Nikon D5100 SLR 16.2MP Digital Camera with 18-55mm II AF-S DX Lens + Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 5

I was extremely happy with my purchase and excited about the VR (Vibration Reduction) lens, which was the deciding factor for my choice, until I realized that the D5100 18-55 VR Kit did not included a VR lens at all. I am a novice and therefore did not know that the VR lens has VR written in red on the lens. Instead I was given a 18-55 DX lens and a 55-200 telephoto lens and NEITHER one of them are VR. SO instead of being excited about a camera purchase that was over $1000.00 for the first time in my life I feel that I was ripped off. I didn't realize to look for the red VR on the lens but if you read this review you can decide for yourself whether you want to take a chance. The return policy says you can return within 30 days of receiving the product if it is UNOPENED. How will you know if you have a VR lens (box states VR kit) unless you open it. Your choice to take a chance...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V 18.2 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.3-inch OLED

If money is not everything and you do not mind spending a few hundred dollars extra then you will find this Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX200V ultra-slim, ultra-light a "perfect" choice which offers very unique features that makes this the best `point & shoot' camera product of the year 2012! ...

Here is why...

Image resolution & Movie recording:

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

This tiny shiny camera boasts 18.2 MP resolution image captures which is the highest resolution till date of any point and shoot camera of this size. It also captures very smooth `optically stabilized' video up-to 1080p/60 true HD AVCHD movies in stereo AC3 sound at the same time allowing user to capture stills [16:9] seamlessly while taking movies which is very impressive and useful feature indeed.

Perfect looking stills every time. Thanks to various built-in camera post processing. Almost if not every photo I have taken so far has come out perfect. No blurry images No shake. Excellent results every single time.

Practical use of a point & Shoot:

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

How many times you wished that you take a video of that special Birthday moment of your child while at the same time wished to have a high resolution still image of the moment to cherish later? Well, Sony got that it right this time. You no longer have to juggle a camcorder and bulky DSLR with plethora of lens attachments, this `simple looking' lightweight stylish point and shoot camera does it all effortlessly.

Waterproof Peace of mind!

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

The Camera is waterproof! Yay! The specs say up-to 5 meters and can operate underwater for full hour of underwater photography! Very impressive indeed. But for most users may not really use the camera underwater. What it gives to a general user is peace of mind that if you accidently drop this in pool or get wet in the rain it will not damage the camera.

Creative and Macro Photography:

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

Very Impressive Macro photos, I must say it is truly amazing how close you can get to the subject to take those beautiful looking Macro photos. I have used Canon EOS 60D before; I must say it is very close to the DSLR quality when it comes to macro photography without any need of special lenses or contraptions. You can use the "Defocus Effect" feature to get those professional looking close-ups that otherwise takes a lot of photography experience and expensive lenses and contraptions. This simple point and shoot camera does it beautifully and effortlessly. Impressive!

Memory card:

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

I used SanDisk microSDHC 32GB Flash Memory Card (Retail Packaging) SDSDQM-032G-B35,Black with this camera and found the memory card fully compatible. I did not try any other microSD/SDHC memory card. It accepted the 32GB capacity just fine. I however wished that it accepted standard SD cards which are faster and cheaper these days. I am not sure why SONY decided to go with microSD/SDHC cards with this camera.

Battery life:

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

The battery life is good, In real life test I wished that it could have given me more but I got about 195 photos under 3 hours before it gave up on me. The OLED screen display has various options to conserve battery, I have found that if I use a "Darker" menu theme the OLED screen consumes less power and you get more juice out of the battery and also turn off the GPS feature if you do not want location data for your photos.

PROS:

[+] The sleekest waterproof point & shoot camera on the market.

[+] Takes beautiful stills & amazing looking Macro still photos.

[+] Takes very good high quality movie captures in HD 1080p/60 and still simultaneously.

[+] GPS enabled location markers for your photos!

[+] Ultra compact and extremely lightweight makes it easy to carry anywhere.

CONS:

[-] Battery compartment is fragile and does not look well built; it will eventually break sooner or later.

[-] Accepts MicroSD/SDHC cards only instead of standard SD/SDHC cards which are a big bummer! As most MicroSD cards are expensive and run at slower speed than standard SD/SDHC cards.

