GTMax BP-808 Replacement Decoded Battery for Canon FS10 FS11 FS100 FS21 FS22 FS200 FS31 FS300 VIXIA

Ok First off, the remaining life will not display in your camera. You have to just guess how much battery power you have left and hopefully you guessed right cause you have no way of knowing until your camera powers off suddenly.

Second, you CAN NOT charge this through your camera, it will damage your camera and this battery. You have to use the included charger and the included charger only to charge it. This would be ok except you can ONLY charge this battery with it, you cannot charge your original battery from your camera with this. So basically you have to have 2 chargers, one for each battery.

Thirdly, there's an LED that is red when it's charging, and turns green when finished, but strangely you have to charge it for an additional 2-3 hours after the light turns green. So what is the point of the LED then?

so you have no way of knowing if it's fully charged or not, no way of knowing how much life you have left, and you need a separate charger just to use it. It'll do as an 'in case of emergency' battery but don't put the fate of your entire shoot on it. The only reason this gets 3 stars is because it is a battery that'll do in a pinch, simple as that.

I bought this as a backup to the battery installed in my Canon FS200. It does what it is supposed to, and it also does what it isn't supposed to (display the battery data on the smart screen). If you are looking for a backup battery in case your Canon supplied battery runs out of juice where you can't recharge it), this is a good investment at a very low price. If you are looking for a true replacement for your factory installed battery (that will display battery life on your camcorder screen), this isn't the one for you.

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Battery worked great but unfortunately my camera was malfunctioning. the digital age is upon us so I guess I should toss the camera and keep the battery!

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trow camcorder memory out but I kept and ordor another from some one else and I gave the battery to some one else.

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This item took a long time too get here, too the point where I almost cancelled the creidit card charge but it fiunnally came and its easy too use and compact too carry however the battery that cam with it will not register with the camera so I never know when the battery is about too die.

BoxWave Apple Macbook Pro 15" Mini DisplayPort to HDMI Cable

Precisely what I wanted. It's nice to be able to get reliable/quality products for reasonable prices for Apple products but not at Apple prices. This company does that very well.

I bought this item in hopes that it would connect to my Macbook Pro to my TV, and display everything. My hopes were fulfilled by this useful cable that now lets me play some of my Computer games using a TV to display them. I used a wireless keyboard and mouse, sat on a chair, and pulled up a small table. Let me tell you: It's epic. When I play games such as Slender or TF2 and get to play it off the TV, I have a lot of fun. It's also useful for playing movies off your computer, so I don't have to buy a physical DVD. I don't think I'll ever use a normal computer screen again!

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Great product! I have a 2012 13'' Macbook Pro & this cable fits & works perfectly! Though, it's not super long, so be aware of that. Fast shipping, too!

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Video and Audio work just perfectly on my Mid 2010 Macbook Pro 15".

I am using this cable on a Samsung Smart TV

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very practical accessory, I use it to connect to my TV, I can work very well and all day I think about going to work in my room

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Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP Digital Camera with Lumix G Vario 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS Le

For those who don't know, the Panasonic G1 is the first (of hopefully many) camera that adheres to the new micro 4/3 format. What is so exciting about it? All SLR cameras use mirrors, prisms, and optical viewfinders so that the photographer can see what his/her subject "through the lens." SLRs have remained the defacto standard for most serious photographers because most find the whole viewfinder concept so appealing. The micro 4/3 does away with the mirrors and prisms, and replaces the optical viewfinder of SLRs with an electronic viewfinder. This allows the cameras that adhere to the standard to be much smaller (and wideangle lenses designed for this mount to be smaller as well). Onto the real review...

The EVF on the G1 is the first that I've seen that is remotely usable. While not as good as the OVF in my 5D, it is considerably better than the OVF in my older 350D. The first look through the EVF will impress anyone who hasn't used a Full-Frame camera before. While there is a noticeable lag (particularly when moving the camera around...a delay of a 10th of a second maybe), the fact that you can see a live histogram in the VF makes the lag completely worthwhile. Even better, the VF can increase the gain of the screen in darker conditions so you can actually see what you are shooting (it does get grainy, but it is better than seeing nothing at all). Finally, when you engage Manual Focus, the view in the EVF zooms in on your subject automatically which allows for perfect manual focus adjustments every time!! Without a doubt, this is the best interchangeable lens camera on the market if you are interested in manually focusing.

The articulating LCD is another design choice that is spot-on!! Why haven't other manufacturers caught on that "live view" is completely useless without an articulating LCD? Switching from the LCD to the EVF is as simple as putting your eye next to the viewfinder. There is a sensor there that detects when it is being used. The LCD doesn't have the super resolution of the new 5DMkII or the D700, but it has twice the resolution of my older 5D.

So is the camera pocketable? Not a chance. However, it isn't much bigger than the larger (with its kit lens) than modern superzoom Point&Shoot cameras. I bought it because I found that I was leaving my 5D (with 24-70 f/2.8) at home more often than not because i didn't want to carry so much weight. The G1, in comparison, is a joy to hold and carry. For me, the size is just right. Any smaller and the controls would be unusably small. Any larger and the camera would begin to resemble smaller DSLRs. Side Note: The kit lens has to be seen to be believed...it is SO small. Even the 45-200 lens (90-400) isn't much bigger than kit lenses for APS-C or FF cameras (let alone comparing it to the monstrous 100-400 lens that canon makes).

Noise is reasonable. I wouldn't go past ISO1250 for prints with the G1. ISO1600 and 3200 are more than useable for web viewing (which is how a majority of my pics are displayed). I never really understood how printable ISO6400 prints are suddenly required for every camera...how many people actually print a large number of images anyways? Downsized to Facebook or Picasaweb sizes, I would imagine that a ISO6400 G1 image would be more than adequate.

What I don't like is the lack of any large aperture lenses for the format. You can buy adapters to use standard 4/3 lenses but the older 4/3 lenses are likely larger than their future micro43 counterparts (and AF doesn't work with many of them). Adapters also exist for Leica M mount (I'm trying to convince my fiance that leica lenses are a better investment than the stock market right now...but I don't think that she is buying it). The depth of field for micro43 is already larger due to the smaller sensor so it will be hard to get subject isolation in photographs until large aperture prime lenses become available.

I'm really excited about the future of this format. Panasonic has promised a G1HD someone in the first half of this year (a G1 with video capabilities). In addition, 3 new lenses have been announced: a 7/14 f/4, a 14-140, and best of all a 20 mm f/1.7 pancake! Olympus also showed off a concept of a micro43 camera that looked no bigger than a small point&shoot. The future is exciting!

The Panasonic G1 is a much debated camera, the first micro 4:3 camera.

As a professional photographer I was intrigued with the electronic viewfinder, and also the light weight and compact size, and figured it would be a great gift for my girlfriend. I received the camera about 1 week after the US release. Until now it have worked flawlessly, the battery last well through a day with power to spare. To be clear, I am not talking a studio work day, but my girlfriend putting 300 frames on the camera in a day.

We already own 4:3 cameras and she picked it up and worked with it instantly, no learning curve required. The camera is well laid out and controls are positioned where you would expect to find them.

Electronic Viewfinder.

The most unusual part of the camera is the EVF (Electronic View Finder) which instead of a optical system literally have a display, but unlike typical "super zoom" EVF cameras which have a low-rez viewfinder, this camera have a HD viewfinder, this means you can actually see what is in focus in the image, the screen also have a very quick refresh, so you do not have the feeling of waiting for the screen. (unlike previous EVF cameras you can exchange lenses on the G1)

I originally questioned the EVF system concept for a SLR, but once I got the camera in hand the viewfinder have proved to work very well. Panasonic have developed this technology to a point where this camera is possible and very functional.

Lenses:

Panasonic is launching this camera with 2 lenses and more to come, for years Panasonic have received design help from Leica, and this show in the quality of the lenses, the standard kit lens is a great lens.

Olympus created the 4:3 system, Panasonic is a partner in this system. Thankfully the G1 being a micro-4:3 camera can accept both m43 lenses but with a adapter also all previous 4:3 system lenses. This mean you have access to exotic lenses from 600mm to 8mm. The dedicated zoom for m43 are VERY compact... however this is meaningless if you have a serious need for a 300mm f2.8 lens as there would be no size difference, so you would not save weight or space by using a dedicated m4:3 lens. Panasonic recognizes this and have launched the camera with a couple of outstanding lenses which are great everyday zooms, this is the ones you will want for family photography (including some family sports photography), but it is good to know that if you get the urge for photographing lions in Africa the camera will accept ultra fast lenses such as the sexy 150mm 2.0 low light tele-lens from olympus.

We already own a large selection of 4:3 system lenses, including the 8mm ultra wide and all of these work with the adapter on the G1.

Image stabilization:

Panasonic lenses have GREAT stabilization and the camera takes tack-sharp images at incredible low light.

However there is kinky point for me which you should be aware about, Panasonic have chosen to use in-lens stabilization, where Olympus uses in-camera stabilization. THIS is the biggest weakness in cross system compatibility. Thanksfully Panasonic have a good collection of Leica designed lenses which is stabilized, but for owners of Olympus lenses (such as myself) one should realize that Olympus lenses will not be stabilized on the G1 (not that you are likely to hand-hold a 600mm tele lens, but you should know).

