Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope

The Imageview is the only system of its class available as far as I can see. There are a few other scope/camera combos on the Web, but each fails at some point: some are discontinued or unavailable, some lack the essential zoom feature and are fixed magnification, the nearest is a Russian model that has a fixed screen which cannot be easily shielded from ambient light and a lower resolution camera...at well over twice the price for the Bushnell.

That said here's the quick overview:

Pros:

*One of a kind

*Inexpensive

*Light weight

*Good quality photos under optimum lighting conditions

*Takes inexpensive SD cards for unlimited photos per trip

*Includes cable release

Cons:

*Focus offset between camera and eyepiece cannot be corrected with diopter ring as manual suggests and may be distant dependent

*LCD screen required for a clear photo is almost impossible to see in sunlight (e.g. birding)

*Battery life can be measured in minutes, you can't get many shots from a set of AA batteries

*The included tripod is flimsy and cheap, if you use this scope in the field, you'll want a sturdier one

*Buttons, fit and finish are marginal at best

*It's difficult to remember to throw the switch from eyepiece to camera; you'll take some blank shots, especially at first

it doesn't not work like an SLR

*It's clearly not designed to be weather resistant

*The camera metering is particularly bad for birding. Birds are generally back-lit against the sky or a bright background. Spot metering helps take care of this, the Imageview seems to use an averaging algorithm which leads to dark birds on a bright background. Post-image work can recover some, but not all the data.

I have always been impressed with Bushnell products. O.K. they're NOT high end optics, but they're very very good, especially when you consider how economical they are. So, yeah, you could call me a Bushnell fanboy, that's fine with me! I'm not a wealthy man, and I'm not a purist, but I do appreciate quality. We own two different pairs of Bushnell binoculars, and are well pleased with the performance and longevity of both products.

I've owned this scope for less than six weeks, and I already feel like I've got my money's worth! Initially, I was looking to find an affordable spotting scope and the right accessories to use our old digital camera to do some digiscoping. I'm a budding bird-watcher, and I wanted a way to capture images of birds that I could not identify, so that I could study them at my leisure. This scope (along with an adequate tripod) came in UNDER BUDGET and FAR OUTPERFORMS what I could have done with our old digital camera!

Of course, there's no such thing as a free meal. There are SOME drawbacks to this scope, but I feel that they're FAR outweighed by the advantages. If you are looking to take high-end photos that you can sell to National Geographic, keep looking! If you're looking for a great spotting scope, with the built-in ability to take good quality photos as well as short videos (without audio) at an affordable price, then look no further!

A satisfied customer,

Brian Hart

Buy Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope Now

I bought this for the telescope not the tripod. Good thing because the tripod is almost useless. It's so flimsy that it's almost impossible to locate and lock onto a target. I purchased a good tripod and am now very happy with the telescope. The quality of the telescope is better than I expected in this price range. Through the lens the image is very sharp and clear. No as good through the camera. If you want high quality photos you'll have to spend more. They are fine for showing people the wildlife in my backyard.

Read Best Reviews of Bushnell Imageview 15-45x70mm 5MP Camera Spotting Scope Here

I have had this a while and it still works. The only down fall is that its old technology and memory chips/sticks are hard to find. This uses the old SD card max 2GB.

But for the money great spotting scope.

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A photo of the view through a spotting scope or binoculars has instant appeal. The scope can be adjusted to your eye so that the digital image will be in focus too. I focused on an advertisement with lettering,about 30 feet away, then turned the eyepiece so the lettering is in focus looking through the viewer and on the LCD screen. The only problem is the LCD is dark and grainy, so it's hard to see focus. I had to upload to the computer to see the actual result. It's hassle, but it works, and once you have it, you don't have to repeat the calibration.

The images you get are low resolution. I wish Bushnell would offer this scope a with higher resolution LCD and CCD chip. Still, for the money, it's great.

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75FT HDMI to HDMI 26AWG CL2 Rated Cable w/ built-in Equalizer (Gold Plated Connectors)

One of the male ends snapped off when I closed the sliding rear panel on my entertainment center. The entire doors weighs less then two pounds and I closed it very carefully because the cable was run through an opening in the door. There is no way the cable should have broken and I'm waiting to see if the seller will send a replacement.

Seller agreed to replace the broken cable. Hopefully this one will work well.

Konica Minolta Dimage G600 6MP Digital Camera with 3X Optical Zoom

Opinion

Fredrik in Sweden.

I had a 3 Mpix Olympus D-550 (C-300) for 12 months and it has been very difficult to find a better camera when it broke.

I first bought a Casio QV 5700, a semi-big and very sophisticated camera. It had all the features I wished for, bright optics, manual settings etc. but the size and ancient slow action bothered me. I swiftly returned it.

