Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR 16 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Black)

I have been a photographer for over 30 years and have had many different types of cameras. I bought this camera to take with me on an upcoming overseas trip where I didn't want to carry my Nikon DSLR. I photographed with the F770EXR in several different settings to test its picture taking capabilities. I will update this review when I return from my trip.

This seems like a very well built camera. I like the feel and the size is perfect to fit in my pocket. So far the pictures have been very good. They do not compare to my Nikon DSLR, but I didn't expect them to. Outdoor pictures come close. Indoor pictures with the flash are acceptable. Indoor pictures without the flash are also acceptable as long as your subject isn't moving and there is adequate light. I haven't tried night photography yet.

The one thing I was disappointed with is the included software; MyFinePix Studio. I have an Apple Mac and the software isn't compatible with OS 10. Snow Leopard is the last version this software will work with. Go to this site to see all of the features you will either get if you use a PC or not have if you use a Mac computer:

The bottom line is I am pleased with the picture taking capability of the F770EXR. If you want DSLR results then it is best to purchase a DSLR. If you need a small travel camera to take pictures, I think you will be pleased with this camera.

4-17 update. OK after reading the other reviews especially the ones that gave the camera one star I took my camera out and checked the focus at full zoom. The camera focused right away and the pictures were clear. Maybe there were a couple of duds in the first batch released. I am pleased with mine so far.

7-13 update. Took the camera to Israel and it did great for photos. The movie camera has a lot to be desired. It doesn't focus very well and when you zoom in and out it makes a noise that can be heard on your video. Don't buy this if you are using it for the video feature. If you just need a camera for photos then I would recommend it.

I am baffled by the mediocre reviews of others on this site regarding this camera. I've had mine almost two weeks now, shot hundreds of test shots, and I love the camera. I am not a photo aficianado, so perhaps I don't notice little things that others might, but as a regular joe type consumer, this camera does everything I need and more. The auto-focus is incredibly fast and accurate. Photos are crisp and clear. Color is excellent. The flash mechanism is a bit weird, but it works fine--I could see how after thousands of uses, the design might be prone to glitches. A built-in flash with no moving parts would probably be better. Battery life has been terrific. I have gone over 300 photos with lots of juice left, and this includes viewing the shots briefly in playback mode. Like most newer cameras, the battery can only be charged outside the camera. I would prefer otherwise. The EXR function works great. It does a good job of selecting the correct paramaters to give a really good photo on a shot that an amateur like me would likely otherwise mess up. I also have the F550exr, and, although the F770 improves on the low-light performance of the F550, in extreme low-light situations it still is not very good. My Casio ZR 100 is much better in extreme low-light situations, but in regular indoor shots, the F770 does fine, in fact, I would say, it is superb. The zoom is amazing. Focus is great every step of the way. Even more amazing is the auto-shake function that stabilizes the photo when using the zoom at or near its limit. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.

I have not yet used the video, so I cannot comment on its video capabilities. I note that, with the F550, video was very good, but that camera sometimes searched for focus if you used the zoom while shooting a video.

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I cannot believe that anyone who knows the basics on how to use a camera and did not receive a damaged product can say this camera is bad! This little camera is incredible, with some minor flaws! I recently reduced my rating to 4.5 starts (from 5) due to the video focus problem with the camera.

After researching digital cameras for over 2 and 1/2 months and suffering with 2 horrific cameras I had to send back, I finally got the right camera. My first attempt was the highly disappointing Panasonic Lumix ZS20 14.1 MP High Sensitivity MOS Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Black) (see my Amaz review for that it was terrible) as my 1st choice to replace my 7-year-old Kodak EasyShare Z760, and then after that one was a bust, I tried the almost-as-disappointing Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Still Camera with 16x Optical Zoom G Lens, 3D Sweep Panorama and Full HD 1080/60p Video(see my Amaz review on that if curious), I FINALLY found a camera that takes INCREDIBLE pictures.

The Fujifilm FinePix F770EXR 16 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom (Black) is a home run and will definitely stay in my family for the next 5 years for sure, just as the Kodak stayed with me and my family for almost 7 years.

This Fuji F770 EXR camera has been a joy to play with on my first day of use. After the battery charged for first time (took about 2.5h), I started taking random pics all around the house and some outside of the window. The menus are a bit quirky at first, but I quickly got used to them very quickly and the camera itself is very easy to use, even for someone with mid-tech skills (I am advanced on technology knowledge, and this was so simple that I expect someone with basic understanding of tech to figure this out fast).