Image quality is above expectation.

The images are simply outstanding, in both color, exposure and details, I say this as the owner of several pro DLSR and Leica M8 cameras. (well lets get real here. Clearly the camera do not compare to a $5000 camera, nobody would expect that, but at the $700 price its in a class by itself. you will be hard pressed to find a better camera for under $1000). The bottom line on image quality is this camera will not let you down, you can share pictures with friends and feel good about the image quality.

LEICA M lenses.

Most interesting for me was the ability to mount Leica M lenses with a adapter on the Panasonic G1. I have been shooting images with the 35mm lux and 75mm lux. As it turns out the G1 works best with longer lenses, 28mm tend to get soft edges when using Leica M film lenses, this is because of the way these lenses were made and not a problem with the camera. Naturally this does not apply to use of Panasonic or Olympus lenses on this camera.

Bottom line.

A revolutionary new camera, combining traditional single-lens photography with modern technology. Its a favorite walk about camera, light weight and comfortable in the hand.

Camera is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED,

Buy Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP Digital Camera with Lumix G Vario 14-45 mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Mega OIS Le Now

I am a professional photographer and I have looked for a perfect take-it-anywhere camera since I abandoned my Nikon 28Ti when I stopped shooting film. I have had everything in the small camera class from the original Nikon Cp950 to the Panasonic LX3. I had Canon G9 &10s, the Pro-1, various Fujis and a Ricoh compact. None of them came close to delivering the sort of image I get from a real DSLR. For a while I used a Canon Rebel TXi, but it just wasn't a size savings because the lenses are so big.

Enter the G1. It's very small, but still easy to use and hold steady. The lenses are tiny. You can use Leica-M lenses with a cheap adapter. The image quality is right there with a DSLR. Not quite as good as a Canon 5D at ISO 800, but fully useable at everything up to 1600 ISO. The G1 at 800 is better than the G10 at 100.

I highly recommend this camera to any serious photographer looking for a small, high quality alternative to a big DSLR with way better quality than even the best small sensor camera.

Tom Kachadurian

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I had decided I wanted to step up to an entry level DSLR camera. So I started looking and had settled on the new Canon Rebel T1i at first. I bought the camera, took it home and started snapping a bunch of pictures with it only to discover that at full size, the pictures were a little soft. For a $900 camera, that wasn't something I wanted to deal with. Yes, I'm aware the pictures can be doctored after the fact but I don't want to have to do that with the majority of my pictures.

So I returned the T1i and started considering the Nikon D5000, Pentax K20D, Olympus E620 and the Panasonic G1. The K20D is a very nice camera but was just a little too big for my liking. After handling the Olympus E620 I just didn't come away very impressed (just didn't feel good in my hand). I really liked the Nikon D5000 and gave that camera very serious consideration. However at the end of the day, the G1 just felt really good in my hand and impressed me with its features. I'll list specifics next.

The things that sold me on the G1 are as follows:

1. Camera is small size and fits well in my hand

2. Terrific articulating LCD with great resolution

3. Super fast auto focus in live view mode, best I have seen

4. Has all the control and features of most entry level DSLRs

5. Takes terrific pictures

6. Relatively fast operation

7. The "rubber like" texture of the camera body feels good

8. Performs well in low light and small pictures up to ISO 1600 are usable although not quite as good as the best entry level DSLRs

9. Electronic View Finder is very clear

10. Auto focus assist light

Of course there are some Cons as well:

1. Low light performance not quite as good as best entry level DSLRs. Although this should be expected with the smaller sensor.

2. Would be nice if the flash popped up automatically

3. Limited selection of lenses since the micro four thirds format is so new

4. Is easy to block the auto focus assist light while holding the camera

5. White Balance indoors under fluorescent lighting is poor. However you can manually adjust this.

6. It's expensive in stores (I paid more than I care to admit), although Amazon's price is reasonable in my opinion and a more logical price point. It is worth the $650 price.

The cons I've listed are actually minor. It really is a great camera and I'm very happy I decided to go with it. I have always liked Panasonic's picture quality. Especially if there is lots of light I have found that Panasonic cameras take as good a picture as anything else out there. It's a great handling camera that has all the performance of the entry level DSLRs without the bulk. I'm anxious to see what the future has in store for the micro four thirds format.

If you are looking for a camera that is a little smaller than the entry level DSLRs but has all the performance, this is the camera for you. Its live view performance is top notch and the image quality is impressive (even DPreview spoke highly of the G1's image quality). I'm anxious to get the 45-200mm zoom lens to see how it performs also.

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I've done 35mm slr photography for 30 yrs and have now used the Panasonic G1 for six months. After a lot of shooting, my assessment is that the G1 kicks butt. I converted my old Konica Hexanon lenses to use with it, which give great image quality and less depth of field than the standard zoom lens. The standard lens itself is sharp as a tack and small. The viewfinder is amazing for one that does not use a mirror reflex system. I purchased an Olympus ultra-wide zoom that performs nicely on the G1 (with Panasonic adapter). Auto-focus on the Olympus is excellent. The camera is easy for a novice to use in programmed modes, but allows amazing control when shifted to manual. I had been unable to use my old manual focus Hexanon lenses due to eye deterioration, but the G1's manual focus assist, which zooms the viewfinder, enables me to focus precisely once again.

The only negative is that certain autofocus settings/combinations can slow the camera down, but this is remedied with experimentation. It's still not as rapid as high dollar SLRs. The size is an amazing advantage over such cameras though, if you don't want to carry something heavy and obtrusive.

After a lot of use, I am a big fan.

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Canon DC310 DVD Camcorder with 37x Optical Zoom

The overview states that this includes 'USB 2.0 hi-speed terminal for quick video transfer'. Read the detail section and there is no mention of a USB port, because there is none! You need to buy the DC330 to get that feature. That would not be so bad if the RRW would work in any of our PC's or DVD players. Granted the DVD players are older modules but the PC's are less than 1 year old. Maybe if your PC writes to Ror you stick with none rewritable DVD's you would be happy with this camcorder (didn't waste any more money trying this). This module is being returned and replaced with the DC330.

I bought this camera for our family summer vacation. My old digital camera did not zoom close enough to anything. I was looking for a camcorder that was small in size that could get close up & that is exactly what I got. I have found it to be easy to use in every way and it is small enough to fit in just about any normal size bag.

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Canon DC310 DVD Camcorder with 41x Optical Zoom

We purchased this camcorder after looking at reviews in various places, in particular, one well known consumer product magazine. Since we wanted something basic, but a camcorder that would give us very good quality images, we counted on the Canon. It is easy to learn to use if you are a novice like we are, and is adequate for home videos. Taking into account the savings extras from Amazon, we purchased it at the lowest price that we researched on the internet, and at local electronics retailers. We highly suggest purchasing an extra battery, and the battery charger (stick with the Canon brand or you can be burned with the cheaper "replacement" claiming to be as good). Amazon shipped it in two days at no extra charge....a "special" at the time. We purchase from Amazon often because of their excellent customer service.

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Pros:-

1) Price is cheap for a DVD camcorder

2) Outdoor video quality

3) optical zoom

Cons:-

1) The menu is very confusing.

2) You cannot finalize unless you connect the camera to power adapter. You will not know it unless you read the manual carefully

3) You cannot charge the camera if the power button is turned on. So assume that you are using the camera and it goes off because of no charge. You connect it to the power adapter, it will not charge...it is because the power button is still turned on. I had this issue and had a hard time finding the cause. I even sent my camera to canon repair and it got returned back saying I need to keep the power button off while charging and otherwise it will not charge.

4) Finally, there is a lot of problem with finalizing the disc. The finalize menu item will not show up while in record mode. That is fine. But I recorded my disc in VR mode and now I see Finalize menu item but it is not selectable..not sure why. I am not able to finalize my disc and can't play it in dvd player. When I see the content of the DVD, it has files in VRO format. To convert it to DVD format, I need a software now which will cost me. And that's when I decided to write this review.

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I reviewed the Consumer's Report 2009 regarding dvd camcorders and this model rated one of the highest. I am thrilled to concur with the Report. I wanted something simple to use which provided a good image at a good value. This seems to meet all three. The vendor I used shipped it within 4-5 days (Sixth Avenue Electronics -6ave). Overall great experience. NOTE: Read the manual if you don't finalize the discs properly you may loose all of the recordings.

Oregon Scientific DS6688-O 3MP ThinCam Digital Camera (Orange)

We bought this for our 12-year old in December 2005 and just threw it out after taking 0 acceptable photos with it. We already have 2 other digital cameras in the house and have used them extensively for two years so this was not a user problem.

1. 2 crucial buttons fell off in one month. We used a paper clip instead.

2. All photos we've taken have been orange-cast, dark, and blurry.

3. The on-off switch is malfunctioning. It's almost impossible to turn the camera off, which means the batteries run down quickly.

4. The user manual has no information on how to correct image problems. We have yet to find any on-line help.

5. Buttons on the camera are tiny and hard to use. Button functions are extremely difficult to figure out unless you have the manual on your knee. Not an intuitive design at all.

We had high hopes for this camera and bought it because of a few good reviews and the camera's sleek design.

Don't waste your money on this.

