Showing posts with label summer infant camera. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer infant camera. Show all posts

Saturday, October 18, 2014

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

Sony Alpha NEX NEX3A/B Digital Camera with Interchangeable LensSo I've been waiting for a compact camera with either 4/3rds sensor size or larger and priced around $600. There are only a few on the market:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pros about NEX3:

This thing shoots fantastic photos.

The 16mm : 24mm equiv lens is awesome.

HD video is pretty cool.

Innovative controls need to get use to.

Panaramic shooting mode.

Photos are very sharp.

Cool screen flexibilities.

Cons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Wireless/Wired IP Pan/Tilt/Night Vision Internet Surveillance Camera Built-in Microphone,two-way au

Wireless/Wired IP Pan/Tilt/Night Vision Internet Surveillance Camera Built-in Microphone,two-way audioI was apprehensive about this camera because it was so cheap, but I am fully satisfied by the current state of it.

I fully recommend this camera if you are confident enough to get through the setup. In fact, I just purchased a second one before starting this review.

First off, the manual is garbage. Ive built a few ikea furniture pieces before and those instructions are vastly superior.

General review: The daylit picture quality is fine for me. Color seems to be ok. Im not broadcasting a movie, just monitoring my yard. Night viewing seems fine also. Quick moving objects show blurred in infrared mode. LOL, I just got a motion alert and then got a picture of the guy mowing my lawn while writing this review. There is no daylight motion blur but in the mixed bright light/shadow area (trees and sunlight) I got an over exposed picture and could barely make out the face. Might need to knock the brightness settings down a hair. See the note in the outdoor mounting below... The infrared and glass do not play well together.

Some background: My home network is a mix of apples and linux pcs. No Windows. My wireless network is set up with MAC (address) filtering.

The camera defaults its IP address to 192.168.1.126, if you have a network on a different subnet (mine is 192.168.2.X) then you will need to either switch the network back to .1, do it on someone else's network, or use a crosscable. I hooked up to an old router I had and configured through the wired. I figured Id set everything up through the wired connection first. Hit up the address and logged in (admin, blank password). The Device ID is supposed to be the MAC address...and it is, but its not the wireless MAC address. I still dont know how to find it through their software btw. Anyways, I updated the admin password 30 second reboot occurs. Next I went through the Basic Network Settings and this is where it took a while. In fact, I still need to go back and modify this again now that its working. Since I do MAC filtering, I couldnt set it to "Obtain DHCP" yet which is what I need to go back and switch now. In order to find the MAC address, I had to set the static IP settings and then turned off MAC filtering on the router. **IMPORTANT** Reboot the camera and while it is doing its countdown, unplug the ethernet cable. It took me an hour and a half of cursing and trying different things to figure that out. At this point the camera connected to my router and I was able to check the 'status' section in the router settings to pull the MAC address. Turned filtering back on and it was good to go. I set up the "Mail Service Settings" to my gmail account. I like that you can specify multiple recievers, I send to myself and my wife but I think you can specify up to four addresses. GMAIL SMTP settings Server: , Port: 465, Protocol: TLS, Need auth: check, username: me, password: my password. You have to click set before you can test, dont forget. Moving onto the Alarm Service Settings... Im still tweaking these. Now that the camera was configured, I mounted it outside. The manual says not to, but Im not too concerned about it. Last night, the motion sensitivity was set to 8. I didnt start receiving motion alert emails until about 5am, maybe four of them. Since 8am, whoa boy. I got an email every two minutes. Its now 1:30pm and somewhere around 120 emails later. I just dropped the sensitivity down to 3. Emails are still coming at the same rate. Checking the live feed, I can see the wind is blowing tree branches and there is a lot of shadow movement in the monitored area. Also, the shadows have moved from the sun location. I think I will need to set up the scheduler in the alerts to only run motion sensing at specific times during the day. I figured email option (smartphone) was the quickest way to get alerts, but its proving to be a bit annoying with my setup. Oh well, performing as advertised.

I wanted this camera to be indetectable and that was not going to happen with the obnoxious green flashing light on the front. Two pieces of electrical tape blacked it out. When the light sensor 'activates', you can see the ring of 'infrared' LEDs around the lens but it is fairly dim and not attention grabbing.

The install CD that comes with the cam isnt necessary. The manual implies that software will be installed on your windows computer that will help you configure and view the camera. This is not the case. Looking for the wireless MAC address, I ended up (always the case with computers) going down a path seemingly unrelated to what I was doing. I ended up having to update my vmware software compiling modules etc, ugh and fired up a Windows XP VM. I ran the CD expecting to have some more intimate connection with the camera...but it was just an executable version with a modified interface than the web interface....waste of time.

