Nikon D70S Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm and 55-200mm Nikkor Lenses

The other reviews and the description seem to properly describe this camera. I am writing this review to give you the perspective of someone who started out with film SLR cameras in school, then got a digital 5MP camera and have used that for years and am now finally getting into Digital SLR photography. This is a big step back into the professional circle for me, and I'm anxious to get out to the zoo or to some vacation spot in the mountains to do my professional photography once again. I purchased this camera almost a month ago and my opinion is that it is the best camera ever made under $2,000. This camera has everything you can need.

I want to warn you, get the full set with the lense. This lense sells for almost $400 and is about the best all around lense you can find. Don't go for the cheap models. I wrote a list about this camera that may appear on this page for you to look at, but be sure that you get the ML-L3 wireless remote (for $20, how can you go wrong) and a spare battery (2,000 pictures sounds like a lot, and I haven't needed to recharge in this month that I've had the camera, but remember that when you go on a trip you may forget to recharge and you don't want to get stuck). Also, get a tripod (try the Slik Tripods U9000, I wrote a review of it and I find it to be the best buy around for a light-weight tripod that acts like a much heavier one) and get a carrying case (the jury is still out, I haven't found one that I like, I want one that will hold two cameras, 4 lenses, a large flash and a bunch of accessories).

If you aren't sure if the D70s is worth the money over the D50 or the D70, it is. The improved autofocusing system is much better than the others and the larger LCD is worth all the tea in China! I leave the LCD protector that came with it on and have no problem seeing my pictures, even outside. Although this is a larger camera than the D50, it isn't much of a difference and you will regret going with the cheaper camera.

If your budget was lower, save up and buy this camera. I bought a CoolPix 5000 a few years back and always kicked myself for not going with the D100. Now I've gone with the best camera on the market and I'm perfectly happy. Plus, I have the satisfaction of knowing that none of my friends can show me a better camera (unless they spent $4,000 or more on a D2X or D2H, and none of my friends can afford to do that)!!!

When Nikon has brought out an `s' camera, it is virtually a sure thing that this is a camera you want to get your hands on. The D70s is not an exception. With essentially instant-on (.2 seconds), improved built in flash, a larger and brighter lcd screen, and especially the abilitry to take up to 144 exposures at 3 frames per second make this an incredible improvement to the existing D70. Imagine the sports or wildlife exposures you have the chance to get with this capability!

The D70s is the digital SLR to record daily life and life events. With a 6.1 megapixel resolution limits the size of prints you can make with it to about 11" by 17". If this is not a problem for you then this is your digital camera. It has wonderful color resolution and great auto-focus capabilities. When you are ready, it is a fully capable manual camera.

The D70s comes bundled with the excellent and compact 18-70 Nikkor Lens and one EN-EL3a battery. To get started with the camera I suggest the following in addition:

* One extra EN-EL3a Lithium-Ion Battery.

* Two 2GB 80X CompactFlash cards with write acceleration (WA) technology.

Note: Nikon recommends either the SanDisk SDCFH (Ultra II), SDCFX (Extreme/Extreme III) or Lexar Media 80X WA CompactFlash™ card for best performance.

* One CF card reader for your computer. Firewire or USB connection depending upon your needs.

As time and money permit you may want to add the following:

* A telephoto lens for wildlife and sporting events. The 70-300mm F4-5.6G AF Nikkor is a great value and complements the bundled lens nicely. If money is not an object step up to the 70-300ED or the 70-200 F2.8 with vibration reduction.

* A good macro lens such as the AF Micro Nikkor 105mm f2.8.

* Polarizing filters for both the kit lens and the telephoto. Get Nikon filters there is no sense in spending money for Nikkor lenses and then putting junk filters on them.

* A bag to carry all this stuff.

This will get you nicely started. Further down the line you may wish to get the following:

* A speedlight. Either the SB 600 or 800.

* A tripod and ballhead.

Be sure to check prices at B&H Photo as well as those shown here. They have a tremendous selection and have long been known and trusted by serious photographers. In addition I would suggest that anyone who buys a D70 join Nikonians. There or literally tens of thousands of people who are more than happy to help you with any question you may have about Nikon Cameras, lenses and other equipment as well as help you with your photography skills. And, bet of all, it's free! Go to nikonians.org.

Buy Nikon D70S Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm and 55-200mm Nikkor Lenses Now

After spending hours reading many reviews, switching back & forth to Canon then Nikon, I finally decided to buy the Nikon D70s.

Very happy I did.

What strikes me on this camera is the controls & settings are extremely intuitive. I'm the typical male with big hands, and every button seems to be placed right where I expect them to be. I had the opportunity to play around with a Rebel XT afterwards, and not only did the camera feel very awkward (too small), the quick settings buttons & knob did not feel as "natural" as they do on the D70s ...far from it. I would be extremely disappointed today to be an owner of a Rebel XT , and see what a D70 feels like post-purchase.

Many people are picking a D50 over the D70s to save some money, and truthfully I think people should think twice about it.

Key missing features on the D50:

Grid Lines in the viewfinder.

Shortcut button for metering. I change my metering mode alot, would be annoying to do it thru the menu each time.

Front dial knob. Might sound insignificant, but after a while you do get used to controlling Aperture & Shutter speed on their respective front or back knob, especially in manual mode.

Illuminated top LCD. If you take alot of night photos, you will miss that feature alot. You could use a mini-flashlight held in your mouth, but personally I'd grow tired of relying that each time I have to go out at night.

Wireless flash. Probably a gimmick for most, but usefull once you know how to exploit it.

Shortcut button for bracketing. Not that usefull if you shoot in Raw, but can be great for JPEG landscape photos that have alot of hightlights and shadows.

Compactflash memory card. SD cards on the D50? ouch. Compactflash is the most common media type, and the more affordable when it comes to price/storage. The odds are about 10:1 that in 2-3 years, if you upgrade to a better model than the D50, your new SLR would need Compactflash media. That's easily a 150-200$ waste right there, if you own something like 2-3 x 2GB memory cards (you will get to a point where you'll want more than one card).

All-in-all, I love this camera and I doubt many will be disappointed with theirs. I would suggest you buy a flash unit like the SB-600 as well. It opens up a whole new world of indoors photography , both in terms of photo quality, and shooting speed (with the onboard flash you cannot shoot in bursts).

P.S. After you've purchased a flash unit, start saving money for a zoom lens. The 18-70mm kit lens is nice, but the zoom limit of 70mm will be become very apparent not long after you've purchased your camera. Take a loot at the new 18-200 VR ;)

P.S.2. There is something I dislike alot on the camera , and it's the fact it doesn't support high-speed USB 2.0. Yuck, I lost patience with the slow speed after a day only (transferring 2 gigs worth of photos does take quite a while), so I bought a compaqflash reader. Only 20$, but the camera should have been up to that standard, considering it's a recent model.

Enjoy

Read Best Reviews of Nikon D70S Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm and 55-200mm Nikkor Lenses Here

When Nikon brings out an `s' camera, it is virtually a sure thing that this is a camera you want to get your hands on. The D70s is not an exception. With essentially instant-on (.2 seconds), improved built in flash, a larger and brighter lcd screen, and especially the ability to take up to 144 exposures at 3 frames per second make this an incredible improvement to the existing D70. Imagine the sports or wildlife exposures you have the chance to get with this capability!

The D70s is the digital SLR to record daily life and life events. With a 6.1 mega pixel resolution limits the size of prints you can make with it to about 11" by 17". If this is not a problem for you then this is your digital camera. If you want to be able to make larger prints with good resolution, then you need to spend a great deal more money for a higher resolution digital camera (about $5,000) or stick with film. I keep my old N90 for these purposes.

Buy the D70s without the bundled 18-70 Nikon lens if (1) you already have a bundle of Nikon lenses; or (2) if you want a more capable first lens for your camera. If you want a more capable lens I strongly recommend the Nikon 24-120 lens. It cost $500 from B&H photo and will wind up being the lens you always keep on your camera. Its equivalent range in film cameras is 36-180 in other words slight wide angle to more than satisfactory telephoto. This is the fourth generation of this lens by Nikon and it now has all the bells and whistles: Nikons best ed glass for super sharp and clear pictures, silent wave motor for extremely fast focusing, and vibration reduction to eliminate the shakes in low light. Nikon has other excellent zooms and you may want to look at them but I can highly recommend this lens as one to have if you never want to miss a shot of the kids or what is happening at the instant.