I like this camera, and it is very cute. I love the fact that it is "the size of a credit card", and it fits in most pockets. The problems that I have with it, though, are these:

1. It takes the flash about 10 seconds on average to get ready

2. When the flash is ready, it isn't very effective and usualy makes the picture worse

3. The pictures end up being blurry unless you keep your hand perfectly still

4. The button that you move around to look at pictures and do different things with can be easily broken and isn't very manageable

These are the four problems I have with this camera. I got this camera because it was cute and small. If that is your reason, you can't get much better, but if you want to take nice pictures, I suggest getting another brand.

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I would have to say that this is a good investment, especially one for a poor college student. For the price you do get a lot, however the only downside to the camera is that there isn't an automatic focus, you must select your distance on the side of the camera and then take the picture. However, if done correctly excellent point and shoot pictures are taken.

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I ordered this to replace the one I already had because the flash had quit working..simple, easy, not the best quality but I love the camera...the one I ordered to replace it arrived, the flash doesn't work, the video doesn't work and it won't hold a battery. Very disappointed it this.

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I bought this for my wife, who likes the small size, because it fits in her purse easily. She also likes the red color, because it is easy to find if you lay it down somewhere and are looking for it. It takes good photos also. I recommend buying it used, so you don't have to pay full price. By the way, the multi-function button on the back is very easy to control if you just lift the edge of it with your fingernail until you hear it click.

Sony Alpha SLT-A58 Translucent Mirror Technology Digital SLR Camera Body & 18-55mm Lens with 55

Just received my first DSLR and very pleased with it. I was so surprised that it has auto focus and is a great transition from my point and shoot cameras. This is the 4th Sony camera I have owned and so I'm somewhat biased, but know that my pics are always the best when compared to others. Great camera!

I have been taking photos for the last 15 years of family and friend evens. I wanted a more professional look but didn't want to break the bank. I love this camera and I am glad I spent the money on it! I have never made purchases online and was happy that the process was quick and easy.

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Pentax K-r 12.4 MP Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black Body)

Over the past four years, I've owned an *ist DL, a K100D and a K2000. The new Pentax K-r feels like a huge improvement over its already excellent predecessors.

NEW FEATURES:

The most obvious improvements are the great new features. The K-r now has a dedicated focus assist lamp. In short, it's unintrusive compared to a strobing popup flash and it works great. I can't believe it took Pentax this long to give us this feature.

The K-r also supports both a proprietary lithium ion battery and AA batteries. You'll have to find a special adapter to use AA batteries though. Unfortunately, Pentax didn't bundle the adapter with the body.

K-x users will also be familiar with the in-camera HDR feature. The K-r includes several HDR settings including auto, standard, strong 1, strong 2, and strong 3. HDR mode is easily accessed by pressing the Info button.

Movie mode is available once again, but it's still not particularly robust. You can shoot in 720p at 25fps, which is an odd frame rate. AF isn't available while you're shooting, but I've found that manual focusing is easy enough with the right lens. I didn't have any problems with my FA 35mm.

Auto white-balancing is greatly improved over the K100D and the K2000 also. You can now shoot in tungsten light without having to manually set the WB. No more horribly yellow photos indoors followed by extremely blue photos outdoors when you forget to white balance again!

Finally, my favorite new feature is the selectable 11-point AF. When it's enabled, you can press the OK button to bring up the point selection interface and use the arrow keys to select your focus point. When you're done, press and hold the OK button to close the menu so you can use the arrow keys for other shortcuts again.

INTERFACE:

With each new release, Pentax's interface has improved and the K-r is no exception. For people coming from the older *ist DL and K100D bodies, you'll immediately notice that the four arrow buttons now have double purposes. Instead of pressing FN + right to get to the ISO menu, you just need to press the right arrow button. Users of the K2000 will find the interface very familiar, but still improved. The Info button now brings up the grid of commonly used settings such as HDR modes, JPG/RAW, metering settings, AF mode, etc. Each setting is represented with an icon or text label and moving the cursor over the setting allows you to quickly cycle through the different modes using the dial. It's similar to pressing the OK button the K2000, but now with more options and fewer button presses.

When you preview your last JPG photo, you also get the option to save it as raw. This only works with the last photo taken, probably because the camera only stores the raw data for one photo at a time. This is a great feature for those who prefer to shoot in JPG and still occasionally use raw.

BUILD QUALITY:

The build quality of the K-r is as solid as every previous Pentax dSLR body that I've owned. The battery compartment latch is slightly improved over the K2000 and the K100D. It's a little hard to describe the new latch, but it's easy to use and much harder to accidentally open.

PERFORMANCE:

I loved the low light performance of my K100D and I enjoyed the newer interface and faster AF of my K2000. The K-r again gets the best of both worlds with very clean photos at ISO 1600 and even faster and more decisive autofocus. It's also now capable of shooting at 6fps in continuous mode.

OVERALL:

The Pentax K-r has really exceeded my expectations. The improved performance combined with the new features makes the K-r a joy to use. It's an excellent entry-level dSLR that it will satisfy even more seasoned photographers who want a compact spare body.

I upgraded from the Pentax K-2000 to the Pentax K-R. I have only had the camera a few days but I already have a good impression.

First, the LCD display is good, really good. A huge upgrade from the one on the Pentax K-2000. With this screen it is easy to verify the right focus, love it.

The camera is very fast. Fast at focusing, talking the pictures and fast going through the menus. Now, activate some of the special features like filters or lens distortion correction and things slow down. I think it is a fair exchange.

The camera brings a new battery that last a LONG time. In theory you could use AA batteries but you need a $35.00 adapter that the camera did not bring. I'm not going to spend $35 for an adapter, I would rather pay for another battery for that money. Pentax dropped the ball on this one.

The visible focus points make a BIG difference. I had defaulted the K-2000 to center only focusing to avoid problems. I had been doing this for so long that I didn't realize how useful it would be to have an 11 point focus system. This is a big improvement.

Live view is a LOT faster than the reviews give it credit for. I had NO PROBLEMS telling people to pose and using the face recognition in live view to take the picture. Once you focus it does a zoom in on the focus point for a second. I like the feature as it lets me verify focus.

The biggest surprise was the low light capabilities of the camera. I can shoot at ISO 1600 without having to worry about noise. Even if I shoot RAW there is not much noise to talk about at ISO 1600. ISO 3200 is still very usable and with some Photoshop using Raw files they are easy to make usable for 8 X 11 pictures. The K-R is a HUGE improvement from the K-2000 in this area.

Build and Handling: It feels just like a K-2000 and from the outside it has few differences. The biggest change was the menus as they have been GREATLY improved making finding and changing settings very easy. The camera is still noisy and in a quiet environment it will be noticed as you take the picture. Since I shoot a lot in Church environments I would have rather have a silent camera.

Low Point: The video is not really a big feature. Mono sound, you can only record up to 20 minutes as the sensor heats up too much, 25 fps, no automatic refocus, no aperture control after the movie starts. In short, don't buy the K-R for the movie mode, that is just a basic feature in the camera. Live view is the REAL improvement.

So I find the K-R a very good upgrade from the K-2000. The pictures look great and the low light pictures are excellent. Only two issues are the basic video feature and the lack of the AA adapter in the package. The fast focus, fast shooting, improve LCD, visible focus points, amazing low light pictures and live view make the K-R a great upgrade for K-2000 users.

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As a Canon 5DII shooter needing a compact SLR for hiking or backup on trips I got a good deal on this K-r and immediately set out to find fault with it. I had the box ready to send it back. My nitpicking was in vain; I like this little guy!

I let my Pentax K20D go to my son to get more pics of the grandkids out of him, leaving me without a Pentax body. I already own a couple of Pentax digital lenses, and I thought that a compact DSLR was preferable to holding a miniature camera out like a baby with a dirty diaper to compose, or dealing with one of several miserable electronic viewfinders.

The K-r has a bigger, clearer LCD screen than the K20D, image quality is noticeably better in the shadows than the K20D, and the penta-mirror optical viewfinder competes well with its CaNikon peers (at this price level). The ergonomics fit me fine, and the interface is very simple. In fact, I am familiar with Canon and Nikon SLR's and I find the Pentax interface to be straightforward and well thought-out. LiveView is very smooth in use, and is a great help in focusing a manual-focus lens, such as for macro use.

Unlike my Canon 5D2, proper exposure reads in the middle, without any underor overexposure that I can see. If colors look too cartoonish for you, simply select the Natural jpg mode. As other reviewers say, there IS a tendency to blow out strong highlights. If the picture is that important to you, shoot RAW and be extra careful. Setting minus Exposure Compensation and processing for the highlights (Adobe Camera RAW) should not cause noisy shadows with the K-r. Set the K-r to shoot your RAWs in the DNG format, and do your processing in ACR. In my testing, hot spots in the scene, such as a sunlit white wall, really do show up hot. You must adjust for that with ANY camera. Also, you will have SOME blown specular highlights with any digital camera in some situations. Finally, use at least a Class 6 card, or it'll be slow writing to the card.