After a whole day playing with the camera, I can say this one is staying and won't be going back! I will continue to update this review as the days go by, but here are first impressions.

Top 10 Positives:

1) Sexy camera! Batman got nothing on this camera.... I wonder if Batman has one of these strapped to his belt..? :)

2) Pictures are SHARP AND CLEAR, if you are using the right mode for the scene! I cannot stress the importance of this enough after the Sony HX9V's horrible coloring of my orange cat and over-washed pics and the Panasonic Lumix ZS20's almost 100% blurry picture rate!

3) Tons of fun "scene" modes to use. Unlike many other newer cameras, the flash IS indeed an option in almost all of these. This means I can customize (ex: "cat mode" with flash produces very nice, fast action pics... "sports mode" with

I have to admit, I LOVE choosing my own settings, and that is fun for me, just as I used to on my Kodak Z760. But the EXR mode does an incredible job as well for sharp and clean pics, and no need to change anything. :)

4) Flash pops, but it moves forward, which creates space to hold camera with left index finger, which is a huge help to keep camera steady (see negative comment on this as well).

5) The LCD screen is sharp and crisp!

6) It is easy and fast to scroll through pics and delete bad ones. It is also easy and fun to zoom and see every detail (the 16MP sensor is unreal and very good!).

7) Battery life is nice in long. I took well over 150 pics, most with flash and still had tons of juice left. I bought second battery in case I am on the road.

8) 20x zoom in a tiny camera! It is a huge zoom and pics zoomed at 20x (*no "digital zoom" used, this is all lens and focus) came out 95% clear.

9) Camera comes with a very very cool GPS system (not tested yet, but seems very good, like a homing beacon. Someone call Batman :).

10) Fast moving zoom (despite some motor noise, but minor); fast camera time from off to on and ready to shoot. Fast LCD turn own screen.

Top Negatives (mostly "quirks", really):

1) If I must complain about something, it would be the manual activation of the pop-up flash (you have to hit a button to make flash pop-up once before each use and once it is up, take as many pics as you want with flash just fine). The flash is regulated by camera's sensor, the only thing you "activate" is make it "pop-up" once before use. That is it.

Although some may view this as a negative, I actually think that it is a positive, as the automatic pop-up flashes can really be disruptive if you hold the camera as most do (with your left index finger right on the top-left of the camera for stability). After using the camera for a few hours today, I now push the flash button up as soon as I turn on the camera and since flash pops FORWARD, I can then use that space behind the flash to have my index finger in and hold camera steadier.

2) Flash does not come up on its own. But I can assure you, after one day taking pics around, I already got used to turning camera on and popping the flash at same time, so I can rest index finer on flash slot. :)

3) The "rotator" sensor (when you take landscape or portrait pics "up or down" style pics) does not rotate the date, which is kinda silly. So I can have a portrait pic ("standing up/vertical) with date sideways instead of bottom of the pic. Not a "problem" per se, but it is annoying. Rotation on camera can be kind of "iffy" at times in detecting correct position of image; I can handle that using camera's rotate feature or do it in my PC, but doing it on PC lowers pic quality.

4) Battery cannot be charged inside camera. The charger is very thin and fast to go from drained to full, but this means I need a 2nd battery for travel, just to be sure.

5) May take a day for those with low tech skills to learn, especially if wanting to use all the awesome features, like the Scene modes ("SP" on the little selector wheel) or the different "shortcut" buttons, like the "F" button or the "FN" button (not needed, but cool to use I use these to change pic sizes fast, so I can take 1MB pics for quick uploads vs 4mp pics for printing, etc).

6) The video feature lowered my previous 5 star rating to a 4.5 star rating. Why? Because when you zoom in or out, the camera loses focus and the image `blur' for a second or two. Not major to me, as I am a photo-taker, but you should know about this quirk. Videos look clear most of the time and sound was good as well.

I will upload some of my pics from today so you can get an idea of the camera's potential. Keep in mind that I have not yet been able to test the "scene" modes on landscape (I will take some mountain shots tomorrow) or the "soft skin" mode, which I want to use on my wife and see what she looks like with it. I hope it is not a "painting" like the Sony, man that was horrible. My cat looks cool, and I have some other "test pics" uploaded on the camera's page for your review.

So far as about 6h playing with the camera, and using flash like crazy (no GPS), the battery is still showing as "full" and the pics have been incredible, so far! I will keep updating this review, but as of right now, this camera is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, and that is not saying enough after almost 3 months of research and playing with cameras at BestBuy and Target and suffering with 2 other horrible cameras.

