: The D200 is a pro quality camera body for a consumer price. Wedding photographers have embraced it. There are few photographers who could outgrow it. It's got a ton of features so be sure to read the manual while you're charging up the battery. Unless you shoot high speed action sports, this should be all you need. If you need a faster motor drive, then get the D2x.

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The excitement over this camera is justified!

We've all heard about the excellent build quality and it is true.

This is in many ways the best camera I have ever owned. The interface is intuitive and really is beyond compare in my experience. Every adjustment is right there at your finger tips making it fast and easy to change settings as different lighting and situations present themselves. This camera fits my hands like a glove!

So far the matrix metering is impressive. The amount of detail captured in the shadow area is exceptional!

Contrary to rumors I have read the D200 does offer capture in black and white mode.

Nikon has done a lot right here!

One other thing the software is another excellent feature. You can import existing pictures, regardless of brand camera used to capture. The upload is quick and offers the ability to tag, export, mail, adjust, resize and more. Very nice and comprehensive user interface there as well.

Packaging and accessories are first class!

One side note, the battery does not last anywhere near the 1800 captures described in the descriptions I have read. One battery does not get me through a day of shooting, particulary when using a VR lens. Plan on getting a couple of hundred shots in between charging possibly more if using manuall focus and shutting off frequently.

Overall I am very happy with the purchase of this camera. It's the best value on the market in my opinion.

*Continued assessment after even more extensive use.

Ok...I am even more impressed than I was when I wrote the above portion of this review.

The amount of well thought out features on this camera expand the photographers capability greatly.

Start with having four custom menu's that can be set and ready to use just a click away. For instance, one set-up for sports, one for flash portraiture, one for night capture and so on.

This camera produces the best life-like as witnessed at the time of capture color I have expereienced since discovering photography almost 30 years ago.

I mean superb color! Pariculary in the greens and blues. Every color really!

The images produced have the least amount of digital noise I have seen. This means better pictures, enlargements and best of all a lot less time spent in the processing. I even jack the ISO(International Standards Organization) up to 800 or a 1000 with excellent results! There is some noise at 1600. About the same as some of the other cameras I've used when set at ISO 200.

The EV(Exposure Variation) adjustments are easy to access and you can set the increment value to 1/3, 1/2 or 1 full stop depending on personal preference.

Oh! You can do picture Overlays in the camera! Yes right in the camera as long as they are captured in RAW and on the same memory card.

Add to that multiple exposure capability as well.

This camera puts a lot of capability in your hands!

Good luck!

eForCity 50 FT Premium HDDB15 15-Pin VGA Male to Male Monitor Cable, Black

I'm running high-quality music videos to two HDTVs from a clean, efficient laptop. I'm using this cord and a 12' HDMI cord. I'm noticing no signal loss and excellent AV sync. So, good job, manufacturers and distributors.

BoxWave Apple MacBook 13" (2009) Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable

I tested out my HDMI audio cable today and it works great. It's very easy to use. Just plug the HDMI cable into your TV and the other end into your MAC computer. Then use your TV remote to select the video source. It's either HDMI 1 or HDMI 2. Then open up a video or Netflix on your computer. You should see a window pop up on your TV and you can move it around using your mouse pad. I'm very excited that the sound worked great too. My Mac is a 2009 model. This HDMI cable was affordable at only $13, it sells for $50 on the Apple website. I am very happy with my purchase.

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Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) and DIGIC 4 Imaging + 32GB SDHC Memor

I purchased this camera a little hesitant cause it a good chunk of money but I couldn't be more happy with this camera, beautiful pictures, the kit come with all you can need, good quality bonus items. Now all i need is a wide angle lens, perhaps a flash and I'm set for a very long time and proud to show off with it.

This camera is GREAT! I love it, and I'll love it even more when I take the time to learn how to use it better. The extra things it came with are nice, but I didn't need all of them. Overall though, it's a great deal.

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Sony DCRVX2000 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Memory Stick & BuiltIn Digital Still Mode

Before buying this camera, think carefully about what you'll be using it for, and when. I also recommend playing with one at a store, to feel its size and weight. (Even if, like me, you'll ultimately buy it at Amazon.)

I've owned the VX-2000 for over a year now, and I'm very happy with the results. Arguably, the picture quality is better than the Canon XL-1 (and the vx2000 is significantly -thankfully -smaller), it's rugged and reliable, and it's somewhat portable. I carry mine in a backpack that has a padded pocket designed for laptop computers. It was the best solution as most smaller camera bags don't fit this beast. Those that do aren't useful for toting other things as well.

Anyway, I know a handful of other people with this camera. Some of them are *filmmakers* and these people use their VX-2000's to document events that they'd later like to make movies of. The filmmakers, as a whole, LOVE this camera. I also have a friend who does casting for television ads. Often, for his boss, he walks around with a VX2000 and shoots people on the street, later bringing the tape to the boss for evaluation.

The other people I know own the VX-2000 because they *like electronics*. They *Like To Own The Best* and they like to play with gadgets. I advise, if you're one of these people, and really, I KNOW YOU ARE, get a different camera. Something smaller... granted the quality will be slightly less, but you're more likely to have it when you witness your kid's first words (or your best friend's wife in a rendevouz with a neighbor. you get the point) Furthermore, this camera is somewhat lacking in toy features. No night vision, no silly effects (save for a few wipes, swipes, fades, and sepia, etc.), no bluetooth transmitter, etc. It's just good, strong, somewhat rugged, and takes a great shot.

I give this camera a 5 for quality (sharp, beautiful, accuracte colors, good in medium/low light, backlight compensation remarkable, optical steadyshot rad). Just keep in mind what you want... this camera is neither professional nor amateur, and therefore I believe it serves best a select, picky subset of the population.

Last, if you do buy it, go for (1) a bigger battery, well worth the cost, and (2) a wide angle lens. Both are cool.

You can take one of two attitudes about the VX2000. Many folks (including Sony) prefer to believe this is the ultimate consumer camera, with professional features finally offered at a consumer price. Sure, it's the extreme high-end of consumer pricing, but rich technophiles ought to be able to afford it. In this view, this camcorder combines the best of both worlds... high quality video in an easy to use regular-joe/jane product. Truly a renaissance cam, if there ever was such a thing.

The other attitude is this camera is an awkward fit into either environment. Pros (i.e. people who get paid to deliver quality video) will probably object to the noisy audio. There's lots of discussion on other webpages, so I won't delve into it here. Yes, the noise is present. No, it probably won't bother consumers shooting their vacation in Hawaii. Yes, it stands a reasonable chance of annoying a client who paid for a corporate training video. No, it probably won't annoy a client who paid for a wedding or funeral video. So take either view, depending how much you enjoy living on the high-end.