In summary, the K-r is compact (especially with the DA 21 or DA 70 pancake lenses) and competent. It's a pleasure to carry around in a small bag. It is feather-light without being at all flimsy. Great buys in Pentax lenses for the K-r include the new 35mm f2.4, the old FA 35mm f2, the F and FA 50's, and the F and FA 28's. The 55-300 tele zoom is decent, but don't expect Canon L performance ($350 lens vs $1,200). If you MUST have a zoom, an excellent choice would be Tamron's 17-50 f 2.8. The Tammie is significantly better than the Pentax kit zoom, which is, in turn, not junk, just a cheap zoom. Don't shell out for the Tamron Image Stabilization; get the non-IS version. You already have in-body IS with the K-r.

The Pentax K5, for double the money, gets you a brighter viewfinder, better weather-sealing, better high ISO images and bigger files. At about $550, The K-r is a good buy. You can expect the price to come down even more as the next "latest and greatest" comes out.

Read Best Reviews of Pentax K-r 12.4 MP Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD (Black Body) Here

Ordered this camera from Emmy Photo. The original camera that I was sent had the light meter calibration off by more than 2 stops. Sent back and promptly received a replacement unit. The LED display on this second unit began to fail within a matter of weeks. Emmy will not take back the second camera, so am sending back to Pentax.

Note added in postscript: I contacted Pentax today regarding warranty service, and was told that I was responsible for shipping and insurance costs sending this unit back to them for repairs. I was further told that I should expect turnaround of up to 4 weeks.

When I requested free shipping and exchange for a new unit given that I had been sent two defective units in a row, I was told that "this is not Pentax's warranty policy".

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From the factory, the K-r front focusing was really bad (tested 3 lens: 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, 28-90mm f3.5-5.6, and 35mm f2.4). I had to AF Fine Adjust to -10. I then found a nifty app called PK_Tether, which allows you to put Pentax cameras (K-x, K7, K5, K-r, K20D, K10D, K200) into debug mode. That enables you to get to the Debug menu and do AF calibration. I am not sure what the max is but I went as high as -19. You would want to reset the AF Fine Adjustment to 0 before using the calibration. That way you can do fine adjustment from the calibrated setting.

Other than the front focusing issue, the K-r could use the individual AF fine adjustment setting for up to 20 lens feature available on the K7 and K5. Otherwise, the K-r is a great camera with the fix mentioned above.

SVAT CCDCO Mini Indoor CCD Pinhole Camera Kit (Color)

I have a shed with a lot of tools. Recently, some of those tools went missing and I had no idea where they went. One here, another there and no one seemed to know who took them. I setup this camera without telling anyone what I was doing and connected it to the old VCR we had and pretended I used the VCR only for the clock. On the second day of recording, I caught my Brother-in-law coming in to grab tools. When I confronted him, he confessed to taking the tools and claimed that he was planning to return them but kept forgetting. I still havent told anyone about the camera.

This camera is all it is advertised to be. My only complaint is the power connector's. They don't fit very tight so a little wiggle and you lose power to the camera. I taped them together to minimize motion and make sure it doesn't get moved after installation. Otherwise it's got good resolution. I would order another, if I needed one.

Buy SVAT CCDCO Mini Indoor CCD Pinhole Camera Kit (Color) Now

This is a great little camera for the price. It does not come with the RCA adapters in the picture. If you know you need them, order them separately:

C2G / Cables to Go 02455 BNC Female to RCA Male AdapterSilver

Read Best Reviews of SVAT CCDCO Mini Indoor CCD Pinhole Camera Kit (Color) Here

Have an outside cam system but wanted something inside that was hidden in case someone ever got in my home. This works. I have it hooked up to a mini DVR that will take a photo or video if there is movement. The Mini Pinhole is a color cam with nightvision in black/white. The camera actually takes some clear photos and videos. It was easy to conceal also.

Want SVAT CCDCO Mini Indoor CCD Pinhole Camera Kit (Color) Discount?

Clarity was amazing, Fit right in the T-Bears belly.

My neighbor was worried about her babysitter, so we put this inside a T-Bear on the shelf to

relieve our fears. Small enough not to buldge out of bears belly. Worked like a charm.

She was parinoid, so when we found nothing wrog it was a great relief.

Tried a few others, none matched the clear crisp image of this one.

Save 62% Off

Sony HDR-PJ380/R High Definition Handycam Camcorder with 3.0-Inch LCD (Red)

With a typical camcorder, the design trade-off is between portability and cost on the one side, and low light performance on the other.

If you salivate over low light performance the HDR-PJ790V is the one for you but it both weighs and costs three times as much. On the other hand, if you desire portable videography on a budget, the HDR-CX380 is the winner. In fact, as you will see in the comparison notes below, the CX380 is probably the best value to be had in Sony's stable of budget camcorders CX230, CX290, CX380, and CX430.

CX380 Features:

###########

++ 16 GB of flash memory, sufficient for 1h 15m of highest quality video

++ Clean 3" LCD with touch buttons for recording/zoom

++ Hardware features (Mic input)

++ Software features (Face Detection, Auto Wind Noise reduction, Tracking focus)

++ decent lens (Sony G Quality, 26.8mm/F1.8, 30x optical zoom)

++ compact surprisingly light, and fits in smaller hands and into most large purses

++ traditional Sony optical steady shot stabilization tech

CX380 performance:

#############

In good lighting conditions, it captured smooth images, great colors, and decent sound though the auto wind filter was a bit over-aggressive.

As expected, in low light conditions, the images were noisy though watchable, and the colors were muted.

CX380 conclusion:

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This is a well designed unit, with small thoughtful touches such as rough grooving along one side for a better grip, and a built-in USB cable.

While there is nothing here that blew my socks off, it did meet my expectations for performance in a highly portable unit at this price point.

Happy videography!

~Damodar

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For more details:

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Additional Notes:

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Comparison to the CX290:

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Going down one level to the CX290, you lose simply way too much functionality:

ViewSonic PJD5523w WXGA DLP Projector - 720p, HDMI, 2700 Lumens, 3000:1 DCR, 120Hz/3D Ready, Speaker

• WXGA 1280x800 DLP Projector, 2700 ANSI Lumens, 3000:1 DCR; HDMI input connectivity, 120Hz/3D-Ready powered by TI DLP Link, Supports HD 720p/1080i/1080p
• Requires the ViewSonic VP3D1 3D Video Processor to convert 3D HD formats to display on ViewSonic 3D-Ready or DLP Link 3D-Ready projectors with HDMI
• Multiple inputs: Dual RGB in, HDMI, composite, s-video, RGB out, audio in/out, RS232, Apple Mac compatible, 1.2x optical zoom lens
• Integrated Speaker 1w, Digital keystone correction +/- 40°, Portable lightweight 5.7 lbs
• Lamp life: 4000/6000 (Normal/Eco), Eco Mode for energy savings, longer lamp life and reduced noise, Remote control with batteries included

I purchased this projector for use in a home theater setting. I use it on a projector screen that has enough space for about a 55" display size and it looks amazing. Picture is crisp and colors are vibrant. On eco mode it works very well in a well lit room and looks even better in a dark room. Auto input selection is nice so you can just plug anything into it and it will automatically select the source along with auto screen aspect selection (if you enable these options). After reading a review that someone was unable to use their Windows 7 PC with it, I connected my Windows 7 laptop both through the VGA inputs and through the HDMI inputs and both worked perfectly. Obviously the other review where the user says this does not work with Windows 7 doesn't know how to use their PC / Projector (it's easy plug and play). At 720p resolution, it looks just as good as a 1080p TV I have in another room. Additionally, the warranty is a lot better than most projectors (3 years parts/labor and 1 year on the lamp whereas most only offer 1 year on everything).

Cons: (very little, but if I had to pick something...)

The built-in speaker is mono sound only, so some things might not sound right through the built in sound. The speaker does get loud enough to be adequate, but you shouldn't expect much from the single built in speaker it has. Hooking up a pair of external PC speakers to the audio output greatly improves the sound quality.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this purchase.

FOLLOW UP after 11 months of ownership:

Something I realized long after this purchase that I think is important to mention is that this projector DOES NOT support HDCP video through the HDMI port. This translates to some Blu-ray discs not being able to play in HD. In my home theater setup, this is not an issue because I use an Xbox 360 to stream most of my content and video game systems seem to work fine. However, if you must have the ability to play HDCP video content, you might want to consider Viewsonic's PRO line of projectors that are designed for home theater and support HDCP (as far as I know). Other than that, the projector has been working great almost a year after ownership.

Buy ViewSonic PJD5523w WXGA DLP Projector - 720p, HDMI, 2700 Lumens, 3000:1 DCR, 120Hz/3D Ready, Speaker Now

This projector is really amazing. I'm an IT guy, so I see a lot of projectors in and out of the office. Finally, I decided, it was time to get one for my home. I couldn't be happier with it. Even though I saw a negative review on Projector Central, suggesting that it was more of a business projector than a home theater projector, I couldn't disagree more. They said there were "rainbow artifacts" on the screen, but I can't see them unless I shake my head vigorously side to side. The brightness is fantastic. It's perfect, because even though it has high lumens, the colours aren't washed out. I don't even project this puppy on a screen. I just use a white wall. Incidentally, it's so great, it even works decently on a blue wall. The menu is easy to navigate, it's sleek and attractive. The only thing that concerns me is that it doesn't have a lens cap. The lens is recessed though, so unless you stick your finger in there, it won't face any abuse.

