Nikon Coolpix S51 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Matte Black)

I purchased this camera as an all-around point-and-shoot for my family's use, and plan to return it and pick another probably a Canon SD850 or similar.

First, the good. Photos are very good overall, with the exceptions noted below, and much better than my previous camera, a Nikon 4300. The camera is small, nice looking, and has a huge LCD. I also appreciated the integrated (and internal) lens cover and non-protruding optical zoom. The image stabilization was another selling point for me.

Then I got the camera home... The slick look is slick (as in slippery) to hold, too. The tiny buttons are not well differentiated, and like other reviewers I found myself accidentally hitting the power switch frequently. The big LCD always looks grainy, making me think my photos weren't very good until I viewed them on my PC monitor. I also found the interface confusing (and I'm no electronics newbie).

But the real killer is the camera's speed. Although it snaps open and lights up extremely quickly, it refuses to take a photo for about two seconds. Press the shutter button again, and you're waiting 1 or 2 more seconds while it focuses and processes by then the kids have turned away and are on to something else. In short, it's just unbearably slow in everyday use.

Back in the box, then.

UPDATE: I returned this camera and purchased a Canon SD850 IS as a replacement. I am much happier the Canon is SUPER quick so I no longer get photos of the backs of the kids heads, their ears and hair, or the background when I was setting up the shot... Other quirks with the Nikon that I noticed in a week of use: The battery/card door is VERY hard to open and feels flimsy; the charger requires a big bulky power cord; the slim design fit very nicely in a pocket.

It is very comfortable and easy to use. The 3 inches screen is fabulous. The revolving wheel is a different way to show the multiple customized options and allows the reproduction of photos in multiple ways, one of them as a carrousel that turns when it rotates.

The stabilizer of real images works efficiently! As if it was firmly supported.

The problem I have is that the on/off button, located on top, reacts to very slight pressures unexpectedly turning on. It usually happens when sliding it into the protective case and into the trousers pocket. Although it turns automatically off in five minutes, the frequency of this occurrence contributes to unload the battery.

I have found that 150 photos by battery load is very little. It forces to buy an extra battery. The battery icon appears too late when very little load on battery is left. It should be present when the camera is turned on as it does for the amount of available photos and the actual setting. This was one of the few things that made me angry about my old Nikon model which I still keep in working.

-=+=-

Muy cómoda y fácil de usar. La pantalla de 3" es fabulosa. La ruedita giratoria en una forma diferente de configurar las múltiples opciones personalizables y permite reproducir las fotos de varias formas diferentes, una de ellas en un carrusel que gira al rotarla y que simultáneamente presenta la selección en una imagen adjunta más grande.

El estabilizador de imágenes realmente funciona, es como si estuviera apoyada firme.

El problema que tengo con ella es que el botón de encendido y apagado, ubicado en la cara superior, se presiona con suma facilidad. Un simple topadito y ya está prendida. Al entrarla en el bultico protector se activa fácilmente. Y en el bolsillo de los pantalones, también se prende a cada rato. Aunque se apaga automáticamente a los cinco minutos, descarga la batería.

Encuentro que 150 fotos por carga de batería es poco. Obliga a comprar una batería extra. El medidor de batería solo se presenta cuando queda poca carga para mostrar la batería floja. Debiera enseñarlo siempre al prender, como hace con la cantidad de fotos disponibles y la configuración actual. Esto era de las pocas cosas que me hacían incomodar de mi viejo modelo Nikon que aún conservo funcionando.

FA

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I keep seeing all of these review with silly problems, just read the manual! If it seems slow to take pics, change the shutter speed to the higher/faster speeds and the camera will keep up with your multi fast action photos, no delay as described by others. The power button is just like the one on the L series, although easy to turn on, the camera has an automatic sleep mode before it actually turns off. I love this camera, and when in high resolution photo mode, the display is vivid and quite clear, unlike the grainy lo res pics show on it. I give it a 5+ for outstanding ease and wonderful functions.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon Coolpix S51 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Matte Black) Here

This is our second Coolpix. We bought this one because of the large viewing screen plus our good experience with the earlier one. Now that we have used it several times, we find the small slim profile makes it very easy to carry around in purse or pocket -so it's available on many instances where a bulkier camera would be sitting at home [we also have a D-70 which travels in its own luggage what with accessories and all]. Very easy to operate and surprisingly intuitive so there has been little running back to re-read the manual.

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Nikon Coolpix S51 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Vibration Reduction Zoom (Matte Black)

I have had it for a week. It is wonderful when on a trip and I can stop at THAT chain of coffee shops and email the picturs to the family. The quality looks fine for the size camera at normal iso. The BAD thing is the damn ower button. Even in the nikon case it often turnes on accidentally. Bad design

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Supereyes 2.0MP 0.1~400X Handheld Easy Control USB Digital Microscope Loupe Magnifier with LED and

I have both Mac and PC, this elegant piece works on both of them, Win 8 32 bit and Mac OS X 10.8.2. They have a mini software CD but for Windows only. It didn't really bother me since I don't have DVD-ROM in my netbook. So I download the software from the website: On Mac, I use Photo Booth to open it. It is so simple to use!

I like the way of the manual focus control. You could push the black button up and down to find the focus, so only one hand is in need. The image quality is very good! I use it to check my acnes, and found a lot of hidden pimples, which I am unable to see on a mirror. There is a shoot button on the device. If you want to take a photo, you could click the button without move your hands to the mouse. But based on my test, the button only works for Windows, not for Mac. The LED adjust button works on both systems.

I also used it to check my coin collections. The microscope clearly shows the scratch on coins. I guess it has some sort of "auto light balance", since it will adjust the brightness automatically to match the light reflection from the coins.

I am very satisfied with my purchase! Definitely 5 stars! But I do hope the manufacture could provide more colors.

~

I've ordered hundreds of items on Amazon in recent years; most products have been great, occasionally some not-so-great, and very few have been inferior products. This is the first one that was so bad it compelled me to leave a review.

Call me unreasonable, but when you realize ten minutes after the UPS guy left that the software seems only to install in an Asian language, and then the tripod literally comes brand new out of the case in a half dozen little broken plastic pieces (the threaded tripod mount was in fragments of the cheapest, grittiest, shoddily-made plastic I've ever felt therefore no way to mount the scope), it's safe to assume I don't need to go any further with the camera itself before I package the whole thing back up and get it ready for return.

Not that it matters at this point, but additionally, you need a lighted magnifying glass to read the poorly written instruction manual (I'm young and have 20-15 vision in both eyes), The broken-English disclaimer card in the case that asks you to contact them to work out any problems before leaving negative feedback suggests to me they already know how unreliable and cheap the product they're selling is. I was really hoping this would be a good product, and I understand there are good ones out there, this just isn't one.

This is a Mickey-Mouse, unprofessional pile of cheaply made Asian junk in a box. Shame on this manufacturer.

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Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom

The video quality is superb, as is ease of use. Here are a few hints and things I noticed. The battery out of the box will not power-on the camera and needs some minutes of charge to even show 0%. You can operate the camera from the charger but the battery is not being charged, says the manual.

There are two 1920x1080 picture quality modes: MXP at 24 mbps and FXP at 17 mbps -and three at 1440x1080: XP+, SP and LP, at 12, 7 and 5 mbs, respectively. I believe it defaults to LP out of the box, which is 1440x1080 at 7 mbps. I suggest you select FXP to get true 1920x1080 resolution. Upping to 24 mbps might be a good idea only if you are going to do a lot of post editing -I can't see an improvement over FXP. Recording times with a 16GB card are 1:25, 2:05, 2:50, 4:45 and 6:05, respectively.

When the camera is OFF, pressing the DISP button (on the camera body) will show battery capacity in minutes and percent. Pressing DISP when ON turns the LCD to max brightness. IOW, you can set the LCD brightness for normal indoor use with the menu and instantly set it bright for outdoor use. Handy.

