Sony Alpha NEX NEX3A/B Digital Camera with Interchangeable Lens (Black)

So I've been waiting for a compact camera with either 4/3rds sensor size or larger and priced around $600. There are only a few on the market:

Sigma DP1, DP2 (Sensor size 20.7mm x 13.8mm)

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 (Sensor size 4/3rds : 17.3mm x 13.0mm)

Olympus PEN E-PL1, E-P1, E-P2 (Sensor size 4/3rds : 17.3mm x 13.0mm)

Sony NEX3, NEX5 (Sensor size APS-C 22.2mm x 14.8mm)

I was leaning towards the Olympus but read that Sony was going to make a APS-C size sensor compact camera so I waited and finally got it.

I own lots of cameras, Nikon D700, Nikon D300, Nikon D50, Panasonic LX3, Canon S90, Canon SD960, and a bunch of others.

Pros about NEX3:

This thing shoots fantastic photos.

The 16mm : 24mm equiv lens is awesome.

HD video is pretty cool.

Innovative controls need to get use to.

Panaramic shooting mode.

Photos are very sharp.

Cool screen flexibilities.

Cons:

Only got the pancake 16mm for compactness, 18-55mm is too big and defeats the whole purpose.

It's possible to shoot manual but ISO is hidden under two menus to adjust, apperture & shutter is easy to adjust.

Battery does go fast even when turned off, the firmware update did help.

Weird flash attachment, wish it could bend upwards for ceiling bounce flash.

Wish they sold a snug fit leather case like shown on website.Other than that, it's a pretty sweet camera. I heard Nikon is developing their own so that they can keep up with the compact large size sensor market. I hope it's a DX format sensor so almost equivalent to APS-C sensor.

This could have been a very positive review, except for one very significant issue. I bought the NEX-3 after months of reading and researching. I chose it over Panasonic based on its sensor size, unique features, form factor, weight and several very favorable reviews in professional newsletters. I think the firmware upgrade in the Fall made the user interface and navigation much better and easier, and I have not experienced the battery issues that some have reported. Overall, I like this camera and I want to like it more and use it more, but Sony's lack of lens support for the platform thus far should be a red flag to anyone considering the NEX series. There were reports of a Sony NEX 5 telephoto lens SEL 18200 earlier this year. One report even said it was shipping. But no retailers have the lens and I could not find it mentioned in the lens section on Sony's NEX website. That leaves just two lenses in the entire NEX series -a 16mm wide angle lens and a less than satisfying 18-55 zoom lens. Instead, there appears to be a strategy to push NEX users toward the existing Sony Alpha lens series, which requires purchasing an adapter plus using lenses that are reported to be ridiculously slow in the NEX autofocus mode. That is NOT why I bought this camera and would have stayed with my trusty Panasonic LUMIX point-and-shoot and Canon digital SLR if I knew that Sony was going to offer so few NEX lenses. Meantime, I am beginning to regret buying a promising platform that once seemed like the ideal solution for me. I am watching enviously as competitors I had compared to Sony expand their offerings while Sony seems to be standing still or falling backwards.

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I took the Nex-3 to Vegas for a 4-day trip. Took quite a few pictures and was quite impressed with it, but I will return it afterward due to the following short-comings:

. Failed to power on at times: this problem happened intermittently (twice during 4 days of use) and was annoying. The firmware version was 1.0

. Unpredictable images: at times, a picture taken would have the object (my girlfriend) too dark. When I retook the picture, it would be brighter the 2nd time, but it's just unpredictable. I use Intelligent Auto mode all the time.

. Severely distorted images on the sides: people on the left or right side look fatter. This must be caused by the 16mm lens, and I wish I had the 18-55mm lens instead.

. Confusing User Interface & operations: beside the cumbersome UI menu, I one time ran into situation when the camera refused to take picture (I believe after a self-timed picture). I tried switching modes, powering off, as well as other things, but ended up taking out the battery to clear it. Whatever that was, I wouldn't want having to do it again.

. One instance when night-time recording of fireworks couldn't focus: as I was recording fireworks and paused in-between scenes, the camera was completely out of focus and I was powerless to do anything beside turning it off and on.