Read Best Reviews of ViewSonic PJD5523w WXGA DLP Projector - 720p, HDMI, 2700 Lumens, 3000:1 DCR, 120Hz/3D Ready, Speaker Here

I've had the projector for 2 months now. I'm quite satisfied with the product considering the price I paid (refurb)

Here's actual breakdown of real comsumer usecase set up with a home theater, home computer, and an Onkyo multimedia receiver. The unit is mounted on the ceiling 18 feet from the screen in a darkend basement. Actual projection footprint of screen is 120 inch diagonal on a 4:3 setting.

PRO:

> Color is superior.Great ability to customize contrast, hue, and all sort of projection aspects.

HD conversion is VERY good considering the hoops I had to jump through.

> Its small and lightweight. Easy to mount.

> Interface signal auto-detection is quite convenient.

> Lumens are perfect for a dark basement setup.

> My 18' projection setup actual extends to ~145 inch diagonal on letter box but I can't install a larger screen to

accommodate.

> Great coverage with factory remote and Harmony remote. 45 degrees plus.

> Composite to RGB interface supports HDMI quite well. Why am I doing this? Read on...

CON:

> The projector is HDMI 1.4 only! It is not HDMI 1.3 backwards compatible. I have an inwall 1.3 HDMI cable and I

never saw this limitation in the fine print. My Onkyo receiver and bluray player suffers from the limitation. Poor me

but I'll live with it. That means no 3D as a result.

> NO HORIZONTAL KEYSTONE! If you are using this for home theater and have to mount at least 1 foot off perfect center, expect at least a 5 inch skew.

> The fan is fairly noisy. More noisy than I expected but I turn up the volume on the movies and I don't notice it.

> There is a rainbow effect, however, I hardly notice it except for high contrast dark scenes.

I can't beat the price for the quality of the picture. I'm sticking with it for now and I'm living with composite cabling conversion having to

avoid tearing out my ceiling to install HDMI 1.4 cabling.

---------------------------------------------------

SIX MONTHS SINCE HAVING IT 130 HOURS INTO SERVICE

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So I'm not a big in-season football fan. I usually will watch the games on my regular flat screen upstairs. Since my team made it to the playoffs this year, I started to watch the playoffs in the basement on the projector.

The first thing to note is that 1080P displayed via WXGA projectiopn isn't comparable to flatscreen 1080P. Not a huge issue. I pretty much knew this doing the research but going on a great deal for this projector.

What I "DO" notice that I didn't expect to see is the high pixelation the faster the action shots were during the football game.

Fast running shots or panning against all the colors and shapes in the crowd, the screen refresh rate in the project is challenged. I think it must be screen refresh compatability conflict with the cable box. It has to be as standard movies through CD and Bluray look great.

Still love it for the price I got, however, I can't increase the star rating to "four" from "three" from teh perspective of a cable TV consumer perspective. The HDMI1.4 limitation I ran into and the absense of horizontal keystone were big limitations preventing me from utilizing a lot of options.

Want ViewSonic PJD5523w WXGA DLP Projector - 720p, HDMI, 2700 Lumens, 3000:1 DCR, 120Hz/3D Ready, Speaker Discount?

Have had this projector for about a month and used it quite extensively for movies and computer display. Here are some thoughts on a projector that makes it seem like you're in a theatre; not a hyper contrasty digital theatre but a good old fashioned film reel theatre.

-out of the box the colour setting were horrible; over saturated reds mostly and yellow flesh tones, no contrast in mid-tones, overly bright and grey is the new black.

-With adjustment (there is very detailed in projector controls; search for the manual PDF to see) on the projector and running through OSX's colorsync software, I produced a very good result one user setting for daytime, one for at night (in the end, pulled up a stock image I found and tweaked until I was satisfied.)

-daytime is OK but washed out; much detail is lost but you can see the picture in a sunlit house (good for youtube and the news).

-nighttime viewing is astounding. You will not appreciate this unless you have 720P or higher content to watch. You will not get the same contrast as a LED TV, but it feels like a movie theatre. The detail is astounding, 13 foot throw distance, about 100 inch 'screen' (white wall). Zoom is turned minimal to preserve brightness; I keep on saying WOW!

-Blacks are "good" to "very good" I'd say (compared to review websites w images of much pricier 1080p projectors), but took some fiddling to get there (contrast and brightness controls)

-All preset colour modes are lame, unless its day time and you want 'brightest'; although view match tries to give accurate colors, it greys everything out.

-there IS a slight difference in brightness across the screen (top right is dim) but this is only noticeable with non-moving monochromatic images.

-never could 'exactly' match colours on my MBP display to the screen, but i'm projecting it onto a white paint wall. probably not white, probably just primer and dirty old primer at that.

-some uncertainty of how (accurately) super fast action is displayed as my eyes catch a bit of jerkiness (back in the day anything CRT under 85hz hurt my eyes), but the HDMI connection seems to display each frame that it should; with most files 30 frames per second, this sometimes is jerky movement; again, like a theatre not digital TV.

-I didn't notice any rainbow, unless wildly moving my head (not just eyes) around, and then just on very contrasty scenes (i.e torch in darkness)

-on my Mac (and iPad) I have yet to figure out 120Hz refresh; it's stuck to 60hz via HDMI or VGA. (haven't tried w PC, no response from Viewsonic support)

-the fan is noticeable when the projector is two-three feet from your ear. otherwise, medium volume TV/movies drown it out.

-overall, amazing cost/value to watch big screen entertainment. It will broadcast how crap your media files are across 100 inches; say hello to HD upgrade fees or extra bandwidth downloads.

Contrast isn't amazing, but the warranty is; The equivalent Optoma seems to have some problems once it hits a year with pixels dying check the 'updated' reviews here on Amazon. I haven't seen the Optoma 66 in action, but am happy with my purchase of "OK" contrast ratio and "great" life expectancy. Will never buy a TV again.

The project, was priced to go, Once receiving the product, hooking it up was easy and instructions were easy to read. Once turning on the projector, you can tell it was much brighter than our old one. The resolution and the crispness of the display were awesome. This is a great projector for anyone looking for a good office demonstration or conference room projector.

OKEBA Mini DisplayPort / ThunderBolt Male to DVI Male Cable Adapter for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro,

Cable failed after about 3 months. No strange or heavy use, to tugging, nothing that should have made it fail other than the fact that it is a lousy low quality product.

My computer and display no longer talk to each other. Worked flawlessly until about 3 weeks, then it just stopped and no longer worked. Tried reconnecting it several times but to no avail. Not a great deal if it doesn't work. I'm going to try to return it.

Buy OKEBA Mini DisplayPort / ThunderBolt Male to DVI Male Cable Adapter for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro, Now

I was using the Apple Thunderbolt to VGA adapter with the VGA cable that came with my monitor with my Mac mini, but the results were marginal when there was contrasty light background and the updates were not that fast. The monitor had a DVI port on it and after researching it I decided to go with the OKEBA cable instead of getting the Apple HDMI to DVI adapter then using a DVI cable to interface everything. I had heard of intermittent problems with that solution. The OKEBA cable works perfectly and resolved all my resolution problems.

Read Best Reviews of OKEBA Mini DisplayPort / ThunderBolt Male to DVI Male Cable Adapter for Apple Macbook, Macbook Pro, Here

I got it because of the new connections for the Mac Pro in 2012. Used it for video transfer from my camera and worked perfectly

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Did not work for me. Display was not identified. Image was hanging. Worse than with Thunderbolt-VGA adapter from Apple (which was bad too).

Fancierstudio 11" inch Articulating Magic Arm for mounting HDMI Monitor LED lights Camera Flash Bra

I bought this because I have a fancier tripod. I use a lilliput 7" monitor and mounted it to the side of the 1/4 mounting in the fluid head. Make sure you have that tight, hold on to the monitor while tilting to confirm it won't move then your good to go. I am ordering a couple more for the other side of my fancier fluid head mounting hole for my digital recorder.

Canon EOS Rebel T3i 36 Piece Pro Kit

First of all this is my first SLR camera and i didnt know what i was missing! it is an amazing camera! just got it today and im in love! also this bundle is perfect, comes with everything you could possibly need! im very happy with it!

I purchased Canon EOS rebel T3i with Kit from A&R PHOTO VIDEO INC on Amazon. Excellent camera with all accessaries required to get start photograhy. Overall kit is very useful as it includes all items rather searching them individually.Gerat value for money surprisingly item reached in two business days from day ordered. Really worth buying this kit.

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Samsung UN46ES6500 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz 3D Slim LED HDTV (Black)

This review is for the 60" model.

First Impressions

-----------------

The box is *huge*. The TV is *thin*. Not even an inch at the edge, and maybe just over in the center. The menus are pretty straightforward. (I don't care too much about the 3D or Smart features of this TV at the moment, and don't have much frame of reference for how to judge modern 3D, so I can't really review these aspects.) The screen doesn't seem too glossy, but it apparently works very well as a mirror because I can see a negative image of my kitchen when it's off.