Quick tips if you want to try and "scene" modes:

Best indoor/low light mode (some light, indoors): Party

Best pet (fast moving): sports (with flash).

Best steady pet mode: cat or dog, depending (it will focus on pet's face).

Best portrait mode (indoors): soft skin

Best all purpose/easy mode: turn wheel to EXR.

UPDATE: As of 11/3/2012, the Fuji FinePix F770EXR is an 9 out of 10 on my scale with 10 being camera best ever (or 4.5 out of 5). GET THIS CAMERA if you love "scene" mode pictures, fast "auto mode" EXR's crispy and beautiful pictures or just want a fun, small, light, and cool "pocket camera". This is not a professional camera, but for the $270 and for what you get, this is a home run all day long.

Update #2: As of 11/7/2012: Tons of pics taken, including through glass of landscape (mountains miles at distance, full zoom see attached pics). All pics continue to come out sharp and crisp, with very nice tones. Backlight mode works perfect (sunset scene/mode used see cat pic on sunny window). I have taken at least 100 pics so far, have uploaded them twice to my PC (using camera) and I still have 2/3 of the battery power. I am still on my first charge from out of the box and the battery is fine. More pic samples coming. Another downside to the camera added, thus rating is 9.0 out of 10 (with 10 being the best ever). Still an awesome camera. :)

More info and updates to come on this little gem of a camera. :)

Christian

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FUJI "exr" cameras are my favorite. Over the past 6 years, I have owned "30" P-n-S $300-500 cameras. (canon, nikon, casio, panasonic, sony, fuji & olympus). So I can speak with some authority, when I say FUJI F-EXR cameras do the best job. Besides this F770exr, I have owned Fuji's F200exr and F600exr. After taking over 12,000 shots with all my cameras, I have never gotten better images than with a FUJI F___EXR camera! Made possible by their super-fast AF and shutter speed and FUJI's large EXR image processor. NOTHING beats FUJI in low-light situations, or with ACTION shots "WHEN using this camera in EXR modes". NOTHING! When not in EXR mode, its still a great camera but not as impressive (in my opinion). Action shots and Depth of Field are amazing! AND with it's 25-500mm zoom, you can get ANY shot. SEE my images of the telephone pole I submitted. Even the digital zoom shot at 1,000mm is clear and sharp (using a tripod). FYI these shots were taken mid-day, pointing West. Using EXR-Auto mode. One at 500mm, one at 1000mm. Fuji's Auto Mode chose: 1/500 sec, f/5.2, ISO-100. In the 25mm shot, FUJI chose: 1/340 sec, f/7.1, ISO-100. Distance from telephone pole was 400-feet (5 houses & 1 street from where I was). Color is Natural, not over-exposed; Edges are clear, but not too sharp, and I love that it can get good subject texture/surfaces. I'm NO photographer! I just like researching cameras. THESE F-EXR cameras CAN give me everything I want WITHOUT the bulk and weight of mid-size cameras. Later I will submit some low-light and macro photos. AND I bought this F770exr "used" from Amazon!

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i am making a trip to alaska in a few months and wanted a camera i could take pictures from a distance with as well as close up. The 16 mega pixel is amazing, very detailed pictures. As far as distance goes the same, i can take pictures not quite 2/10th of a mile away and still get some very good clear detailed pictures, i took a picture of the moon at about 6pm and it came out very clear, i have tried pictures in the dark knowing what i was looking at before i took the picture because it was complete black in this room and they came out very clear as well, so in low light situations it peformed very well. The stabilization at fully extended can be alittle bothersome as far as focuing but it might just take some getting use too. i will update more after i have a chance too really use the camera. i would recommened this camera, it has alot of features and if your a novice like me then you will be amazed as i am at the quality of the picture's and feature's i love the quality & the size is amazing you can put this camera in your pocket with a case.

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Panasonic HDC-TM20K High-Def Flash Memory Camcorder with 16GB Internal Memory and 8GB Memory Card (

I bought this camcorder to use it during travel. This is my first SD-Card/Flash memory based camcorder. Physically it is very handy, perfectly fits inside my palm, its really light weight with decently sturdy construction. Battery life is ok with the supplied one, for day long tours an extended battery is definitely recommended.

The only reason I am giving it a 4 star is the video quality while shooting in low light. I get a very good quality, saturated and sharp video while shooting in daylight or indoors at daytime. In very low light the video is full of grains, although useable.

Overall, I am satisfied with the camcorder for the price I paid.