The CINE mode seems to digitally soften the image; there may some color change but I didn't notice it from the shots I took in a park. The PF30 and PF24 rates show a jerkiness when panning as you would expect from a lower frame rate. I think these rates are simulated because all recording is done at 60i. For example when I played back PF24 stepping one frame at a time I saw the same image for 3 steps, then the next. (The "3 steps" varies with both PF24 and PF30.) OTOH, PF24 is useful in low light situations as it permits the HF200 slow the shutter speed down to 1/6 sec.

Previous Canon users will find the menu system easy and familiar, similar even to their still cameras. The joystick is "big" and has a positive, definite feedback feel to it. Menu navigation seems easier and clearer than earlier Canons I've used. There is even a Large Font choice. Good!

The Power On button is deep in a groove that makes it unlikely to accidentally turn on. But with your right hand in the nice grip you have to use the left to press it On my fingers don't reach. No loss, you need the other hand to open the LCD panel anyway. The zoom lever on top is a middle finger control. The adjacent Photo button is for a trained index finger. Record, at the back, is thumb operated. You can also use an LCD panel button to Record.

The Quick Start feature means you can close the LCD to save power (runs at 1/3 normal) and be ready to shoot in about 1 sec after opening it. Note, if you close the LCD panel while recording it will continue to record -so slamming it shut does not stop the shot.

The still photo features are quite amazing. The resolution is 3 megapixels, but a very good 3mp! You can shoot continuously at 3 or 5 frames/sec. And you can shoot at the same fast frame rates with flash! The flash is actually a high-power white LED, not a xenon tube. There is a separate warm-white LED for video that works OK to 5-6 feet.

There are the usual auto white balance, auto exposure, instant focus features and so on that you can read about above. There's face detection for proper focus. They all work very well. I like the Vivid color setting for most all shooting video and photo. It is a slight pump in saturation that helps if you mainly view using your laptop LCD. Instant AutoFocus is aptly named. There is a fairly large IAF sensor next to the lens for this purpose. The 15x zoom, a first for me, is fully useful all the way out. Impressive.

Battery life (BP-809) takes a definite second place to 16GB storage. I just checked and it indicates 100%, 94 minutes. But you can of course buy larger batteries. (I use the smaller BP-808 battery from my FS100 SD video cam as a backup.) With the Quick Start feature (can be turned off) power is used between shots and this will generally use more juice that actual recording. Figure 3 to 5 times battery vs video: one hour of video needs 3+ hours of battery cap. Unless you buy a charger you must charge in the camera. Only one sample so far, but it seemed to take a little more than an hour to charge from 0%.

The supplied Pixela software is minimal. You can combine up to 99 shots into an M3TS file. It can be played on video players like Popcorn Hour and the WD HD TV player. (I have both and strongly recommend the $99 WD over the $230 PCH. The PCH can connect to Internet servers, its main claim to fame.) These players can also play the MTS format directly copied from the SD card but there is a 1-2 sec delay between each shot. Pixela lets you pick and chose shots, trim a given shot, and add titles and audio. I don't know how to get past the 99 shot limit with Pixela -I made about 170 shots in the park yesterday.

All in all, I luves it.

I need a HD camcorder for my new born baby, but with a limited budget. So I compared canon HF200, Sony CX100 and Panasonic TM20R since they are all in sub 600 range. I tried all of them in local stores and finally settled with canon HF200, although it's a little bit more expensive than cx100 and TM20R.

The sensor of HF200 is the biggest one among these three, 1 /4" (1/5" for CX100, 1/6" for TM20R). It guaranteed best resolution, 2.99 Megapixels ( 2.3 M for cx100, 1.14M for TM20R) and in my experience larger sensor also helps lower the noise in dark environment. Indeed, minimal illumination condition for HF200 is 0.4 lux, much better than thre other two. I took a couple of sample shots in local stores and the picture from HF200 for dark environment is acceptable. Sony cx100 is barely acceptable and Panasonic TM20R is total crap, not even as good as my webcam.

After I finally bought HF200, I never regretted! The video quality is just superb. For the 1920x1080 quality videos, it has two modes: MXP(24Mbps) and FXP(17Mbps). To be honest I can't tell the quality difference between these two. I guess unless you are gonna do massive editing, FXP is good enough for daily usage. So on a 16GB sd memory card, I can record 135 minutes 1080p HD video.

The still image shot quality is quite good too, and it's powered by the 15x optical lens(35mm equivalent: 39.5 592.5mm). It gives you a very handy telephoto camera and the image stabilization works very well on the long focus end too. Last weekend with this camera, I easily took some nice pictures of two bears far far away from me. Most of other HD camcorders only have 10x lens.

All the button and menu are well designed. It's very easy to use and I don't even need to read the manual. LCD panel is in good size too.

Canon Face Detection is also a very nice feature. The same high quality Face Detection technology used in Canon digital cameras is now available in Canon High Definition camcorders. Up to 35 faces can be detected automatically, and 9 detection frames can be displayed at one time. Face Detection ensures razor-sharp focus and natural, accurate exposure of the chosen subjects.

Okay, let me also mention some cons. First, like one of the other reviewer said, the software coming with it sucks! It can only edit the original format from the camcorder and output to same format instead of other more popular formats. Thanks god the newest windows media player support the video files directly from the camcorder. You can just use the usb cable or pop the sd memory card into a card reader and copy all the .mts file into your computer and rename them into .m2ts, then by double clicking it windows media player opens it right away. However, windows movie maker can't handle them, and you can upload .m2ts file to youtube.com but the sound of the video will be cut off after a couple of seconds. So if you want to edit your videos and share your videos, probably you need buy a converting software like total video converter

One thing I forgot to mention, Its twin brother canon HF20 has exactly all the same configuration as HF200 except with 32GB interal memory. However HF20 is almost 200 bucks more expensive than HF200. Now the SD memory card is so cheap. I suggest you to buy HF200 with a 16GB or 32GB SD card. Just don't forget to use class 4 or up SD card.

To summarize, overall it's the best entry level HD camcorder. With the price drop alert subscription from I got it from amazon.com for only $560.5. It is worth every penny.

Buy Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom Now

Great camcorder, but get a bigger battery such as the BP-827, the default one makes a nice backup.

The software provided sucks, and you have to figure out by yourself which program does what: The main interface can upload videos, but not play or edit them, as it does for photos. It also creates a clutter of Start menu shortcuts in Windows that you don't need since these programs are called by the main program, ZoomBrowser. About the Pixela video editing software provided, well, let's just say that it's better forgotten...

Only 15 music tracks in wave format are provided to use as soundtrack.

There is also a Canon online photo storage offer that you probably don't need if you already have a blog or email provider.

The good thing is that the AVCHD format of this camcorder is supported by Windows Media Player 11 (at least on my Vista Ultimate machine). Not sure if it's native to Windows or if it came with other software I installed. The MTS file extension was not supported, though, you need to add it manually: Open a MTS file from Windows Explorer, choose "Select an installed program", select Windows Media Player and the checkbox to remember it.

Transferring the videos using the software provided is very cumbersome (cantbearsome really): You need both the USB and power cables, and clicking your way through a few screens on the camcorder before the transfer can start. I could start the photo transfer from either the camcorder or the computer, but only from the computer for videos.

My suggestion: Don't install any of the software, it's easier to just copy the files from a card reader to your hard disk using Windows Explorer. You can get a multi 23-in-1 card reader for about $20, finally get rid of this useless floppy drive, and add a front USB port to your PC!

The camcorder in this offer does not ship with any card, you need to buy one separately. 16GB is good enough for medium quality. If you need higher quality or continuous shooting, you should probably get two cards, like a 32GB card for long capacity and a smaller one as a backup while uploading the videos from the first card. Transcend SDHC Class 6 cards are from a good brand at decent prices.

The default BP-809 battery provided is good for 1 hour of recording, I suggest you match your battery model to the duration of your memory card. For instance, if you have a 32GB card that can store 3 hours of video (at highest quality), get the BP-827 battery that provides 3 hours of battery life.