Other than those, I really like the look and feel of the Nex-3 (it fits my small hand better than the Nex-5). Non-flash pictures taking in minimum lighting turned out great (the most important feature for me). The screen is gorgeous. And the camera feels quite compact with the 16mm lens.

Other side notes: a mini-HDMI cable/adapter is not included, so you'll need to buy one in order to hook the camera to an HDMI monitor. The strap included with the camera has a super-cheap feel, so you'll probably want to buy one as a favor for your neck. And while you're at it, buy a capkeeper cuz the lens cap is much smaller then the barrel and is real hard to put on and can drop easily if you didn't put it on right. There's no printed manual, so you'll have to look it up in the included CD instead.

I wanted a Point-and-shoot camera that can give me good pictures in low-light conditions (at parties, clubs, or under street lights) and decent auto-focused videos, while being easy to use. The Nex-3 is almost there but is not there yet.

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I bought this camera with both lenses, this review emphasizes the performance of the 16mm kit lens. (See the other kit for the opposite emphasis.) I had no preconceptions and bought it on a whim, amazed by its size. It's easy to hold, but also easy to cover the AF lamp. With the 16mm lens is actually fits in a large pocket.

The 16mm lens is simply not acceptable for point-and-shooters, unless you enjoy performing manual correction on every image afterward. The primary use will be in portraits, which end up with distorted body parts at any reasonable distance, though the resolution is certainly high enough that you can step back and still get good shots. Be ready to undistort in PS, because there's no compensation in the camera. Because it lacks IS, it will seem like a major step backward to anyone used to getting sharp pictures with a handheld digicam. Only the zoom lenses have IS, and it definitely shows up between 16m and 18mm shots. The downer to the other lens is that it's VERY large, so the camera instantly goes from handheld to SLR size. Badly needs an in-between lens.

Easily the best feature of the camera is the merge mode that's appeared across most of the Sony line: 5 shots without flash at default shutter merged into one, compensating for any movement, makes for some awesome pics at any light level. However, my HX5 compact has the same feature and looks nearly as good (just takes longer), plus you still have auto mode problems.

An unfortunate downside to the camera is the lack of mode dial. Switching between Auto, 5-shot, and shutter was agonizing when I needed that quick shot, and blinding in the dark, plus is some modes the quick mode change button becomes something else, so that you have to go into the full menu. I despised that delay. I loved that flash could be turned on or off instantly by raising or lowering the physical flash module. It was high enough that there were zero red-eye problems. Sadly, using the flash means no other accessories. The inner lens ring also doesn't control anything that I could tell; I never got it to change aperture, focus, speed, etc. The screen tilt was useless to me without side-tilt.

Very problematic is that while Sony designed this camera around Auto mode, it just plain isn't fast or sensitive. In shutter mode, you can ramp down the timing and force it to use much higher ISOs, which still manage to look breathtakingly clear with the large sensor, but Auto mode just plain refuses to use them. If you try to use Auto in dark settings, it will bump the shutter up past 1 second, even with flash. (I got very pissy at the camera at a club when it kept using 3.4s with flash off and 1.8s with flash on, in Auto. ??? Everything was blurry in Auto, of course. It's the only camera I've ever owned to do this.) Due to this, the sensor is crippled, IMHO. If you are willing to use it in shutter mode at night, quality is fantastic. In daylight, Auto will blow you away just fine. Manual mode is such a pain that I skipped it completely; there's no way to adjust ISO quickly.

Video looks pretty good. I didn't use it much but it's definitely on par or better than any video camera I've used. Panorama stitch also looks great. Sport mode does not.

The battery is surprisingly small, only 1080mAh, when each of my AA are triple that. The camera will last a few hours, but my old Canon S2 can do 2-3 times as many pictures easily. I nearly ran out of juice one night. Invest in a spare.

My final verdict: A study in compromises that turn a fantastic sensor into a mediocre product. If you want it, get the 18-55 zoom lens kit. I took it back; the search for the perfect SLR continues.

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I bought this about 4 months ago and have shot about 2800 pictures using mostly the 18-55mm lens but also some old Canon manual focus prime lenses for which I bought a $20 adapter on ebay. In this review I'll confine my remarks to the experience with the 18-55mm lens.