If you want to make commercials or big dramatic productions, just pay the extra cash for truly professional gear that won't leave you shopping for a better camera after a few projects. Yes, there's a special case for documentary work. Don't take $5000 cameras into volcanoes, jungles, or skydiving. Use cheaper gear that'll still do the job, like this cam. Also, there's a reasonable case to be made for interviewing people with smaller, less intimidating, consumer cameras. So those particular applications might prefer the 'best darn consumer camera around'.

My best advice is to decide what you really want to do with a camcorder. If you want to take home vids of your kids AND brag to your neighbor (who last year outdid your VHS-C camera by getting a Digital 8), this is probably right up your alley. Get it and bask in the pure pleasure of it.

If you want to simply capture your personal world on tape, get something (much) cheaper and smaller. Cheaper and smaller means you're more likely to take it along. Remember, there are good shots and ok shots, but the only bad shots are the ones you missed cuz you left the camera at home. Don't let price and bulk mess with your creativity. That'd be a crying shame.

UPDATE: After receiving some email from readers, I thought I'd clarify my opinion. Yes, the VX2000 is a good camera. But does the average non-professional need one? I'm skeptical.

A home video enthusiast can do just as well with an $800 model, perhaps even better, since it's easier to carry a smaller consumer camera around. Web-movies to be shrunk by 75% and then MPEG compressed don't need a 3-CCD camera. And an independant filmmaker will probably find it cheaper to rent better gear on the shooting days.

Buy this camera if you are highly confident that you can get massive enjoyment or a monetary return on your investment. Don't get it if it's just going to sit inside its case.

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The VX 2000 is a good all round camera, it is easy to use and has many features which would encourage someone to use it. From the outside we see that the camera has a focusing ring and a zoom ring, both accesible at the same time unlike with other camera models. The focus ring is fairly easy to use although it takes a little bit of time to become fully proficient. The zoom can be controled by servo or manually at different speeds, when the zoom is controlled manually though the motor is taking feedback from your fingers for speed rather than being applied directly to the lens.

With the lens we find incorporated two neutral density filters giving us a choice between three options, first one is without filter letting all light fo through the lens to the three chips, second setting is a neutral density filter to take away some contrast. We then arrive at ND2 which is a stronger neutral density filter which is normaly used during full daylight. In order to control exposure there is a button on the left which needs to be pressed in order to go into manual iris, there is a wheel below where the aperture can be controlled.

There are three chips to capture the light information rather than a single chip thus improving the look of the image. If we find that we are in a dark room then we can boost the gain if we want but if someone does not want to use the gain then it is possible to take the shutter from 1/10 000 of a second to 1/3rd of a second . The shutter speed is controled from the back of the camera via pressing the shutter speed button on the back and turning the wheel below for the correct speed. This greatly increases the light coming into the lens. As an illustration I have shot scenes with light far too low for cameras such as the Canon XL-1 to cope with and the most spectacular part is how little noise shows up on screen afterwards.

For sound we have an onboard mic which is good for ambiance sound and it is possible to plug in a mic with a 3.5mm plug. We have two settings for the microphone, either as microphone (plug in power) or as line in. Once the microphone is selected we can check the sound levels through preswsing the audio level at the back which will display the sound. Through the menu it is possible to choose between automatic or manual. By selecting manual the level may be adjusted with the db meter in camera showing -30 -20 -12 -8 -4 0 etc. so that the sound engineer may get the correct level for recording.

Additional comments

The centre of gravity is well placed on the tripod so that it lies at the same place as the mounting plate making it easier to use on a tripod. The tape compartment is accesible at all times closing in two stages, firstly getting the mechanical part in place, tape winded and ready to shoot followed by shutting the door to avoid dust coming in. With there being two record buttons, one close tothe front right of the camera and the other in the normal position there is a greater variety of shots possible.

An interesting feature with this camera is the possibility of creating an edit decision list within the camera so that it can behave as an edit controler to dub scenes onto a second device. It is dv enabled thereby allowing to copy material from one dv tape to an other. Included with this is the possibility to play from any device directly into the camera for copying tapes etc. onto a dv tape.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DCRVX2000 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with 2.5" LCD, Memory Stick & BuiltIn Digital Still Mode Here

Another reviewer here with his facts mixed up about this cam's preformance , said the Blair Witch was shot with the VX1000(almost same ability as vx2000)and that it has edge bleeding problems. Blair Witch was shot with a Hi-8 camcorder (with some 16mm shots). Not with the Sony vx1000 or with any DV camera.

Some claim the VX2000 is dated (like sales people and others inexperienced types). While that may be partially true

for videographers, this is far from the truth for filmmakers. I own the newer Sony PDX10, the best widescreen resolution than any other cam under 10 grand. But the VX2000 is Fantastic for low-light shooting(2lux!)

while the new trv950 and pdx10 have over 1 megapixel per chip (3 times more than the VX), VX2000's color performandce is virtually the same.

The PDX10 and TRV950 are great for outdoor and well-lit shots. But neither come even close to the VX2000 for "low-light performance", which is the most important feature for moody, cinematography-style lighting. It get's down to VX's larger 1/3 chips.

For serious indoor filmmaking and if you're set on using a 3ccd cam, then only consider a Canon XL1 or a VX2000 and nothing else. And forget the dvx100 in my opinion. It doesnt shoot widescreen at all. The DVX shoots in 24p for going out to film but with 25% less resolution than xl1 or vx2k because it does not pick up any extra pixels in widescreen mode.

If you need an interchangeable lens unit, go with the XL1. But if not, you'll save $$$ with the vx2000. The VX2000 is still the best DV filmmaking prosumer machine out of the box.

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I have had the VX2000 for a couple of months now and I've shot countless hours of footage for a couple of low-to-no budget independent movies (and more in the making) and this camera is fantastic! It can be incredibly easy to use yet quite flexible if you need it to be. No, it's not a palm-sized recorder that you'll be toting casually to family get-togethers and if that's really your only need for a camcorder, go with something smaller, lighter, and less expensive. However, for those who want to play on the edge of prosumer recorders, this camera is a joy to have. Beyond picture quality there's also sound quality. The VX2000 records STEREO sound unlike most lower end camcorders and I can't imagine using anything else now. For the down-side of things, yes, it is rather hefty though I find the extra weight actually helps with smoother motion and the battery that comes with it is completely inadequate for any lengthy shooting "in the field". The optionally purchased bigger batteries do add to the weight but you won't run out of power in the middle of that important shot if you get the largest one. (I can shoot all weekend and never drain a single one of those big babies and I have two in my kit.) It doesn't come with a camera bag or case and you really need something to protect the investment. (I purchased the hard body aluminum case made for the VX2000 and though it's big and bulky, my camera can breeze through on-location shots without fear of injury. Another investment that you will want to consider with this camera is a tripod but when selecting a tripod make sure you take the camera's weight in consideration. And if you want to play further, check out the Sony gun/zoom mike that works great with this camera, the optional hotshoe light for casual shooting, the lens filters, the.... Well, you get the idea. Personally, I've played with one of the smaller, lighter consumer Sony camcorders and absolutely loved it but I wanted more beef, better quality recordings, and greater flexibility because of my involvement in independent movies. Is this camera overkill for the average consumer? Certainly! Is it great? You betcha'! Do I regret investing serious bucks in the VX2000? Heck no! I would gladly recommend this camera TO everyone but not FOR everyone. Judge what you really need and really want before purchasing a VX2000 because, for most people, it IS overkill and the purchase of the camera itself is just the first investment. You can easily double the price of the camera by the time you get done with a case, batteries, charger, filters, special mics, windscreen, camera cover, light, etc., etc. Obviously many of the optional accessories you can do without but once you have the camera it will be that much harder to resist getting that really neat camera stabilizer or that LANC zoom/focus controller or....