If I remember, I will post an update on the outdoor durability... Its currently mounted on the underside of an overhanging roof section. Its October 2011, hopefully it lasts through winter (NJ) into 2012. If not, lesson learned I guess. ***NOTE*** I originally thought I was going to sit the camera in a window to monitor a section of my yard. It was fine for daylit viewing, but once the infrared came on, there was a nasty glare on the window that made the night viewing nearly useless. Once moved outside, the picture was fine.

Hopefully this will help anyone trying to set up the camera, I felt like a fool having spent so much time setting up such a simple device AND being computer literate. Knowing the steps above, I dont think setting up camera2 will take more than 10 minutes, and thats with the camera doing its 30 second reboot cycle after each step.

I like this camera. I bought it to monitor my dog in the basement and it does a great job. It doesn't need to have the greatest quality. It just needs to be reliable. I was able to set it up on the basement ceiling. The camera settings flip the image. When the camera is setup so the base is down, it can't point down to the floor, so the ceiling setup is the best.

The output can be viewed from any computer using a service from dyndns.com. I have two cell phones (personal and business). One is a DroidX and one is an iPhone 3G. Both phones can view the live feed from either a web browser or a free app. I use NetCamViewer on my iPhone and IPCamViewer on my Droid. The droid app has Pan and Tilt functions. The iPhone app does not, but the camera can still be controlled from the iPhone Safari browser.

There are a couple of downsides to this camera. The response to changing light is very slow and it can't handle a large gradient in the light level. This means you can essentially make the camera blind by pointing a flash light at it.

Another downside is that the audio is horrible. I haven't been able to get clear audio from the camera.

I have purchased other similar cameras that use the same shell and go for about the same price. The big difference between the cameras is the software and the input/output ports on the back. I prefer the software for this camera, but this camera puts out a low current voltage. This can be used to trigger other equipment. The output of my other camera is connected to a relay which is what I needed to get control my garage door. This was a big deal for me, but I suspect most users won't use the input/output ports on the back.

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Camera works well after a bit of a set up but with exceptions. Still cant get any remote view over the internet after numerous videos and emails. Even just local use the camera view goes out at least every half hour and has to be refreshed often. A shame because the picture is good and pan and tilt work great also the night vision is perfect. No zoom but not a big deal. If I could see this cam from work (LIKE I BOUGHT IT FOR) or didnt have to refresh so much this cam would get a five. But until then....Im being generous at a three. Only because it frustrated me. I could have bought a cheaper webcam for what Im getting now.

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This product worked for a day. After that, video stopped. Everything else worked ... wireless networking, rotate the camera from via browser controls and so on. But no video. Black screen. Returned it. Great product when it works. Recommend you order twice as many as you need; then return the bad ones!

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Works well until it get hot then it tends to reset itself and hang. Then it needs power rest to recover.

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Thursday, June 26, 2014

IR LED Night Vision Weatherproof Color Security Camera

IR LED Night Vision Weatherproof Color Security CameraVery easy to hook up and use, and the picture quality is GREAT, the night vision works pretty good and all around its worth the money for a AMAZING security camera.

After unboxing and installing this item, i turned on my screen to find that all the whites were blueish,brown was green,and greens were purple. It was like i was on acid . Later that night,the night vision image was grainy and distorted. Very lame and disappointing camera.

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Thursday, May 1, 2014

JVC BN-V312U Lithium Ion Battery for GRDVM76/96 Camcorder

JVC BN-V312U Lithium Ion Battery for GRDVM76/96 Camcordernot easy to find this battery on the digital market. However, I find it here. I bought two batteries here. The durability is good. I will give five stars to this seller

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Saturday, March 1, 2014

Q-See QSW25C 2.5-Inch TFT Baby Monitoring System w/Wireless Camera

Q-See QSW25C 2.5-Inch TFT Baby Monitoring System w/Wireless CameraIf you are considering a video monitor for your kids rather than a simple-audio monitor, you should absolutely go video (whether you buy this model or something else).

Prior to buying this model, I owned a Mobi and would not recommend it. I did a fair amount of online research before buying this item and despite some flaws, I'm still a satisfied user.