* One extra EN-EL3a Lithium-Ion Battery.

* Two 2GB 80X CompactFlash cards with write acceleration (WA) technology.

Note: Nikon recommends the SanDisk SDCFH (Ultra II), SDCFX (Extreme/Extreme III) or Lexar Media 80X WA CompactFlash™ card for best performance.

* One CF card reader for your computer. Firewire or USB connection depending upon your needs.

As time and money permit you may want to add the following:

* A telephoto lens for wildlife and sporting events. The 70-300mm F4-5.6G AF Nikon is a great value and complements the bundled lens nicely. If money is not an object step up to the 70-300ED or the 70-200 F2.8 with vibration reduction.

* A good macro lens such as the AF Micro Nikon 105mm f2.8.

* Polarizing filters for both the kit lens and the telephoto. Get Nikon filters there is no sense in spending money for Nikon lenses and then putting junk filters on them.

* A bag to carry all this stuff.

This will get you nicely started. Further down the line you may wish to get the following:

* A speedlight. Either the SB 600 or 800.

* A tripod and ballhead.

Be sure to check prices at B&H Photo as well as those shown here. They have a tremendous selection and have long been known and trusted by serious photographers. In addition I would suggest that anyone who buys a D70 join Nikonians. There or literally tens of thousands of people who are more than happy to help you with any question you may have about Nikon Cameras, lenses and other equipment as well as help you with your photography skills. And, bet of all, it's free! Go to nikonians.org.

Want Nikon D70S Digital SLR Camera Kit with 18-70mm and 55-200mm Nikkor Lenses Discount?

I was shooting pictures of a BMW X3 for a magazine test-drive article. My San Francisco-based editor was along for the ride. When I pulled out my Canon EOS 1V, she exclaimed, "You still shooting film?" Yes, I am. Or more accurately, was. For even a slow-moving guy like me, when fate steps in to help me make the decision, I get it.

Here's the deal: My favorite film Fuji Velvia 50 was discontinued. My E-6 film processor went out of business. A friend a Nikon Tech Rep spent an hour convincing me that digital was the best way to go for my magazine work. Finally, he said that the Nikon D70s was the sweet spot when you consider price, quality and performance. Bottom line, this is the camera to have if I was going to dip my toe in the digital water. When I expressed a concern about the number of megapixels, he made a point that 6 megapixels was all I needed. I was still worried but he showed me sample prints and I was convinced. Oh yeah, my editor has the old Nikon D70 and she has shot several covers with it and lots of full page shots. They too looked good so I placed my order for a D70s.

I have just received it so I don't have a lot to say about the camera except that it feels great in my hand. The manual is very well written. The controls are just where they need to be experienced Nikon users will feel at home immediately.

Another selling point It uses compact flash cards so I can share them with my Canon point-and-shoots. In fact, I almost bought the D50 a good camera that's a lot cheaper but it uses the SD format cards. An expense that would blow the savings away as soon as I bought a couple of 1 gig cards.

The built-in flash is a bit weak for pro use but since it's there, I don't have to buy a new flash just yet.

I plan to use the D70s in 2006 for all my magazine work and thereby save its cost in film and procesing. If it all works out as planned, I'll upgrade to the D200 when the price drops a bit on that camera and then use this one as my backup.

Five stars for now we'll see later.

Update I shot at the Cloisters in NYC on Christmas Eve. The camera was easy to handle. The pictures had good color. Afterward, I made a large blow up (8X12) from a JPEG (Fine, Large) and the picture was quite sharp and had good tonal range.

Still looking good.

Second Update A shot I took with the D70s with a Nikon 80-200 f:2.8 just was published as the cover picture and it's amazing. Seriously sharp, good color and (dare I say) better than film. And that's with just 6 megapixels. I believe that most readers (meaning all non-pros AND many profesionals) would find this camera all you need and more.

One or two minor gripes after 6 months of hard use and a few raves. The motor drive is too slow for motorsports 3 fps is not enough. The build-in flash is convenient but with my 20-35 F:2.8 on the camera, anything shot close-up gets a nasty shadow.

The battery still rocks hundreds of shots and no charge needed.

As for storage with a 2 Gig card, it's like 10 rolls of film in the camera. Two 2 Gig cards and you could do a week's vacation without recharging and downloading.

I have 3 articles I wrote and illustrated with this camera coming out in a couple of weeks. More on the camera then.

PS The new Nikon N80 is a 10MP camera (like the D200) that tells me that the D70s is not long for this world. Discount / closeout / good used camera buys are sure to follow.

Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens

If you have never interfaced with your router's software before (and you are not brave!) than this might not be for you. It is not hard to set up. You plug in its AC adapter and plug it into your router. Follow the instructions and wow.

The picture is wonderful. The motion alarm is fantastic. We placed on of these inside our barn across the street from our home, about 350 feet away. We added an $80. antenna to our router from Hawking, also available on Amazon, and poof! I can now see what all the sqwak is at 2AM in my barn with out walking all the way out there! Wow, wow, wow. The pan and tilt features are really nice. We setup another at our front door, and three "out door" styles around the outside of the property. I don't know how long this black "indoor" will last in the extreme temps and humitity of our barn and front porch, but that is not Foscam's problem. I will update at the end of the winter, or sooner if they die during winter!

4/3/11 Well they made it through the winter. We have been able to review motion detection alarm triggered video clips that were saved on our pc. We have been able to remote pan across the barn to see who is making all the racket and why. It is lovely to know who has been on your porch while you were sleeping! The cameras are wonderful. the there is an antenna you can get on amazon that will extend you wireless cababilities. We view the inside and outside of our barn across the street. These are great.

Where to start...

Well I'll open with.. I'm IMPRESSED! I opted to get the white version of the FI8918W just because it was cheaper than the black version and was identical other than the color. I was first concerned because I got two camera's and the first one was "loose" it seemed (camera from the base). The second seems to be identical so this must just be the way these camera's are. I hooked this up directly to my router as per the instructions and tried to determine a standard ip address without having to use the included software. I wasn't able to so then used the mini-disc on my windows 7 PC. The computer prompted for reboot which I did before I noticed the icon on the desktop. When it rebooted I double clicked the icon and after a brief moment it displayed the ip address of the camera. Note: I'm also using zone alarm and it requested access to 255.255.255.255:10000, which I allowed and it displayed the camera.

When I double clicked the ip address displayed in the software window I was taken to ie which then I put in the user id: admin and for the PW. I don't know if I'm just lucky because I've had so many lessons with my other IP cameras, but this one was very easy (outside trying to figure out why the wireless config wasn't working as expected). One of the other things I was really impressed with was the ease of setting up the wireless. I "scanned" for wireless sources, found mine, clicked it and nearly all the fields were prefilled. I only had to input my security key. Now... The issue I had. I'm currently running 4 different cameras, x2 different Linksys camera's and a trendnet. Those all when setup kept their ip address. This Foscam uses a different one. So after you have it setup I'd recommend re-running their ip software and finding the new ip address after you have removed the cat5 cable. This took me about an hour to figure out.

My camera background:

I started out with x2 Linksys wvc54gca. These were my basis for learning about the IP camera's, the router work required to open the ports and more especially multiple camera's on the same router and how to accomplish that. After moving from the lower 48 to Alaska, we wanted a pan tilt zoom (PTZ) camera and opted for the Linksys WVC210. This camera is a very nice unit, but after getting the new Foscam night PTZ camera, I feel like I wasted a significant amount of money on this one unit, when I believe the Foscam FI8918W is easily a better buy. We also have the Trendnet tv-ip422w and compared to this new Foscam camera, the video is absolutely SUBPAR to the Foscam.

While this is a review about the Foscam FI8918W I want the readers to know and appreciate what this camera does. The Linksys WVC54GCA works perfectly in IE and Firefox (Safari as well). The WVC210 will NOT, repeat NOT work with IE. There is an active X that is required and Cisco must have an issue with Microsoft or something because I cannot force my computer to accept the active X. You can ONLY view this in Fire Fox (FF) or Safari (if I remember correctly), but FF is what we use to view it. These Foscam's work in: IE8, FF and FF on Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard). I haven't tried Safari, but our needs were met in that realm.