My reason for buying this camera was that I wanted to take high quality indoor pictures without flash of my grandchildren, who won't sit still. Flash, in my opinion, ruins pictures. I didn't want the bulk of a dslr, and felt that the mirrorless large sensor cameras such as the Nex, Panasonic G, and Olympus PEN are technologically the future and appealingly small. Of those, I chose the Nex because it has the best low light sensitivity of the mirrorless system cameras, which was my main reason for buying a new camera.

The results greatly exceed my original hopes. I have gotten great people/children shots, indoors, in beautiful natural low light, with never any motion blur, and never any bothersome noise/grain, using the 18-55mm lens. It is a pleasure to use and the results are spectacular. I'm sure that this low light quality is also achievable with a dslr, but unlike a dslr this camera fits in my jacket pocket, dangles comfortably on a wrist strap, and is not intimidatingly large object pointed at children and people. If you have struggled with using a small camera getting glary flash pictures with red eye or, alternatively, blurred, noisy, low light pictures of moving people, (which is what I was tired of) this camera is great solution. The results are beautiful. For me that makes it worthwhile and I am thrilled with this purchase.

A few other notes that may be of interest. I carefully compared graininess/noise between my old canon point and shoot (a fine camera) and the Nex. Grain/noise at ISO 800 on the point and shoot is about the same as ISO 12600 on the Nex, IS0 400 is similar to ISO 6400. With the NEX you can comfortably shoot at ISO 3200 and not worry about noise. That is huge for low light. I find the focus speed with the Nex to be very good, very fast and very accurate. Also unlike my point and shoot the focus motor is silent so no focus noise gets into your movies.

Frankly however if you shoot travel photos outdoors in sunlight, you would need to be a very fussy person to care about the improvement in picture quality between this sensor and a decent point and shoot camera. Yes it is sharper even outdoors in bright light, but frankly not enough to make the upgrade worthwhile for me, but that is a personal choice. If you would only shoot travel pictures with a dslr, then you will like this because the sensor is the same as the those sensors. If you are happy with your point and shoot for those pictures, I'm not sure you will see the improvement unless you put pictures side by side.

ColorVision Spyder2PRO Win/Mac

It does the basic job well. The calibration runs smoothly and accurately. Hardware looks and feels solid. My two completely different brand, size and age CRT monitors ended up with exactly the same colors sitting side by side.

User interface is merely adequate. Pop up help instructions are better than many I have seen. You will need to know already how the calibration buttons on your monitors work (the hardwired buttons on the monitor, not software). In order to make any edits you must run the entire time consuming calibration over. Sometimes you can use "back" within the calibration, sometimes you must start over. Also the separate "profile chooser" utility software, has not add or delete profile feature even if it is a profile created and saved by the calibration software earlier. You can see it with windows display properties, but it may not appear in the profile chooser list.

Dual monitors is the one obvious reason to choose pro over plus version. Yes, it does dual monitors, but with an asterisk. It will create separate profiles, but will only apply the correct profiles automatically at startup to both monitors if you have two separate video cards. If you have a single video card with dual outputs, it will load the same profile (the last one you created) to both monitors at startup. This quirk is documented in a readme file on the installation disk (and blames windows for the problem), but this limitation appears nowhere in advertising material, catalogs, or on the box. Fortunately there is a work around (not documented) at least with my particular video card and running XP. After windows opens, you can run profile chooser then choose the correct profile for each monitor. You may have to use windows display properties settings to specify default profile and rerun the calibration to get the profiles you want to appear in profile chooser and to select the correct profile as default.

Once it's all set up, running profile chooser is a four of five click procedure, but you must rememeber to check it before using any application that uses color profiles. And check it after you open the application. I've had them change after opening photoshop though not every time.

Previously I owned ColorVision's Spyder2 program and was quite satisfied with it. It did not include, however, a program for correcting the printer's color rendition. The new Spyder2Pro includes PrintFix Plus. This along with the monitor correction Spyder2Pro works very effectively. I am very happy with the program. For the price it is a great addition to Photoshop editing. The Spyder program allows the monitor and printer to show a print that reflects what the user has taken in his digital camera. I have not found any particular negatives about the program. In the past I have used their tech service for fine tuning the program. They were very responsive and helpful..

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I bought this because I try to take photography seriously and needed my images to look right on the screen while editing.