One more thing: This camcorder is VERY small and light, and its true HD resolution means that it is hard to shoot without making jumpy videos, you need to hold it with 2 hands or more. The built-in stabilizer can only help so much, and will not save you from the butterfly effect: A wing beat on the other side of the planet WILL shake your video. On the other hand, nobody can see the difference if you shot your video drunk or sober, so enjoy the beer. I found a tripod helpful (when shooting from a static location is OK), any tripod should do because the camcorder is so light.

If you need a bag, the Lowepro Edit 110 is just the right size and fits the camcorder with the largest battery, an extra battery, the power adapter, the remote and as many SDHC cards as you need. The camcorder manual also fits in, but it's a pity it's so thick, as it includes 3 languages (English, French, Spanish). There are 23 languages on the camcorder's menus. Cables won't fit. BTW, the camcorder ships without a HDMI cable, you need to get your own if you have a AVCHD-compatible TV and you want to playback on TV directly from the camcorder. Not necessary if your TV has a card reader or is connected to your computer.

Lastly, check your computer rig, you may need an extra large disk (1-2 TB) to store these videos, and more than one if you need to keep the original AVCHD videos for post-production: DVD backups just won't do for this kind of files, unless you have a Blu-ray writer. If you don't need to keep the AVCHD files, burning DVDs is the best way to archive your movies. Just remember that even in HD, DVDs are highly compressed (meaning losing a lot of the quality of your original AVCHD files.) $13 will get you a very basic USB IDE/SATA external adapter, a cheap way to use obsolete hard disks to archive your videos.

Windows 7 update (01/26/2010): While you still need to install the driver tools in Vista Ultimate for MTS playback, none of this is required for Windows 7 Ultimate, it can play the MTS files natively and the Import Wizard will start automatically as soon as you insert the SD card in your computer's card reader.

Read Best Reviews of Canon VIXIA HF200 HD Flash Memory Camcorder w/15x Optical Zoom Here

I Believe this camera is great. It's just above your average models. I've used for a week now filming basic family stuff, kids sports and it works great. It shows great video through a the HDMI cable on my HD TV as well (cable does not come with camera).

The problem I have now is trying to get my computer to read the files. My memory is full and need put on DVD now. After doing some research I found out that camera requires new software and for whatever reason Canon does not provide the proper software to do this with the camera. The files that you will be dealing with, will be CPI or MTS files. I'm not very savvy about this stuff, but I understand now that I have to buy a new program that will read these files and because they are fairly new files, there isn't that many programs out there yet. The programs range from $75 and up, so now you can add this to your cost. After my research every new HD camcorder brand is pretty much having similiar problems.I just stumbled across this. I hope you have a new, big, powerful computer to operate this camcorder as well, if not, your looking at another $1000 for a computer to handle this thing. This camcorder is ahead of it's time right now. Pc's and software are trying to keep up with them.

To look for software, google video editing software, to get a good idea what you're up against.

Like I said, so far the camcorder itself works great. I see a bunch of people complaining about the low light filming being grainy, but if you have ever owned a camcorder, you will know that they all do that. unless you spend over $2000-$2500 for a one.

I gave this 3 stars only because I'm not happy that Canon didn't provide the proper software in the box in the first place.

If any of you ever had any problems with this or found a better solution, please let me know or leave comments.

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After reading many of the earlier reviews I took the plunge and purchased the Canon VIXIA HF200 flash memory camcorder. I upgraded from a Canon mini-DV camcorder because I had purchased my first HDTV from Amazon last Christmas. Of course, I needed an HD camcorder with my new HD television!

I use a Sonnet 21-in-1 multimedia reader&writer Express Card/34 and pop the SD card in to transfer the video clips to my MacBook Pro. Using iMovie '09, this works great. iMovie '09 recognizes it without flaw, and with this software I can choose the clips I want to download from the SD card to my laptop. I use iMovie '09 to organize my videos, and I make the initial selections of clips that I want in each project using iMovie '09. Then, I export to Apple's Intermediate Codec and open this export file in iMovie HD. I prefer the timeline in Apple's older version of iMovie. I also purchased Final Cut Express 4, but haven't cracked that product yet, as it's much more complicated than what I'm used to in iMovie. So, for now, I'm bringing video clips in with the latest version of iMovie, then downconverting and editing in iMovie HD; this works great. I'll eventually learn Final Cut Express and move forward in my video editing hobby. I share all of this because I didn't realize until I read in David Pogue's Missing Manual book (iMovie '09 and iDVD) that I could still use iMovie HD with a flash memory video camera and the AVCHD codec. I'm glad to have discovered this.

As others have said, getting AVCHD encoded video clips into a computer takes LONGER than real-time because of the converting that must take place. My mode of operation with a Canon mini-DV camcorder was to fill a 60-minute tape, then transfer it to the laptop when convenient. I would get it started and come back 60 minutes later to 60-minutes of video ready to edit. Now, I come back 90 minutes later instead. Transfer seems to take about 1.5 times the length of the clips, give or take. For me, this is not a problem when I use my usual transfer and edit process.

If you're looking for instantaneous transfer of files in useable form, though, flash memory won't give it to you -at least with this camera. Others have stated, and I found directions in David Pogue's book stating that it's possible to transfer the files to the computer's hard drive for LATER conversion to useable form for editing. I haven't done this yet, and I would be nervous about deleting the clips from my flash memory card until I had them converted, could see them, and had them backed up on another hard drive. That's when I clear the flash card and re-use it for new video clips. I've had too many lost data situations in the past and I guess I'm a bit overly cautious when I have once-in-a-lifetime video that I don't want to lose. I believe in multiple copies of precious data, video data included. I get around this limitation by having two 16 Gb flash memory cards which, in best mode on this camera, gives me about 1.5 hours of video per card. I have yet to fill one before transferring video.

I also have multiple firewire and/or USB hard drives which I use for backing up video. If I take a long trip I'll just buy a handful of SD chips, along with the two batteries I already own, and shoot away. Each evening it's my practice to download to hard drive anyway, back that up to an external drive, and this seems to work for most situations. It's less expensive to do this with mini-DV tapes (which provide one backup source), but when precious video is involved I don't mind paying for a few extra 16 Gb chips. They're pretty inexpensive on Amazon.com.

I recommend this camera if your habits fit mine, or if you're looking for great-looking video on an HDTV. I have a lot to learn about this camera to get the most out of it, including the editing process. It will serve me for many years to come, as did my Canon mini-DV standard-definition camera.

APRIL 10, 2010 UPDATE:

I've received many nice comments and questions via Amazon, so many that I decided it might be helpful to create a video to show how I move video from a memory chip to my MacBook Pro laptop. If you're a Mac user you might find this helpful. I use iMovie 9 and this tutorial explains the process using that software.

Video (be sure to click on the full screen button):

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JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom

Well friends, if you have been searching for a bevy of great features, simplicity of use, great video and audio quality all in a micro-sized package, this unit may be the end of your search.

I had spent a great deal of time and effort comparing the various camcorders on the market before I made the move to the JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom several weeks ago. I was looking for a full featured product that would travel well, provide long operational time, give me plenty of built in functionality yet one that didn't bust my budget.

This unit has proven itself worthy across the board. The "77" is so small that I find myself forgetting that I am carrying it around in the palm of my hand. When things happen that I want to capture I just flip open the view screen and within a few seconds the "auto on" feature has my camera in hot stand-by ready for action as it unfolds. The (30GB) hard drive has proven sufficient to record a wedding, HS graduation, two trips to the beach, a weekend to Disneyland and stuff around the house with over three hours to spare (all in the ultrafine mode)!

Downloading and producing DVD's is a snap and the quality is superb even on my DLPLCD 16:9 format Display at home.

If your considering this unit I have a couple of (must have) recommendations for maximum usability with minimum of fuss:

First off get additional batteries. The one hour is small and light weight and last me around 45-50 minutes. I purchased two additional batteries. One is rated at 3 hours and the other at 5 hours (a little large on size but great run time)! This gives me more then enough "pocket power".