Mobile browsing: Both of the Linksys cam's were visible on our iPhone/iTouch. We have now ditched the iPhone (junk) and went with the Samsung captivate (android) and had the same experience. The Trendnet and Foscam units were not viewable on either of our phones. This was an initial HUGE issue, but I've found that on both the itunes and android app store there is an app (android has a free version, apple doesn't) called "IP Cam Viewer" by Robert Chou (android lite version works for free and has a banner at the top). If you use this program use "Add IP" in the settings to add your DNS address you established and go from there. This app also allows "swipe to pan" option.. NICE!!

In setting up, I mentioned that I have multiple camera's. I've resorted to using multiple different port's such as: myipcam,dot,com:1111 and the next is: myipcam,dot,com:1112, and: myipcam,dot,com:1113, etc. You will establish this in your individual camera settings and your router config.

Over all.

I know my setup was based on historical config's I've done with other camera's so I was aware of some of the pitfalls. But I believe these cameras were the easiest to setup. The camera's software/firmware is a little "hokey" and could be improved I believe, but It has everything it needs to have (that I could determine) so I can't fault the firmware (admin) settings/options about that. The actual web GUI (interface) was pretty nice, especially compared to the other camera's I have. I didn't try the multiple setup and accessing them through the internet because one of the two cameras we received will be kept a little more "private" and may have access to part of our bedroom from its location.

The camera is very quiet. I found myself enjoying that with the movement options you can hold down the arrow (on the screen) and the camera will move until you unclick it.

The status LED, which can be turned off, is located on the back. I appreciate that as well.

The only thing I found a little annoying was the IR bulbs are a little too visible. We have one of these in the kids' bedroom and the red glow (obvious) always attracts attention. This is visible even when the IR is turned "off" in the settings.

The package included everything I believe a normal user would require/desire. Camera, base (movable/adjustable which is a nice touch), antenna, screws and anchor, cat5 cable and the power cord.

On the audio, I didn't try/use the included option. I'm sorry that a review of that feature cannot be included. With the amount of camera's we are running we can't support the additional bandwith requirements.

The only problem I experienced was the wireless being a different IP address vs. the wired IP address. I've never experienced this before, but was a simple fix by using the supplied software.

In closing:

I wish I could provide a link so others could see how impressive these CAM's are. But I won't ;) Had I known how great a value these cameras would be I would have purchased at least a couple more, with the possibility of enough to replace / supplement all of our Linksys/Trendnet cam's. I'm leaving for a yearlong military deployment in 10 days so the ease in setup/config was a HUGE help and success on the part of this company. At this point I'd have no issue recommending these to anybody who is looking for an excellent camera. The day time image is excellent, the night vision (as with everything) is less grand, but the IR bulbs completely illuminate our 12x35' room with plenty of light to spare. These camera's are all usable on Win XP (laptop), Win Vista (laptop), Win 7 (PC) (Both with IE 8 and Fire Fox) and Mac OS-X (Snow Leopard) on a Macbook Pro and IMac , ipod Touch and Samsung Captivate (Android) WHEN using the app: ipcam viewer by Robert Chou (free on Android).

I really hope this review helps some other potential buyers as I had a ton of questions, to which few (if any) were answered by other reviews.

Buy Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Now

There are a ton of well-written reviews for this camera (also check out the other versions, e.g. FI8918W White, FI8905W) that give an excellent sense of its many strengths, minor weaknesses, as well as tips for setting up IP cameras in general. I won't rehash the basics, but I will give a brief overview of my setup. Then I'll make a comment on security, and finally go through some of the ways you can extend this camera's capabilities. This last section is where the Foscam truly shines, in my opinion. After all, if I just wanted a no-hassle cam/DVR, I could get something more basic (but much more expensive) off the shelf at Costco or through a residential security company.

If you have any questions, just comment on this review. I'm happy to respond.

Setup:

The setup process was very standard for any sort of web-enabled device. It'll take a bit longer if you've never gone through the steps before, but once you do it, you'll know how to set up a whole slew of similar devices (e.g. home webserver, media servers, etc.). There are literally hundreds of great tutorials on all of these topics around the web, so if any step or terminology is confusing, just google it and you'll find a bunch of good links. (i.e. don't get deterred by reviews that say "bad instruction manual" or "bad customer service", since you won't need either if you have the whole internet and the power of google at your fingertips). Anyway, here is the rough outline of the setup process for me:

1. Connected Foscam via LAN cable, checked "DHCP clients" list on router (I have a MacBook Pro and an Airport Extreme router) to get local Foscam IP, and then typed this into my web browser to get to the Foscam web interface. Alternatively, use the little utility included with the Foscam to get to the same place.

2. Added a new login/password, deleted admin login, and set up wifi access in the Foscam settings. Then disconnected from LAN and moved Foscam to the desired location. Plug it back in and now it's working via wireless.

3. Went into my router's settings and assigned a static IP to the Foscam's wifi MAC address (note: this MAC is different from the ethernet MAC). This is done with "DHCP Reservations" on the Airport, but of course the exact label will vary by router. Now the Foscam web interface will always be accessible at the same local address within my home network.

4. To get external access outside of my home network, I went into my router's "Port Forwarding" settings and forwarded some external port to port 80 at the static local IP of the Foscam.

5. Since I have a residential internet provider, my external IP is dynamic, which means it could potentially change. To get around this, signup for a free dyndns account. Then just use the updater client on the Foscam, itself, or one of many others that are available for free for mac, windows, and linux.

Security:

This is a bit confusing since the Foscam advertises "encryption". The part that IS secure is the Foscam's communication to/from your router via wifi. This is very good, and considering how easy it is to snoop traffic over an unprotected or WEP-protected wifi (there are even NYTimes articles describing the basics!), I would consider this a mandatory feature of any IP cam. While this is excellent to have, if you choose to make your Foscam web interface accessible from the outside internet (i.e. you did port forwarding), then this connection is public and completely unencrypted. Firstly, this means you should immediately add a new user in the Foscam settings and then delete the admin login. Even once this step is done, it means that there will be no little "lock" symbol in your browser indicating SSL encryption, and your new login/password and video stream will still be sent in the clear. This doesn't bother everyone, but if it does, you can use a computer on your home network to set up a VPN or SSH tunnel (easier) to make the connection encrypted (or just disable external access completely if you don't need this feature). At any rate, it's good to be aware of this limitation at least.

Enhancing functionality:

Misc information on advanced features There is a lot of useful information about these Foscams, including some more advanced topics, scattered around on various blogs and forums. Here are a couple (I'm sure google will find even more): gadgetvictims dot com, forum dot networkwebcams dot com, networkcamerareviews dot com.

mangocam dot com Free online storage for your cam stream. What's the point of having a security camera if the crooks steal all your computers with the footage!? This site just popped up with a free public beta, so it's definitely worth checking out. Sort of like the built-in FTP/email features taken to a whole new level.

Smartphone apps A neat way to check in on your cams remotely (but see important security note, above). IP Cam Viewer Lite works great for Android, and other reviews mention other apps for iPhone, etc.

ZoneMinder The holy grail for getting the most out of your cam. This is a free and open-source web application for managing your cam feeds. It is sort of like mangocam, but you install it yourself on your own webserver, and it does a whole lot more. For instance, you can define different motion detection "zones" in the image. Maybe zone #1 is the whole image, zone #2 is just a doorway, and zone #3 is a tree that is always moving in the wind. Then you can define all sorts of complex filters, like 1) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #1, excluding zone #3, or 2) Record a section of video footage when there is any motion in zone #2, but only during work hours on weekdays; then automatically send some still screenshots to my email and upload a movie of the event to some off-site server. Wow...the options are truly endless! With just this program, some $200 linux boxes, and some Foscams, you could start a business setting up surveillance systems for people!