The software does an okay job of getting this done right.

My problem is with the printer calibration software in that it supports a limited amount or printers.

I have four Epson printers none of which are supported.

It's kind of disappointing for the price you pay for this.

-Mario

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I upgraded from the Spyder2Express, not really an upgrade because its cheaper to just purchase the pro version than it is to get the upgrade, which means I ended up with a spare device.

On my mac the dual screen supports just works, I use a single card with two outputs and it does support two profiles at the same time. Worked first time, but Mac dual screen support is much better than Windows.

I also calibrated my Windows systems and my laptop with no issues.

Makes the complex task of calibrating your screens pretty simple.

One point to highlight before you start though and this applies to ANY product of this type.

You simply MUST try to learn what you are attempting to do BEFORE starting any calibration process. If you do not know what the device is trying to do, then you will have problems. Color management is a complex process, expecting this device to simplify it while ignoring all the other aspects of a color managed workflow is a recipe for failure.

This applies to Gretag and the others as well.

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I bought the Spyder2Pro for the specific task of color calibrating my dual monitor setup. 1 monitor being my 15" MacBookPro the other a 22"Samsung LCD. Installed the software and ran the setup on both screens. Worked better than I could hope.*

*One thing that I noticed was that you have to run it more than once with different ambient lighting to get the desired color settings. The ambient light feature really changes color (wether you have sunlight, flourecent, incandecent ect.) you just have to keep running it till you like what you see and if it matches your printouts. Took me twice on each monitor with different BG lighting (I found a room lit by indirect sunlight the best). On my apple the Dual Monitor thing DOES work flawlessly, I am able to run 2 different color profiles at the same time (1 for each monitor).

Sony MVCFD100 FD Mavica 1.2MP Digital Still Camera w/ 3x OPtical Zoom

This is a great camera, I give it 4 starts only beacuse [does not] include a diskette or a memory stick..

Overall the camera is very nice, the superfine resolution is great. But it eats floppys so get a 64 or 128 mb memory stick.

Also be sure to get another battery pack... No sound on the movies, but its not ment to be a camcorder. Included are lens cover, shoulder strap, video out cable, a/c adapter & charger & USB cable....

Well, thought it was time for me to get with the times so I finally got myself a digital camera. I've always wanted one, but just really never had the money for one. I was able to get my hands on the Sony MVC-FD100 Digital Camera a couple of weeks ago, and I can say that I am very pleased with it.

You don't have to be a computer wiz to know how to operate it, which is one of the best qualities. It is VERY easy to use and I seriously think that anyone can learn to use it in a matter of minutes. It's a little bigger than most cameras, but this is because it allows you to save pictures to a floppy disk (which means that you really never have to hook up the camera to your PC to view or share your pictures). You can also use memory sticks as well (they're expensive, but can hold lots of memory and is more convenient than switching floppies non-stop).

There's a lot of neat things you can do with the camera. You can zoom in and out with ease, change the effects to make your pictures look different, and you can make short MPEG videos (with no audio). All of these features are very easy to use and are easy to learn.

A main drawback to this digital camera is the price. It is rather costly, but I think it's worth it. If this seems to be out of your price range then you should look at some others. There are plenty of others that are less expensive.

All in all, I am very pleased with the Sony MVC-FD100 Digital Camera. It's easy to use and is very convenient. If you're looking for a high quality digital camera that can be operated by just about anyone, then I highly recommend that you check this one out.

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There was a little piece of advice I always gave people upon choosing their first digital camera, that being: 1)Take the megapixel count you are interested in, and 2)Multiply it by 100 3)If you spend within 50 dollars of that, you have basically gotten a good deal. If you pay less, you are probably missing some fundamental feature (a zoom is often the first thing to go) and if you pay more, you are getting more than you probably wanted (some special lens made from a glass that NASA uses to make the microwaves on the shuttle or something like that). With the Mavica FD series, the extra 100 or 200 dollars is going to its method of storing pictures, on simple, inexpensive floppy disks.

If that still does not seem to justify the price, consider this: a floppy disk drive runs anywhere from 40 to 60 dollars, now take that drive and stick it on the back of a digital camera (thus making it self-powered).