Bought this camcorder to record family functions and vacations. Camcorder was easy to use right out of the box. It has a yellow box in the screen that moves with the person you filming to help you keep things centered. It also tells you, on screen, if you are moving the camera to fast.Control buttons are easy to use. If you have real meaty fingers, might be an issue. On screen controls are sweet !!! Zoom is awesome!! Instructions were easy to follow to hook up to tv and computer monitor to show video and stills. Got it for $388.99 on a five minute sale!!!!! What a steal !!!! This is a perfect camcorder for families, you will not be disappointed!

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It's just so, so. The biggest shortcoming is the absence of a microphone out connection. The electronic mic only works under certain conditions and offeres too little control. You are subject to getting unusable video with this camera.

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I had a specific use for a High Definition video camera, but didn't want to pay an exhorbitant price. I also found great reviews on the Panasonic cameras, and this one was no exception. I must admit that I haven't had a chance to really try it out as I had intended, as my project that I bought it for, primarily, sort of got "put on hold" for the moment. What pictures I have taken though, look really good, and the ZOOM is really nice and easy to use. I really like the Touch Screen, and the fact that it has a 16 meg card included, as opposed to many that have only an 8 Meg. For the price, though, I suggest you GO FOR IT! I haven't had a chance to try out the software yet, but some reviews say it is marginal at best, but sufficient for the average user. I want to do some Video Editing, which is quite demanding I understand. I have yet to experience that!

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This is a great camera and very small. It takes good movies and a nice touch screen.

Sony Handycam GP-AVT1 Shooting Grip with Mini Tripod with Wide & Telephoto Lens + NP-FV70 Batte

My wife and I are very satisfied with our purchase, the Sony shooting grip, baterry and lenses are of good quality. This purchase was delivered promptly and we received it well before the indicated date. We highly recommend this retailer and would certainly purchase from this store again in the future.

This was an excellent combination of items for our video handycam and amounted to a value that far exceeded the items if purchased separately. I recommended it to a friend who immedialtely bought one also.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The picture quality is oustanding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Overall this camcorder is very good.

Pros-

1. Video Quality

2. Ease of use

3. Price

Cons-

1. No USB capability

2. Video takes up much memory on computer.

3. Quality in low light.

4. Battery Life.

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

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

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

Lorex LW2401 Live Video Monitor System

I bought this monitor because of a friend referral. I also bought the Summer 3.5 Touch, and the Motorola MBP35 (3.5 screen). I originally bought the Summer Touch but wasn't 100% sold on it. That is why i purchased the other two.

First off, the good:

Screen Clarity Seemed better than the Summer and about the same as the Motorola.

Night Vision This monitor had the best vision at night of all of the monitors. Everything was much brighter and easier to see. (also listed in the Negatives later).

Battery life It seemed to get around 5 hours on a charge. About the same or a tad less than the Summer, but about 2 hours better than the Motorola.

Ability to record and save. I only played with this feature, but I thought it would be great to have if a nanny or babysitter was over and you could keep track of the actual happenings with your baby. Neither of the other two monitors had this feature.

Lullaby function I'm not sure how much this would actually be used, but I thought it was a nice feature to have. The Motorola also had this.

Night Light Again, not sure how much it would be used, but another nice feature. Neither of the other two monitors had this.

VIDEO STAYS ON when off of the charger. I thought this was a great feature because on the other monitors you have to keep pressing the video button after it automatically times out after about 2 minutes to be able to see the screen and what is going on. They do this as a power saving feature but it is more aggravating than anything. The Lorex stays on and makes it easy.

The ability to add other cameras and be able to view them all simultaneously. The other two monitors allow you to add cameras, but have to view one at a time. Again, not sure if most parents would ever need this, but it is a nice feature.

Now, with the BAD.

No Zoom feature on the Lorex. Both the Summer and Motorola have this ability. It has a pretty clear picture, but there are times where I want to zoom in on my child and could not.

No Panning feature on the Lorex. Both the Summer and Motorola have this. While this may be ok with some who just want to see a certain area of the crib, or don't mind leaving the camera in a fixed place, it could be an issue for others. I thought I could easily get past this, but I couldn't.

Audio When compared to the Summer, you practically had to lay your ear on the back of the monitor (where the speaker is) to be able to hear the child. The Summer picks up the swing going back and forth, and allows you to adjust the volume to hear much more than the Lorex.

The Talk function. If you put your mouth right on the microphone, it works ok. However, testing it with my wife and the Summer, she continuously said the Summer's sound quality on the other end was much better.