I realized I wanted something pocketable with great performance. Since no reviews on the web met my demands I finally went for the G600, the heir of a test winner, unreviewed until now.

---

The G600 with a spare battery and 512 Mb is a good setup. After the first charge of 14 hours the battery was good for 250 images (no flash, always display and 3 unloads) The very first charge also charges the onboard memory battery so it will perform better after that. It also takes 10 cycles before the battery is ripe. I expect 300-350 images.

Charging takes 2 hours with the bundled charger, neat.

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A normal image in fine mode takes up about 1500-2800 kb of space. => 240 images on my SD card.

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The shutter lag is ok, but not as awesome as I got the impression of. (with focus lock it is pretty instant)

I flung a stick into the evening air and shot it while it fell and the result was really neat and sharp. (See sample)

Startup time is really quick.

---

The size is dreamy. You can hardly feel it is in your front pocket on a pair of tight jeans. The metal gives it a sturdy feel.

The blue LED's on the front are a nuissance. They provide extra light for focusing etc. I don't know when they are activated, or if I can turn it off.

---

I have some sample images for you here.

All handheld on a grey spring evening in Sweden.

this page.

Problems

I dislike using flash, as a result indoor images turn up dark.

Some are VERY dark with the automatic setting in spite of normal illumination.

I somewhat enhanced this by increasing ISO to 200.

Still not as good as my Olympus D-550 (C-300) in low light. I feel it necessery to switch between ISO modes for indoor and outdoor shots. Requires clicking in the menu.

The G600 wants to use flash at all times indoors. Flash make the pictures flat and boring. I want to capture atmosphere, not cold hard vectors.

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The Automatic "focus depth" was very tight.

If I focus on my face, the eyes look great but the nose gets blurry. (My nose isn't huge). I am not sure how to compensate for this. (still learning)

In macro mode this is apparent when shooting a fat larva where half the larva is out of focus. Unless you only photograph coins... this is a problem.

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In the evening, the automatic light control make the images a tad less bright and less in contrast than real life. Increasing brightness and contrast +25 and +25 in Pshop helps evening pictures.

I suspect this can be adjusted in the white balance settings.

Much of this can be compensated for, with internal tweaking, once and for all. The colors overall are very natural and life like.

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The multi spot autofocus tend to pick the items in the background and not the thing I want to shoot.

I saw no reason to use spot metering until I got the G600.

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The amount of "flawed images" are less than with the Casio, and I think that when I get used to this one it will perform as well as the point and shoot Olympus. I am well on my way.

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I would love it if it had a "speed dial" to chose

between different scene modes.

The sound and avi format works very well.

16 seconds amount only to 2800 kb.

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I'd rather they had two compartments for batteries than two for memory cards. Running out of juice is a bummer when you are to shoot the sunset from the top of a hill.

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Some would say that the zoom is too fast.

It is, like the Borg would say, ...efficient.

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It could be easier to record sound and movies. The menu system requires clicking... clicking...

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I need to test the lense and ccd more, with some colorful sunsets, but so far the quality is really nice. I can count individual strains of hair on my head on my images. I'll keep this one, because it is portable and creates great images under the right conditions and decent images under strain.

A third battery may be an investment.

Manual settings will work out some of my problems.

---

/Fredrik

My free for all, no copyright 1000+ image archive.

(Most shot with the Olympus, but that will change.)

I love this camera. I wanted a small camera. I looked at the Cannon Elph. After reading negative comments on the internet about the E-18 error problem and knowing a friend who had problems with the E-18 error right out of the box I decided to pass.

I have a bigger camera with many features, the Sony F717, and I love the pictures it takes. I guess it spoiled me because after seing another friends small Sony camera the picture quality was not as nice even with the higher megapixels. I had to purchase Sony Memory cards and after purchasing several(expensive) I wanted a small camera that could use them.

My old small point and shoot which finaly died used SDcards. I was resigned to switching but still wanted to be able to use my SDcards because I hate to waste money.

This camera seemed to be the answer to my dilemma. It uses the two media cards I alreay own. It has a sturdy metal body. The layout/design of buttons is easy and simple. I love the fact that opening the lens turns the camera on and off. I purchased an extra battery and keep it in the charger. The charger comes with the camera and charges fast.

It is a great point and shoot and has many features if you want to do more. It is small and fits in my evening bag but is not so small/delicate that I worry about damage.

It has an optical viewer as well as an lcd screen. I thought this was critical. If you need to take a picture in bright sun or want to conserve battery life use the viewer. One of the things I did not like about my old point and shoot was it only had an lcd screen. I was very careful with it and damaged the screen while on vacation and could not use the camera. I had to buy some disposeables and send it for repairs when I got home.