And then there is the media itself: Smartmedia and CompactFlash cards are down in price (averaging less than a dollar per megabyte) and are available in sizes in the giga-range. That all seems fine and dandy, until you consider the phrase "don't put all your eggs in one basket." The cards are like any other data storage media, and thus prone to corruption and electromagnetic interference. So, because of a simple error in the camera (it is a computer like any other, and thus prone to all the same weaknesses), a whole 64+ megabytes of memories can be lost forever. And, to add insult to injury, that card was really expensive! Meanwhile, a box of 40+ floppy disks (at about 1.44MB per disc) costs a little less than 10 dollars. Now get out your calculators....Okay....PENCILS DOW--I MEAN, CALCULATORS DOWN!

Of course, the problem with floppy disks is that there are so many of them that lugging them around your vacation spot can be a complete pain. Fortunately, unlike the FD-75, you have the option of using Memory Sticks. In fact, if you take someone's picture on the MemStick, but want to give them one of the photos, simply insert a floppy disk and copy (just like in a computer) the picture to the floppy and give them that disk. Beats making them wait for a print.

Also, Sony's sensibility guided them toward making the FD Mavicas out of HandyCam parts, meaning that some of the accessories you got for/with your Handycam (if you have one)can be used with the mavica, namely the battery (that little crummy one that came with it that you have probably not used since you got that even better 8-hour one!) which is exactly the same as the battery that comes with the FD! So, out of the box, you have doubled the battery life of the camera. Also, the camera has a 37mm filter thread, which allows you to attach neat accessories like color filters and fisheye lenses.

Final word: a little pricey and not much for resolution, but for Handycam owners, it is a new lease on life for those old batteries!

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I have purchased this particular camera due to its ability to record images to the floppy disk. I traveled across the country by bicycle and uploaded pictures from public libraries along the way, where computers would not allow to install software and have USB port, but always had available floppy drives. This worked very well!

The camera showed amazing performance in representing the colors in its pictures. Focus was always good, images were clear and beautiful. Macro mode worked extremely well. Camera is reliable and battery life is superb.

With 1.3 Mega Pixels, images are perfect for computer use or make print outs of standard size.

Shutter delay makes it difficult to shot moving objects unless you are used to guessing the right moment. Sensitivity in dark conditions was very low, on automatic mode at least. I don't know if adjusting white balance or exposure compensation would improve the sensitivity. I always found automatically taken pictures to be of best quality.

If there is a need to use the MAJOR feature of the Sony MVC FD 100 function floppy drive, then this is the excellent choice.

FD 200 that replaced 100 in 2003 offers 2.0 Mega Pixels Matrix with identical features.

Here are few sample pictures taken with this camera:









All in all, this camera provided exceptional service and I recommend it to anyone that needs to use its ability to save images on floppy disks.

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I bought my Mavica as my first digital camera and have never been disappointed with it. It has travelled everywhere with me and has taken many awesome pictures. It was very easy to learn to use and the manual for it is well written and understandable.

I'm just now getting around to getting a memory stick for it so that I can record my photos as TIFFs. I suspect that after I use that, I will love it even more.

I have learned everything that I know about digital photography with my Mavica by my side. I learned how to set white balance, ISO speed, and spot metering easily and quickly. I would love to have a camera with a bigger resolution and a smaller size, but my Mavica takes such beautiful pictures that I'm not going to replace it.

I use it mostly to take pictures of my daughter and her classmates. The individual pictures taken indoors in UV light with a flash are amazing. In fact, after her class Christmas party (2003) they were so good that I printed them onto photo fabric and made the teacher a scarf with pictures of the children.

I love this camera and have been VERY happy with it. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

TOP Secret Spy Camera Mini Clock Radio Hidden DVR- Continuous power or battery

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Updated video and comments.

> Video is 640x480, high quality, LED IR ON and Night-Vision ON.

> 5 feet then 7 feet. Dark room, then room lights on.

> The black target left of the clock is a 6 inch diameter bull's-eye for pellet pistols.

> For detail note the small tassel on the right door handle in the 7 feet / lights on version.

Thanks to Nick (the seller) for his helpful advice in making this video.

============= ORIGINAL REVIEW FOLLOWS =============

I decided to buy one after seeing the quick response, by the seller, with regard to the individual that had a problem.