The second recommendation would be to purchase one of the many stand alone battery charges on the market. I ordered a battery and charger package on Amazon (ESPOW Equivalent JVC BN-VF714, BN-VF714U Battery and AC/DC Charger Set. [ 1400mAh ] ) This charger allows you to charge a battery without having to use the Camcorder itself. This particular model even provides AC or DC charging options.

Bottom line... I am very pleased with the JVC "77" and believe you will be too.

Bought this for a trip to southern Africa. It is my first camcorder I was always turned off by the idea of lugging around tapes or blank DVDs. I have used ultrazoom digital cameras for all my other trips, so I am familiar with making manual adjustments for different situations.

I was amazed at 1) how easy the Everio was to learn and use, 2)how small and light it is, and 3) the large storage capacity of the HDD.

I had to set manual adjustments for lighting and exposure a lot of the time. The AUTO setting is best when it's bright sunlight and fairly even brightness of objects other times of the day, or when there are dark AND light objects in the field of view, you're better off using MANUAL. Video I shot at sunset and sunrise came out good with very little grain, but it is best if you use MANUAL setting and keep the camera stable.

The zoom control is pretty sensitive takes some getting used to being careful about how fast you zoom the lens.

Would have liked this model to have a light for night video rather than just a flash for still photos.

The battery recharged quickly and I bought a second one from a third party. The battery life is as advertised, which isn't bad considering the power it must take to run the big LCD display and the hard drive.

I think the video quality is excellent. Incorporated the video along with digital stills into a travel DVD we produced. The quality when displayed on my large LCD flat panel TV is great. (Remember though that this is NOT an HD camcorder.)

On my trip, I ran into a fellow who had the new Everio model with the 3CCD sensors. Our videos of the same scenes looked very similar in quality.

It's simple to edit the video files with the supplied Cyberlink software. Upgrade to the full version is reasonably priced compared to buying Adobe Premiere Elements.

Overall, I thought this was a good first camcorder purchase. I'll carry it along on other trips.

Buy JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Now

This unit has a very user friendly interface and is very easy to figure out for the average consumer. I work in the motion picture industry as a cameraman, so I do have a unique perspective. It does take a while to figure out the software and the the best way to download the video, but once you get it, it's as good as apple pie. The one downside is this unit's operating temperature. It gets very hot the longer it's powered. But that's the price you have to pay with a hard drive camcorder this small. Even with the state of the art Professional High Definition cameras in the motion picture industry, you still have over heating issues as well as power consumption issues. Eventually this will be solved, but for now, this is as good as it gets.

Read Best Reviews of JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Here

The zoom is incredible. The camera's multi shot works great. The colors recorded are perfect, the sound great. I can record up to 8 hours (depending on battery life)and combine still shots and video on one recording.

Totally awesome. The best camera/camcorder I have seen after weeks of detailed research.

If you want quality and a reasonable price, buy this one.

Want JVC Everio GZMG77 2.0MP CCD 30GB HDD Camcorder with 10x Optical Zoom Discount?

P.S. If you are a Mac user and want to import these videos into iMovie i have found the perfect app. (note: i have no affiliation with them). I searched around for weeks and tried every app i could get a demo for and I have to share that VisualHub by techspansion is the best of the best. it was effortless to install and use. I didnt change any defaults and it converted the widescreen .mods perfectly into dv format which i then imported into imovie. the jvc included app Capty does not do this, it squashes the dv files and you are forced to use other means to get the aspect right.

visual hub is also universal binary and thus very fast on the mac...

the demo is free and i highly recommend it to mac users.

until iMovie can read .mod files i can live with this one extra step!

Enjoy your Everio!

CZR

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Micro 4/3 Digital Camera & 12-50mm Lens (Black/Black) with M.Zuiko 40-150mm L

I'm strictly a casual photographer who will go birding now and then, try to act creative with landscapes or macro shots, and document family events and kids' sports. The OM-D is quite the step up from the Lumix FZ-30 super-zoom I bought several years ago.

Background: The FZ-30 is actually a rather capable camera, for what it is, with an excellent Leica designed, reasonably fast, manually controlled zoom lens. But the boundary of it's capabilities, once found, proved too limiting. And as an all-in-one superzoom, there really isn't much you can do about them. Primarily, the limits I needed to overcome were poor low-light (or even modest light) performance and high noise. Both are part of the same issue of a very small, non-CMOS sensor that could only go up to ISO 400. There were simply too many shots that I could not capture, or when captured were much noisier than I could mask, even using tools such as Noise Ninja or Neat Image.

I shopped for a long time before selecting the OMD EM5. Sony's novel NEX series drew my attention first. The NEX-5 offered very competitive price/performance, but I need a permanent viewfinder. Composing shots off the LCD back just isn't going to work for me 90% of the time. The optional viewfinder is very nice, but it's an add-on. So I looked at the NEX-7. A step up the price range for shot quality that is really a sideways step from the NEX-5, trading resolution for an arguable reduction in low-light performance or slight increase in noise, depending on how you look at it. Deal breaker? No. But the quirky interface and the rather limited selection of native lenses made me pause. Then the flooding hit the production facility overseas and made the decision for me to wait.

Meanwhile, the OMD EM5 emerged. It's what I I was looking for in regards to performance, size, native m4/3rds lens offerings and incredible flexibility to easily use almost any other type of lens you want. Low-light performance? Got it. It's fast, has built-in (and very good) image stabilization so I'm not required to buy particular lenses to get it. The stabilization will assist every lens.

Shots are beautiful. Colors are excellent (make sure you turn off the overly warm native white balancing that Olympus has enabled by default, for some reason). I'm still new to it and have only shot in JPEG and not dabbled in RAW. But I will eventually. I'm still getting used to the thing, since photography is still a bit more than casual but less than a hobby for me.

Of the two lenses that come with this kit the 12-50 is clearly superior. Nice and versatile for all sorts of situations. Very fast focusing. Fun macro functionality. You can manually zoom it or switch to the motor drive (great for video) effortlessly.

The second lens, the 40-150, is just okay. Not as well constructed, the zoom is a bit stiff. It's also not very fast, which comes into play at the long end especially. Noticeably slower to focus than the 12-50, the focus will also "hunt" while you have the shutter half-pressed even when kept solidly on the subject. Changing the focus pattern to a single, center zone helps, but does not cure it.

I've used the 40-150 to shoot some sports (kid's soccer) with just okay results. Yes, I know such a camera in general is inferior to a dSLR for such work. But I believe the primary problem I'm having shooting sports is related to the lens. Don't get me wrong, when it works it works well, and I've gotten some very nice individual shots and even with the high-speed (9 fps). But there are too many I've had to throw away because, principally, the wrong object is in focus. Think I'll be lens shopping...

For kicks I bought a 55mm-58-mm adapter and screwed on my Lumix DMW-LT55 1.7x tele-converter that I'd bought years ago for the FZ-30. It's large light-gathering front end (much bigger both entrance and exit than the Olympus lens) seemed not to slow the 40-150 at all. It's gimicky and too heavy for the already sticky zoom of the 40-150, but for $4 for the converter let me play with a 510mm (35mm equivalent) lens.

The camera itself is solidly constructed, small, light, and compact. I can stuff two extra telephoto lenses in the pocket of a windbreaker without even noticing, and the camera with the 12-50mm on it fits in the palm of my hand. Try that with a full-size dSLR. In fact, you could argue the body might be *too* small. I've got big hands and am used to dealing with things not sized for me. But the OMD EM5 pushes the limit. I've actually purchased a custom-made add-on grip for it here on Amazon (search for JB Camera Designs) for $45 that integrates with the body perfectly and gives exactly the extra grip I want, with pretty much zero extra weight.