Pro:

It works. One room away, the picture is very very good. Gets worse farther away (no surprise)

Great features & flexibility. Have always been able to find ways to hang or position the cameras so they can view the kids not always impossible with other models

Supports multiple cameras (great for covering several kids and/or multiple rooms)

Con:

Audio has a lot of static, even when the picture is clear

The power cord for the monitor plugs into the unit inside the battery compartment, so you can't leave batteries loaded. Dumb design

One of the three channels (#2) knocks out the wifi in our house, so we can only use two cameras. Fortunately the unit operates on two other channels, so we can still use those cameras without interfering with the Wifi

Cost of the base package plus extra cameras is too high

Good luck!

Had a good view but bad reception throughout the house. Worked best when only one room apart, the camera and receptor.

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We've tried all the different baby video monitors and this one works ok. None of them are wonderful, but the monitor portion works well. We have a lot of interference in our house, so we cannot use the audio portion of the monitor, but we have not found it necessary: a picture is worth a thousand words. The sensor portion is great, so the monitor will turn on when the baby movesthe closer the camera, the better it works. The others I tried didn't have this option. But I would recommend a video monitor over a audio monitor any day.

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We have been using this unit for 11 months now and it works very well (all over our somewhat small house). We have had no range problems, but it does get interference with wifi and our cordless phone. The interference impacts the audio more than the video, so we use it with the sound turned down and use a different, more portable audio monitor to carry with us.

After 11 months of tough use the screen protector is cracked, and AC plug is broken in some way (only works with batteries). But alot of others out there seem to have bad ratings and so we are going to buy another set, and this way have 2 cameras.

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I recieved the camera very promptly but the reciever wasn't working and Amazon quickly shipped a replacement without any hassle!

The camera works well and the picture is good in total darkness. I put a piece of electrical tape over the motion detector indicator light because it flashes when it detects movement. It would be nice if the indicator light could be turned off.

The reciever's battery life isn't very good at all. I would say the 4 AAA batteries have a life around 6-8 hours total. The way it's designed, the AC adapter plug is located inside the battery housing so you have to remove the batteries while it's plugged into the wall.

I've never used any other video camera systems, but I would recommend this one if the price was about $50 lower and the design was improved a little.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Canon PowerShot A550 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

Canon PowerShot A550 7.1MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical ZoomI really did some research on digital cameras, even tried out a Sony, but the Canon brand is by far one of the best. I don't have to do a lot of thinking when snapping a picture with this camera, it does most of the work! I like to be able to think about the compostion of my photo and not ISO, aperature, and all that jazz. The settings make it so easy and the color of the photos turn out so true. The digital zoom is great and will even alert you if the picture will come out blurry. There are so many features on this camera, too many to list. I even found a great deal at Best Buy on a 2 gig memory card, I get over 1,000 photos with a high resolution! It takes alkaline batteries, but I bought rechargeable ones and one charge lasts a long time. I am sooo happy with this camera, I take it with me everywhere, even a couple of days to work.

I ordered a Nikon Coolpix L6 (6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom) and then ran into a friend at a party. He had one and I gave it a try. SLOW and fair pics. I went home, jumped online and changed the order to the Canon PowerShot A550. This camera is slightly larger, but is quick, good zoom, easy enough on the batteries and takes wonderful pics. Make usre you buy additional SD cards 'cause you'll love using this camera.

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For the birthday party, vacations, and casual user, this camera is outstanding at the price. For about $200, you get the great resolution and GREAT color, compact size, and usability you need with 15 kids running around you at a party! You will, of course, immediately need a memory card before using it (the one in the package serves up about 8 pics!) The SanDisk memory cards are supercheap, and I bought both a 1 and 2 GB version, both of which work great (2GB will hold about 1,000 pics...plenty). The program for your computer can be a little clumsy to load, but within 20 minutes I had the program and all my recent pics all loaded into my computer.

Awesome for the price, and unless you are a professional photographer looking to get published in National Geographic, you cannot beat the value priced A550 for 7.1 megapixels and the Canon name. Fill your family scrapbook for under $200.

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I wanted a camera that the whole family could use Including my 10 year old son. This camera has proven to be that and much more! What impresses me the most is the astounding battery life and the quick focus features. It is at an excellent price point as well. Our pictures no longer suffer from the dreaded 'redeye' effects. I upgraded from a 4 year old Olympus

4 megapixel camera and am blown away by the improvements over that period.

Canon rocks!

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I'm going to write a positive review of this camera, but you should know that I ended up returning it to Amazon because it didn't meet my specific needs.

I was looking for a high quality, inexpensive point and shoot digital camera when I bought this item. The reasons I returned it had nothing to do with the quality of its prints. Let me make sure I say this: they were outstanding. I loved the ease at which the A550 makes beautiful pictures.