[-] USB and HDMI interfaces are tucked inside the battery compartment which will take toll on the battery compartment each time you need to charge the camera and or transfer photos.

[-] Front Face and rear OLED Screen are prone to dust and scratches.

[-] The W/T (Zoom) lever is placed at odd location which is difficult to use and feels fragile.

Having said, the major issue with this camera is the price. Most of the CONs mentioned above can be lived with by carefully handling the camera, but the price is something that most users will have to think twice before shelling out hard cash for this tiny shiny ultra slim point & shoot camera.

If money is not an issue for you and want portability without sacrificing picture quality this will be the best point and shoot camera you can buy today.

Hope this review was useful to you. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to let me know and I will try to answer them for you.

Happy Shopping!

I shot this video to show the waterproof pouch that I use when I take the camera to the beach. I'm trying to show it in the mirror at the beginning of the video, though not so successfully. I also wanted to show what a stunning video this tiny camera can take, but it won't happen here. You can search for "tx200v Parke Ronen" on YouTube, and you'll find the original in HD. BTW, Parke & Ronen is the brand of trunks I was wearing that day. It works ;-)

If you want to see what kind of silly video one ends up taking with this camera, search for "tx200v River Rafting Valencia".

MY TAKE ON THE CAMERA

This is the only one in its class that can go from kayaking to clubbing in style. Cool!

Compact, easy to use, and fun to play with. The pictures and the videos are impressive. Reviewing and sharing the images on that tiny screen is incredibly fun. They just look amazing.

SHOOTING

Most of the time, I just turn the camera on, compose, and press the shutter button. The camera starts up pretty fast, except when it reminds you to keep the water seal clean (annoying). The camera does an excellent job of adjusting for day, night, portrait, landscape, etc, which you would expect from this caliber of camera. It hangs a little after taking a picture, though you can still continue taking pictures, just without previews. I have not noticed any motion blur from pressing the shutter.

In advanced modes the camera does get sluggish and will refuse to do anything until it finishes processing the image. But considering what it does under difficult lighting condition and the resulting image, I think it's worth it.

VIDEO

To take a video, I just tap the red dot labeled "Movie" on the touch screen. It's really that simple. Zoom speed is fixed (bummer). Audio is great for casual events but not for recitals (background noise will ruin it).

PREVIEW

Preview pictures look vivid, maybe too much, and sometimes appear tinted or mosaic as a result. They are fine when you transfer them to the computer. Selecting and zooming into a picture on the camera is awkward. Finger gesture on the touch screen is limited. This is not an Apple.

INTERFACE

I noticed myself experimenting with this camera a lot more than with my old one. Exposure, panorama, high contrast (HDR), twilight, rich-tone monochrome (I never thought I would use that one) and other features are easy to access and use, thanks to the touch screen. It's intuitive, the options are clearly labeled, and mini-help is only a few taps away. I would refuse to go back to clunky menu and cursor buttons again.

BTW, this camera does not have aperture control or shutter speed. Only ISO. You control the camera primarily by task.

WATERPROOF

I don't have much faith in it. The majority of complaints, especially the bitter ones, for these types of camera are related to water damage. I have a waterproof pouch for my iPhone (up to 100 ft). When I go to the beach, I just put the camera in that pouch. Controls are a little unwieldy (use "Movie Mode" to take videos using the shutter button) and flash bounces off the shield, but the camera is protected from water and sand (scratches) and doesn't need to be cleaned afterwards. I posted a picture of it in the "View and share related images" section.

SMUDGE

The camera does collect smudge (cosmetics and sun blocks are the worst), and it shows. It's actually not as much of a problem as it may seem. I learned to handle the camera by its edge. Since the lens area is essentially a piece of glass, it's easy to keep clean. As far as the touch screen is concerned, I learned to live with some smudge. It's just unavoidable. Since the camera is "waterproof", cleaning it is easy and carefree. I also applied the protector for Nitendo DSi XL's lower screen on the touch screen. Width is perfect, though I had to trim the height.

BATTERY

I call it a day battery. As long as I don't take any video, I can comfortably go though an entire day taking a bunch of pictures (sometimes >100) and reviewing and sharing them. The battery is tiny, so it's easy to carry a spare.