Read Best Reviews of Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Here

I really wanted to love this camera, the feature set appeared to be excellent. The set up was fairly simple to set up a static IP address and I even gave it a higher port number. It did work well in Firefox, Chrome and Safari, but the most advanced features like sound and better quality picture appear to be in Internet Explorer. I even got it to work via my iPhone. The problem I have is the constant freezing upon logging via Internet Explorer on my Windows 7 Laptops. I'm running both 32 bit and 64 bit IE. I looked for solutions and saw users have been experiencing IE issues with the buggy Active X controls since Vista.

I'm on the fence if I should keep this Wireless IP Cam, since the Activex code crashes on both my laptops and freezes them. I'm sick of having to reboot. It's very annoying, but I'm not sure if I really need the audio anyway, I'm more interested in photos and ability to ftp, and email pictures to an account. It's annoying since I even upgraded the firmware to the most current version and tried to follow all the useless instructions of disabling firewalls, disabling antivirus, and allowing all active x controls even whitelisted the IP in a trusted zone. NOTHING WORKED. So far the Active x controls are the only thing broken, besides two IR lamps seem to dim compared to the rest, the ability to pan and tilt are excellent. Image Quality is fair, seems almost better in the dark, but in the dark it's black and white.

Update:

I decided to keep the Camera. I've noticed it seems to go into a "look" mode randomly moving everywhere occasionally, but overall I'm happy with the product. I signed up for the free dynamic dns account, then put the info in my Verizon Fios Router and Foscam settings. I also used my ISP and set up an FTP Account. I also enabled UPnP, which allowed me to set up the port forwarding rules in my Verizon Router. I'm using a higher 4 digit port number ending in zero so I can add additional cams in the future. Other then the remote control with Internet Explorer, I was able to get all the other features to work, including motion detection, emailing via the SMTP settings (used my ISP again), and FTP of any activity out to my account (my hosting ISP is Bluehost which allowed me to configure the FTP and SMTP info very easily).

Let me know if you require any assistance configuring settings, it's convenient to access via Dynamic DNS Address or directly via the IP Address (must add high port to each to connect). The 5 dollar iPhone app is also a nice access option.

If they resolve the Win 7 Active X issues or allow sound via other browsers, I'll raise my review. Also we'll see how the quality holds up over time.

Want Foscam FI8918W Wireless/Wired Pan & Tilt IP/Network Camera with 8 Meter Night Vision and 3.6mm Lens Discount?

This is a decent IP camera with enough features for most first time users. I was able to configure and use the camera without having to load any of the included software without any trouble, but an average person might have trouble getting every feature working. If you don't know what DNS or FTP means, you are one of these people.

If you are planning on just sitting this on a window sill and pointing it outside as a 24/7 security camera, think again. It works fine in the daytime, but interior reflections on the window glass make it less useful at night. The IR LEDs reflect back off the window and effectively blind the camera.

Image quality is typical of a low-cost CMOS sensor. Color accuracy and saturation is poor, but adequate for most uses.

It also has several shutter speed settings....a 60hz speed for night/low light, a 50hz speed for medium lighting, and a slow shutter speed for outdoor use. While the camera is able to automatically adjust sensor sensitivity a bit to compensate for changes in lighting, it doesn't have an automatic shutter speed setting. This means that if you have the shutter speed set on the "Outdoor" setting, it works great on a sunny day, but at night is far too dark to be useful. You'd have to manually switch shutter speeds every day if you were using it as an unattended security camera. Leaving it on 60hz setting and trying to view an outside scene just results in a white video image...the sunlight totally overwhelms the sensor unless you use the "outdoor" setting.

The motion detection feature is excellent. You can have the camera automatically email you a sequence of still photos everytime it detects motion. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this worked. You can specify up to 5 individual recipients.

It is also capable of uploading the same still images to an FTP server if you wish to archive them for review later. A date/time stamp on the image would have been a nice addition but isn't a feature.

I did not try the audio features, thus cannot say if they are improved over the old camera. If you are looking to integrate this camera into your DIY home security system, you should purchase the previous model (FI8908W) as this new one doesn't have the RS485 port anymore.

Bottom line, whether you want to use this camera to monitor an interior room, or an outside scene, it's a good entry level camera. Just don't expect it to be able to do both without manually making some adjustments for one or the other.

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Panasonic VDR-D250 2.3MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

the picture quality is great one of the best I have seen. The optical zoom is pretty good but I wish it was like 25X or more. The 3CCD is really a great improvement ot regular picture quality. I give 4 stars because the zoom could be more but overall a great camera. I have a problem using DVD RAM so I am using only DVD -RW which gives easier playback both on the tv and on the computer.

Very Good & Easy to Operate.

Good Qa;llity & Reasonable Price.

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I use my VDR-D250 to shoot in-house product reviews and commercials. The 3CCD allows me to create green screen backdrops and provides a quality picture. The built-in microphone is sensitive enough to pickup a lot of ambient noises (which is great if you want to capture party conversations), but I've attached a boom microphone when needing directional audio with wind screen protection.

Easy to use controls helps a lot, too.

Getting the video off of the DVD-R discs media format (.VOP) requires conversion by external editing software. After trying Vegas and other software without luck, I had success with Adobe Premiere Pro CS3.

Overall, I really like this camera.

Read Best Reviews of Panasonic VDR-D250 2.3MP 3CCD DVD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Here

Joby JM3-01WW GripTight GorillaPod Stand (Black)

I have a Studio Neat Glif (from Kickstarter) that lets me attach an iPhone to a regular tripod. It works quite well. But it requires me to remove my phone from its Mophie battery case. The Mophie gives me an extra 2000 mAh to run my phone -perfect for battery-slamming uses like video and timelapse photos. The case doubles the runtime of the phone.

So I was thrilled when the Joby arrived. It's compact, light, and like all Jobys, it has an extraordinary ability to grab onto anything for support. The spring-loaded clamp easily holds my phone plus the Mophie case, and it's easy to pop the phone in and out.

I've only had it a couple of weeks, so I can't give you a long-term report. But right now, I'd say this thing has become an indispensable addition to my kit. Highly recommended.

The fact that I don't have to remove my Element Case on my 4S makes me confident my phone is protected just in case the tripod falls :)

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Test Devices:

HTC EVO 4G LTE

Samsung Galaxy S II

Samsung Galaxy Nexus

Aiptek MPVR

Ever since I got my first GorillaPod, which was back when they first came out, I've been a fan of the products. Still have it, and it still works great. So when I saw this one, I decided to go ahead and pick it up. It doesn't disappoint. Each of the phones I put in it fit snugly, held in place by the spring action arms. Even when intentionally shaken about, they devices did not slip or fall out. Getting the phones in and out of the grip arms is easy and quick. True to the original, the GripTight is, at its core, a camera tripod. The grip arms are just an (attachment with is being sold mated to the JOBY JB01249-0EN GorillaPod Original. So, I was able to unscrew the attachment and attach the stand to my cameras. Very much worth the purchase price and cheaper than buying each piece individually.

Read Best Reviews of Joby JM3-01WW GripTight GorillaPod Stand (Black) Here

This little tripod has a few possibilities. I bought it so I could do time-lapse movies with my Android phone. It can double as a phone stand on your desk, or anywhere you need to mount your phone for convenience. The part that holds your phone is detachable, and the tripod can be used with anything that has the standard female threaded mount, like found on cameras. My only concern is losing the phone bracket at some point.

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It's a very useful and flexible tool to use hands free with iphone video & photo shooting. There's no issue with covering audio or cam apertures.

Canon Powershot S2 IS 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom

This is a tough review to write, as it could take far more space than alotted. Here is the short version...

Some brands of digicams sport German or other Euro lenses. Some will no doubt argue, but after 35 years of being an active photographer, and a tech type of person, I feel that nobody makes high end lenses better than Canon makes them, and nobody makes more lenses that qualify as high end than Canon either.

The lens mounted on the S2 IS is the best of it's class. Even compared to quality SLR zoom lenses, it is a premium product. The camera is not a pocket cam, and does not pretend to replace one. Then again, it can do what no pocket cam can ever dream of, and can compete heads up with most digital SLR's in the hands of most people who buy a digital SLR. Truth is, most people who spend the bucks on a digital SLR would get far more from the purchase of an S2 IS.