What didn't do it for me was the size, and the lack of a panoramic mode. The camera I ended up with, the $300 Canon SD700, is just so small that I slip it into my pocket without thinking about it. With the A550, I could never forget it was there. This bulkiness lead to me not carrying it all the time, which led to pictures not being made that otherwise might have been. If I had a purse though, or I just wanted something to take on occasional outings, the A550 would have been perfect. If this is you, then get this camera.

Lastly, I got excited about the 4x optical zoom. Don't. Bottom line is that, if you want to really zoom in but be able to take sharp photos, you need to invest in a SLR or DSLR camera system. When I zoom in with the A550, even with my steady grip, pictures often come out quite blurry.

Hope this helps.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Duck Blind Design Protective Skin Decal Sticker for Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Pocket Video Camera Camc

Duck Blind Design Protective Skin Decal Sticker for Kodak PlaySport Zx3 HD Pocket Video Camera CamcorderThe fit and finish of this sticker seems to be pretty good. The only problem that I have seen so far is that it is very shiny. To actually be used for hunting it needs to have more of a matte finish.

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Nikon COOLPIX S5200 Wi-Fi CMOS Digital Camera with 6x Zoom Lens (Plum)

Nikon COOLPIX S5200 Wi-Fi CMOS Digital Camera with 6x Zoom LensI've had several Nikon coolpix and am looking at this one today to buy. They are great camera!

To the person who wrote that first review, who complained: "The first thing I noticed was that I could not just hit the play button to view pictures and video, but I had to actually turn on the camera. When you power the camera the lens extends, where in the Canon, you hit the play button and you can view pictures and videos and your lens retracted with the lens cover closed."

With the camera off, you hold down the replay pix button for a couple-two-three seconds and the camera and screen turns on, arrow buttons scroll through the pix you have taken. Without opening the lens.

That darn user's manual....

I have always had Canon, but decided to give Nikon a try. After reading all of the reviews on the Nikon 5200 I decided to purchase it. I had the camera for three days and returned it.

The first thing I noticed was that I could not just hit the play button to view pictures and video, but I had to actually turn on the camera. When you power the camera the lens extends, where in the Canon, you hit the play button and you can view pictures and videos and your lens retracted with the lens cover closed.

The second issue I had was how the camera charges. You have to put the battery in the camera and plug the power cord into the camera to charge the battery. I assume that Nikon makes a separate charger, but unlike Canon, Nikon does not provide one with the camera.

I probably could have gotten past these two things, if I did not encounter the next two issues. I have a DSL camera and have had other point and shots in the past. I have never had an issue taking a picture of something moving. My pictures always come out clear and blur free, but not with this Nikon. Majority of the pictures taken over the past three days were blurry and the camera had a VERY hard time focusing. This seemed to be the issue whether I used full auto with auto scene select or when I set the scene to one that fit best. In the past with Canon I have used Kids and Pets and my pictures have come out clear even if the subject moved last minute.

My son is 9 months old and like many things in life there are no second chances and I need a camera that will capture the moment the first time! This Nikon did not meet my expectations at all and I do not recommend it to anyone regardless of user level.

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I got this camera a couple weeks ago at a local camera shop. Most places in my area were selling the bundle for a Mother's Day special...I really like the plum color too. I had a bunch of questions before buying it due to all the bad or so so reviews. I like this camera. It fits almost anywhere, it works the way the manual says it should, it charges fast, the pics look good and I even took some of my pets which were not blurry as some have stated. Maybe my pets are not quick to move. I got this to take on a 2 week east coast trip and wanted something that was easier to carry than my other camera. I'm happy with it so far and can't complain. I did buy an extra battery since I was not sure how long the battery life was.

***UPDATE****I bought this camera for a 2 week trip to the east coast. Four days into my trip, the camera lens would not extend when turned on. When the lens finally did extend, the camera would not focus and if I tried to zoom, it would only zoom a millimeter, turn itself off and give me a Lens Error. I called the camera shop I bought it from to see if there was something going on that I just needed to reset the camera, but they were no help. They told me I would have to bring the camera in and they would check it to see if I had done something to cause the lens to get off track. Meanwhile, I'm on day 4 of a 14 day trip now without a camera. I bought another one to use for my trip and once home, I returned the broken one. I'm hoping the same thing doesn't happen again. All the pictures I took came out perfect, so if the lens "stays on track" this little camera does take nice shots, but I'm really iffy on it now.

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I finally found a great camera, I thought.