Pentax Optio 15921 14 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black)

Great little camera. perfect if you want a cheap point and shoot camera. when you zoom the quality is not lost and takes good quality video. highly recommended

this is a great camera with lots of options. the screen has good color, and is very clear and easy to see

however the battery life seems short.

Buy Pentax Optio 15921 14 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black) Now

Great small camera for the price. Easy to use and carry. Takes quality pictures and good video. All around good as a primary or secondary camera.

Read Best Reviews of Pentax Optio 15921 14 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom (Black) Here

My last digital camera was a Pentax and I loved that as well. After looking at reviews and trying out others, including ones that photographers swore was the only camera for them, I decided to buy a Nikon. I get the $250 Nikon home, and the quality isn't there.

I return it, and go back to Pentax. This camera is amazing. It's so small I forget it's in my pocket. It takes incredible pictures. I took it to France for 10 days and now have friends, coworkers, family members all asking where I got "that painting" (they're always photos that I took).

One bad note the battery contacts broke and I had to send the camera in for repairs. It was within warranty and fixed promptly. The situation was handled well, I just wish it wouldn't have been an issue to begin with.

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Photos come up ugly too dark or to white. For digital cameras go for others brands. Or for a better pentax at higher cost

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True Nightvision Covert Security Camera with Built in DVR

It is very bad quality in all

Speakers too bad

Hidden camera the picture not clear

The led light also

In general it is very bad equipment

DEFENDER 21002 Hi-Resolution Outdoor Security Cameras - 4 Pack

Purchased these to expand my existing Defender System to 8 cameras and after installing and testing all four, took them back down and sent them back. The color output does not even come close to an acceptable output no matter how much adjustment was done to the picture. Also at night the camera output flickers and is fuzzy compared to my existing Defender Cameras. Aside from the color output being wrong the daytime picture was clear as far as making out details.

I do have a system with the 21006 cameras. The 21002 are a major step down.

I ordered these defender security cameras to replace 2 samsung cameras that died after 2 years. The quality of these cameras is terrible. Colors are wrong, video is soft and blurry. The mounting brackets are very difficult to adjust. The grass in my back yard viewed with the samsung camers is dark green. When I plug in the defender cameras the grass appears red.

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Defender's next generation cameras are an upgrade from their now-discontinued Spartan line. Be advised, if you are upgrading Spartan cameras to these new 21002 models, you will have to re-cable from the old 4-pin DIN cables to the new tandem RCA and 12v DC cable standard (a pain if you've already strung the 4-pin DIN cables through inaccessible routes).

The new 21002 line cameras have increased numbers of IR LED illuminators, and offer improved spot viewing after dark. Unfortunately, like their Spartan predecessors, they still have reduced color differentiation. Green objects in daylight illumination look red, and black objects in sunlight look purple. This is not a huge drawback in building a scene...purple trees just look odd. For the price these are a good upgrade/replacement item, compatible with earlier Defender display and recording units. At 420 lines, I'm not sure how they claim "Hi-Resolution". Face recognition at more than 5 meters is sketchy. But the cameras are physically pretty rugged, easy to install, and have withstood (so far) some pretty extreme temperatures.

Read Best Reviews of DEFENDER 21002 Hi-Resolution Outdoor Security Cameras - 4 Pack Here

the picture looks fine at night just the night vision dont come on all the time so it looks dark in our door way for a few HRs a day, the base is non detachable so its hard to put in the screws but its tough built, but my biggest dissapointment was that the 60ft security camera extension wire modle# DF10W that we bought dont work with the cameras and we had bought 4 for $19.00 each so now they are useless but it dose its job, O and we did not get the 4 decals.

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I used these on an older defender DVR system and they exceed the recording capability of that DVR. In fact they exceed the recording capability of most new DVRs too! But the image records clearly and with pretty good fidelity.

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Sony TX Series DSC-TX9/H 12.2MP Digital Still Camera with "Exmor R" CMOS Sensor and 3D Sweep Panora

I've only had this camera for a few hours, but I had to rush to give an initial impression. In one word, WOW! For a compact point and shoot, Sony has the market leader. First the photos.... Very good. For a point and shoot camera, I can say that the photo quality is as good as most of my previous canon point and shoot cameras. The photos have good color saturation and clarity and focus, and there is little shutter lag. Now video...... AMAZING. This little camera has as good video quality as my Sony CX-12 AVCHD video camera. The video is sharp, clear and the sound is excellent. The difference is this finally combines a decent camera with excellent video capability. Another great feature is the wide angle lens, it gets the whole shot it without needing to back up. I was unlikely to tote my video camera on every trip, but now I don't have to be concerned about pocketability. The only downside is that because of the small form factor, camera shake can be an issue. The OIS steadyshot is good, but could be better. Also, you cannot make changes to settings while shooting, such as increasing the exposure, you have to stop shooting and then make the change. Overall, those are small prices to pay for such a compact camera that I can take anywhere and play videos on my 55" LCD that are jawdroppingly good.

For comparison:

I am currently using a Panasonic ZS3, which had average photos but very good video. To me it can't compete with the Sony. The Sony has better photos and much crisper video (both use AVCHD, although the Panasonic uses AVCHD lite). I recently bought and returned the Canon SD4500IS. I went back and compared photos between the canon and the Sony. Both are close, but the edge goes to canon for clarity (although the Sony does handle white balance better in the auto setting). Where the Canon failed was in the Video: No wide angle lense, and the quality was below that of the Panasonic ZS3, very grainy and fuzzy.