I would recommend an external battery charger. A much more elegant way to charge a battery than tying up the camera with a USB cable for hours with the battery compartment open and the water seal exposed.

AC MODE

Start recording a video, then plug the camera into a USB charger (not a computer), and stop recording. Voila. You have a fully operational camera running on AC. Handy for recording extended video.

CLOSING

This is the first time I bought a Sony camera. Very happy with it. I finally feel like I entered the world of HD video, in a very nice way, and the pictures are amazing.

Hope this review is helpful :-) Please let me know.

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V 18.2 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.3-inch OLED Now

This is an awesome little point and shoot; I am tempted to call it the best, but for a few design details which I will get to.

The upsides (for me) are:

~18 megapixels! Shoot first, zoom and crop later! Works wonderfully. There is lots of room for high res photos after major zoomage. With the right photo editing software, it's the equiviant of a huge, strong zoom lens but without the weight or bulk!

~In-camera color saturation and exposure controls!

~Waterproof, dustproof & freezeproof!

~Fast boot-up, and quick focusing.

~Quick boot up of your shots for review

~User friendly in camera help menus even with keyword search

~Larger (3.3 inch), bright, high resolution screen

The downsides (for me)

~Not shockproof a serious design omission. I hike, scramble on rocks a bit, take pictures of rock formations, insects, mountain summit views, creek ice crystals--nature stuff (as well as portraiture, and family and friends). I do not treat my beloved equipment roughly, but don't want to have to treat them like little soap bubbles either! I own (and love) the TX-200's predecessor, the TX-10, (16 megapixels) which is shock-proof (waterproof etc) and sturdy.

~Expensive. At $500, it's above & beyond all the other point and shoots, ruggedized and otherwise.

~Has okay but not great macro capability. Again, I am comparing it to my trusty TX-10 which focuses down to an awesome 1 centimeter (about 5/8 inch), and the TX-200 only goes down to 3 centimeters. But if you are not into serious macro close ups, of course this will not be an issue for you! :-)

~You can NOT tuck in into a back pocket of your favorite jeans (Cargo pockets, or belt cases only!) It does flex and bend, and does not like this.

I am not interested in a "sleek and stylish" poolside / party camera. Is this a creative tool, a viewer into magical worlds, a documenter of cherished events, or a stylish pendant? For me, it is the first three.

I very carefully wrapped and glued my TX-200 in neoprene (spongy wetsuit materal), on all the non-functional surfaces. Now it is not pretty at all, and way more sturdy and shockproof. (So much for the stylish fragile glass front!) For $500, I wish Sony had done this for me.

So to summarize this bit--I wouild love for Sony to have made it heavier, bigger, more durable and sturdy, more an adventure camera like the Nikon AW-100, or the Canon. --What good is a full featured, creative, user friendly tool (especially one as pricey as this) if it's going to die in six months from a two foot drop?

Okay, enough preaching from the pulpit. I do appreciate this little camera immensely. It has wonderful instructions and explanations built in, even a keyword search function, it has background defocus, and it has HD movies at 60 frames per second, and it has a bigger (3.3 inch diagonal) screen with top-end resolution, which you can brighten as is your wont. It has a terrific picture review zoom function (onscreen) where you can get a tantalizing fortaste of fun on the computer, with photo editing (which I love!) And it (like all little point and shoots) is a camera you DO take with you. If you don't take the camera, you don't get the shot!

I have Sony's flagship smaller camera, the NX-7 (24 MP, interchangeable lenses, DSLR functions, etc) ....and my little TX's still get used plenty --they are not mothballed or eclipsed by any stretch!

It (the TX-200) has almost all functions as touch screen buttons, which has its upsides and downsides for me. Some people go crazy about touch screen functionality (try it in the winter with gloves on, at 8500 feet and a 15 mph wind chill! :-) ) so I will note it as a positive and negative with a sum total of a slight plus.

So to summarize --if you can afford the hefty price tag, and if you don't mind a (comparitively) fragile, nonrugged camera, this is an awesome little friend -spectacular photos, ease of use, waterproof, full functions. I will give this little buddy 4.8 stars!