The 5mp sensor produces 8x10 prints that rival 35mm quality. The VGA movie mode is simply awesome, and the DIGIC II chip is the same one that powers top of the line SLR's, which means outstanding speed from startup to shutdown. The selection of modes on this camera is incredible, yet it is easy to make a quick shot that looks great no matter what the situation. The continuous shot speed of 2.4 FPS is plenty when you consider that it isn't a burst mode. If you have a 1 gig memory card plugged in, it will shoot at the top speed until the card is full (around 600 pics at max resolution). The intervalometer function is a real treat, as you can shoot time lapse pics with a press of a button, and you have full control of how often the shutter trips, and for how long.

A 1 gig memory card will give you just over eight minutes of VGA movie time with high quality stereo sound. For most functions that don't call for a DV tape camera, 8 minutes of high quality TV screen sized full motion video is a long time. Consider that an old "super eight" film camera was only good for 3 minutes per reel, had no stereo sound, and wasn't as smooth as the S2's 30 FPS speed. Then there is the IS function. Between reviews and first hand experience, nobody makes an image stabilizing system as good as Canon makes it. It works in spectacular fashion for both still pics, and movies.

OK, other reviwers will compare specs, and show that the S2 IS is the top dog in the most useful class of cameras to hit the market in a long time. I just want to make sure that people thinking about buying a digital SLR look at the S2 first. I bought the S2, the lens hood, and lens adaptor, a closeup lens for use at max telephoto, a wide angle lens, a telephoto extender lens, a set of Hoyo UV and Polorizing filters, and a fine quality camera bag for under $1,000. My next purchase will be a slave flash to extend the flash range of the camera. The model offered by Canon is pretty cheap, and there are others to consider.

The bottom line is that the S2 is larger than a pocket cam, but much smaller and lighter than an SLR, and can beat the average SLR package to near death right out of the box for most shooting situations. Equip the S2 with a handful of accessories, and the casual SLR owner will have to spend thousands of Dollars on lenses, accessories, and a reasonable video camera just to keep up.

The S2 is a major compromise if you make a living taking pictures, and choose to spend thousands in order to make sure that you can handle every situation that pops up, but the S2 and a full compliment of accesories will fit in a medium small camera bag, weigh very little, and capture 95% of your shots just as well for under a grand. And it does awesome image stabilized still pics and movies.

I suspect that more than half of the people who buy digital SLR's would have been far better off with an S2, and would be enjoying new features well into the first Months of ownership. If you have the itch to step up, and you are torn between an SLR and a S2, buy the S2. You will be thrilled with what the UPS guy delivers. Buy the SLR in two or three more years. They might break out of the mold, and be ready for prime time in the consumer market by then.

Last note. I took my first pic with the S2 set to auto, flash on, at 12x zoom. I was sitting on my couch 18 feet away from my kitchen in dim evening light, with one incandescent light burning near my couch. I focused on a box of Cheerios sitting on top of my refrigerator (unlike many earlier digicams, the S2 locked on in a flash), and snapped the pic. The box was in a 3/4 view, so I could see the side panel, and the front face. Reviewing the pic on the camera, I was able to clearly read even the finest print on the side panel of that box. Take a look at the print on the side of a standard sized box of Cheerios next time you are in the market, and imagine snapping a handheld shot from 18 feet away, and reading every word in sharp detail on the camera display afterwards. Canon knows how to make a proper lens. And yes, Canon does Linux. I have been Windoze free for several years now, but free open source apps work fine with this camera, and I heard a rumor (I will try it soon on my Xandros box) that the Canon Win apps run under Crossover Office for Linux. Meanwhile, the camera app included in SuSE 9.3 communicates with the S2 as a PTP device with no problems.

Update 7.10.05.

I have now used the camera for a little longer time, and had the chance to compare it more closely to it's Panasonic and Sony competitors. The S2 holds up like a champ. It has (by far) the best movie functionality among the three, and allows full and quiet use of the zoom capability of the camera while shooting movie clips. The stereo sound has amazing quality, and the built in wind screen function for the microphones work like a charm. The image stabilizer also does a fine job of eliminating vertical jitter when shooting a movie, yet does not interfere with zooming and panning at all. The zoom rate in movie mode makes for smooth operation, without a hint of lens motor noise spoiling the finished movie. Auto focus, and auto exposure during movie shooting are nothing less than spectacular. The S2 is simply the best TV quality movie taking still camera on the market. Period.

Memory cards.. I now have two SanDisk Extreme III 1 gig SD cards. They are flawless, and can shoot almost 600 full size pictures at a clip in 2.4 fps high speed continuous mode without a glitch. A good set of rechargeable batteries are able to keep up as well. None of the othe other cameras in this class can match it. I read from one reviewer that the Lexar 32x cards, and the SanDisk Extreme II cards work just as well. If so, it can save you about $20 per card. The more cards you have, the more movie time you can record.

On the primary still image side, I have concluded that it is a tight battle between the top brands, but Canon still retains it's title as the manufacturer of the overall best premium lenses. That's not a slap directed at the other two, as they all represent incredible optical quality. One area where the S2 is a clear winner is in function controls. Once you get used to the button layout, it is possible to execute very quick shooting decisions by pressing the right button, rather than roaming through nested menus. The other area is the Image Stabilizer. The Canon Image Stabilizer beats the offering from the other two hands down in both functionality, and user control. It is so good, you can take a handheld pic at 1/60 to 1/30 of a second at max zoom (nearly 500 mm compared to a 35 mm SLR), and clearly read the license plate of a subject vehicle located several hundred yards away from the camera.

Try that with a handeld SLR that does not have an image stabilized lens that alone costs more than the entire S2 package... The above issues are among the most important in the real world, and Canon delivers. Speed of startup, focusing, continuous shooting, and shutdown are close between the top three cameras, and Canon is not the fastest in all areas, but it has the best balance across the board. The final result will not only impress those who view your work, it will also impress you. Again, the ultimate margin from one to the next is small, but Canon offers the most complete package.

To sum up the update, the S2 has a very fast learning curve, outstanding accessory lenses, and overall best in class quality. I bounced mine off the asphalt from about three feet today with no ill effects. I wouldn't suggest you try it, but it survived just fine. The only scratch was to the ring of the Hoya UV filter I had attached to the lens (Thank God). If you are looking for the top camera in the new top consumer camera class, the S2 is it. Buy it and be real happy about how you spent your money.

[Follow-up to the follow-up below] I've had this camera for a long time now, and it still delights, still generates envious compliments from people viewing the photos or sporting competitor's cameras. Have used it to capture long-range zooms of our backyard denizens (marmots, rabbits, cardinals, skunks...), super macro close ups of flowers and insects, long range action stop-action shots of the kids in sports, rainbows in the mist at Niagra [hard to get in focus, but this will do it w/a little quick trial and error], and even high detail shots of aircraft at airshows. I handed it to my 16 year old son to try out, and challenged him to get a closeup of a helicopter in flight, and in 3 tries and about 2 minutes he had it figured out. Takes a bit of skill to be able to pan and get a good shot of a fighter jet firing afterburners as they cut past, but I've done it. And, the image stabilization is so good, you can even see the detailed thrust patterns in the jet flame. You can get a 2 GB high speed SD card cheap, and the camera is now inexpensive as well as easy to learn. It's possible, but difficult, to beat the combination of optical lens size and quality, 12x optical and 4x digital zoom, intuitive ease of use, at such a low price. A keeper!

[Follow-up to the review below, after over 18 months of use]: Still delighted with this gem. Used a 1GB SandDisk Ultra II SD card for about a year, and when prices dropped I bought a 2GB off brand card to enable taking more videos too, before running out of space prior to downloading. Not too many complaints: it's battery-thirsty as noted below. Solved that with two sets of rechargables and a cheap recharger for about $20 total. When shooting video it has an annoying flashing light at the front that can distract the subject, so you have to cover it with a finger while holding it. But, the pictures and detail are amazing, the zoom/macro/supermacro features are top notch and invaluable. It still blows away many newer cameras with more pixels per image, but poorer/smaller optics and reliance on digital zoom to make up for gathering more light via the lens and zooming in BEFORE digital "zoom" cropping. Was on vacation last week and used someone else's new digital competitor to take their picture, and it was good, but not as good. The newer camera didn't fit well in my hands, took a picture that didn't color match well with true colors photographed, and had a klutzy-microbutton-interface. Thought I paid a LOT for the Canon when it first came out, but was happy with all the features. Now, almost two years later I'm even happier I made the purchase. It still blows away the competition!]