UPDATE

After playing with this camera for about 8 hours I am quite impressed with the image quality from photos and the video remains stellar. In comparing to the Sony WX5 (which I also have at the moment) the video is slightly softer, but the TX9 handles camera shake better, picks up sound more accurately with the mic on the front rather than the top, and does not have zooming noise from the lens moving while shooting video. Taking photos, this thing blows away my Panasonic ZS3: Photos are constantly clear and vivid and the white balance is spot on. Shooting outdoors or in a room with adequate light, the shot to shot times are excellent. The only downside I see to this camera is the shot to shot times when using the flash. It takes at least 3-4 seconds to take another picture with a flash, due to the charge cycle on the flash. It also seems to take the camera a bit longer to process the image after a flash, so that adds time. I will say the photo quality with the flash is astonishingly good. When using the ZS3, it was hit or miss on flash photos (either white balance was off or the photo was overexposed), with the TX9, just about every flash photo looks great. Overall, this is a great camera that takes excellent video and photos. I forgot to mention one great feature is the intelligent auto which picks the scene automatically for each shot, so far every picture I have taken (which is close to 400) has been very accurate with little post processing required.

UPDATE 2

Took the TX9 on a trip to Disney and it performed without flaw. Took close to 700 pictures and a little over an hour of video. Of all of the pictures that were taken, I'd say maybe 2 dozen would have been tossed, the rest turned out very nice with excellent color, sharpness and saturation. The video taken on 17M FH setting are stunning. I have no need for my Sony CX12 video camera anymore since this camera is ultra portable. One reviewer noted a significant fisheye effect because of the wide angle lense. I will say if you look for it you may see a slight effect, but I have not seen it very often.

I used the TX9 on my Cabo vacation and it is hands down the best camera I have ever owned. It's panoramic pics are breathtaking and the 1080i video is eye poppingly good.

But the TX7 is very similar, the main 2 differences are 1. that the TX9 has an extra 3D mode which is gimmicky, it looks like crap and so I don't use it and 2. The sensor is 1/2.4 instead of 1/2.3 which translates to virtually no difference in quality (yes there are more pixels). Save yourself the $100 and get the TX7.

Buy Sony TX Series DSC-TX9/H 12.2MP Digital Still Camera with "Exmor R" CMOS Sensor and 3D Sweep Panora Now

The TX9 comes with no memory card, but it does accept SDHC cards formatted to FAT32. With the 32GB card it the camera predicts that I can take around 6000 photos in 12M Pixels.

The touchscreen is not bad looking, it is reflective like the Ipod screen which makes image looks clear but at the same time it is also more prone to glare. The touch screen is resistive, not as responsive as the capacitive screen we are used to with the iDevices. This is conform by the fact that it came with a slim plastic dog tag looking contraption with a pointy end. My girlfriend ask what it was, we were puzzled until I went to read the manual... apparently it is a stylus. Only resistive screen can use random plastic object as stylus.

Besides the camera, the package came with a small docking station and a battery charger. This is a nice touch apart from the fact that is doesn't come will all the accessories for the docking station to fully function. It needs a separate AC adapter with Sony's own proprietary plugs which cost no less than $39.99 from Sony's website. Model AC-LS5, I included this, because I personally had a hard time finding this oddball adapter. The docking station has a HDMI and a AV connector, the package only comes with the RCA cable, so again you need to buy your own HDMI cable. I ordered the Amazon Basic ones, since Best Buy loves to insanely overprice these HDMI cable after Circuit City disappeared. With the HDMI cable, the TV out function is very nice. The picture displayed on the screen is amaziningly sharp and clear in 1080i HD and you won't need to bring a computer to show your photos to your friends on HD Television. On the down side you will not be able to recharge your camera on the docking station if you don't buy their AC adapter. Personally I find this really inconvenient. Update: I purchased the adapter, and it does not seem to recharge the camera's battery.

The basic modes of Photo on the Tx9 is Intelligent Auto Adjustment and Superior Auto Adjustment. The Intelligent Auto adjustment is the classic point and click and forget mode, the new superior mode take multiple photos at once then process it to improve picture quality. This does create noticeable clarity, but it needs around 5 second delay after each photo for processing. So this is not so useful if you have impatient friends that wants you to snap quickly.

There are only a few buttoms on the camera, as most of the controls can be done on the touchscreen, the physical buttoms are there for fast access. Photo Mode, Video mode, Shutter, power, zoom and thats it. There are some primitive editing tools on the camera but they seem way too simple to be useful on a small resistive screen. It is more of a gimmick.

There are 2 3D modes, the sweep panorama 3D photo which requires you to have a 3D TV to view and the Sweep multi Angle Mode which appears to changes prespective on the screen when you tilt the camera, similar to a holographic sticker. Since it depends on you to accurately perform the sweeping motion to get good photos, most of the time the 3D photo don't look correct. I also did not find a way to view the Multi Angle Mode photos outside of the camera.

The photos are automatically organized onto a calender very similar to the way Nintendo DS does it. I found this to be a nice feature. The include photo software for the PC was not so useful, it decided to scan all the photo's from my other drives on the computer instead of just the camera, which made a mess of things.

All the previous function are there, iSweep panorama,auto shutter on smiley face, etc, but unlike the TX5, the TX9 is not waterproof. I found it funny that Sony would called their trademark feature "iSweep" panorama. Without knowing the facts, if you have to guess which device the feature "iSweep" came from, Apple or Sony, which would you guess?

All in all the strongest Pro on this camera is the point and click photo quality. It can do 1080 HD movies, but it's not the best of quality, however it is very good for it's compact size (The sound seems to be too loud when recording movies). On the down side, it doesn't include everything you want right out of the box, it only includes what you need, (minus the memory card) and buying Sony proprietary accessories isn't cheap.

Update:

I don't have a 3DTV but I found a zero cost alternative for viewing the 3D pictures on your computer, at least for novelty purpose. Is the use of Nvidia 3d Vision. You just need a blue and red anaglyph glasses (came free with a one of the issues of maxim) and Nvidia 3D translate the photos for you into 3D. Note that at the time of writing, this does yet work the Nvidia release drivers, it only works with the Beta video drivers, which probably would've already been released by the time people read this.

Even if you were going for the more expensive 3d option from Nvidia (with 3D vision kit kit + 120hz monitor) it is still marginally cheaper than buying a 3DTV, plus it has the added option of playing games in 3D. But the main attraction for me was being able to view the 3D photos from the TX9 at almost zero cost, as long as you already have a PC computer with a nvidia gfx card.

Read Best Reviews of Sony TX Series DSC-TX9/H 12.2MP Digital Still Camera with "Exmor R" CMOS Sensor and 3D Sweep Panora Here

This camera has turned me into a total geek after just a few days of use. My friends and family are tired of me showing them pictures and talking about my new camera. I am not one to easily fall in love with a product, but I'm in deep lust with the TX9 so far.