Audio Alerts. a great idea for a feature, but it randomly worked and was more irritating than anything.

The Auto Mute, and Scan features. While these are great features to have, they did not seem to work. They randomly chose when to turn on and it usually had to come from a loud noise, but sometimes chose not to even come on then. And YES, I did adjust the sensitivity on the side.

Skype while this is a GREAT selling point, it has its flaws. First, you cannot plug the monitor into a Mac computer to use this feature. Second, even when plugged into a PC, the video is so far behind and lacking once on Skype, it takes away the usefulness of the feature all together. Sometimes it would not even show movements that clearly happened.

Inability to connect the monitor to a TV or other video source. The Summer allows you to connect the monitor to a TV through RCA/mini usb so that you can view it on a larger screen if desired. The Lorex and Motorola do not.

The Night Vision. While stated as a positive earlier (which it is), it also has a slight negative. The LED's on the camera are red and clearly visible at night, whereas the ones for the other monitors are not. This may bother or alert some children/etc., and may not for others. It is just a point I thought I should mention.

After wanting to love this monitor and replace the Summer with it (already sent the Motorola back due to lack of technical support and inability to plug into another video source), I am afraid I am going to have to send the Lorex back as well. I wish someone would take the good parts of each of these monitors and combine them, but as of now, they have not. For now, we are sticking with the Summer monitor because it had the least negatives of all 3. I think the main reason I wanted something instead of the Summer monitor is because they specialize in baby clothes, products, etc. Motorola and Lorex specialize in communications and surveillance, therefore I figured there products would be better. I was mistaken.

My husband and I have been on an aggressive search for the perfect Baby Video Monitor that suits the needs of our growing family. After reading countless product reviews, purchasing and returning 4 other systems, we started to think that what we wanted did not exist and then we tried the Lorex LW 2401 Live Video Monitor System it seems to have everything we want!

Pros:

* Expandable Supports up to 4 cameras

* VOX (Voice Activation) Lorex calls this feature "Scan". The video AND sound go into a power saving mode, the cameras scan

the rooms for noises and if there is a noise detected, the video and audio is activated. This is a huge feature for my family

and was the reason why we returned all of the other systems we tried. In all other systems we tried the VOX feature could only

work on one camera / baby at a time. Which was just silly to us we wanted to hear either baby if one of them made a noise,

not just one!

* Mute! This is a huge plus for me. I am such a light sleeper that on other systems the lowest setting is still too loud for me

* Noise Indicator light (on the left side) key for when the unit is on mute

* Low battery indicator flashes on the screen! Not an annoying beep

* Monitor has a stand (this model has a stand AND a docking station for charging an extra bonus)

Bonuses:

* Multiple options for viewing your little ones:

-Single camera, sequence (rotates between cameras every 6 seconds), Quad mode (views all cameras at the same time)

-Video and sound on at all times

-Video screen off, but sound on

-Video screen on and sounds off (Auto mute)

* Auto Mute after a period with no noise, auto mute is activated to eliminate white noise

* Sleek design

* Large screen (3.5")

* Volume buttons are on the front of the monitor unit (not in a menu)

* Two way talk feature

* Temperature gauge

* Date and time on screen

Cons:

* "Video" button turns on / off once pressed, but doesn't seem to work in Scan mode. Not sure why that would be

* Doesn't tilt, pan, zoom like some other units in the price range but not a deal breaker for me because it has so much of

everything else we need

Features I have not tried and probably won't use:

* Capture, store & share with microSD recording

* Remotely view from anywhere through Skype

* Alerts

* Alarms

Buy Lorex LW2401 Live Video Monitor System Now

This monitor is great except for one problem. The microphone is not great at picking up soft sounds, like a baby's breathing. Exasperating the issue it auto mutes to avoid ambient noise when there aren't loud sounds. There is a setting that supposedly controls this auto muting, but no matter what value we set it to it still auto muted. For a young infant often what you want a monitor to do is to allow you to hear that the baby is breathing which this monitor doesn't allow for. It would be a great monitor for an older infant or younger toddler because it has a lot of great features, the picture quality is pretty good, and the form factor and battery life are both great.

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The visual coverage and night vision is great but the audio is very distorted. A good overall value if audio isn't the prime issue.

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It's not one of those Chinese fakes (though it was made in China too). Lorex is known for it's cameras and this one is not an exception. One bad thing for me is about servicing and spare parts as there's no such support available in my country.