The touch interface on the back is great. The only downside is that the viewfinder sensor might be a bit too sensitive and you can trip it with your hand when touching the screen -thus shutting off the LCD on the back as it toggles the view into the viewfinder. I've turned the automatic switching off at times and just used the button on the side of the viewfinder to toggle between them.

I'm still learning all the capabilities of this complex and finely crafted little machine. I've managed to get most of the general settings where I like them, but there are lots more functions and tweaking to be had that I've only touched the surface on.

Anyway, it's a great camera that, IMHO, surpasses the APC series competition (frequently in low light, where it should not be able to) with a broader selection of lenses and support than what Sony is offering. The camera handles great, crushes a dSLR for portability, and produces beautiful images. I hope to have it for many years.

Levana 32108 Era Advanced 2.4 Digital Wireless Video Baby Monitor with Picture Capture and Digital

Having a baby monitor with a camera sounded exciting. We could check on our little guy on the monitor before coming in the room to make sure he was really awake and not just talking in his sleep. Checking on him if he was too quiet would have been nice also. Unfortunately, we did not have the great experiences the other reviewers had. Although we really wish we could have said the monitor was super, we cannot.

First, the monitor came to us broken. It had a white screen and only could be turned off by taking out the battery. I called the customer support line a few times and they were trying to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong to give it a white screen. On my third call, I finally got them to send me the return authorization form by email so I can get the monitor repaired. I promptly filled it out and sent it to them (having to pay the postage myself).

Did someone email me to let me know if/when I would be getting my replacement? No.

Did I have to wait over a month to get my replacement? You bet!

My monitor came back to me without the piece that is used to load the pictures on a computer. Disappointing, but it gets worse.

When we tried the monitor out it was really cool. The monitor worked for about four days before breaking again. We turned it on one night only to find a big black blob in the middle of the screen. Only the bottom 10-20% of the screen was barely visible and the top was whitewashed, save for the big blob.

I emailed, waited two working days (they are supposed to get back to you within one day) and then called. I was told it looks like the baby monitor was dropped and has a crack in it, so the warrantee would not cover this. I told the lady that it did not fall but she told me "you have to see it from our point of view that it looks cracked."

Let's imagine it did fall. Would falling on a thick carpet really damage this monitor? And if it would, is this the type of product you really would want to have? Of course, no one tries to drop their cell phone, but if they all broke from falling once, we would be more than dissatisfied with the quality and durability.

We currently own a Lorex LW2002W Portable LCD Wireless Surveillance System (White). I was looking for another camera because one of our sons still naps in our room. Here is what I found:

Instillation was fairly intuitive. The battery was already partially charged on the monitor so I was able to plug in the camera and get an image right away. Lorex is easy enough, too, but with Lorex you have to pair the camera with the monitor, and it takes a bit of time to read the instructions.

The Levana camera is small and pivots and rotates quite well, giving you a lot of flexibility with placement; but darn if it didn't give us the angle we needed, which was to be placed high on a shelf aimed down into our son's pack `n play. We settled on placing it on a night stand and seeing through the side netting. Lorex actually does well on placement, too, but not quite as many option as the Levana.

The Levana has a zoom lens, but don't make this your buying point. The zoom feature doesn't work like a camera zoom. Here you press a button and the monitor thinks for a long moment and then zooms in super close into the center of the screen and probably not where baby is, or what you even want to see; I'll never use it.

When you put the Levana monitor on audio to hear if baby is crying, talking, etc, you have to crank up the sound to hear properly. We have a sound machine playing in the background, but our Lorex is able to give us clear audio of our son when he's awake even at the lowest setting.

The Levana monitor is quite clear, even at night. Our son looks like he's bathed in sunlight even though it's completely dark in his room. Both Levana and Lorex have good night vision pictures.

The Levana model you can use to talk to baby... but not really all that great, it sounds muffled.

Levana has music options to sooth baby to sleep; not all that great. The three songs sound like there's static, and there's an annoying buzzing sound to all the songs that would actually keep me awake. This makes me think there is something wrong with the speakers on the Levana monitor they need to work on the sound quality.

You can take pictures with the Levana that are stored on the camera. The pictures are okay, but don't expect picture quality.

You can pair the Levana to multiple cameras, as you can with the Lorex monitor.

You can turn on the nightlight from the monitor, as you can with the Lorex. The Levana nightlight seems a bit softer than the Lorex.

The Levana includes a temperature gauge so you can see what the temperature is in baby's room not all together accurate. It usually registers about 9 degrees off from the thermostat in the bedroom. Still, this is a nice feature.

The sound indicator on both cameras is good, but the Levana shows sound so easily. For example: our sound machine is on all the time in the kids room, so the Levana monitor constantly shows sound like the kids are talking. The Lorex model doesn't pick up the sound machine, only when the kids talk and make noises.

Battery life on the Levana monitor lasts longer than the Lorex but it's a turn off for me. It takes a LONG time to charge the Levana monitor, and for the length of time to fully charge the battery it should last a lot longer than it does. If I had to guess, I would say it takes a solid 6 hours to charge and lasts about 90 minutes. I do notice that sitting off the charged the Levana monitor will drop down to 2 bars pretty quick. It beeps at you when the battery is about to die.

You can turn the Lorex camera off to conserve battery life when not in use. You CANNOT turn the Levana monitor off to save the battery. You can turn the screen off, and you can turn the screen and audio indicator off, but if you do this when the camera isn't plugged in, and go to use it again, the battery will be dead and you will have to plug it back in. I really dislike this. As it is, I have to keep the camera plugged in all the time and there isn't a docking station for it.

THREE STARS: Overall the Levana is a nice baby monitor. It does what it needs to do, which is help you keep an eye on baby. If that's all you need then this is a good monitor. But the inability to turn it off and save the remaining battery life for future use really turns me off, because sometimes I forget to plug it back in, or am not in a place to plug it in; being able to turn it off would be a great help. Also, the audio is kind of poor and the temperature guage though nice, isn't accurate. I'd suggest looking at other models for the price, but if your set on this monitor you'll probably be happy with it.

Buy Levana 32108 Era Advanced 2.4 Digital Wireless Video Baby Monitor with Picture Capture and Digital Now

For the price, this definitely has a lot of features and is a good value. You can add more cameras to this set up and have a total of 4 cameras. It can play lullabies, take pictures, talk to the baby with PTT, temperature monitoring, timers, nightlight, etc.

Here are the pros and cons I found with it.

Pros:

The setup is extremely easy. After charging the handset, I was able to turn it on and be connected to the camera right away.

The night vision is actually pretty good quality and I was able to see my baby in pitch black.

The overall quality of the picture is decent. It is clear enough that I can tell what my baby is doing.

The LED sound bar is a very nice feature. If you have the volume turned way down, the sound bar will still come on and show colors depending on the intensity of the noise. If the baby is crying out loud, the color would be red.

You can expand the system and buy additional cameras.

You can mount the camera to the wall and it was easy to angle it so it will show the baby in the crib at the proper angle.

It can also be a camera and you can take pictures of the baby.

You can play lullabies for the baby. My baby doesn't really care for the feature but it's a nice feature to have.

It comes with a SD card so you don't have to buy one for storing pictures.

Cons:

The battery life is horrible. Even with the power saver on that would turn off the screen after 1 minute, we were lucky to get 4 hours. Imagine the first night when we didn't have the handset on charge and waking up to realize that it was dead. If our baby had made any small noises, we wouldn't have heard it.

While the PTT is a nice feature, the quality of the voice coming through the camera is not great. It almost doesn't sound human and the first time I tried it, my baby seriously seemed scared of the voice.

The temperature monitor, while a good idea, seems to be always off. We would have the A/C set to 69 and the temperature would still show as 86 even after the A/C running all night.

There's not really an easy way to take pictures of your baby. You have to go to the menu to turn the camera feature on and then proceed to snapping the picture. This can mean missed moments.

The digital zoom, while a nice feature, takes about 5 seconds before it will zoom in and it can only zoom in so far and zoom back out. Also, in the 5 seconds that it takes to switch views, the sound is off so you can't hear what is going on in the room. This isn't as big of a deal but I like to be able to hear everything while she's sleeping.