Konica makes a great product. It may not be as sexy looking as some but it is great and I have yet to take a bad photo. Two media cards is terrific. I was at a good friends wedding and went to visit family and with both cards in the camera I had enough space to take pictures for the week. I took 800 pictures a couple of movies and still had plenty of space. I put in two 512MB cards and did not have to worry about carrying extra cards.

I love this camera! Hope this helps you in your search, happy hunting!

Buy Konica Minolta Dimage G600 6MP Digital Camera with 3X Optical Zoom Now

sturdy metal body good lens

top notch quality pix

menu navigation simple

manual control access a breeze

indoor manual tweaks may be fine tuned

read many web reviews

very happy with this choose

Read Best Reviews of Konica Minolta Dimage G600 6MP Digital Camera with 3X Optical Zoom Here

Good points:

1. The price is magnificent...you can get it for about $244.00 for 6Megapixels!(as of Jul-11-2005);

2. The quality of the pictures is excellent;

3. Battery Life is fairly good (about 280 flash pictures);

4. Takes BOTH SD and MemoryStick memory types;

5. Optical Zoom at 3X is about normal and works fine;

6. On-Off system is nice and simple;

7. FAST shutter speed (time from moment you press button to picture actually being taken); Canon is awful at this.

8. Very FAST Flash recovery time (picture-to-picture): about 1.5 seconds.

The problems are few, but very real:

1. Video is really limited to 30seconds no matter how much memory you have or what resolution you choose;

2. Doing anything other than taking pictures is a MESS...you have to go through the menus and the complicated button sequences...forget about my MOM using it for anything other than taking pictures;

3. Even VIEWING the pictures you took is a mess...having to go through the menus. If you're a gadget freak or a techie, you'll be just fine...but if it's for your mom or dad and they can't program their VCR, then look for a user-friendly camera (not this one, sorry!); they WILL end up erasing pictures they're trying to see...

4. The USB transfer cable is NOT standard...good luck if you travel and leave it at home (better have lots of memory and not lose the camera while traveling or you'll lose your memories before you get to transfer them!!);

5. Zoom controls could be better located.

Summary:

If you are a techie and don't need videos longer than 30seconds, this camera is great.

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I just got the Minolta G600 and love how easy it is to use. I take pix mostly on vacation and wanted something sturdy yet small enough to carry with me. Menu options are very easy to use start up is quick, and the pix have turned out great. Not alot of confusing buttons/wheels to learn very easy. You will love it.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (2012

Camera is compact and light weight. It has all the basic features you would need for great pictures and it is fairly easy to use. I was able to play with it for less than 5 minutes and have all the controls figured out without looking at a manual. The battery life seems great as I just got back from a week long vacation and after snapping over 150 photos I still have almost a full battery. I am also very impressed with how great my pictures turned out, vivid colors and great contrast.

I purchased this product as I planned a last-minute visit to the Niagara Falls and, being on a business trip, I had nothing else to immortalize this moment than my smartphone and its lousy camera. After unpacking it, I first tried it indoors and was not impressed at all: mediocre yellowish pictures, noisy and grainy. I tried to disable the (weak) flash and it got worse. I was tempted to return it immediately but decided to give it a try outdoors. When I started to shoot the falls, I became very quickly addicted to this litte gizmo. In most of the cases, the camera is able to deal with the subject, although I would recommend the usage of the advanced scene mode: facing violent contrasts, the camera shoots automatically twice with different exposure parameters, which increases the odds to get a good shot. Smart.

The exposure can be easily fixed manually, using the "manual" mode (in fact, an automatic mode that can be adjusted). In a matter of seconds, over-exposed white water on dark rocks takes texture, to the droplet. It is a bit of trial and error, but delivers quick results. The panorama function works very well, delivery much better pictures than the lousy prints available in the souvenir shop. I also gave it a chance to show how it works with video: better than average sound (if not too much wind), functional and silent zoom and again, surprising image quality. As the light changed due to overcast clouds, I adjusted the settings and the camera obediently followed, again delivering satisfying stills. The zoom works fine. It's not a super-zoom but the resolution is good enough to enable enlargement on the PC.

Happy with the outdoor quality, I decided to give it another try indoors, using the advanced mode P. To my surprise, the various settings, including several white balance modes, enabled to fix the initial issues and I got noise-free, decent-quality pictures under artificial lighting. I fumbled a bit with the flash and while I find it a bit rough, it's within expectations.