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V 18.2 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.3-inch OLED Here

Ok, so I really wanted to love this little camera but it's fighting me very step of the way. My main problems are:

Cons:

This camera uses a microSD card instead of a regular SD card. Why?! Who thinks an SD card is so big you need a microSD card? For both my acer laptop & my macbook pro (which both have sd card slots) I have to use an SD card adapter to read an microSD card. It's just silly. Plus they are more $$ an slower.

On top of that, the slot in the camera that takes the microSD card allows you to put the card in backwards and the camera doesn't tell you until you try to shoot some video as there is internal storage for stills. A regular SD card is notched so that you can't put it in wrong. This is just a huge error.

I took the camera to a museum opening. The stills came out great, really nice. But nearly every video I shot was blurry. It was like the Sony Camera was trying to "track the focus" too aggressively and thus whenever I would move the camera while shooting video, the focus would go our of whack until I stopped moving for a few seconds. In the end, nearly every video I shot was useless.

I also used it in the pool. The stills & video came out very nice but I had a real problem using the touch screen in the water. Several times it was almost impossible to "touch" the video record icon and as there is no longer a hard button for video recording, this is sort of a big problem.

Instead of the usual single device battery charger Sony used to ship, now you get a USB charger and a USB cable. So charging your battery on the road means having to carry a cable and an adapter instead of just the cable. Ick.

Pros:

The camera is sturdy and solid, seems well built. When you turn it on, a little internal lens cover opens to reveal the lens. Nicely touch.

The still I shot all came out great. I used a variety of modes and this was in a fairly dark museum setting. Very impresses here.

The touch screen is much more responsive than previous versions of this camera and the interface has been refined / improved. Also, you can lock the touch icons to keep from changing settings accidentally.

Summation: I am going to have to try more video. Maybe I did something but I doubt it, I shoot a lot of video and stills and I use a lot of Sony cameras. Maybe the museum was too dark for the focus to set properly. I was very disappointed in the blurry video.

Want Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V 18.2 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 3.3-inch OLED Discount?

When i buy cameras or any other imaging equipment to preserve memories i usually try not to look at the price because sometimes it hurts to see it but there's no way you can retake another picture of your child, mother, father, loved one, a pet... 10 years later when you will look at history and when it will start matter to you more and more you probably would think why you didn't buy a better camera so you don't have so many blurry or dark or simply bad shots... This camera is totally awesome image quality is amazing, panorama shots are awesome, especially in 3D and HD, total WOW! Love GPS feature i used to carry around little sony GPS module with me while shooting pictures so i can geotag them later and now camera does it for me, sweet! Video is actually better than i thought it would be, it's pretty impressive and smooth, clear, vivid and image stabilizer is also amazing actually better than most of the camcorders i owned before and it shoots in 1080p. i used to have few casios, kodaks and cannons but i found sony does an amazing job reproducing color and features are also great! Well, still cannot compare to DSLR but some modes let you shoot with background blur. Shots in the dark are also come out fairly crisp.

Some might complain about not having a remote remotes are obsolete, your smile is your remote and it makes pictures even better with smile! i just put camera somewhere (a tree, a tripod, a trash bin, a fence you can find something to put camera on pretty much anywhere) my smile shutter is always on so all i meed to do is to smile to my camera and it takes pictures, this is actually much funner way of taking pictures. i have never had a burning need for a remote and actually prefer to live without it since i don't want another thing to carry in my pocket. I have a DSLR with remotes but those rarely leave the house because of the bulkiness. i am looking forward to test it out under water when we'll go snorkeling, feels little weird taking camera under water without a case ;)

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Nikon Coolpix S01 Digital Camera (Silver) with Case + Accessory Kit

Useful because you can slip it into a pocket and hardly even notice it. But it is sometime unbearably slow to respond. The video is is at a par with a decent cell phone. Overall, I started carrying my P310 anyway because I couldn't trust this thing to respond quickly enough. It is too limited in so many situations to be useful, unless your expected shooting scenarios are all full daylight. The advantage of having a readily available camera disappear if the the camera can't deal with the situation. If you need a flash that recharges quickly, then you should not expect too much from such a small camera, it will not deliver.

I bought this for my niece. When it was delivered I tried it out and fell in love. It is so easy to use and takes great, clear pictures. The care kit that comes with the camera is perfect. I immediately ordered one of these for myself.

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HaloRig HD Video Camera Stabilizer Support Hand Held Halo Rig

The HaloRig is a must have piece of equipment for videographers of all types.