The 4 stars are awarded for it's rugged and quality design (we dropped the monitor for several times, yet no errors) and for the night vision. However, the colour contrast is not too good and the camera doesn't zoom or tilt and the one that does costs expensive.

One word, good equipment to have and you can attach more cameras. The sound transmission is also good.

Haven't used it at far range or through Skype yet.

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Levana LV-TW502 Safe N' See Advanced 3.5-Inch Digital Video Wireless Baby Monitor with Talk to Baby

I'm definitely a cautious person, but when these camera-baby-monitors first started showing up on shelves several years back I honestly thought they were only for hover-moms and worry warts. Now I see just how handy this invention is! Surprisingly, too, we've found it even more helpful in my 3-year-olds room as opposed to our 8 month old!

I feel like this product is the future in parenting. Of course, I take care to spend a lot of time with my kids as a stay-at-home-mom. But as all parents know, you can't be right there with them every second. While I used to think these things were for parents who were so obsessed that they wanted to watch their babies sleep, now I know that naptime is not the only time this monitor is useful.

For example, I can work on dinner in the kitchen while my girls play with toys in their playroom and I can still keep an eye on them! My three-year-old has started to show a little aggression toward her sister now that the baby is old enough to crawl and play with her sister's toys. I can still watch my older daughter for shoving and grabbing even when I'm out of the room. Before I had this video monitor I could only guess why the baby started crying while I was out of the room.

The intercom is a brilliant feature! At first I thought, "Yeah, right like I could soothe my baby over intercom. When she's crying she wants to be held!" Though that is still true, I've again found this feature handy with my older daughter. When I put her down for a nap she often likes to sneak out of bed and play with her toys. With the intercom I can give orders, such as "Get back into bed, it's naptime not playtime," from across the house. And I no longer have to risk waking her up by checking in on her to see if she's even sleeping. Brilliant!

The temperature feature is just another lovely bonus to this monitor. We live in an older house that can heat unevenly, and Colorado in the wintertime, it can grow quite cold. I love being able to see how warm my daughter's room is at night. This is also a very nice feature with babies and overheating as some have theorized that SIDS is possibly caused by overheating, plus we all want our babies to sleep comfortably.

This video monitor is extremely easy to use. Once it arrived, we opened and began using it within just a couple minutes. The screen is bright enough, and not fantastic image (like a modern TV, for example) but definitely what I would expect for something this small and at this price point, so I'm satisfied.

So far the only setback we've had is that the monitor seemed to interfere a little bit with my laptop & wifi, suddenly my internet connection was slow and fussy. But my husband was able to "switch channels" on the computer and as long as the monitor is not powered on right next to my computer then it works just fine.

The night vision feature is SO great, they really thought of everything when designing this monitor, it seems. What a great thing to be able to see if your toddler has fallen out of bed or if your baby is awake when you hear a noise. Like I said, this product is part of the future of parenting, it's brilliant and takes safety to another level.

I will be adding another camera to this system soon, so that we will have an "eye" on both of my girls when we're not in the room. I swear I'm not a hover-mom! But I love having a view of my children no matter what room I'm in. Any stay-at-home mom knows that leaving your baby in a room for a minute even to just go to the bathroom can have it's risks. And being able to check in on your child when you hear something at night, but without having to risk waking them up, it's just wonderful.

I would definitely recommend this product to anyone who is expecting or has a baby or even small children. It's a small price to pay for all the extra "eyes and ears" to help you keep your child safe and know what's going on at all times. I've very, very fond of this video monitor!

I want to start by saying I absolutely love all the features that both TW501 and TW502 offer and they are great baby monitors with one MAJOR flaw... the CAMERA. I am currently on my THIRD monitor (they have been replaced under warranty) because if you unplug the camera (to move to another room or take on a trip), it will not turn back on when it is plugged back in.

The customer service representative I talked to acknowledged they have had problems and offered me a downgrade to the TW301 which apparently has a different camera. Then they offered me an upgrade to the TW502 which I took, but it has the same camera and has already failed after TWO WEEKS. Each time the camera goes out I have had to send it back to the manufacturer at my own expense, then wait 1-3 weeks for a new one. If you want to get it in 1 week you have to pay for a new one to ship right away and then get a credit when they receive your old one and test it. They have had my old one for two weeks and still no credit.

I wish they would fix this camera problem because it would be a great product otherwise. Unfortunately, this has not happened yet. This is the only review I have written on any product I purchased for my 8 month old daughter, but I feel strongly that it is important to warn other consumers about this product and company. BUYER BEWARE!