Outdoor picture quality is really great for the price I was really positively surprised by the sharpness and color quality, which is still far from SLR standards but surprising for a compact. The autofocus is decent, shutter speed good, transfer speed correct. The camera behaves predictably. It is more limited indoors but still very decent once one gets used to it. I was not disturbed by the lack of functionality to adjust speed or aperture as I'm using it for point-and-shoot, which it does pretty well in general. It's not a function-rich camera, but what's built in is useful and working well (the online manual may need some polishing though).

I'm giving it five stars because this Sony camera exceeds consistently my value-for-money expectations. It cannot be a substitute for more serious hardware (I own a Sony Alpha and my wife is a NEX user) but it is definitively the camera I will take on business trips or in my breast pocket for a casual walk in the park.

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So the image quality isn't perfectbut it's pretty darn close (the only reason this camera got 4 stars instead of 5). I like taking pictures with it. The menu features are really easy to figure out, so it's no trouble changing the settings to my liking. My favorite part of the camera? the Panorama viewI think Sony was genius with that addition! Definitely worth the moneyand Sony has a pretty good name in cameras so you know it's a good investment. Total bonusI love that my camera is rednot just boring black or silver.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 16.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) (2012 Here

This is a fantastic camera in it's price class. I was surprised by it's size ( as small as a cell phone ) but with that said, it packs alot of punch. Takes great pictures and is easy to operate. The only drawback is low light pictures aren't as sharp as could be. All in all you get alot for the money with this Sony,

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This a wonderful camera. Camera is compact and light weight. 16 megapixels. You will get a GREAT camera for a little over $100.Very easy to use, takes amazing pictures for the price and size. I would highly recommend anyone buying this camera. it takes video, and panoramic pictures. fast shipping.

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.

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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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Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Zoom Lens & EF-

If I had to do it over again I would buy the camera and the longer lens separate and not buy the package. Cost wise I spent an extra $100 for the tripod, case and other accessories were cheap junk for the most part. I received a Zeikos tripod and Zeikos case with my package. The tripod is flimsy and cheap and the case was OK, not great. The Canon case is much better quality. The 16G SD card was OK for starters (get an extra one just in case) and the extra battery was OK. Stick with the true Canon batteries if you can. The cheap imitations go dead quick and don't have the lifetime of the Canon battery in terms of longevity. There was a card reader that didn't work and some dodgey SD card case that I chucked in the rubbish. Not very happy with the kit, seemed like a waste of money to me.

The camera is everything I expected and the 55-250mm lens definitely works well. Went out shooting pics yesterday to get a feel for the camera and lenses and got good results. It's a big step up from my old Fuji S7000 so the learning curve is pretty big. Still it shoots far better pics than I expected and with digital fotos it's easy to delete the ones you screw up.

This was my first time at amazon and I had a great experience, the shipping was free and the pack came to my cousin's house in like 4 days. Everything was alright and I got all the stuff from the kit. The lenses are excelent, the cleaning kit, the memory card, all the kit! The tripod is kinda cheap but it also works. Anyway Im happy with the purchase because it was cheap with all the stuff I've got, If I would have done it in my country I would have expended like 1500$

I have a guarantee from Canon, and all the manuals. I am into the photography 2 years ago and Im convinced that the photographer must be great in the composition of a picture but this camera is really helpful and I strongly recommend it.

Otherwise the video quality is excelent, but the audio is not that good.. nothing you can't fix with a good external mic.

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A lot of research went into this purchase. I used two T3i's that belonged to friends and made sure they would work in low-light conditions. I also reviewed consumer reports, and this was the overall highest rated DSLR under $1,000. I also used my sister-in-laws 40D. It is much more rugged, but the photo's aren't really any better.

About 1000 photos in, I haven't found anything not to love about this camera. It has functioned flawlessly. It has quick point-and-shoot modes or allows you to go as low-level as you wish. I shoot telephoto in some unusual lighting situations, and I have found that the custom white balance settings work perfectly. I've been able to take great action photos of night high-school football games using the expanded ISO option.

The T3i contains no weatherproofing, so keep that in mind. Increased toughness would be the advantage to going to the pricier professional-level cameras. The 1/4000 second shutter speed was fine to stop a hummingbird's wings in action so I can't imagine the typical user needing a faster speed. The ISO expansion allows you to go all the way to 12500, which is about as far as is practical currently. It allows decent photos under very weak light conditions.

The built in flash isn't that great, but you wouldn't expect it to be. It's mainly for have-to situations and anyone taking regular flash photos would want a better flash for the hotshoe. The viewscreen can be tilted to almost any angle, which allows some great shots over obstacles or from waist level. It's great for photos of the kids when they're playing. Can easily shoot from waist level and avoid the impish look you can get from photographing down on kids.

The only quirk I have found is that the wireless remote (optional) only works from in front of the camera. It's designed to use when you're helping a person pose or you're in the photo yourself. Being able to activate it from the rear would be nice for wildlife shots.