Light weight, perfect size, durable, and it has the ability to attach other gadgets lights, microphones, lcd monitors etc.

It allows the user an enormous amount of maneuverability. I can push in and out, spin the rig to get cool shots, and when I attach zoom and focus knobs I have the ability to do anything I normally do with a tripod.

SecurityMan 4 Channel Triplex Network DVR with 250GB USB Motion Detection (NDVR0400)

This is more a review of my experience with SecurityMan customer service, not this specific DVR. My model is the DVR-04.

I called today to order another power supply, and that's when I learned the DVR-04 had been discontinued. The person on the other end of the phone put me on hold to see if they had a power supply for it. After a couple minutes, he returned and said they'd have to look "in the warehouse" and call me back.

I asked two things; how long has this model been discontinued, and, how long until they'd get back to me after they check the warehouse?

Reasonable questions, right? Not so the answers:

I was informed the SecurityMan DVR-04 had been discontinued about a year ago, which means someone who bought one just about the time it was discontinued may very well not be able to get replacement parts after only one year. (And this is the *second* time in probably a year that my power supply has died.)

Granted, my unit is around 3 years or so old, but the point is that even someone who bought this model new just 12 months ago and has a problem with it, may have more of a problem than they may think! What's reasonable here? Should SecurityMan regard what they sell as simply disposable equipment, even if it fails only 365 days after purchase? I can get parts for my 6+ year old 52" Philips TV right now, but SecurityMan feels no obligation to stock parts even one year after discontinuance? (And this power supply seems to be unique, so you can't just pick one up anywhere.)

As to when they'd get back to me about the power supply, I was told "I don't know--no time frame". No time frame???? In other words, "Take a flying leap, my friend, we've moved on. Your problems with our old equipment mean nothing to us".

OK, everyone who thinks either one of these answers equates with even minimally acceptable customer service from SecurityMan, raise your hands!

______________________________

DECEMBER 2011 UPDATE: No real surprise here, but SecurityMan never did get back to me.

I'd suggest staying far away from this unit, or anything else by SecurityMan.

I have been using this for over a year now and it is working great with no trouble.

but as far as the software goes there is a lot of room for improvement (and it doesn't seem like they ever release any updates)

Pros

4ch with motion recording for each channel

adjustable sensitivity and areas for motion recording

large hard drive

easy to record images or video clips to computer or USB stick

software for viewing pretty good over networks

cons

software for playing back really hard to use and almost impossible to search for time or date recordings. you pretty much have to sit there and watch through everything backwards in 16x speed till you see what you want. you can't even jump to another day

motion detection picks up rain and snow (but that is so be expected)

overall i got a good deal on amazon and at the time there was nothing close to the price with network and motion recording so i would say pretty good but if i found another brand with the same features and some decent software i would get it instead

Buy SecurityMan 4 Channel Triplex Network DVR with 250GB USB Motion Detection (NDVR0400) Now

SecurityMan D.I.Y Mini 2.4GHz Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio (MINIAIRWATCH)

I bought two of these units based on the first comment.

They are easy to install and are easily hidden. But I ended up

having to return both units, because the video on both cameras

kept getting a lot of video noise after they were in use for a while.

I could not set the sensitivity on my DVR low enough to counter act

the noise to prevent false triggering, which would result in continuous recording. I just couldn't use these cameras. It's too bad, because

they look like nicely built units, and would be ideal for hidden

security purposes.

Doesn't work as described,every channel has interference. Its going in the garbage. Don,t waste you time and money.

Buy SecurityMan D.I.Y Mini 2.4GHz Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio (MINIAIRWATCH) Now

Worked great and the Picture on my screen was great !!! Looking for help you need to get one of these.....

Read Best Reviews of SecurityMan D.I.Y Mini 2.4GHz Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio (MINIAIRWATCH) Here

Worked for what I needed, but must be used in a bright area to get a good pic. I used it in my garage to watch and see if my dog went potty as she gets tied in garage if it is raining out. Product worked ok for my needs.

Want SecurityMan D.I.Y Mini 2.4GHz Wireless Color Camera Kit with Audio (MINIAIRWATCH) Discount?