Struggle

--------

One extremely annoying "feature" of these TVs that I've found out after purchase is the "CE Dimming" feature. This is not the "ECO Dimming" or anything you can control; It's hard-coded into the certain picture modes (Standard and Native, at least). This feature is something that will reduce the backlighting when there is mostly black on the screen. (For example, if there is 100% brightness white text on a pure black screen, it would actually display at a fraction of that intensity due to the backlight dimming). I've read that this is to reduce the appearance of light bleeding in from the edges, since it's edge-lit. This "feature" annoys me significantly, particularly because I am not allowed to control it. After searching around I found out this is called "CE Dimming" and you can hack it by going into the service menu (you can find the instructions online yourself), however messing with it apparently voids the warranty. The only picture mode I found that doesn't use this is "Movie" mode. But, movie mode looks terrible with its default settings.

After 3 days of struggle, experimentation, and research, I've found settings that actually give me a picture I can call "good" or better. I'm not an expert, but I'm technical and pretty picky. So, because I have found no calibration settings for this series of TVs yet, I'm going to provide the ones I am using, if only to prevent any of you from having to obsess over this for hours and hours. I'll offer a little bit of explanation as to why I'm setting it the way I am. I got some guidance and expertise from a known site, but as of right now they do not have professionally calibrated settings. What I did is by eye only.

Settings

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Picture Mode: Movie

Backlight: 15

Contrast: 100

Brightness: 46

Sharpness: 10

Color: 50

Tint: 50/50

Dynamic Contrast: Off

Black Tone: Off

Flesh Tone: 0

RGB Off: Auto

Color Space: Auto

White Balance: 25 for all

10p White Balance (R, G, B): ON

Interval 1: -8, -7, -7

Interval 2: -10, -3, 2

Interval 3: -9, -2, 6

Interval 4: -9, -1, 8

Interval 5: -10, 1, 10

Interval 6: -6, 3, 10

Interval 7: -9, 5, 10

Interval 8: -1, 5, 8

Interval 9: -5, 1, 6

Interval 10: 0, 2, 0

Gamma: 0

Color Tone: Warm2

Digital Noise Filter: Off

MPEG Noise Filter: Off

HDMI Black Level: LOW

Film Mode: Auto2

Auto Motion Plus: Clear

LED Motion Plus: On

Comments on the Settings

------------------------

Movie mode is the only mode I found that doesn't use "CE Dimming", which is a huge annoyance to me. (I'd rather see edge-lighting, easily. Not sure why I can't control that, Samsung.) Backlight, brightness, and color are kind of like salt and pepper: Use to personal taste in your environment.

A note about almost all the other settings: I like an eye-popping, colorful picture as much as the next guy, but I don't like it at the expense of information loss. From my own experimentation (in Standard and Native modes), all the Dynamic Contrast and Black Tone settings did was flatten out the low end of the blacks. Dark scenes look like "paint by number" with all kinds of banding and digital multiplication/division. Lame, worthless settings if that is the effect, and a problem in general with "digital" stuff.

Standard white balance isn't fine-grained enough to make the adjustments to any of the picture modes that are necessary, in my opinion. I messed with it for a long time, so I know. :) The only way to get actual, fine-grained color control is to use the 10p White Balance settings. Now, I only know this from messing around with it, but what this does is allow you to control the individual colors R, G, and B as 10 different intensities, from black to white. So, Interval 1 is the darkest reds, greens, and blues (close to black), and Interval 10 is the brightest R, G, and B, close to white. If you use "Expert Pattern 1" you can see how this works. Short summary?: Red is WAY over-represented and blue is WAY under-represented when everything is set at 0. Everything looked neon until I calibrated this, particularly the reds, and greens to some extent. (Maybe they can create a "1980's" picture mode!)

The noise filters aren't needed when you have everything calibrated correctly. They are kind of an excuse for having the eye-popping over-saturated settings that Standard and Dynamic mode come with. I'm not too sure on the Film Mode and LED Motion Plus. They didn't give me any noticible changes. The Auto Motion plus is nice, but I found that it starts getting choppy when you have other effects going on, including a lowered sharpness (I imagine it must be doing some extra calculations for that.) So, I only set it to Clear because it doesn't seem to get choppy with that set, but still provides some stability and smoothness in fast scenes.

Overall

-------

I give the picture (once it is set correctly) a 5/5. The fact that I can't adjust certain "features", combined with the level of screwing around it requires to make the picture look good makes me lower that. Seriously Samsung... why can't there be a default mode in here that has professionally calibrated settings? You must know that the reds are way too saturated, right? You can still set it to "Standard Mode" by default to create eye-popping pictures that make people buy the TV. But with all your expertise, why not just have a mode that has all this stuff pre-calibrated and save us the time?

EDIT (2012-05-28): After further tinkering, I think I have refined settings to make the picture pop a little more without ruining the picture. Use above settings, but adjust to these:

Dynamic Contrast: LOW

Black Tone: Darker

HDMI Black Level: LOW

Color Space: Native

***********************

EDIT (2012-11-06): Now there are finally professionally calibrated settings available (have been for a few months). You can do a search for "un60es6500 calibration" and it's one of the top results. But, there are problems with those settings. The major one is the regular "White Balance" blue offset setting. They say to use 28. The problem with this is that increasing the offset makes the black baseline move up. So, 100% black now appears brighter. I've adjusted their settings and come up with a slight modification that I think looks fantastic. (Also, my experience with the latest firmware 001023 from Nov 1 was NOT GOOD. It wouldn't allow any picture mode except Dynamic. I did a factory reset, and things are better now.)

Picture Mode Movie

Backlight 17

Contrast 100

Brightness 45

Sharpness 10

Color 60

Tint G50/R50

ADVANCE SETTINGS

Dynamic Contrast Low

Black Tone Off

Flesh Tone 0

RGB Only Mode Off

Color Space Native

10pt White Balance On

Gamma -1

Expert Pattern Off

xvYCC Off

PICTURE OPTIONS

Color Tone Warm2

Digital Noise Filter Off

MPEG Noise Filter Off

HDMI Black Level Low

Film Mode Film2

Auto Motion Plus Clear

LED Motion Plus Off

10PT WHITE BALANCE

ON

Interval Red Green Blue

1 0 -1 -1

2 -1 -1 -1

3 0 0 0

4 -1 0 +1

5 -1 -1 +1

6 -1 -1 -1

7 -1 -1 -1

8 0 0 0

9 +1 0 0

10 +2 0 0

WHITE BALANCE

Setting Value

R-Offset 25

G-Offset 25

B-Offset 25

R-Gain 18

G-Gain 23

B-Gain 25

***********************

EDIT (2012-12-02): I've recently updated to the latest firmware version 001024 and I think it is an improvement. With that update, I've adjusted my settings to the above, but with Gamma -2 and Black Tone: Dark and Color Tone: Warm 1. Looks great to me!

***********************

EDIT (2013-01-02): I've recently updated to firmware version 001025. I might be me imagining it, but I think the video quality degraded slightly, and the issue with SmartHub (where the SmartHub will just pop up randomly, for a second or two, for no reason) is still there. Samsung needs to get their sheet together, because this is just silly, for a $2000 product. But hey, once you've got their money, who cares!

***********************

EDIT (2013-02-18): The SmartHub problem is fixed now. It apparently just needed to be updated to the latest version, and wasn't an issue with the firmware, as I'm still on 001025 and haven't had that issue in over a month.

I got this TV to upgrade from an older Samsung 46" 60htz LCD which I loved. I spent a lot of time comparing TV brands when buying that first TV and didn't have to do much shopping for this one. I knew that I loved Samsung's picture over any other TV except for some of the Sony Bravias but they're overpriced IMO. I wanted a 55" 3D with at least 120htz and this one fit the bill. I bought the last one on Amazon so I came back here for this purchase. They delivered it quickly and it was in perfect condition as expected.

I was initially aprehensive about this TV after seeing it only got 3 1/2 stars in customer reviews so I read all the reviews. I found that the people who gave the TV a negative review were all upset about the Smart TV internet features. Slow connectivity when using a browser, Netflix, Youtube, etc. I understand their reason for being upset because a TV that includes those features should function properly. Unfortunately these rely heavily on your internet connection speed which may not be fast enough to support them. Oh well, buy a faster internet plan. This TV is on the low end of the Smart TV spectrum so I wouldn't expect those features to perform as well on it considering the other 3 models above it have dual core processors built into them to handle that. Buy one of those models with the dual core if you're main reason for having a TV is to surf the internet or watch youtube. Or just use your computer for that like the rest of us. The actual "TV" is top-notch and the 3D is spectacular!

I agree with some of the reviewers that the picture needs tweaking to get it right. I was fully prepared for that because I had to tweak my last Samsung for a while before getting the picture just right but once it's set, it's awesome. This TV has even more options to tweak so it can get confusing for the inexperienced but it's capable of producing one of the best pictures out there if you know how to tune it. The Dynamic, Standard, and Native picture modes are actually pretty useless unfortunately. Set it to Movie mode and start tweaking. Yes, it starts out dark so increase the backlighting and brightness, bump up the color and sharpness, high auto contrast, darkest black level, etc... If anyone wants my specific settings I'll list them if you ask.

The 3D is simply awesome. Home theater 3D isn't going to be as good as going to an IMAX theater but it's still pretty sweet. One thing to keep in mind is that the picture mode settings that you did in TV mode don't carry over to 3D mode nor do they carry over to the other sources, HDMI in, Component In. So, if you have a PS3 hooked up to HDMI you'll have to edit the picture settings for that source to match the main TV settings so you get the same picture in both. Game Mode limits the amount of settings you can tweak so you have to use your judgement with that but if you match everything you can it'll work out fine. Just remember to turn Game Mode OFF before watching movies because it degrades picture quality.