Reading the manual, if you do decide to expand the system, you can only talk to baby on camera 1 and none of the other cameras. It would be nice if it gave you an option to choose which camera you would like your voice to come out at.

Overall, there are a lot of nifty features in the device and for the price, it is a great deal. However, do realize that some of the great features are fair in quality.

EDIT: A little bit after 1 month, the screen on the monitor started to fade and disappear. You could not see the baby anymore. It's pretty much overexposed and we tried to turn it on and off but still, even the logo is white washed out. I had to change the star rating because it is defective. We tried to contact customer service and they are making us pay to return their defective unit to them, wait 2-4 weeks for it to be researched and then we will get the unit back and return postage will only be paid for if they find it to be defective. Unfortunately, we have determined it's not even worth the trouble especially when that means we would be without a baby monitor for almost a month. We will be looking elsewhere.

Read Best Reviews of Levana 32108 Era Advanced 2.4 Digital Wireless Video Baby Monitor with Picture Capture and Digital Here

This is a wonderful baby monitor. It has tons of features and worked just right out of the box. I didn't have to pair them as it does it automatically.

Pros:

+ You can have a two-way communication when the baby wakes up. I think this is a big feature to have in a baby monitor. That way you can assure the baby that you are there if you are in the bath room or somewhere where you cannot attend to the baby immediately.

+ Video is clear and in color.

+ Automatically switches to night vision when it is dark.

+ Long range signal. I tried it on from the 2nd floor of a brick building while I was inside my car parked at the back of the building. The video came out clear although starts to skipping frames and choppy audio.

+ Sensitive, I can hear anything happening in the baby's room at night.

+ You can control most of the functions through the parent unit which is the size of a cell phone. You can activate the LED light (with changing colors), start the lullaby music, change the volume, and take pictures.

+ The parent unit can be carried through your pocket with its own built-in battery.

+ SD card is included.

+ You can charge it even on a PC or any standard USB charger.

+ Expandable to 4 cameras.

+ 100-240V

Cons:

The battery is only for quick sojourns around the house, a couple of hours on the porch, in the kitchen or in the bathroom; it is not intended to be left on throughout the night.

The battery compartment cover is almost impossible to open. I needed a bread knife to help me open the top and place the battery.

It doesn't have control via the parent unit to move the camera angle.

You cannot view it on the internet.

The sound from the tiny speaker on the camera is puny

Interface is fine but can be improved. My definition of a perfect interface is that you won't need a manual to operate.

Considering all the cons that I listed are mostly available to higher priced cameras, this baby monitor is fully featured and does a great job.

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We have bought this monitor twice. Both monitors did not charge. Levana will take orders all day, but when it comes time for someone to help you try to fix it, they aren't there. They won't honor their warranty....actually, they honored their warranty by telling us to buy a new one. Don't waste your money on this company that won't stand behind their product!

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Lilliput 665gl-70np/h/y 7" On-camera Hd LCD Field Monitor w/ Hdmi in & Component in Video in Video

First of all, there are like 1,000 different models and combinations of features for these monitors on Amazon, so be sure to READ THE DESCRIPTION for the particular model you are buying VERY CAREFULLY (so you can argue with confidence when you need to return the item you received because it's not what you thought you were getting). They are ALL called Lilliput 665gl-70np, but they don't all have the same features (not just accessories, but actual hard-wired, on board, hardware features)! I can't state any clearer: even if you read carefully, you may not receive what you think you should be getting (read on).

For instance, the model on THIS page has NO HDMI OUT. Yes, I went back and carefully read the block of text, and now see that although it looks exactly like the block of description text on all the other models "HDMI out" is absent. I thought I was paying very close attention to all the small print, but here I am two days before the shoot with a monitor that doesn't have all the features I need (what I thought I was buying).

The thing I'm most aggravated by is the difference between 50np and 70np, and the fact that most of these are listed as BOTH models! First of all, there is a question concerning the brightness. Is my screen as bright as what I thought I was purchasing (450cd/m2) or is it only half that? The 70np is NOT 450cd/m2 as advertised. Only the 50np is that bright. You can only find this out once you receive the item and read the manual, but the 70np model is NOT 450cd/m2 as advertised. It is only 250cd/m2. Evidently only the model 50np is brighter, and it still DOES NOT achieve 450cd/m2 (it's only 400).

On top of that, the 70np is 1024x600 with a contrast ratio of 700:1 but the 50np is 800x480 with a contrast ratio of 600:1. For some reason, the 70np has a wider viewing angle (145 vs. 130 on the 50np --though the Amazon listings claim 150 degrees).

The size of the 50np is 151mm x 116mm x 39.5mm and the 70np is 194.5mm x 150mm x 38.5mm.

(this information is all from the "manual" I received)

Furthermore, some of the Amazon listing pages state "70np" in the bold item title, while the description states that you will receive the "50np." But here's the kicker: you have NO WAY TO KNOW which item you received, because the model number is written NOWHERE on the unit. The serial number alludes to 665 and also 70, but it doesn't tell you if you have the 50np or the 70np (I assume the 70 means I received the 70np). So, on THIS PAGE, the item clearly states it's a 70np, but in the item description is states under INCLUDED: "Product 1× 665GL-50NP/H/Y." So which is it?! My serial number starts 665A70... thus I assume it's a 70np (not the 50np I paid for).

Unfortunately I HAVE to have this for several shoots this weekend, so even though it doesn't have all the features I want (and ordered), I have to keep it. Luckily, it's relatively cheap, but if I'm spending over $200 I'd really like to know that I'll be receiving what I ordered (and spent a week researching).

I would likely give this item four stars if it had HDMI out and was 450cd/m2, however, I'm not sure how I can make the purchase here on Amazon and be sure that I will receive the correct item (all the listings are a mishmash of information). Two stars for a product that may or may not be what you think you are purchasing (and I would say this is COMPLETELY the manufacturer's fault for not being more clear about all the options and NAMING them appropriately --not to mention PUTTING THE MODEL NUMBER ON THE FREAKING UNIT).

So be aware: It's a great price for a field monitor, but as you can imagine, it's a c**p shoot (seriously, I can't use the word "c**p?" in an Amazon review?!) as to what you'll be receiving.

For those complaining that the picture doesn't fill the screen: you have to disable all the "extras" on your camera LCD by pressing the "info" button. Only when there are no extras (exposure, etc.) will the image fill the screen top to bottom on your monitor. It still won't fill the width, because your camera's LCD (what the monitor is reading from) isn't 16x9.

Pros:

-obviously the price

-size is good (big enough to pull focus; small enough to ride your camera's flash shoe)

-sharp enough picture to pull focus in the field (color is abysmal though); it's not STELLAR, but it's good enough; pulling focus with a 3x magnifying eyepiece would likely net you better focus

-light weight (light enough to mount on the camera and still be plenty useable)

-uses readily available (although outdated) camcorder batteries

-the sunshade is a newer model that DOES actually fold down (not a rigid box that would be annoying to transport)

-not only that, but the sunshade can fold down while attached to the unit, so it acts as a screen protector, which is great

-included shoe mount isn't stellar, but it gets the job done

Cons:

The manual is a hilarious joke (except it's not funny). It was obviously written by someone who just barely speaks English, thus a lot of it makes no sense, is uninformative, and will only leave you wondering what the *%^&#$ is going on. For instance: what the eff is "blue mode?!"

Build quality, while fine for the price, is definitely a little on the flimsy side. It's definitely cheap plastic (but that's why it's so cheap).

No HDMI out.