No matter what channel it was on there was alot of interference. Also Loud crackling noises, distorted picture and very annoying. Sent it back.

Nikon D3100 14.2 MP Digital SLR Camera & 18-55mm G VR DX AF-S Zoom Lens with 16GB Card + Backpa

Very trusted source, Very good camera for the package. I use to shoot professional photography & my wife wanted a better digital camera. I considered over & over some of the canon packages as its what I always used and they never let me down, a lot of my competition in the days used Nikons so I knew I wasn't going wrong with the decision and since Nikon & Cameta Camera offered the Nikon package as a better deal I chose this one for my wife. It has more bells & whistles on it that will keep her busy for some time. Very good, EXCELLENT PICTURE quality and service from Cameta, Very trustful source arrived before expected and packaged very well so if it did get bumped around during shipping would NOT of harmed this camera in anyway.

I will make the lens purchase for her from them thats for sure.

Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Camera 32GB Package 6

I have only ever taken pictures with my cell phone and those cardboard wind up cameras from the drugstore. I am the historian of a local club, and this camera was purchased because of that. I have been wanting to get a digital camera for some time, and was a little hesistant to make this much of an investment, but I took a chance and ended up loving it. I haven't been able to give it a real go 'round, but so far, it takes crystal clear photos (IMO, but I'm no pro, lol) and the interface, while a little confusing at first, is really easy to navigate. Believe it or not, I read the get started manual AND the Advanced manual on the disc included from beginning to end, and it's very informative. It does assume you already know what some terms mean, though, so be prepared to look outside the manual if you are a true beginner with anything but a simple point-and-shoot.

As far as the bundle, I've not tried everything out yet, but the extra battery was an awesome inclusion. I'm thinking I'll probably go through battery life fairly quickly when I pull it out for meetups. The full size tripod seems sturdy and it's easy to use. The table top tripod is super cute. The little tripod, screen protectors, swabs and lens fluid come in a little separate package (like a kit) and the lens fluid leaked all over the inside of the bag. Thank goodness everything in there was wrapped in plastic. The bottle was only half full out of the box, but I'm not all that upset by it since it didn't get out of the bag the little kit came in. The wallet is neat-o, and the memory card does the trick. The bag is just about the perfect size, but don't expect to put anything in the main compartment except the camera and strap, especially if you are going to be adding a lens hood or filters to the camera that stay on all the time. The side compartments fit the memory card reader, microfiber cloth, swabs, extra battery (while stored in the wall charger) and the back mesh pocket holds my mini tripod. I might have to get a bigger bag, but for now it holds everything. I might even just use it for my accessories and keep the camera in the case I got from Mega Gear: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009Y68R0Q/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Overall a great product and I would buy again from Cardinal Camera. (they even include a coupon for prints from their shop!)

Camera came at time expected, well packed and all products intact.The camera is taking good pictures and loved having the extra items in the bundle.

Buy Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Camera 32GB Package 6 Now

This kit is a bit pricey but has all the necessary gadgets to get you started in photography. My biggest problem so far is the tiny size of the camera carrying case.

Read Best Reviews of Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Camera 32GB Package 6 Here

I was leaning towards a DSLR with interchangeable lenses, but then a good friend told me about this camera. It's perfect! The package made this an easy decision. pricing was the best I could figure out, and worth it!

Want Canon PowerShot SX50 HS Digital Camera 32GB Package 6 Discount?

very pleased. makes me look good, even though I'm a beginner. I would recommend this camera to any one just starting out, but serious about taking good pics.

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Astak Pan & Tilt Wireless IP Network Camera Monitoring System with Night Vision, Motion Sensor, and

Pro:

Image quality: Very good. Night vision. Astounding. was able clearly see across a 20ft room in near total darkness. Verified to work with Droid the cam automatically shifts to a smaller picture size to conserve bandwidth (from 640/480 to 320/240). Image detection works nicely. Email alerts seem to work quite well. DynamicDNS Support built in, though I did not test. Likewise UPnP support.

Remote control via both web and droid is great as well, though the 2 second delay takes getting used to.

Cons:

Yoics. I just don't like having someone else in control of my data. Camera will work just fine without it, if you know how to do port forwarding.

No autofocus. Found this one accidentally you need to manually adjust the lens focus for the field of interest.