I didn't buy it for videos, but I was amazed at the quality of them. Sound is mono unless you buy additional microphones, but that's not why I bought the camera anyway.

Yes, I would like to have the 60D, but you just aren't going to beat the T3i for under $1,000. With a little shopping, you can get the additional 55-250 lens which is wonderful. The image stabilization works perfectly. Until I can afford the 60D, I'm very satisfied.

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Excellent package, good camera, specially the steadyness (I am getting old and my pulse is not so good!), with two great lenses that allows you to work as you like. Good price for a goof camera

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I received a lot of coin for Christmas and decided it was time I upgraded from a decent point and shoot to a DSLR. My niece has the original T1i and I've seen the pictures she takes over the years with it and have always been impressed with their quality and clarity. After doing a lot of research I decided on the T3i over the newer T4i. It was 200+ dollars cheaper and from what I read it wasn't going to shoot better pics. The video is better, but I don't plan on using it for that anyway. I added a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II cheapo lens to complete the package, so I have 2 good IS zoom lenses and a great portrait lens that can handle very low light and has great depth of field for portraits.

You have to understand that the last SLR I had was my trusty old Olympus OM-1, which was totally manual. A great camera but this thing just smokes it in every way. It's fast and I cannot believe the quality of the pictures for such a cheap body and lens set. While it would be great to own a better body and some L lenses I just cannot justify spending all that money on something I do as a very intermittent hobby. I just wanted to be able to take high quality pics when the opportunity presented itself.

Overall this kit is a great starter for someone like me. Sure the card is only 16GB and it's not a fast one, the extra battery seems to have less capacity as the original Canon, the tripod is slightly flimsy, the bag is a bit on the cheap side (though plenty roomy for a camera, 3 lenses, cleaning kit, and charger and extra battery), and the other items are not going to be used (card reader have one on my laptop, screen protectors cut to size? Nah that won't look good and is probably unnecessary), I still give it 5 stars since it's got everything you'll need from the get go for around the same price as buying just the body and the 2 IS lenses. Once I get more into it I'll look to replace the basically freebies with better stuff where I see the need.

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Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens (Red) + 55-200mm VR Lens + 32GB

I have been a Cannon user all my life until recently when I switched my photography products to Nikon. No particular reason for doing so. I just wanted to get the Nikon user experience and compare for myself the differences. To begin, I am an amateur photographer, capturing anything and everything entices' my eyes. When I am at leisure I try different shooting modes, but when I am with kids or with family, it is always in "auto mode". Thus far, I have shot 900 pictures and a few videos. I am pleased with the performance of my Nikon D3200.

1. Ease of use. Great convenience.

2. Not too heavy

3. Turn on is less than 4-5 seconds so you don;t miss a moment. Continuos shooting mode is awesome, so camera doesn't take the extra few seconds recuperate between shots.

4. Auto Mode takes care of all shooting incompetencies

5. Need an "power conveyer ($10)" when charging battery outside US.

6. 9 Point focus is awesome to capture the subject in the frame, even if your eye is not directly looking at the subject.

7. Love the package accessories and deals from the seller.

8. Long battery life.

9. If you are looking for a family camera. This is it. Worth the price.

10. 55-200 MM lens takes care of most of your shooting needs. I affixed a wide angle lens on top of my 18-55 MM to avoid changing lenses. It works just fine for both close up shots and zoom in shots.

Seller have different package deals for you select, depending on what you would do most with your camera. Take your time, write down what your are priorities are with your camera, do the research, compare packages within seller and compare sellers and buy.

I am pleased with my purchase thus far.

Everyone knows how great the camera is, the the bundle options will drive you crazy. This one was by far the best. The bag was actually a Nikon bag so the camera and lens fit perfect. The tripod is full height (not a short tabletop one). The sd card is 32gb and that is a huge plus with this camera.

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Super easy to use and with professional quality! Also works great for sporting events. My boys are competitive swimmers and this makes great pics and videos!!!

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Panasonic PVDV201 MiniDV Digital Camcorder with Built-in Digital Still Mode

Like most purchasers of camcorders, I am having my first child in August. Thus, I decided to buy a camcorder to take hours of video that I will never watch again. On the other hand, if I didn't buy a camcorder, I would be a horrible parent, right?

Anyways, I did a fair amount of research online and in print (Consumers Reports). I finally decided to purchase the Panasonic based on the recommendations of several electronics salespeople.

First, the PV-DV201 is a MiniDV format digital camcorder. The Digital8 camcorders (generally sold by Sony) are a little cheaper for the tapes. On the other hand, the camcorders are a bit larger and a fair bit heavier. If you have old 8mm tapes you want to replay on a camcorder, Digital8 is probably the format for you. This was my first camcorder, so I went with the MiniDV format because of the weight difference, and also because the picture quality seemed a bit better.