Buy Levana LV-TW502 Safe N' See Advanced 3.5-Inch Digital Video Wireless Baby Monitor with Talk to Baby Now

This is the 2nd Levana monitor that I've had and, just like with my first one, it has several annoying issues.

Number one: the picture freezes ALL THE TIME. Not just the standard way when there's no movement. NO. Like when I hold and kiss the baby, put her in her crib, rub her tummy a minute, walk into my room, look at the monitor and the picture is a fractured image of me holding her from 5 minutes ago! Restarting the unit doesn't always fix this issue. And it happens ALL THE TIME. My other Levana model did the same thing.

Number two: The rotation of the camera is horrible. It takes so many readjustments and weird placements to finally get a good angle for a picture. The other Levana camera that I have is able to rotate in every direction, so you simply hang it once and point the camera. Sounds simple, doesn't it? Why on earth they changed their GOOD product to the horribly limited one they have now, i have no idea.

Number three: the parent-end unit BEEPS loudly whenever you turn it on. Super annoying. Even more annoying when you pair it with the next thing on my list...

Number four: THERE IS NO MUTE! Let's face it, sometimes your kid just makes noise and there's no reason to mess with them, especially when you can SEE that they're fine. And it's 2am and you want to go back to sleep. But there's no mute on your monitor... if you turn the monitor off, then the next time you want to check on the baby IT WILL BEEP AND WAKE YOUR PARTNER UP. So you can't turn it off. But you can't sleep with that noisy baby chatter. So you bury it under the blankets and TRY to sleep. Does this sound the like kind of regular procedure you should have to perform with a device that costs as much as this one? NO!!

DEAR LEVANA: for goodness sakes, PLEASE figure out how to make a product with more efficient video quality and PUT A FRICKING MUTE FEATURE on your products!!

As for the "good" parts about this product the music playing and talking to baby features are great. I love being able to see the actual temperature of the baby's room at all times. And the parent hand-unit is pretty self-explanatory, which is nice. It even has a stand on the back, which was a big complaint of mine on my previous Levana monitor.

In spite of the things i hate about this monitor, i still use it. So i guess it's not all that bad. But it's FAR from perfect.

Read Best Reviews of Levana LV-TW502 Safe N' See Advanced 3.5-Inch Digital Video Wireless Baby Monitor with Talk to Baby Here

This is our 4th baby monitor... We've had Graco digital, Philips Advent, and earlier Levanva video and now this one. This by far is the best digital video baby monitor that I've used. currently we only have one camera, but the system is expandable to multiple cameras.... It's on my christmas list as we move our 2yr old to his big boy room and bring in the newborn to get another camera.

Pro's...

excellent picture day and night.. nightvision really works and is automatically managed by the camera.

two-way communications... "Lie down now and go to sleep, buddy"

remote controlled night light can turn it on and off without going into the room..

remote temperature

remote music can turn it on and off after you see your kid is asleep

power saving... remote monitor can be setup to be sound sensitive to only show screen when sound is heard (adjustable)

Can be battery operated in camera (havent used it)

Con's...

Would like a mode that turns off music after a period of time.

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This is our third monitor but our first video monitor.

Pros

-Clear picture

-Temperature readout

-Talk feature

-Reliable

-Multiple cameras with feature to rotate between both cameras automatically without having I manually switch between cameras.

Cons

-I don't like the menu. It could be much more user friendly.

-There is a little green light on the camera that indicates it is on but it is too bright in a dark room! This problem was easily solved by putting a piece of black tape over the light.

Other info...

-Some people said they couldn't add a second camera. It was a little tricky but after I watched a YouTube video on how to do it, it was super easy.

-I've never had an issue with the cameras dropping signal after being unplugged. I'm not sure why another reviewer was having this issue.

-Battery life is decent. About 3 hours. I have mine plugged in 90% of the time so its not an issue for me.

-It has a very good range. My sons room is upstairs in the front of our 5 bedroom house and it reaches just fine when I am outside in the backyard. And it doesn't get choppy like the audio monitors we used to have.

All in all, this is a great monitor! I would definitely recommend it and would buy it again without hesitation!

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PTC Premium 1-FT GOLD Series VGA / SVGA 1 source to 2 displays Splitter cable - 2 separated leads f

12/2012: I noticed the cable in current pic for $2 is not what I have, mine has a 3.5 mm audio wire attatched.

Nevertheless I still use the cable it works great! (new pc tho, win 7).

I purchased this to split my monitor connection to my vizio lcd tv monitor input so I could watch netflix instant view and other things on my tv screen instead of my pc.