No Zoom. With all the other toys, that would have been great

"capture" and "record" do not work on Macintosh platform though the support person I chatted with said that they are aware of it.

Wireless: Full disclosure, I'm not sure if this is the router, or the cam but:

Camera claims to support WPA2/AES During setup, it will "test" the connection, and declare it good. Then pull the ethernet cable and... no network. AES works with other equipment in the house.

I switched it down to WPA/TKIP and the wireless is working fine now.

You had better know what you are doing, as the manual is less than helpful at times. Get your kid to help out :D

Set up was more challenging than what they lead you to believe, but I called their tech support. The first time the tech answered on the 2nd ring, I was expecting to be on hold for 10+ minutes, so I was not all ready, and told I would call back. Had to wait 5+ minutes on hold, then tech "Paul" answered (Paul is not a US citizen, but did OK with the support). With their help, I was able to get the camera on my wi-fi network (on my own I could connect to the camera via ethernet cable, but not wi-fi. So, camera is now working fine. I have to set up notification to my email, and iPhone access. the tech twice said they will do a LogMeIn123 type session to get the camera working on my computer, if I wanted (I did not have the time to do it then). Overall, for the price, a worthwhile camera. I had previosly purchased a more expensive wi-fi camera, could not get to work, could not get support, so I paid a tech who has set up a ton of cameras to come to my house to set up $200 later, the cameras did not work (they were defective) and I still did not have a camera. This was a breeze compared to that

Buy Astak Pan & Tilt Wireless IP Network Camera Monitoring System with Night Vision, Motion Sensor, and Now

The only thing good about this experience was that the camera was delivered by the date specified. Other than that it was a horror story. I have excellent Wi-Fi skills and, after 15 hours of attempts to get it to work, I finally returned the item, in total frustration (Amazon did quickly issue a total refund).

I got this camera to work with my Motorola Droid smart phone. I only decided to purchase it , after talking with tech support at Astak. They assured me, that although the ad refers to Iphone compatibility only, they had upgraded it to work with Droids as well.

As advertised, it was easy enough to register the camera (at ) and have it "recognized". However, as soon as I tried to get it to work with my Droid phone, it disappeared from the website. Tech support (which never returns call messages or e-mail messages), finally picked-up the phone after about 10 attempts. He advised that my camera was the older "silver" (not black) version, but a simple "firmware" download, would resolve the problem. I did the download, and, as I stated earlier, after 15 hours of work, the camera was never again recognized, or functional, remotely (either through my phone or through my computer).

Because the promises of the camera are so potentially fantastic (night vision, instant notification on my Droid, after any motion activated event, total remote control from that same phone, as well as the capacity to listen and talk, all done through a wireless network) I am not giving up yet. Just to be sure that the camera claims are not totally bogus, I ordered the black version, from a different non-Amazon supplier (on the Amazon website). You see, Amazon, currently stocks only the older "silver" camera, and could not advise me when the black version would be stocked.

The alternate supplier went out of their way to get me the camera in time for my trip to our other house (where the camera will be installed). So with the newer version, (Black Mole), in hand, I am off to install and test it. I will give a follow-up review, after completing the test. I am hoping that the problem was either that I got a "lemon", or that the difficulty arrose in trying to download the new firmare to the older camera. My thinking is that the current version, with the new firmware already on it, may still work the way the manufacturer promises. I will let you know

Read Best Reviews of Astak Pan & Tilt Wireless IP Network Camera Monitoring System with Night Vision, Motion Sensor, and Here

The Astak camera is a nifty little gadget that enables the user to monitor office or home safety and capture creative videos that can be posted to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc. The movements of the camera are a little noisy (thus not a 5 star review) but sharing with friends and using the camera right out of the box are as simple as plug n play. The price may be more than other off the shelf webcams but you have more control remotely to permit a touch more creativity by "hiding" the camera and being part of the action!

Want Astak Pan & Tilt Wireless IP Network Camera Monitoring System with Night Vision, Motion Sensor, and Discount?

I've used my camera for over a year now, great quality of video. It is a little bit of a problem getting logged in to view it remotely, but once connected to the camera I can accomplish all I want to do. Remote Pan works great and then it goes back to home for my standard view, sends me a picture every 2 hours like I have it set to do. I have not used the montion sensor.