The camera functionality is a little confusing at first because there are so many options, but then I came to realize that if I just leave in the automatic it does a great job on its own selecting the best mode for the shot. Plus after just a few minutes of really playing with it, the functionality and features started to become very intuitive and make a lot more sense (e.g. switching from playback to camera to video with just one button).

It's been 5 years since my last digital camera purchase, so perhaps some of the features/results I'm wowed by are now pretty common place, but to me they still are amazing. The most obvious difference from my old camera to my new is the ability to capture action shots. Please look at the shots I uploaded to the product gallery (canon fire and girl jumping into pool) to see how the camera allows you to make good-quality still images from the full 1080 HD video and high-quality images in 'burst' mode. Those two features alone make me happy I bought this camera. I never was able to capture such action before.

The regular photo mode is fool-proof. Just point and click and 90% of the time your image quality is going to be top-notch no matter the lighting or scene. You do have the option to select certain modes like "beach" or "twilight" but I haven't seen a noticeable difference from the automatic mode. There's even and underwater mode which I haven't a clue how that's useful. One problem I had initially is that my finger would sometimes get into frame. It took me a few days to learn to hold the camera different so my finger wouldn't end up in frame.

The camera also touts 3D capabilities, but I have no use for that technology yet. Perhaps it will be practical one day for me, but for now it's just a sorta cool extra that I have no way to view outside the camera. In other words, don't buy it for this feature alone unless you have a clear plan on what you need it for.

Pros:

Full HD video is beautiful and sounds great

Image quality (12.2 MP) consistently delivers vibrant, beautiful photos

Low-light shooting is far, far better than I have experienced from older cameras

Automatic mode is very intelligent

Features are easy to use

Huge display screen (note: I had very little trouble viewing subjects even in bright sunlight)

Size and weight make it easy to tuck into your pocket

Cons:

Battery goes pretty quick (I was able to get a full day of shooting and video on a family trip but had to recharge before uploading images to computer)

File sizes are huge (ballpark 500MB for a 30-second HD video and 4-5MB per image) and will really eat up space on your memory card and your computer. You will probably need a long-range storage plan like an external hard drive or something.

The power cord for the dock costs extra ($40). I chose to buy and extra battery.

Uploading your media to a Mac has been a little confusing so far. I somehow uploaded my photos twice at one time into iPhoto causing a management headache. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, but it's not as intuitive as my old camera. Video is uploaded to iMovie not iPhoto.

Overall

Despite some minor annoyances and unanticipated extra expenses (cost of high-capacity memory card, extra battery and eventually more computer storage), I am thrilled with this camera. The functionality, results and compactness make this a worthwhile purchase. I will be able to capture many family memories with this for years to come.

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We currently own a Sony HDR CX12 camcorder. It takes excellent 1080i AVCHD videos as well as good still photos (but only in good lighting). Most of its indoor shots and low light outdoor shots are disapointingly out of focus. After doing some resesarch, I narrowed our choices down to Sony TX9, alpha 55 DSLR, or alpha NEX-5. My primary goal is to have a camera that can take 1080i AVCHD video as well as still photos, particulary in the low light setting. Most of our pictures are of our children and family events.

I decided to buy a TX9 becuase of its low-light picture capability. After using it for about 1 month now, I'm very happy to report that my indoor low light still photos are great and in focus. I have it set on the Superior Auto Adjustment mode most of the time. It takes 6 pictures rapidly (if necessary) and combines them to give you the best result. With this mode on and the flash turned off, pictures in low light settings almost always come out great and in focus. There is some fishbowl effect occassionally, but not noticeable to my eyes. This camera also has a large and bright LCD display which allows you to easily tell if your subject is in focus. There are very few buttons on this camera as most features are activated via its touch screen LCD.

The TX9 also takes excellent 1080i AVCHD videos (but its audio is 2 channel stereo, not 5.1 digital like the CX12). It takes some practice to hold the camera steady for video shots (when compared to a camcorder like CX12) due to its small size. Its video quality is so good that I won't be needing my CX12 any further for home videos. The 4X zoom is more limiting when compared to the 10x zoom I was used to in the CX12 camcorder, but transitioning to 4X zoom was easier than I thought.

I was able to compare the TX9 to my sister-in-law's Sony alpha 55 DSLR; both take great shots; but portability was much more important to me, so I decided to keep the TX9.

I did purchase a seaparte spare battery as others have reported that it does not last as long. A spare battery actually makes sense as this camera cannot charge its battery when it is inside the camera. It requires you to charge the battery outside of the camera via a small wall charger. Overall, I'm ecstatic that I finally found a small portable camera capabile of taking great HD videos as well as great still photos in low light settings. If it wasn't for the zoom, limited to 4x optical, I would have given it a 5 star rating.

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Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only)

Pros:

Rugged, full weather seals. Rain, snow, or dust won't slow it down.

Compact Size with a magnesium alloy shell of stainless steel chassis.

Selection of lenses designed for the APS-C imaging sensor

Shake reduction with every lens

Ergonomics

External Mic in video mode

Very quiet shutter

Industry first Composition Adjustment and horizon level (separate features)

Cons:

Battery life in Live View/Video mode.

Not a beginners camera unless you have a strong desire to learn about photography

High ISO performance could be a bit better

What previous Pentax users will notice:

Refinement, refinement, refinement

Low light autofocus is fast and accurate (inline with the competition now)

AF-Continuous is fast, but not class leading.

Ergonomics different from previous K10d and K20d (maybe good, maybe bad depending on your position)

Insignificant change in image quality from K20d

Can disable long shutter noise reduction for shots 30 seconds or less

Excellent sensor dust removal

Who should buy the K-7? Anyone looking for a prosumer dSLR (Nikon d300, d300s, Canon 50d, etc) that they want to take anywhere. This thing is for serious adventurers, with its full weather sealing and wide array of weather sealed lenses (DA* or WR series lenses). Going on a trip to Alaska? Hiking in the back country? Canoeing down the Colorado? Or even if you just want a smaller dSLR with all the features of the big boys from Canon or Nikon. This camera steps up the competition.

What new to Pentax users should be aware of? The camera makes slight noises when you pick it up or turn it on. The sensor is free to shift in its mount due to the shake reduction system. This is totally normal, but scares some first time users where they think something might be broken.

Detailed review:

I have tested out the weather seals in a driving rain, where I shot video using my DA* 60-250mm lens. The seals held up well and the camera still works, so all is good. Having used previous Pentax cameras, I have had minimal trouble with batteries dying in the cold like some friends with Nikon's and Canon's have. I had my K20d out in -30 F weather for 1.5 hours once. The camera had frosted over.