==============[original review follows]============================

I'm not a deeply experienced digital camera buff. But, I'm fairly tech literate, have a very critical eye for color, detail, and composition for photos and painting, and I did my homework on this purchase. Tried out Kodak, Nikon, and Konica cameras with similar MP and zoom specs and features, and the Canon Powershot S1. Didn't even KNOW the store had this Canon S2 model in yet, and stumbled across it. The better quality in its clarity, color and sharpness images was IMMEDIATELY apparent. So, too, was the ease with which I could quickly navigate the settings (as a complete novice) and find what would get me a dynamite shot. I've had it less than 24 hours and have tested out its Macro, Super Macro, optical zoom, optical + digital zoom, autofocus, and a few other settings. With Macro and Super Macro I'm already getting professional quality images with detail, exact color, and clarity that would blow you away. Other settings are good, but my skill in applying them is lacking so the compositions are not stellar.

Other competing cameras did not come close to matching the color reproduction of the Canon, nor did they match the image clarity, ease of handling, set up of menus... Most were not a patch on this camera. In fact, with the exception of the Nikon and Konica Minolta Z5, the Canon Powershot S1 beat most of the 5 MP cameras for color and clarity, too. So, if money is an issue you might consider whether you would be happy with 8"x10" as a maximum enlargement and go with the 3.2 MP Canon instead. But, if you want 5MP detail, high-speed 48x zoom with image stabilization, color and clarity that will blow you away, plus features and form organized to make it a breeze to use...get the Powershot S2.

It's expensive, but WORTH EVERY PENNY. While you've got your pocketbook open, plan on getting over to Wally World and buying a good 1hr recharger and two sets of 4 NIMH batteries for this puppy, plus at least one 1GB high-speed SD card (San Disk Ultra II or Lexar 32x). You should be able to cram in about 800 full-size, full detail 1.2 MB photos on a single SD card that way. If you can get a better deal on 512 MB SD cards and wonder if you should get several of those instead of one whopping big 1GB card, go for it. Swapping the card out is a breeze. If you plan on needing more, memory is getting cheaper every day. But be sure to get the high speed stuff to save on batteries and keep the options open for fast continuous shooting.

I am running a Gateway tablet PC with Windows XP and haven't even installed the Canon photo shop type software for image manipulation. But, with XP it's plug-and-play to download images. I hooked up the USB cable and in a snap my test photos were downloaded to a folder under MyPictures. No muss, no fuss, no setup, not learning new software...a breeze.

Bought this camera to satisfy my desire to get telephoto shots and macro close ups for artsy photog hobbying, selling stuff online, birdand animal-watching. Also got it to satisfy my wife's need for a portrait camera that would allow fast shooting without a lot of composition set-up, yet have enough megapixel detail to allow it to be cropped later and still blow up if need be. This bad boy has it all, and then some. I am delighted with it and haven't even begun to tap its potential.

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I bought the Canon PowerShot S2 IS about a year ago, and have taken about 2,500 photos and about 15 video clips with it. Overall, I am very happy with it, and if I were buying a new camera today, I probably would get the S2 or S3.

Things I like about the S2:

* Extended zoom (12x). I use it often.

* Image stabilization. Particularly helpful when using a high zoom factor, or when shooting in low light with a low ISO setting. It makes handheld shots at slow shutter speeds possible.

* Electronic viewfinder means "what you see is what you get", just like an SLR. While not as sharp as an optical viewfinder, the ability to frame the picture without worrying about parallax more than makes up for it. In fact, one advantage over an SLR is that there is no mirror for it to move out of the way, therefore there is no mirror noise when taking a picture; if you turn off the electronic sound effects, it is very quiet indeed (although not completely silent).

* The screen moves and rotates. I like that it can be closed (turned in toward the camera) and thus protected from scratches. I have used it folded out and rotated forward in order to see myself in a self-timer photo. I have used it to take "clandestine" pictures--holding the camera down near my waist, I can still see the screen if I rotate it towards me. I have also used it to take pictures while holding the camera above my head--above a crowd, for instance, or over a wall.

* Multiple-picture mode. Similar to a motor drive in film cameras, this allows me to take several pictures in quick succession by holding down the shutter release button--about 2 pictures per second. And unlike some cameras, the only limit to the number of pictures is the amount of available memory.

* It can be used in all-automatic mode, all-manual mode, or just about any combination in between. Even in near-automatic mode, several exposure settings can be adjusted.

* Very good movie mode. It will shoot a VGA-quality picture (640x480) at 30fps. While the results are not as good as my 3-CCD DV video camera, I am much more likely to have this camera with me than the video camera, and I really like the option of taking a reasonably high quality video. I have used it several times.

* Stereo microphones. Decent sound for video. Can also be used for adding a sound memo to a still picture (e.g. "this is at such-and-such a place, blah blah blah"), or just for recording sounds unrelated to any picture. I have used this a couple of times to record a "sound memory" of a place; one was at a botanical garden at a spot where the scenery wasn't especially pretty, but the sounds the frogs made were like nothing we had heard before!

* Separate buttons for still pictures and movies. Easy to remember which is which.

* Manual pop-up flash. Some people don't like that the flash doesn't pop up automatically when needed. I actually like this feature, because often I want to shoot without a flash when the camera thinks I need to use the flash. And of course I can force the flash to fire even in bright daylight when the camera thinks it is not necessary--although for a while I kept forgetting how to turn on that feature on, even though it's pretty obvious (there's a button right next to the flash!).

Things I don't like about it:

* Poor low-light performance. More precisely, poor performance at high ISO settings. The camera will do fine in low light if you leave the shutter open long enough, or use a flash. But if you kick up the ISO to 200 or 400 (equivalent to a "fast" film) so that you can take indoor shots without a flash, you end up with very noticeable graininess in the pictures. This is my number one disappointment with the camera. However, I don't know of a comparable camera that does better (and from the sample pictures I have seen, the S3 isn't any better; I don't know why they bothered to add an ISO 800 setting--it seems completely useless to me). I know there are cameras that do, but they cost a lot more. I saw pictures taken indoors with a Canon 20D SLR that were phenomenal. But besides the added expense, a camera like that is also bigger and heavier, and therefore less convenient.

* The camera is too big for a pocket. I would love to have a camera as capable as this that would fit in my shirt pocket, or at least my coat pocket or a smallish holster. I would take it more places if it wasn't so big.

* And yet, at the same time, it's a little too small for my hand. The grip just doesn't feel right. The grip on the 20D felt GREAT! However, it's just about right for a woman's hand--my wife likes it fine.

* No filter threads in the standard configuration. A big lens like that is practically begging for fingerprints or scratches. I solved that by adding the conversion lens adapter, which does have filter threads (more about this below).

* Lens cap is held on by friction. This is both a pro and a con. It's good because the lens extends when the camera is turned on; if the lens cap is attached the lens will simply push it off. It's bad because the cap could come off when you don't want it to. This is a moot point with the conversion lens adapter, as the standard lens cap will no longer fit.

* The default exposure is too bright. Not every review mentions this, but apparently it is fairly common for Canon cameras. Fortunately, this is easily fixed by setting the exposure adjustment (I set mine to -2/3 stop). I haven't figured out how to adjust the exposure for movies, though. I need to look in the manual to see if it's possible!

If you buy the S2 (or S3), I'd suggest also considering:

* Canon LAH-DC20 Lens Adapter and Hood Set. As I mentioned above, this allows you to add a filter to protect the lens. Currently $37.10 at Amazon.

* A 58mm skylight or UV filter to screw on to the lens adapter.

* A 58mm lens cap to cover the adapter/filter. Canon's 58mm Snap-On Lens Cap is currently $9.99 at Amazon.

* A high-speed SD card, at least 512MB, but 1GB or 2GB would give more space for movies. (I use a SanDisk Ultra II Plus, which has the added benefit of being able to directly plug into a standard USB port without an adapter.)