One caveat about the PV-DV201: The digital zoom requires you to press a separate button, which is a bit awkward. That being said, it is rare (in my experience) that you will need zoom power in excess of 20X, which the 201 provides. The digital zoom is a bit of a marketing ploy.

If you have previously fallen for the Sony marketing blitz, and think that only Sony can make good consumer electronics, just shop the prices, and you will see Sony is $100-150 more for comparable features.

I found this camcorder to be a high quality starter camcorder in the digital format, for a very reasonable price.

My title pretty much says it all. I was looking for an inexpensive DV solution ever since my son was born, and it took me a month to come up with this one.

While this camcorder is considered low end, I have to say it is definitely much better than low end. The resolution is fine for home movies (much better than VHS or 8mm, and much better than other DV camcorders in it's price range) and I like the fact I can edit and do whatever I need to do with the footage I shoot, with little to no generation loss.

Pros:

Good solid digital video recording and PC transfer. I'm using Windows XP, and while Adobe Premier will not transfer the video to the PC, I'm able to transfer from Windows Movie Maker....

2.5" Color LCD.

MultiMediaCard support for still images.

Hot Shoe for a lamp only.

VERY light!

FireWire!!!!

PCM Stereo....

Cons:

Software is not Windows 2000 or XP compatible (all video transfers are done through Microsoft's software, not Panasonic's).

Stills cannot be transferred at all through USB on Windows XP (ME and 98 work fine).

Still images are poor (no amount of Photoshop work will help...get a real camera).

Words of caution...more than likely you will need more Hard Drive space than you have. 18 minutes of higher resolution DV will take upwards to 9 GB of Hard Disk space. And while you're at it, you could probably use more memory as well.

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I've used the camera for about three months. It is everything I expected. I wanted a lightweight, small, easy to use camera with the ability to take still photos. The video picture quality is very good. The stills are pretty good considering this is a low end model.

I use Windows ME and the software provided is very, very good and easy to use. It would have been nice to be able to plug in a better mike but you can't. Also I'm left-handed and like most cameras for us, the buttons are a little hard to use.

Overall I don't think you will go wrong buying this camera. If you have Windows XP I would contact Panansonic to see if there are upgrades for the software.

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My husband bought this camera for me for christmas and i got it the other day as an early christmas gift so we could use it this holiday season filming our 15 month old son and family occasions, This camcorder is great. The software that comes with it is easy to use. the only thing it lacks is editing ability for the movies that you can upload to your pc. all in all its a great camcorder in my opinion.

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Update to previous reviews. The driver for win2000 or winXP is available NOW on panasonic website. With Firewire, WinXP actually detected it and it's plug and play.

I have used this camera for more than 2 years. I LOVE it.

1. There's no gap between clips. Canon ZR shows blue screen on playback every time you hit the pause button when recording REALLY annoying. This one just stitch the clips together nicely.

2. Transfer to computer with firewire or USB really simple, easy to use. TIPS: you can get firewire card with cable for less than $20 now.

3. Handling is excellent nice grip, light weight.

4. Long battery life. I was planning to buy a spare and found out no need for it.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Sanyo VPC-HD2000A Xacti 8MP High Definition 1080P (Black)

I received the unit and have been testing it out in various shooting settings and resolutions. Right away I really appreciated the .mp4 format of the recordings and the simplicity of working with the files (on a Mac w/iMovie9). Honestly, on a fast mac, working with any of the size/formats the camera records seems to be quick and easy.

I'm a little disappointed that the iFrame format doesn't turn out to be a big of a deal as I thought it would be. iFrame is a nice compromise between 720p and 480p with low file size and a wide screen format. Shooting 720p @ 30fps seems to work just as well, with Quicktime deftly handling bouncing the clips down to a variety of formats including ipod, appletv, 480p, 720p, etc.

There are two slow down modes, the slowest the files do not play natively on my mac.

The transfer speed seems a tad slow thru the USB connection to a known USB 2.0 connections. Remedied with the purchase of a third party card reader, which is also mush easier than using the base stand for transfers.

The unit lacks a usb or video connection on camera so you have to use the stand or a card reader for transfers.

On tripod this cam works well. Hand held noticed some camera shake issues that seem to be inherent with the xacti line as opposed to the Canons (based on reading other reviews). Turning the motion stabilization of or off didn't seem to make much of a difference in informal shooting sessions. iMove seems geared to take a very long time to analyze clips for shake. best to get a tripod or monopod for better shots.