I'm sure this isn't the best review out there for the TV but it might be of some use to some of you. If you're considering a 3D TV and you're not overly concerned with using it as a web browser and just want a great TV then this is it. Once dialed in, the picture is fantastic and the price is right. If you're interested in the Smart TV features MORE than watching a great and inexpensive 3D TV then pay more money for the next models in the series that have the dual core processor. Regardless, stick with a Samsung because it's always the best picture for the money.

Buy Samsung UN46ES6500 46-Inch 1080p 120Hz 3D Slim LED HDTV (Black) Now

The Samsung 6500 LED 3D TV is a great option for anyone in the market for a mid-point LED television. It offers many of the options of the higher price sets (such as the high-end Samsung 8000 series), but lacks the pricier cutting edge technology (Such as the motion and voice control). Through-out the video portion of this review reference the LG LM6700, which is at a a similar price point.

Notes-

Picture Quality It took some tweaking, but once I had it properly set-up the picture quality was very good. The picture is crisp (which you would expect from any 1080P set), but it also offers better brightness than our LG LM6700. The LG always seems a little dark, but the Samsung 6500 offers better overall brightness, and to me, it makes the picture *look* better. One other thing, until I got the picture adjusted properly, I did notice some color blooming which subtracted from the overall picture sharpness... never fear, this can be adjusted out. Some people may also be concerned with the 120Hz refresh.... I also own the Samsung 8000,and my version is 240Hz, and I don't notice any difference. I guess the only time it maybe noticeable is while watching a 3D Blu-ray.

3DThe Samsung 6500 comes with 2 pairs of active (read *battery operated*) 3D glasses. Using the Samsung 6500 to convert 2D to 3D works, ok, but it will not take your breath away. I used it to watch a baseball game, and "Men in Black" and while I noticed the difference it was not dramatic. The LG LM6700 uses passive glasses, and to me, seems to have better 2D to 3D capability.

Sound Again, it took some adjustments to get the integrated speakers to sound the way I wanted. It required me to turn the surround setting on, and play around with the set-up. One thing to note, is that out-of-the-box, the Samsung 6500 makes a clicking noise every time you raise or lower the volume. This is pretty annoying, but it can be disabled.

Features This is what separated the Samsung 6500 from some of the pricier models, but to me, it really doesn't matter. The Samsung comes with a nice programmable remote, plenty of applications (Netflix, Hulu Plus, YouTube, Pandora,...although Amazon is noticeably absent). However, as I mentioned it does not come with the voice and motion control of the Samsung 8000 series. The Samsung 6500 offer "Family View" and Fitness channels... but in all honesty, I really have not used them. In terms of features, the LG LM6700 has very similar features but they are better organized and easier to use.

Back Panel I mention it in the video portion, but the Samsung 6500 offers 3 HDMI inputs (which is enough for a Game device, DVR, and Blu-Ray... or some other combination), 1 component input, 0 (zero) RCA and S-video inputs, and optical output, a LAN input, and multiple USB inputs. I question why modern TV manufacturers have completely dropped RCA inputs they still come in handy.

Wifi The Samsung 6500 comes with built-in wifi.

Final Verdict The Samsung 6500 offers a great picture with plenty of apps you would expect. While the LG LM6700 does have it beat on ease of use (it requires a lot less tweaking), but ultimately it can not offer the ultra-bright picture of the Samsung 6500. Is the Samsung 6500 the greatest LED TV on the market... nope, but it may be the best one at this price point!

4 1/2 Stars

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Let me start with PROS

Ultimate configuration with awesome 3D experience, super clarity and sound quality. Would buy it again when below issues are resolved.

CONS:

Hell lot of software Issues:

1) All of a sudden Netflix froze and it doesn't respond to any remote control button. I have to power it off and when I power it on with wifi and/or wired connection I see multiple issues as below

2) After the above step if i power on my TV it starts with a Green horizontal line on the top edge of the TV

3) When ever this happens it loses all my Network settings and it doesn't connect the Smart HUB (Netflix/YouTube). It doesn't even detect my WIFI or a wired LAN connection.

4) Whenever YouTube gets stuck/freezes TV doesn't respond to remote control and on restarting the TV wired or wifi connection gets disconnected and doesn't detect wifi or wired LAN connection.

5) At times when I watch YouTube TV restarts all of a sudden.

6) When ever I restart YouTube if I forward the earlier video I was watching the amount of forwarding/image doesn't match with the time it is buffered for. Ex: Fast forwarding the video for 30 mins approximately shows 1 hour 30 mins on the seek bar of YouTube.

7) Netflix doesn't connect thru wifi initially so I have to connect through LAN cable

8) 3d doesn't work with Netflix

TV Model No: UN46ES6500FXZA

Version No: TS01

Serial No: Z4XXXXXXXXX179M

Below are the Transaction numbers for the calls made to Samsung support to resolve. But nothing helps.

1) Samsung Transaction No: 2xxxxxxx40 -Was to reset to factory settings only to see the issues again.

2) Samsung Transaction No: 2xxxxxxx60

3) Samsung Remote Diagnosis Chat Session ID: LTK56xxxxxxxx4X

4) Samsung Transaction No: 2xxxxxxx07Level-1/Tier-1 couldn't help this time. They escalated to Level-2/Tier2 Support & i was put on brief hold every time and I was finally heard from Samsung that the crash & restart are firmware issues are being fixed in an firmware update across E models which is being fixed. Do you want to wait for a fix and live with the issues till you get a firmware update? I wouldn't do that when I am spending so much on a TV.

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After purchasing a Samsung UN55D7000 about 6 months ago (2011 model) which I was very happy with, I needed a new TV for my bedroom and this model was the perfect size and it had many of the same features.

This TV is the 2012 model and is still fairly new, they are still working out the bugs with the smartTV side for the 2012 models at Samsung. I noticed that this TV does not have the HBO2GO app yet and I read how it is because it is a 2012 and the app has to be changed.

Also the Browser is not working, this could be an issue with just my tv but I tested it and it would not connect.

I compared this TV next to the D7000 and it was exactly the same but it did not have the "spotlighting" that occurs on the 2011 models. The blacks seem much blacker also.

I have not tested the 3D part, one good this is that this model comes with 2 pairs of glasses, they are the ones with batteries you have to replace and they do not recharge but I did not buy it for the 3d part.

I tested the Pandora app and it worked the same as other my other TV. The entire Samsung model line up seems to be ahead of the curve and quality seems to be great. The tv is very thin and crystal clear. The built in speakers sound good.

Pros

Clear Picture and good colors

Samsung smartTV huge fan of how it works and the ease of use

Cons

Browser is not working and some apps are not ready for the 2012 line up (yet, no worries they will get them working)

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Levana Melody Digital Baby Monitor with Talk-To-Baby Intercom and Temperature Sensor (LV-TW200)

We don't have a baby, but I ordered this anyway. I keep the main unit downstairs in my husband's mancave and the listening part upstairs in the living room where I am exiled to watch my reality shows about hoarders and obese people. I can pick it up and shout at my husband ("Are the cats down there with you?) and he hears me and I can hear him answer. Saves me from having to walk down the stairs to his lair and talk to him in person. I can also hear if he has the TV on or is snoring down there. So it's been very useful and works fine like that.

Hits:

The primary function of this monitor, (which is of course to let you hear inside baby's room), works pretty well. Audio comes through clear with excellent detail. I can easily hear the clock ticking in my daughter's room and her occasional movement in her crib. Although I will say that the range is grossly exaggerated by the manufacturer (2000 ft). We live in a two story house with a finished basement, and the range is sufficient for our indoor use. But outdoor use proved less than reliable as we found we were out of range when positioned at the end of our backyard deck which is less than 200 feet away from the baby's room.

Though not essential, the soft orange light and lullaby music were nice touches. I don't know if they help her fall asleep, but the lullabies do seem to preoccupy her and create a calm, gentle atmosphere, which I think is all you can expect. Being able to start the lullabies remotely is nice. It has saved us from having to get out of bed a few times.

The room thermometer was a great feature for us. Like most multi level houses, our upstairs tends to be hotter than the downstairs. So although the house thermostat may be set at 70, the upstairs rooms can get much warmer, particularly if a bedroom door is closed (which it is when our daughter sleeps). So being able to see the temperature in her room is of great value to us. Others with different style homes may find it less useful though.

Misses:

I find the intercom to be a rather useless feature. Knowing my daughter as I do, if she awakens and/or is crying, it takes more than my voice over an intercom to calm her. When she wakes up, she wants contact. That's just how babies are.

The feeding timer is just silly. Babies eat on their own schedules and they develop their schedules naturally, as they should. Even if the manufacturer only intends this timer to "get you started" in establishing a schedule, then by definition it's a feature of very short lived usefulness. I mean really, who is going to forget to feed their baby anyway? Trust me new parents, baby will let you know when he/she is hungry.

The built-in LED flashlight is a nice concept, but is poorly executed. As another reviewer stated, when you take the parent unit into the baby's room and get anywhere near the baby's unit noisy static ensues, thus defeating the whole purpose of being able to go in without turning on the lights. What good is a flashlight if the baby is awakened by static noise?