* Rechargeable NiMH batteries. I don't have any yet, but this is the next thing on my list. I've gone through way too many AA batteries!

A nice option available for this camera is the TC-DC58B Tele Converter Lens. This gives you a maximum zoom equivalent to 648mm on a 35mm camera. Amazing! I have not purchased it yet because so far the built-in zoom has been sufficient for my needs. There is also the WC-DC58A Wide Converter Lens for taking extra-wide-angle pictures.

After you get the camera, you'll probably want a case of some type for it. There are *lots* of cases to choose from. After trying a few and looking at a lot more, I finally settled on the Tamrac Velocity 4. It may or may not be what you need in a case, but there it is FYI.

Read Best Reviews of Canon Powershot S2 IS 5MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Here

I've had this camera for over a year and absolutely love it. I frequently have 8" x 10" and 11" x 14" enlargements made and the quality of the prints is fantastic -tack sharp and wonderful color. They look as good as the 8 x 10's and 11 x 14's I get from my SLR - no visible difference! Add to that the fact that the S2 IS lens covers and extremely long zoom range WITH image stabilization and buying this camera becomes a no-brainer! The "IS" feature really works -I can shoot 3 stops slower than without IS and still get no image blur -amazing! This is important if you do a lot of handheld shooting at full telephoto and/or in low light situations.

Like to shoot extreme close-ups of flowers, insects, ebay items, etc? The macro capabilities of this camera are outstanding. I've never shot much in the way of close-ups with my other cameras because I don't have any macro lenses. With the S2 IS, I've discovered a whole new area of photography -the world of macro -and it's a blast!

For those who are techno-phobic, you can shoot this camera in fully automatic mode and consistently get very accurate exposures. When I do this, I'd say the exposures are accurate at least 90% of the time. If you want or need more creative control, the S2 IS can be shot in manual mode, aperature-priority, shutter-priority, etc. You call the shots (no pun intended) -all the control you could want (or not want) is there for your convenience.

Should you buy this camera or the S3 IS? If you just have to have the S3 IS's black body-color and money is no object, go for it. If however, you simply want a camera that is just as capable, save yourself some $$$ and buy the cheaper S2 IS. You won't be disappointed and that extra megapixel of resolution you get with the S3 IS is something you will never see in your prints anyway. OK, if you want enlargements of 20 x 30 or larger you might notice a slight difference in sharpness, but come on, most people never print anywhere near that large! If you are happy with your 4 x 6's up to 11 x 14's (or even 16 x 20's): BUY THE CHEAPER AND JUST AS GOOD S2 IS -it's one heck of a camera and significantly less expensive than the S3 IS.

Remember: no camera, no matter how expensive, will make you a better photographer. Photography is in your eye, your ability to visualize and transfer a dynamic or highly emotional moment onto paper. The camera is only a tool; a means to an end. If you want to improve your photography skills, shoot a lot of pics; learn from you mistakes as well as you sucesses and READ as many good books about photography as you can get your hands on. Don't be afraid to experiment or take risks with your shooting -you will develop your eye and your own personal style with time and practice. I've seen plenty of excellent photos shot with inexpensive point & shoot cameras and lots of bad ones shot with $5,000 worth of equipment. It's YOUR EYE that makes or breaks a photo! Sure, a more expensive camera may offer some technical advantages in certain situations, but all the technology in the world can't save a lousy composition!

Some books worth reading if you are serious about improving your photographic skills:

*Creative Nature & Outdoor Photography, by Brenda Tharpe

*anything by Ansel Adams (most of his books are available in libraries)

*Understanding Exposure, by Bryan Peterson

*Designing a Photograph, by Bill Smith

*Photographic Compostion, by Grill and Scanlon

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This camera is really wonderful. I previously had a Sony digital camera, about 5 years old, and this one blows it away. Of course, that should be expected because this camera is 5 years newer technology. The improvements I am realizing are:

1) 12x optical zoom. This cannot be understated. I am really able to take pictures that otherwise I would have been too far away to capture. The camera's larger size is more than offset by this capability.

2) Good flash. I can light up large rooms with the powerful flash.

3) SD card one of the more common, inexpensize memory cards out there. I recommend getting a 60X card for maximum speed.

4) AA batteries in case of an emergency, you can always buy a 4 pack and keep on going. I bought a NI-MH charger with 8 batteries at Uncle Sam's for under $20. No more proprietary batteries for me!

5) 5MP the picture quality is excellent, better than my old Sony. Since I don't routinely make posters out of my pictures, this is plenty.

6) 640x480 video @ 30 fps with stereo audio. This thing is a high quality camcorder limited only by the size of the memory stick.

7) LCD which can be folded open and seen from front of camera: My wife and I commonly take pictures where I hold the camera out in front of us and take the picture of us arm in arm. Now I can make sure things are lined up before pressing the shutter. It is also nice that the LCD flips over so it can be stored against the body of the camera to prevent scratches.

8) Macro photography this is a whole new area for me, as my old camera could not do this. I have taken pictures at 3" and had them come out very clear.

9) Through the lens viewfinder which helps make sure that I am really taking a picture of what I am aiming at.

The only thing which I would like to see improved is the response time between pressing the shutter and the picture being taken when using the flash. The response time is very fast when the flash is off, but it can be upwards of several seconds if the flash is required (in full auto mode). I have not played with the flash and other settings to see if I can improve on this, and believe that I probably can due to the ability to fully customize this camera.

Update (8/11/07): I was carrying the camera in the leg pocket of my cargo shorts and somehow it managed to turn on, and attempted to extend the lens. Since it was constrained by my pocket, it beeped, alerting me to its failure to extend the lens, and turned off. The camera will no longer extend / retract the lens and doesn't work any more. For $130, Canon will repair it. I got 2 years of service from this, and it might be time for an upgrade.

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

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

I will go with the good things first:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now the not so good:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Cannot rewind or play recorded video or events remotely.

Summary:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Me: It's already plugged in.

Matt: Watch this video.

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

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

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

Matt: No that's the only number.

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

To sum up:

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

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

UPDATE:

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

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

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

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

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

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D-Link Securicam Network 10/100TX Fast Ethernet 2-Way Audio Internet Camera

I paid ~$50 under retail for this on some special deal. I wasn't going to spend retail price on it, as I'm on a budget.

I've tried many other units, as I setup a DVR on the parking lot in front of my apartment. I tried a Leadtek capture card with Linux Zoneminder, but the quality wasn't very good. For camera, I used a Q-See infared 420line outdoor b/w camera, with very bad results. The image quality was horrible. I couldn't make out a person's face on camera at ANY distance. The only perk was the night-vision was decent maybe good if you're ONLY watching for large objects moving.

Okay on the DCS-3220, I'm very happy with it. The 10/100 is a very good feature of the product. I have it in an outside enclosure recording a parking lot. The night vision is very poor when in low-light, but that can be expected. The C-CS mount is good because I plan on getting a zoom lens for ~50 dollars to zoom into certain things. The management interface and program is very good. It is setup to handle 16 of these cameras without any problems so scaling up is no problem in the future. When recording, this thing eats up alot of disk space. I gave mine a dedicated 300gig drive to put its recordings on. All-in-all, it offers more than I need, which is exactly what I need.

If I can find a need for another in the future, I'll buy another.

I bought this camera after an incident at my house while I was at work. Luckily a neighbor witnessed the incident and helped me recover damages, but I realized that I needed something to watch over my property when I was not at home.

This camera has proven to be a great match for my needs. I have it set up to record to my computer hard drive. It sends me email alerts when it detects motion in the covered video area, which is my driveway. I can easily review the video of anyone who drives down my driveway and what they do in front of my house.

The video quality is great, you can read license plates very easily, and can take snapshots from the videos or export the files to avi format.

One minor complaint is that the exported avi format isn't as good as the source format. But I really haven't had a need to export video from the supplied software application.

The software that comes with the system is great. You can monitor one camera or 16. The software wizards have you up and running in minutes. You can even access live video from your camera over the internet also real easy to set up and access.

I plan to purchase an additional camera to monitor the back side of my house.

The optional weatherproof outdoor housing unit is of good quality and is recommended for outside use.

The system has been up and running continuously for almost 6 months now with no problems.