UPDATE: Upon further review of the "manual," there are photos of two models shown ("1" and "2") 1 is supposedly the 50np and 2 is the 70np. The photo of the 50np shows that it only has two knobs on the front as well as a 1/8" headphone jack. "Ah, I must have the 70np," I deduced. However, the 70np clearly shows 8 capped video connectors on the back of the unit, with only 6 on the 50np. However, while my unit has NO headphone jack and FOUR knobs on the face, there are only six capped connectors on the back. Thus, I still have NO IDEA which unit I received. This is also further confirmation that there are many, many configurations of these units, and it's anyone's guess as to which models feature what hardware, connections, controls, dimensions, panels, brightness, etc., etc.

UPDATE (May 2012): I actually had several e-mail interactions with the seller, and as a result, they've updated their listing description with correct information and made what was once a confusing block of run together text a much more clear bullet-point list. I've also spent several weeks in the field with the monitor, and as a result would definitely recommend the product (you just can't touch it for the price). I've also upgraded my star rating from two stars to four, though I wish the various other listings on Amazon were more clear and forthcoming regarding features and what is available with each specific model from these different (but similar!) sellers.

Works good for video on a T3i and 60D (both of these models output to 480 while recording), but it switches between resolutions just fine and it also has an option to force it at 480 if you don't want it to switch between 1080 and 480 during on/off recording. Works really good on a Sony A33 as well, abit a little top heavy because the A33 has a really small body. Everything was included from Viviteq (batt, charger, screen, visor, hot shoe mount, a/c adapter, etc), it's the complete package!

Buy Lilliput 665gl-70np/h/y 7" On-camera Hd LCD Field Monitor w/ Hdmi in & Component in Video in Video Now

I shoot short documentaries and this external monitor has worked great to provide a larger view. My older eyes can now more easily fine tune focus and frame shots.

Read Best Reviews of Lilliput 665gl-70np/h/y 7" On-camera Hd LCD Field Monitor w/ Hdmi in & Component in Video in Video Here

On my new dslr, it is showing up as black and white only. It worked OK with my older cameras though.

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yes I would recommend it to anyone it works perfectly never went out on me since I've been using it and if I need another 1 I will purchase the same 1

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Casio Exilim EX-S8 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

This is my second Casio Exilim camera. Second, because with my first one I went to the ocean and it didn't survive. Thanks God I still have all the great pictures it took.

I remember when I purchased my first Exilim, my friends were making jokes that I'm buying a watch, not a camera. But in my opinion Casio makes much better cameras than Canon or Nikon (these are the brands I can compare to). The picture quality is great, the colors are FANTASTIC nothing needs to be improved by PhotoShop ;)

My new EX-S8 already took some amazing pictures, it's nice, light, slim and unexpensive. For me not being a professional photographer the Casio Exilim is absolutely awesome.

We decided to get a second camera. Since we love our Casio Z1000 so much, another Casio was our first choice. This little camera has all the features and then some, campared to the Z1000. If you want a point and shoot that's easy to use and handle, at an affordable price, then this is the camera for you.

The only cons have to do with the battery. It's a dismal 700mAh compared to the 1300mAh for the Z1000. That means the battery life is about 1/2... 1/2 the pics and twice charging.

To make it worse, the battery has to be removed from the camara and placed into a cradle to recharge. It can't be 'plugged and charged' like other cameras and devices. Of course it's not difficult to do, but would you buy a cell phone if you had to remove the battery every time you wanted to charge? Probably not.

The camera is nice; however, the battery issues make us want to look for a different brand camera.

Buy Casio Exilim EX-S8 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) Now

The camera overall is pretty small, i still think it would have been a little nicer if it was thinner but manageable. The screen is more than adequate, the pictures are pretty decent also, in low ligth enviroments you have to tinker with the settings to get better shots. The only reall problem i have with this camera is the optical zoom which is pretty short. This i a major issue with compact digital cameras. Battery life is decent as well, and the flash is plenty bright. The video recorder is very good as it records in 480-which is dvd quality and it records as much as the memory stick can hold, which is a featuer i love. All in all for a camera under a hundred bucks i think its pretty well rounded and i definately think you should give it a spin.

Naz..

Read Best Reviews of Casio Exilim EX-S8 12 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) Here

I would strongly suggest this to someone else as a great camera to buy. I have managed to put it through it's paces a little bit trying to take photos at night, of fireworks, in low lighting and inside and outside and of kids etc.

First the Pros

This is a very slim camera with a large screen on the back. I like the large screen.

I particularly like that the buttons are somewhat flat or recessed so it is difficult to turn this camera by accident or to snag buttons while you are using it.

This is a fairly easy to use camera. If you are looking for a specific situation you can push a button called bs (For best shot) and come up with a series of scenarios you can use to take a good picture (for example, kids, fireworks, flowers etc). I have used several of these and each one has helped me to take better photos. I have used fireworks and have made some lovely fire work photos. They are far from professional or even a hobbyist level but they look good to the casual person. Similarly the one option for children, flowers, and food.

The videos are easy to take and they have a good play back quality.

Overall, this camera is one I would buy again should something happen to this one. This is an easy to use, intuitive camera.

The Cons

The problems I have had with this camera or some of the concerns that you might want to look at before buying.

This camera does not have a view finder. To add the little visual view finder you either add quite a bit more money or more weight and in some instances both. This was not near as important to me as it would be to other people. Second, I have not had this problem and I've been using this for several weeks now but there might be some concern about being able to use the screen view finder in high light levels outside as it makes it hard to see the screen.

When you are using the bs and if you don't use the camera for a few minutes (such as waiting for fireworks to start again) and if the camera goes off, when you want to take your next shot you will have to go through the whole bs process again in order to take photos. It doesn't take much time to touch bs and scroll through the options and click on the one you want. However, should you be trying to capture something fast moving (fireworks for instance) then there is a possibility you will miss it.

There are other cameras out there that are bigger with more options. I like some of the cannons with the swiveling screen and used the swiveling screen way more than I thought I would. However, for something easy to carry, light weight, high speed, with enough options that you won't miss the ones you don't havethis is an excellent camera. I love mine.

Enjoy.

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I researched this camera for about a week before I purchased it. It was similarly spec'ed to higher priced Nikons and Canons. After reading every review I could find, and comparing every spec listed, I decided it was worth it.

Now, after having it for a few months, I can say without a doubt, it is a great purchase.

It is very reliable and with the Class 10 SDHC card I also purchased for it, incredibly fast. The facial recognition works wonderfully and the image stabilization is very noticeable in the videos I've recorded. I keep this in my pocket wherever I go because it's slim and easy to carry around, and I want to be ready for that crazy thing that no one will believe happened.

If you're on the fence about spending over $100 on a point and shoot, I highly suggest this camera. For $20 less, you can get the same features and quality, minus the famous brand tax.

Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom

This camera will satisfy most folks that read Amazon reviews! DV-ing can be an uphill climb for newbies, but with the proper expectations, you can be happy with your purchase and your future use.

I have used this camera for 4 months, and here are my observations:

A few assumptions:

1. Firewire BABY! With almost ALL DV camcorders you will need a 1394 Firewire port on your computer, and a cable (about 10-20 dollars online)

Workaround: none, this is DV! USB is too slow. The SR600 has two ports...make sure you use the port labeled DV. If you want to shell out $200-300 more, go with DVDcamcorder.

2. For Transfer or Editing, Look in your Windows! If you have Windows XP, use the FREE Windows Movie Maker program which copies your movie footage from camera to PC, and allows a little editing. Vista has even more you can do, like copy to a DVD!

3. Don't expect long shoot times... My battery that the camera came with lasts only about 35 minutes, even when I'm not using the LCD screen.

Workaround: buy a $15 dollar 1700mWh battery(larger) on EBAY to have as your main battery, and use the stock one as a backup.

4. Don't get left in the Dark. Reviews state that the camera shoots poorly in poorly lit rooms. This is common with DV cameras.

Workaround: Move camera into P mode, from EASY on the switch near the zoom, and choose NIGHT as option on the LCD (using easy to use Joystick) when you are shooting in lowlight scenes.