The camera is diminutive, but feels like a little tank. It is sturdily built and feels great in the hand despite the compact size. Without the grip I only have 3 fingers on the grip, but this is the same way I held my much larger Canon 5d when I had it. The K-7 is comfortable for me to hold for long periods, I support the camera with my pinky finger.

Pentax has a stellar selection of lenses for APS-C cameras with a wide array of fixed focal length lenses (primes) for best image quality, or large aperture zooms (f/2.8), medium aperture zooms (f/4), or "consumer" zooms (f/3.5-5.6). To find a list of Pentax lenses, visit Pentax Imaging USA's Website. If you want weather sealed remember to buy WR or DA* lenses, non of the others are weather sealed.

It is important to note that shake reduction works with every lens for the Pentax system, usually around 2 or 3 f-stops, but up to 4 for those with shaky hands. This is invaluable to have a 50mm f/1.4 with shake reduction for those available light shots, just remember that shake reduction allows a slower shutter speed so it isn't ideal for moving subjects. Also remember to wait a split second for the shake reduction icon to show in the viewfinder before taking your picture at slow shutter speeds.

The ergonomics are intuitive for the K-7, but might throw some previous K20d users for a loop. Users coming from the K-2000 (K-m in foreign markets) should be able to adapt quickly, as it is very similar. One of the new design paradigms is quick access to everything through the info menu on the back. Also use the info button to disable the LCD (for those that do night shooting and get blinded by it). There is a direct ISO button now too, for those that didn't know it was hidden under the OK button before. Typical of modern electronics there are several over-loaded button functions, so it pays to sit down with the manual and read over it, but overall it is intuitive. The screen often shows you what button to press (like a little symbol of the front e-dial is shown to change a particular setting using that dial). Similar to the K20d, but slightly different too. Be sure to download the latest firmware from Pentax for better use of the AF Select mode (for selecting your own autofocus point).

The video mode is reasonably good. It uses motion JPG compression (AVI) which results in huge file sizes, but minimal artifacts while panning or during motions scenes. It records 720p at a fast 30 frames per second, most of the competition only does 24 fps. Max is 4 GB per file, which might be 8 minutes or so at max quality, or 30 minutes at a lower quality. Like all dSLR video cameras the internal mic picks up every sound the camera makes, so ideally you should use an external mic for high quality video. Only two dSLR cameras allow that at the time of this review writing, and those are the Canon 5d which is twice as expensive as the K-7, and the K-7. The soon to be released D300s will allow an external mic too, but it has a targeted price of $500 more than the K-7. This makes the K-7 one of the best bargains in dSLR video.

The refinement of this camera is stellar. The shutter is very quiet for a dSLR (if you are coming from a point and shoot it is of course much louder), but it is unobtrusive and professional sounding. No more clackety clackty whirrrrr that the older K20d made, one of those noises that turned every head in the room. It is also nice the shutter acts separately from the mirror, so mirror blackout times are minimal and the shutter can be fired multiple times without cycling the mirror, like in live view.

This camera also has an extreme degree of flexibility in configuring JPG options, you can customize several different JPG modes ranging from vibrant, muted, natural, portrait, etc. You can change the key, contrast, saturation, sharpness and more. You can also take 3 shot HDR images right in the camera with decent results. Finally, you can do a wide degree of image processing right in the camera using built in digital filters and also RAW developing.

The composition adjustment can be used to make small shifts left and right and rotationally using live view mode. These are very handy for fine tuning the composition and are equivalent to shifting on a tilt shift lens (just to a lesser degree, 1mm each direction). The level is also handy, allowing you to easily see when the camera is not perfectly straight, or it can be set to automatically level the horizon.

So, I have had a pretty glowing review so far, what are the downsides?

I have shot 2000 shots through the K-7 now, and it has performed as expected. I have charged the battery maybe 3 times, so life is reasonably good, except when using live view or video mode frequently. The camera sometimes thinks the battery is going dead when it is low and turns the camera off. You can still shoot pictures if you turn it back on, but not much video or live view. However, you can still get a lot of use from the video or live view before this becomes an issue, and if it does you might invest in a battery grip or AC adapter.

My only disappointment with the camera is I wish ISO 1600 performed half a stop better. The noise is relatively pleasing though, and will lead to good prints or black and white conversions.

This camera has an intimidating array of buttons and options. If you are a beginner, and have no intent to learn photography in terms of exposure and aperture, I would hesitate buying this camera. Pentax's entry K-2000 might be worth a look in that case.

However, this camera really brings everything to the table and if you are an advanced consumer or even a professional looking for a feature rich camera, this Pentax is definitely worth a look. This camera is an amazing price considering the competition.

Every once in a while I get a product that is "just right". The first VW Rabbit, a Taylor Guitar, a couple of my many Macs and my Klipsch speakers come to mind. They have that extra something that makes me love them. Other brands may be as good but these products click. Add the K-7 to that short list.

I couldn't believe that I bought this as I already own the very good Pentax K20D. The K-7 is a better camera. As the current have-to-have feature is video, Pentax included that with this camera. Not being that knowledgeable about video, it seems like it does a good job, though it isn't a quick, push one button action.

But when it comes to still photos, it is superb. It feels good in the hand. It's noticeably smaller than the K20D and a bit lighter but don't make the mistake of thinking that small doesn't mean hefty. This thing is solid. It' build like a tank. I believe that the steel and magnesium body is tough. It sure feels that way.

Pentax has taken a good camera and fixed the little niggling problems that kept the K20D from being great. The slow, low light autofocus is fixed. That's fast and accurate now. The already decent high ISO performance seems to be about a full stop better. The camera now has a dedicated ISO button, too, which is a much appreciated addition.

Other little touches shine, too. The camera handles like a dream. It's well balanced with my not very light lenses. The 4 way controller now has separate buttons, that let you access the functions individually. Excellent. The ISO button and exposure compensation buttons have been moved to the top of the camera where they can be easily found by feel. The review button, also has been moved to the top and doesn't have to be picked out of a cluttered back.

Oh, and the photos this takes are excellent. It has a bunch of scene modes and effects, which honestly I haven't used. I shoot RAW, though Pentax has left their exclusive RAW/JPEG button on the front of the camera if you choose to mix your image formats. I already mentioned the improved low light performance. High ISO noise doesn't really appear until 800 and then it's not something that detracts from the quality of the images. It actually produces usable images at 3200 ISO. They are grainier than some other cameras but Pentax applies very little noise control and the photos have more detail than other cameras I've tried. I like the balance that Pentax has taken.

One other nice detail is that Pentax has replaced the fiddly key you need to turn to access the SD card with a simple latched door. It's still weather sealed. The one place where the camera seems just a bit worse is in the media door on the other side of the camera. The solid door has been replace by a rubbery plug that I'm not fond of. It still seems to seal the camera but it feels cheap, the only part of the camera that isn't top-top.