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Camera and the web interface work well. But, I had problems with the management software. D-Link said to downlowd v3.20. That worked the first time.

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I just purchased and setup 6 of these for a customer. I used 2 1TB HDD's in Raid 1 and 2x80 gig drives also in raid 1 so I had some good redundancy. The camera's are great compared to their little brother the DCS-2100+. The software on the D-Link website is great, you must download it. Stick with a good D-Link Switch and router and everything will work flawlessly. I have over 5 years working with D-Link products and have even written software for D-Link cameras. I see a lot of complaints online but I think most of the issues are user based.

This is a great product at a even greater price. Buy it now!

Chris Fields

Grantsville, UT

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Nikon D2H Pro Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)

I have been working for a major daily newspaper in Baltimore for 2 decades. Perhaps that will qualify me as an expert in photography. I have been shooting digital imagery since the late 1990s. Maybe that qualifies me as an expert in digital photography. This may be longwinded, but it's extensive and can be useful.

I received the Nikon D2H camera -2 bodies total -over one year ago. I think I got them shortly after the D2H system was released in 2003. Since then, I have used them to shoot images of all types -documentary, sports, daytime, available light, flash, and deadofnight -for the paper I work for. This is the only camera I work with.

First, please read the manual. There is a ton of information there, and the information is terrific to begin with. The D2H is highlyconfigurable, with screen after screen that you can set for your own specific use (resist lending the camera to anyone for a long period of time, for your camera may be returned with many of your settings changed so much that it acts like a thoroughly different camera).

I'll just punch right in to the way it feels. The camera is a rather heavy beast, and for some, there can be an amount of shoulder or neck fatigue when using it for hours per day, like I do. But the camera feels well in hand and the controls are easy to move through. I've long since given up using any camera bag. All I have are a fanny pack for a 14mm, 55mm, teleconverters and 2 extra camera batteries and flashes clipped to its belt. And the D2H's hold the 17-35mm Nikon and the 80-200mm Nikon onetouch or the Sigma 120-300mm 2touch.

Shooting is a breeze. The batteries let you shoot long before the need to recharge. I have my D2H set on ISO 200 or 400 most of the time and sacrifice shutter speed for lower ISO as often as I can, because the higher ISOs bring digital noise and a loss in color saturation. Just today, I purchased digital noise plug ins for Photoshop to limit this, and that's a wonderful thing to invest in with this camera when you must shoot action photography with no flash at ISO 800 and above.

I now have little problems with capturing images in even barelylimited lighting. I recently shot stars and a plane wing from my seat of an Airbus at 36,000 feet over the Pacific at 30 seconds wide open @ f/ 2.8, and it looks tons better than night shots via the D1H, which lacked the internal digital noise filter. That filter kicks in at around 1/2 second and longer exposures, and can make you wait as long as your image you've shot to strip your long exposure of much of the digital noise. When you shoot this way (and in general), don't simply react by cranking up ISO because you will not be happy with your results.

The camera can be loud. At over 7 frames per second, it can make you obvious in a quiet room. Shooting sensitive situations can be testy, so limit your shooting to single frames. I wish this camera had an option to silence this camera, but since the mirror has to raise and lower, there's no chance to do this.

Am I happy with the D2H? Definitely, yes. Are there improvements that can be made? Yes. But the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. People have been bailing out of using the Nikon system and going Canon, which has some incredible gear, I won't deny that. But instead of simply giving up on your system of equipment, learn how to use the D2H well and you'll be much happier than ever. And that means you should push its qualities to the max while respecting its limitations.

For instance, white balance. This can be the best thing for you, or the worst thing you've ever dealt with, depending upon how you approach it. Daylight, grey skies, dusk and dawn are easy, because you can set the camera to daylight, flash, shadow (for dusk and dawn times) and even the fluorescent and incandescent tend to be right in the ballpark. But the horrible mixed light or the street lamps that glow blue/green or orangered from mercury vapor can be the death of an image if you don't properly use white balance. Preset white balance is king, here. I can get grey, black and white when I preset in mercury vapor light. And I used the preset for any light that the auto white balance setting can't figure. There is also a setting to dial in kelvin temps as well! If you do this (and I can go on for miles here), you're on your way. So, with trying this D2H, or considering it, read through some of the digital D2H forums and ignore the posts that slam the camera without giving instances. Generally, those who pan the camera have not tried to understand it. I can bang off images to disprove where they suggest this camera will fail. When you have decent light, you'll have a decent image. But when you try to use it without learning how you can maximize the system, you will come about shooting images that are terrible and unprintable.

In closing, I have not been paid by anyone, I have no Nikon stock and have no outside interest in writing this except that I'm giving the D2H credit where it's long overdue.

I ordered this camera in December, have had it since then, and it an amazing camera. First time I have ever had professional camera, and it takes time to learn how to use it. It is not a point and shoot camera. If you want large pictures and like to crop, this may not be the camera for you. However if you want the ability to take great pictures, and learn how to use a professional camera at a great price this is the one to buy.

Ability to have custom curves, which means to have predetermined parameters for different conditions. Ability to chage ISO at random for different conditions. You can pay five thousand dollars for its successor, the Dx2, however for $2000 this is a bargin that you will never find again.

Jim Comfort

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I've had my D2H for 9 months now. I've heard of the magenta skin tones issue but have never seen it..skin tones on my unit are great. It seems this issue plagued a minority of users.

Camera is very fast, exposes well and delivers results. It's primarily designed to be a sports and Photojournalism camera -for situations where speed counts. It's a 4 megapixel wonder -it's true it only has 4 megapixels, but they are 4 GREAT megapixels. Images upsize wonderfully.

I love my unit, and am debating whether to buy a second one as a backup, or wait for the D2X. The price of the D2x is making that decision a bit easier and I'm leaning toward another D2H.

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I have the D2H, and make stunningly pleasing photographs with it daily, yes, in 2008. It really is a fantastic camera to use and enjoy. It may only have 4.1 MP, but the resulting RAW files are razor sharp and crisp, beautifully saturated, and nice and quick to download, copy, edit, upload, etc.

Noise-wise, properly handled (expose properly, use lowest ISO necessary), this camera can easily compete with the D200, and match or beat the D2X.

Quality-wise, countless people have made 13x19, 16x20, and even 24x36 prints from this camera with great results. Of course, it would be smart to use a tool like Genuine Fractals to ensure proper DPI, but that's really the case with any camera. The pixels interpolate beautifully, due to a weaker (that's a good thing) anti-aliasing filter on the sensor. Larger , newer sensors often have strong anti-aliasing filters meant to reduce noise, but as a side effect they blur the pixels slightly, reducing the sensor's resolving power. Without this filter being so strong, you can go up to large print sizes gracefully, with a sharp, film-like look, as opposed to pixelation. This coming from experience, not forum postings. :)

I'm sure some technology nerd who's never made a decent photo in his life could find something to whine about with the specs (they always do), but real photographers can appreciate the speed, elegance, and pure utility of this camera.

Moose Peterson raved about this camera, as did Thom Hogan, and Joe Buissink shot it as his main DSLR for years, doing high-end A-list celebrity weddings for $15-70,000 each. I think it's more than adequate for most of us. Photographers who have these and D200s and 300s have said that if they had a money shot, they'd trust the ease of use, clean design, and raw speed of their D2H to get the job done over even the brand new D300. There's just something to be said for the quality and ergonomics of a true pro body that has to be felt to be understood. And considering you can get one of these on Amazon for just $750... that's a pretty great deal.

I can fit 2400 RAW on an 8 gig card, and shoot well... a TON of pics without running out of battery. In fact, I have yet run out of battery charge. I just shot a wedding with it, and none of my shots were noisy (I kept it to ISO 800 and lower), and after shooting all day, I'd only used 1/5 of the battery charge! And my battery is an older one! Wow!

Highly recommended.

Speed: 5/5

ISO performance: 4/5

Ergonomics: 5/5

Battery Life: 5/5

Ease of use: 5/5 [after the 1st half hour :)]

Features: 5/5

Bank for the buck: 5/5

I'd give it an overall 5/5, as the positives far outweigh any flaws.

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I was reluctant to buy an used item like this online. I have used this multiple times and I love it. It was a fantastic value for the price.