AS long as you know the 4 assumptions, this camera is perfect for newbies in DV, right on the money with price, and with good features, like 16:9 WS, Toggle button, and excellent OPTICAL zoom. Wish my sony digital camera had this zoom. IF they had a better battery and included the Firewire cable, I'd give it 5 stars.

I would buy it again, but would opt for the ZR500 for price, or the ZR700 if I wanted to use it to bridge the copying from my VCR to the computer for moviemaker.

OS: Windows XP sp2

PC: 4 yr old DELL Dimension, with Creative lab card with Firewire

Software:

Windows Movie Maker to pull clips from camera, and to Edit movies

DVDFlick (opensource and free) to copy my edited movies to DVD for playing on my home DVD player or computer (moviemaker only copies the .WMV file on a CD or DVD)

Panasonic AY-DVM63PQ Professional DV tapes

This Review is from a previous owner of this Camera

I purchased the Canon ZR600 from Best buy back in late 2006 early 2007 originally looking for a camera to do video notes for class then ended up having this camera be my first personal camera used for television broadcast training and practice at home.

A bit of Background:

I am a legally blind individual I don't have full vision loss, I have more like half the vision of a fully sighted person. E.g. distance and the ability to read small print etc are the greatest challenges for me, however I have had a natural ability to get good results from cameras, even if it's taken extra practice to build skills.

The basics:

The canon ZR600 is a consumer level miniDV camcorder which means the camera has a VTR built in that records to a miniDV Cassette. Many consumer level camcorders are a single CCD e.g. many pro cameras or prosumer cameras are 3 CCDS. This simply affects how they deal with color and lighting. (but no camera) will ever be as good as the human eye, This brings me to my usage with the product.

The zr800 has a wide range of manual settings and automatic settings such as: manual focus manual white balance the option to shoot in 4:3 or 16:9 wide or in this case (anamorphic widescreen)

I strongly recommend any camera operator to learn how to manually white balance and light your set and adjust manual focus etc. Many reviewers who give cameras one star because they say picture sucks is more then likely due to the fact they have no concept of how to professionally set up a shoot, and yes, even for a non professional, knowing the basics a professional would use still apply to getting the best results, remember, the camera's auto settings take a best guess which is usually wrong, and is intended for people who lack camera skills to manually set up the camera. Manual is in most cases the best Especially on lower end cameras. With this in Mind:

The ZR600 does an excellent Job for it's price. Unfortunately, mine met it's death when the tripod fell over. So really i was just learning the manual settings on this camera right when it died. I now have the sony DCR-HC52 MiniDV which has newer technology and does in many aspects produce a closer to professional quality picture if set up correctly. I will review that product as well.

In closing MiniDV is a safe non HD format that is still very reliable to use and get great results.

For those who complain about firewire Most professional video editors have a mac around for that purpose, firewire has been and will be an apple standard though PCs adopted it as well by the name IEEEE1394. If you don't understand the technical requirements for MiniDV don't use it as your format for video. You won't be happy and will unnecessarily be giving a good product bad reviews If you are stuck with usb I'd personally recommend a solid state camcorder that takes flash memory.

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I recieved this camera for christmas, and overall it's a very good camera. I really enjoy filming and editing, and this is the perfect camera for filming. I use it with iMovie, and when I import it [which happens with ease] iMovie makes the picture even better. GREAT PRODUCT!

Read Best Reviews of Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Here

Great camera but it is a bit grainy but to be expected from a lower end camera. Performs poorly in low light but once again is to be expected because of its small lens. I would recommend this camera to anybody looking for a good solid DV camera, but as for the picture quality it is not quite at the pro level but it is an mid level camera. If you want a camera to use around the house this is the one. This is also a great camera for entry level film classes because the color quality is good which is needed for green screen. Though if you want to start your own production studio I would recommend a more expensive camera like the Cannon GL1 or GL2.

Want Canon ZR600 MiniDV Camcorder with 25x Optical Zoom Discount?

First off, I have ALWAYS loved Canon products and this camcorder is no exception. The documentation regarding transferring video to your computer is a little lacking but if you have a firewire card (or if you don't, you can get one from ebay for less than $20), it is Windows that does the actual transferring so it's pretty automatic. The camcorder is very intuative and it takes no time at all to start shooting like a pro (ok, maybe not a pro, but plenty good enough for the home user). Originally I was disappointed with the indoor shots but switching to night mode definitely cleaned up the image alot. I look forward to bringing this camcorder to Canada and Nigara Falls next month to record my honeymoon (well, not ALL of my honeymoon ;) )

Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black)

This camera is amazing! I bought it based on the reviews I read, but had NO idea of all the different things this camera does! It shoots videos and it shoots in "sports mode" taking many pictures one right after the other so you don't miss anything. We have used this camera at some multiple-day music festivals and are simply amazed at the clarity of the pictures and how easy it is to use! The sound on the videos is good (if your computer speakers are good) and a unipod solves the shake problem if you have one. The batteries last pretty long if you aren't shooting videos that seems to use them up quicker. This is my first digital camera, and I bought it because 1) easy to use, 2) large preview screen and 3) uses AA batteries. I was absolutely thrilled it did all this extra stuff. Friends who took the same pictures with their cameras were surprised at the difference when the pictures were posted. Ours were much better. Highly recommend this camera especially to the camera novice (like me).

I bought this camera after reading all the + reviews on several web sites. This is a very good camera for the price.

Pro's: price, simple to use, slips right into you shirt pocket or purse, very good pictures, bright LCD (sorry Kodak), uses AA batteries, good video.

Con's: none! I highly recommend this camera.

Buy Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) Now

This is a fantastic camera. The macro feature is the reason I got this camera and it's great for taking pictures of my aquarium. The sports mode works great for capturing fish. It's super easy to use.

The only con is that there are many possible settings and most of them are pretty specific. If you get the wrong setting, then pictures will look odd (strange colors or incorrect focus). However, these were very specific situations (like the aquarium) and once I figured out which setting to use, it works great.

Read Best Reviews of Nikon Coolpix L22 12.0MP Digital Camera with 3.6x Optical Zoom and 3.0-Inch LCD (Black) Here

This is a great camera for everyday use, vacation shots, sports photos, and more. We take low-light, no flash photos with this on the "sports" setting for dance recitals and plays. The photos turn out terrific, and people always ask what camera we use because they are so impressed with the clarity of the shots.

This camera has numerous features and settings. The navigation between settings is pretty intuitive, and the instruction manual has lots more ideas too. It has good video capability for capturing something in a video file when you don't have a camcorder handy. You don't need special software to upload photos from this camera I have a card reader in my computer to do all that.

The camera does a good job conserving battery life. We use rechargeable AA batteries without any problems for hundreds of photos per charge. It's compact and fairly lightweight, and it fits into a shirt pocket with ease.

The large screen makes reviewing photos easy, and deleting ones from the camera is simple with just a touch of a button plus an "are you sure?" question to keep you from potentially erasing something in error.

The 3.6x optical zoom is an improvement over the previous Nikon Coolpix we had, so this is now the favorite camera in my home! If you've had a Coolpix in the past and are thinking about getting a newer version, definitely do it! You'll find the operations and menu choices very similar to what you're used to, but with added improvements that you'll appreciate.

We've not had any problems with the battery cover on this camera or the previous Coolpix cameras we still own. If you break the battery cover, it's time for a new camera, unfortunately. But it's very sturdy and reliable, so we've never worried about it much.

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I originally bought the Coolpix S203 and LOVED it. Good quailty pictures, chargeable battery and very slim. Super easy to carry around. When it got wet and died I wanted to replace it with the same model. Alas, it is no longer made. So, because I enjoyed my first Nikon Coolpix, I bought the L22 and was completly dissapointed. It seemed HUGE compared to my tiny S203 and the pictures were always blurry. It took extra seconds to switch from camera to movie and even to take a simple posed picture required 2.5 seconds of holding the button. Not a chance you would ever catch a good candid shot. I returned it and bought the S3000. Best idea and worth the extra $15. Plus this one does not require AA batteries like the L22.