My tv isnt far from the pc tower, I understand if you have to go too far it will degrade, mine did not, I purchased this with (Cables To Go 43098 25ft HD15 M/M UXGA Monitor Cable with 3.5mm Audio (Black))And it was very easy to hook up to the output on the tower for both pc monitor and the 25 foot cable to tv input.

I wasnt sure it would work after reading reviews for this, but it does and its awesome. I spent a small amt on something that some will pay 2 or 300 for to be already in the lcd tv.

VIP NOTE: you must have everything connected at both ends (not ness'the audio) to see how your screens (both) will appear, at first half way through w/ out the tv end done I thought oh no degradation but it was fine after connecting everything and filling all connections.

If you find you have the right connectors on the tower and tv this will work great but I wouldnt go much longer then I did incase it degrades.

My pc is two years old (pre vista) so its not as fast as the vista machines had to be yet it runs it fine, I think my pc has a pre installed nivida card?

Anyway it works great do some googling and find out whats needed and if this is it, it works fine ;O)

I bought this item hoping to output video to both my monitor and my tv, so that I wouldn't have to bother going behind the computer and switching the vga cables back and forth. After I plugged both the monitor and tv into the splitter plugs, the TV displayed fine (no loss of brightness and no ghosting through my 25ft VGA cable). The monitor, however, would only show wavy lines. The wave lines would only go away when I unplugged the cable going to the TV. Then the signal going to my monitor through this splitter would work just fine. So now when I want to use my computer monitor, I just have to unplug the cable going to the TV, which is still more convenient since I don't ever have to plug or unplug the cable going to my monitor.

Response to comment: The connections work just fine. The splitter provides some nice and tight fits. The problem is apparently that some monitors can't resolve a signal that is coming in at half the normal power. When both the TV and monitor are plugged into the splitter, my monitor can't resolve the weaker signal. When only the monitor is plugged into it, it receives all of the power and works just fine. This likely isn't a problem with the splitter itself, just my monitor, but be prepared for the splitter to possibly not work as hoped.

Buy PTC Premium 1-FT GOLD Series VGA / SVGA 1 source to 2 displays Splitter cable - 2 separated leads f Now

I've been switching the monitor cable back and forth between my pc monitor and flat screen tv (42 inch plasma) for about a year now. I had wanted to purchase one of these VGA splitters for awhile (always switching the plugs on the back of the pc was a pain and was starting to damage the pc connection). However, I had read online that one of these monitor splitters would degrade the resolution (especially since I have a 25ft monitor cable running from my pc to my tv).

I decided to purchase this, and give it a try (it was only a few bucks anyway). And to my DELIGHT... I've found that this item works perfectly. My tv resolution is still superb! (the pc resolution did change slightly, but not enough to make me even work at adjust the pc monitor settings yet.) I am totally happy with this purchase. I should I got one of these months ago!

Read Best Reviews of PTC Premium 1-FT GOLD Series VGA / SVGA 1 source to 2 displays Splitter cable - 2 separated leads f Here

This cable is probably actually made to output from a computer to two display sources. Instead I've turned it around and use it to connect my laptop, or my XBox 360 to my monitor. Though it's setup like that only one can be turned on(connected) at a time. Cheaper alternative to the actually box that switches between the two. The build quality feels nice and the gold plating seems to have lasted. awesome.

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I bought this under the impression it would "Split" the signal. This is not the case. It takes the output from the computer and puts it across 2 devices, displaying the same image on both devices, like a computer screen+Projector setup. You will actually need a video card with 2 seperate VGA outputs. This will only display the same image across 2 devices. **Do not use if you want to 'extend' the image across 2 monitors**

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HDE® 10ft. Mini Display Port Male to HDMI Male Cable - Direct Connect Macbook to HDTV

I used this cable to hook my 27" iMac (mid 2011) to my 47" Samsung TV and it works really well. I had no issues and the picture quality is great. Beats buying the Apple branded adaptor cable.

this hdmi cable works great. it connects right away and shows great picture. It's just what I was looking for.

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This cord allows me to plug directly into my thunderbolt port on the macbook air and into the HDMI on my TV.

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Was exactly as I wanted it. It works great with no interference and the sound and video are both in sync

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Didn't have much expectations on this cable, ordered it because it was cheap and wanted to check how good/bad it was. I was really surprised with the results, audio can go through the cable directly to the TV or I can reproduce it on my Mac, video is full HD 1080p, length is perfect.

It has been with me only for week or so, but so far it's a "must have".

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