Item arrived quickly ahead of Amazon's estimate which impressed me as we are on opposite sides of the USA.

The other reviews here are positive but brief. I want to add detail. It really IS a sweet little item.

I've tried a number of these for office security and MANY are JUNK. Go ahead, check my other product reviews. It's a relief to find one the seller stands behind. Now I do also.

1. The unit fits in the palm of your hand. It is a nice travel clock. LED display is not too bright. Tiny and easy to pack. Discrete.

UPDATE: If you find the display too bright as a nightstand clock, use a screen protector for a cellphone. For $2 the "High Quality Privacy Screen Protector Verizon BlackBerry Tour 9630 Sprint" (Amazon) covered (and dimmed) the screen but did not block the cam so you won't have to move the protector in the AM for security "duty".

2. The AC adaptor is both 110V and 240V THANK YOU! so you can use it in Europe / China / etc outside the USA. My Sonicare toothbrush can't do that. International AC adaptors are a must in my opinion. Travelers: The cord is about 2 feet. See seller comment to this review for longer cord options. Note that it does have a USA plug so for China/Europe you'll need plug adaptors but you do NOT need a voltage change.

3. VIDEO: I intend to use this as a security cam in my hotel room as I travel often for business. A little extra "peace of mind".

You can choose 320x240 or 640x480 for video resolution. These choices are pretty standard for security cams. I set it to 640x480 and "high" quality. Looks NICE!!! Obviously, more quality image means more memory used. Follow the seller guide (included see item 4).

BIG PLUS... the IR LED lighting is 940 nm! Who cares? 940nm is invisible to the eye. Many cams use lower nanometer levels which glow RED the universal signal that you are recording. I viewed THIS item with another IR camera and only then did I confirm the lighting was "on". Nice!

NOTE: See the first comment to this review, from Nick (the seller), regarding the amount of video time per gigabyte of memory.

4. The instructions included are TINY but the seller forwards you a LARGE size version PLUS a two-page "get started" guide. I was functioning in under 10 minutes. Follow the seller's guide step-by-step. Honestly, if you have a micro SD card reader you are ready to go in no time at all. No software necessary. There is a micro DVD included with English User's Manual, video example, etc but I found the seller doc more useful.

5. When you check your micro SD card you will see FOUR folders have been added Music, Pictures, Rec, Video

Any use of the cam goes into the "Rec" folder (there is another "video" folder in "Rec"). Why mention this? Because it really IS a clock/radio/MP3 player combination. I put a set of songs into the "Music" folder and it plays them well. Sound is not bad considering it's so small. It will also auto advance to the next song. I'm listening to it now. If you have an iPhone or iPod you might not use it but then an iPhone doesn't have night vision.

6. Mine is silver as in the first photo above (detail page). Some of the photos show other colors. I'm happy with silver. I think that is the default. Contact the seller if you have a question.

7. Travelers... it has a small pull-string sack to carry it. That will help protect it and the accessories in your luggage.

***** The clock has no alarm ***** But it has so many other features (cam, true IR, radio, mp3 player, etc) the lack of alarm is not a deal breaker (for me).

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Bottom line: The item is impressive. Make sure you're buying from onlineenterprises888. Don't know him. Not connected in any way. But I have to admit the item and the service make the purchase risk free.

That's how it should be. Thanks!!

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I use this to monitor my home while at work. I turn on the recording when I leave the house and off when I return. The unit in plugged into the AC charger all the time and since I have the spy camera set to loop record there is no need to delete files from the device ever.

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I wish I could expound on how wonderful the camera is (and it does seem to be), but we purchased it to catch a thief ~ literally. Before we had a chance to set it up, another neighbor caught the scumbag in the act. But, what I can attest to is the integrity of this seller. The product, once ordered, was immediately responded to and then sent out in a very timely manner. Great instructions and product support. The seller includes his name and a way to contact him personally. Wow!!!!

As mentioned above, we had a very specific reason to buy the camera and once that was resolved, I asked to send it back. Again, without hesitation or problem, a return was issued.

We are all familiar with the ways of Internet purchasing and most don't involve personal contact....may I just say that as disconnected as the process seems, this gentleman makes it honest, genuine, and as close to "home" as the Internet can.

I wholeheartedly endorse purchasing from this seller!!!!