The still image quality is just ok. The 8 megapixel claim falling far short as the camera bumps it down to 2 megapixel while shooting video. Even in photo shooting mode the images leave a bit to be desired. Adequate for trips and events, but not worthy of replacing a good point and shoot.

I noticed some bluish glowing spots in some videos early on. The lens is wide angle enough to have some reflection problems. Zooming in, just a little, get's rid of the glowing spots.

The various shooting modes worked fine for around the house and yard. The 1080p highest quality mode seems to be struggling to remain sharp, even in good light. For the price you almost can't compare this cam to those costing thousands more. Despite this subtle flaw the hat tips to the Xacti when taking into considering the time and HD space saved using the native .mp4 files, along with easy archivability, and native playback with no transcoding.

Under studio lighting it was easy enough to use the many menu controls to set the white point and exposure, as well as adjusting the settings. One trick I've found that can dramatically improve low budget set shots is to use the exposure and focus lock commands to keep the Cam from hunting or altering the exposure while shooting in a attempt to get the best shot. The little thing, means well but sometime you have to think for it.

Overall a nice and small, modern, consumer cam. With some tweaks high quality shots are possible. For mAc users the easy accessibility makes the Xacti a strong contender though the iFrame format, at least for now, may be more hype than feature. Last years model might do for those not willing to for out extra to early adopt.

Overall, I am very happy with this camera. If you own a Mac, this is the camera to get because of the iFrame option. All you have to do is import the video into iMovie or Final Cut, and start editing! No waiting for the video to be transcoded, because the camera shoots in the same video format that the programs use. Transcoding is the reason that most people, (including me), never get around to editing their video on computers. It used to take hours just to get the video off the camera into an editing program. Of course you don't have to use iFrame. It also records in 1080p, 1080i, 720p, and so on. You can even do slow motion video at 600fps and 240fps. (Not HD) The slow motion is a fun feature. 16x zoom is more than most HD camcorders. You can also take a 2MP photo at the same time you record video.

The camera has a cold shoe to mount a light or a microphone. It has a mic jack and an earphone jack. It comes with a dock and remote control that can be connected to your computer, external hard drive, or TV with HDMI, composite, component, and usb. All cables are included except for the HDMI. You can even plug the dock directly into an external hard drive and offload the video files onto it.

It does have image stabilization for both the camera, and the video. The camera takes pictures equivalent to a point and shoot, and has a pop up flash. (you have to manually turn it on not automatic) The video is equivalent to other HD cameras, and I am happy with the low light performance. There are many manual settings you can use to improve the low light quality. ISO settings to 3200, exposure compensation, white balance, and so on. You can make shortcuts to the settings using the toggle switch.

A few negatives:

The lens cap is too small and pops off. I solved this by buying a 40.5 UV lens filter to protect the lens, and the cap snaps firmly into the filter.

You cannot plug a USB cable directly into the camera. You have to use the dock. It would have been much more convenient if you could charge the camera with the USB. You can plug the power cable directly into the camera. That doesn't help if you don't have an outlet handy.

All the video cables are used on the dock only. This doesn't bother me too much. I just leave the dock near my TV. I don't plan on playing video from the camera anywhere else except for at home.

If you record constantly for about 20 minutes, (video file hits about 4GB size), it starts a new file, and there may be a gap of missing video. This is not because of the camera, it is a limitation of the SD card formatting, but other cameras deal with it much better. This doesn't bother me either, because these types of cameras are not meant to be used for constant use. Home videos don't need to be that long, and you shouldn't be boring your relatives to death like that.

The zoom is difficult to use for still photos if you have the video set to HD (16:9) and the photo set to 4:3. You can zoom in to the subject, but the subject you had framed correctly in 16:9, now appears further away in 4:3. Using the same aspect ration for both video and photo resolves this problem. There is a photo preview button.

I am very happy with this camera, and I will actually get to enjoy editing my home videos right away without waiting hours to transcode my videos before I can start. I'm sure there are other cameras that have better quality, (at a higher price), but what good is it if you just let the videos sit in a closet, on a tape or SD card, and never do anything with them?!

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I'm not a video boffin, so don't really understand the techno stuff, but I really like my new video camera. It is easy to use, compact, and really quite an attractive piece of equipment. It also seems to have really great video quality, as long as you have a steady hand as I understand there is no image stabilisation wizardry. It also has a great battery life and stores a good amount of video or pictures on a 16GB card.

The only negatives I've found so far are that it doesn't have a brilliant still picture quality, it seems to be the equivalent of any point and shoot still camera, but then I think this is true of all dual cameras.

It is also much better in good light, but manages fairly well in artificial or moderate light.

So for those amateurs out there, I would reccommend this camera, but shop around as you can get them for as little as £350/$550 (new).