One other area that's been improved is the burst speed. I honestly don't believe that the slower rate of the K20D was really a problem for most people but the numbers didn't look as good as the competition. That's "fixed" with a 5+ frame per second rate. It just shows that Pentax really paid attention to what people said about the K20D and fixed it. Pentax also added a high dynamic range feature that does a pretty good job. That has two ranges. The high one shows that HDR strangeness that I've come to expect. The middle range does a pretty good job, though I still like to bracket the exposure and post process. Though I did use it this afternoon and got a decent exposure.

For a serious amateur, I can't image a better camera. Go to a camera store and pick one up. I'm guessing that you'll like this gem, too.

**Addendum I just spent the last week with my new macro lens. The new ability to zoom in with live view makes manual focusing easy to get spot on. And manual focus is necessary with extreme close ups.

A problem with all DSLRs is that the lack of the split screen built into the old film cameras makes manual focusing less precise than it was with them. There really are no models that I know of that don't suffer from this. Live view zoom solves this.(you can add a focusing screen but I understand that those mess with metering)

Buy Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only) Now

I had owned a Pentax K10d and have been wanting to upgrade for a while. I did extensive research on the Canon T1I, Canon Xsi, Nikon D90, and Nikon D5000.

Pentax K7 won out in the end. I was willing to change systems, but the K7 is simply superior to everything at and below its price range. Even surpasses the ones that are a few hundred more as well.

I travel a lot and wanted something light and weatherproof. during the P&S days, I ruined 3-4 cameras because of dust and did NOT want that to happen to a more expensive dslr. Pentax came to the rescue and offers a weather sealed body. So I can take photos where there's lots of dust and even in the rain! what other slr camera can you do that with? The Pentax K7 is the only camera within hundreds of dollars that can meet this criteria.

Of course having great image quality and autofocus abilities were critical too. Yeah, the Nikon D90 might have great low iso performance, but it's a toy compared to the Pentax K7. Canons were nice, but they felt like toys... unless you go into the $1500+ range. the tight body of the k7 is a sheer delight.

I got immensely frustrated by Canon and Nikon because I really wanted to switch over... mainly because so many of my friends have their lenses and I could borrow them... but I couldn't do it because Canon and Nikon deliberately trip their cameras so that it doesn't cannibalize their other cameras. Also, they want to make more money by putting in the stabilization within the lens instead of the body. So you have to get a stabilized lens which is a lot of more money. Pentax ain't nasty like Nikon and Canon. They put their best foot forward instead of little toes like Canon and Nikon with their stripped cameras.

admittedly, one of the major problems with my K10 was the low light autofocus. it was hard to take shots with my 1.4 prime in a dimly lit room. but that problem is now gone! the k7 autofocus is quick and accurate. an additional bonus... one of the reasons why i hate flash is because it disturbs the people around you, but the loud shutter sounds of slrs are a distraction too. but with the k7, i think it has the quietest shutter of all slrs! this is a huge bonus when trying to take pictures without disturbing people around you.

all the cameras that aren't full frame are similar in image quality. some have more noise and more detail (like the pentax), and the others have less noise but less detail, but the differences aren't very significant. so it comes down to the value and the feature set. and this is where the Pentax K7 BLOWS away the competition. you might be a little turned off by the $1300 price, but at that price, there's NOTHING that comes even close.

Read Best Reviews of Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only) Here

Starting with the impressive Pentax K10 a few years ago, I later welcomed the arrival of the K20 for improvements over a very capable camera. The K20`s 14.6mp CMOS sensor provided much improved high ISO performance so that shooting at ISO 2000 for concert photos was no problem. The individual lens adjustment for auto focus was also a huge plus since lenses that were barely usable on the K10 due to front or back focus problems functioned normally on the K20. I even found that the live view feature was pretty handy for such things as sunrise or sunset pictures where it would be impossible to look through the viewfinder without damaging your eyes. What remained a bit of a disappointment on the K20, however, was the often slow and inaccurate auto focus, the slow burst rate and the finicky white balance performance that much of the time needed constant fiddling to get close to accurate hues under various lighting conditions. There was also the anticipation that high ISO performance would be improved as well. Knowing the K20 limitations, I could usually work around them and still get impressive shots. But there's always the expectation of improvement, especially when you start bumping into those limitations and seeing how the competition is moving ahead of what you're shooting with.

So when the K-7 was suddenly announced, I had hopes for another measureable step forward to answer to the shortcomings of the K20. The first feature that caught my attention was not the HD video capability at 30fps, but rather the entirely new 14.6mp sensor "built from the ground up" with the intention of improving high ISO performance, especially in shadow details, as Pentax claimed. Additionally, there was the new 5.2 fps burst rate and improved autofocus performance. That was all I needed to buy the K-7. You can read about all the improvements this camera represents in the other reviews from those who also bought the K-7, so I'll keep my comments to those things specific to my experience after a month shooting thousands of JPEG pictures (no, I haven't played with RAW yet, and I understand that's where the K-7 really does well).

Pros:

The new smaller size is not what I would have liked. I actually was hoping for a slight increase in the size of the K20 since I just like the feel of a larger camera. However, the solid construction and layout when combined with the optional battery grip made for a satisfying package for comfortable handling. I also like the battery option of standard Pentax K-7 battery or 6 AA batteries in the grip. Without the battery grip, the small size does have advantages for portability/storage, however.

The auto white balance improvement over the K20 is huge! Even under various artificial lighting conditions, the white balance is surprisingly accurate. This will save me many hours of post-edit work just to adjust the color balance as I did with my indoor K20 shots.

The new shutter is much quieter and smoother. I never really cared for the shutter sounds of the K10 and K20 compared to Canon, Nikon and others. Although still not as smooth and "precise" sounding as other cameras, I can live with the K-7 shutter noise. In fact, the quietness is a big plus for taking candid shots when you don't want to draw attention to yourself.

The 5.2 fps burst rate is a substantial improvement from 3 fps for action shots and is still workable compared to the faster rate of other cameras in the 6 to 8 fps range.

The autofocus performance does seem to be improved, although the type of lens you use can make a big difference in focusing speed. I've found that in bright light the fastest focusing lenses are the ones not using the quiet SDM mechanism in the lens, but rather the noisy screw drive in the camera body, although these lenses tend to have less focus travel, helping with focusing speed. I've noticed less "back-and-forth" indecision in focusing with the K-7 in low light situations, but the overall speed is probably average amongst the various DSLR makes. The AF assist light is also a nice addition that helps in near-dark situations. Update: A leading photo magazine just tested the K-7 auto focus speed, and compared to their test of the K20, the K-7 looks to be almost 10% faster in all light conditions according to their tests. That same magazine also tested cameras like the Canon 50D and Nikon D300s where they were about 50% to over 100% faster than the K-7 in medium to low light conditions. Hands-on experience still shows that the Pentax autofocus system is far slower than the competition in lower/low light situations. This can be very frustrating when focus response slows significantly or continues to hunt back and forth while your one or two second photo opportunity has passed before the camera could finally achieve focus and get the shot. In bright light, however, the K-7 and the others are all about the same in focus speed.