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Very good image quality although I haven't tried the low light setting yet. No motion detection which was sort of a surprise for a spy camera, but the fact that you can leave it plugged in and can use a big (32 gb or maybe larger MicroSD) gives you an awful lot of hours to record. And it can loop, deleting older videos as necessary if you set it that way. It is fairly tricky to learn, with a tiny instruction booklet, but the seller has an online video and a PDF of a blown up copy of the manual so that's very helpful. These products, at least cheaper ones, are often impossible to figure out from the broken English instructions. This one is not difficult.

As for cons, it will only display 24 hr time; no AM/PM setting. The base has a very bright blue light which is annoying but is easily hidden by a piece of electrical tape and it actually looks good that way. I ran into an audio issue. Quicktime on XP, at least on my machine, produced a screeching audio track. But any other playback application (VLC or Nero Showtime) worked fine.

Summary is that it is a very solid device, nice looking, and works well.

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I spent a lot of time researching similar products. Anything else of similar features and ease of use will cost you 4x more.

Included features that were a must for me:

-Discrete (UV lights are invisible to the eye)

-User friendly (watch their video. Google search "youtube VIDEO DEMO! Spy Camera, Top Secret Mini Clock Radio"

-Wall plug-in continuous recording (this one runs on battery as well)

-Continuous loop recording (this one accepts up to 32gb micro SD, days worth of space before looping)

-AUDIO (unless a product specifically says audio, it doesn't have it!)

Other nice features:

-Displays a small, inconspicuous dot when recording

-Has a screen and speakers to play back footage

-Hides all camera functions and files unless you know how to get to them.

-Also plays files you upload onto it in a different folder, audio, video, pictures

-Has aux line in for use as a speaker

-Plays radio

-Displays time and date

Disadvantages (although few and minor)

-Only displays time in 24hr format

-No alarm clock feature

-A little bright with the clock display

-UV lights are only effective for 2-3ft.

Go ahead and search for similar products in this price range, there is always something (usually multiple things) that really suck about them.

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Olympus VG-110 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Zoom Lens (27mm) and 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver)

Good purchase, great for travel, super lightweight and the controls are very user-friendly. Battery lasts a long time and you can easily download photos to your PC without installing the included software.

It was a very nice camera for the $70 I spent on it. It has pretty good pixels, zoom, and is very small (great for your pocket or for a very small handbag). It did worry me however, how light it was. But I am not so worried now, because I even bought the 3 year (Accidental Drop/Handling) Warranty and am very glad I did...it seems pretty truthful and helpful! As for why I bought this camera... I already have a very nice Kodak M580 (even with 8x zoom and 14 mp) but it is very unreliable because it freezes up when I need a picture most. The Kodak, is also very heavy and large. So I decided to buy this small, compact, good camera on Black Friday (for a like $15 discount). I think its pretty great. The buttons are positioned in good places, except for the flash, which you have to get to on the menu (making it a little more difficult for quick snap-shots).

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I bought this for my mom to replace her old and slow camera. It is awesome!! The Magic mode is so much fun! I'm kind of jealous, now I want one... It slim, sleek, fast, and just what I was looking for! The colors great too!

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I've got too many cameras Nikon d700, d80, SONY NEX, Olympus XZ1. When I read a magazine review, I was for some reason intrigued by this. Then I saw it was on offer. And got it. I love the size. The VG 20, 130 and 140 have more features but is a lot bigger. I like that it's small but not too small. The Minox is darn hard to use, especially the shutter release. This one, I like a lot. Hold it correctly, vertically between first finger and thumb and you can even sneak shots without composing at 27mm. Some reviewer say it's smaller than a pack of cards, maybe so, but I'm trying to fit it into a ciggie box. The VG110 is Bloody Good.

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My previous camera was an Olympus so I wanted to keep it in the family. With minimal time and money, this was my first option as a replacement. I love this camera! It's so lightweight and small and can easily fit in your pocket. Has a lot of cool effects that are easy to navigate: face detection, fish eye lense, negative effect and the coolest of them all.. the panoramic option! Pictures come out crisp and clear with the awesome 12mp. Charges quickly. Just overall a great camera for a great price. Note: I was bummed to find out that this did NOT come with an SD card, so you'll have to buy that separately!

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