Hope this helps, I spent ages researching different cameras before buying this one, and I haven't yet regretted it.

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I'll be honest, I started getting skeptical when I started seeing the reviews here. Lots of commentary about people not receiving proper tech support, horrible stabilization, and lack of gapless recording. These seem far from reasons to warrant a single star, but alas, I still took the plunge. I played around with the Canon HFS100 before settling with the sanyo due to the major savings for basically the same CMOS sensor and lens aperture. I use a Velbon 540 and stabilization is not an issue even when running. For anyone on the fence about this, really look at the stuff posted on vimeo using stabilizers and wide angle lenses. Now Like I said, this camera is for tinkerers, if you know what the roadblocks are and don't mind them, get ready to enjoy a truly amazing camera. Who is this not for? The average Joe and Jane recording Bobby's Piano recital will hate this thing, just like they would hate a DSLR.PRO's:

+Image quality and optics among the best for a consumer camera under $2000.

+External Mic input

+60FPS means semi-slowmo shots that turn out awesome.

+high speed recording neat even if it lacks quality.

+Lenses and filters available to shorten DOF and do wide angle or telephoto shots.

+H.264 is easy to work with, and lightning fast to transcode using nvidia's badaboom.

CON's:

-zero stabilization (fix: buy a Manfrotto 585 for $99)

-internal mic on back of LCD (odd, real odd)

-not for "My MOM"

-some of the interface is quirky.

-no electronic viewfinder.

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I love Xacti cameras. The gun form is easy to hold. The buttons aren't perfect but the camera is easy enough to point and shoot. Memory card video cameras (rather than tape, dvd or hard disk) are great. Top range Xacti cameras are pocketable and produce superb video quality. This one even produces reasonable quality stills. This and other top of the range Xacti's have an external mike input, sadly lacking in many competitors, and for me, for vlogging and documentary type stuff, *essential*.

But the trendy new compact H.264 video format and the sheer quality of the video is a problem. Unless you have a very powerful computer (mine a 3.5GHZ Dual Pentium with 2GB RAM, is insufficient) then the video files produced will not play back in with video/sound in sync using Windows Media player. I have heard that some people are getting okay playback using Quicktime but my Quicktime, the lastest at the time of writing (7.5), is jumpy and in slow motion by turns. I get best results with a free player called zplayer but the video is smooth and the audio is synched only when the display is the size of a large matchbox.

The preview in your editor will be very choppy too, and you will not be able to "scrub through" the video to find appropriate places to cut and splice etc.

Clever people here and on Vimeo are recommending that we transcode the H.264 files before editing or playback using appropriate software. But if you have to do that, then you are almost back in days of tape capture. The beauty of memory card video is that you can drag and drop video files to your editor time line, and use them on the fly without having to go through a capture/transcoding process. What a pain in the butt.

If you do not edit your video and upload files from the card to Youtube then fine. Youtube will do the work and the videos look great. But I want to edit, and therefore preview, my videos.

My old HD2 from about three years ago on the other hand has many drawbacks. It is not nearly so good in low light. The video definition is not half as good. It looks clunky and has no curves. And above all the frame rate is lower, low, so action shots and even panning often produce nasty jumps and zigzags. But since it uses old, standard Mpeg-4 video files, which play back and edit easily even on 1.x GHz computers, for YouTube vloggy, documentary stuff, faces talking, or children playing if seated, the quality of the HD2 is ample and the video format is easy to view and edit on any computer less than 10 years old (in my experience, though there are others that have problems). For non-arty, non-action, documentary-type Youtube vlogging, the old HD2 is difficult to beat. It is smaller too. See my youtube account, timtak1, for videos taken by both cameras.

The HD2000 has an acceptable battery life. You need to buy a couple of extra batteries with the HD2. But then I will be buying another battery or two for this camera

Finally about stabilisation...I think the people complaining about stabilisation are dreaming. Is there any video camera this small that is stabilised effectively? I doubt it. If a camera weighs only a few ounces then stabilisation is going to be a problem. A television cameraman told me that he doubted that pro TV cameras were ever going to get much lighter or less heavy than a human head because pro cameramen want the weight to produce stable shots. I use two hands, put my elbows into my body, or just take care, and get acceptable results. If you want more stability then add weight. Use a monopod (recommended) or a tripod. Or buy a bigger camera. This one fits in your pocket and can take video worthy of Hollywood at only $500. Maybe there are cameras this size with software stabilisation that really works, and perhaps a few years there will be many. But right now, I guess that those that are are complaining about stabilization are used to use much bigger heavier cameras and are overlooking the basic facts of physics: intertia or whatever. Perhaps Sanyo should sell a metal weight that can be attached to the tripod screw.