I had the camera 19 DAYS and turned it on and the lens would not extend. Kept getting lens error also. Tried it several times. Took the battery out, sometimes that resets electronics, nothing. Finally the lens did extend again BUT NOW the auto focus would not work at all! Ugh!

Called Nikon, they said take the battery out, try resetting all the factory settings, nothing helped. It would cost me $12 to ship it back to them. They would repair it and send it back to me free. But I was upset it only lasted 19 days! I ended up taking it back to where I bought it and they finally agreed to exchange it. I purchased the extended warrantee this time.

The pictures turned out GREAT though. Indoor and outdoor, like field day at my daughter's school in class and outside. My husband races motocross and when I took it to the track the zoom worked great. I could zoom in across the track. When I enlarged the picture it kept the clarity. On sports setting it captured the bike going over the jump crystal clear. The food setting does make food look magazine quality, that was fun to play with. The face recognition feature works really well. It's a very intuitive camera when on the auto setting.

Overall the camera was very easy to use. Nice options menu.

So I love the pictures and the camera. I really do. I am seriously hoping this lens problem was just a fluke.

(thank you to the person who told us how to view the pictures without extending the lens. I thought I read the manual well, guess I missed that part too)

Update: Thank you for the two comments that said they have had the same problem with this camera. Good luck with your replacements too. I just wish Nikon would have put the same quality into the camera shell and mechanics as they did the picture taking capabilities.

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Great camera, bught for wife she loves it, it's easy to use and takes great photos comes with case and sd card great deal.

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

HDMI Cable - 2 Male Connectors - 2 Meters

HDMI Cable - 2 Male Connectors - 2 Meters
  • Cable has 2 male HDMI Type A (19-pin) connectors; 2 meters in length
  • High quality w/ gold plated contacts, cable meets HDMI 1.3 specification
  • Get best picture quality with HDMI; Supports full resolution with Blu-ray
  • Can be used with DVI-I (24+5) or DVI-D (24+1) adapters
  • Use for Audio/Video (HDMI carries both in one cable!) in TV setups, and video in computer setups

I am very pleased at the improvement in both video and audio quality switching from component to HDMI using my Xbox 360 and the length is just plain perfect. Add the price of near nothing compared to the other retailers and this becomes a deal you can't pass up.

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This cable works great! Had to laugh though, the cable was $ and shipping & handling was $. It arrived quickly, I hooked it up immediately and it works perfectly. I am a happy camper.

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Does what it is supposed to, length is just right for just about any use, no complaints!

No quality loss at all, definitely looks better than component video!

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I suppose this is a good cable, however it didn't work for me. Since it was cheap, did not return. This cable had two small black round things at each end, not sure what they are. However, had to order another one, and cheaper one and guess what it worked fine. Was trying to connect up my blu-ray dvd to HDTV. This cable producted a picture but had lines running through it also was no sound. Received the cheaper one with no small black things on it and it worked fine. Sorry but this cable not for me.

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The product is as per mentioned in the specs. Very good and working good so far. Also the delivery was on time.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

eForCity 25ft Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable, Version 1.3, 1080p, 25 ft

eForCity 25ft Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable, Version 1.3, 1080p, 25 ftOrder this 25FT HDMI cable and worked fine from my desktop to my HDTV. I didn't have any issues what so ever. I hear that many people tend to have issue with their cable (cables that are abnormally long, 25FT, 50FT, etc); you need to be sure not to bend the cable at a sharp angle. If it needs to be bent, bend it so that it curves. HDMI cables have very intricate wiring and these can be broken, therefore you must take care when setting up your home theater system or wiring through the wall.

Bottom line, cable works and I'm happy.

This was a cheap and easy way to get my macbook to my big 52" screen. It was dirt cheap (FU Monster Cable), works well and coils up nicely when not in use.

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Hard to review a cable: if it works, you don't think about it. If it doesn't work, you hate it. I don't hate this cable, but I wouldn't say it is a love affair... OTOH, I do love my TV and if this thing helps my TV, it is like a friend of my TV and me... I mean, it brings us together into a more perfect pixel world. And who could ask for more than that? Remember: "An Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable is a TV's best friend" (which is more than you can say about a dog).

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I needed about 20+ feet from my PC to HDTV and this worked pretty good.

I can't see any loss in picture / sound quality.

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Nothing wrong with this product at all, the picture is nice and crisp.

At first, there was a lot of flickering, but I found that for connecting a computer to a TV with an HDMI cable, the computer should have a 1080i output, not 1080p. After switching these settings, it was fine.