Cons:

I'm most disappointed with the performance of the new sensor. Throughout my picture-taking with this camera, I noticed an overall tendency for my shots to be just a bit "noisier" than the K20 at all ISO settings. After careful JPEG comparisons between my K20 and the K-7 at ISO 2000 using the same lens and same settings, I found that the K-7 had slightly more "grain" than the K20. This was especially noticeable in shadows which is where the biggest improvement was supposed to be. The K20 sensor would best the K-7 at all comparable ISO noise reduction settings with the exception of the highest NR setting. Detail would certainly be reduced in both cameras at that setting, but the K-7 does seem to show more detail despite the increased noise reduction. The only thing I noticed is that the increased detail, or resolution, is accompanied by harsher edge detail like over-sharpening or the way watercolors can bleed along an edge. These issues considered, I would have been no less disappointed if the K-7 had come with the K20 sensor so long as the auto white balance improvement came with it. Not clear what the story is behind the K-7 sensor development (by Samsung) unless it somehow didn't quite measure up to what Pentax was expecting in time for the launch date of this new camera.

Despite the greatly improved auto white balance, I found that the K-7 still has a bit of a problem rendering red such as red lighting or red colors in stage performance situations. They end up looking a bit washed-out and pinkish.

I remain concerned about Pentax quality control. The first copy I did most of my shooting with turned out to have a "noisy" flexible back that squeaked and creaked near the buttons and thumb rest. Amazon was spectacular in getting me a replacement in a couple days. The new K-7 is solid very solid, but I've noticed that pictures on this copy are slightly underexposed. I've been told that there have been some other copies purchased with the same flexible rear body issue.

Forgot to mention the little issue with the SD card door: the card is way too close to the door hinge when it's open such that I can barely get my fingers on the card to pull it out. I almost resorted to needle nose pliers to do the job.

Overall:

The K-7 is still a worthy improvement over the K20 despite the disappointing "non-improvement" in ISO performance: for me the K20 now becomes a solid backup camera to the K-7. The multitude of features and improvement of the menu and controls and the overall quality of the pictures it can produce, hold up well to competitors in the same general class resulting in a really fine camera choice and better deal in the balance. Mounted with the best Pentax glass, I feel just as capable standing next to the pros shooting with high-end APS-C class Canons or Nikons the resulting pictures speak for themselves. With the K-7, Pentax is a high-value option for serious enthusiasts.

Update 9/23: The 2nd copy I received turned out to have an apparent defective sensor/light metering system or very odd normal behavior. At all ISO settings above 1250, the image (JPEG and RAW) is underexposed by at least one full stop. A "problem" of underexposure with the K-7 is covered in more than one professional review but Pentax says that they are not aware of such issues so this may be isolated. Looking back at pictures taken with my first copy, it also appears the problem existed to some degree with that one as well. As a result, I'm personally not confident in the integrity of the new sensor/metering system on the K-7 (and certainly not in the quality control) and will wait until next year before possibly trying my luck with a third copy. In summary, I feel the K-7 needs some serious improvement with the sensor, autofocus system and quality control to better compete with the likes of the 7D and D300s and be a truly outstanding camera as a result. Looking forward to seeing these improvements on their updated K-7 model in the hopefully not-to-distant future. For now I'll continue to enjoy my still capable K20.

Want Pentax K-7 14.6 MP Digital SLR with Shake Reduction and 720p HD Video (Body Only) Discount?

Background: I have been doing photography for 30 + years and digital photography since about 1997. I own or have owned Pentax ist*D, and K20D. I also have a Fuji S2Pro (Modified Nikon body), and Sony A100, A700. I have briefly used several modern Canon and Nikon DSLRs. I purchased the K7 for a 3 week trip to England and Ireland, mainly because I didn't want to lug around a DSLR and a video camera (Sony HDR-HC1). I bought the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 and did the trip with that single lens only about 10% of time did I desire a longer focal length lens.

Pros:

Solid. I dropped it 3 feet onto concrete (camera bag hung on something). The lens hood shattered but the camera and lens worked perfectly.

Compact and weather resistant -feels good and soaking rains of Ireland did no harm.

Great Auto White Balance even in low light and indoors; Fuji S2Pro is close on AWB but most other DSLRs really struggle with low indoor and mixed lighting

Fast (relatively)-about same as Sony A700 (5fps).

Fast and significantly improved focusing (versus K20D) especially in low light.

Better low light performance, focusing, color balance, noise.

Improved anti-shake is a significant aid in low light didn't need tripod. Remember, unlike Nikon and Canon the antishake is in the body so it works with all lens and this makes the lens cheaper.

Adjustable Noise Reduction. Very good low-light performance, best under ISO800 but acceptable to ISO 1200.

Tilt-meter that really helps, really needed on video but great for most photos

Controls: buttons for most important functions. In particular the push-button RAW button, exposure compensation, and ISO.

Unique Pentax exposure modes: Sensitivity priority #set the ISO for the lighting and it will pick aperture and shutters speeds for correct exposure and TAV where you set the shutter and aperture and it will change the ISO to get the correct exposure.

Customizable -every comprehensible way. There are a million little things (Lateral Chromatic aberration distortion adjustment, HDR capture, digital filters, bracketing options (unbelievable#, autoface detection.

Quality of photos is excellent particularly with a good lens.

Cons:

Not a video camera. Need to be careful about focusing. Focusing is a slow, one-time thing for each shot. It is hard to verify focus on screen (can't use viewfinder) particularly in bright light. One can't pan or zoom well. You get best results if you don't move the camera just let the activity in the frame create the action. In the same way that video cameras aren't replacemets for DSLRs for still photos DSLRs are not replacements for video cameras not yet anyway. That said, you can get good looking video if you are careful. Video eats up SD card space fast tell your story with short 5-10 second clips.

There is so much that can be done with this camera that it can easily intimidate -just leave it in "green mode" until you are comfortable.

I have trouble getting the SD card out of the camera it seems to hang and I end up pushing it in and letting it spring out multiple times.

Why doesn't Pentax use Compact Flash Cards? For the money they are cheaper, faster, and hold more. It would be nice to have 2 card slots and then this would be a true professional body.

Bottom line:

I believe the material/build, features and quality of the results make this the best DSLR camera value today. If you are just getting a DSLR for the first time think strongly about this instead of a Canon or Nikon.

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