In summary, this monitor is a bit of a mixed bag. Does it monitor well? Yes. Can you get monitors that perform that function just as well for less money? Absolutely. So you really have to decide if the extra features such as the lullabies, night light and thermostat are worth the extra money over other more traditional monitors.

Buy Levana Melody Digital Baby Monitor with Talk-To-Baby Intercom and Temperature Sensor (LV-TW200) Now

As other reviews have stated, the LED indicator lights are bright. Not just bright, but light up the entire room bright. It looks like the police have invaded your bedroom. My husband had to tape over the lights for the next few nights until we order a different monitor and can return this one. It's ridiculously bright.

In addition, the sound clarity is not that great. Very crackly.

Read Best Reviews of Levana Melody Digital Baby Monitor with Talk-To-Baby Intercom and Temperature Sensor (LV-TW200) Here

So as a background, I am a mom of 3, this is my bazillionth monitor it seems..

I have had 2 of the simple graco sights and sounds monitors

I have had an annyoning overpriced sound only monitor whose brand name escapes me right now(reviewed here already)

This levana monitor

and my trusty Summer Infant video monitor.

The pros:

Decent range. 2000 feet? Uh, no..we got maybe 50 feet from the house and it went out of range. Not that I am looking to wander 2000 feet from my sleeping child, anyway.

Secure signal. That is cool if you are in a busy area. Honestly, I am not too worried that my local possum, deer or bear will care to snoop in on my conversations!

Temp sensor. Hey that is pretty neat! But I don't keep windows open, nor do I allow my baby's door to be closed so it is a bit of a ho-hum staring at 70 degrees all the time...

Intercom. Yeah that sounds nice in theory. But I have yet to hear of that, or some automatic nightlight or even a couple tunes calming down a needy infant. Maybe my kids were not programmed for that? LOL!

The cons:

The biggest one here is the price for this gadget. The frills, or the fluff as I call it, just don't seem worth the price. A parent armed with a simple 1/5 the price Graco monitor can hear baby just as well and hightail it to baby's room just the same as one with all these timers, buttons and nonesense. Or, if you are just bent on spending money on a monitor and WANT something different then check out the portable video monitors. Those are really nice and I would gladly pay double for them vs. this monitor at this price.

Let's face it. Most times baby cries there is something wrong. I am hungry, wet, lonely, feverish, bored, gassy or in pain. Or sometimes just having a little dream and am talking in my sleep. Most of the time you are going to have to hop on over there to see what is amiss. Of course, at the supposed 2000 feet away I guess you better practice sprinting! A lullabye does not replace the arms of a loving parent no matter how hard you try. So my opinion is go Graco cheapie or go with the video monitor so then you can see if baby is just dreaming. Honestly I went through 2 kids with my little graco monitors and finally upgraded with the 3rd to the Summer Infant video monitor and am thrilled beyond belief since I can use it to keep tabs on my little herd as they learn to play nice with each other.

In the end, you will not be unhappy if you buy this monitor. But IMHO you can spend your money more wisely.

And ETA please, in light of recent sad news on the baby safety frontregardless of your purchase please remember to keep all baby monitor cords OUT OF THE BABY'S reach! :(

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I purchased the monitor through Amazon and was very pleased with how quickly it arrived. I have 5 kids so I've had quite a few (audio) baby monitors over the years and the clarity of the Levana is among the best. It seems manufacturers are trying to push people into buying the expensive video monitors because the audio-only monitors generally have awful quality, even among manufacturers who sell both audio-only and video monitors.

Anyways, I purchased this monitor to use in my sons' bedroom 2, 5, & 5 year old boys sharing 1 room means that it is common for loud crashes, yelling, and overall craziness. Here's how the monitor sums up:

Pros -

1. Pretty clear audio. I have yet to have this monitor get staticky or offer feedback even when side-by-side with the baby unit or near the parent unit of my Sony baby monitor I use in my baby's room (which is horrible; Sony babyCall monitor has static if it's too close to you, too far away, if our furnace is firing up, and near the Levana monitor....)

2. The two-way talk feature is great for talking to your kids. I don't see this calming down an infant, but it's great for yelling at rambunctious older kids and reminding them you are the eyes and ears in the sky.

3. The Light, flashlight, and Lullaby features: I didn't think I'd really be using any other feature on the monitor aside from the monitor itself and the two-way, but I was surprised when one of the boys woke up with bad dreams how the light and the lullaby comforted him to sleep. I have used the flashlight to check on them before going to bed myself, and never has either the parent or baby unit made a beep despite being very close to each other.

Cons -

1. The indicator lights are BRIGHT. If you are epileptic, these could invoke a seizure. It isn't really noticeable in the evenings when you are up and about, but when you go to bed in a darkened room forget it. We taped over them with masking tape and it did nothing to dim them. I now use duct tape and they are still visible but less so.

2. Re-chargeable battery pack only in the parent unit. Kudos to Levana trying to be a little earth-friendly, but if you aren't around a power outlet to recharge the battery pack you're screwed. It would be nice if you could use either/or batteries in a pinch.

3. 8 hours on 1 charge??? Yeah, okay... this could just be my unit, but I get 3, maybe 4 hours of the unit just being on and it dies. My Sony also has re-chargeable batteries but it easily lasts throughout the day unplugged. If the audio on that one wasn't so bad it'd be great. Anyways, Levana's 8 hour claim is exaggerated in my experience.

4. Temperature reading is inaccurate. We keep our house on the cooler side but the temperature gauge constantly reads a good 8-10 degrees warmer than it actually is. Not a big deal for us since it wasn't a selling point I was interested in, but for those counting on it you may want to look elsewhere.

5. Customer service leaves much to be desired. I emailed customer service regarding the battery life and said I had a newly purchased unit (less than a month) but had serious issues with battery life and thought it might be faulty. I asked if I could get a replacement battery pack or a secondary parent charging unit so I'm not running around plugging and unplugging the single one I have from room to room. I received a auto-response saying I'd get a response in 1 business day.

Almost a WEEK later I received the actual reply: "Thank you for sending us an e-mail about this problem. A second charging base can be purchased through our support department for $20.00 for the unit and $10.00 shipping. If you would like to purchase this base, please call us at 1-866-946-7828 monday Friday 8:15am 5pm." That's it. REALLY?!? $30 for a charging base? That's more than half the price of the entire system! Also, no mention about sending me a replacement battery pack or addressing my issues with it at all, basically they seem to only be interested in making more money off you and have zero interest in actually helping you. After spending nearly $60 on the item you would think they could be a little more accomodating to their valued customers.

Bottom line: Good monitor for older children, some nice features, bad battery life, and useless customer service. If everything works it's great! But if you have any problems you're out of luck with Levana, unless you pay for their support.

Edit: I replied to Levana and called them out for my complaints mentioned above, demanded a replacement battery pack as my unit was 2 weeks old and under warranty. This time I received a more timely response. The customer service agent apologized and used the excuse that they were training new CS agents and so sometimes their inexperience shows through yet both emails were sent from the same agent so that excuse is bull. Anyways, he tried to troubleshoot the battery issue and then offered to send me a replacement pack (with my proof of purchase). I emailed a copy of my amazon invoice and another battery pack is on its way to me. I just hope I don't have any further issues.

Edit 5.14.12: I continued to use the original battery pack until it wouldn't hold a charge anymore wouldn't charge at all OR turn on About 2 months after purchase...sad. The new battery is no better than the old battery. I have the unit on the charger all day long (off), then remove from the charger and turn it on when the kids go to bed. Somewhere between 1.5 2 hours later the unit is already beeping LOW BATTERY. You would think I was serenading my kids through the intercom for the last hour or something...but no...just sitting on my coffee table turned on is enough to burn through the battery. Because of this I'm taking away a star. Too bad, because this monitor has a lot of potential.

Edit 7.21.12: This baby monitor is a POS. It woke me up at 4am beeping the low battery warning despite currently sitting on the charger for the last 4+ hours. I thought maybe it somehow got jostled and the metal contacts weren't touching, so I removed and reinserted it on the base. It stopped beeping and the screen indicated it was charging. I rolled over to go back to sleep. 5-10 minutes later, I noticed in the darkness of my bedroom that something was blinking on the walls. Rolled back over, and power light was blinking. The unit turned itself off without any warning. If I wasn't awake, I'd have no idea it was off and just assume my kids were blissfully sleeping b/c the monitor was silent. I played around with the battery and charger for almost an hour, could not get it to turn back on. Base charging light would come on, but parent unit wasn't registering the charge. Extremely pissed, I emailed Levana at 5am. I received a response later that day that they were sending me ANOTHER battery. 3rd battery in 6 months for this unit those who are keeping track.

I received the battery yesterday (Fri), and immediately installed it in the device and put it on the charger. Despite charging un-disrupted 30+ hours later, SURPRISE! The unit still doesn't turn on. Levana support is only available M-F, so I'm SOL for the rest of the weekend.

I am fine saying that overall it's a good product and I probably just got a dud, however Levana support is AWFUL. They'll keep firing off battery packs until my 1 year warranty has expired before they'll ever actually replace my unit. In which case I will just resell them on eBay or something because this is ridiculous.

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